Pocock criticises lack of scrutiny for nature laws – as it happened

7.14am GMT
What we learned today, Thursday 27 November

With that, we will wrap the blog for the evening. That’s the final sitting day of the week and the year. It was a busy one.
Here’s what made news:

Updated emissions projections released today show Australia’s emissions are expected to fall to 48% below 2005 levels by 2035.
Labor has struck a deal with the Greens to overhaul federal environmental protection laws on parliament’s final sitting day of the year.
The former competition watchdog chief Graeme Samuel, who led a 2020 review of the EPBC, says the Coalition has “manoeuvred themselves into irrelevance on this matter”.
The independent senator David Pocock says new nature laws are “being rammed through with almost no time for scrutiny” by the Senate and the government’s deal with the Greens falls short in several areas.
Barnaby Joyce has formally announced he’ll be leaving the National party.
The former PM Malcolm Turnbull has decried “reality denial and physics denial” within the Coalition on climate change, claiming the opposition’s policy was dictated by “ideology and idiocy”.
Anthony Albanese has defended the government’s new $2.5bn resettlement deal with Nauru as “entirely appropriate” after allegations against the country’s president of “money laundering and corruption” aired in parliament this week.

Thanks for your company today.

Updated at 7.20am GMT

7.04am GMT

Children targeted by racism feel it ‘deep in their soul’
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are being increasingly targeted by discrimination, data from a national racism register has found.
More than a quarter of reports of racist incidents against Indigenous people were directed at young people up to the age of 19, the 2024-25 Call it Out annual report found.
Based on 442 reports submitted between March 2024 and March 2025, it showed an increase of 10% over the previous year.
Mounty Aboriginal Youth and Community Services youth ambassador Amelia Whyman said racism can have a lasting effect on young people:

A kid can grow up in a happy family and then experience racism, and they get confused about their place in the world.
You can get scared for your cultural safety, your physical safety, you feel it deep in your soul.

- AAP

Updated at 7.06am GMT

6.45am GMT

Warning this bushfire season could be as bad as Black Saturday
The upcoming bushfire season could be as devastating as deadly Black Saturday and Ash Wednesday, with rural Australians put on high alert after persistently dry conditions.
Fire danger is expected to remain elevated in parts of Victoria, Western Australia and central-northern New South Wales, according to a seasonal outlook from the National Council for Fire and Emergency Services.
Holidaymakers in Victoria have been warned of the potential for danger in popular spots such as the Otways, parts of the Grampians, Mornington Peninsula, Philip Island and Wilsons Promontory in January.
The warning also extends to urban areas in outer Melbourne including the Macedon, Dandenong and Yarra Ranges.
The state’s Forest Fire Management chief fire officer Chris Hardman warned long-term drying out in forests and a lack of rainfall could lead to short, devastating fires:

We can mention times like Black Saturday and Ash Wednesday, Victorians know fire and Victorians know how dangerous it can be.

- AAP

Updated at 6.47am GMT

6.34am GMT

Young boy and staff member stabbed at primary school
A primary school student and a staff member have sustained minor injuries after they were allegedly stabbed by another boy at school.
Police are investigating after an eight-year-old boy sustained non-life-threatening injuries when he was stabbed at Brentwood Park Primary School, in Melbourne’s southeast on Thursday.
The boy and a female staff member, who also sustained minor injuries, were treated by paramedics on school grounds and did not require hospital treatment, Victoria Police said.
An 11-year-old boy, who police allege to be the stabber, was located and spoken to by officers before he was later taken to hospital for assessment.
The education department is working with Brentwood Park Primary regarding an incident involving a young student who behaved in a “dangerous manner”. A spokesperson said:

The school enacted its safety procedures, and police and paramedics attended the school.
We are supporting both the staff member and the student and are providing additional wellbeing supports to those who need it.

The investigation is ongoing, and the school was able to resume normal operations shortly after the incident.
- AAP

6.22am GMT

Law Council welcomes nature reforms but says public scrutiny important
The Law Council of Australia has welcomed the deal on nature law reforms but said adequate time must be given to public scrutiny and consultation.
The council’s president, Juliana Warner, said changes were definitely needed but their importance should “increase the need for transparent, democratic and accountable law-making, not diminish it”.

This process of public consultation and Senate committee scrutiny, bearing in mind the Senate’s intended role as a house of review, is now largely defunct. Committee scrutiny should occur before, not after, laws are passed. Targeted, closed consultations by the government are no substitute for this process.Failure to allow full and adequate public consultation undermines good law-making, and could risk legislation that does not fully achieve its objectives.

Related: Seven ways Australia’s nature laws are changing after Labor’s deal with the Greens

Updated at 6.33am GMT

6.11am GMT

NSW attorney general says law change will help ‘break the cycle of youth offending’
The NSW attorney general, Michael Daley, says changes to make it easier to convict children aged 10 to 13 are “in the best interests of children and the broader community”.
Here’s what he said shortly after the bill passed:

It gives police and the courts more tools to break the cycle of youth offending and keep the community safe.
We have expanded access to diversionary options and given the courts greater clarity around the circumstances which can be considered when rebutting doli incapax.

Updated at 6.22am GMT

6.05am GMT
NSW government makes it easier to convict children aged 10-13

The NSW government has made it easier to convict children aged 10 to 13 after it legislated changes to a common law presumption that presumes a child cannot commit an offence because they lack the maturity to understand what is criminally wrong, as opposed to just naughty.
Prior to the changes, the presumption known as doli incapax required the courts to consider a child’s home environment, schooling and intellectual development before determining if they understood what they did was wrong.
Now, courts will no longer have to consider a child’s moral or intellectual development if prosecutors establish the child did the crime, and certain circumstances surrounding it, like if they planned the crime or were carrying a weapon.
The change has met fierce backlash from advocates, and lawyers. The NSW Bar Association and the Aboriginal Legal Service criticised the government’s proposal as undermining presumption, and also defying the recommendations of a review it commissioned earlier this year.
Dominic Toomey SC, president of the NSW Bar Association, said last week, shortly after the bill was proposed:

The NSW Bar Association is concerned that the Bill unduly focuses on the child’s alleged offending behaviour rather than the child’s intellectual and moral development.
Doli incapax recognises that, at a young age, the brains of children are still developing, and that children lack the maturity required properly to appreciate the significance of their actions. In the absence of the age of criminal responsibility being raised to 14 years, the important presumption of doli incapax should be retained and not undermined.

Updated at 6.20am GMT

5.55am GMT

‘That is not right’: Ley rejects PM’s claim about nature laws talks
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has rejected the prime minister’s claim that he offered to meet her and do a deal on nature law reforms.
She’s talking to the ABC:

That is not right. The last communication I had with him on this was a text to him that has remained unanswered.
I want to make a really important point about the final result of the so-called negotiations: I don’t think Labor ever wanted to do a deal with us.
We actually thought it was looking OK and then everything went quiet as it often does and it’s a bit like, you know, when the relationship goes quiet and you know that someone else has been included and you have been excluded.

Updated at 6.12am GMT

5.43am GMT

Nationals figures criticise Joyce’s defection
More Nationals members are scathing of Barnaby Joyce’s decision to quit the party. Party elder John “Wacka” Williams, a former senator, called it an “act of treason” and told Sky News he was very disappointed, noting the Nationals party and their members had supported Joyce for years.
Senator Matt Canavan, a Joyce ally and his former chief of staff, said on social media that it was a “shame” Joyce had left – but held out hope he could return.

Barnaby Joyce’s decision to leave the Nationals has saddened thousands of Nationals members and supporters. The Nationals party is not the Parliamentary leaders it is the branch meetings, the policy motions and the morning teas of hundreds of different party units.
It is a shame a storied former leader has left in this fashion but we are here to make Australia better, not make friends. Thanks to the work of many Nationals party members we now have the biggest opposition to net zero since Australia signed up to it four years ago.
We have more chance of killing net zero if Barnaby is a Nat. He has not joined another party today, so I have not given up hope that we can convince him to return.

Related: Barnaby Joyce ‘strongly considering’ move to One Nation after quitting National party

Updated at 5.56am GMT

5.36am GMT
Pocock says nature laws are an improvement but show ‘lack of policy courage’

A little more from David Pocock on the EPBC and nature reforms.
While welcoming the bills – expected to pass the Senate later today – as an improvement on current national nature laws after key concessions were secured, Pocock said the package overall showed a “lack of policy courage”:

Nature was only a partial winner in today’s deal and as a parliament we have failed to update our national environmental laws in a way that fully protects the places and species we love.
Also disappointing is the complete disregard for the role of the Senate in how the environment bills have been dealt with. The Senate’s job is to provide scrutiny. This is so important especially on controversial legislation.
The bills were rammed through with almost no time for scrutiny.

He said other problems included a “pay to destroy” offsets fund, failure to require the climate harm of projects to be assessed and “vague new powers for the Minister to declare projects in the ‘national interest’, reducing transparency and introducing further uncertainty for business and nature”.

Updated at 7.02am GMT

5.30am GMT
Pocock says nature laws being 'rammed through' with little time for scrutiny

The independent senator David Pocock says new nature laws are “being rammed through with almost no time for scrutiny” by the Senate and the government’s deal with the Greens falls short in several areas.
He has highlighted one new provision in the bills that has gone under the radar. It will allow the environment minister to make “rulings” about how environmental standards or other elements of the laws should be applied to proponents, actions or industries.
In a statement this afternoon he said this “sets a dangerous unprecedented extension of executive power for the environment minister of the day and unjustifiably reduces the role of the judiciary”.
In separate comments to Guardian Australia, Pocock said:

I share the concerns of experts that this is effectively a ministerial power grab, which would allow the minister to step into the shoes of a judge.
It’s an unprecedented move in environmental law and risks stripping away the safeguards we rely on.
If we’re serious about protecting nature, this is the wrong direction.

Updated at 5.41am GMT

5.22am GMT
Coalition ‘manoeuvred themselves into irrelevance’ on nature laws reform: Graeme Samuel

The former competition watchdog chief Graeme Samuel, who led a 2020 review of the EPBC, says the Coalition has “manoeuvred themselves into irrelevance on this matter”.
Samuel has told the ABC he is “elated” that Labor and the Greens have reached an agreement to overhaul the EPBC.
He’s also said he’s relieved the government did not cooperate with the Coalition to pass the changes, arguing their demands would have hurt the environment and business.

They have manoeuvred themselves into irrelevance on this matter. Absolute irrelevance.
They basically were not able to sit down and negotiate with minister what on central amendments [they wanted].
I was having a look at some of their demands and I was actually really worried. I thought, if we cave into those demands, we will be doing a lot of damage to the environment and frankly to business as well.

Updated at 5.35am GMT

5.16am GMT
McKenzie says it is ‘good’ that Joyce hasn’t at this stage joined One Nation

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie says it’s a good outcome that Barnaby Joyce hasn’t at this stage joined One Nation.
She was speaking to the ABC a few minutes ago:

It is no secret that [Joyce] has had issues with particularly David Littleproud over recent years so that all came to a head today.
There was a lot of concern that he would go to One Nation, which I think is a good outcome that he hasn’t, because Barnaby got into politics to do real things for particularly vulnerable people in this country …
You can only do those sort of things as a party of government.

The independents and Greens would of course disagree with that analysis on how to do real things.

Updated at 5.33am GMT

5.06am GMT
NSW Health warn of high dose drugs circulating ahead of music festival

NSW Health is warning there are higher than usual dose MDMA and ketamine circulating ahead of a music festival taking place in Sydney this weekend.
Community samples tested have revealed multiple MDMA (ecstasy) tablets and capsules containing a higher dose than usual, as well as ketamine-like substances, or analogues, have also been detected in white powder and crystalline matter, are circulating.
These were detected by the NSW government’s drug checking trial at last weekend’s Strawberry Fields event in southern NSW.
NSW Health say they are concerned the substances are still in circulation and drug checking, through the NSW government’s drug checking trial will be available at the Hypersonic music event taking place in western Sydney this Saturday.
NSW Health chief addiction medicine specialist Dr Hester Wilson said it was also concerning it will be hot this weekend, with temperatures expected to be in the 30’s:

High doses of MDMA can cause severe agitation, raised body temperature, seizures or fits, irregular heart rhythm and death.
These risks are greatly increased if MDMA is used with other stimulants, such as amphetamines or cocaine, or if high amounts are consumed over a short period.
The amount of MDMA in a tablet or capsule can vary significantly, even within the same batch.”
Hot environments, such as at music festivals, increase the risk of harm from MDMA. Taking a break from dancing, seeking shade and drinking water are important measures to reduce the risk of overheating.

Updated at 5.23am GMT

4.58am GMT

That’s it from me folks, on this final parliamentary sitting day of the year. You can now take a deep breath. Parliament won’t be back until February next year for plenty more drama and political shenanigans.
Thanks for following along today, it’s been kinda crazy! I’ll leave you with the brilliant Henry Belot for the rest of the afternoon.

Updated at 5.09am GMT

4.55am GMT

TL;DR – here’s what happened in question time

It started capital-R Rowdy in the chamber today with three Coalition MPs kicked out within the first 30 minutes, before things settled back down again (and everyone behaved themselves a bit better).
Chris Bowen was back in the opposition’s sights today, as they probed him on the government’s once-promised $275 energy bill reduction.
Home affairs minister Tony Burke was pressed on why the government went ahead with the $2.5bn Nauru deal amid allegations of corruption.
Anthony Albanese wouldn’t answer a question from independent Kate Chaney on whether the government wants to see house prices increase, decrease or plateau.
Allegra Spender asked the PM if he would reform question time to make sure that ministers actually answer questions, because right now it really is just ‘question time, and not answer time’.
During a dixer, Burke tried to have a go at the opposition with Christmas movies, calling Barnaby Joyce the ghost of Christmas past, and then said, “and with love actually we’ll have the member for New England [Joyce] turning up at a Queensland doorstep for a different party holding a sign saying ‘To me you are perfect’.”

Updated at 5.11am GMT

4.48am GMT
Littleproud says Joyce's departure from Nationals is 'disappointing' after supporting him in 'his darkest moments'

David Littleproud has criticised Barnaby Joyce’s decision to quit the party, saying the Nationals had stood by him “during his darkest moments”.
In a statement, the Nationals leader called Joyce’s defection “disappointing”.

It breaks the contract he made with the people of New England at the 2025 Federal Election. It is disappointing for the people of New England and disappointing for the loyal National Party members who tirelessly volunteered over the past two decades to support his political ambitions.
The Nationals supported Barnaby through the tough times, including during his darkest moments.

He said he’d encouraged Joyce to remain in the Nats, both privately and publicly, and that “Barnaby made it clear to me he wanted time and space to consider his future and asked me to respect that”.

Barnaby has chosen to walk away from The Nationals’ team – a strong team that fights for regional Australia and delivers genuine solutions for regional Australians in Government.

Littleproud said the Nationals would continue on.

Updated at 5.06am GMT

4.43am GMT

Continuing from our last post …
Conservation Council WA executive director Matt Roberts said:

We welcome changes to stop the fast-tracking of coal and gas, but this should never have been on the table in the first place.
We’re concerned that these laws will enable the handing of powers to state and territory governments who’ve been shown they can’t be trusted to protect our nature and climate. It is imperative that the federal government retain decision-making powers for destructive projects like the North-West Shelf and Browse Basin.

The chief executive of the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, Jacqui Mumford, said closure of the effective exemption from national environmental laws for native forest logging covered by regional forest agreements (RFAs) should mean an end to logging in important threatened species habitat.

With the RFA exemption finally removed, we expect this will mean an end to logging in forests that are critical for threatened species across NSW, such as greater glider strongholds and the state’s remaining koala refuges.
This is the most significant shift in forest policy in a generation and gives the Minns Government a clear mandate to deliver a fair, planned transition out of native forest logging and into sustainable, plantation-based jobs.

Updated at 5.01am GMT

4.42am GMT
State and territory conservation councils respond to nature laws deal

Australia’s state and territory conservation councils say the Albanese government “missed an opportunity to secure nature laws that genuinely safeguard Australia’s nature and climate for generations to come”.
In a joint statement this afternoon, the eight groups congratulated the Greens “for clawing back some big wins in negotiations with Labor”, including the removal of the native forest logging loophole and stopping the fast-tracking of coal and gas projects.
But the groups said they remained concerned the laws, expected to pass the Senate later today, included new pathways to hand approval powers to states and territory governments, and to fast-track other mining and land-clearing via a streamlined process.
They also said the Environment Protection Agency the laws would establish was not a genuinely independent model.
Environment Centre NT executive director Dr Kirsty Howey said:

While some wins have been clawed back in negotiations with the Greens, the Albanese Government has missed a golden opportunity to secure laws that genuinely safeguard Australia’s nature and climate for generations to come.

Related: The rewriting of Australia’s nature laws come as a relief, yet I can’t help feel a sense of foreboding | Georgina Woods

Updated at 4.59am GMT

4.35am GMT

Question time ends for 2025
With a final dixer to the PM, question time ends for the year!
Before everyone leaves, the Speaker, prime minister and opposition leader give longtime Channel Seven cameraman Steve Quick a shoutout. Quick is retiring after 30 years in the press gallery.
Albanese says:

To Steve, I pay tribute to you, mate. I thank you for the work that you’ve done and engagement that I’ve had with you, but I think your work, as well in the tribute, symbolises the respect in which the people behind the cameras are held by all of us in this change.

Sussan Ley jokes that she went up to the Channel Seven bureau to say a personal goodbye and saw a particular mug on his desk.

I did notice that he had a Liberal mug on his desk with stronger economy, stronger coffee, which … I associate with!

She thanks Quick for all of his work over the last few decades.

Updated at 4.57am GMT

4.30am GMT
Allegra Spender asks PM ‘why question time is not answer time’

The independent MP Allegra Spender asks the PM if he has considered reforming QT “to give a greater expectation of answers and in narrowing of relevance so we can get better answers in this House?” She says constituents have often said to her that “question time is question time, not answer time”.
(They all raise a fair point IMO.)
Anthony Albanese points to a bunch of other countries where there’s little to no parliamentary question time.

Most parliaments in the G20. President Prabowo has not answered a question. Prime minister Modi has not answered a question. In the UK, the Westminster system upon which we’re based, there is prime minister’s question time for one hour once a week. And the questions are in note on notice. On notice.

He says that when he was manager of business in the House, he implemented time limits for answers and not shut down question time after an hour.
So the answer is pretty much no – there’s no further consideration of forcing ministers to be a bit tighter with their answers.

Updated at 4.40am GMT

4.21am GMT

Liberal MP asks if power bills have ‘ruined Christmas’
Liberal MP Melissa Price takes the next opposition question, and asks if Chris Bowen has “ruined Christmas” by not being able to deliver Labor’s once promised $275 energy bill reduction.
She quotes the Vinnies CEO who says: “The demand for our support services particularly for emergency assistance is greater than ever before.”
Bowen says he agrees with the Vinnies CEO and concedes again that energy bills are currently too high.
He says the government is “delivering” and plugs the cheaper home battery scheme.

I’m pleased to tell the House that 15,825 West Australian families have installed a cheaper home battery since July 1. Reducing bills to zero or get a rebate instead of a bill, getting money in their bank account, rather than getting a bill.

Updated at 4.31am GMT

4.15am GMT

Does Labor want to increase or reduce house prices?
Are the government’s housing policies aiming to increase, plateau or reduce house prices, asks independent Kate Chaney, who says young Australians are getting locked out of buying a home.
Anthony Albanese won’t answer that question directly, but says it’s about “supply” that the government is building more homes, more social and affordable homes, and introducing shared equity scheme programs.

What we’re doing, the member for Curtin, is increasing that supply. We want to provide more social and public housing, point number one. That’s what we’re doing through our Housing Australia Future Fund … in addition to that we’re trying to provide more private rentals and doing that through our build to rent incentive as well.

He also sneaks a dig at the “No-alition” again – which Milton Dick tells him not to say, because he’s previously ruled that the Coalition should not be referred to by that name.

Updated at 4.28am GMT

4.07am GMT

LNP MP’s Cop question shut down by Albanese
The LNP MP David Batt takes the next question from the opposition, asking Chris Bowen how many meetings of the national security committee of cabinet he will miss due to his “full-time job as president of Cop negotiations?” (The committee deals with energy security issues.)
Anthony Albanese takes the question and gives us a very quick answer.

It’s actually a breach of the law to talk about what happened at the national security committee.

Updated at 4.24am GMT

4.05am GMT

Resources minister quizzed on Gladstone LNG project
Independent Sophie Scamps asks resources minister Madeleine King if Santos’ Gladstone LNG project – which signed an export contract “despite not having sufficient gas reserves, forcing gas to be diverted from the domestic market” – will not be extended by the government when it expires in 2031, as recommended by the ACCC.
On the contract itself, King says whatever arrangements occur at that time “will meet the obligations and requirements” under Australian law.
More broadly she says the government is reviewing the regulatory mechanisms around the gas industry, and adds that the experts are important diplomatically.

Australia will remain a reliable trading partner, supporting energy security in countries like Japan, Singapore, Malaysia but of course the Republic of Korea as well.

Updated at 4.21am GMT

3.56am GMT

Albanese hits back at Ley’s criticism on economy and living standards
Opposition leader Sussan Ley is back at the dispatch box and says the PM has “delivered the largest decline in living standards in the developed world, lower productivity, more debt, higher inflation and … the real prospect of higher interest rates.”
Anthony Albanese hits that question right back and says the government has “reduced debt” and reduced interest paid on debt.

Our economy is growing. Very unusually, across the developed world, we have had zero quarters of negative growth. Inflation is down to half of what it was under those opposite. Interest rates have come down three times this year.

He then lists off the government’s key commitments on medicare, Tafe and childcare spending.

Updated at 4.12am GMT

3.52am GMT

Tony Burke pressed on Nauru deal
Like David Shoebridge in the Senate, the independent Monique Ryan is asking home affairs minister Tony Burke why the signed a $2.5bn deal with Nauru when “allegations of corruption have been made against multiple members of the Nauru government and it’s been reported that Australian bikie gangs have won contracts to manage security on Nauru”.

Is it your position that the opaqueness, wastefulness and cruelty of these arrangements reflects well on this country?

Burke says that he trusts the Nauruan government is dealing appropriately with the issue.

When I last met with the president of Nauru, who I have dealt with since 2013 when I was previously immigration minister, the various allegations were taken seriously by him and I trust that the government of Nauru is dealing with that.

He then defends Australia’s offshore detention regime, and says that the people in question who have been sent to Nauru have committed “serious crimes”.

When they have their visa cancelled it has to have meaning. If we can’t return them to their country of origin them I am grateful that the government of Nauru has given us a pathway for the third country resettlement arrangements.

Updated at 4.03am GMT

3.43am GMT

Watch: Barnaby Joyce announces he is quitting Nationals
If you missed the big news earlier – or wanted to see the whole 90 second speech – here was Barnaby Joyce announcing he is leaving the Nationals, just before question time.

Updated at 3.44am GMT

3.42am GMT

‘If you can’t support free electricity, what can you support?’
Shadow energy minister Dan Tehan gets a crack at Chris Bowen next, and says that despite Bowen describing himself as “focused like a laser” on energy bills, Australians still don’t have their promised $275 energy bill reduction.
Bowen agrees that “energy bills are too high”.
He then takes aim at the Coalition for criticising the government’s energy bill rebates and opposing the “solar sharer” program that would give households around three hours of free electricity during the day.

You have to be pretty negative to oppose free electricity in the middle of the day but they find a way. They of oppose the right to Australians having free electricity. That’s how negative those opposite have become … We get it, we know it’s tough but at least find something you can support – if you can’t support free electricity what can you support?

Updated at 3.46am GMT

3.38am GMT
Penny Wong asked about $2.5bn Nauru resettlement deal amid corruption allegations

Over in Senate question time, the Greens senator David Shoebridge is asking the federal government why it signed a $2.5bn deal with Nauru after its financial intelligence agency warned them of money laundering and corruption allegations against some of its senior politicians three years earlier, including its current president.
The allegations against Nauru’s president, David Adeang, former president, Lionel Aingiema, and other politically connected figures were contained within a classified Austrac report and aired in parliament earlier this week.

Related: Nauru president accused in parliament of corruptly siphoning off millions of Australian funding

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said the agreement was negotiated by the home affairs minister and his department – not within her portfolio – but added:

We have zero tolerance for corruption, but unlike you, senator, I will not comment on the contents or nature of classified Austrac reporting.

Shoebridge attempts to ask again but doesn’t get much further. Wong explains the Albanese government understands taxpayer expectations and public funds are used in line with that.

Updated at 3.58am GMT

3.36am GMT

Bowen asked about energy prices
Nationals MP Jamie Chaffey puts the heat back on to Bowen, asking if the “minister who works part-time” will apologise to Australians for not meeting Labor’s promised $275 reduction in energy bills.
Bowen reads a bunch of figures off a page, comparing wholesale energy costs between May 2022 and now – and takes aim at former energy minister Angus Taylor for hiding energy costs before the 2022 election.

And the wholesale price of electricity in New South Wales in May 2022 was $320 a megawatt hour. For this quarter it is $90 a megawatt hour.
5.7 gigawatts of renewables, 1GW of large scale storage and 1GW of firming gas has been added in New South Wales since May 2022, a further 5.4GW of renewables and 1.2GW of storage in NSW have been selected under our capacity investment scheme. That’s delivering. That’s what delivery looks like for the people of NSW.

Chaffey tries to make a point of order on relevance but Milton Dick isn’t having it and says Bowen was directly answering the question which was about price.

Updated at 3.40am GMT

3.29am GMT
Pat Conaghan is booted from the chamber

OMG, it’s our third ejection of this QT!
Liberal MP Jason Wood asks the next question – asking Chris Bowen what he says to the 200,000 families struggling to pay for their power bills.
As Bowen starts his answer, Nationals MP Pat Conaghan (who was already on a warning by Milton Dick) keeps interjecting and joins Andrew Wallace and Ted O’Brien outside the house. Dick tells everyone to “show some restraint” – he’s not feeling very generous today.
Bowen says the previous government had no plans for the ageing coal-fired power stations that had announced they were scheduled to close – and plugs the capacity investment scheme (which backs renewables projects) and the home battery program the government has implemented.

Updated at 3.33am GMT

3.23am GMT
Andrew Wallace is booted from the chamber

Over to the crossbench, Dai Le asks the home affairs minister if he was at the airport when the Australian women and children who escaped a Syrian detention camp arrived back in Australia.
He says a very quick “No”.
As Labor MP Joanne Ryan asks the next dixer, we have our second ejection from the chamber – it’s the shadow attorney general, Andrew Wallace. Milton Dick says, “absolute red line – members have got to be able to ask questions in silence with respect to the parliament.”
We’re only 20 minutes in, folks!

Updated at 3.34am GMT

3.18am GMT
Ted O’Brien is booted from the chamber

We’re just 14 minutes into QT and we’ve had our first ejection!
The shadow treasurer, Ted O’Brien, steps up to the dispatch box next to test the PM, asking Anthony Albanese what he would say to mortgage holders who are “paying $1800 more in interest … than under the Coalition?”
Albanese goes immediately to the Coalition’s nuclear plan at the last election which Labor claimed would cost $600bn, and then blames Covid for “flattening” the Australian economy and economies worldwide.
Meanwhile O’Brien and Jim Chalmers are having their own back and forth – before Milton Dick tells them to go have that conversation outside.
O’Brien stands up and gestures to Chalmers, and puts his hands up in a fighting position, while laughing.
After that Dick tells him to get out.
Albanese spends the rest of his answer time plugging Labor’s support for Medicare and cuts to Hecs debt.

Updated at 3.29am GMT

3.11am GMT

Albanese confirms EPBC reforms will pass parliament today
With the guillotine in place in the Senate, the environment laws will pass this afternoon. It means the amended legislation can come straight back to the house today – and members won’t have to sit for an extra hour tomorrow morning.
Anthony Albanese says:

We said we would deliver this legislation this year, and we have today in the Senate – will pass this legislation through the Senate. We’ll receive it back here this afternoon and get this reform done.

Updated at 3.16am GMT

3.09am GMT
Final question time of 2025 begins

The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, takes the call first, and asks the prime minister on whether he will admit that he “misled the Australian public” on the promise to reduce energy bills by $275 by 2025.
The Coalition all hold up posters – some with the $275 figure crossed out, others are holding pieces of paper with a picture of Albanese’s face and “broken promise” written below.
Needless to say, Milton Dick isn’t a great fan of the stunt.
To perhaps no one’s surprise, the PM takes the opportunity to hit back on Barnaby Joyce’s defection.

The person who was deputy prime minister when they committed to net zero, is outside doing a press conference reporting his defection from the National party. But of course, they’ve come a long way since those golden days of caring about energy policy and the environment under Scott Morrison and Barnaby Joyce.
This isn’t the first time the Nats have set the policy agenda and the Liberals have followed.

Updated at 3.19am GMT

2.56am GMT
Joyce says he is ‘strongly considering’ One Nation move after quitting Nationals

Barnaby Joyce has run straight out of the house and is doing a snap press conference in a parliamentary courtyard.
The newly independent New England MP says he has not made a decision on whether he will defect to One Nation, but says he’s “strongly considering it”.
He confirms again that he will not recontest the seat of New England.
He says that in any relationship, when it breaks down “you’ve just got to get to a point where you either live in sort of bitter recrimination … or you get out of it”.

Thirty years in the National party – it’s certainly not a decision I took lightly. It’s not as if I fell over the first hurdle. I’ve been, you know, been trying to work a way through this for a long period of time, say, a couple of years … There seemed no real resolution to the breakdown in the relationship, and therefore the smartest thing to do is move on.

Joyce says he was previously asked to leave twice by former Coalition leader Peter Dutton, but not by Sussan Ley.

Updated at 3.05am GMT

2.48am GMT
Barnaby Joyce quits Nationals after 30 years

Speaking in the house during his 90 second statement (but we’re sure there’ll be more to come), Barnaby Joyce has formally announced he’ll be leaving the National party.
He starts, quipping, “If you’re sitting here you’re in the ejection seat”.
He’s already confirmed he won’t be running with the Nationals for his seat of New England at the next election. He tells the House:

I’ve had no communication with either the leader of the National party or the deputy leader of the National party to try and resolve this. And that’s disappointing. So after 30 years with the National party, I am resigning from the party and that really leaves me with a heavy heart.

He doesn’t say whether he will be going to One Nation.

Updated at 3.15am GMT

2.43am GMT

Barnaby Joyce has taken his normal seat on the Coalition benches, next to Nationals colleague Colin Boyce.
As he walked into the chamber, he walked to the frontbench and had a quiet word to Melissa McIntosh, the senior Coalition person in the room at the dispatch box.
Crossbenchers Monique Ryan and Sophie Scamps got Joyce’s attention. They tapped the benches behind them, indicating to the member for New England and motioning for him to join them over on the crossbench.
“It’s lovely over here,” Ryan said, laughing.

2.39am GMT

Barnaby Joyce has just entered the House of Representatives chamber.
Numerous MPs are expecting he will make a statement shortly on his political future. We’ll bring you that when it happens.

Related: Barnaby Joyce expected to announce defection to One Nation as Nationals colleagues make last-ditch appeals

2.35am GMT

Allan announces approval of rare earths exploration tunnel
Continuing from our last post…
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, also used her speech to announce the government has formally approved an antimony exploration tunnel at Sunday Creek.
She claimed the “world has caught up” on the importance of critical minerals and rare earths, as she had highlighted them as priority industry last year in her economic growth statement:

We estimated such an industry will contribute more than $1bn in royalties to the state – and support more than 7,000 jobs. Today, we hit go.

Allan also spruiked the Metro Tunnel, opening on Sunday, and the West Gate Tunnel, opening later in December, as well as her plans to legislate a right to work from home. She will begin a Q&A shortly.

Updated at 2.40am GMT

2.32am GMT
Victorian premier announces $13.6m funding to ‘maximise benefits’ of AI

Jacinta Allan has used her “state of the state” address at the Committee for Economic Development in Melbourne to announce $13.6m in funding to “maximise the benefits” of AI in Victoria.
The premier told the crowd there was no way to “stop” AI’s growth but the state was moving to “steer it.” She said:

We can maximise the benefits – while protecting our people – so workers are better off from the change, not left behind in its wake. I truly believe that only a Labor government can get that balance right.

She said the government will spend $5.5m in “going after the datacentre jobs”, claiming it could deliver projects “worth up to $25bn in potential capital expenditure”.
The state will also spend $8.1m on an “AI career conversion” program targeting workers whose jobs are most at risk. Allan said:

We’ll provide tailored, intensive training to upskill digital professionals to become AI specialists. We’ll target the sectors where we can make the biggest difference, fast. And we’ll offer it to more than 1,300 workers who are most at risk. And we’ll be the first state in the country to deliver anything like it.

Updated at 2.38am GMT

2.14am GMT

Graeme Samuel welcomes EPBC deal
The man who five years ago wrote a report with recommendations that will finally be implemented today, says he’ll be “delighted” to no longer hear his name mentioned in the media five times a week.
Graeme Samuel popped up on Sky News said all the reforms are “sensible” and “tighten up issues that will both be in favour of protecting the environment” while not impacting efficiency.

I went through the amendments this morning with the minister’s office and gave a tick across every single one of them …
The problem is that we keep kicking the can down the road. The can just gets dented and gets rusty and I think there was no guarantee that would ever get there. Now, what minister [Murray] Watt has done, in great credit to him, he said, ‘This is it. We’ve got to do this now and let’s get the thing moved.’

He said it will now be up to the parliament and the environment department to set all the new rules and environmental standards that will be established under this legislation.

Updated at 2.16am GMT

2.03am GMT

Michael McCormack says Barnaby Joyce ‘knows my feelings’ ahead of expected One Nation move
Barnaby Joyce is expected to quit the National party and defect to One Nation this hour, after a last ditch effort from his colleagues imploring him to remain.

Related: Nationals colleagues make last-ditch appeals as Barnaby Joyce expected to announce defection to One Nation

Colleague and former Nationals leader Michael McCormack said he spoke at length to Joyce on Wednesday.

I spent an hour with him yesterday. I’ve given him my pitch. He knows my feelings.

Joyce said earlier this week that he would make a decision on his future by Friday.

Updated at 2.13am GMT

1.50am GMT
Australia not yet on track to meet 2035 emissions target

Updated emissions projections released today show Australia’s emissions are expected to fall to 48% below 2005 levels by 2035.
“More action is needed to achieve Australia’s 2035 target,” the document said, given the government’s commitment to reduce emissions to 62-70% below 2005 levels by 2035.

In terms of tracking against the 2035 target, emissions are 20-34% above the 2031–2035 emissions budget.

In response, Greens leader Larissa Waters said Australia is “nowhere near” the target.

These are diabolical pollution numbers that suggest we are on track for cataclysmic climate change.

Meanwhile, Dan Tehan, the shadow minister for energy and emissions reduction, has replied to Bowen’s statement by focusing on energy prices.
He told the house the government had repeatedly promised a $275 cut in electricity prices.

Their Christmas present this year will be an increase in their electricity bill of $1,300 … This is not a broken promise, this is betrayal.

Updated at 2.13am GMT

1.42am GMT

Business Council of Australia responds to Labor-Greens environmental deal
‘Missed opportunity’ is also the reaction of the Business Council of Australia who say the reforms won’t deliver “transformational economic change”.
BCA chief executive, Bran Black, says the business group has supported reform to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC), but raised concern that the agreed upon position still contains “ambiguity and risk, which may shut out projects before a proper assessment”.
In a statement, Black says:

We have always said a sensible, stable reform backed by both major parties is what we need if Australia is to deliver the energy and renewables, critical minerals and infrastructure projects that underpin productivity and living standards.
Our concern with this package, as it stands, is that there’s lots more work to do to deliver a net benefit for business and the economy.

He also adds that the BCA does not support the concession to the Greens that prevents gas projects from being approved through “streamlined pathways”.

Updated at 1.48am GMT

1.32am GMT

‘Missed opportunity’ on environmental reforms, says WA premier
One of the key players in the environmental reforms has been none other than the WA premier, Roger Cook, who essentially forced the PM to scupper the previous EPBC reforms led by former environment minister Tanya Plibersek.
This time, Cook seems to be more comfortable with the negotiated deal – but he revealed at a breakfast this morning, that he’d rather it have been done with the Coalition.

I’m pleased we are getting it done, but there has been a missed opportunity here and that missed opportunity was to do an agreement with the Liberal party to make sure the legislation perhaps had further reflected the concerns about industry.

Cook doesn’t hold back in his criticism of the Coalition though.

The Liberal party are a dysfunctional rabble. They’ve been marginalised, basically led by the nose by Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce and quite frankly they’ve let WA industry and the WA community down by not being better engaged.

Updated at 1.36am GMT

1.21am GMT

It’s been a busy morning for the last Senate sitting day of the year and we’re seeing a flurry of inquiries being voted on.
The Coalition’s push to hold an inquiry into the illegal tobacco crisis in Australia has passed with the Greens’ support. Curiously, one Greens senator, Jordon Steele-John, appeared to leave the chamber during the vote.
An inquiry put forward by senator David Shoebridge into Australia’s offshore processing regime also passes swiftly with the help of the Coalition.
It will report back by June 2026 and look at arrangements with Nauru, Papua New Guinea and other countries for offshore processing and resettlement options.

1.21am GMT
Renewable energy now powering half Australia's grid, Bowen says

The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, said renewable electricity made up half of the national grid in October – for the first time ever – a trend that continued in November.

We’ve seen over 6 GWh of new large-scale battery capacity entering the national grid. This has allowed battery discharge to increase by a massive 150%.”
The pipeline remains strong … The Australian energy market operator’s latest Connections Scorecard shows the development pipeline for the main national grid has ballooned out to 275 projects, representing a total of 56.6 GW in generation and storage capacity.

He said five out of 15 capacity investment scheme tenders had been completed, resulting in over 16 gigawatts of projects under contract or negotiation.

Updated at 2.12am GMT

1.14am GMT

Emissions projections indicate Australia not yet on track for 2035 target
Chris Bowen says Australia is largely on track to achieving its 2030 target.

Australia’s 2025 emissions projections show that with currently implemented government policies, Australia is on track to achieve the 2030 target in budget terms and is close to achieving the 2030 point in time target.
The emissions projections also show additional work is needed to achieve the 2035 target.
While the 2035 target is ambitious and achievable, it is not yet being achieved.

However, he noted the projections did not include new policies announced as part of the government’s net zero plan in September.

1.13am GMT

Bowen: Ten years on from the Paris Agreement ‘the world is making progress’
Jumping back to the House where the climate change minister, Chris Bowen, is speaking. He says 10 years on from the Paris Agreement, the world is taking action.

The world is making progress. Dealing with the challenges and headwinds, and making a difference.
Not only reducing emissions, but also building a more reliable energy system, and setting us up for economic success in a decarbonising global economy.
The world is doing it. We’re doing it too.

Updated at 1.15am GMT

1.05am GMT
Turnbull criticises Coalition’s approach to climate change

The former PM Malcolm Turnbull has decried “reality denial and physics denial” within the Coalition on climate change, claiming the opposition’s policy was dictated by “ideology and idiocy”.
The former moderate Liberal leader, deposed by right-wingers in a playroom coup related to energy policy, returned to parliament house on Thursday for the unveiling of his official prime ministerial portrait. In a speech – with Sussan Ley and some other shadow ministers in the audience – Turnbull was critical of his former party.

It’s been seven years since I stopped being prime minister, and there’s still reality denial, physics denial is still alive.

Speaking in favour of clean energy projects like wind, solar and battery storage, Turnbull said it was “interesting now that we’re still having the same insane conversations on the right of politics about it.”

When I was prime minister, I used to say tediously to everyone who listened to me, energy policy should be determined by engineering and economics, not ideology and idiocy. That’s kind of common sense, isn’t it?
What [wife] Lucy’s father would have called the penetrating glimpse of the obvious, but nothing’s changed.

In a brief press conference afterward, Turnbull claimed “there’s a major problem on what used to be called the right [wing] of politics. They’ve lost their way”.

There is a group of people there [in the Coalition], by now I think essentially the majority, who think the object of politics is to win the approval of a relatively narrow part of what you might call the right wing media – Sky ‘after dark’ and fellow travellers on social media and radio. They’re running on culture war issues, on reality denial. It’s really sad, and you can see from the electoral results, and you can see from the polling, it doesn’t work.

Turnbull claimed there were “real questions” about whether the Liberals can survive as a party and political movement, and claimed the “few supporters left in the business community would just be horrified” by the Coalition not making a deal on the EPBC environmental laws.

Updated at 1.33am GMT

1.04am GMT

Australians embracing solar, batteries and low emissions transport, says climate change and energy minister
The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, is on his feet in parliament giving an annual climate statement. Bowen said “something incredible” was happening across the country.

Over 1,000 households are having a battery installed in their home each day.
Over 500 households are installing solar panels for the first time each day – joining the one in three Australian households who already have them in place.
And around 1,000 motorists are getting in to a brand new hybrid, electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid each day.

Updated at 1.38am GMT

12.51am GMT

‘Secret’ Aukus committee ‘doesn’t pass the pub test’, says crossbench MP
Crossbench MPs are not happy at the prospect of a secretive new committee of federal parliament to consider the Aukus nuclear submarine deal and Australia’s involvement in military conflicts.
Labor and the Coalition are preparing to pass legislation to establish a joint house and Senate committee on defence, with a makeup mirroring the powerful parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security.
That committee excludes MPs from the crossbench and minor parties.
Independent MP Nicolette Boele had pushed amendments for the new committee to include crossbenchers, but the move was unsuccessful.

If Australians who voted beyond the major parties don’t get a voice on national security committees, that’s a profoundly undemocratic state of affairs
National security belongs to the nation – not to the major parties.

Boele noted only 35% of voters gave Labor their first preference at the May election.

Shutting out MPs elected by the Australian people just to protect a duopoly doesn’t pass the pub test.

Related: Albanese and Ley to decide members of ‘secret’ new committee set to scrutinise Aukus – but Greens excluded

Updated at 12.59am GMT

12.40am GMT

As part of the deal to pass changes to the country’s environment laws, the federal government has agreed to Greens demands for an extra $50m in funding for the ABC.
Greens spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, said the funding boost for the public broadcaster would see more Australian made content on TV and radio in the months and years to come:

As part of our negotiations, we have secured an extra $50m dollars for the ABC to invest in Australian stories, in our kids content, in our local drama.
It’s a good win for our broadcaster. It’s a good win for our kids television and kids entertainment, and it’s a good win for Australian jobs.

Updated at 12.54am GMT

12.25am GMT
Police praise bystanders after fatal shark attack on NSW mid-north coast

NSW police’s Timothy Bayly is giving an update on a fatal shark attack on the mid-north coast:

New South Wales ambulance attended the scene but sadly the woman passed away at the scene.
At this stage, the woman is believed to be aged in her mid 20s and formal identification is not yet occurred.

The detective inspector says a man also aged in his mid-20s was attacked by the shark. He was airlifted to hospital and is in a critical condition.

I can say at this stage as they were known to each other. They were going for a swim and the shark attacked.

Police have also praised bystanders at the beach who applied a tourniquet to the man, stablising his condition before he received treatment from paramedics.

The courage from some bystanders is amazing. To put yourself out there is very heroic and it did give us time to get to that male patient.

Related: Woman killed in shark attack on NSW beach and man taken to hospital in critical condition

Updated at 1.27am GMT

12.19am GMT

Coalition try to remove debate guillotine in Senate
As we’ve been reporting this morning, the government and Greens voted this morning to bring on debate of the environment laws in the Senate.
But debate will be cut short by 3.30pm when the Senate will go to a vote.
So the Coalition – who are pretty unhappy with Labor’s deal with the Greens – are trying to move a motion in the Senate to essentially remove that guillotine that would cut off debate, and allow the Senate to consider the bill further.
Without the Greens the Coalition don’t have the numbers – crossbenchers, David Pocock (who is also critical of the deal) and Tammy Tyrrell are voting with the Coalition to allow further debate.

Updated at 12.25am GMT

12.11am GMT

Coalition: Ley left on read by PM
The Coalition say that the government should have worked with them to pass the legislation next year, and Ley says the prime minister did not offer a meeting with her to negotiate – as he claimed this morning.
Giving us a few more details, the opposition leader says she reached out to the PM after question time yesterday.

I didn’t receive an offer from the prime minister to meet I texted him after Question Time and the tax remains unanswered. I come back to the point about the lack of good faith negotiations because, we know that this could have gone into next year we could have taken the time to get it right.

The opposition are also highly critical of the government for putting a tight time limit on debate of the bill in the Senate.
The debate will go to 3.30pm today, when a vote will take place.

Updated at 12.32am GMT

11.56pm GMT
Ley says ‘dirty deal’ will hike up energy prices

The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, says the government and the Greens have come up with a “bad deal” and it was “not necessary” for the bill to be passed this year.
As she speaks to reporters, she’s holding the Coalition’s energy policy booklet.
She accuses the Greens of being anti-gas and anti-resources and says the concessions by the government will lead to communities and jobs being under threat.

What is very clear from the reaction so far to the dirty deal done by the Labor party with the Greens, a deal that was not necessary to conclude today or this year what is absolutely clear is this going to put energy prices up. It will provide further pressure on electricity bills for struggling households and families … The Greens party has always been at war with gas.

The shadow environment minister, Angie Bells, rejects “assertions” the Coalition was not at the table to negotiate with the government. Murray Watt said this morning the Coalition’s negotiations were a “shambles”. Bell says:

It is a bad bill for those Australians who work in the sectors that will be impacted by this and I reject any assertion that the Coalition was not at the table right up until the very last point last night, 9:30pm. We were still talking to the government around our commitments and adjustments we feel that were needed for this bill.

Updated at 1.21am GMT

11.51pm GMT

Telecoms ombudsman records spike in complaints about triple zero around Optus outage
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) noticed a spike in complaints about customers having difficulty reaching triple zero on mobile phones around the time of the Optus outage in September, but cannot attribute all to the Optus outage.
The ombudsman went from recording six complaints in August this year, to 22 in September and 34 in October, according to data provided to the Senate inquiry on the Optus outage.
The TIO said this spike does not necessarily demonstrate an increase in network outages or failed calls, with more than half of the complaints occurred in the weeks or months prior to the 18 September Optus outage.
It is also likely that media on the Optus outage encouraged consumers to make complaints about triple zero that may previously have gone unreported.
The TIO said many of these failed attempts appear unrelated to network outages such as pre-existing reception issues, handset faults, or landline issues. Two of the complaints related to the Optus outage, and one is linked to a TPG outage in June.
The complaints appear for all three major mobile networks, and across at least five different states or territories over a range of dates.
The TIO also revealed it received two complaints on the date of the Optus outage relating to the same medical emergency where they weren’t able to call triple zero on Optus, before eventually calling on another network. The TIO passed these issues on to Optus at the time, but did not get confirmation of the outage from Optus until the company announced it at the press conference held late Friday.

Updated at 11.58pm GMT

11.43pm GMT

Australian Energy Producers chief says government’s environmental deal ‘not in the national interest’
The peak body for gas producers has denounced the government’s environment deal with the Greens, and called it a “squandered opportunity”.
While environment groups have largely welcomed the deal (though expressed concerns it will still allow the expansion of fossil fuel projects), the fossil fuel sector is unhappy.
The Greens deal removes fast-tracked approvals for fossil fuel projects.
Australian Energy Producers chief executive, Samantha McCulloch, said carving gas out of streamlined reforms is “not in the national interest”, and the laws won’t address costs and delays in delivering gas to Australians.

[This] is a squandered opportunity to address the significant costs and delays in delivering gas to Australian consumers … Carving gas out of streamlined reforms is simply not in the national interest. The deal will entrench slow approvals which will drive up energy costs, deter investment and further delay the new gas supply Australia urgently needs.
By conceding to the Greens, the Government has chosen more red tape and uncertainty instead of enabling new gas supply.

Updated at 11.49pm GMT

11.33pm GMT
Malcolm Turnbull’s portrait being unveiled in parliament

Well it’s all happening today, isn’t it!
As is customary for all past prime ministers, Malcolm Turnbull’s portrait is being unveiled this morning at parliament house.
He has this to say:

The challenges to democracy are very real, we look across the Pacific and we see what is happening in the United States and it shakes every assumption that we have had, you look at what is happening in Europe, we look at the challenges in our own region.
Democracy is under siege, but here in Australia I believe it is stronger than just about anywhere else.

Both Anthony Albanese and Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, are there for the unveiling.

Updated at 12.17am GMT

11.21pm GMT

Environmental groups welcome Labor-Greens EPBC deal but remain concerned over fossil fuel approvals
The government and the Greens are pretty happy about their deal announced this morning, and so too are some of the climate and environment advocacy groups.
But they warn the job of protecting nature isn’t done, and express concern that the legislation will still allow the expansion of fossil fuel projects.
The Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO, David Ritter, said:

The agreement announced today secures a significant improvement on the broken laws that for too long failed to deliver credible environmental protection.
Removing the risk of fast-tracking coal and gas projects is also welcome. But the big sting in the tail is that the legislation still fails to address the enormous climate harm to nature from these sorts of projects. It still leaves the door open for the heedless expansion of coal and gas.

The Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie, said the law still “fails” the 2025 climate test.

This deal strengthens protections for our native forests, and provides a faster yes to responsible renewable energy projects that cut climate pollution … But this 2025 law fails the climate test. All new coal and gas projects still get a free pass on climate pollution. In fact, the law forbids the environment minister from considering a project’s climate pollution when assessing whether it should go ahead.

Updated at 11.26pm GMT

11.10pm GMT

Report finds ‘preventable hospitalisations’ make up 8.5% of admitted patients
A new Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report found “potentially preventable hospitalisations” were 8.5% of total admitted patient spending in 2023-24, and totalled $7.7bn. It has prompted renewed calls for the government to spend more on prevention.
The ‘Cost of potentially preventable hospitalisations in Australia 2023–24 report’ classifies preventable conditions into three broad categories; acute, chronic, and vaccine-preventable.
Chronic conditions comprised most (45.2%) of total potentially preventable hospitalisations, followed by acute conditions (37.5%). Spending was highest for diabetes complications ($962m), followed by congestive cardiac failure ($861m) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ($797m).
CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia, Adjunct Prof Terry Slevin, said; “This report tracked hospital expenditure from 2014-15 to 2023-24 and shows most people were hospitalised for chronic conditions that could be prevented”.

For decades, all Australian and state/territory governments have prioritised spending on acute care instead of keeping people out of hospitals.

11.00pm GMT

Opposition disputes PM meeting offer
The opposition has disputed the PM’s claim that he’d offered to meet with Sussan Ley to negotiate the environmental reforms.
A spokesperson for the leader has said:

The prime minister is being characteristically tricky. He never offered to meet with the opposition leader about EPBC.

The opposition has said this morning that they only found out their negotiations with the government were no longer happening when the PM stood up and announced the deal with the Greens.

Updated at 11.03pm GMT

10.50pm GMT

Regulator caps high-risk bank lending
The financial regulator will put a limit on banks’ higher-risk lending, as part of a “pre-emptive” measure to curb a growing speculative fervour in the property market.
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (Apra) had foreshadowed the potential for intervention after a surge in borrowing by investors sparked fears of declining lending standards.
This morning, Apra announced the share of banks’ lending to borrowers with debt-to-income ratios above six would be capped at 20% from February.
The regulator’s chair, John Lonsdale, said Apra was prepared to intervene further if needed.

Although broader risks are contained, we have seen in the past that they can build rapidly when interest rates are low or declining, borrowers extend themselves and competition among banks for new mortgage lending intensifies.
We will consider additional limits, including investor-specific limits, if we see macro-financial risks significantly rising or a deterioration in lending standards.

Updated at 11.05pm GMT

10.45pm GMT

First strong estimate of those living with incurable breast cancer
About 21,000 Australians were living with metastatic (incurable) breast cancer in 2024, according to first-of-their-kind estimates published today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
This figure is double previous estimates, and exposes the scale of need and urgency for health system reform, the Breast Cancer Network Australia said in a statement, with the organisation releasing its own report on Thursday drawing on the new data and calling for action and change to help those diagnosed live better for longer.
AIHW spokesperson, Justin Harvey, said; “Metastatic breast cancer develops when cancer spreads from the breast and nearby lymph nodes to other parts of the body”.

Until now, we haven’t been able to properly understand how many Australians live with stage four, incurable cancer that is managed as a life-limiting condition requiring ongoing treatment and support.

An estimated 20,800 women and 150 men were living with metastatic breast cancer in 2024.
The federal health minister, Mark Butler, said the national estimate marks an important milestone in Australia’s cancer data reform and said the achievement “has been driven by the leadership and advocacy of Breast Cancer Network Australia”.

Updated at 10.49pm GMT

10.40pm GMT

A done deal: pics of the morning

Updated at 10.45pm GMT

10.34pm GMT

‘Dodgy dirty deal’: Coalition furious over EPBC agreement
Jonathon Duniam, who was a key negotiating figure for the Coalition is ropable in the Senate – which has passed the motion to bring on debate of the environment bills.
He says the bills will “now be rammed through in record time” and warns the bill will see native forestry “shut down” within years.
The government was negotiating with both the Coalition and the Greens to pass the bill, with two separate sets of amendments.
Duniam is not happy the Greens won out on the negotiations, and says the Coalition found out that the government was not accepting its amendments at the prime minister’s press conference this morning.

This is a pattern of behaviour at the end of every sitting year we see the arrangement be the mighty new Labor-Green alliance come together, they’ve been together behind closed doors for a couple of weeks now hatching this one up.
Where are they [Labor] standing up for the workers who have been abandoned under this the dodgy, dirty deal done behind closed doors at the 11th hour.

He’s also critical of the Greens who had forced the parliament to set up an inquiry into the bill, that’s due to report back in March next year.

Who’s voting to ram the bills through the Senate today, none other than the Australian greens enviro spokesperson senator Hanson-Young and all her colleagues.

Updated at 10.43pm GMT

10.20pm GMT

UTS backflips on restructure after internal and external backlash
The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has announced a major backflip in its ongoing restructure after facing backlash from the NSW state government and sectors of the federal government, including Labor senator Tony Sheldon.
In an email sent to staff on Thursday, the vice-chancellor, Prof Andrew Parfitt, said management had received more than 500 pieces of staff feedback over the ongoing academic change proposal and associated job cuts, as well as input from “external stakeholders and students”, which contained “very helpful insights and suggestions”.
Initially, more than 1,000 subjects were due to be slashed and UTS was to close its teacher education program and public health school in addition to the cutting of about 400 jobs.
Parfitt said individual outcomes for staff wouldn’t be confirmed before the end of the year, but a high number of redundancy requests would allow the university to reduce the majority of staff through voluntary separations. The university’s change implementation plan will be released in February.

There was considerable feedback on also balancing the public good of delivering some courses with our capacity to resource these to ensure high quality relevant offerings.
We acknowledge that discussions about course viability and future delivery can create uncertainty and concern for staff … Your feedback has been essential in identifying alternatives and options during change and informing decision making.

Parfitt said the decision to slash teacher education courses would be reversed, with fewer staff, and international studies would also continue in a different form. An undergraduate program in public health would still face the axe.

Updated at 10.30pm GMT

10.18pm GMT

Government moves to suspend standing orders in the Senate to bring on EPBC bill
With the deal now done, the government is moving a motion to suspend standing orders to bring on debate of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation bills.
The PM has said the bills will pass the Senate today – but they’re not currently on the notice paper to be debated, so the government has to take action to do that.
The motion would bring on the bill for debate immediately and guillotine debate (i.e force a vote on the bill) at 3:30pm. The Senate would then spend the rest of the evening voting on other legislation.
There’s a few procedural motions and divisions – so the bells will be ringing several times before the debate can begin.
The opposition is voting against the motions that will bring on the bill.

Updated at 10.25pm GMT

10.10pm GMT

PM brushes off questions on Nauru’s President
Jumping back to the end of the PM’s press conference, my colleague, Tom McIlroy, asks the PM about accusations against Nauru’s president David Adeang – reported by the Guardian.

Related: Nauru president accused in parliament of corruptly siphoning off millions of Australian funding

Anthony Albanese brushes off the question and says the issues raised occurred before Labor was elected.

Those suggestions [are] subject to a period before we were in office. I’m happy to answer questions and be accountable for what we’ve done in office and what we’ve done in office is entirely appropriate.

10.09pm GMT
Woman dies after shark attack on mid-north coast of NSW

To step away from politics for a second for some breaking news:
A woman has died after a shark attack on the mid-north coast this morning, NSW police said.
About 6.30am, emergency services were called to a beach at Crowdy Bay after reports two people had been bitten by a shark.
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NSW Ambulance paramedics attended but the woman, believed to be aged in her 20s, died at the scene.
The man – also believed to be aged in his 20s – sustained serious injuries and has been airlifted to the John Hunter hospital in a critical condition.
The beach has been closed.

Updated at 10.35pm GMT

10.06pm GMT

Hanson-Young digs into ‘rabble’ Coalition
Sarah Hanson-Young says the Greens are the “true opposition” party in the parliament, and takes aim at the Coalition as “anti-climate and anti-environment”.
Murray Watt called the Coalition a “shambles” during his press conference with the PM earlier. The PM had also said his offer of a meeting with Sussan Ley to negotiate on the bills had been rejected.
Hanson-Young says:

The Coalition, I must say, are an absolute rabble. They’re anti-climate and anti-environment, and I said directly to the government that if they wanted laws that genuinely protected our environment and protected our wildlife for the next generation, if they did a deal with the anti-climate Coalition, their credibility would be in tatters.
The reason the Greens have come to this agreement with the government today is because we want to get things done. We want outcomes for the planet and outcomes for the people.

Updated at 10.12pm GMT

10.01pm GMT

What are some of the other elements that have been negotiated?
The Greens leader, Larissa Waters, says the negotiated deal will make it illegal for a minister to tick off a project with an “unacceptable impact”.
Waters also says the deal will stop the fast-tracking of more coal and gas projects from being approved.
On native forest logging, she says the practice has been exempt from environmental laws for 25 years, but that will finally end under the new bill.

At the moment, the minister’s got complete discretion to tick off on whatever destruction they would like to tick off on, and these changes will put in place some fetters on that discretion and will make it illegal for the minister to tick off on an unacceptable impact. That is an improvement. It’s not everything but it is a step forward … we are very, very proud that we were able to stop the fast tracking of coal and gas. That was an absolute red line for us, and that was a real possibility for this parliament to pass laws that would have allowed coal and gas to be approved within 30 days. That is not acceptable.

Updated at 10.06pm GMT

9.55pm GMT

‘Negotiations were tough’, Hanson-Young says
Well that deal was certainly “very close”, as Sarah Hanson-Young told ABC TV this morning, and she’s now celebrating the win for the Greens alongside leader Larissa Waters.
The Greens have secured major concessions from the government to protect native forests from logging. The PM has said those protections will be sunsetted in to help the industry.
Hanson-Young tells reporters at parliament the negotiations with the government were “tough” but the minor party “managed to deliver some tough blows”.

This has been a tough negotiation … We’ve put a stop to the fossil fuel industry getting fast track and easy access to environmental approvals. When this piece of legislation was first tabled by the government, Chevron, BHP, the fossil fuel industry were cheering. They wanted it rammed through with the anti-climate Coalition.

Updated at 10.10pm GMT

9.38pm GMT

Watt says Coalition were a ‘shambles’ on environment negotiations
The environment minister, Murray Watt, says the Coalition is in a “shambles” but that there would have been benefits to doing a deal with the opposition.
He’s asked whether he believes the reforms will be enduring if the Coalition win government in the future, having not supported the passage of these current laws.

There were some benefits in being able to reach a deal with the Coalition in terms of the enduring nature of the reforms. But as all of you can see every single day, the Coalition is a shambles, and they’ve been a shambles on these negotiations as well. So you can’t strike a deal with someone who doesn’t know what they want.
But more broadly, I have great confidence that we’ve ended up delivering an enduring set of reforms by working with the Greens, because we have not only delivered wins for the environment, but also for business. So that gives me confidence that these laws will work for both the environment and for business.

Updated at 9.47pm GMT

9.27pm GMT

PM says offer to negotiate environment bill with Ley ‘wasn’t taken up’
Anthony Albanese says he offered to meet with the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, to negotiate the bill.
The Coalition has said publicly that they were not “in a rush” to make a deal and would not support the bill in its current form. Albanese directly thanks Greens leader Larissa Waters and Sarah Hanson-Young, and Jonathon Duniam from the Coalition, and says he “offered to meet with Sussan Ley, and that wasn’t taken up, that offer, by the Coalition”.
Albanese tells reporters the Greens have been “mature” and “constructive” in their negotiations with the government.
He also confirms he has spoken to the WA premier, Roger Cook (who pushed Albanese to drop the previous environmental reforms during the last parliament).

The Coalition did put forward a range of amendments. Now, some of those were straight from the business community … the problem that we had with the Coalition was that their final letters had in it, and there are other things to come. Now parliament stops today, you can’t the day before parliament say, ‘oh, well, we got some other things, but we can’t tell you what they are yet’.
I must say that the Greens showed maturity in that they arranged the things that they wanted, they didn’t get the range of things we put forward that I said were not negotiable.

Updated at 9.48pm GMT

9.20pm GMT

Today a ‘landmark day’: Albanese
Albanese is emphatic the deal will be good for business, and he thanks both the Greens and the Coalition for negotiating with the government.

This is a landmark day for the environment in this country. It is also a good day for business in this country by providing more certainty, reducing delays and making sure that we get better outcomes and improve productivity.

The environment minister, Murray Watt, joins the PM and also says the deal is a good one for business and will drive faster approvals and rejections of projects to provide more certainty.

These reforms do respond to the major requests of the business community, which are all designed to speed up decision-making and lift productivity by giving business faster yeses and faster nos. So these reforms include a new streamlined assessment pathway to significantly reduce the timeframe for proponents who provide sufficient information upfront, new and improved bilateral agreements with states and territories to remove duplication for the assessment and approval of projects.

Updated at 9.42pm GMT

9.13pm GMT

Environment laws will pass the Senate today, PM says
Speaking to reporters in Parliament House, Anthony Albanese says the reforms – five years after they were first recommended by Graeme Samuel – “will be passed by the Senate today.”
The PM is unveiling some of the concessions made to the Greens – including key sticking points on native forests that the minor party was pushing for.
Albanese says the government will remove the exemption for high-risk land clearing and will set up a fund for forests.
The new laws will also require large emitting projects to disclose their carbon emissions.

We are removing and sunsetting the exemption from the EPBC Act for high-risk land clearing and regional forest agreements so they comply with the same rules and standards as other industries.
My government will establish a $300m forestry growth fund to deliver a bigger forestry industry that supports more secure jobs, better pay and high-value output.
We will require proponents of large emitting projects to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and their emission reduction plans. We will maintain federal approval of water trigger on coal and gas projects, because the water table in areas like the Murray-Darling Basin obviously goes across state boundaries, and therefore the water trigger is absolutely essential.

Updated at 9.48pm GMT

9.09pm GMT
Breaking: Greens agree to nature laws deal

Labor has struck a deal with the Greens to overhaul federal environmental protection laws on parliament’s final sitting day of the year, ending a five-year struggle to deliver on Graeme Samuel’s blueprint to fix the broken system.
The Greens have agreed to support Labor’s re-write of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act after securing further concessions from the government amid tense and prolonged negotiations.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is announcing the deal at a press conference in Parliament House.
The deal will clear the path for Labor to ram the legislation through the Senate on Thursday, handing Albanese a major political win to end 2025.
Albanese became actively involved in the final stages of negotiations, speaking directly with his Greens counterpart, Larissa Waters, in a bid to resolve a weeks-long standoff.
The Labor-Greens deal will sideline Sussan Ley’s Coalition, which refused to yield on their demands for more business-friendly concessions in exchange for supporting the legislation.

Updated at 9.49pm GMT

9.00pm GMT

Gallagher says Labor not enforcing ‘budget cut’ of 5%
Katy Gallagher says there’s been “misunderstanding” around the government’s push for departments to find savings in their budgets.
The public service minister tells the ABC it’s “not about job losses” or budget cuts.
Labor has had to defend itself over its request for departments to reprioritise their budgets, but Gallagher says it’s not a “budget cut” of 5%.

I think that there’s been a bit of misunderstanding about what’s going on here. We are certainly having since we with came to government, been seeking savings for the budget.
We have asked departments to have a look at their lowest priority - essentially their lowest 5% of what their business is and have a think about whether or not they need to keep doing all those things. It’s really about fiscal discipline. There’s been no instruction to cut budgets by 5%. Or that we are cutting budgets by 5%. That’s just simply incorrect … it’s not about job losses and it’s not about budget cuts.

Updated at 9.48pm GMT

8.54pm GMT

Katy Gallagher says Labor has made ‘substantial progress’ on environment laws deal
Cabinet minister Katy Gallagher is up on the ABC and says the government has made “substantial progress” in making a deal on its environment laws.
A moment ago, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said her party is “very close” to a deal.
Speaking to News Breakfast, Gallagher says there’ll be more to say later this morning.

We’ve made substantial progress, including progress overnight and there will be more to say about that later this morning. We’re very keen to get these bills done and make sure that we’ve got them in place and got the right time to get them up and started.

Updated at 9.04pm GMT

8.43pm GMT

‘We are very close’ on environment bill, Hanson-Young says
Hanson-Young says she’s feeling more positive about a deal on the environment bill than she was at the start of the week.
The Greens senator does sound pretty positive, saying her party is “very close” to a deal with the government on the environment protection and biodiversity conservation bills.
It’s not there yet, she says, but it could be very soon – and by very soon, the government is hopeful that will be today. Hanson-Young tells ABC News Breakfast:

I don’t expect that we will get everything we want. We’re just trying one last time [on the basis] that I wanted more protections for our forests, and protections for climate, of course.
If we can get movement on those issues, I’ve always said that I’m up for helping the government improve these laws. We’re not there yet. But I’m feeling more positive than I was at the beginning of the week.

Updated at 9.50pm GMT

8.38pm GMT

Greens sceptical of social media ban for under 16s
Sarah Hanson-Young (who’s also the Greens’ environment spokesperson) says she’s concerned the government’s social media ban won’t “keep our kids safe in the ways that we really want”.
The senator tells ABC News Breakfast she’s been pushing the government to force social media companies to make their spaces safer for everyone – and particularly young people.
The concerns that children will get around the ban are widespread and the government has acknowledged it won’t be foolproof.

There’s no requirements on them to create a space that doesn’t have harmful content … That doesn’t target them with advertising.
For those kids who just decide – oh, well we might not be on Instagram or Snapchat, but go over to somewhere else that hasn’t been designated – it’s those darker corners of the internet that I’m worried about.

Updated at 8.46pm GMT

8.34pm GMT

Ley won’t reveal whether she would support extension of energy subsidies
Like Anthony Albanese’s Medicare card, Sussan Ley’s bringing her “Affordable Energy Plan” booklet around with her (she held it up a few times in question time yesterday), and it’s with her again on the Today show this morning.
The Coalition has been challenged to explain exactly how their plan would reduce energy prices in the short and long term.
Yesterday, at the Press Club, Ted O’Brien said prices would drop because there would be a lower spend on transmission lines needed to connect renewables projects.
So far, experts have raised question about the plan, and the government has pointed to evidence that renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy generation.
Ley says:

Our affordable energy plan, and I’m just going to reach for it now because it’s never far away, is all about bringing prices down for households and families. It’s about affordable energy first. And if you looked at those inflation figures yesterday, you would see that by far the highest one is actually energy gone up by 40%.

The government has said it will soon make a decision on whether or not to extend its current program subsidising power bills. Asked if Ley would support an extension, she won’t say, only that she would “consider it in the normal way”.

Australians don’t want the government to subsidise their power bill. They want cheaper power bills … But the critical thing here is this is not the solution to the problem.

8.28pm GMT

Shadow treasurer declines to say where spending should be cut
The shadow treasurer, Ted O’Brien, is back at the mic this morning, after his National Press Club address yesterday, telling the government to reduce its spending. But he won’t say exactly where the opposition would cut either.
Speaking to ABC’s AM program, O’Brien says he’d bring back fiscal rules that would put a roof on government spending, that would require any spending to have equivalent “offsets”.
Where would those come from? Fringe tax benefits for EVs is one (which he also said at the NPC yesterday that he doesn’t support), but he won’t reveal any other substantial cuts.

If you want to spend more money over here, well, you’ve got to find savings over there. And that’s the responsibility of the government. This government hasn’t done that, it hasn’t found savings.
It’s about finding offsets. If I had to find an offset today, I would go immediately to the government’s fringe benefits tax carve-outs for electric vehicles. It’s costing about five times more than what the government estimated, and it is unfair.

O’Brien has also blamed government spending for the rise in inflation, which the Labor has pushed back on, and said it’s not been an issue brought up by the Reserve Bank.

Updated at 9.53pm GMT

8.19pm GMT

Australia records largest annual drop in emissions outside pandemic
Australia has recorded its biggest drop in carbon emissions in a financial year outside of the Covid-19 pandemic – with pollution falling 2.2% in the year to June.
The government has released data this morning showing a reduction of 9.9m tonnes of carbon dioxide over the year. In the same timeframe, 437.5m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions were recorded, 28.5% below 2005 levels.
Labor’s 2030 target is to reduce emissions by 43% on 2005 levels.
Preliminary data from the government also shows a reduction of 2.8% on 2005 levels in the year to September 2025.
The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen said:

We are on track to bring down energy bills and meet our climate targets if we stay the course and continue to lift our efforts.

You can read the full story from my colleague, Adam Morton, here:

Related: Australia’s emissions from fossil fuels down as electricity from renewables passes 40%

Updated at 8.27pm GMT

8.05pm GMT

Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you, thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.
It’s the last sitting day of the year – it’s D-day for the government on environment and it needs to make a deal today to pass the laws through the Senate. If it does, there’ll be a very short sitting of the House tomorrow morning to pass the environment laws with the amendments made by the Senate.
Being the final full sitting day, there’s bound to be plenty of action and drama to keep us busy, so grab your coffee and let’s get into it!

Updated at 8.10pm GMT

7.56pm GMT
UK AI 'nudify' company blocks Australian users

The eSafety commissioner has said a UK-based company behind three of the most widely used “nudify” deepfake services has blocked Australian users after the company was given a warning by eSafety in September that its services were being used to generate AI child exploitation material.
The regulator hasn’t named the company but correspondence from eSafety obtained by Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws reveal it is Itai Tech.
eSafety said the services were receiving about 100,000 visits from Australians per month and were featured in high-profile cases related to the generation of sexual exploitation material of students in Australian schools.
Julie Inman Grant said:

We know ‘nudify’ services have been used to devastating effect in Australian schools and, with this major provider blocking their use by Australians, we believe it will have a tangible impact on the number of Australian school children falling victim to AI-generated child sexual exploitation.

Itai Tech was fined by the UK regulator earlier this month for failing to have age checks on its site and also reportedly blocks UK users from accessing its services.
eSafety said global AI model hosting platform Hugging Face has also changed its terms of service in a bid to prevent its models being used to create child exploitation material, after concerns raised by eSafety.

Updated at 8.00pm GMT

7.49pm GMT

Victoria police re-launch search for body of Samantha Murphy
Victoria police have confirmed they have launched another search for the body of Samantha Murphy, who was last seen alive on 4 February 2024 when she left her home in Ballarat for a morning run.
The search began yesterday and will resume today.
In a statement, police said:

Since February 2024, police have regularly undertaken a range of enquiries and small-scale searches as part of the current investigation.
We are not in a position to supply further specific details of today’s operational activity at this time.
Police ask that members of the public do not attend the search at this time.
As the matter is currently before the court, we are not in a position to comment further about the investigation.

In March last year, Ballarat man Patrick Orren Stephenson was charged with her murder.
Read more here:

Related: Samantha Murphy: Ballarat murder trial fast-tracked after Patrick Stephenson pleads not guilty

Updated at 9.54pm GMT

7.40pm GMT
Speculation grows over Barnaby Joyce defection to One Nation

Barnaby Joyce could announce that he is quitting the Nationals and defecting to One Nation today, according to reports.
The former Nationals leader said last month that he was considering his future in the party after his relationship with leader David Littleproud broke down, and that he would make a decision over the summer.
But The Australian and Nine newspapers are reporting this morning that he could make an announcement before parliament rises today.
The Australian said it “understands many of his colleagues believe it likely Mr Joyce would make clear his intention on Thursday”.
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, urged Joyce to stay in the party room, however, and said he “can make a contribution”.
Littleproud told Sky News yesterday.

We’ve given him [time and space] to work through where he wants to be.
We want him back into our party room because that’s the contract that he and the people of New England signed, that he was a National party member, and we hope that he comes back in [so] he can make a contribution.

The Sydney Morning Herald claimed last night that Joyce was about to defect to One Nation and reported that he had told the masthead he would have “more to say” today.
The papers said Matt Canavan and Michael McCormack urged Joyce to stay in the Nationals but that Canavan was ready to “take the fight” to Joyce if he joined Pauline Hanson’s party.

Updated at 7.48pm GMT

7.30pm GMT
Welcome

Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Krishani Dhanji will take you through to the end of parliament’s final week of the year.
Barnaby Joyce could announce that he is quitting the Nationals and defecting to One Nation as early as today, according to reports this morning. The former Nationals leader and deputy prime minister said last month he would not stand as a National again in his New England seat and that he would consider his position over the summer. But speculation is mounting that he will reveal his plans today. More coming up.
A UK-based company behind three of the most widely-used “nudify” deepfake services has blocked Australian users after it was warned by Australia’s eSafety watchdog in September that its services were being used to generate AI child exploitation material. We have more details coming up.