What we learned today, Thursday 3 April
Thank you for being with us on yet another whirlwind day on the campaign trail. That’s where we’ll leave things. Here are the main takeaways:
Anthony Albanese began day seven of the campaign in Melbourne to tout the government’s “same job, same pay” laws, while Peter Dutton was in Western Australia, announcing $600m for roads critical to mining and agriculture.
The day was quickly overshadowed by news Australia had been hit with a 10% tariff on all imports to the US.
In response, the prime minister said this was “not the act of a friend” and would have “consequences” for how Australians views the US-Australia relationship.
Albanese said his government would not respond with reciprocal tariffs, but would use “every asset” available in talks with the US. He outlined a five-point plan in response.
The opposition leader claimed the Coalition would have been able to achieve a different outcome on tariffs – without citing exactly how, and despite the fact no other country in the world was granted an exemption.
While being questioned on this, Dutton wouldn’t commit that as prime minister he would be able to get these tariffs removed.
The trade minister, Don Farrell, said he would meet with his European counterparts to re-discuss a free trade agreement with the EU.
The former prime minister Paul Keating labelled Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement as a “blitzkrieg on globalisation”, saying it represents the “effective death knell of NATO”.
The ABC will host the first free-to-air leaders’ debate at 8pm on 16 April with Insiders host David Speers as moderator.
Krishani Dhanji will be back with you first thing tomorrow morning for another day of action. Take care, and enjoy your evening.
Updated
Pocock requests ANU be investigated for potentially misleading Senate
The ACT senator David Pocock has requested the Australian National University be investigated for potentially misleading the Senate last year, accusing it of seeming to “hide key information from our community” over a contract with a consulting group.
Appearing before the Senate in November last year, Pocock asked the ANU vice-chancellor, Prof Genevieve Bell, if the university had engaged consulting group Nous and if so what the contract was worth.
The ANU’s chief operating officer, Jonathan Churchill, said the university had paid “circa $50,000 so far this year”.
In a subsequent response to a question on notice from the committee chair, Tony Sheldon, the ANU confirmed the maximum value of the contract, entered into in September 2024, was $837,000, which had subsequently been increased twice to a total of $1,127,000 excluding travel and expenses.
Pocock said he was “appalled” the leadership appeared to have shown “such contempt” for the Senate estimates process and “misled” him as a senator.
As a measure of how seriously I take this incident, I have written to … Sheldon … requesting an investigation into the matter and potential contempt of the Senate.
A spokesperson for ANU said the statement provided by Churchill to the Senate was “factually accurate”:
The arrangements with Nous were based on the University’s needs, were subject to regular review, and contained the ability for ANU to exit without committing the full amount of the contract if the University desired. Additional work was identified as required.
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Dutton campaign lands in Busselton, WA
Peter Dutton has touched down in Busselton, Western Australia for a brief local visit to the seat of Forrest. We’ve jumped off the plane for a quick press conference just outside the airport.
The rain is coming down so this might be a short media appearance. The seat is held by the Coalition MP Nola Marino, who is retiring. Ben Small, formerly a Liberal senator, is running to replace her.
Dutton is announcing $16m to upgrade the airport at Busselton here.
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Shadow trade minister continues Coalition argument it could have achieved different tariff outcome
The shadow trade minister, Kevin Hogan, is continuing the Coalition’s argument it would have been able to achieve a different outcome on tariffs for Australia.
Speaking on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, he argued Mexico and Canada were able to get exemptions and “we know, as a dealmaker, we could have potentially gotten a deal like Canada and Mexico”.
Host Patricia Karvelas pointed out that Canada and Mexico were slapped with tariffs, along with the rest of the world, and that cumulatively Australia has had less of an impact. Hogan, though, argued:
While we just highlighted where Canada and Mexico did get slapped with tariffs, most goods and services they sell to each other through their FTA’s have been made exempt … And as Arthur just said, Trump is still open to negotiations on these things, we know he’s transactional, leader to leader, so there’s still possibilities to get a better deal.
Karvelas also quoted Sinodinos, who said the “Trump administration are determined to have higher tariffs … by minimising exemptions and exceptions”. Hogan continued his argument though, saying: “I think there are examples, like Canada, like Mexico, that have had products made exempt.”
So, if Peter Dutton got a phone call with Donald Trump, would he have truly walked away with a deal when no other country did? Hogan didn’t specify how, but still said, “we got a deal previously”.
I do agree [with] most of the points you have made. Trump is a believer in tariffs, the people around him believe in this. It is going to be a difficult thing to do, but you have to give it your best shot and I do not think necessarily we have.
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Sinodinos says he encouraged Americans to approach Australia over differences on beef
Arthur Sinodinos said that the Trump administration should have approached Australia when it came to differences on beef, saying:
What should have happened here is that Trump administration should have come to the Australian government and said, look, we have certain issues around beef, there is a lack of reciprocity, can we review the way you do things on biosecurity, consistent with your standards, so that we can get greater access? I mean, I encouraged the Americans to do that. We all did. I think that would have been a better way to go than what has happened here.
So, the US didn’t do that or did Australia just not respond? The former ambassador said:
I think the issue was just let go and let slip and never really properly focused on. The urgent always crowds out the important.
In his speech today, Donald Trump singled out Australia’s ban on the import of US beef – imposed in 2003 after the US had cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.
Former US ambassador says Australia shouldn’t ‘lightly throw away assets like Pine Gap’
On Pine Gap, and whether that should be part of any negotiations with the US to get an exemption, Arthur Sinodinos said it was “rash” for “Australia to put security installations like that on the table”.
These things have a value in their own right, [but] they are not pawns in a trade game … If we look like we are prepared to trade with the defence and security relationship in order to get a trade advantage, that is not to a longer term strategic advantage.
A longer term strategic advantage is to keep the US locked into this region, by being a strong partner to the US and explaining to them why their tied up with the security of countries like us in the Indo-Pacific. We don’t lightly throw away assets like Pine Gap.
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‘Much tougher to get a deal on tariffs this time than 2018’, Sinodinos says
Arthur Sinodinos was asked about claims from the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, that he would have somehow been able to achieve a different outcome on tariffs for Australia.
(No other country was exempted, and when asked how he would have achieved this at an earlier press conference, Dutton could not answer specifically.)
Sinodinos said it would have been “much tougher to get a deal this time around than say in 2018”.
The Trump administration are determined to have higher tariffs. They believe that will generate revenue, they want the protective effect, and they believe they get that by minimising exemptions and exceptions.
But as usual with the president, he is leaving the door open. We will see what that means in terms of potential negotiations of individual country deals, but it is a hard environment for any country to get an exception here in the US at the moment.
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Former ambassador to the US weighs in on further tariffs
Former Liberal senator and ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos is up on ABC Afternoon Briefing to weigh in on the latest tariffs.
He said it was true Australia “didn’t cop it much as many other countries,” but argued the broader impact was relevant:
What we have to be concerned about is that there will be retaliation, potentially by the major blocks – like the EU as well as the Chinese and others – and what does this mean about global trade and investment?
We are successful trading nation, we rely on trade, so we are in a situation now where I think we’re going be buffeted by some very choppy waters and a lot of uncertainty in global business tonight about how they’re going to handle these tariffs.
Sinodinos said that whoever is elected prime minister should “come to the US pretty quickly and eyeball the president”, and have a “leader to leader” conversation on this.
Updated
Man charged with intimidation after alleged antisemitic comments
A man has been charged with intimidation after an alleged antisemitic incident in Sydney earlier this year.
NSW police said they have been investigating reports of antisemitic comments directed at a Kogarah hospital staff member in a lift on 28 February.
Officers arrested a 24-year-old man in Arncliffe this morning, who was taken to St George police station and charged with stalking and intimidation, and possessing violent extremist material.
He was refused bail to appear in Sutherland local court today.
Police said two mobile phones have been taken for further examination, after being seized when a search warrant was executed at premises in Arncliffe.
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Wong responds to Keating’s suggestion that Trump tariffs signal end of NATO
Wrapping up the interview, Penny Wong was asked about comments from former PM Paul Keating that Donald Trump’s tariff announcement “represents the effective death knell of NATO”.
She said the government’s job was to “continue to seek strategic stability,” including Australia’s strategic partnership with the US and Aukus.
In relation to Nato, I think it is important to remember Nato is a very important contributor to global peace and stability. There is no doubt we live in an uncertain world … a world where we see more conflict and frankly more division. Our job, from Australia’s perspective, is to be a voice for continued engagement, continued strategic stability, because that underpins peace.
Are those institutions still in good health? Wong answered:
I do not believe suggesting that they are ending is in Australia’s interest.
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Wong says direct negotiation over tariffs preferable to WTO
Asked about whether Australia might take the US to the World Trade Organization over the latest tariffs, Penny Wong said the government’s preference was to negotiate directly:
We have dispute resolution mechanisms available to us, both within the free-trade agreement and at the WTO. Our preference is to negotiate directly and to try to resolve this. That is what would like to do and what the government will be doing certainly if we are re-elected.
Should Australia revisit its restriction on US beef?
Penny Wong said Australia’s biosecurity decisions should be guided by science:
I want science the guide that process, it’s important for Australia and our industries and for our reputation that we ensure that our biosecurity is scientifically based.
Is the science still saying we must have this restrictions? Wong suggested it is:
As I understand – it is obviously not my portfolio – that process is not yet finalised to the extent that that position could be changed, and we certainly don’t propose to be compromising our bio security regime.
Wong says reciprocal tariffs would put costs on Australian consumers
Does Penny Wong think Australia can live with a 10% tariff, because getting out of it might be too costly for our country?
She told host Patricia Karlevas that “I don’t agree with how you have put that”.
Let’s remember tariffs are paid by the US consumer, ultimately. That is where the cost of tariffs fall. That is why we are not going down the path of reciprocal tariffs – that is putting Australian tariffs on because we know that would be making Australian consumers pay the price of this difference of views on a trade.
Wong said Australia would “continue to put our view very clearly” to the US and “diversify our economic relationships”.
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Wong says defence relationship with US important ‘regardless of disagreements on economic policy’
Asked about Australia’s defence relationship with the US amid the tariff announcements, and whether Pine Gap should play a role in any negotiations, Penny Wong responded:
I think it’s very important that we continue to preserve and protect our strategic relationship and our institutional relationship with the United States.
The foreign affairs minister said she was “surprised that Peter Dutton would be so reckless as to suggest a different approach.”
We think it is important to remember the US administration, regardless of our disagreements on economic policy, we have a very important strategic relationship with them and we have had for decades. We have a very important relationship when it comes to Aukus and we are pleased with the continued and bipartisan support for Aukus.
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Wong says Dutton ‘so arrogant as to be delusional’ with claims he could have achieved different tariff outcome
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says that “no country is in a better position than Australia” after today’s tariff announcements from the United States.
Speaking with ABC’s Afternoon Briefing just now, she said:
As the prime minister has made clear, we believe these tariffs are unwarranted – certainly inconsistent with the free trade agreement – and they go against the spirit of the friendship between our two countries.
But Wong said that “unlike [Peter] Dutton, we don’t want a deal at any cost”, and took aim at him as being “so arrogant as to be delusional”.
He seriously thinks he uniquely, amongst all leaders in the world, could have got a better deal. The reality is this is the decision president Trump and his administration have made. It is central to their political and economic strategy. We disagree with it for the reasons the prime minister has outlined.
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Impact on American consumers from Trump’s tariffs
As the rest of the world chews on the bitter tariff stew served up this morning, spare a thought for American households – the very ones Trump is claiming he’s there to “make wealthy again”.
The average American will be $US3,800 ($6,000) worse off this year thanks to Trump’s tariff policies, according to Yale University’s recently created thinktank, The Budget Lab.
The poorest Americans will be hit the hardest in the short-term as taxes on imports push prices higher.
Clothing costs are anticipated to soar by 17%. The lowest income households will suffer a 4% drop in disposable income, versus a 1.6% drop for the wealthiest.
The US’s average effective tariff rate will reach 22.5% thanks to “liberation day”, or the highest since 1909, according to the new analysis.
The American economy will be nearly 1% smaller in 2025 thanks to the accumulated levies announced since Trump came to power, and most of that prospective damage is thanks to what was revealed today.
And US GDP will be permanently lower by 0.4%.
Before we feel too sorry for the US, its northern neighbour, Canada, will fare far worse: its economy will be 2% smaller in the long run.
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Murray Watt dismisses Dutton’s IR climbdown
The workplace relations minister, Murray Watt, has just responded to news Peter Dutton has ruled out repealing “same job, same pay” laws.
Speaking to reporters after Anthony Albanese’s speech to the Mining and Energy Union conference, Watt said:
If you believe Peter Dutton on ‘same job, same pay’, I’ve got a mine shaft to sell you. Peter Dutton and his colleagues voted against the ‘same job, same pay’ laws. They called it at the time unAustralian and dangerous, they said the laws would close down Australia.
Does anyone really believe they are going to change position from that to all of a sudden start reporting it?
AEC says Abbie Chatfield podcasts did not breach electoral rules
The Australian Electoral Commission has cleared podcast host Abbie Chatfield of any wrongdoing and said a review of her content has found it “does not require an authorisation statement”.
Liberal senators had raised concerns about some of the podcaster’s podcasts and material shared on social media, questioning whether it should have been classed as electoral material, which would require an official authorisation statement.
Anthony Albanese and Adam Bandt have both appeared on Chatfield’s podcast in recent weeks. Clips of the interviews were shared on both politician’s social media accounts. Chatfield has separately encouraged her followers to put the Liberal party last on ballot papers.
In a statement, an AEC spokesperson said that while the podcasts “could be viewed as being made for purpose of influencing how someone casts their vote, there is no evidence that there was a monetary benefit for the podcaster as a result of either Albanese or Bandt being invited onto the show”.
It appears that the invitations to Albanese or Bandt to participate were voluntary. In addition, questions put to both interviewees were sourced from the podcast’s audience. There is no evidence that either Albanese or Bandt had creative control in relation to the questions that were asked.
As such, the AEC is not satisfied that the episodes of Ms Chatfield’s podcasts on 21 February 2025 and 11 March 2025 could be considered to be paid advertising or to be communicated by or on behalf of a candidate or party. This content does not require an authorisation.
The AEC is making the outcome of this review public out of fairness to Ms Chatfield given the media coverage of the issue to date.
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Albanese tumbles on stage after giving speech in Newcastle
Just back to Anthony Albanese’s speech at the Mining and Energy Union conference in the Hunter this afternoon:
After delivering the speech, Albanese appeared to stumble on stage, prompting gasps from the union members gathered in the room. He quickly recovered and appears OK.
He was also asked about this on ABC Newcastle radio just now, and said:
I stepped back one step. I didn’t fall off the stage … Just one leg went down, but I was sweet.
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PM on fast rail between Newcastle and Sydney: ‘We’re going through the business case’
Asked if there will there be money in the campaign for fast rail between Newcastle and Sydney, Anthony Albanese said that work was under way.
We’ve already begun that process. We’ve established the office in Newcastle here. We think it’s an exciting proposal. I’ve been a long term supporter of it. The work is being undertaken as we speak, and we’ve already provided funding in the budget.
In terms of how soon the high-speed rail could be in place, the prime minister didn’t specify, answering:
We’re going through the business case and going through those processes.
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Albanese responds to climate protestors who crashed his press conference
Anthony Albanese also weighed in on the climate protestors that crashed his press conference in Maitland today, and said:
I think that people screaming in a hospital ward says more about them than advancing their cause. Frankly, I thought it’s [an] entirely inappropriate setting for a couple of people to pose as journalists …
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Albanese speaks to local radio in Newcastle about job transition for mining workers
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking with ABC Newcastle this afternoon, declaring he “certainly” still sees the Hunter as a Labor heartland.
Asked if he has lost track with local voters, with a number of local seats considered marginal, Albanese disagreed:
Of course, Newcastle … [has] been represented by the Liberal party at various times. And when people have done that, they’ve come back to Labor pretty quickly, because it’s only Labor that will stand up for values.
He was also asked about community concern over the closure of coal mines and the transition for workers, and pointed to the net zero authority “to make sure that communities aren’t left behind”.
They’ll help by making sure that we have new jobs created, in addition to support for existing jobs that will be around for some time – but we want new industries to come to the Hunter.
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Good afternoon! Emily Wind here, I’ll be taking you through the rest of today’s news.
That’s it from me today, thank you for following me along on the blog.
It’s been a huge day, with plenty of reaction to Trump’s announcement on tariffs, and the fabulous Emily Wind will be able to bring you all the rest on that issue and what’s happening on the election trail this afternoon.
I’ll catch you all bright and early tomorrow morning!
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‘Same job, same pay’ laws on ballot at election, Albanese says
Anthony Albanese is delivering a speech about Labor’s “same job, same pay” laws to a Mining and Energy Union conference in the seat of Hunter, the heart of NSW coal country.
For those unfamiliar, the laws came into force last year allowing labour-hire workers to apply to be paid the same amount as directly employed staff doing the same job.
Unions in industries including mining and aviation are already capitalising on the new bargaining tool to negotiate pay rises for their workers.
The Coalition opposed the laws in federal parliament and vowed to review them if it won election.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, seemingly walked back that position on Thursday after responding “we’re not going to” when asked if a Coalition government would reverse the legislation.
In his speech to the union conference (almost certainly written before Dutton’s comments), Albanese said the laws were “on the ballot paper” at the 3 May federal election.
They are promising to abolish Same Job, Same Pay. To take away all those pay rises that workers have earned. Ripping money out of people’s pockets – and out of communities. Whether it’s your Medicare, your wages or your conditions ….
Albanese entered the packed conference room to a standing ovation from union members, before posing for a selfie with the Hunter MP, Dan Repacholi.
A report from progressive think tank the McKell Institute, published on Thursday, estimated the “same job, same pay” laws would deliver a wages boost of up to $920.3m each year to workers in industries such as mining, aviation and retail.
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Uninhabited islands tariffed
If you also thought it was a little strange that Norfolk Island (a tiny island that is part of Australian territory) had been included in Trump’s tariffs, well the uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands have also been captured.
How? Why? Kate Lyons and Nick Evershed have the details here:
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Kim Williams: ‘No doubt’ Coalition government would initiate review of ABC
Jumping out of the campaign and back to Kim Williams at the Melbourne Press Club …
Williams has responded to comments made by Peter Dutton this week where he refused to rule out cuts to the ABC, saying the public broadcaster would need to demonstrate efficiency and excellence:
Williams says a “well-resourced ABC has never been more important”:
I don’t think the ABC has anything to apologise for in its continuing quest for excellence and its continuing obligation to operate with efficiency.
Asked if he believes a Coalition government would initiate a review of the ABC, Williams replies: “no doubt about it”.
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Rising Tide protest group claims responsibility for crashing PM’s press conference
Climate action group Rising Tide says it was its protesters who crashed Anthony Albanese’s media conference a short time ago.
The group started in Newcastle, NSW, around the Hunter region, and have been pushing to end all coal exports from Newcastle by 2030.
Rising Tide activists have also recently crashed the press conferences of Peter Dutton, Angus Taylor and Jim Chalmers.
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ABC chair becomes emotional after reading viewer messages on Alfred coverage
Williams has become emotional after reading messages from ABC viewers expressing gratitude for the public broadcaster’s coverage of the ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred last month.
Williams became teary and said he could read these messages “for hours”, prompting applause from the audience at the Melbourne Press Club:
What we do as members of the media is more than a public service. It’s something inseparable from the workings of the nation.
We need an extremely strong and well funded media. We need an extremely strong and well funded ABC.”
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ABC chair tells Melbourne Press Club investment in broadcaster is ‘supporting Australian democracy’
ABC chair Kim Williams is addressing the Melbourne Press Club to mark his first 12 months as chair. His appearance comes the day after the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, hinted he may cut funding to the ABC if it was not efficient or excellent enough.
Williams is making a case for supporting the ABC in the interests of democracy, saying the ABC can provide trustworthy independent journalism in the face of a global assault on truth.
One direct way of supporting Australian democracy is before our very nose – to properly invest in the ABC.
We perform as well as we can with the allocations provided, and we are grateful to the Australian government for providing it to enable the ABC to serve audiences.
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PM’s media conference crashed by climate protesters
A touch earlier, the PM did a quick press conference as well, in the NSW Hunter region, where he was talking up the government’s promise for more Medicare urgent care clinics.
Albanese was asked to respond to Peter Dutton’s reaction to the tariffs and said:
Peter Dutton doesn’t have any plans, [his] plan is to move into Kirribilli House to measure up the curtains. What we’ve done is to stand up for Australian interests.
But two climate protesters crashed that media conference as the PM was talking about supporting the region and its coal industry:
We want to make sure as the transition happens – we have established a net zero authority – what that’s about is making sure no community gets left behind. We support the coal industry.
The protesters yelled “Mr Albanese, why did your government approve 33 new fossil fuel projects?”
It’s my future, it has to stop.
The protesters were quickly ushered out of the building by security.
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Dutton pressed on how he would negotiate tariffs with US
Dutton is tested again on what exactly he would put on the table in negotiations with the Trump administration.
One reporter asks whether Australians even want a fight with the US? Dutton replies:
Well, you bet that we’re going to get the best deal for our country, and we can do that through strong leadership.
He’s asked whether a Dutton government would be willing to withhold assets or from the US, but Dutton says his approach would be the “opposite”.
It’s about what we can bring to the table in a bigger deal with the United States. I think there is opportunity for us to take what is a bad decision, and decision I’m dead against, that’s been made by the president.
There’s huge market opportunity in the US, the critical mineral development out of WA can supply the US supply chain, and we can have assurances, because we’re a trusted partner, there is enormous opportunity. But the prime minister hasn’t spoken about any of that to President Trump …
Again, the Albanese has said that the government did negotiate with the Trump administration on critical minerals after the first set of tariffs on steel and aluminium were announced. (You can recap that here).
Dutton is asked point blank by another reporter if there is a “stick” that can be used against the US.
He doesn’t directly answer the question, he just says the US “value the relationship we have with them”.
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Dutton claims Labor delaying North West Shelf gas decision
Peter Dutton is speaking to media again from Perth, and he’s pushing hard on mining (specifically that the Coalition heavily supports the mining industry).
Dutton has accused Labor of delaying a decision on the extension of the North West Shelf gas project in WA.
I think what it says to everybody in WA who is reliant on or connected with this sector, with this incredible mining sector, that you can’t trust Mr Albanese, and he certainly can’t trust a minority Labor-Greens government.
The first question to Dutton goes to whether a Coalition government would repeal the same job, same pay IR laws that the Labor government has put in.
Dutton says they won’t and then goes to what he’s said previously on IR, that he’ll deregister the construction union, the CFMEU, which is under administration.
We’re not going to. And we’ve said right from the start the big difference on industrial relations policy at the next election between us and the Labor Party will be that we’re going to deregister the CFMEU. The CFMEU would be a disaster for the Pilbara. The CFMEU would be a disaster across every mining site.
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Wong dismisses Dutton over ‘captain obvious’ suggestions for tariff response
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, says the US administration’s tariffs are a “poor decision”.
Wong is asked on Sky News to respond to Peter Dutton’s suggestion that there is a pathway to resolving the issues if there’s a “will”.
Wong calls Dutton “captain obvious”, suggesting the government is doing everything he’s pointed out already, and called him “reckless”.
Peter Dutton seems to think he’s Superman, but he’s actually Captain Obvious. He suggests that this is a time for negotiation, well, that is what we have been doing. He suggests we should be discussing critical minerals, I’m sure he will recall it’s quite been quite public, that is, that is what we have been doing …
But really, what we saw from Mr Dutton today is more reckless arrogance. We saw him today talking down Australia.
Wong says, as she mentioned during her press conference with the prime minister, that this is a time for unity across politics, and warns Dutton to “stop his relentless carping”.
Updated
Peter Dutton’s WA tour continues, arriving at a manufacturing business in the Perth electorate of Hasluck. He’s checking out a factory and warehouse which makes drilling equipment.
He’s already done his main press conference for the day, so we’re expecting him to do a tour as a photo opportunity, and then to make some remarks - launching the Coalition’s $600 million pledge on road infrastructure for mining and agriculture areas.
Hasluck is held by Labor on a 10% margin, so not necessarily at the top of the “at risk” column for Anthony Albanese - but Dutton needs to make some serious inroads in the west, so he’s shooting high with some ambitious visits.
Queensland doesn’t look like it’ll adopt a gas reserve policy - instead trusting in rolling out more supply.
Mount Isa-based MP Robbie Katter asked if the LNP state government was considering following Peter Dutton’s lead in question time this morning.
“Without it, Phosphate Hill, Mount Isa mine and the town’s refinery are all at risk,” he said.
Minister for natural resources Dale Last didn’t answer that question, but he did make it clear he wants the industry in Queensland to expand.
We have ample gas reserves, ample gas supplies. And as I’ve been saying to my gas companies in this state - I’ll sign, you drill. And that’s a message that we’re taking out across Queensland to develop our gas reserves, to bring them online, because that is prosperity for Queensland, and that is jobs for Queensland.
Last cited the Australian market supply condition process and the Australian domestic gas security mechanism, which require more gas to be used locally.
He went on to say that “there’s no gas crisis in this state”.
PM heads to Paterson
After landing in the NSW Hunter region, Anthony Albanese has made a beeline for the electorate of Paterson.
Labor backbencher Meryl Swanson holds the seat on a margin of 2.6% but faces a serious threat from the Liberals, who believe it is winnable in part because of community unrest over a proposed offshore wind zone in Port Stephens.
Albanese will visit Maitland hospital to spruik his promise to build a new Medicare urgent care clinic in the region to take pressure of the hospital’s emergency department.
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Voting for Dutton is voting for higher taxes – Leigh
Finally, Leigh also argues that a vote for Peter Dutton is a vote for higher taxes (as the PM and Treasurer have also been pushing):
Peter Dutton has pledged to repeal Labor’s tax cuts – the very ones that deliver for the middle of the income distribution. If that happens, every Australian taxpayer will face a higher tax bill. These aren’t theoretical risks. They are practical, immediate consequences – and they fall hardest on the people who deserve relief the most.
It would be, quite literally, the first time in living memory that a federal opposition promised to raise taxes on everyone.
The reforms we’ve introduced aren’t ideological. They’re practical. Measured. Grounded in evidence. And, perhaps most importantly, designed not just for the world we model, but for the one Australians wake up in each day.
Fair tax policy isn’t just about getting the incentives right. It’s about getting the priorities right. And this reform puts the middle of the income distribution back at the centre of the conversation.
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Continuing from our last post …
Leigh has also presented new analysis on how the tax cut will help women. He says:
The majority of low- and middle-income earners in Australia are women. They’re also more likely to be in part-time or casual work, and more affected by the interplay between tax, family payments, and childcare costs.
Under these changes, around 90% of women taxpayers – 6.3 million women – will receive a larger tax cut than under Morrison’s Missing Middle Model. For those women getting a larger tax cut, the average increase in their tax benefit is $1,181. That’s not just a spreadsheet improvement. That’s more money for rent, groceries, bills and maybe a bit left over at the end of the fortnight.
Treasury estimates that the combined effect of the tax cuts will increase total hours worked by about 1.3 million per week. 900,000 of those hours are expected to come from women. That’s the equivalent of unlocking more than 20,000 full-time roles – empowering people to work more if they choose to.
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Andrew Leigh spruiks benefits of stage-three tax cut changes
The assistant minister for competition, charities & treasury, Andrew Leigh, has made a case for how the government’s stage-three tax cuts have made Australian society more equitable.
Speaking at Melbourne University’s conference on Justice and the Tax Base in the 21st Century, Leigh said:
The Albanese government has introduced three rounds of income tax cuts. Each has been guided by the belief that a just tax system should reward effort, support those doing it tough, and help grow the economy without eroding the social contract.
Making the case for income tax, he said: “When it works well, it makes the country stronger, fairer, and more cohesive.”
He said Labor’s changes to the stage-three tax cuts helped more middle- and lower-income Australians:
The second and third rounds go further by lowering the first marginal rate – currently 16% for income between $18,201 and $45,000.
From 1 July 2026, it drops to 15%. From 1 July 2027, it drops again to 14% – the lowest this rate has been in more than 50 years. For context, the last time it was this low, the original Mad Max was in cinemas and ABBA was still touring.
These tax cuts are steady, deliberate, and designed to reinforce progressivity while boosting after-tax incomes in a fiscally responsible way.
Consider someone on average earnings – around $79,000. In 2026–27, they’ll receive a new tax cut of $268, increasing to $536 from 2027–28.
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‘Today is a dark day in the global economy’, says Chalmers
Chalmers hasn’t yet spoken on Peter Dutton’s claims he could have achieved a better or different outcome, but he says now’s not the time for Dutton’s “higher taxes” and “lower wages”.
Peter Dutton’s response to higher tariffs around the world is higher income taxes for every Australian worker …
Today is a dark day in the global economy. Australia has a plan to respond to this global economic uncertainty, the plan in the budget and the additional steps announced by the prime minister today. We are not uniquely impacted, but we are uniquely placed and we are well prepared for whatever comes at us from around the world.
The government has continued to reiterate the point that all countries have been affected by these tariffs, and there have been no carve-outs or exemptions negotiated with the Trump administration.
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Chalmers asks Treasury department for new modelling on tariff impact
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is also digging into the US’ decision to apply sweeping tariffs and says he’s asked the treasury department to update modelling on the impact these tariffs will have.
Chalmers says he’ll release that modelling publicly.
These escalating trade tensions, these tariffs announced by the Trump administration in Washington DC, are self-defeating, they are self-sabotaging, and in a time when there’s not a lot of growth in the global economy …
We know that we won’t be immune from these tariffs, even though the US is only about 5% of our export market. We know that Australia, like other countries, that we are not uniquely impacted by these tariffs, but we are uniquely placed and we are very well prepared.
Chalmers, like the PM, says Australia will continue to diversify its trade portfolio, and not engage in “a race to the bottom” on tariffs.
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ABC announces ‘gimmick-free’ debate between Dutton and Albanese
The ABC will host the first free-to-air leaders’ debate at 8pm on 16 April with Insiders host David Speers as moderator.
The leaders, Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton, will make opening and closing statements and will have equal time to respond to questions. The topics and questions will be decided by the ABC.
Speers said:
This will be a gimmick-free debate, focused on the major challenges facing Australia at a critical time, and where the two leaders stand
The aim is to give voters an opportunity to hear the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader discuss their competing visions for the country and genuinely debate each other.
My commitment is to give both leaders fair treatment and an opportunity to make their case.
The debate will be broadcast live on the ABC and ABC iview, and will also be available across ABC Local Radio, Radio National, ABC News Radio and on the ABC listen app.
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The press plane following Albanese has just touched down in Newcastle.
As soon as we have details on the prime minister’s next stop, we’ll let you know!
Former PM says US tariff policy a ‘blitzkrieg on globalisation’
Former Australian prime minister Paul Keating has weighed into Trump’s sweeping tariffs announcement, calling it Trump’s “blitzkrieg on globalisation” and saying it represents the “effective death knell of NATO”.
Keating says Trump’s “neo-Munroeism” shows the US will now only focus on the western hemisphere, and change the world’s geo-strategic settings.
In a statement, he wrote:
Trump’s new economic fortress America, by its design, winds off its principal economic and strategic partner, Europe, leaving China as the sole promoter of free and open international trade…
The announcement represents the effective death knell of NATO, a severing that will inform all other allied relationships with America including Anzus with Australia.
Keating warns if the announcement spells the end of Nato, then what will continue to underpin the Anzus treaty.
Australia’s clutch of Austral-Americans, that phalanx of American acolytes, must have choked on their breakfasts, as Donald Trump laid out his blitzkrieg on globalisation, with all its implications for the rupture of cooperation and goodwill among nations.
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A closer look at Dutton’s claims about achiving different tariff outcome
Peter Dutton very strongly implied there that he would have achieved a different and a better outcome than Anthony Albanese (and every other country in the world).
Several times over that press conference he said there could have been a better outcome:
There is a deal to be done here if the prime minister had the strength of leadership and ability to do it. He hasn’t even spoken about the defence element to the relationship. It’s the most integral part of our relationship with the United States. We could have leveraged a better outcome if we’d been speaking about this from January 20.
We have the ability to manage the economy, the ability to manage our national security needs and we have an ability to make sure that we can get a better deal for Australia, which is what we would do.
We’re not trading anything away. We want to enhance the relationship and I believe we’re the only alternative at this election that can achieve a better outcome.
But Dutton would not lay out exactly how he would get that “better outcome”.
He said several times he wasn’t willing to punish the US through our defence alliance, like pulling US troops out of the Northern Territory. Sky’s Andrew Clennell accused Dutton of sounding as if he’s “kowtowing” to the Trump administration by just offering more to the Americans.
He also said there could be a deal on critical minerals, when the government had previously tried that – only to be rejected by the Trump administration.
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Dutton’s claims of achieving a different tariff outcome challenged
Reporters are asking Dutton what exactly he would put on the table to achieve a different outcome with the US.
Dutton highlights critical minerals as a bargaining chip, and accuses the PM of not having “spoken a word about it”. (Albanese and Farrell previously said after the first tariffs were put in place on aluminium and steel that they had tried to negotiate on critical minerals but the US administration hadn’t accepted it.)
Dutton also says that he won’t consider pulling on any of the levers of the Aukus agreement, or pulling US troops out of Darwin.
We’re not trading anything away. We want to enhance the relationship and I believe we’re the only alternative at this election that can achieve a better outcome.
But he also won’t commit that as prime minister, he would have been able to get these tariffs removed.
What I offer to the Australian people, my team offers stability and proven performance. We have the ability to manage the economy, the ability to manage our national security needs.
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On a different matter, Dutton is asked why after an interview yesterday his transcript was edited.
Dutton had joked about the noise made by the Collins class submarines, and he said “you can hear them rattling down the coast”.
Dutton says that shouldn’t have been edited out.
I haven’t seen the transcript. It shouldn’t be edited out. It was a jovial conversation with Mick Molloy, as you would expect. I’ve been very clear and if you look at the transcript, and what I’ve said otherwise in relation to Collins class, they are best in class but they run out of work in the late 2030s, early 2040s, which is why the government’s inability to provide the upgrade is an outrage.
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Coalition ‘could have achieved a different outcome’ on tariffs, suggests Dutton
Dutton is asked about whether Australia sitting lowest on the lowest run of these tariffs for anyone in the globe is a victory.
The opposition leader replies that the PM didn’t know about the tariffs until it was announced in the media.
The prime minister didn’t know anything about it. It was first made known to him when it was publicly announced. So that talks about the influence that the prime minister has in relation to this matter.
There needs to be proper negotiation and consultation. 10% is a significant impost and it may not be the 26% that other countries have faced but I can tell you this. Jobs will be lost and there will be economic detriment to our country.
Would Dutton have been able to produce a different outcome?
I do believe that we could have achieved a different outcome.
This would be the only better deal of all countries in the world – no countries were given an exemption.
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Dutton ‘strongly supports’ government’s tariff response
The Coalition supports the five measures the government has announced in response to the tariffs, but there are some caveats.
Dutton says he “strongly supports” strengthening the anti-dumping commission, and the $50m to help industries export to new markets.
He also strongly supports the government’s buy Australia plan, and prioritising Australian products and industries for government procurement.
Dutton says they also support the $1bn economic resilience program but said it should be administered through the export finance Australia organisation, and not the national reconstruction fund.
The coalition also says “there’s an arrangement to be arrived at” on establishing a strategic reserve of critical minerals.
Dutton says:
We’ve been working on this but it is something the government can resolve, I think, very quickly, with the administration. We need to do that for our beef producers and for every industry here and to protect jobs in Australia, we need this sorted out as quickly as possible and that’s exactly what we’re dedicated to do.
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Dutton calls on Albanese to ‘get the relationship normalised’ with US
Dutton believes a deal can be “done very quickly” and says the PM must do everything he can to do that.
Albanese said earlier that there have been ongoing discussions and negotiations with the US administration.
Dutton reiterates his point that the PM hasn’t been able to speak to Trump again.
We have an opportunity … to start negotiations with the United States straight away. I think there can be a deal done very quickly with the administration and I think it’s important the prime minister apply himself to that immediately.
The prime minister hasn’t been able to get a call or a meeting with president Trump, but that needs to change and he needs to do everything he can to leverage the ambassador and others to get the relationship normalised.
It’s obvious that the prime minister didn’t know anything about this announcement until it was actually released to the press.
Dutton says Australia has the Aukus deal and the Anzus treaty, as well as stores of critical minerals, which are a “natural point of leverage” in the relationship with the US.
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‘This is a bad day’ for Australia, says Dutton.
Peter Dutton is responding to the tariff announcement, speaking this morning from Perth.
Dutton says he’s spoken to beef producers this morning, and says they’re in negotiations with their counterparts in the US.
I think this is a bad day for our country and it’s not the treatment that Australians deserve, because we have a very trusted, longstanding and abiding relationship with the United States.
I want to make sure that we can help our beef-producers, make sure that we can help our manufacturers, grow our industry and increase employment in this country and we can do that through a normalised relationship in a trading sense with the United States and obviously to expand other markets, which is exactly what a Coalition government does.
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Dutton about to speak to reporters in Perth
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, is due to front the media any minute now to respond to this morning’s tariff announcements. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, here is what we know so far:
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Invasive Species Council warns against weakening Australia’s biosecurity following tariffs
The Invasive Species Council has warned against weakening Australia’s biosecurity laws, saying this poses “just as big a threat” to the nation as Chinese warships.
In a statement, the interim CEO, Jack Gough, said:
Biosecurity threats, from bird flu to fire ants, are just as big a threat to Australia’s national security as Chinese warships. It needs to be treated just as seriously.
Biosecurity is the first line of defense against extinctions and ecological destruction caused by new invaders. It is cheap compared to mopping up the mess if we let these things arrive.
At his press conference earlier this morning, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said Australia had made it “very clear” to the United States “that we will not compromise on biosecurity.”
We will not weaken the measures that protect our farmers and producers from the risks of disease or contamination.
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Pauline Hanson’s daughter announces she will run for Senate
In some other political news this morning, Pauline Hanson’s daughter, Lee Hanson, has announced she will run for the Senate in Tasmania in the upcoming federal election.
She will run as part of her mother’s party, One Nation. Lee made the announcement on Sunrise earlier this morning.
If you had asked me 10 years ago if I would be standing here right now, I would say absolutely not, no way! To your point, seeing what [Pauline has] been through, as a child witnessing your parent – the turmoils, ups and downs – why would you want to put yourself through that?
However, I’m a mum myself now. So I’m at a point where I feel I need to stand up. I care too much about my children’s future, so it’s time to make a change.
Lee later said “my mother is polarising” and “I’m not gonna question that.”
My mother is polarising. I’m not my mother, I’m very different … So yes, she is very different to me and I have some of the same values and strengths which I’m grateful for that she’s taught me, but I’m my own woman.
Asked if she argues politically with her mother, Lee answered:
I test her thinking and provide a different context from a next generation.
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Map of the islands included in tariff regime
Here is the map of the islands that are included in the tariff regime from the United States.
Anthony Albanese spoke about the 29% tariff imposed on Norfolk Island earlier – if you missed his comments, you can read those here.
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The biggest exports Australia makes to the US
Let’s take a look at Australia’s biggest exports to the US amid the latest tariff announcements this morning.
Australian exports to the US totalled US$14.73bn in 2024, according to the UN’s Comtrade database on international trade.
The Top Ten exports to the US last year were (in US dollars):
Meat and edible meat offal: $4.03bn
Pearls, precious stones, metals and coins: $2.02bn
Pharmaceutical products: $1.35bn
Optical, photo, technical and medical apparatus: $1.20bn
Machinery, nuclear reactors and boilers: $1.16bn
Electrical and electronic equipment: $686.78m
Aircraft and spacecraft: $663.41m
Animal, vegetable fats and oils, and cleavage products: $275.71m
Aluminium: $268.58m
Iron and steel: $265.75m
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Summary of government's proposed response to Trump tariffs
Let’s go back to the five-point plan the government has announced in response to the tariffs. Here are the points in a bit more detail:
The government will give $5m to the anti-dumping commission to reduce case times, and better monitor goods and high-risk activities from overseas. There were concerns from industry that tariffs could lead to some countries “dumping” cheap stock into Australia.
There’s also $50m to help industries find new markets.
A new economic resilience program within the national reconstruction fund which will provide $1bn of zero interest loans to help industry access new markets.
Prioritise Australian firms in government procurement by requiring government to preference Australian businesses for procurement up to a threshold – including consideration of local content requirements for procurements above $1m.
Establish a critical minerals strategic reserve to underwrite critical mineral production and supply.
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Albanese: Norfolk Island not a trade competitor with ‘giant economy’ of the US
The first question goes straight to tariffs.
As Dan Jervis-Bardy (who’s with the prime minister at this press conference) brought you earlier, it’s been confirmed there will not be a ban on Australian beef, but the industry will be hit with the 10% tariffs.
Albanese says he’s spoken to the national farmers federation and beef producers, to confirm the tariff impacts with them.
All Australian supports are with them at this time and it is a really difficult period for them but it will be a 10% tariff. Brazil has the same so in terms of the competitive position, it is maintained.
Of course the most shocking tariffs put in place are those on Norfolk Island …
Norfolk Island has got a 29% tariff. I’m not quite sure that Norfolk Island, with respect to it, is a trade competitor with the giant economy of the United States but that just shows and exemplifies the fact that nowhere on earth is exempt from this.
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Albanese announces new PBS listings
Off the back of Trump announcing tariffs on goods including pharmaceuticals, Albanese is announcing more medicines to be put on to the pharmaceutical benefits scheme.
Albanese says the new medicines include one listed to treat glioma, which occurs in the brain and spinal chord and is the most common cancer in the central nervous system in children.
This is expected to support 130 Australian children and their families every year. Without this PBS subsidy, families could be up for up to $178,000 a year. As a result of this decision, when they come into pharmacies like this, the cost will be just $25 per prescription, making an enormous difference.
The health minister, Mark Butler, says a medicine to help treat bone marrow cancer has also been added:
1,900 patients a year who would otherwise be paying $70,000 on the private market for this life changing, life-saving treatment for this rare form of bone marrow cancer.
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Stock market stumbles after Trump tariff announcement
Investors are being “liberated” of billions of dollars, as sharemarkets begin to tumble after the unveiling of Trump’s sweep of new tariffs.
In early trade this morning, the benchmark ASX 200 index has dropped by 1.8% to 7794 points.
That follows US stock futures plunging by more than 3% as investors priced in the rising chance of a global trade war, Bloomberg is reporting.
Sticking with Wall Street, the likes of Nike, Gap and Lululemon cratered by more than 7% – a strong sign that the 10% blanket tariffs – and much larger imposts on Japan, the EU and, especially, China – will not do the global retailers any favours.
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The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, says Australia should “end Aukus” in response to Donald Trump’s latest tariffs.
In a series of posts to X (formerly Twitter), Bandt wrote:
End Aukus.
Forget Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’, today should be Australia’s liberation day — when we finally liberate ourselves from being shackled too closely to Trump.
Trump is dangerous. It’s time for Labor & Liberal to act. Let’s cancel AUKUS & set our own independent foreign policy.
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The press pack following Anthony Albanese is jetting out of Melbourne after the prime minister’s early morning press conference to respond to Donald Trump’s tariff strike.
We’ll let you know as soon as we land at our next destination.
Vic premier emphasises tariff impacts on working people, families and jobs.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has described tariffs imposed by the US on Australian exports as “entirely unjustifiable”. Speaking outside parliament this morning, she said:
They’re unjustifiable, particularly when you consider the impact they are going to have on working people, not just around Victoria or Australia, but around the globe. These sorts of measures only put more pressure on working people, on their families and on their jobs.
She says Victoria is the “food bowl of the nation” and was important to protect the state’s biosecurity:
We are known internationally for our clean, green reputation for exporting to the world high-quality produce. So I strongly support the prime minister’s emphasis on ensuring those biosecurity arrangements remain strong.
Allan also said she would continue to push local content requirements for Victorian transport projects and revealed she met with defence manufacturer Lockheed Martin last week to put the state’s businesses at the “front of the queue in the supply chain”.
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Australia’s red meat industry will remain ‘strong’ despite tariffs, says advisory council
The Red Meat Advisory Council (RMAC) says it’s “disappointed” of tariffs on red meat exports to the US, but noted there will be no ban on Australian red meat and that trade with the US will continue.
The council says the decision fails to recognise the industry’s contribution to US food supplies, but also pointed out how diverse the trade market is, particularly across Asia.
The RMAC Chair, John McKillop, says producers can be “assured” the industry will continue to operate in a “strong global trading environment”.
It remains a disappointing decision from the US, in stark contrast to our 20-year partnership under the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement …
Last year, 2024, was a record year for Australian red meat exports, driven by strong global demand. Australian producers can be assured that we operate in a strong global trading environment with high demand for our red meat from over 100 markets.
Major markets include Greater China, Japan and Korea, worth $3.9bn, $2.6bn and $2.5bn respectively. The Middle East / North Africa Market is worth A$2B and offers demand growth opportunities.
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‘We already made concessions’ on beef, says Littleproud
Littleproud spells out some more of that risk that has previously led to a ban on US beef into Australia.
Albanese said earlier it started back in 2003 due to mad cow disease.
Littleproud says the current risk is around the supply chains that go beyond US borders:
It’s their supply chain in the Americas, with particularly Canada and Mexico, that we can’t get certainty on, that gives us that confidence to allow that product to come in. But we already take frozen beef, we already made concessions.
Littleproud also says Australia should reengage with partners within the trans-pacific partnership (CPTPP).
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Littleproud blames PM’s ‘disparaging comments’ on Trump for tariffs on Australia
The Nationals leader and shadow agriculture minister, David Littleproud, says there’s “deep disappointment” over the tariffs, and that there’s a need for a “relationship reset”.
He’s putting some of the blame on the prime minister and government for having made disparaging comments of Trump in the past.
What we need is a relationship reset. We’ve got a prime minister who can’t even get a phone call with the president. That’s because of the personal disparaging comments he made in the past. We need a reset to explain to President Trump, when you look at the tariffs he imposed on beef, he’s imposing that cost on his own people.
Littleproud adds, specifically on beef, that Australia already takes US frozen beef, and that Australia shouldn’t reduce biosecurity standards to allow other beef imports from the US.
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Dutton says some ABC journalists are ‘good’ while others are ‘partisan players’
Dutton was also challenged on 2GB to name a journalist at the ABC who he thinks does “a good job”, as he leaves the door open to cutting the public broadcaster’s funding.
He initially skirts the question and says families and small businesses are struggling.
Nobody at the ABC gets $1 of pay without you being funded by Australian taxpayers. And as I’ve said before, if we find waste in the ABC then we won’t support that, and Australian households and businesses would expect nothing less.
Host Ben Fordham tries again – he mentions David Speers, Sarah Ferguson and Laura Tingle … Dutton answers that there are some “partisan players” within the organisation.
I think there are some good journalists at the ABC, but I think there are some who you know, who, frankly, are just partisan players. And people see that on their TV screens every night. And again, the ABC is using taxpayers money, so use it wisely.
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US will not ban Australian beef, Guardian Australia understands
Breaking: Guardian Australia understands US officials have confirmed to Australia’s embassy in Washington that there will be no ban on Australian beef.
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Dutton says he’ll stand ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’ with PM on fighting tariffs
Let’s go back to Peter Dutton’s earlier interview on 2GB radio. Dutton says he’ll stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” with the government on rejecting the tariffs.
But he’s again positioning his party as stronger in standing up to a Trump administration.
(Meanwhile, Albanese’s and Wong’s language this morning has been that Australia needs to react calmly and respond in a careful and calibrated way.)
Dutton tells 2GB:
I happy to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the prime minister to make sure that we send a very clear message to the Americans that we don’t find it acceptable at all, and we are a trusted, reliable trading partner with the United States.
But we need to have a capacity to stand up and to negotiate and to arrive at the best possible outcome for our country. And that’s, I think, in part, what this election is about.
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Albanese says Labor has navigated through ‘turbulent economic waters’
ABC Radio Melbourne host Raf Epstein says Albanese has had a good first week on the campaign, but asks whether he had a bad last year (which he says press gallery journalists have been commenting).
Albanese says: “No.”
No … we have been a determined government. We’ve governed in what have been turbulent economic times.
We have seen countries around the world with double digit inflation, some of them with double digit unemployment. At the same time across the ditch, New Zealand is in recession. What we have managed to do is negotiate our way through those turbulent economic waters. Keep our eye on the horizon.
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Tariffs won’t affect Aukus agreement, Albanese says
Anthony Albanese says the tariffs won’t have an impact on the Aukus agreement between the US, UK and Australia.
He and others have said there is still great support across the political divide in the US for Aukus (and the US Virginia Class submarines that Australia would purchase in the 2030s would happen during a future administration, post-Trump).
President Trump, who has said that he supports the Aukus arrangements, as do members of Congress, Senators across the political divide in the United States, both Democrat and Republican.
A listener asks why Australia doesn’t pull out of Aukus and go back to the French for a submarine deal? Albanese says the government won’t do that because it’s not in Australia’s interests.
We believe that Aukus is in the interests of defending our nation. We think it’s in Australia’s interest, and whilst we regard this [tariffs] as an act of self harm by the United States when it comes to their economy, what I’m not prepared to do is do anything that is in not in Australia’s interests.
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PM says Norfolk Island hit with 29% tariff despite being an Australian territory
The PM is now on ABC Radio Melbourne, and is asked to clarify whether the action on beef is an all out ban or a tariff.
Albanese says his understanding is that it’s a tariff.
We’ve been advised by their trade people that it’s a 10% tariff.
I’ve indicated very clearly in the discussions that I’ve had with President Trump that we regard tariffs as not being in the interests of the United States.
It seems that while the government did expect these new tariffs, it was somewhat taken aback by other tariffs for Norfolk Island, which is an Australian territory.
Albanese says:
I think Norfolk Island somehow has been hit with 29% tariff rather than 10%. Last time I looked, Norfolk Island was a part of Australia.
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Where does the 10% number come from?
Anthony Albanese says the 10% figure was a political decision and rather than an economic decision.
They have made a decision that there will be a 10% tariff minimum from every nation. That’s a political decision. This is not an economic decision.
He says the government is still seeking clarification on all the decisions, including on beef, which Albanese says has been discussed with the administration (though again he has stressed there will be no compromise on bio-security laws).
Back to his meeting with Greg Norman, Albanese won’t say what advice Norman gave him, but that Norman and others will support their efforts to engage in the US.
He’s [Norman is] someone with connections with the US administration, and we are engaging with Australians who have connections with the United States to advance our national interests.
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Albanese says government using ‘every asset’ available in talks with US
Anthony Albanese’s provided a bit more detail on the conversations that the government has had with the US administration over the last few days before the announcement.
He said earlier that this decision from Donald Trump was expected, and discussions have been ongoing.
There’s been a series of written to and fro, if you like. There’s been negotiations with Mr [Howard] Ludnick [the commerce secretary] and with others in the United States as well. So this came as no surprise to us.
We had prepared for a period of time the response, a five point response that you will you announced this morning. We met as leaders last night, and again, had contact this morning with obviously, the relevant ministers, as well as our economic ministers.
Albanese won’t specifically say when his government was told Australia would be hit with tariffs, just that “we were very clear about where this was headed”.
He adds the government is using “every asset” available, and mentions his dinner with Greg Norman last night.
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Farrell vows to get free trade agreement with EU: ‘The world has changed for Europe’
Don Farrell says he believes the EU will come back to Australia with a better deal because the world has changed today and the EU has been hit even harder than Australia on its exports.
The trade minister says beef was one of the sticking points between the two regions:
The agreement with the European Union did fall over, over beef imports into the EU. The world has changed. As of today, the world has changed for Europe.
Europe has now [been] set back to a much higher tariff into the United States. If they’re sensible, if they’re sensible, they will make us a better offer on the issues that made the agreement fall over last time, and we will get a free trade agreement with the with the EU, the largest economy in the world.
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Albanese says ‘no one has got a better deal’ than Australia in Trump's tariff regime
Anthony Albanese emphasises that “no one has got a better deal” than Australia, and diplomats and officials are continuing to engage with the administration:
We have made very strong representations. Ministers, our ambassador, people in the embassy, people at departmental level, we’ve used every asset at our disposal.
But what it does mean - it’s a bit like what I was saying yesterday. Steel and aluminium, there’s not more steel and aluminium being produced in the United States today than there was in February.
The PM says that his understanding is that these 10% tariffs will be across the board.
Australia and the United Kingdom were in negotiations, I’m not sure about other countries, but I know that we were and that was under consideration … So our understanding is that it applies across the board.
He says again the best response is to buy Australian, and Labor will continue to promote Australian products (like Bundaberg ginger beer which he says he had at the Bundaberg factory when he was up campaigning in Queensland earlier this week).
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Farrell to meet with European counterparts to discuss FTA
The trade minister, Don Farrell, says Australia will continue to engage with the US administration to remove the “unfair” tariffs.
He reiterates the calm approach, saying it will be by negotiation, by “sitting down and explaining to people the issues at hand” that will best present Australia’s case.
Farrell has also revealed he’s meeting again with he’s European counterparts to re-discuss a free trade agreement with the EU (previous negotiations got stuck on issues like naming rights for products including feta and prosecco).
On that Monday afternoon, I’m talking with my European counterpart, we all know what happened the last time we had discussions with the Europeans, I think things have changed. And the opportunity to have further negotiations about a free trade agreement on better terms than have been previously offered now exists.
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Wong says countries in Asia-Pacific region hit hard by tariffs
Penny Wong stands up next and says the decision from the US underlines the current state of global uncertainty.
Wong goes further in outlining how Australia is diversifying its trade, and will continue to focus on trade in our region, and across South-East Asia. The foreign minister says:
Some of the countries in our region are the hardest hit by the tariffs.
But we face those challenges calmly and maturely. We certainly won’t be picking fights in our neighbourhood. Our approach is to be credible and mature.
Yesterday Peter Dutton said he would be prepared to fight with the US administration over these tariffs.
So we’re getting a clearer divide in approach between the two major parties – Labor emphasising a calm and methodical approach, while the Coalition is going more aggressive, and trying to pin that calm approach as “weak” (which we heard again from Dutton this morning).
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Albanese announces funding to help exporters move into new markets
In response to the tariffs, and concerns on the global impacts, Albanese says the government will tighten anti-dumping measures to safeguard the aluminium and steel industry (hit by the first round of tariffs).
He’s also announced $50m to help the agricultural and other sectors to move their products into new markets.
There will also be a new critical minerals strategic reserve – but the PM says more details on that will be revealed later.
We will establish a new economic resilience program through our National Reconstruction Fund. This will provide $1 billion in zero-interest loans for firms to capitalise on new export opportunities…
Just as we are already encouraging more people to buy Australian, our Labor government will buy Australian, too. This comes on the back of the announcements that I made in Port Kembla, for example, about procurement of Australian steel.
Albanese says Australian businesses will get priority, and sit at the front of the queue for government procurement.
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Albanese: ‘This will have consequences for how Australians see this relationship’
Anthony Albanese says the government will stand up for Australia’s interests.
Interestingly, the PM says the action will have “consequences for how Australians see this relationship” between the US and Australia.
The Australian people have every right to view this action by the Trump administration as undermining our free and fair trading relationship and counter to the shared values that have always been at the heart of our two nations’ longstanding friendship. This will have consequences for how Australians see this relationship.
Albanese says again there’ll be no compromise on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme or agriculture.
We’ll never trade away the things which make us the best country in the world. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is an Australian institution. A proud Labor creation that my government has built on.
We have made it very clear to the United States that we will not compromise on biosecurity. We will not weaken the measures that protect our farmers and producers from the risks of disease or contamination.
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Albanese says 'this is not the act of a friend' after Trump announcement
Anthony Albanese says the latest action from the Trump administration has not come as a surprise, and the tariffs are “not unexpected”.
But he repeats the line that the tariffs are unwarranted:
President Trump referred to reciprocal tariffs. A reciprocal tariff would be zero, not 10%. The administration’s tariffs have no basis in logic and they go against the basis of our two nations’ partnership. This is not the act of a friend.
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Peter Dutton: ‘We need to stand up for our country’s interests’
Just before the PM stands up, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, is reacting to Trump’s announcement, speaking to 2GB radio.
Dutton says Trump’s put forward a negotiating position, but says there’s been “no significant negotiation” between US and Australian leaders, as Albanese hasn’t been able to get Trump on the phone for a third call.
So there has been the significant failing, and we need to be strong and to stand up for our country’s interests.
Dutton is going in hard saying, saying “we need to stand up for our country’s interests”.
Donald Trump doesn’t have any time for [ambassador] Kevin Rudd, and we know that Anthony Albanese is on the record saying all sorts of colourful things about the president. Well, it’s obviously a dysfunctional relationship, and we need to make sure that we stand up for our country’s interests, and the prime minister, as I say, can’t get a phone call, can’t get a meeting, and I hope that that happens soon, because it’s in our country’s best interest.
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The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, the foreign minister, Penny Wong, and the trade minister, Don Farrell, will respond to Trump’s tariffs at 8.20am. Stay tuned.
Liberal senator James Paterson: ‘Just hoping for an exemption is not a plan’
The shadow home affairs minister and Liberal campaign spokesperson James Paterson says Australia needs to “establish the facts” after Trump’s liberation day announcement.
Australia will be subject to a minimum 10% tariff, but the announcement was scant on details.
Paterson tells Sky News:
We know at the very least that we’re going to be subject to a 10% tariff, but we don’t have any other specific actions about any other industries or sectors in Australia.
Paterson won’t rule in or out whether Australia should take action to the World Trade Organisation. He also says the PM should be speaking to Trump face to face.
I think the most important thing is the direct relationship that we have and are able to build on with the President and with our other friends in the United States. And I do think it would exist in achieving that for having direct face to face talks between the Australian Prime Minister and the American president.
Just hoping for an exemption is not a plan, and just leaving this to officials is not adequate. And I think we do need strong leadership to deal with this.
The PM met with Greg Norman overnight, who has a close relationship with Trump.
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Albanese to respond to Trump’s tariff announcement
The press pack following Anthony Albanese has arrived at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices (CPO) in Melbourne’s CBD, where the prime minister will soon respond to Trump’s tariffs announcement.
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Australia to be hit with 10% reciprocal tariff from US, chart shows
We have seen the full chart that Donald Trump was holding earlier.
Trump mentioned there would be a minimum 10% reciprocal tariff, and according to that full chart, Australia will incur the 10% reciprocal tariff.
Anthony Albanese is due to speak soon this morning, and will respond to Trump’s announcement.
This week he said there would be no negotiations with the US over changing the PBS, bio-security laws or the news bargaining agreement.
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Trump has moved on to the possibility of exemptions …
In Trump’s first administration, Australia secured exemptions from tariffs after arguing that Australia ran a trade deficit with America, had a signed and ratified free trade agreement, and was a committed ally and security partner.
But Trump’s second administration has repeatedly said the president regrets the exemptions he gave to Australia in his first term, particularly for the precedent they set for other countries claiming similar carve-outs.
He said this morning:
To all of the foreign presidents, prime ministers, kings, queens, ambassadors, and everyone else, who will soon be calling to ask for exemptions from these tariffs, I say: terminate your own tariffs, drop your barriers, don’t manipulate your currencies … and start buying tens of billions of dollars of American goods.
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Trump says tariffs to be placed on pharmaceuticals
Trump says he’ll be putting in place reciprocal tariffs on pharmaceuticals, at half the rate “they have been charging us”.
Trump calls it a discounted reciprocal tariff, rather than a “full reciprocal” which he says would have been “tough” for a lot of countries.
He’s got a print out chart and is going down a list of individual tariffs for countries including China, Vietnam, the UK, Switzerland and more.
Australia hasn’t been mentioned down the list (he didn’t read the whole thing) but Trump says there will be a minimum reciprocal tariff of 10%.
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Trump confirms Australian beef on tariff menu
Australia has gotten its first mention – Trump says Australia has banned American beef, but the US imports $3bn of Australian beef.
The ban on US beef was imposed in 2003 after America cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease).
He hasn’t yet said what penalty will apply:
Australia … they’re wonderful people, and wonderful everything, but they ban American beef. Yet we imported $3bn of Australian beef from them just last year alone. They won’t take any of our beef. They don’t want it because they don’t want it to affect their farmers and, you know, I don’t blame them but we’re doing the same thing, right now starting at midnight tonight, I would say.
Beef is a significant Australian export to America – Australian lean beef is added to fatty American meat to make hamburgers.
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Trump hails ‘the day America’s destiny was reclaimed’ in tariff announcement
Donald Trump has stepped into the rose garden at the White House and declared “liberation day” will make America wealthy again.
The US president is announcing reciprocal tariffs. “That means they do it to us and we do it to them. Simple.”
April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again.
For decades our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike.
Trump claims the tariffs will bring jobs and factories back to the US.
This will be indeed the golden age of America.
You can follow our US politics blog here for all the updates from Trump’s announcement.
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Labor's 'same job, same pay' laws will deliver $920m pay rise for workers, study says
The Albanese government’s “same job, same pay” laws will deliver a combined $920m annual pay rise for workers, according to new analysis that Labor will use to warn of the risks to wages if Peter Dutton rolls back the regime.
Laws came into force last year allowing labour-hire workers to apply to be paid the same amount as directly employed staff doing the same job.
Unions are already using the bargaining tool, with hundreds of Qantas flight attendants set to receive pay rises of up to $20,000 per year after the airline reached an agreement with the Flight Attendants’ Association of Australia.
A new report from progressive think tank the McKell Institute estimated the new system would deliver a wages boost of up to $920.3m each year to workers in industries such as mining, aviation and retail.
The McKell Institute chief executive, Edward Kavanough, said:
The data tells a clear story: the wage gains are real, they’re substantial, and they’re being delivered without any adverse impact on jobs or economic performance.
The Coalition has promised to review the legislation as part of a wider rolling back of Labor’s industrial relations agenda, which includes a promise to abolish the so-called “right to disconnect”.
The workplace relations minister, Murray Watt, claimed Dutton would scrap the laws in act of “pure arrogance”.
This would rip billions of dollars out of workers’ pay packets and the wider economy, particularly in regional Australia.
Good morning,
Krishani Dhanji here with you, thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started this morning.
All eyes will be on the White House in a matter of moments, as Donald Trump unveils his latest, more wide-ranging set of tariffs.
There’ll be plenty of reaction to it here and overseas throughout the day, and you’ll no doubt see both Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton try to shape the issue to their advantage.
Buckle up, it’s going to be a big one!
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John Howard says 'history is against' Coalition in election
Former Liberal prime minister John Howard has labelled the Coalition as the underdog in the federal election, but said a volatile electorate and Anthony Albanese being “out of his depth” could hamper Labor.
Howard, speaking to Sky News’ Chris Kenny on Wednesday night, said “history was against” the Coalition winning the election, pointing out there hadn’t been a one-term government in Australia since 1931.
Howard said:
The electorate is more volatile, but you can’t ignore history. I’d have thought six months ago if we’d have had this conversation, I’d have thought the Coalition had no hope of winning simply because of history, but in the last six months, I think Peter Dutton has done a fantastic job.
The description I would make of the prime minister (Albanese) is that he’s out of his depth. Now, I as a Liberal leader, I disagreed with Labor leaders a lot. I disagreed with Bob Hawke a lot, but I never thought Hawke was out of his depth, I just thought he was wrong.
I disagreed even more with Paul Keating, who I thought was inferior to Hawke as a prime minister, but you could never say he was out of his depth depth, whereas I don’t think Anthony Albanese quite knows what’s happening around him, particularly when it comes to Chinese ships, he doesn’t seem to have a clue.
Howard also backed the Coalition’s proposed fuel excise cut over Labor’s tax cuts unveiled at last week’s budget, arguing the immediacy of impact of the excise cut will better address cost of living challenges.
The former PM also predicted that it would be harder than expected for teal MPs to retain their seats. He said:
I think a lot of people who voted for the teals did so because they were grumpy for one or another reason with the Liberals. I don’t think that’s the case now. I think they like Dutton.
I think they see in Dutton an unexpectedly strong, serious leader. He’s a serious player, and he gives the impression of somebody who’s been around. He’s not full of himself and does understand the good and the bad in society.
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Peter Dutton to WA visit to promise road funding to support mining
Peter Dutton is in Western Australia for his first visit to the mining state of this campaign, and has come bearing a $600m announcement for roads which are critical to mining and agriculture.
He will spend the day in WA and Perth, before it’s expected he’ll return to the east coast late tonight or early tomorrow.
The infrastructure pledge would be spent nationwide, but announcing the money in WA is intentional. In a statement, Dutton said “We appreciate the contribution that Western Australia in particular makes to Australia through the mining, resources and agricultural sectors.”
“We know that WA’s exports help pay for the nation’s roads, hospitals and schools,” he said.
The big money promise would, according to the Liberal leader, “support our mining, resources and farming sectors by investing in infrastructure to upgrade agricultural and mining roads critical to getting product to domestic and export markets.”
“The Coalition will work with representatives of the trucking, farming and mining industries to identify the priority roads to be upgraded in each state to remove barriers to the growth of our resources and farming sectors.”
The money would come over four years, and go toward sealing, widening and strengthening roads and bridges, as well as flood resilience upgrades.
“I want Western Australia to continue to be the powerhouse of the national economy. But we need a government in Canberra that plays to WA’s strengths, not works against it,” Dutton said.
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Liberal candidate for Kooyong skips community forum to hit phones with Angus Taylor
The Liberal candidate for Kooyong, Amelia Hamer, skipped a community forum dedicated to questions on climate policy on Wednesday night, opting instead to hit the phones with Angus Taylor.
Text messages seen by Guardian Australia show Hamer was planning to hold a telephone conference call with Kooyong voters alongside the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, at 7:30pm. The community forum began at the same time.
This text message from “VIC LIBERAL” was sent to Kooyong residents at 7:15pm: “Amelia Hamer here. I’ll give you a call at 7:30 tonight. It’s your chance to quiz me and the shadow treasurer about our plan to get Australia Back on Track.”
Organisers of the Kooyong Community Forum, Lighter Footprints, told the audience that Hamer was a last minute cancellation and that as a result she would be represented by an empty chair:
All candidates were made aware that if they were not coming tonight then they would be represented by an empty chair. This notice was given in advance.
Lighter Footprints describes itself as “a local climate group committed to leading effective climate action”. The group described the event as a chance to “find out where the candidates stand on climate”.
In Hamer’s place, the organisers asked a member of the Kooyong Climate Alliance, Alex Currell, to give an assessment of the Liberal’s environmental policies:
The Liberals have failed to announce a 2030 or 2035 emissions target, committing only to net zero by 2050. The fate of the climate will be determined by cumulative emissions, so this lack of short or medium term targets is deeply problematic.
The event’s presenter thanked Currell for “stepping in last minute”.
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PM dines with Greg Norman on eve of Trump's tariff announcement
Anthony Albanese has revealed on social media that he met up with Greg Norman last night.
“Great to catch up with Greg Norman tonight in Melbourne,” the PM wrote on Instagram, with a pic of the pair in white tops.
They reportedly had dinner together.
It’s interesting timing, coming just hours before Donald Trump’s tariffs were due to be announced.
Norman has previously been called on to act as a diplomatic bridge to the US administration, thanks to his occasional golf games with the president.
He reportedly helped connect then-PM Malcolm Turnbull and the president before Australia secured a tariff exemption.
Earlier this year Norman told the Australian Financial Review that he had played golf with Trump just before the recent election, and Trump had promised to give him US citizenship.
Albanese was also reported to have had a “missed call” from Norman on Sunday morning,
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live election coverage. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the overnight stories to get us into gear before Krishani Dhanji takes the wheel.
Former Liberal prime minister John Howard says Peter Dutton is the underdog in the federal election and that history favours Anthony Albanese because there hasn’t been a one-term government since 1931. Speaking on Sky News last night, Howard said Dutton is taking the fight to Labor but he was up against it. However, he said “a volatile electorate” made things difficult to predict and he condemned Anthony Albanese as being “out of his depth”. More coming up.
Dutton will continue his “underdog” fight when he takes his campaign to Western Australia for the first time today. He will announce a plan to spend $600m on roads across the country, hoping that the promise of federal spending on infrastructure will appeal to voters in a state where transport links are crucial for the dominant mining and agriculture sectors.
Anthony Albanese will be anxious to show he is not out of his depth and that he can stand up to Donald Trump if the US president’s tariffs hit the Australian economy. There is concern that Trump’s expected levies will hurt Australian pharmaceuticals, meat and metals among other things, and Albanese yesterday did not rule out the possibility of countering the tariffs by taking a case to the World Trade Organisation.
The PM revealed on social media that he dined with golfer Greg Norman last night. It’s interesting timing, as Australia braces for Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs.
We’ll have all the political and market reaction to those tariffs as it happens.
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