What we learned: Monday 13 January
This is where we’ll leave the blog for today, but first let’s recap the main events:
The prime minister Anthony Albanese held the government’s first cabinet meeting of 2025 today.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, discredited renewables when asked about his energy policy in an interview following his pre-election pitch in Melbourne yesterday.
Counterterrorism police took over the investigation of swastika vandalism of Sydney synagogues.
Albanese said Dutton represents a “shift to a hard-right version of the Liberal party”.
Fewer GP clinics than ever will take new bulk-billed customers and out-of-pocket charges continue to rise, new data showed.
Albanese announced a $3bn equity boost for the NBN.
Four people were killed in a two-car collision on a Western Australian highway.
A man allegedly performed a Nazi salute in inner west Sydney.
The blog will be back bright and early tomorrow.
Updated
Kobi Shetty, the MP for Balmain where a man allegedly performed a Nazi salute earlier today, has issued a statement:
People have a right to feel safe in our community and Nazi symbols of any form cannot be tolerated.
Australian human rights commissioner condemns latest antisemitic attacks on synagogues
Race discrimination commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman, has condemned the vandalisation of two NSW synagogues with swastikas over the weekend in the suburbs of Allawah and Newtown.
Sivaraman said:
These attacks, targeting sacred spaces for the Jewish community, are appalling. I condemn them in the strongest possible terms.
We are gravely concerned that these acts of violence and desecration will only increase fear and distress within the Jewish community and further traumatise those who have already experienced rising levels of antisemitism.
Antisemitism is an insidious form of racism. It is unacceptable in any form and has no place in Australia. These attacks are yet another alarming example in a deeply troubling rise of antisemitic incidents across the country.
Updated
Melbourne Park deluged with more than 30mm of rain in less than five hours on Sunday
The Australian Open schedule was thrown into chaos and emergency services received hundreds of calls for assistance after wild weather wreaked havoc across Victoria on Sunday, AAP reports.
Thousands of tennis fans were forced to scramble for cover as the downpour hit on Sunday and rain spread across courts, forcing matches to be rescheduled or postponed on the tournament’s first day.
Melbourne Park received 30.8mm of rain in less than five hours, with much of Victoria’s deluge centred in pockets around Melbourne.
The State Emergency Service received 254 calls for assistance between midnight on Sunday and 8am on Monday, including 105 calls about fallen trees, 62 about flooding and 53 about building damage.
Footscray in the city’s west was the hardest hit area, followed by the city, Heidelberg in the north-east and Moorabbin in the south.
Drivers were forced to navigate flash flooding in inner Melbourne as rain spilled across city streets, with one motorist forced to abandon their car at an underpass as water rose towards the door handles.
Updated
Man charged after allegedly performing Nazi salute in Sydney
A man has allegedly performed a Nazi salute in inner west Sydney today.
Officers found the 54-year-old man allegedly performing the gesture after they were called to a shopping centre in Balmain at about 8.45am.
He was charged with “knowingly display by public act Nazi symbol without excuse, make a gesture in a public place that is a Nazi salute, hinder or resist police officer in the execution of duty, and behave in offensive manner in/near public place/school”.
The man was refused bail and will appear before Downing Centre Local Court today.
Updated
Qantas again fails to top aviation safety ranking thanks to its ageing fleet
Older planes have been blamed for Qantas narrowly losing out on an aviation safety top ranking to a New Zealand competitor as the Aussie airline awaits new jets to replace its ageing fleet, AAP reports.
Air New Zealand took pole position on website Airline Ratings’ list of the world’s safest airlines for the second year running after overtaking its trans-Tasman rival in 2024.
Virgin Australia came was fourth on the list, with three airlines claiming third place. Qantas last topped the list in 2023 and its second-place ranking over the past two years has been attributed to an ageing fleet.
Sydney University professor and aviation expert, Rico Merkert, told AAP:
This is a fair point as they do have an older fleet – quite old actually – and they did have some issues recently with some of their older aircraft.
That said, if maintained well, older aircraft can also be incredibly safe.
Airline Ratings chief executive Sharon Petersen said there was not much difference between the top-ranking airlines.
While both airlines uphold the highest safety standards and pilot training, Air New Zealand continues to have a younger fleet than Qantas, which separates the two.
Virgin’s ranking largely came down to having a smaller fleet and operating fewer flights. Petersen said:
Between Qantas, Emirates, Qatar, Cathay and Virgin, there’s less than a point separating it.
Updated
Thanks Emily and good afternoon everyone! If it’s also your first day back at work after the summer break, we’re in this together.
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, I’m handing over to Natasha May who will continue bringing you our rolling coverage. Take care.
Updated
On the blog today, we’ve seen a fair bit of back-and-forth between Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton, as both men start their election bids with early January campaigning.
For the full story, Josh Butler has outlined the latest below:
Woman shot in car faces ‘life-altering’ injuries
A woman is at risk of dying and has life-altering injuries after being shot in the back in a car, AAP reports, with police appealing for public information into a vehicle of interest.
Linley Anyos went to a home on Trees Road, Tallebudgera, in Queensland’s Gold Coast about midday on Wednesday when she was shot in the back. The 33-year-old was sitting in the passenger seat of a car and police suspect the gunshot came from inside the vehicle and went through the seat.
Detective inspector Mark Mooney said today she remains in a critical condition, and that “she’s classified as serious but stable”:
The doctors will be looking to bring her out of sedation today, which is a really critical stage for her. There’s obviously an opportunity that she could go into shock and still pass away from her injuries. Her injuries … are significant, and they’ll be life-altering.
Anyos’ father, Brian, said his daughter is in a “very bad way” but is “fighting like a beast”.
Police are appealing for public information and dashcam footage of a white Hino tow truck that they believe left the scene immediately after the shooting. Mooney said the tow truck drove around the Tallebudgera area before returning to Nerang after the incident.
Investigators are still piecing together what happened after taking more than 10 witness statements. Police executed a search warrant at a Southport address on Friday looking for a person of interest.
Updated
Butler urges NSW psychiatrists not to leave and to ‘come back to the table’
The federal health minister, Mark Butler, says the mass resignation of hundreds of psychiatrists from NSW public hospitals will have “devastating consequences”.
More than 200 psychiatrists at the state’s public hospitals have handed in their resignations to the NSW government over concerns about pay and the state of the mental healthcare system.
Butler told reporters in Canberra both parties “need to come back to the table”:
The sort of mass resignation I’ve read about being contemplated in NSW would have devastating consequences for psychiatric patients and their families in NSW … I really urge them to get back to the table and resolve this in the interest of patients.
The state government has offered public psychiatrists a pay increase of 10.5% over three years. They want 25%.
Updated
No water in immigration detention centre cell: watchdog
An immigration detention centre controlled by the Australian Border Force is holding detainees in a prohibited cell that lacks a toilet and running water, a watchdog has found.
AAP reports that Yongah Hill immigration detention centre, about an hour north-east of Perth, also limits support services and family visits, impacting the mental health of some detainees, according to a facility review.
The review in June found there was limited access for detainees held in the centre’s high-security area to lines of communication and timely information. They also do not have the same access to facilities, programs and activities available to the general population compounds.
The commonwealth national preventive mechanism ombudsman, Iain Anderson, said:
We also had concerns with the use of a soft room being used as part of the high care accommodation. In our view, this soft room meets the definition of a dry cell, the use of which is prohibited in the immigration detention network.
The room lacks the basic amenities required to hold an individual for any length of time, including a toilet, sink and running water.
The watchdog recommended the Australian Border Force stop using the so-called soft room until appropriate safety guidelines, practices, and procedures are developed and implemented.
About 160 people are detained at the centre, with 29 of these held at the facility for more than six years.
Updated
Severe thunderstorms a possibility for parts of eastern NSW this afternoon
Large parts of NSW may experience thunderstorms today, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
The storms may become severe across much of the eastern half of the state, especially this afternoon and evening, with heavy rain, damaging wind and large hail all possible.
Greens call for moratorium on clearing koala habitat
The Greens are calling for a moratorium on clearing koala habitat and an end to native forest logging.
At a rally in Coffs Harbour today, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the Greens would put the environment at the top of the federal election campaign agenda and in any power-sharing parliament.
You can’t save koalas while continuing to destroy their homes. Unless we take urgent action to end clearing of critical habitat, koalas will be extinct in NSW by 2050 …
The NSW government promised to protect this precious koala habitat as a national park, yet destruction from logging has only increased.
Loopholes in our national environment laws continue to allow this destruction to go unassessed … Whether it is by the creation of the Great Koala national park or stronger environment laws that stop the destruction of critical habitat, the Greens urge Labor to save Australia’s great forests from the chainsaws and the bulldozers before it’s too late.
Hanson-Young was joined by Spencer Hitchen at the rally, who is behind the “Save Sunrise Glossies” campaign.
Updated
Six men charged for alleged drug rip at Port Botany shipping yard
Raptor Squad officers with NSW police have charged six men for allegedly attempting a drug rip (attemtping to rob a drug dealer) at Port Botany overnight.
Officers allegedly observed a group of unknown men wearing balaclavas and high-vis clothing jump the fence of a shipping company in Banksmeadow about 8.20pm last night.
Police allege the men were seen approaching a number of shipping containers, armed with bolt cutters and other tools, but were unsuccessful in breaching any of the containers.
Six men were arrested about 10.35pm, aged 19, 23, 27, 32 and two aged 18. They were taken to both Maroubra and Mascot police stations, all charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawful import.
The eldest man was refused bail to appear in Downing Centre local court today, while the remaining men were refused bail to appear in Waverley local court today.
Updated
Man faces court after 98 roos found dead on army base
A man accused of shooting dead 98 kangaroos on an army base denies all charges against him.
AAP reports that Joey Pace, 43, of Williamtown, appeared briefly in Raymond Terrace local court today after being arrested by a police rural crime prevention team in the NSW Hunter Valley.
His lawyer, Glenn Kable, told the court Pace would be pleading not guilty to all charges. Magistrate Gregory Moore adjourned the case to 26 August for hearing and continued Pace’s bail.
Police raided Pace’s property at Williamtown in December and allegedly seized three firearms after the discovery of the dead kangaroos on the Singleton army base in October. A number of firearms were also seized from a second Hunter property. A firearms suspension notice has been issued.
Pace has been charged with six offences including aggravated animal cruelty between 1 and 8 October at Broke, discharging a firearm on the Singleton military base, trespassing on commonwealth land and harming or attempting to harm protected animals, namely the 98 kangaroos.
He is also accused of failing to ensure a Stirling 20 rifle was kept safely at Williamtown and not having approved storage for ammunition when being the holder of a category A or B licence.
Police were called in to investigate after the dead kangaroos as well as an ammunition box and two cartridges were found on the Singleton army base on 8 October. Pace declined to comment outside court.
Updated
Four killed in two-car collision on Perth highway
Four people have been killed in a two-car collision on a Western Australian highway.
Police said a grey Toyota RAV4 collided with a Toyota Camry taxi about 3.40am on the Leach Highway, near Perth airport.
One of the cars caught fire, police said.
The unknown driver of the RAV4 and the 58-year-old male driver of the taxi died at scene. A 56-year-old female passenger and an 81-year-old female passenger who were seated in the rear of the taxi also died at the scene.
Major crash investigators are examining the scene and are appealing for any witnesses to contact Crime Stoppers.
Updated
Treaty negotiations in Victoria outlined
Turning the First People’s Assembly of Victoria into an ongoing representative body will be a focus of the first round of treaty negotiations in Victoria.
The Victorian government and the First People’s Assembly today released a list of topics they will be negotiating on this month after they formally began proceedings in late November.
They include the principles and objectives for statewide treaty, how it will be legally recognised and its effects and processes for further treaties, as well as the creation of an ongoing First Peoples’ representative body.
The joint statement said they will discuss whether the First People’s Assembly could evolve into the ongoing representative body, as well as what role it would place in “decision-making relating to Victorian government programs and services for First Peoples” and the interaction between the body and the parliament.
Other topics to be discussed also include implementing the accountability mechanism under the national agreement on Closing the Gap and supporting ongoing truth-telling, education, healing and reconciliation in Victoria.
The government and the assembly have agreed to add other subject matters as negotiations proceed, which will also be shared with the public. They plan to meet weekly and provide “regular joint statements to keep Victorians updated”.
The negotiations are being overseen by the independent Treaty Authority with the government represented by senior Department of Premier and Cabinet executives.
Updated
More details on government’s NBN announcement
At the start of Anthony Albanese’s wide-ranging press conference, he announced a $3bn “equity injection” for the NBN to keep it in public hands, with NBN Co contributing more than $800m to the project.
Here are some more details on what’s included in the announcement, as per the government:
The $3bn equity injection will fund the upgrade of Australia’s remaining fibre-to-the node (FTTN) network
The new FTTN upgrades would deliver higher internet speeds for around 622,000 additional premises
The upgrades will be delivered by 2030
When complete, more than 94% of premises on the fixed line network would have access to connections enabling speeds of up to 1Gbps
Modelling by Accenture suggests the upgrade program would provide a $10.4bn cumulative uplift in GDP over the next decade
Modelling also suggests households could save more than 100 hours and $2,580 a year in avoided travel time and costs from accessing faster broadband
Updated
PM says he’s working with NSW and Victoria premiers over antisemitism
Taking a final question, Anthony Albanese was asked about calls from the Coalition for national cabinet to be called to address antisemitism.
Does he support these calls, and should there be mandatory sentencing on crimes related to antisemitism? The PM said states and territories governments were primarily responsible for those issues.
I’m in regular contact including in recent days with Chris Minns, the premier of NSW, and with premier [Jacinta] Allan as well in Victoria. We’ll continue to work cooperatively…
On a swastika vandalism attack at a Sydney synagogue, Albanese said those responsible should come forward and that “there is no place for antisemitism in Australia”.
It is abhorrent … It’s in Tanya Plibersek’s electorate, but it’s pretty close to my ’hood in Newtown. Shocking. That’s not what we’re about as a multicultural, tolerant nation that has respect for people of different faith. It’s a crime and the people responsible for that crime should face the full force of the law. And I would say to people: if you know who those people are, the perpetrators, pick up the phone and report that to police, because action does need to be taken.
Updated
Albanese on Dutton’s anti-crime funding pledge
Asked about the Coalition’s positioning as the party on law and order – with the announcement of Crime Stoppers funding today – Anthony Albanese said they were “negative about absolutely everything”.
I haven’t seen any specifics, but Peter Dutton will continue as he did yesterday to look for areas of division, to look for areas in which he can try to promote fear in the community…
What we will do is continue to work with authorities appropriately including, of course, primarily law and order issues – of course the responsibility of state and territory governments, and I think Australians understand that.
Updated
Coalition wants to ‘go back to the era of robodebt’ – Katy Gallagher
Continuing from our last post: the finance minister, Katy Gallagher, also weighed in on the question, saying the public service “touches every Australian’s life one way or another”.
Peter Dutton and his team want to go back to the era of robodebt. Let’s not forget the public service that they had reduced to was going around hunting down Australian citizens for money that they didn’t … owe the country. That’s the public service that we had under Peter Dutton when we was a senior minister …
We had 52,000 people on the books as a shadow workforce that weren’t reported through the normal channels, and that’s exactly what they will do again. They have learnt nothing about how expensive it was, how services were reduced, how people waited too long, how some veterans died waiting for their applications to be considered.
They don’t care about any of that because they just want to wander around pretending that they can sack public servants and deliver services. It’s ridiculous.
Gallagher said “yes, we will be campaigning on this” and that it was a “fairytale” what Dutton had been talking about.
Updated
PM responds to Coalition attacks over public sector employees
Anthony Albanese was also asked about attacks from the Coalition today regarding an increase in public sector employees as wasteful.
He was asked: is this a conversation you can have successfully on a national level? Are you able to get voters to back you up on an issue which many consider is quite Canberra-centric?
The PM responded:
If the Coalition are saying that Labor employing additional people in the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to make sure that the circumstance whereby people were dying – veterans who had served our nation in uniform – before their legitimate applications of support that they had earned and that they deserved is something that shouldn’t have happened – I think there’s 500 we put in, from memory, to fix up that backlog. That is what we had to do.
And the second issue I make the point of is the billions of dollars that was spent on consultancies by the Coalition. They seem to want to go back to consultancies rather than actually employ people who have that area of expertise. I tell you what – the people who put in the bills from those companies, they’re a lot higher than a permanent public servant.
Updated
PM doesn’t expect ‘major changes’ to cabinet post-Shorten
Asked if a cabinet reshuffle would occur when Bill Shorten officially stepped down at the end of this month, the PM said:
Obviously, we will allocate those portfolio positions as appropriate. I don’t envisage major changes, but that will occur at an appropriate time in January.
Updated
PM on when he expects meeting with Trump
Anthony Albanese was asked when he anticipates his first face-to-face meeting with US president-elect Donald Trump will take place.
The prime minister said there was a Quad summit this year and all Quad foreign ministries would attend Trump’s inauguration on 20 January – including Penny Wong representing Australia.
When I had discussion with the incoming president, we discussed the Quad. We have discussed as well with the Indian authorities, with prime minister Modi, last year when we met, he’ll be hosting the Quad, and indeed I had a discussion with the high commissioner on January 1, when he visited Kirribilli House with the Indian cricket team. We had a discussion there about those details. But they occur diplomatically and we will get that organised appropriately.
Updated
PM questioned on gambling advertising reform
Our own Josh Butler asked the prime minister about gambling reform with the following question:
It’s been 18 months since Peta Murphy’s “You win some, you lose more” report. I am very aware of all the things the government has done on the issue, but specifically on gambling advertising – will you take any initiatives, new policies, to the election to limit gambling advertising further than what it currently is, or has that initiative been sidelined?
Anthony Albanese responded that the government would “continue to work through the issues as we have”.
We have been rolling out a range of reforms. I made this point: we have done more reforms when it comes to gambling than any government in Australia’s history and we’ll continue to work through these issues.
Updated
Albanese on citizenship ceremonies
Earlier today, Peter Dutton said that within the first 100 days of a Coalition government he would reinstate the requirement for local councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on 26 January.
Asked about this, Anthony Albanese said his council held them on 26 January and he would attend a national event in Canberra.
I encourage Peter Dutton to come to the national event. I always did when I was opposition leader … The first year I wasn’t invited as leader of the opposition, I requested an invite and I have been there every year since, and I hope that there’s bipartisan show of support for them.
Updated
PM sends condolences over Australian killed in LA fires
On the Los Angeles wildfires, Anthony Albanese spoke of the impacts of climate change, saying:
I have said very clearly that you cannot point to any single event and say, ‘That’s because of climate change.’ What you can do is look at the science. The science has told us recently that we have just experienced the hottest year on record, and that consistently over the years, if you look at all of the data, that has continued to be the case.
We are seeing a rise in temperatures, and we’re also seeing a rise in the number of extreme weather events and the intensity of them. So the first thing to say about the fires in Los Angeles is to express condolences of Australia for the loss of life, which has been significant. It’s been a very significant loss of property as well. Australia remains willing to provide whatever support we can.
Albanese sent his condolences to the family of Rory Sykes and said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was in close contact with his family.
This is a tragedy that an Australian has lost his life … We’re providing consular assistance through this devastating time.
Updated
Dutton speech ‘like a balloon with a pin in it – nothing’: Albanese
On the rhetoric around spending when it comes to the upcoming federal election, a reporter asked if the election would be big public spending on one side versus cuts on the other.
Anthony Albanese said the NBN investment was one that “will produce a return”.
As opposed to what Peter Dutton … [said] this morning, he was speaking about cost-of-living relief as being a sugar hit. Well, we make no apologies for the fact that we haven’t left people behind …
And yesterday Peter Dutton had an opportunity to announce a new policy, any policy would do. There was a big build-up last week, and nothing. It was like a balloon with a pin in it – nothing. Just air floated out and produced nothing at the end, except, you know, a bit of rubber on the ground.
It was the biggest damp squib done by any political leader to begin a political year in an election year that I have ever seen.
Updated
PM says Coalition nuclear plan ‘doesn’t stack up economically’
A reporter asked why telecommunications should remain in government hands but when it comes to energy the government is happy to leave it to the market?
Anthony Albanese said there would be “obvious bidders” for the NBN if it was put for sale – like with Telstra – but “the problem with Peter Dutton’s nuclear plan is it doesn’t stack up economically.”
That’s why there’s no investors willing to put their hand up and buy it and invest. Not one. There’s not one investor out there saying, I really want to invest in a nuclear reactor that will operate some time in the 2040s, let alone all the other practical problems to overcome …
The other issues with regard to the fact that no one supports it. He hasn’t got the support of David Crisafulli, as the Queensland premier, hasn’t got the support of the Northern Territory chief minister, can’t even get support from the new rightwing leader of the Liberal party in Victoria. Hasn’t got the support of Mark Speakman in NSW. This is friendless. It’s friendless in markets and friendless in his own party because it doesn’t add up for Australia.
And in the meantime, what will happen is that those people who want to invest in new energy, in renewables, will be of course put off by the uncertainty which is there.
Updated
Albanese touts benefits of remote work
Taking questions, Anthony Albanese was asked whether he should be promoting the message that this would allow more people to work from home, when businesses want people back in the office.
The PM said “it can be both”.
It’s a matter of what is right. A whole lot of small business operators, or sole traders, operate completely from home. That is how they function, that boosts productivity and can make an enormous difference.
In addition to that, a range of workplaces have benefited substantially from having people who aren’t located where the head offices are, able to work from the regions, from wherever it is they live, because of the changing nature of work.
Updated
Labor ‘won’t be lectured’ on NBN cost – Rowland
The communications minister Michelle Rowland said she and the government would “not be lectured” to when it came to the cost of the NBN, telling the media:
Peter Dutton was a senior minister in a government for nearly a decade, which said they would complete the NBN for $29bn. It blew out to $58bn and in the meantime, they reverted from fibre to copper and wasted tens of billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money.
In contrast, our announcement today demonstrates that we are making the necessary investments in the future to ensure that all Australians can benefit from high-speed broadband once this rollout is connected to fibre.
Updated
PM announces $3bn equity boost for NBN
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has been speaking to reporters alongside communications minister Michelle Rowland, making an announcement on the NBN.
The PM announced a $3bn “equity injection” for the NBN to keep in in public hands, with NBN contributing more than $800m to the project.
It’s absolutely critical to the way that a modern economy and a modern society functions, and that’s why we want to not only complete the rollout of a fibre-based NBN but importantly, as well, we want to keep it in public hands.
Updated
Acting NSW premier backs anti-terror cops to find synagogue attackers
State leaders have moved to reassure the Jewish community that counter-terrorism police have enough resources to track down those behind the latest attack on a synagogue, AAP reports.
Specialist officers on Sunday took over the investigation into the previous day’s attack on Newtown synagogue, in Sydney’s inner west, which was spray-painted with swastikas and targeted with an arson attempt.
The acting premier, Penny Sharpe, said she was confident counter-terrorism police had the resources and skills to find the latest attack’s perpetrators, who remained at large. She told ABC radio earlier thismorning:
They bring all of the intelligence that we have about activity that is out there.
They are able to coordinate at the local level, at the broader level, they’re able to work very closely and do things like release CCTV.
Updated
Survey finds 87% of respondents could not cover essentials for third year in a row
The cost of living is continuing to bite disadvantaged Australians, with almost nine out of 10 parents and carers of students supported by the Smith Family worried they won’t be able to afford all the items their children need for school this year.
Results from the charity’s annual survey, released today, found 87% of 2,400 people surveyed couldn’t cover essentials for the third year in a row. Their biggest concerns around digital devices and internet access, educational activities outside of school and uniforms or shoes.
More than half surveyed said the increased cost of everyday expenses like groceries, petrol and rent were the main reason it was harder to afford school items.
Its CEO, Doug Taylor, said 1.2 million children and young people in Australia were experiencing poverty, which could have damaging consequences on educational outcomes if they missed out on access to essential school costs.
The increased cost of living has certainly impacted every family budget. But it has compounded issues that already existed for families we support. I can’t say it enough: education is one of the most powerful change agents for breaking the cycle of generational poverty.
Updated
PM opens first cabinet meeting of the year
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has repeated his criticism of Peter Dutton’s hard-right “political agenda”, claiming the Coalition is now “more conservative than they’ve ever been” under his leadership.
Addressing his senior ministers at the start of the federal cabinet meeting this morning, Albanese rattled off his usual shopping list of political achievements to rev up the troops, noting the “inflation with a 2 in front of it”, 1m jobs created under Labor’s watch and the opening of 87 Medicare urgent care clinics.
Get ready to hear more of that list repeated every day from now to the election – as well as their “building Australia’s future” slogan. Albanese said:
I was out and about with many of you, showing our plan for building Australia’s future, dealing with immediate challenges, but also with our eyes always firmly on the horizon, of how do we support people during the cost-of-living pressures, but also build Australia’s economy in the future.
Earlier on radio, the PM accused Dutton of “a cold-hearted, mean spirit[ed and] just plain nasty response”, and noted Dutton’s unsuccessful tilt in 2018 to lead the Liberal party after Malcolm Turnbull was rolled, which led to Scott Morrison’s ascension.
Albanese claimed the Liberals “rejected him [Dutton]... because they understood that he represented a shift to a hard-right version of the Liberal party.” At the cabinet meeting, Albanese repeated that criticism.
We face an opposition that have shifted to the right over a period of time, who are more conservative than they’ve ever been, which is no wonder that the Coalition chose to elect Scott Morrison above Peter Dutton, because there were too many in their ranks who were concerned about his political agenda.
Lambasting Dutton’s major speech yesterday, Albanese ridiculed the opposition leader’s address for containing “not a single new policy”.
The PM also flagged an announcement on the National Broadband Network coming later today.
Updated
Dutton claims Albanese has done ‘next to zero’ in speaking out against antisemitism
Peter Dutton is also continuing to attack Anthony Albanese for the government’s response to antisemitism.
… the prime minister says I have done everything I can, which is next to zero. And we have Jewish Australians out there saying that they would feel safer living in Israel, a country under threat of nuclear attack, than to be living in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. It is completely unacceptable and I have zero tolerance for antisemitism and I promise you from day one, after we win the next election, we will have a very heavy response to those involved in antisemitism in our country and that will be very clear.
Albanese responded to criticism from Dutton regarding this earlier today. You can read more earlier in the blog here.
Updated
Dutton accuses Albanese of ‘personal attacks’
Peter Dutton accused Anthony Albanese of “embarking on personal attacks” because he “does not have a positive story to tell about himself.” Speaking to the media, Dutton said:
If he had a successful period as a prime minister, if he had a period of achievement [over] the last 2.5 years, he would not need to continue to make up these lies and throw this mud. People want more from their prime minister and unfortunately this prime minister, who is the weakest that we’ve seen since federation, is leading in a way that makes Gough Whitlam look like a competent leader of our nation.
Updated
Dutton commits to requiring local councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on 26 January
Peter Dutton was also asked about sentiments regarding Australia Day, and said in the first 100 days of a Coalition government, he would reinstate the requirement for local councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on 26 January:
Would we reinstate the requirement for councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day? You bet. It will be done in the first 100 days and it will be a sign of pride and nationalism in our country.
Updated
Dutton says shadow cabinet reshuffle coming ‘in due course’
Taking questions, Peter Dutton was asked on the timing on a reshuffle of the shadow cabinet. He said this would be announced soon:
We will announce that soon. One of the problems not every leader has but I certainly do is we have got a real depth in our batting order. We have some incredible talent on the front and back bench and it is always hard to find a spot for everybody, obviously. But I will make that announcement in due course.
Dutton announces Coalition plan for $7.5m over three years for Crime Stoppers
The opposition leader Peter Dutton is speaking to reporters from Melbourne, announcing $7.5m over three years for Crime Stoppers if elected. He said:
When we talk about crime that we see on our television screens in the nighttime, sometimes we just move to the next story or you go to the next channel … and you move on. For those victims, they live with the psychological impact for the rest of their lives and sometimes we forget about that in relation to crime, and particularly crimes against the person, and that is why our commitment today is incredibly important.
New patients continue struggle to find bulk-billing GPs
Fewer GP clinics than ever will take new bulk-billed customers and out-of-pocket charges continue to rise, in data labelled concerning but not surprising.
As AAP reports, healthcare directory Cleanbill’s annual survey of nearly 7,000 GP clinics found Australia’s bulk-billing rate had plummeted to 20.7% at the start of 2025, down from 35.7% two years earlier.
Nationally, the average out-of-pocket cost for patients increased 4% year-on-year, with the average charge $43.38 in 2025. Remarkably, the study found no Tasmanian clinics that would bulk bill a new adult patient without concessions, with that state also having the largest average out-of-pocket cost at $54.26.
Over Cleanbill’s three annual surveys, every state has seen an annual decrease to its bulk-billing rate combined with an increase to the average out-of-pocket cost.
The health minister, Mark Butler, disputed Cleanbill’s figures, which are considerably lower than the government’s official bulk-billing rate of 77.2% in November.
Government figures show the ratio of all individual GP visits that were bulk-billed, compared with Cleanbill’s study of clinics that would bulk-bill a new adult patient without concessions.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ patient experiences survey released in November found about 1.5 million people did not attend a GP with a health complaint due to cost.
Updated
Butler says Australia’s relationship with Israel is close
Mark Butler said he was “horrified” and “distressed” by an increase in instances of antisemitism.
As we flagged earlier, counter-terrorism police have taken over the investigation of a swastika vandalism attack at a Sydney synagogue. You can read the full story below:
Butler told ABC RN the government was “ready to do everything we can to support the states, including NSW, in their policing efforts to bring these people to justice.”
We’ve changed laws to criminalise the use of Nazi hate symbols, which we hope will also bolster the efforts of police agencies. And of course, our agencies … are working very closely with agencies like NSW police.
He was asked if the government needs to do more to “strengthen and advertise its ties with Israel”, and pointed to Mark Dreyfus’ visit as significant:
[This is] a close relationship, it has been since Australia supported the creation of the state of Israel, something I’m so proud of still and will always be. So you know, we speak frankly with governments, of Israel, of all political persuasions. That’s always been a hallmark of a close relationship between allies, democratic allies, and I’m sure that will continue in the future.
Updated
Butler calls Dutton’s pre-election speech ‘38 minutes of empty rhetoric’
Earlier this morning, the federal health minister, Mark Butler, spoke with ABC’s RN about Peter Dutton’s pre-election campaign pitch. He described Dutton’s speech as “38 minutes of empty rhetoric” and said there was “not a single policy or promise that would help Australian households”:
It’s one thing to oppose every single cost-of-living measure that we’ve tried to put in place … but it’s another thing in your signature campaign speech to offer not a single policy to help Australian households. It reflects this extraordinary arrogance that Peter Dutton thinks he can skate to victory at the upcoming election simply on rhetoric and sledging.
Butler took aim at Dutton for labelling Labor’s cost of living measures as sugar hits or “Panadol policies”.
Updated
Motorists leave $140m in toll relief unclaimed: NSW government
The NSW government has urged Sydney motorists to access its toll road relief scheme, with $140m unclaimed over the first 12 months of the cost-of-living support measure.
As AAP reports, drivers who spend more than $60 in tolls weekly can claim the excess back under the so-called “toll cap” introduced by the Minns government in January 2024 to help highly-tolled residents in western Sydney.
The state roads minister, John Graham, today said while $75m had so far been paid to motorists, $140m was yet to be claimed.
More than 276,000 claims were paid since the scheme started on an average claim of $277, the government said.
There were 115 suburbs where the average claim was $300 or above, including Parramatta, Lidcombe, Schofields, Westmead, Toongabbie, Merrylands and Auburn.
Some 720,000 road users were now eligible to make a claim, according to the government.
Updated
Search resumes for man in rain-swollen dam
A search is under way after a man leapt into the water from the wall of a swollen dam and failed to resurface in Queensland’s south-west, AAP reports.
Emergency services rushed to Beardmore dam at St George after a man was reported missing yesterday afternoon. It is understood he jumped from the dam wall and attempted to resurface but was pulled into a strong current.
Police, SES, swift water rescue crews and aerial teams immediately began searching for the missing man. The search was called off late yesterday before resuming at 6am today, with police divers also called in to help.
Authorities have also pleaded with locals to leave the search to emergency services. Police said in a statement:
Police kindly ask locals to avoid attempting to search the area due to the potentially dangerous terrain and to trust that emergency services are doing everything they can to locate the missing man.
After months of heavy rain across Queensland, the dam is currently 102.4% full.
Updated
Albanese responds to claim Dutton made during speech on antisemitism
Anthony Albanese was asked about comments made by Peter Dutton in his speech yesterday, regarding antisemitism. Dutton said:
Shockingly, antisemitism surged by more than 700% and every incident of antisemitism can be traced back to the prime minister’s dereliction of leadership in response to the sort of events on the steps of the Sydney Opera House [after 7 October].
Responding to this, Albanese told ABC Radio Melbourne this was an example of Dutton being “just plain nasty.”
On Sunday, October 8, at 9am I was on the Insiders program. I had already spoken to the Israeli ambassador to Australia, who was in Israel at the time. We unequivocally condemned that action. The next day, on October 9, the day that the Opera House event happened, I called for that to not go ahead …
Once again, on an issue that shouldn’t be one where Peter Dutton seeks to divide politically, it should be one where he acknowledges that anyone of any decency opposes antisemitism, anyone with any decency says it was entirely inappropriate for that demonstration to go ahead, as I said before it happened. Before it happened. And yet he seeks, once again, everything is a political opportunity for Peter Dutton, rather than an attempt to bring the country together …
Albanese said he is “horrified by antisemitism” and “we call it out each and every time.”
Updated
Albanese says Dutton represents ‘shift to a hard-right version of the Liberal party’
Anthony Albanese accused Peter Dutton of building “a career on dividing people, and I want to bring the country together”.
I don’t think that providing support for people is just a sugar hit. I think it is worthwhile … [Dutton has] built a career on targeting people, particularly people who are vulnerable.
He’s never sought to bring people together, which is why his own party rejected him and elected Scott Morrison as leader, even though Scott Morrison had a very small base of support, because they understood that he represented a shift to a hard-right version of the Liberal party.
Updated
‘We do need leadership in this country, but we need leadership with a heart’: Albanese
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking on ABC Radio Melbourne after Peter Dutton’s pre-election campaign pitch yesterday.
He has been taking questions on the rising cost of living and outlined a number of measures the government has taken:
We understand that people have done a tough with global inflation, and that’s why we provided cost of living relief, that’s why we provided additional dollars into every taxpayer’s pocket through our tax cuts for every taxpayer, energy bill relief, cheaper childcare, free Tafe, the tripling of the bulk-billing incentive for Medicare and the urgent care clinics.
Albanese highlighted comments by Dutton yesterday that described cost of living measures as sugar hits:
[Dutton] refused to support energy bill relief. We do need leadership in this country, but we need leadership with a heart. Peter Dutton represents a cold hearted, mean spirit[ed and] just plain nasty response, and that’s not going to help people.
Updated
Open letter calls for climate duty of care to be legislated
A group of well-known Australians have signed an open letter urging the federal government to legislate a climate Duty of Care for future generations. The letter, addressed to Anthony Albanese, Tanya Plibersek, Chris Bowen and Anne Aly, reads:
We know that climate change will have a disproportionate impact on current and future generations, as the world continues to warm and climate disaster increases in frequency and severity … We call on you to acknowledge your duty of care to us. We call on you to ensure that the decisions you make today are made with our health and wellbeing at the forefront of your minds, and that this is guaranteed by law.
The letter was written by four young people, including teenage climate crisis campaigner Anjali Sharma. It was signed by Lucy Turnbull, John Hewson, Craig Foster, Peter Doherty, Emma McKeon and Grace Tame, among others.
Hewson, a former leader of the Liberal party, said in a statement that it is a “very sad commentary” on the “poor state” of governance there should be any doubt about the “responsibility to recognise a duty of care to safeguard the health and well-being of future generations of Australians, especially in relation to climate change”:
Even more embarrassing has been the willingness of Sussan Ley as minister for the environment in a previous LNP government being prepared to contest this responsibility in the courts, and that as a consequence it is now necessary to seek to have parliament legislate this responsibility.
Updated
Paterson questioned on prospect of tax cuts
Q: Will we hear about any tax cuts, because David Littleproud said yesterday the Coalition won’t commit to it before the election. Will you commit?
James Paterson responded that “it has to be sustainable.”
The truth is the government has a lot of money and we do have a very big budget deficit looming. The mid-year economic and fiscal outlook predicted this budget deficit this year will be $28bn. That is massive deterioration under Labor’s watch. But we will always be fiscally responsible, but wherever we have the opportunity to reduce taxes, we will do so.
Updated
Paterson on energy relief: ‘our priority is taking the pressure off inflation’
The shadow home affairs minister James Paterson spoke with ABC News Breakfast earlier about Peter Dutton’s pre-election campaign pitch. He was asked if energy bill relief would be off the table under a Coalition government, and said:
When you are paying $50,000 more on on your mortgage, then $250 or even $500 off the energy bill won’t even touch the sides. So our priority is to take the pressure off inflation so that rates can come down and things can become more affordable.
Asked where the Coalition would make cuts, Paterson said it had opposed $90bn of Labor spending since the election and “we’ll have more to say on the savings as we go to the next election”.
He pointed specifically to an increase in public servants in Canberra, as Peter Dutton did earlier, and was asked what the Coalition would cut this by?
Paterson again said this would be announced closer to the election:
It adds up to $6bn a year, so I think we do need to find efficiencies in the federal government. Frontline services will obviously be protected … but we don’t think value for money has been obtained by hiring those 36,000 extra public servants in Canberra.
Dutton questioned on campaign slogan
Peter Dutton also spoke with Sunrise, where he was questioned about his campaign slogan, “let’s get Australia back on track”.
The host noted its similarity to Make America Great Again, and said during Dutton’s speech yesterday there was also a slogan borrowed from Joe Rogan, that “weak leaders create hard times”.
On the similarity, Dutton said:
I saw a quote that I used in May and I think it was used in the American campaign, and somehow then it was written up here that we were borrowing something from the Trump campaign.
I think there are some pretty basic principles that are around that are shared across countries … and one of them is that we do need to stand up for our values and what we believe in, and yesterday was about outlining our 12 priority areas of getting our country back on track.
Dutton continues rounds on breakfast television
The opposition leader Peter Dutton has been making the rounds this morning, also speaking with the Today Show.
Dutton has said he will reduce government spending, but his own finance spokesperson, Jane Hume, says there is a sovereign and political risk in that – are they on the same page? Dutton said the point Hume was making is “that you need to get the balance right.”
We need to do what is right in our country’s economic interests. We have to have the settings so that people can invest here. And at the moment, when we speak to CEOs and chairs of companies … what they’re doing is moving capital away from Australia into south-east Asia, into Africa, into North America, and we’re missing out on the tax dollars and the jobs here in Australia.
Dutton has also said taxes would be lower under a Coalition government. Asked which ones, he said there would be a focus on “cutting government waste”, specifically pointed to increased public service employees:
It’s a question of how much money is in the bank and how much can we responsibly give back, because in the end, it’s people’s money. People are working hard for it.
Updated
‘No new ideas and no solutions’: Rishworth on Dutton’s pre-election pitch
The social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, spoke with the Today Show earlier this morning about Peter Dutton’s pre-election pitch yesterday. She says he is “back from leave with no real new ideas and no solutions”:
And when he talks about cutting government spending, what he’s talking about is cutting things like the pension, cutting energy bill relief, cutting Medicare.
And it doesn’t matter how many weasel words he uses when he says that he disagrees with the government investing in Medicare, that’s what he will cut. So there was not much new from Peter Dutton, in fact, nothing new from Peter Dutton. Most of it was borrowed from others. So [it was] pretty uninspiring from my perspective.
Updated
Counterterrorism police take over investigation of swastika vandalism
As AAP reports, Jewish leaders have condemned the latest antisemitic attack at a Sydney in which red swastikas were allegedly spraypainted across the front wall of Newtown synagogue in Sydney’s inner west by a male and female about 4.30am on Saturday.
They are also alleged to have ignited a clear liquid that burned out within minutes, but the fire could have had deadly consequences if it had taken hold, NSW’s police commissioner, Karen Webb, said yesterday.
Investigation had been taken over by counter-terrorism command’s hate crime unit, Webb said.
I appeal to anyone out there who knows who has perpetrated these disgusting offences to come forward and tell police who they are.
There are other local investigations where there are graffiti on ride share bikes and skate parks and other things will continue to be dealt with locally, unless there’s a suggestion that they are linked.
Updated
Factchecking Dutton’s claim Labor is pursuing a ‘renewables-only strategy’
Just continuing from our last post, where Peter Dutton claimed the government has a “renewables-only strategy”.
The government’s own Future Gas Strategy says that “even in net zero scenarios, Australia and the world will need gas at lower levels through to 2050 and beyond.” The full quote reads:
The role of gas will change as we reach net zero in Australia by 2050. Even in net zero scenarios, Australia and the world will need gas at lower levels through to 2050 and beyond. Australian gas will play an important role in an orderly global and domestic energy transformation. However, to meet our legislated climate goals, we must find alternatives to gas and gas-related emissions must decline.
Updated
Dutton discredits renewables when asked about energy policy
Peter Dutton was also asked about the role of domestic gas production in the energy mix – will this be enough, or should there be more coal in the mix? The opposition leader pointed to state government’s decisions to extend the life of coal fired plants and said:
At the moment, the problem is that the government’s got this view of trying to please inner-city Green voters with the renewables-only policy which has driven uncertainty into the market.
So gas is going to be required, and every serious commentator from Aemo down says that gas will play a very significant role in shoring up and providing the base load power that we need to shore up the renewable energy and system.
He went on to discredit renewables, and said:
Renewable energy is great, but we can’t pretend that it operates 24/7, it doesn’t … There are very serious concerns about disruption to power and a modern, functioning economy can’t survive on part-time power.
Is Dutton correct? Read on and decide for yourself:
Updated
Will Peter Dutton promise any tax cuts to everyday Australians before the next election?
Dutton told ABC RN “we’ll do what we can afford”. He accused Labor of living “beyond their means, which is why they need to tax so much”:
They spend a lot, and they tax a lot … We will act responsibly. We’ll manage the economy effectively, and we’ll make the decisions that will bring inflation down, interest rates down, and make sure that we cut the government waste.
Q: And you’ll do that without providing these so-called sugar hits of cost of living relief?
Dutton said the government was “bequeathed an incredible set of economic numbers” which is how they achieved a surplus in the first two years – but have spent an extra $347bn dollars and “taxed Australians more and more and more.”
We’ve got an inflationary environment which is not under control, and if it doesn’t get under control, we’ll see interest rates sit higher for longer, or indeed go up, and we’ll see an environment where families continue to lose their small businesses and continue to struggle to pay the bills.
Updated
Dutton says spending needs to stop to curb ‘homegrown inflation problem’
Yesterday, Peter Dutton suggested Labor’s “Panadol policies” must stop, when discussing government spending. He was asked: which cost-of-living measures should Australians not have received?
The opposition leader said there was a “homegrown inflation problem”, as pointed out by the RBA, and “that is as diplomatic as the Reserve Bank governor can be to say: ‘Stop the spending’”.
And it applies not only to federal government, but to the state governments as well, who are adding to the fuel that is keeping inflation higher for longer.
And if you have a look at the sugar hits, you can provide support to people, and people appreciate some support, obviously, particularly for energy costs … but people are smarter than that. They realise that what it’s doing is keeping their mortgage rates higher for longer.
So should Australians not have received energy relief? Dutton responded “we’ll make an announcement in relation to our policies when we get closer to the election”.
In relation to what support we’ll provide, what we think is inflationary, that we won’t support. And we’ll have a look at that, particularly given that we’ve got a budget coming up in March.
Updated
Dutton on election slogan ‘let’s get Australia back on track’
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, spoke with ABC RN this morning about his pre-election pitch in Melbourne yesterday.
He was asked about his slogan – getting Australia “back on track” – and the similarity of this to New Zealand’s back on track election slogan and to Trump’s Make America Great Again. Is this lack of creativity a clue that the biggest problems we’re facing around cost of living are largely global?
Dutton responded that “Australians are feeling is that our country does need to be put back on track”.
So I know there are a lot of sort of insider comments about slogans … but what it means is that we want to help families who have really struggled under this government …
To get our country back on track, I think, reflects the reality of where we are at the moment and what most Australians, particularly those in the outer suburbs, would want from an alternative government.
Updated
PM to hold first cabinet meeting of the year
Anthony Albanese and senior ministers will get together for the government’s first cabinet meeting of 2025 today.
As AAP reports, more cost-of-living relief is likely to be discussed in Canberra as Labor prepares to call an election, which must be held by 17 May.
The prime minister last week embarked on a three-state blitz of key battlegrounds across Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia, where he announced billions in funding for infrastructure.
Meanwhile the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, launched his pre-election pitch yesterday in Melbourne, saying the nation had a “last chance to reverse the decline”.
Parliament is due to resume for the year on 4 February for the year.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning, and happy Monday – welcome back to a new week on the Australia news live blog. I’m Emily Wind, and I’ll be taking you through our rolling coverage for most of today.
Anthony Albanese and senior ministers will get together for the government’s first cabinet meeting of 2025 today. As AAP reports, more cost-of-living relief is likely to be discussed in Canberra as Labor prepares to call an election, which must be held by 17 May.
For more on this, in today’s Full Story podcast Nour Haydar talks to political reporter Dan Jervis-Bardy about the events that could shape federal politics this year:
Meanwhile, Northern Territory police are investigating a light plane crash that has left one man dead. About 10.20am yesterday, police responded to the crash in Middle Point, which had two people on board.
An uninjured 29-year-old female passenger was transported by helicopter from the scene and taken to Royal Darwin hospital for assessment, while the 63-year-old male pilot was located deceased inside the aircraft.
A crime scene was declared and investigations into the crash are ongoing, NT police said.
As always, you can reach out with any tips, questions or feedback via email: emily.wind@theguardian.com. Let’s go.