Tehan and Ley to reveal Liberals’ net zero emissions position tomorrow – as it happened

7.07am GMT
What we learned today, Wednesday 12 November

We will wrap up the live blog here for the evening. This is what made the news:

We won’t know the federal Liberal party’s final position on net zero emissions until around midday tomorrow, after the party room held a five-hour meeting on whether to dump the policy. The shadow energy minister, Dan Tehan, said the party would be guided by energy affordability and being serious on reducing emissions.
Leaks from the meeting confirm a number of senior Liberals, including Angus Taylor, were opposed to retaining the net zero emissions by 2050 target.
The former CFMEU leader John Setka has been arrested and charged by Victoria police after allegedly sending threatening and harassing emails to a union administrator.
The NSW Libertarian MLC John Ruddick says he plans to challenge the under-16s social media ban law in the high court before the 10 December start date.
Menulog will close its Australian operations after 20 years in business.
The former independent MP Zoe Daniel’s son says his family faced threatening and abusive behaviour during the 2025 election campaign, and took aim at the Goldstein MP and the Liberal party for not publicly condemning the threats.
The NSW government announced a $130m investment to add at least 200 crisis accommodation beds across the state for those in critical need of safe shelter.
Australia’s big four banks have provided $43bn to fossil fuel companies in the last decade, with ANZ and Westpac continuing to fund further gas expansion.

Until tomorrow, enjoy your evening.

Updated at 7.28am GMT

6.59am GMT

Tehan won’t say what is in energy policy paper
Going back to Dan Tehan’s press conference, the shadow energy minister said he would present a proposal paper to the Liberal frontbench meeting tomorrow – but declined to say what would be in it.
He also defended the time and process he and Sussan Ley had taken to get to this point, after criticisms from some colleagues about the drawn-out timeline.
Tehan said he would present his work to the meeting at 9am. He said it would be informed by the discussions today, but just 16 hours ahead of the big meeting, Tehan said he had to go away and finish writing it. In any case, he was not giving away any advance detail to journalists, which he said was out of respect to colleagues.
“I obviously had to wait and see what was discussed in the party room today. Right throughout this process, the one thing that I’ve been very, very careful about and always wanted to do is to make sure that I’ve respected my colleagues,” Tehan said.
“We’ve had incredible engagement and can I say today, once again, there were a lot of people who stood up and said how much they appreciated the engagement that had taken place, and especially the Liberal party meeting today, to be able to flesh out these issues. And I’m going to continue to respect that because that’s what the party room deserves.”

Updated at 7.06am GMT

6.44am GMT

Federal government could explore using AI to write cabinet submissions
The federal government could “explore” using artificial intelligence programs to write sensitive cabinet submissions or business cases, as part of a major initiative to embed AI across the public service, despite concerns about the technology increasing the risk of security and data breaches.
The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, also announced on Wednesday the public service would build its own AI program for government workers, spruiking productivity benefits for rolling out generative programs such as ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini to departments.
While many public servants said trials of AI had helped their work, others voiced alarm at the poor quality and inaccuracies in AI-generated work, the potential slashing of entry-level jobs, and public fears about automated decision-making in the wake of the robodebt scandal.

Related: Australian government could explore using AI for cabinet submissions despite security concerns

Updated at 6.48am GMT

6.26am GMT

Tehan would not confirm that a majority of the Liberal party room was opposed to retaining the net zero policy, saying he would “protect the sanctity of our party room”.
He said:

My job now is to respect what was said in the room today, to now take that away, form a shadow ministerial paper, take that to the shadow ministry tomorrow, and then myself and Sussan will formally announce our policy after that meeting tomorrow.
So you can all be rest assured that by around midday tomorrow you will very clearly know what our energy and emissions reduction policy is, as a Liberal party.

Updated at 6.31am GMT

6.24am GMT
Tehan won’t reveal Liberals’ net zero position until Thursday

The shadow minister for energy and emissions reduction, Dan Tehan, would not say what the Liberals’ position on retaining the net zero by 2050 target was, after a marathon five-hour meeting in parliament on Wednesday.
Tehan described the meeting as constructive, and said there were “very passionate discussions” in the room.
He said:

And the overwhelming thing that came out the meeting for me was that everyone wants to make sure that our policy, our energy policy and our emissions reduction policy, is in the national interest.

Tehan said he will prepare a submission for shadow cabinet, which will meet at 9am tomorrow, and then he and leader Sussan Ley will announce the policy formally tomorrow.
The two guiding principles for emissions policy, Tehan said, were that energy affordability comes firsts, and that the party must be serious when it comes to emissions reduction.

Updated at 6.29am GMT

6.17am GMT

ACCC formally greenlights new industry-led soft plastic recycling scheme
The competition regulator has approved an industry-led soft plastics collection and recycling scheme, three years after the collapse of the REDcycle program.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced earlier today it has formally greenlit the Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia (SPSA) scheme.
The scheme, whose founding members include Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and major food manufacturers Nestlé, Mars and McCormick Foods, was created earlier this year and plans to fund collection and recycling through participant fees.
Because it involves competitors working together, the scheme required the ACCC to “authorise” it to be exempt from some of Australia’s competition laws.
In a statement, one of the ACCC’s deputy chairs, Mick Keogh, said:

As the scheme aims to acquire and broaden the current instore and kerbside trial collection programs for soft plastic recycling, we’ve determined that it will likely result in some soft plastics being diverted from landfill.
The recycling and collection options currently available to consumers are limited, and we consider that the SPSA scheme is an important way to expand those choices.

As we have previously reported, the scheme will only recycle a tiny fraction of the soft plastics used in Australia and, at least initially, none of it will be turned back into packaging. Critics had also raised concerns about the SPSA being industry-led and participation in it being voluntary.
The ACCC said today issues of policy and regulations around soft plastics, including decisions about whether to introduce mandatory regulations, were beyond its scope.
You can read more about the new scheme here:

Related: A new soft plastics recycling scheme is replacing Australia’s failed REDcycle. Will it mean consumers have to pay more?

Updated at 6.23am GMT

5.58am GMT

Most Liberals didn’t stop to talk to media on the way out. Ted O’Brien, the shadow treasurer and deputy leader, walked out with Paul Scarr, neither talking. Andrew Hastie and James Paterson didn’t speak either, but shook hands warmly on the way out before going separate ways.
Jane Hume said “good meeting”.
Dan Tehan told the waiting media pack that he would speak at a doorstop press conference in about 15 minutes’ time.

Updated at 6.02am GMT

5.53am GMT

Nobody gives away outcome of the net zero meeting
The Liberal meeting is over and MPs are leaving the room. Nobody has given away any idea of the outcome, but a number of people – including Jane Hume – said it was a good meeting.
Leader Sussan Ley stopped briefly to talk to journalists, saying that Dan Tehan, the shadow energy minister, would speak shortly.
“Shadow ministry will convene tomorrow to resolve a final position. But it was an excellent meeting, and terrific to hear from all of my Liberal party colleagues,” she said.
Tehan will be holding a doorstop press conference at 5.10pm

Updated at 5.59am GMT

5.48am GMT
Sussan Ley says final position on net zero to be finalised tomorrow

Exiting the marathon five-hour party room meeting on net zero policy, the Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, said the shadow ministry will convene tomorrow to resolve the final position but she said it was an “excellent meeting” and “terrific to hear from all of my party”.
We haven’t yet heard what that final position is.

Updated at 5.51am GMT

5.45am GMT

Nauru had to make ‘sacrifices’ for economic stability, president says
The Nauruan president, David Adeang, addressed a Micronesia leadership course at the Australian National University this week.
He told his audience Nauru had had to make “sacrifices” in order to achieve a measure of economic stability. He said his country’s economy had previously collapsed, with frequent power outages, shortages of essential services and a resulting loss of public services.
Adeang, re-elected president last month, said Nauru’s economic relationship with Australia was critical, including the acceptance of asylum seekers and, “long-term visitors” – members of the so-called NZYQ cohort who have been removed from Australia to Nauru on 30-year visas.
So far, Australia has forcibly sent four men to Nauru from that cohort, in exchange for more than $400m upfront and up to $70m a year. The scheme is expected to cost Australia $2.5bn over 30 years.
Currently, about 100 asylum seekers and refugees are also held on the island.
Adeang said the government needed to speak with Nauruan communities “face to face” to earn community support and trust for the initiatives he said had brought financial stability and new opportunities to the country.
“We succeeded because we were transparent, because we spoke directly with our people and because they trusted that the sacrifices were for Nauru’s future.”
Also while in Canberra, Adeang met with the foreign minister, Penny Wong; the minister for Pacific island affairs, Pat Conroy; and the home affairs minister, Tony Burke. Adeang also met with India’s high commissioner to Australia.

Updated at 6.09am GMT

5.37am GMT

Liberals’ net zero meeting nearing end
Journalists are waiting outside the Liberal party room meeting in Parliament House, in anticipation of imminent news about any outcome of the net zero meeting.
The meeting is nearing an end, with nearly all members having had their say by now. We are expecting a press conference or statement after the meet, but we might get some idea or comments from the politicians on their way out.
For now, the doors to the room remain closed. But a pack of reporters and cameras are waiting for movement.

Updated at 5.41am GMT

5.29am GMT

Australia will earn back what is spent if Cop bid is secured, assistant minister says
The assistant minister for climate change, Josh Wilson, who is in Brazil for the Cop30 climate summit, would not confirm estimates that it could cost Australia $2bn to host the summit next year, as Australia is still aiming for joint hosting rights with the Pacific.
He told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing that there was “speculation” around the cost of hosting it, but it would be very valuable to Australia and the Pacific region – particularly drawing attention to the existential threat to the Pacific.
He said it is valuable, arguing the UK’s hosting of the event found $2-worth of value for every dollar spent.
Wilson said we should know in the next 10 days or so about a potential consensus decision on who will be hosting the climate summit, otherwise it will be hosted by Germany.
He said Germany hosting would mean no active presidency, and a loss of momentum of the work being achieved by Cop.
As the Liberals debate net zero policy, Wilson said if they dump the policy it would not be helpful for achieving net zero, and not responsible for the two parties making up the alternative government.

Updated at 5.40am GMT

5.26am GMT
Angus Taylor confirms opposition to net zero

The senior Liberal Angus Taylor wants the party to move on from net zero and create a point of political difference with Labor, siding with senior colleagues in calling for the climate target to be dumped at Wednesday’s party-room meeting.
The intervention from the right-faction heavyweight is significant because he’s considered, along with Andrew Hastie, the biggest threat to Sussan Ley’s leadership.
It’s worth noting that Taylor was energy minister when Scott Morrison signed up to net zero emissions by 2050 in late 2021.
As reported earlier, the deputy Liberal leader, Ted O’Brien, and the Liberal Senate leader, Michaelia Cash, also spoke in favour of ditching the target at the Parliament House meeting, which has now been running for more than four hours.

Updated at 5.30am GMT

5.10am GMT

While we wait for the Liberals to finish their meeting on net zero policy, here’s an explainer on what it’s all about.

5.02am GMT

Indonesia security treaty will provide stability and security for both nations, Wong says
Going back to the Indonesia security treaty, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says Australia and Indonesia will “both benefit from each other’s stability and sense of security”.
Wong said in a statement it would be a “significant extension” of current security arrangements between the two countries. She said the treaty will commit both parties to:

Undertake to consult at Leader and Ministerial level on a regular basis about matters affecting their common security and to develop such cooperation as would benefit their own security and that of the region; Undertake to consult each other in the case of adverse challenges to either party or to their common security interests and, if appropriate, consider measures which might be taken either individually or jointly and in accordance with the processes of each Party; and
Agree to promote - in accordance with the policies and priorities of each - mutually beneficial cooperative activities in the security field, in areas to be identified by the two Parties.

Wong went on to say:

Through this Treaty we will take our cooperation to a new level, for the benefit of both our own security and that of the region.
The Treaty will set out in formal terms our common interest in the peace and security of our region, and our commitment to work together to support the security of our region.

Updated at 5.15am GMT

4.55am GMT

Police release CCTV footage after media allegedly assaulted outside NSW parliament
Police have released CCTV footage after a man allegedly assaulted two members of the media outside NSW parliament yesterday, after stealing a wreath from a Remembrance Day memorial.
In a statement this afternoon, NSW police said officers commenced inquiries yesterday morning after reports a man was seen behaving in “an offensive manner”. They said:
“Police established about 7am, the man stole a wreath from a police memorial at a park on Sir John Young Crescent. From there he walked to Parliament House where he approached members of the media and allegedly assaulted two members of the media before throwing a cup of coffee at a camera.”
CCTV footage shows the man then allegedly throwing the wreath over the fence of Parliament House on Macquarie Street. Police allege he later struck the rear of a car being driven into a nearby car park, causing damage, before leaving the scene.
“No injuries were reported, and the news crew left the area before police arrived,” the statement said. Police have urged anyone who identifies the man, or has information about the incidents, to contact Crime Stoppers.

Updated at 5.03am GMT

4.45am GMT

Senior Liberals confirm opposition to net zero emissions
Senior Liberals – including Sussan Ley’s deputy, Ted O’Brien – have confirmed their opposition to net zero emissions at a party room meeting, heightening the prospects that the target will be dumped.
The Liberal Senate leader, Michaelia Cash, also spoke strongly against the target at Wednesday’s meeting, urging colleagues to fight against net zero like it did the Indigenous voice to parliament at the 2023 referendum, sources told Guardian Australia.
On the other side of the ledger, moderate Liberals Andrew Bragg, Jane Hume and Julian Lesser have all made the case to retain the target in some form, as has Andrew McLachlan – the party’s most pro-climate member.

Updated at 4.50am GMT

4.35am GMT

Asio warning ‘a wake-up call’, Liberals say
The shadow minister for cybersecurity, Claire Chandler, says today’s warning of cyber espionage and sabotage from Australia’s intelligence agency should be “a wake-up call for Australians”.
Mike Burgess accused “Chinese hackers” of seeking to gain access to critical infrastructure assets, including telecommunications networks.
Chandler has urged the government to take the threat seriously:

Members of the Coalition, myself included, have warned for years about risks from foreign actors, particularly the CCP and Russia, targeting our critical infrastructure.
Australians deserve confidence that our essential services – like power, water, transport and banking – are secure. Cyber sabotage could cripple our economy and endanger lives.
We need urgent, coordinated action to embed security into every layer of critical infrastructure before it’s too late, and I certainly hope the Albanese government tackles this with the resources and urgency required.

Updated at 4.42am GMT

4.19am GMT

Australia and Indonesia conclude negotiations on bilateral treaty on security
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the Indonesia president, Prabowo Subianto, are holding a press conference in Sydney on the substantial conclusion of negotiations on a bilateral treaty on security.
Albanese said it is a “watershed moment” in the Australia-Indonesia relationship.
It would see the two countries consult at a leader and ministerial level on a regular basis on matters of security, and if either country’s security is threatened, to consult and consider what measures may be taken to either individually or jointly deal with those threats, Albanese said.
He said the relationship between the two countries is the strongest it has ever been, and Albanese said he hopes to travel to Indonesia in January to formally sign the treaty once it has gone through the Australian domestic process.
Subianto said the treaty will commit the two nations to close cooperation on defence and security:

I mentioned many times that we cannot choose our neighbours, especially countries like us. It is our destiny to be direct neighbours. So let us face our destiny with the best of intentions. I believe in the good neighbour policy. Good neighbours are essential. Good neighbours will help each other in times of difficulties and in the Indonesian culture we have a saying: when we face an emergency, it is our neighbour that will help us.

Updated at 4.25am GMT

4.06am GMT

Hastie says Coalition should be prepared to fight double-dissolution election on climate targets
The Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has told colleagues that a future Coalition government should be prepared to go to a double-dissolution election if it can’t repeal Labor’s legislated climate targets in the federal parliament.
The Liberal leadership aspirant and strident net zero opponent made the appeal at Wednesday’s party room meeting to decide whether to dump the emissions goal.
According to several sources in the room, the Western Australian MP told colleagues that the Coalition should commit to repealing the Albanese government’s legislated 2030 and 2050 climate targets if it wins the next election.
If the Senate repeatedly blocks a repeal bill, Hastie said a Coalition government should be prepared to go to a double-dissolution election and fight a campaign on climate targets.

Updated at 4.16am GMT

3.59am GMT

In a moment of levity, what is the best wheat cracker in Australian supermarkets?
Nicholas Jordan risks it for the biscuits, sampling 19 wheat crackers in the driest taste test yet.
He sorted several hundred crackers into a complicated family tree-like categorisation system, then sorted that based on the following criteria: size and structure designed for dips, cheese and platters; unflavoured; and wheat-based. This left Jordan with 19 products, a mix of classic, water and wafer crackers.
So, what came out on top? Jatz are, predictably, awesome. So are the products trying to be like Jatz.
Read more here:

Related: Australian supermarket wheat crackers taste test: ‘All the reviewers knew which one was the real deal’

3.45am GMT

Anti-renewables conservation charity grilled over use of AI in government submissions
A Queensland conservation charity known for its anti-renewables stance has been grilled over its use of artificial intelligence in submissions to government, in a fiery Senate hearing looking into the broader issue of climate change-related misinformation.
The Labor senator Michelle Ananda-Rajah questioned Rainforest Reserves Australia over errors in submissions it made to the Queensland government over the proposed Moonlight Range windfarm, a development the state government ultimately rejected.
Referring to a submission, Ananda-Rajah said:

Seven of the 15 references you cite in opposition to this windfarm appear to be completely fabricated.

Ananda-Rajah also questioned the group over errors in its submissions, reported in the Guardian, such as mention of an “Oakey Wind Farm”, which does not exist, and reference to a 2023 report by the “Queensland Environmental Protection Agency”, which has not existed since 2009.
When asked whether AI was used to generate the submission, Steven Nowakowski, the RRA’s vice-president, said:

It was actually written by a human and artificial intelligence was used to edit it.

Kenneth Carey, an RRA supporter, said:

In regards to the use of AI within any submissions from Rainforest Reserves, we acknowledge minor factual corrections may be necessary in any large evolving data set … The [EPA] examples that we provided are from a department that no longer exists, however, it has changed its name, so that data itself is absolutely correct.

Ananda-Rajah said:

The Oakey windfarm is a complete fabrication … Is it not conceivable given your reliance on AI, given the sloppiness of your own work, that you have misled community members? … You have undermined your own credibility.

In a previous response to Guardian reporting, an RRA volunteer said the citation relating to Oakey windfarm was “misattributed” but was “intended to illustrate a real and serious issue”.

Updated at 3.56am GMT

3.16am GMT
Liberals debate abandoning net zero target behind closed doors

Liberal MPs remain locked in a party room meeting to resolve their position on net zero emissions.
The meeting has been running for more than two hours and could drag long into the afternoon as MPs argue the case for against retaining the Scott Morrison-era commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
The bitter internal dispute has pitted conservatives, who want all references to net zero dumped, against moderates, who want it retained in some form, meaning Sussan Ley will face an internal backlash regardless of where the party lands.
In a show of factional force ahead of the meeting, more than a dozen conservatives – including Angus Taylor and fellow potential leadership contender Andrew Hastie – walked into the Parliament House meeting room together.
The federal Liberal party director, Andrew Hirst, briefed the meeting on internal research on voter attitudes toward net zero and the energy transition before MPs made their contribution.
One Liberal source said Hirst told MPs that voters equated net zero with taking action on climate change.
The shadow communications minister, Melissa McIntosh, emailed supporters with the text of the message that she planned to deliver at the meeting.
The message read:

We need to abandon net zero and give the Australian people hope. We need a short, medium and long term energy policy. We need 24/7 baseload power to back our sovereign manufacturing, including more gas. We need nuclear to power the future of our nation – the big data centres – to protect our information and our sovereign communications. We need to prioritise our nation when it comes to our natural resources.

Updated at 4.46am GMT

3.09am GMT

Asio boss says foreign delegate ‘ripped the branch off a fruit tree’
Earlier today we brought you details of Asio director-general Mike Burgess’ speech, which accused Chinese hackers of attempting to penetrate critical infrastructure.
Burgess also warned about an increase in corporate espionage targeting Australia’s research and development sectors.
He cited one example of a foreign delegation being given a tour of an unnamed research facility in Australia. He alleged one member of the group briefly broke away from their escort and was caught taking photos of a laboratory. The photos were subsequently deleted.
Burgess says the unnamed visitor managed to steal an object from the facility:

What they didn’t discover was [the delegate] ripped the branch off a fruit tree that was a special breed with 20 years of research and development put into it. They stole it and would have taken it back to their home country to reverse engineer it.
That’s outright intellectual property theft, happening at a scale that is unprecedented in human history. More than one nation has done that over the years. Right now, there is one nation that is doing a lot of that.

Updated at 3.12am GMT

2.57am GMT

Aurora alert for southern Australia as severe solar storm reaches earth
Australian skies may be lit up with the technicolour of aurora tonight as an unusually severe solar storm affects the Earth’s atmosphere.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued an aurora alert for as far north as southern New South Wales, with Australian space weather forecasting centre data showing the strong solar storm is in progress.
Aurora australis is expected to be seen in night-time hours, provided skies are clear.
The bureau said three coronal mass ejections were observed between 9 and 11 November. The second and strongest of the CMEs was expected to reach earth today, with a chance the geomagnetic storm could reach G5 in strength.
According to Nasa, G5 solar storms can trip high-voltage lines, overheat transformers and cause GPS-guided vehicles to veer off-course.
Another big aurora graced Australia’s south-eastern skies in June, as seen in our gallery below:

Related: Aurora australis: southern lights dazzle across New Zealand and Australia’s east coast – in pictures

Updated at 3.10am GMT

2.35am GMT

Australian travellers heading back to the US, Flight Centre says
Australians are starting to book more trips to the United States after being deterred in the early months of Donald Trump’s presidency, Flight Centre has reported.
Workers, entertainers, academics and gender-diverse Australians are among those who faced incidents or warnings over US border protocols earlier this year. The backlash saw a drop in long-haul US flights booked through Flight Centre in the first half of the year.
But the travel agency this morning said that was turning around, with Graham Turner, Flight Centre’s founder, telling investors:

We are, however, starting to see signs of recovery … Bookings from Australia to the US increased in October 2025 for the first time since the March quarter.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics today confirmed Australians’ aversion to US travel had persisted into September, with just 58,610 residents returning from American holidays that month compared with more than 67,000 in 2024.
The September month data represents residents returning from trips they booked and took up to a year beforehand US government arrivals data up to August also shows a decline.
But on a wider view, Australians’ US travel has been relatively resilient through 2025 so far, totalling 541,000 by September compared with 546,000 for the same period to 2024.

Updated at 2.48am GMT

2.23am GMT
Former CFMEU leader John Setka arrested and charged by Victoria police

Former CFMEU leader John Setka has been arrested and charged by Victoria police after allegedly sending threatening and harassing emails to a union administrator.
The 61-year-old was arrested at a home in Footscray at about 6.40am on Wednesday. Police searched the property and seized a mobile phone and an iPad.
Setka was subsequently charged with seven counts of “using a telecom communications device to menace, harass and offend”. The arrest was first reported by the Age.
He has been bailed and will appear before Melbourne’s magistrates court on 30 January.
The police operation was led by Taskforce Hawk, which was established in July 2024 to target allegations of criminal behaviour linked to the construction industry.
According to police, Setka sent “a number of allegedly threatening, offensive and abusive emails to a CFMEU administrator following a notice to produce sent on 27 October and a follow-up letter sent on 28 October”.
Victoria police’s assistant commissioner Martin O’Brien has encouraged anyone with “information on concerning behaviour witnessed in any construction industry workplace to come forward and speak to police”:

As always, it can be done anonymously and reports will be treated with the strictest of confidence.

– with AAP

Updated at 2.31am GMT

2.11am GMT

Record high landlord lending prompts calls for intervention
The Greens have called for the banking regulator to limit loans to property investors, after new data showed landlord lending has hit record highs.
More than 57,000 investors borrowed nearly $40bn to buy homes from July to September, a $6bn increase on the previous three months and 13% increase in loan numbers. Owner-occupier numbers rose just 2%, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data out today.
Landlord loans have steadily increased since March 2023 at a faster rate than owner-occupier loans and now account for two in every five new home loans. Dr Mish Tan, ABS head of finance statistics, attributed 2025’s acceleration to interest rate cuts and low vacancy rates in rental housing.
The Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock, two weeks ago said intervention by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority could be handy if the economy needed more rate cuts in future but wasn’t needed.
The Greens senator Barbara Pocock said today’s data showed that had changed, calling for the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, to make the regulator put the brakes on lending to landlords.

We need to urgently rein in an overheated credit market for property investors. Apra has intervened before and they must do it again.

Apra put a threshold on investor lending from 2014 to 2018. It said in October it was watching for risky lending and discussing limits on investor, interest-only or small-deposit loans with banks.

Updated at 2.55am GMT

2.06am GMT

That’s all from me. Daisy Dumas will be your guide until Josh Taylor picks up the blog later this arvo. Take care!

1.58am GMT

RBA worried about ‘very sharp’ drop in global markets
The head of the Reserve Bank’s financial stability department is worried about a “very sharp” drop in global markets, saying investors around the world are ignoring “a confronting set of potential risks”.
Wall Street is leading sharemarkets around the world to record highs, despite a litany of worries ranging from Trump’s trade aggression and the breakdown of the global order, structural worries about the Chinese economy, and hugely and unsustainably indebted advanced economies.
Brad Jones, an RBA assistant governor, told a super conference this morning that “a lot of central banks are sort of scratching their heads as to why market pricing looks so benign”.
The prices investors are prepared to pay for assets suggests they are not worried about any of the risks that keep central bankers like Jones awake at night.
He said some investors think they will get bailed out by monetary or fiscal authorities if things really go sour, which is “a pretty dangerous” way to invest.
Investors also have “a heck of a time” pricing in geopolitical risks. Jones said:

I look back, just for instance, at the Cuban missile crisis, (when) we stood on the brink of catastrophe. The stock market fell about two or 3% over that period. So I think, as a general rule, global financial markets have a tough time pricing binary risk like geopolitical risk.

1.41am GMT
High court challenge planned for child social media ban

Today marks four weeks until the under-16s social media ban kicks in on 10 December, and NSW Libertarian MLC John Ruddick says he plans to challenge the law in the high court.
The case has yet to be filed, but Ruddick’s office said the law would be challenged on the grounds of the right of freedom of political communication.
There are only a handful of days the high court will sit before the 10 December deadline, but Ruddick’s office expects it will get a mention before then.
Google – which had threatened to challenge YouTube’s inclusion in the ban on that ground, and two others – has yet to mount a challenge to the law.

Related: Revealed: YouTube’s three legal grounds for challenging inclusion in Australia’s under-16s social media ban

Updated at 2.04am GMT

1.25am GMT

Union calls for gig economy standards following Menulog shutdown announcementThe Transport Workers’ Union has called for the remaining food delivery companies, including DoorDash, Uber Eats and Hungry Panda to support work standards, following the announcement that Menulog would shut operations in Australia in two weeks.
Menulog had supported legislation to put the standards around pay and exit payments in place – which can be set by the Fair Work Commission.The TWU national secretary, Michael Kaine, said:

This will be a shock to the thousands of food delivery riders who rely on Menulog for income. We will be working to ensure those workers receive pay for their work and fair exit payments over the coming weeks.
In the gig economy, workers are still languishing with below-minimum wage rates, no sick leave or superannuation, and deadly pressure to rush to make a living and avoid being deactivated.
We urgently need standards in the gig economy to stop the relentless downward spiral. New laws introduced by the Albanese government will significantly level the playing field – but DoorDash, Uber Eats, Hungry Panda and Easi now need to come to the table to ensure we get standards in place as soon as possible.

Updated at 1.32am GMT

1.09am GMT

Critics say effort is an attempt to ‘politicise abortion care’
South Australian Abortion Action Coalition co-convenor Brigid Coombe said the bill was a “cynical attempt to politicise abortion care” that ignored “years of expert patient-centred deliberation”. She said:

Its cruelty is out of step with medical and community values.

Fair Agenda’s senior campaign manager, Amy Barrett, said the bill “would deny a woman facing devastating pregnancy complications the chance to make the best decisions for herself and her families, in consultation with her healthcare team”.
Sarah Game has campaigned alongside anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe, who has been banned from the state parliament after alleged “threatening and intimidating tactics”.
Game says if a mother’s life is at risk or her health is threatened, doctors should do an emergency caesarean or induce labour so the baby is born alive.

Updated at 1.16am GMT

1.00am GMT

New effort to water down abortion rights in South Australia
Another move to water down abortion rights is under way in South Australia, less than a fortnight after an ill-fated federal move.
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce and Liberal backbencher Andrew Hastie were among those suggesting a law to allow parental leave after a stillbirth would be used by women needing a late-term abortion.
Experts say anti-abortion tactics from the US that focus on late-term abortions – which happen rarely, and overwhelmingly for medical reasons – are being imported to Australia to “chip away at rights”.
Late today, the SA legislative council will debate a legislative amendment introduced by former One Nation MLC Sarah Game, who is now independent. The current law allows abortions from 23 weeks when there is significant risk to the physical or mental health of the pregnant person. Game’s bill would water that down to only allow abortion that saves the life of the pregnant person or another foetus, or if there was a significant risk of foetal abnormalities.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said the bill was “based on a fundamental misunderstanding” of the “extraordinarily rare” procedures, which “almost always invariably involve circumstances of severe fetal abnormalities incompatible with life, or serious threats to the pregnant woman’s health and life”.

Updated at 1.03am GMT

12.51am GMT

Albanese meets with Indonesian president
Indonesia’s president has met with Anthony Albanese for his first official visit to Australia since being sworn in as leader, AAP reports.
After arriving in Sydney on Tuesday night, Prabowo Subianto was welcomed at Kirribilli House ahead of one-on-one talks between the two leaders.
While the short trip will be the first time the Indonesian leader has come to Australia since being sworn in, with Prabowo previously visiting Canberra in August 2024 as defence minister and president-elect.
He has served as Indonesia’s president since October 2024.
After the meeting with the prime minister, Prabowo will travel the short distance to Admiralty House to meet with the governor general, Sam Mostyn, where there will be a ceremonial welcome and state lunch.
Albanese and Prabowo will then visit the Royal Australian Navy base at Garden Island.
Albanese said the bilateral meeting would strengthen ties between the two countries:

Australia and Indonesia share a deep trust and unbreakable bond as neighbours, partners and friends.
Together we are committed to working for a secure, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
I look forward to building on our previous discussions about how we can develop the strength and depth of our bilateral relationship.

Updated at 12.53am GMT

12.41am GMT
What to expect from Liberals’ net zero meeting

Liberal MPs will soon begin filing into a Parliament House meeting room to thrash out the party’s position on a net zero emissions target.
Here’s a quick rundown of how the meeting is expected to play out.
The shadow minister for energy and emissions reduction, Dan Tehan, will put forward a set of “principles” to shape the party’s approach to climate and energy policy and a set of “open questions” for debate and endorsement of his colleagues.
We haven’t seen the exact wording of the proposed principles or the “open questions” but we can safely assume that MPs will be asked if they want to remain committed to a net zero emissions target.
Every member of the Liberal party room will get the opportunity to contribute, meaning the 12pm meeting could drag on for a few hours.
Guardian Australia understands the decision on whether or not to retain the climate target will not be put to a formal vote.
We’re expecting Tehan to stand up for a press conference following the meeting to explain the outcome.
The Liberal members of the shadow ministry will reconvene at 9am to endorse the position before negotiations start on an agreed policy with the Nationals, who have already agreed to dump a net zero emissions target.
A joint party room meeting is scheduled for Sunday to endorse the new Coalition position.

Updated at 4.44am GMT

12.25am GMT
Menulog to shut down in Australia due to 'challenging circumstances'

Menulog will close its Australian operations after 20 years in business, the company announced today.
In a statement, the company said:

While Menulog has a proud 20 year history, it has been navigating challenging circumstances. This strategic decision reflects our ​focus on accelerating growth and investments in other markets.

About 120 employees will be affected by the closure, who will be provided redundancy packages. The company will also provide eligible couriers with a four-week “voluntary payment”.
The managing director for Menulog, Morten Belling, said:

Today is a tough day for the Menulog business and I would like to reassure everyone this decision was not taken lightly.
Our priority now is to support our customers, couriers and partners. This is why we are providing everyone a two-week transition period, in which customers can redeem unused vouchers and credits.

The Menulog platform will remain operational until midnight 26 November.

Updated at 1.32am GMT

12.06am GMT

Chalmers says turning back on net zero policies would be ‘act of economic insanity’
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is adding to the pressure on Liberal MPs debating whether to ditch net zero by 2050 policies on Wednesday, pointing to the economic importance of cutting emissions.
“The transformation to cleaner, cheaper, more reliable energy is a golden economic opportunity for Australia and we’d be mad to miss it,” he said in a statement ahead of the meeting, adding:

To turn Australia’s back on net zero and practical climate change action would be an act of economic insanity.
The only outcome worse for our economy than a disorderly transition would be to abandon net zero completely.

Chalmers pointed to Treasury analysis released at the time of Labor’s announcement on new climate targets for 2035. The report warned about a “disorderly” approach to the energy transition, warning of lower economic growth, reduced investment, missed export and employment opportunities, and higher electricity prices
Chalmers lashed the Coalition for “extremism” on climate change.

They’re hopelessly divided, recklessly divisive and a danger to our economy.

Updated at 12.10am GMT

11.49pm GMT

Australia ordered to pay Russia for embassy takeover
Australia can reclaim a proposed Russian embassy site but will need to compensate the country for the forceful takeover, AAP reports.
The high court ruled as valid federal laws passed to reclaim land Russia had leased to build a new embassy in Canberra on national security grounds.
But the commonwealth was liable to pay a reasonable amount of compensation for the acquisition under the constitution, it said in its judgment on Wednesday.
The commonwealth will need to pay half of Russia’s cost for the case.
In 2023, Australia quickly passed laws to cancel Russia’s lease on a plot of land where it planned to build an embassy a few hundred metres from Parliament House.
Russia rejected the cancellation of the 99-year lease, which was granted by the Australian government in 2008, as hostile action amounting to “Russophobic hysteria”.

Updated at 11.55pm GMT

11.32pm GMT

Minns: staff may not have been notified about neo-Nazi rally ‘because it was on the weekend’
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says staff in his office may not have been notified in advance about Saturday’s neo-Nazi rally outside parliament “because it was on the weekend”.
The NSW speaker, Greg Piper, has revealed his staff were told about the rally by parliamentary security. The NSW police deputy commissioner Peter Thurtell has apologised after admitting he knew in advance about the event, which was approved by local police command, and the Sydney Morning Herald has revealed intelligence officers also knew.
The premier, the NSW police minister, Yasmin Catley, and the NSW police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, have all said they did not find out about the rally until after it happened.
Asked today why his staff were not notified by parliamentary security, whose procedure is reportedly to warn all MPs about protests outside parliament, Minns said:

If I were to speculate, I would suggest it was because it was on the weekend. The truth of the matter is, people work on the weekend and people come into the office on the weekend. So a glaring oversight. It’s a reason, not an excuse, and one that we need to fix as soon as possible.

On Monday, Minns told reporters a review into the rally would look into communication between police and the premier’s office, saying he didn’t know if an “errant email” may have referenced the rally before it happened.

Updated at 1.03am GMT

11.14pm GMT

Children could face life sentences for serious offences under Victorian government ‘adult time’ plan
Children as young as 14 who commit “serious crimes” will be sentenced as adults under a Victorian government plan to combat youth crime, AAP reports.
The state government said on Wednesday that it will adopt an “adult time for violent crime” laws similar to those in Queensland, which implemented the tough approach in 2024.
Children as young as 14 could be tried in adult courts, and possibly face life sentences under the proposed changes to be announced by the premier on Wednesday.
“We’re introducing Adult Time for Violent Crime,” the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, announced in a social media post.
Read more here:

Related: Children could face life sentences for serious offences under Victorian government ‘adult time’ plan

Updated at 11.15pm GMT

10.56pm GMT
Former independent MP’s son details threats to their family during election campaign to parliamentary inquiry

Former independent MP Zoe Daniel’s son says his family faced threatening and abusive behaviour during the 2025 election campaign, and took aim at the Goldstein MP and the Liberal party for not publicly condemning the threats.
Arkin Daniel-Reid spoke to the parliamentary inquiry into the 2025 election and said his mum “didn’t want me to speak today” but that he couldn’t “stay silent”.
Evidence given to an inquiry is bound by parliamentary privilege.
Daniel-Reid, in a statement to the committee, described being “tailgated” and “high-beamed” by a car when he was driving in a vehicle with Zoe Daniel campaign stickers. He also said their family vehicle was “doxed”.

I was driving my car dressed in Zoe campaign stickers along the Nepean highway, I was then tailgated and high beamed … I changed lanes and tried to distance myself but was met with the same driver laughing and pointing at me in my rear-view mirror as if it was normal.After [Daniel] was followed, abused, threatened and spat on, the straw that broke the camels’ back for me was the doxing of our family car. Someone took a photo of our car inside the located electorate office car park with the numberplate left unblurred, posting it to a Facebook page. My sister is often driven to school in that car and it had become the target of some sort.

Daniel-Reed said neither the Liberal party nor Tim Wilson “condemned” the doxing of the car.

A statement from the Liberal party on behalf of Tim Wilson [said] for my mum to apologise for using this very serious issue for political gain, with no public condemnation.

Updated at 11.03pm GMT

10.37pm GMT

Minns government passes planning laws overhauling approvals amid environmental concerns
The NSW government has passed its landmark overhaul of planning laws, amid concerns the laws will apply to mining and power projects.
The bill, which passed the upper house yesterday, includes an overhaul of the Environmental Planning and Assessment (EPA) Act, and establishes a Development Coordination Authority, which the government has described as “a single front door” for advice on major developments across government agencies.
But the legislation, which will amend the EPA to include “housing delivery, climate resilience and proportionality” in its objects and remove regional planning panels, has drawn the concern of climate advocates and a failed amendment by the Greens, amid fears it could allow new mines to be fast-tracked.
As Guardian Australia NSW state correspondent Anne Davies has reported, Minns told a mining summit last month the laws would make a “huge difference” when it came to mineral exploration, although he told Guardian Australia new projects would still be subject to full environmental assessment under the changes.

Related: Minns admits mining and power projects can be fast-tracked under contentious NSW approval laws

In a statement today, Minns said:

The Bill’s passage represents a major step forward for NSW housing and planning reform.
For too long, NSW has been held back by a system that was slow, complex and out of step with the necessity to deliver more homes for those who need them.

Updated at 10.42pm GMT

10.27pm GMT
Qantas flight returns to Adelaide after passengers smell smoke in the cabin

A Qantas flight from Adelaide to Canberra diverted back to its departure point this morning after pilots reported a technical issue onboard and crew saw smoke in the flight deck. The airline said in a statement the plane landed safely shortly after takeoff, and engineers would be checking the aircraft later today.
“Our pilots are highly trained to handle situations like this and the aircraft landed safely after the appropriate procedures were conducted,” a Qantas spokesperson said in a statement.
Leah Blyth, a senator for South Australia, was on board the plane en route to Canberra for the Coalition’s net zero policy meeting. She spoke about the experience to FiveAA this morning:

Look, it wasn’t scary, it was unusual. Obviously we fly a fair bit … but I’ve never had a cabin sort of fill with smoke quite like that before. So that was certainly unusual.

MP Tony Pasin and senator Andrew McLachlan were also on the flight.
Blyth described the smoke as smelling “electrical”, but praised the airline’s staff for their handling of the incident:

Hats off to Qantas staff who were calm, cool and collected and they got us safely back on the ground with no incident.
It’s never nice being up in the air and smelling, sensing smoke.

All passengers are on a new aircraft that departed about half an hour ago.

Updated at 10.50pm GMT

9.49pm GMT

NSW confirms state funeral for John Laws next week
The family of broadcaster John Laws has accepted an offer for a state funeral in New South Wales, the premier said this morning. Laws, a titan of talkback radio, died at home on Sunday. He was 90.
The funeral will be held on 19 November at St Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney.
Premier Chris Minns said in a statement:

On behalf of the NSW Government, I extend my deepest condolences to John’s family, friends, colleagues, and all who listened, learned and were challenged by him.
His legacy lies not only in the thousands of hours on air, but in the connection he forged with millions of Australians.

Related: John Laws, Australian radio’s ‘Golden Tonsils’ who dominated airwaves for six decades – obituary

Updated at 9.57pm GMT

9.34pm GMT

Climate 200 relaunches fund for community groups supporting independent candidates
Ahead of today’s meeting of Liberal MPs on the hot-button issue of net zero by 2050 emissions policies, campaign outfit Climate 200 has relaunched its fund for community groups looking to support climate-friendly independent candidates.
The Community Accelerator Fund is designed to raise and distribute more than $1m for community groups working ahead of the next federal election. Groups who did well at this year’s federal election but fell short against major party candidates, could again receive early-stage funding from Climate 200.
Climate 200’s post-election review found early funding was critical to success for local groups around the country, and that the sooner groups got to work, the more likely they would be successful. The moves come as some Liberal branches undertake early preselection and after the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, told Labor officials to move quickly to lock in candidates, giving them the best chance to build name recognition in key seats.
Climate 200’s money can go to recruitment of community organisers, placement of candidate recruitment ads, local events, volunteer training, and communications campaigns.
“As the Liberal party tears itself apart over net zero, community groups are getting on with the job of real leadership, working to get the political leaders they deserve,” co-convener Kate Hook said.

9.18pm GMT

Removing CO2 from atmosphere vital to avoid catastrophic tipping points, leading scientist says
Removing carbon from the atmosphere will be necessary to avoid catastrophic tipping points, one of the world’s leading scientists has warned, as even in the best-case scenario the world will heat by about 1.7C.
Johan Rockström of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, who is one of the chief scientific advisers to the UN and the Cop30 presidency, said 10bn tonnes of carbon dioxide needed to be removed from the air every year even to limit global heating to 1.7C (3.1F) above preindustrial levels.
To achieve this through technological means, such as direct air capture, would require the construction of the world’s second-biggest industry, after oil and gas, and require expenditures of about a trillion dollars a year, scientists said. It would need to be done alongside much more drastic emissions cuts and could also have unintended consequences.
Rockström was among several leading climate experts who spoke at a first public event for the Science Council, which was set up as an advisory body by the Belém Cop30 presidency.
Read more here:

Related: Removing CO2 from atmosphere vital to avoid catastrophic tipping points, leading scientist says

Updated at 9.21pm GMT

9.04pm GMT

Tim Wilson warns Liberals of becoming ‘Nationals-lite’
Shadow minister Tim Wilson says his party would be “Nationals-lite” if they dumped or watered down their emissions reduction targets, ahead of the crucial party room meeting today.
Liberals will meet in Canberra at midday to discuss the net zero target. The meeting is expected to run for some time. We’re hearing comments from Liberal MPs arriving in Canberra, and Wilson wrote on X that: “Today is going to be a great day.”
“Liberals face a choice,” he continued.
“We can be Nationals-lite & outsource our emissions policy to globalists. Or we can lead, choose hope, a sovereign target, build energy, reindustrialise Australia & back small business!”
Wilson finished his post with a cheeky sign-off: “Welcome to Liberal country.”

Updated at 9.12pm GMT

8.49pm GMT
Liberal senator describes atmosphere as Coalition descends on Canberra to debate net zero policy

Leah Blyth, a Liberal senator for South Australia, said predictions for how the Coalition moves forward on net zero remains the “million-dollar question” as members descend on Canberra today.
Blyth spoke to RN Breakfast, saying while she personally doesn’t believe net zero is “working for the Australian people”, she was looking forward to the broader opposition discussing if they should abandon the policy. She said:

It will certainly be a very good process for us to have a genuine debate and come up with a position that’s in the best interests of the Australian people. …
I think all of my colleagues are absolutely in favour of us doing our bit and to certainly have the minimal impact that we can on our natural environment. … I think the really important thing is everyone in the Coalition is committed to doing what’s right for our economy, for the environment and for the Australian people.

Blyth said her major hurdle with net zero remained the price tag:

I don’t think that we can be stewards of the environment if we can’t afford it.

Updated at 8.59pm GMT

8.35pm GMT

Ken Henry says he hopes Coalition reflects on what they owe to future Australians during net zero debate
Ken Henry, the former federal Treasury secretary and now chair of the Nature Finance Council, said this morning he hopes members of the Coalition debating the opposition’s stance on net zero have a moment to “pause and reflect” on how they serve Australians.
Henry spoke to RN Breakfast this morning as MPs are set to meet in Canberra today to discuss the policy, a major thorn for opposition leader Sussan Ley and her hold over the Coalition.

Related: Advance launches last-minute lobbying campaign pressuring Liberal MPs to dump net zero target

Henry said:

If 25 years ago somebody had told me that this would be happening right now, in November 2025, I would have just simply laughed at them. I would hope that the people who are involved in the debates in the Coalition at the moment at some stage this week take the opportunity to pause and reflect and ask themselves what their role is.
And I would hope that in contemplating that reason, they understand the awesome responsibility that they owe to future generations of Australians.

He went on:

That their job is not all about worrying about the cost of living in the present, but that they do whatever they can in a functioning democracy to ensure that future generations of Australians enjoy even more opportunity than has been available to us.
And there’s no way they’re going to be able to argue that they’re looking after future generations whilst they continue to avoid achieving net zero in a timely fashion.

Updated at 8.40pm GMT

8.19pm GMT
NT childcare staff charged over death of toddler Ebony Thompson

Staff at a childcare centre in the Northern Territory have been charged over the death of a toddler in 2023.
The NT education department said last night two charges had been laid against the Humpty Doo Community & Child Care Centre near Darwin and the three nominated supervisors who were on staff when Ebony Thompson died.
They included one count of inadequately supervising children and one count related to the protection of children from harm and hazards. Both charges were under the Education and Care Services National Law.
The infant was just 22 months old when she was found unresponsive at the childcare centre on 31 August 2023 after being unaccounted for during a period of around 10 minutes. She died in intensive care days later of a brain injury due to cardiac arrest.
A coroner’s findings, released in late October, determined Ebony was trying to get over a chicken-coop gate by standing on a tricycle and fell prior to her death.

8.10pm GMT

Good morning, and happy Wednesday. Nick Visser here to take things over. Let’s get to it.

Updated at 8.14pm GMT

7.54pm GMT

Homelessness advocate welcomes expansion of NSW crisis accommodation
A Salvation Army leader working first-hand with homelessness has said the NSW government’s crisis accommodation announcement responds to a system “under enormous strain”, with one in two people urgently seeking safe shelter currently being turned away.The divisional commander of New South Wales/ACT Salvation Army, Major Robyn Black, said the charity is seeing people experiencing homelessness that they’ve “never seen before”.“People who used to be volunteers at the Salvos are now finding themselves homeless, and people who are the working poor, people who still have a job and cannot afford rent in Sydney. We have the working homeless,” Black told Guardian Australia.Black described the $130m funding and additional 200 crisis accommodation beds, announced by the NSW government today, as “a tangible and compassionate” response to homelessness.“I think this is a fantastic step in the right direction. There are other factors at play [like] family and domestic violence, there’s a severe rental affordability crisis, there’s the increased cost of living. But at least this gives a chance of people having a roof over their head.”

Updated at 7.56pm GMT

7.51pm GMT
Minns government invests $130m to expand crisis accommodation

The NSW government has today announced a $130m investment to add at least 200 crisis accommodation beds across the state for those in critical need of safe shelter.
Crisis accommodation will be expanded and upgraded to increase capacity and better support people experiencing homelessness, including domestic and family violence victims, young people and Aboriginal communities. The first of the 200 additional beds are expected to be available from next year.
The plan comes as homelessness has continued to rise each year under the Minns government, with a 35% increase in people sleeping rough in the state since 2023, according to the past three NSW Street Counts.
The minister for housing and homelessness, Rose Jackson, said the plan was “about making sure that when someone reaches out for help, there’s a door open, a bed ready, and the support they need to get back on their feet”.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said: “Whether it’s a mum and her kids escaping domestic violence, or a young person facing a night on the streets, this plan will deliver more safe and secure beds. Every new bed means one fewer person sleeping rough.”

7.37pm GMT
Big four banks have handed fossil fuels $43bn in decade, analysis claims

Australia’s big four banks have provided $43bn to fossil fuel companies in the last decade, with ANZ and Westpac continuing to fund further gas expansion.
Expansions of coal, oil and gas projects accounted for $30bn of the funding, according to analysis by green advocacy group Market Forces released nearly 10 years on from the Paris agreement’s signing.
Each bank has endorsed the agreement and CBA has reduced its fossil fuel financing since changing its policies in 2024, with NAB indicating it will do the same, Market Forces’ report found.
ANZ has provided the most fossil fuel funding of the big four, accounting for over $10bn from 2016 to 2021 and a further $5.7bn since 2022. Westpac has become the second largest, lending $3.8bn since 2022 to companies such as Woodside and BP.
The report concluded the two banks’ policies were “little more than window dressing and greenwashing”. The big four would be breaking their own promises if they offered further financing to any of the 23 active customers with “egregious” fossil fuel expansion plans incompatible with the Paris agreement, it found.
Kyle Robertson, head of research at Market Forces, said ANZ and Westpac could still stop enabling the industry:
“Australia’s biggest banks have well and truly given their fossil fuel clients long enough to prepare. If they’re still not transitioning, it’s time to turn the money tap off once and for all.”
An ANZ spokesperson said the bank was a significant lender for the energy sector and aimed to move towards a lending portfolio accounting for net zero emissions in line with the Paris agreement. Westpac was contacted for comment.

Updated at 7.44pm GMT

7.29pm GMT
Welcome

Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best overnight stories and then Nick Visser will take up the slack.
Australia’s big four banks have provided $43bn to fossil fuel companies in the last decade, with ANZ and Westpac continuing to fund further gas expansion. A study by the green advocacy group Market Forces showed the expansion of coal, oil and gas projects accounted for $30bn of the funding. More details in a moment.
The NSW government is going spend $130m to add at least 200 crisis accommodation beds across the state for those in critical need of safe shelter. The Salvation Army said the move was a response to a system “under enormous strain”. More details coming up.