What we learned; Monday 3 February
Thanks for joining us on the blog today, here’s our top stories from today:
Today was the first day of the unlawful dismissal case brought by journalist Antoinette Lattouf against the ABC, which allegedly unlawfully dismissed her from a casual Sydney radio job in December 2023 three days into a five-day contract.
NAB has become the first big bank to cut fixed-interest mortgage rates, after challenger Macquarie, as expectations of an impending Reserve Bank rate cut grow
A major backer of the teal independents has topped the list of political donors ahead of the 2025 election.
A young homeless man who was living in Jewish-run crisis accommodation will remain behind bars after allegedly yelling out antisemitic abuse at a woman while he was on bail.
The Greens will support the Albanese government’s hate crimes bill if amendments are made to include additional protection – including for people with disabilities.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says her party will bring on debate on a bill to ban gambling advertisements, after Anthony Albanese said his government never had any legislation to deal with that issue.
A car belonging to a CFMEU official was torched overnight in a suburb on the south-west fringe of Sydney
New South Wales premier Chris Minns has conceded two of his senior ministers made a “massive error of judgment” in calling on a taxpayer-funded driver to transport them to a private lunch, but has shot down calls to sack them.
Senior meteorologist at the BoM, Dean Narramore, says major flood levels are likely to remain for several days in northern Queensland as the state continues to grapple with wild weather.
84,000 hectares has burned in the Little Desert fire, and two properties are believed to have been lost near Hattah in the Mallee, while 46,000 hectares have burned in the Grampians fire.
Updated
The first day of Antoinette Lattouf v the ABC has wrapped up without the journalist finishing her cross-examination.
She will return to the witness box on Tuesday morning; and a cross-examination of her psychiatrist, Dr Nigel Strauss, will follow.
Also scheduled for Tuesday is outgoing ABC managing director David Anderson.
Steve Ahern, who hired Lattouf for the casual role when he was acting head of capital city networks, will appear on Thursday after a full-day of evidence on Wednesday from content chief Chris Oliver-Taylor.
Former ABC chair Ita Buttrose will give evidence on Friday morning.
Among the evidence heard on Monday was that advice from the ABC’s acting editorial director Simon Melkman was sought by the executive after the ABC received a large number of complaints about its decision to appoint Lattouf as a casual radio host.
Man drowns at NSW beach
A man believed to be in his 50s has died on the south coast after he drowned at Narrawallee Beach.
Police said emergency services were called to the beach on Matron Porter Drive in Narrawallee after reports the man was in distress in the water.
Paramedics performed CPR on the man but he could not be revived.
Updated
Jo Haylen disappears from summit speaker list
Embattled New South Wales transport minister Jo Haylen has disappeared from the lineup of a key planning summit in Sydney on Tuesday, as criticism mounts over her use of a taxpayer-funded ministerial driver for a private trip.
Scrutiny of Haylen’s activity has been building after the Daily Telegraph reported that she had summoned a taxpayer-funded ministerial driver from Sydney to near Newcastle on the Australia Day long weekend, to chauffeur her and friends – including housing minister Rose Jackson – to and from a long lunch at a Hunter Valley winery.
Using a ministerial driver for private travel is permitted as a benefit ministers are entitled to, but while Haylen did not break any rules in summoning the driver for what turned out to be a 446km round trip, premier Chris Minns on Monday said it was a bad look for his government.
While Minns has stopped short of sacking Haylen from her portfolio, he has vowed to tighten the rules to ban purely private travel. Haylen has also apologised for the trip and promised to repay the costs.
Meanwhile, on Monday afternoon, the Committee for Sydney released an updated speaker lineup for its annual Sydney Summit.
Haylen, who had been included on earlier versions of the lineup, was absent from the finalised running order.
Guardian Australia has contacted Haylen for comment.
Continuing on from previous post:
Magistrate Alexander Mijovich rejected the bail application, saying the man had a history of breaching court orders and not showing up when required to.
Mumbulla had faced 32 charges in the state and had received two community corrections orders and one conditional release order as sentences, the court was told.
He pleaded not guilty to the intimidation charge and that case was adjourned to Waverley local court on 11 February.
He is due to be sentenced at Newtown later in the month for a separate property damage offence.
Appearing in the court via a video link from the neighbouring police station, Mumbulla yelled expletives at the magistrate after being refused bail.
Updated
Alleged antisemite lived in Jewish-run council home
A young homeless man who was living in Jewish-run crisis accommodation will remain behind bars after allegedly yelling out antisemitic abuse at a woman while he was on bail, AAP reports.
Wendell Mumbulla was arrested at Jewish House in Bondi just after midday on Sunday after a woman flagged down patrolling police attached to a strike force set up after a spate of antisemitic incidents.
The 21-year-old, who was a resident in the short-term housing in Sydney’s east, allegedly yelled the intimidating slurs at the woman just before 8am.
He was arrested and taken to Newtown police station, where he was charged with stalking and intimidation with the intent of physical or mental harm.
Mumbulla was also charged with property damage over an unrelated incident and breach of bail.
Prosecutor Alexandra Tomasetti opposed his application for bail on Monday, saying the rise in antisemitic incidents had raised community expectations for tough penalties.
She told Newtown local court:
[There is] significant concern to the community.
There’s certainly discussion around expectations in how these matters are to be dealt with (and) a custodial sentence is likely.
Defence lawyer Matthew Allen said the young man was on the verge of finding suitable housing after being homeless for some time.
Mumbulla’s father died at a young age and his mother was an alcoholic, Allen added:
The instructions I’ve gathered reveal a long history of disadvantage.
[Bail would] allow him to continue to work on himself as he is on the cusp of being able to achieve something for himself.
Allen agreed he did not have a bail address for the man as he “could not return to the accommodation where the alleged offences occurred”.
Story continued in next post…
Updated
Extremist groups tipped to sidestep terror sanctions
Neo-nazi and white supremacist groups are likely to quickly shift their approach in the face of counter-terrorism sanctions aimed at curbing radicalisation and cracking down on hate, an expert has said.
Terrorgram, an online network for neo-Nazis that advocates acts of violence, has been hit with counter-terrorism sanctions by the federal government in response to escalating anti-Semitic attacks in Australia.
The sanctions make it a criminal offence to use or deal with Terrorgram’s assets, under the threat of up to 10 years in jail and hefty fines. It is the first time Australia has imposed counter-terrorism financing sanctions on an online entity.
Michael Zekulin, who researches terrorism and counter-terrorism at the Australian National University, said the situation wasn’t static and groups were constantly evolving.
Dr Zekulin said:
Anytime you look to nullify or sort of constrain the use of one system, they simply find ways to bypass that, that’s the challenge.
You’re continuously chasing these groups as they move around from place to place and they learn and they sort of understand what’s coming and they try to react to that.
- AAP
Updated
Greens to back hate crimes bill with amendments
The Greens will support the Albanese government’s hate crimes bill if amendments are made to include additional protection – including for people with disabilities.
The bill, which was introduced by the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, last September, expands the existing offence of urging violence and establishes new offences of threatening to use force or violence against groups or individual members of a group.
The party will move amendments – in line with recommendations under the bill’s Senate inquiry report – to include disability as a protected attribute in hate symbols offences, extend protection to associates of protected groups, and update language around gender and sexuality.
Senator Mehreen Faruqi, deputy leader of the Greens and spokesperson for anti-racism, said:
The Greens will support Labor’s Hate Crimes Bill as it ensures stronger protections for vulnerable and targeted groups. It is a considered piece of legislation which is a step towards combating hate.
The Greens will continue to call for a national Human Rights Act, for the government to urgently and fully fund the implementation of the National Anti-Racism Framework to tackle all forms of racism, and for investment in responses to hate that are grassroots and community-led.
Updated
Lattouf questioned on ‘controversy’ of social media posts
Antoinette Lattouf has been asked a number of questions by the ABC’s barrister Ian Neil SC about whether she was aware that her public social media posts about the Israel Gaza war would be considered controversial.
The posts were put online by Lattouf before she was employed as a casual presenter by the ABC’s local radio division in December 2023.
Did you know that the reports and opinions of Human Rights Watch are controversial among those sections of the Australian community who do not share the view that the State of Israel is guilty of apartheid?
Lattouf said it “may be” controversial.
Neil quoted an article Lattouf had written in 2022 for the Sydney Morning Herald in which she said “journalists should avoid anything that cast doubt on impartiality”.
Lattouf said that article was in reference to an ABC news presenter who had a different standard impartiality because she was hosting an ABC news program whereas she was on ABC local radio.
I was on ABC local [radio] in a Christmas festive program talking about cats on the Sydney to Hobart and Michael Bublé music.
So I don’t think the two are comparable, that is why I say it depends on the context.
Updated
CFMEU vehicle set ablaze in Sydney, union says
A car belonging to a CFMEU official was torched overnight in a suburb on the south-west fringe of Sydney, the construction union has confirmed.
The New South Wales police said it is investigating the incident after emergency services were called to Appin at around 1am after reports of a fire.
“Officers attached to Campbelltown City Police Area Command arrived to find a boat and Ford utility alight,” police said.
“The fire was extinguished by Fire and Rescue NSW and no injuries were reported.”
Mark Irving SC, who the federal government appointed as administrator to the construction union last year after a media investigation uncovered alleged links to organised crime figures, said:
“We are taking the matter very seriously and the administration has referred this crime to the NSW Police.
The administration will do everything in its power to ensure all lines of inquiry are explored by responsible authorities.
All worker in the construction industry, including CFMEU organisers, should be safe at work and no one should be exposed to criminal violence.
Updated
Update on Victorian bushfires
Rick Nugent, Victoria’s state’s emergency management commissioner, says there is one ongoing fire in the Little Desert national park and two in the Grampians national park.
There are four new fires in the Great Otway national park, Nugent says:
In terms of the high risk season, it is far from over. If you live in a bush fire prone area, please stay informed.
Nugent says around lunchtime today a vehicle carrying firefighters from New South Wales caught fire in the Little Desert national park and was destroyed but no one was injured:
Thankfully, the firefighters managed to escape the vehicle before it was fully engulfed.
Updated
Australia facing heatwave conditions in several states
Some places in the south-east of the country are already heading into the mid 30s and even above 40C amid heatwave conditions.
Here were some of the temperatures from the Bureau of Meteorology, when last checked:
Temperatures in Melbourne were still climbing at 2pm, when the city recorded 35.5C. Meanwhile, the hottest town in the state was currently Walpeup, which recorded 39.9C at 1:50pm.
In South Australia, Adelaide had reached 40.1C by 12:56. While farther west, Wudinna, a town of about 500 people on the Eyre Peninsula, had hit 43.6C.
In Tasmania, temperatures were well above average for February. On the west coast, Strahan had recorded the highest temperature so far in Tasmania at 35.6C at 2pm. Hobart reached 31.6 at 1:02pm.
As February got off to a hot start in Australia’s south east, a new update from the Bureau of Meteorology showed January 2025 was more than 2C above the long term average for the month, and the second-warmest January on record.
Updated
Townsville ‘black zone’ residents warned to stay away
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, has urged residents in Townsville’s “black zone” - Hermit Park, Railway Estate, Rosslea, Idalia, Oonoonba and Cluden - who were advised to leave yesterday, to stay away until given the all clear.
Crisafulli told reporters more rainfall, high tides and dam releases meant those areas were still at risk of more flooding.
Updated
Hello, I’ll now be with you until this evening.
With that, I will pass the blog to the highly capable hands of Jordyn Beazley.
Thanks for reading, I’m off to devour Grammys content.
Antoinette Lattouf gives evidence in case against ABC
Journalist Antoinette Lattouf has entered the witness box of the federal court in Sydney to give evidence in her case against the ABC for wrongful dismissal.
Under cross-examination by the ABC’s barrister, Ian Neil SC, she agreed that she was “someone who was sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinian people” and “someone who was openly critical of the conduct of the state of Israel”.
Lattouf agreed she was a founder of Media Diversity Australia and could be described as a “passionate journalist”.
Lattouf was shown an Instagram post from October 2023 on her public account and asked if she had written it.
Do you agree in the Instagram post, you talk about the suffering and senseless loss of life, particularly in Gaza and Israel?
Lattouf agreed.
Updated
High-profile resignations in Victorian public service
The heads of the Victorian department of health and the department of jobs, skills, industry and regions have both resigned.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, has issued a statement confirming the departures of Prof Euan Wallace and Tim Ada, respectively.
Wallace started in his role in November 2020 and led the health department through the Covid-19 pandemic response and recovery, while Ada took on his position in 2023, after time in the department of premier and cabinet. Both finish up on 28 February.
V/Line chief executive Matt Carrick will take over as secretary at DJSIR while the department of education secretary, Jenny Atta, will lead the health department.
Allan said:
I congratulate Jenny and Matt on their appointments and look forward to their new leadership and expertise driving both DH and DJSIR forward. I want to thank Euan and Tim for their professionalism and leadership in achieving a great deal of reform and change in their time and wish them both well for the future.
Updated
Greens to push for vote on gambling ad ban
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says her party will bring on debate on a bill to ban gambling advertisements, after Anthony Albanese said his government never had any legislation to deal with that issue.
As we reported earlier, the prime minister appeared on The Daily Aus podcast and said “we’re considering a range of measures, but there has never been legislation” to ban gambling ads.
Hanson-Young, the Greens’ spokesperson on communications, said it was “disappointing the government has still not responded to the Peta Murphy report” which recommended an ad ban.
Gambling reform remains the unfinished business of this parliament and with two weeks left there is still time to get it done before the election.
This Wednesday the Greens Ban Gambling Ads bill will be debated and voted on and I urge the government to work with us to reduce gambling harm.”
Updated
Albanese spruiks ‘positive agenda’ ahead of parliament’s resumption
The PM confirms it will be a “busy couple of weeks” for Labor as parliament returns on Tuesday but he is “optimistic” Australians will respond well to a “positive agenda”.
He gives a “shout out” to the education minister, who has now secured deals with six of states and territories on fully funding public schools. Just Queensland and New South Wales are yet to sign on, though Albanese flags “we’ll get them there, I’m sure”.
It is so important, and so important for the students … because that’s how we compete in the 21st century. So, early childhood learning. Schools. TAFE. Universities accord. All of this fits together with how we build Australia’s future. Along with childcare, the reform we’ve done there, the biggest reforms in aged care in this century - all about building Australia’s future, as well as support for manufacturing …
All of these things fit in together. And this two weeks we have to progress some of this - we’ll legislate on three days of Child Care Subsidy, making free Tafe permanent, production tax credits for critical minerals and rare earths, keeping the NBN in public hands … and the response to the Robodebt Royal Commission. So a busy couple of weeks …
But I’m optimistic that Australians will respond to a positive agenda with fully costed policies - ones that build on the foundations we’ve built this term, but builds on that for the better Australia that we need to create - and one that we are busy working on each and every day.
So welcome back everyone, I look forward to the next fortnight and beyond. Good on you.
Updated
Albanese continues to attack Coalition on pledge to cut ‘wasteful spending’
That’s before you get to the $600bn they need to build their government owned and operated nuclear power plants into the 2040s, and that, depending on who you listen to - if you listen to David Littleproud, construction will begin the day after the election. If you listen to others, it will begin in a couple of years’ time to consult and and deal with the law, the few little simple facts that it’s outlawed in Queensland … and, indeed, this is a friendless policy amongst any state and territory government or, indeed, any state and territory opposition as well.
They won’t tell you what the cuts will be. But they will tell you they’re coming. They’ll tell you after the election. But they won’t have an independent audit. They’ll just decide themselves what the cuts will be … Well, that’s not the Australian way. And we have an opportunity to really drive that home over the next fortnight and over the coming period as well. Australian families - if they had got their way - would be $7,200 worse off right now if Peter Dutton had got his way and blocked the cost-of-living relief that we’ve put forward.
The scale of the opposition’s planned spending cuts won’t be revealed before the federal election, Dutton has confirmed.
Updated
PM says voters ‘couldn’t find a more stark choice’ between Labor and Coalition
“You’ll be worse off under Peter Dutton” is a phrase you’re likely going to hear quite a bit in the coming weeks – forming the tagline of a Labor advertising campaign ahead of the federal election.
Albanese continues on cost of living relief, stating you “couldn’t find a more stark choice” that Australians will face in the coming months between Labor and the Coalition.
Labor providing that cost-of-living support, building Australia’s future for the long-term - where are the future jobs, future industries, going to come from? - and a Coalition saying, under Peter Dutton - saying themselves - that they want to go back.
They want to go back, and being worse off under Peter Dutton. Now, we know that they opposed all of our cost-of-living measures. They opposed energy bill relief. They opposed cheaper childcare. They opposed free Tafe and think that people don’t value it. They, of course, most starkly, opposed our tax cuts for every single Australian taxpayer.
And we know, as well, that they opposed wages increasing. They wanted low wages to be a key feature of their economic architecture. But, having waited three years for a cost-of-living measure, they’ve come up with one.
And it’s a doozy, this one...! They don’t want workers to get a tax cut, but they do want bosses to get a free lunch. And that is the big distinction. And they want workers to pay for it … there’s about four million different businesses registered, sole traders - $20,000 a pop for people to engage in meals, entertainment, liaisons at golf courses, karaoke nights, weekends away - who knows what it would be? What we know is that $20,000 would be paid for by people who will never get that opportunity. And we know, as well, that they didn’t put forward any costing of it.
Updated
Albanese says he begins 2025 with a ‘sense of optimism’
Inflation is down. Wages are up. Unemployment is low - indeed, our average rate of unemployment is the lowest that it’s been in many, many decades, going back more than 50 years. And that is something that we can be proud of.
I think the hard work this group have done [Labor] in making sure that we provided cost-of-living relief for people who are most in need in a way that helped to put that downward pressure on inflation – rather than what some of the economics orthodoxy would suggest we do – which is not worry about what the impact of [what] the economy was, as if the statistics weren’t about people.
What we understand in this room is that we want an economy that works for people, not the other way around. And that has meant prioritising, making sure that people aren’t left behind.
He points to cost of living measures enacted by Labor – free Tafe and construction apprenticeships, to impact living standards in the short-term, while also “setting up those young Australians and other Australians as well retraining for a new career”.
Updated
Anthony Albanese speaking in Canberra
He begins addressing the Labor caucus by providing an update on the ongoing floods in northern Queensland.
Albanese visited the national operations office this morning and received a briefing on the extreme weather event.
We have people on the ground to help mobilise the support that we have and the presence in Townsville. But we’ve activated as well income support and we will do whatever is necessary to provide support for people – but I do want to say, once again, at the worst of times, we’re seeing the best of the Australian character.
We’re seeing not just emergency personnel – we’re seeing volunteers helping their neighbours, helping people out, even going door to door, knocking with the evacuations that have had to take place in Townsville.
Updated
Man in Queensland on drugs and child sexual assault charges
In Queensland, a 50-year-old man has been charged by detectives in relation to the alleged supply of dangerous drugs and alleged sexual assault of a child.
On 15 January, a search warrant was executed at a Mackay Harbour address, where the man was taken into custody. It is alleged that a number of drugs, drug utensils and electronics were seized.
Queensland police allege the man supplied dangerous drugs to a girl under 16 and sexually assaulted her.
They allege he also groomed a second teenage girl under 16 with the intent to engage in a sexual act, and supplied dangerous drugs to two other children.
He has been charged with 22 offences including six counts of supplying dangerous drugs to a minor, three counts of rape and two counts of grooming a child under 16.
Updated
Major Climate 200 backer again tops list of political donors
Share trader Robert Keldoulis and his investment firm Keldoulis Investments Pty Limited donated a combined $1.1m to the fundraising vehicle in 2023-24, according to figures published by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on Monday. The Albanese government is attempting to pass sweeping laws to curb big money in politics.
Read a full breakdown here:
Updated
BoM predicts Queensland flood waters to remain for days
Senior meteorologist at the BoM, Dean Narramore, says major flood levels are likely to remain for several days in northern Queensland as the state continues to grapple with wild weather.
Speaking on ABC News earlier, he said rainfall over the past three days had been “massive”, with 800-900mm hitting Townsville alonel.
It is a huge amount of rainfall to fall in three days and we are talking … nine months worth of rainfall in just a short space of time.
He said emergency services continued to keep their eyes on Ingham and Townsville, with threats of rainfall moving onshore into the afternoon and evening bringing an additional 50 to 100mm in some areas.
It will take a few days all of the river water to flow down so we will maintain these long duration major flood levels at certain locations in the lower catchments … the problem is additional thunderstorms, not to the levels we have seen but still 50-100mm over a 24-hour period can lead to holding that level or even rising it slowly in the coming days.
Updated
Continued from previous post:
Minns said he would now tighten the rules around ministerial drivers to prevent them from being booked for purely personal travel, but shot down calls to sack Haylen or Jackson from their portfolios, citing the need for experienced ministers in those roles.
We have to be clear about the fact that despite this being part of the rules, it was clearly unacceptable and I’m not going to defend the indefensible in these circumstances. We want to make it clear to the people of NSW that the rules need to be changed specifically to stop this kind of use of taxpayer money to drivers in NSW.
And I think that the real error here, in addition to NSW taxpayers being concerned about how their money is being used, it’s also the treatment of a public servant, a hard working public servant, someone who turns up every single day, works hard on behalf of the people of NSW shouldn’t be treated in this manner.
Updated
NSW ministers made ‘massive error of judgment’, says Minns
New South Wales premier Chris Minns has conceded two of his senior ministers made a “massive error of judgment” in calling on a taxpayer-funded driver to transport them to a private lunch, but has shot down calls to sack them.
Criticism has been mounting on the actions of transport minister Jo Haylen, after the Daily Telegraph reported that she had summoned a taxpayer-funded ministerial driver from Sydney to near Newcastle on the Australia Day long weekend, to chauffeur her and friends – including housing minister Rose Jackson – to and from a long lunch at a Hunter Valley winery.
Using a ministerial driver for private travel is permitted as a benefit ministers are entitled to, but while Haylen did not break any rules in summoning the driver for what turned out to be a 446km round trip, Minns said it was a bad look for his government.
Minns said:
I want to make it clear that that trip should not have taken place, the NSW ministerial driver should not have been used for that purely private function.
This was a massive error of judgment on behalf of those two ministers, I’ve made it very clear to them personally that I regard it as a major error. It gives the government a bad reputation and I think that many people in the community would be very, very unhappy with the actions of my government.
Updated
Bushfires still burning in Victoria’s Little Desert and Grampians national parks
Here’s what you need to know:
84,000 hectares has burned in the Little Desert fire, and two properties are believed to have been lost near Hattah in the Mallee, while 46,000 hectares have burned in the Grampians fire.
Thousands of lightning strikes which hit the ground across the state overnight have prompted several new fires which are burning out of control in the Great Otway national park. Great Ocean Road communities including Apollo Bay are under a watch and act warning.
The storms cut power to at least 38,000 homes and businesses, however that had dropped to fewer than 8,000 as of midday today.
There were 770 requests for assistance in the 24 hours to 7am today, including 197 calls for building damage, 448 for fallen trees and 93 for impacts of flash flooding.
Temperatures are forecast to remain in the high 30s and low 40s on Monday for much of the state for a second straight day, including 39C in Melbourne.
More severe storms are possible in eastern South Australia and western and central Victoria into the evening before a cool change is projected to arrive on Tuesday afternoon.
–with AAP.
Updated
National Australia Bank cuts fixed-interest mortgage rates
NAB has become the first big bank to cut fixed-interest mortgage rates, after challenger Macquarie, as expectations of an impending Reserve Bank rate cut grow, AAP reports.
Rate tracking by comparison site Canstar shows NAB dropped fixed rates by up to 0.25 percentage points for owner-occupiers and up to 0.3 percentage points for investors on Monday.
The move is likely to spur competition from other banks to start cutting rates as lenders try to entice customers to fixed mortgages, given the latest data shows more than 97% of new loans were variable, Canstar data insights director, Sally Tindall, told AAP.
We’d hope to see competition really ramp up in that space as we get towards a cash rate cut, and then potentially on to the next one.
Wholesale funding is already starting to ease slightly and traders are pricing in an almost 95% chance the central bank will slash the cash rate by 25 basis points on 18 February, after its next two-day policy meeting.
Macquarie was the first lender to cut fixed-rate mortgages in 2025, reducing its one- to three-year fixed-rate mortgages by up to 0.16 percentage points in January.
NAB’s cuts bring it into line with Westpac, offering the lowest one-year fixed rate among the big four banks at 6.09%. ANZ is still offering the lowest two- and three-year fixed rates, both at 5.74%.
Updated
Australian dollar plummets as tariffs spook market
The Australian dollar has slumped to its lowest level in more than four years as fears grip currency and share markets in response to the US’ new tariff regime.
The local currency dropped to below 61.2 US cents on Monday, a level last seen during the pandemic-induced selloff in March 2020.
The US president has set in train 25% import taxes for Canada and Mexico across all products other than Canadian energy which will face a 10% tariff.
China will also have 10% tariffs, with the new impositions scheduled to start on Tuesday.
The Australian dollar is viewed as a risk currency and highly exposed to the Chinese economy.
Stock markets in the Asia Pacific region, from Wellington and Sydney to Tokyo and Hong Kong, all opened sharply lower today.
Advocacy organisation supports axing of Childcare Activity Test
The Parenthood has backed the federal government’s planned removal of the Childcare Activity Test.
CEO Georgie Dent said if removed, 126,000 children from low-income families would be able to attend early childhood education and care, which would be of particular benefit to single-mother-families.
Removing the Activity Test is the most significant step towards creating truly universal early education and care. Five-year-olds around the country are currently heading off to school for the first time, and unfortunately one in five is already developmentally vulnerable. In regional and rural areas it’s closer to 2 in five students. A lack of access to early childhood education has a lot to do with that.
The Activity Test requires parents to be working, studying or volunteering in order to receive the Child Care Subsidy, with higher subsidies for higher “activity” hours.
Dent said this created a catch-22 for many parents, especially single mothers or those in insecure and unpredictable employment.
It can take months to get a childcare place, so you can’t get a job until you have secured childcare, but you can’t afford to secure childcare until you have a job.
This is entrenching inequity. The families who are being locked out of early childhood education by the Activity Test are overwhelmingly low-income families, single-mother families, and First Nations and culturally diverse families.
Updated
Key northern Queensland highway cut by destruction of bridge
The Bruce Highway is cut off between Townsville and Ingham after a bridge was washed away in flood waters at Ollera Creek.
Natural disasters can be particularly difficult in north Queensland, where the highway is often the only way in and out of communities. The state of the road has been a heated political issue.
The premier, David Crisafulli, said:
It is not every day you see a bridge torn in two. That is what has happened at Ollera Creek and it is not something that can take an extended period to be repaired.
It has to be repaired to enable the connectivity to occur for goods and services and for the ability for the communities to be connected. Long term it needs to be replaced to a higher standard and I have already begun those conversations, I can assure you.
The major supermarkets say there is about six weeks of supplies already in north Queensland, in the event of major logistical issues.
Updated
Concept of ‘Middle Eastern race’ raised in Lattouf court case
The ABC says that Antoinette Lattouf’s claim must fail because she “has not proven there is a Lebanese, Arab or Middle Eastern race”, her barrister has told the federal court.
Oshie Fagir for Lattouf said the ABC has argued “there is no basis on which it is defined as a fact that there is a Lebanese Arab or Middle Eastern race”.
Now this is a model litigant, an organisation that publicly suggests that it is confronting and treating seriously the concerns of its diverse workforce, and it comes to this court, and says that Ms Lattouf should fail because it has not been proven that there is such thing as a Lebanese race.
Counsel for the respondent, the ABC, objected to the applicant raising the issue of race, saying it is not a discrimination case but a case about the reason for her termination.
Updated
Brad Battin an ‘extreme right-wing leader’, Victorian premier claims
Circling back to the press conference in Victoria, Allan has also sharpened her attack on Brad Battin, the new Liberal leader, who she described as an “extreme right-wing leader”.
She says she’s yet to hear from Battin on the government’s proposed anti-vilification laws, which will be debated in parliament when it returns tomorrow.
Allan says:
What needs to be made clear today, tomorrow, at any point this week, from the Victorian Liberal party and its extreme right-wing leader is, will they stand with the government and make hate a crime? The sort of hateful behaviour, the hateful, evil antisemitic behaviour that we are seeing – let’s make that a crime.
Let’s make it very clear that you can be who you want to be, love who you want to love, and should not be vilified for that. Let’s see what the Liberal party has to say on that.
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Retail spending slips after shoppers bring forward Christmas spending
Australian retail trade dipped slightly in December after many shoppers took advantage of Black Friday sales to buy Christmas presents the month before.
Retail sales fell to $37bn in December, down 0.1% compared with November. The figures confirm a growing trend in Australia for shoppers to replace their December spending splurge with more purchases in late November.
Spending on household goods was resilient in December, rising 1.6%, while households cut back on their typical clothing and footwear purchases, the Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows.
Food retailing increased slightly, although there was a drop in supermarket and grocery store spending.
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North Queensland showers easing but life-threatening risks remain – BoM
The Bureau of Meteorology says rainfall in north Queensland is gradually easing, but that serious threat remains after a week of heavy falls.
At Rollingstone, north of Cairns, there has been 1.28m of rainfall over the past week.
On Monday forecasters are expecting “heavy to locally intense” rainfall of about 150-300mm in some cases. That is about half what has been predicted in recent days.
Senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said the low pressure system was “starting to weaken” but that there was “continued threat of dangerous and life-threatening riverine and flash flooding”. He continued:
This is a significant and protracted weather event. That rainfall is expected to ease over the next 24 hours, but there is a lot of water in those catchments, there’s a lot of water on the ground, there’s more significant rain to come.
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Allan puts case for voting Labor in Werribee byelection
Back to Victorian premier Jacinta Allan’s press conference.
On the byelection in Werribee, Allan is asked why voters would back Labor, given the lack of funding it has given the safe seat over the years.
Why wouldn’t a Werribee voter “vote out a Labor member, so in two years’ time Labor throws the kitchen sink at the electorate to try to win it back?” a reporter asks.
Allan replies that the government is listening to the local community and is investing in more road infrastructure in the area. She says:
We have to keep building, we have to keep investing and that’s the message we’re getting. We’re not just listening to that message, we’re acting on that as well, with these investments and more. And I want to say that very clearly to the Werribee community and communities right around the state, in contrast to our Liberal opponents, who have already flagged an agenda for cuts and have already flagged an agenda of hurt.
I say to the Liberal party, what are you going to cut and who are you going to hurt? Because I’m going to fight against those cuts, and I’m going to fight for vulnerable Victorians who need a premier to fight for them.
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ABC editorial chief said Lattouf hadn’t breached ABC guidelines, court told
The ABC’s editorial director told the broadcaster’s executives that Antoinette Lattouf had not breached the ABC’s editorial guidelines early in the week when the journalist was a stand-in host in December 2023, the federal court has heard.
The advice from the acting editorial director Simon Melkman was sought after the ABC received a large number of complaints about the ABC’s decision to appoint her as a casual host.
Oshie Fagir, for Lattouf, said the ABC’s managing director David Anderson had done his own research of her social media and told his executive that he found evidence that her “socials are full of anti semitic hatred”.
“Now there is no explanation in Mr Anderson’s evidence of what precisely he regarded to be antisemitic hatred, but that is what he said in a text message to Mr [Chris] Oliver Taylor,” Fagir said in his opening statements.
He [Anderson] then went on to say ‘not sure we can have someone on air that suggests that Hamas should return to their ethnic cleansing in Gaza and move on to the West Bank’. Now it’s very difficult to understand what on earth Mr Anderson was talking about, but the hostility is patent, and the reason for the hostility is patent.
Fagir said former ABC chair Ita Buttrose said Lattouf should not have been hired and should be removed, saying “we owe her nothing”.
“We’re copping criticism because she [Lattouf] wasn’t honest when she was appointed,” Buttrose said, according to Fagir.
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Queensland authorities ready for ‘likelihood of more flooding’ – Crisafulli
Meanwhile, the Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, says communities between Mackay and Cairns should stay alert.
Speaking to the media this morning, he said authorities “remain prepared for the ongoing prospect of more rain and the likelihood of more flooding”.
He also urged residents in Townsville’s “black zone” - six suburbs: Hermit Park, Railway Estate, Rosslea, Idalia, Oonoonba and Cluden - who were advised to leave yesterday, should stay away until given the all clear.
He said more rainfall, tides, and dam releases meant those areas were still at risk of more flooding.
Our advice to people in the black zone at the moment is to stay outside the zone and to stay safe. We are prepared for a scenario where rivers continue to rise.
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Allan says Dutton ‘grossly uninformed’ on rail loop project
Allan is also asked to respond to comments federal opposition leader Peter Dutton made on 3AW radio this morning in which he said the state government’s Suburban Rail Loop project was a “cruel hoax”.
Dutton said Allan “doesn’t have a dollar to her name” to put towards it.
She replied:
Well, it’s pretty clear that the federal opposition leader doesn’t spend much time in Victoria, because if he did, he wouldn’t make these grossly uninformed comments that he’s just made ... we’ve got funding from the state government, funding from the federal government committed to this project, and it’s clear to me that Peter Dutton is signalling he’s going to go back to the future.
He’s going to repeat to Victorians what we saw when he last sat at the cabinet table, dudding Victorians of their fair share of funding.
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Allan says forecast Victorian weather change could bring more damage
In respect to the storms, the premier says the Barwon South West region was worst affected. Allan says:
Geelong was really, really hard hit. There were also parts of the south east and Phillip Island as well. Look, the clean\-up is obviously in full swing.
This morning, the SES had 820 requests for assistance, mostly for trees down but also for flash flooding and building damage. And there is likely to be more reports coming in over the course of the morning as people assess the damage in their local areas.
It was a wild storm, and that huge lightning event has caused a number of these fires that we’ve been talking about ... A predicted weather change tomorrow afternoon is also causing a worry that there’ll be more storm and wind and dry-lightning damage that’s going to come with that weather change tomorrow afternoon.
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Report smoke if you see it, Allan urges after ‘huge lightning storm’
Allan also urged anyone who lives near the fires that can see smoke to report it to authorities, as it may be the result of the “huge lightning storm” overnight.
The commissioner has asked me to ask Victorians in these areas too that if you see smoke on the horizon, if you see smoke in your local area, please report it. That huge lightning storm event that swept through the state yesterday has caused these fires, particularly around the Colac Otway area, and there’s a concern that they may have caused more, that as the heat of the day rises, these fires will become active.
So please be alert to your condition. Please support the work of our emergency services, our volunteers. The state control centre will be providing a more detailed update later on today, but again I do ask all Victorians to stay alert to your conditions, look after one another.
We’ve still got a couple of really hot days to come in just this week, and we’ve still got a number of weeks of summer ahead of us.
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Premier confirms two properties thought lost to fires in Victoria’s north-west
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, held a press conference in Werribee earlier this morning, ahead of the byelection this weekend. She also provided an update on the extreme heat the state is experiencing.
Allan says:
For the next day or two ahead, the prediction is for ongoing extreme heat and when I was speaking with the emergency management commissioner earlier this morning, he asked me to remind Victorians that the cumulative impact of day after day of extreme heat is really impacting on vulnerable Victorians. So if you can, please check in on your loved ones, please check in on your neighbour and also look after yourself as we go through this period of extreme heat.
She says two fires continue to burn in the Grampians national park. A fire in Little Desert is also now under control after it broke containment lines due to extreme winds on Sunday, as is a blaze in Hattah. However, fires in the Colac-Otway regions continue to develop.
Allan says:
Our thoughts are with the community around Hattah in the north-west of the state, where there was a fire that they quickly got back under control, but very sadly, there were two properties that are believed to have been lost, and they’re doing further assessments in that community. And then we turn our attention to the fires around the Colac Otways area, where there are fires around the north and the west of Apollo Bay - and this is particularly concerning. There are huge resources, ground resources are being deployed right now to get on top of this fire.
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Townsville residents evacuated amid rising flood waters
Residents of parts of Townsville and nearby towns, including Ingham and Cardwell, have evacuated to shelters as rising flood waters inundate their homes.
Heavy rainfall is expected to continue to soak north Queensland, pouring more water into dams and rivers that have already overflowed, forcing further evacuations and threatening thousands of homes.
Authorities are warning the near-record deluge could become more severe than “once in a lifetime” storms five years ago.
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Lattouf to say she was sacked from ABC ‘because of her political opinions’, court told
Antoinette Lattouf will argue she was sacked “because of her political opinions, including her opinions critical of the conduct of the state of Israel in Gaza, and her opinions regarding press coverage of the Gaza conflict”, the federal court has heard in opening statements.
It is standing-room only in courtroom 16A and Justice Darryl Rangiah has adjourned briefly to try and accommodate more members of the public and media who have turned up to watch.
The court heard Lattouf will argue she was sacked following a campaign not by tabloid media but by a group of people which the ABC identified as a pro-Israeli lobby, “a group which quite openly and frankly targeted her because of her opinions in relation to the matters which I have just identified”, Lattouf’s barrister, Oshie Fagir, said.
The ABC admits that it removed Ms Lattouf from air because of her Instagram post. Its evidence appears to be to the effect that the post embodied some expression of an opinion which was controversial, but even so, it denies Ms Lattouf was removed because of her political opinion.
Now the logic of the position is not easily understood, but it appears to boil down to this: an ABC executive, Christopher Oliver-Taylor, believed that in re-sharing the post Ms Lattouf breached a direction which he had caused to be given to her.
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Fresh reports of destroyed properties in Victorian bushfires
Returning to the bushfires in Victoria, where firefighters are working to contain a number of blazes amid a three-day heatwave.
Properties are feared destroyed in bushfires raging across regional Victoria as the state battles a slew of erratic weather, AAP reports.
Residents at Mirranatwa in the Grampians National Park have been urged to leave immediately. Five Watch and Act warnings are currently in place, with residents urged to monitor changing conditions and prepare to leave.
They cover Apollo Bay, Cape Horn, Hordern Vale and Cape Otway, and large parts of the Little Desert National Park and the Grampians National Park.
The blaze in the Little Desert National Park, about 375km west of Melbourne, was declared contained but broke away on Sunday afternoon.
Victorian authorities confirmed they received reports of property losses from a fire near Ouyen, north of the region’s national park, on Sunday night.
It is believed two properties have been lost, Premier Jacinta Allan confirmed, as the inferno heads west towards Kaniva-Edenhope Road.
“Our thoughts are with the community around Hattah in the northwest of the state,” she told reporters in Melbourne’s west on Monday.
The Little Desert fire covers 84,000 hectares, while dual fires burning in the Grampians total 46,000 hectares.
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The government came under fire late last year after it was briefed out to journalists that proposals to curb gambling ads wouldn’t be introduced to parliament in 2024 - shortly after communications minister Michelle Rowland had said “we are aiming to have it done this year.”
Government ministers gave varying responses as to the delay. Sports minister Anika Wells claimed “this wasn’t reform that was ready to go”; while assistant treasury minister Andrew Leigh suggested the government’s proposal was finalised, and that the government could “put it to the parliament immediately”.
Albanese, on The Daily Aus, denied there had been legislation.
“There was legislation that was shelved in November, right?” host Billi Fitzsimons asked.
Albanese replied: “No.”
Fitzsimons pressed: “So you’ve never considered banning gambling ads?”
Albanese replied: “No, we’re considering a range of measures, but there has never been legislation.”
What we are doing is consulting on a range of measures - what more can we do to address problem gambling? As I said, we’ve done more than any government in history, since Federation. We accept that there’s more to do, and we will do more.
PM vows to ‘do more’ on gambling ads
Anthony Albanese has again defended his government’s inaction on curbing gambling advertising, claiming “there has never been legislation” produced by Labor to address the issue but promising “we will do more” on the issue.
The prime minister has appeared on a podcast with The Daily Aus, in the latest instalment of both he and Peter Dutton seeking to connect with listeners of popular local podcasters. Asked about gambling ads, the PM repeated his usual talking points that Labor had “taken more action on problem gambling than any government since Federation”, listing action on the self-exclusion register Betstop, and banning the use of credit cards.
“There’s more to do,” he said, before countering that “there are no ads for poker machine gambling, which is overwhelmingly, overwhelmingly where losses are”.
We accept that there’s more to do, and we will do more.
Asked further about why the government hadn’t taken up the recommendations of late Labor MP Peta Murphy to ban ads for sports betting, Albanese replied: “Well, which gambling ads?”
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Ministers get amongst it with the voters of tomorrow
Meanwhile, the minister for early childhood education, Anne Aly, and the education minister, Jason Clare, are having a “great time” at a childcare centre in Canberra this morning following the federal government’s announcement to introduce legislation for subsidised care three days a week.
Aly said the bill would mean 100,000 more families across Australia would have access to the guaranteed care.
We’re … having a great time with some of the littlest Aussies here in Garran and talking to the staff here. When you look at the children here and you watch them play and you see their interactions, you get a bit of an understanding of just how important early childhood education and care can be in children’s lives.
Changing the activity test to ensure that there is a three day guarantee means that every family, no matter what their circumstances, and every child, no matter what their background, no matter what their postcode, no matter where they live, and no matter what their parents’ circumstances are, has access to good quality early childhood education and care.
Clare pointed to comments made by Peter Dutton on Insiders yesterday that he would cut “wasteful spending”, without announcing the scale until after the election.
He won’t tell you where the cuts will be. Well, you don’t have to be Einstein to work it out. It’ll be cuts to childcare, cuts to aged care, cuts to Medicare. It’s the same old story from the Liberals on repeat … My message to the Australian people is, if you don’t know, vote no. And if you do know what he’s going to cut, you would never, ever vote for this bloke.
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Minister points to emergency payments for Queensland flood victims
The emergency management minister, Jenny McAllister, spoke to ABC News Breakfast earlier on those emergency payments that have been activated for those impacted by flooding in north Queensland.
McAllister also says four ADF helicopters have been made available to support state emergency services, and defence personnel are working with local authorities on the ground in Townsville.
There are payments to support people who need to replace bedding or household goods that have been damaged by water. There are payments to allow people to make safe a home if they are uninsured and their home requires urgent repairs. There are payments for people who’ve been evacuated.
Really the best thing to do is to get online and see what the Queensland government has stood up and start to look at whether or not you may be eligible for those.
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PM briefed on Queensland floods
Anthony Albanese says he’s received a briefing from Canberra on the flooding in north Queensland.
The federal and Queensland governments have activated disaster funding for parts of Townsville, Gordonvale, Hinchinbrook and Palm Island Council areas.
That includes emergency payments of $180 for individuals, and up to $900 for families of five or more.
In the worst of times we see the best of Australians.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) February 2, 2025
And in recent days, I’ve seen Australians helping one another in their time of need.
This morning at the National Situation Room in Canberra, I received a briefing on the work underway to help those affected by the floods… pic.twitter.com/TOsb9386i5
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Australian youth justice ‘persistently’ breaches human rights, inquiry told
A Senate inquiry is looking at Australia’s youth justice and incarceration system this morning, with advocacy groups pushing for national standards.
Save the Children Australia’s CEO, Mat Tinkler, says standards should be developed and enforced to ensure the human rights of children are protected.
The fact that state and territory governments persistently and systematically breach human rights in youth justice shows it is well past time for the federal government to step up.
Save the Children Australia is calling on the government to create a national taskforce and develop a 10-year strategy for national youth justice reform.
We acknowledge the very real concerns around community safety – everyone has a right to feel safe in their homes and in their communities – however all the available evidence suggests the current approach to the youth justice system is not working.
The committee is due to report back to parliament by 1 July.
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Energy reserves can meet south-eastern demand amid heatwave – Aemo
The Australian energy market operator (Aemo) says there are sufficient energy reserves to meet expected demand on Monday, with extremely hot temperatures forecasted in Adelaide (41C) and Melbourne (39C).
It comes as one expert warns children are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat, as they return to the classroom for the start of the school year.
You can read more about that here:
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Greens campaign to ‘get billionaires out of politics’
The Greens are gearing up to take on Australian billionaires including Clive Palmer and Gina Rinehart in Queensland.
Rightwing groups Advance Australia and Australians for Prosperity (A4P) are also in their sights. The party says billionaires are spending big to influence the election results.
Members will doorknock, fundraise and letterbox, and have rented billboards that say “get billionaires out of politics”, featuring Palmer, Rinehart and media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
Greens democracy spokesperson Larissa Waters accused Australia’s richest people of trying to “stop the surge of Greens and independents that have changed the face of our parliament, and elect Peter Dutton”.
The Greens MP for Griffith, Max Chandler-Mather, said people wanted “big money out of politics”.
Billionaires and big corporations think they can export US-style divisive politics into Australia but standing in their way is a people-powered, community movement.
The Greens themselves appear to be preparing to run their most expensive local campaigns ever in Brisbane. The Queensland party has received more than $400,000 in donations since the start of November, including a $200,000 injection from the federal branch.
A spokesperson for Advance Australia said it “will not be listening to lectures about division” from the Greens.
The Greens are only crying about Advance because we are taking their agenda seriously and holding them accountable to the Australian people.
A spokesperson for A4P said the Greens called for “higher income taxes, capital gains tax on the family home, tax on unrealised gains, a death tax and increase energy costs”.
Our campaign simply makes this point. Are these not their policies?
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Queensland deluge forecast to continue for days
A persistent deluge is hitting rain-soaked northern Australia with floodwaters still rising, leaving some people isolated, without power and desperate for swollen rivers to subside, AAP reports.
The heaviest rain has fallen between Lucinda to Townsville in northern Queensland as the Bureau of Meteorology warns the big wet will continue for days.
Nearly one metre of rain was recorded at Paluma Dam in Townsville in the last 48 hours, while Ingham has copped more than 400mm in the past day.
The BoM has issued a severe weather warning from Tully to Ayr that’s likely to bring isolated falls of 300mm on Monday.
The continued deluge has led to swollen waterways with major flood warnings in place for the Herbert River, the Ross and Bohle River, the Horton River and the Upper Burdekin River.
Meteorologist Dean Narramore said persistent widespread rain would subside in the afternoon but increase again from Tuesday.
The State Emergency Service was under pressure on Sunday night with 11 swift water rescues and nearly 400 calls for help for leaking ceilings, roof damage, flooding, evacuations and felled trees.
Two people were saved from the roof of their car that was submerged in flood waters in Woodstock around 7pm, while another person was rescued from a truck stuck in floodwaters in Basalt.
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Local stock exchange to open sharply lower in tariff fallout
Australian shares are set to open sharply down this morning as traders prepare for a global trade war sparked by Donald Trump’s new tariff regime.
The US president has set in train 25% import taxes for Canada and Mexico across all products other than Canadian energy, which will face a 10% tariff. China will also have 10% tariffs, with the new impositions scheduled to start on Tuesday.
ASX futures point to a sharp fall of about 1.2% when trading commences later this morning. New Zealand’s benchmark index was down about 1.8% after the first few minutes of trading.
The incoming tariffs, and retaliation from targeted nations, are expected to lead to volatile trading this week. Any deal that would mitigate the size or scope of the tariffs could also spark a rebound ahead of the proposed 4 February deadline.
Brokerage firm IG said a contraction in global trade and higher inflation was a headwind for equities and a positive for the US dollar and gold.
The Australian dollar, which is viewed as a risk currency and highly exposed to the Chinese economy, is trading at 61.65 US cents, the lowest level since mid January.
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Lattouf the first to give evidence in case against ABC
Antoinette Lattouf will be the first witness today in the unlawful dismissal case she has brought against the ABC in the federal court.
Courtroom 16A in the law courts building in Sydney is the setting for a parade of ABC leaders, many of whom have left or are leaving their positions in coming weeks: ABC chair Ita Buttrose; managing director David Anderson; content chief Chris Oliver-Taylor and Steve Ahern, who hired Lattouf for a casual role when he was acting head of capital city networks.
Ahern, who departed last year, was responsible for hiring casual local radio presenters and Oliver-Taylor first became aware that Lattouf was hosting Sarah Macdonald’s Mornings program on the first day of her five-day ABC contract on 18 December 2023, according to the Fair Work Commission ruling.
The commission found in June that Lattouf had been sacked after the ABC argued she was not fired because she was a casual and she was paid in full for the week.
Lattouf has been a working journalist since 2007 and from 2022 has been freelancing as a commentator across television, podcast, radio and social media. She is the author of a book titled How to Lose Friends and Influence White People.
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Major teals backer tops list of political donors
A major backer of the teal independents has topped the list of political donors ahead of the 2025 election.
Robert Keldoulis and his investment firm Keldoulis Investments Pty Limited donated a combined $1.1m to Climate 200 in 2023-24, according to figures revealed by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on Monday.
Visy chairman Anthony Pratt (pictured below) was the second biggest donor, handing $1m to Labor.
Marcus Catsaras rounded out the top three, donating just under $1m to Climate 200, the fundraising vehicle that backs the teal independents.
Conspicuously absent from the list was billionaire Clive Palmer, who has topped the list in recent years after funnelling tens of millions of dollars through his company Mineralogy into his party United Australia Party.
Palmer donated $117m ahead of the 2022 election, which delivered just one seat – Victorian Ralph Babet’s place in the upper house
The AEC figures come as Labor attempts to clinch a deal on electoral reforms which are designed, in part, to block Palmer-style campaigns.
The changes would cap individual donations at $20,000 and limit spending to $800,000 per electorate, or $90m nationally.
The donation disclosure threshold would be lowered from $16,300 to $1,000, giving the public a much deeper insight into who is bankrolling the nation’s politicians.
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New Victorian bushfires flare
New fires have emerged in the Otways and upper Murray River as firefighters grapple to contain blazes amid a three-day-heatwave.
Victoria’s chief fire officer, Chris Hardman, told ABC News Breakfast areas of risk remained at the Little Desert and Grampians national park fires, where emergency evacuation warnings have been issued.
But he said thunderstorms and dry lightning had caused “a number of new fires” over the weekend in addition to stoking previously contained fires to break their containment lines.
The key areas of risk still are Little Desert, there’s an emergency warning for the Morea area, and certainly for the Mirranatwa area in the Grampians … But more important than that, we are now picking up new fires. There are three fires in the Otways – north of Apollo Bay – so firefighters are working incredibly hard with heavy machinery to get in close to those fires to do everything that they can to contain those fires before they become a problem.
And we also had some fires up at … the upper Murray River. We had some reports of property loss and those losses will be assessed today by firefighters when they can get on the fire grounds in the light of day.
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Sydney shooting and car fire reported overnight
NSW police have launched an investigation into a public shooting and car fire in Sydney’s south-west overnight.
About 1.10am, police were called to an avenue in the Bankstown region following reports of multiple shots being fired into a business. No injuries were reported.
A short time later, police were called to a street in Bass Hill where a car had been set alight. Fire and Rescue Crews attended and put out the blaze but the car, which will be forensically examined by police, was destroyed.
Inquiries into both incidents are ongoing.
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Man, 21, to face court over alleged antisemitic abuse in Bondi
A man will face court in Sydney today charged with intimidation following alleged antisemitic abuse in Bondi at the weekend. Guardian Australia understands the incident is not related to eggs and verbal abuse towards five women on Saturday evening.
Officers attached to Strike Force Pearl were patrolling the Bondi area about 7.40am on Saturday when they were flagged down by a woman reporting antisemitic abuse by a man allegedly seen in the yard of private premises in Flood Street.
Following inquiries, the 21-year-old man was arrested at a unit in Bondi about 1.30pm yesterday by officers attached to inner west police area command.
He was taken to Newtown police station and charged with stalk/intimidate intend fear physical harm – personal. The man was also charged with destroy or damage property for an unrelated incident at Newtown on Wednesday 15 January and breach of bail.
Two outstanding warrants for unrelated domestic and personal violence and shoplifting offences were also executed.
He has been refused bail to appear in Newtown local court today.
A total of 12 people have now been charged under Strike Force Pearl.
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Cash was also pointed to a newly unveiled Labor ad campaign targeting cost of living which warns Australians will be “worse off” under Peter Dutton.
She was not impressed.
Wow. After two-and-a-half years in government, literally destroying the lives of the Australian people with their cost-of-living crisis, the best that Mr Albanese can come up with is they don’t like Peter Dutton.
I think Australians are sick and tired of this government. I think Australians will look at this ad, just like they look at the empty promise of $275 off their energy bill, just like they look at the empty promise of cheaper mortgage mortgages or cheaper interest rates.
You know, Mr Albanese needs to stop focusing on the negative and for once start focusing on delivering cost-of-living relief to the Australian people. Australians have had enough.
Cash also indicated that when parliament returned tomorrow, the Coalition would push to legislate minimum mandatory sentences for the display of public hate symbols amid rising instances of antisemitism.
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Cash: Trump a ‘man of action’ and Coalition would have 'exact same attitude'
Shadow attorney general Michaelia Cash has called Donald Trump a “man of action” and indicated a Peter Dutton government would operate with the “exact same attitude” if elected.
Appearing alongside independent member for Kooyong Monique Ryan on the Today show this morning, Cash batted away whether the US president had become “quite emboldened” this time in office and could be difficult to manage.
We successfully worked with the Trump administration last time we were in office … under a Coalition government, you can work with a Trump regime … He’s showing that he’s a man of action. He was overwhelmingly re-elected by the American people … The American people, they expect action. And that is what they’re getting. And they’ll get the exact same attitude under a Peter Dutton government. And I can assure you, just like last time, we will work successfully with the Trump administration.
The comments follow Dutton’s announcement of a new Elon Musk-style crusade for “government efficiency” and reducing the public service.
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Victoria bushfire evacuation warnings as others told too late to leave
A string of emergency evacuation warnings have been issued in Victoria as the state grapples with the start of a three-day heatwave.
Residents in Mirranatwa in the Grampians national park have been ordered to leave immediately before conditions become too dangerous, while Peronne and Morea at the Little Desert national park have been told to take shelter now.
Vic Emergency:
There is a bushfire at Little Desert national park that is not yet under control. The bushfire is travelling from Little Desert in a westerly direction … This fire is threatening homes and lives. It is too late to leave the area safely so you must take shelter now.
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Wong says Trump tariffs not surprising and she's told US 'where Australia sits'
Wong was also asked about Donald Trump’s string of tariffs announced on Canada, Mexico and China.
Asked what that would mean for Australia, Wong said the president was “doing what he said he would do”.
We shouldn’t be surprised by these announcements. They are consistent with what President Trump said during his campaign and what he said at the inauguration, which I was privileged to attend.
In my engagements whilst I was in Washington for the inauguration, including with secretary [of state Marco] Rubio and other members of the Trump administration, I made it clear where Australia sits. We are a country in relation to whom the US has a trade surplus and all goods enter from the US under our free trade agreement, enter Australia without duties or tariffs or any other barriers. We are in a position where the US has a trade surplus with us.
Pointed to Australia’s ongoing friendship with Canada, Wong said:
We have to navigate the world in which we live confidently and with our eyes open. President Trump has said he will do things differently and he is doing things differently. This isn’t a surprise.
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Key event
Sanctions on neo-Nazi group part of work to ‘keep Australians safe’ – Wong
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, was also up on ABC News Breakfast this morning to discuss counter-terrorism sanctions placed on neo-Nazi group Terrogram.
She described the group as an online network which has “facilitated white supremacists and terrorists”.
It is the first time an Australian government has imposed these sorts of sanctions and we are doing it because we are working to keep Australians safe. White supremacists, terrorists utilising this network now face counter-terrorism sanctions … This is part of [the] government working to keep Australians safe at a time where we see extremism, antisemitism on the rise and we have to continue to confront it.
Asked if the group had been linked to a caravan of explosives discovered in Dural last week, Wong said she would not get into ongoing investigations to make sure “police can do their jobs”.
Q: There will be restrictions on what information you can share, you are privy to top secret information. Has this group been linked to the caravan of explosives that was found in Dural or any of the other antisemitic attacks we have seen across Australia?
Wong:
We have to take action to prevent this network from continuing to be utilised and this is one measure we are taking, which is imposing counter-terrorism financing sanctions. This will mean up to 10 years in jail, very substantial fines if people do this, and it is a clear message this is unacceptable and we stand against hate in all of its forms.
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Crisafulli was also asked about a federal government review into puberty blockers, announced on Friday.
It follows the Queensland government’s recent move to halt the hormone therapy in trans and gender diverse children.
Asked if that changed anything for the state government, he replied:
No, it doesn’t.
That is a matter for Canberra. Our review was triggered by some alarming revelations in the far north. It is important that it is done with one focus in mind and that is to protect Queensland kids – all kids … That will be done with the respect and dignity that it deserves.
The sex discrimination commissioner, Anna Cody, said last week the decision “has the potential to harm the physical and mental wellbeing of children in Queensland who are currently awaiting care”. The head of the Australian Medical Association’s Queensland branch said the state must listen to doctors ahead of it own “ideological views”.
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Crisafulli says flood waters likely to rise further as he urges residents to heed warnings
Queensland’s premier, David Crisafulli, appeared on ABC News Breakfast this morning amid severe weather and flooding hitting parts of the state which has taken the life of one woman and led to major evacuations.
He said the first challenge was to make sure “we keep people safe”.
There was a lot of rain overnight and sadly there is more to come. We are dealing with flash-flooding, as well as riverine flooding … there will be connectivity issues, no doubt about that … there is huge community spirit but make no mistake, the supply chains are a big issue and you only have to look at the Bruce Highway to realise the state of that road and why it needs to be not just repaired but some resilience put into it.
Crisafulli said modelling indicated the flooding hadn’t peaked yet, urging impacted residents to heed emergency warnings.
In the city of Townsville, there were six suburbs defined as the black zone. Residents were told to leave yesterday … The message this morning is please don’t go back there at the moment because there is every likelihood that the modelling shows that those river rises could continue.
There are also the risk of flash-flooding in a number of areas … and people need to keep their wits about them. We had 11 swift water rescues last night … and sadly, there was a woman in her 60s who lost her life in Ingham. That hurts a tight-knit community and it also hurts the emergency services family as well.
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Eggs thrown at women in Bondi in latest antisemitic attack – police
Eggs and verbal abuse have been hurled at five young women near Bondi beach and more cars and buildings have been spray-painted in Sydney in the latest antisemitic attacks, police say.
Investigators believe the women were targeted by three young men in a silver Mazda that later crashed on to a kerb with the engine running on Saturday night.
The men allegedly fled before the car was found in Rose Bay. It contained a carton of eggs and an empty jerrycan, police said.
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Kyle Sandilands says he has brain aneurysm and needs urgent surgery
Radio heavyweight Kyle Sandilands has revealed he has been diagnosed with a brain aneurysm that will require emergency surgery.
Speaking this morning on the Kyle & Jackie O Show, which he co hosts on KIIS FM, Sandilands told listeners he had received the diagnosis on Friday before going on to jest about poor ratings in Melbourne.
I was told by my medical team, which sounds like I’m already very sick, … that I have a brain aneurysm and it requires immediate attention, brain surgery.
If you just tuned in to us after all these years, lap it up. And if you’re in Melbourne … you’re coming to the party too late. You may get your wish – I may be dead.
The 53-year-old was missing on Friday due to illness. He told listeners he had been experiencing a period of significant headaches and expected to take up to eight weeks off from radio following the procedure.
The facts are a life of cocaine abuse and partying are not the way to go.
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Victoria set for highs over 40C as bushfires rage
Millions of Victorians are in the grips of a three-day heatwave as tired crews try to tame raging fires following a night of wild weather, AAP reports.
Temperatures are expected to hover in the high 30s and low 40s for north-west, west, north, north-east and central parts of Victoria today after a sweltering and stormy end to the weekend.
Severe thunderstorms swept across Geelong and Melbourne on Sunday night, bringing lightning, hail and damaging winds. Power was cut to more than 38,000 customers across the state with unplanned outages as of 10.45pm Sunday.
But the storms are set to give way to blazing sunshine on Monday, with a forecast top of 39C for Melbourne and Bendigo, 38C for Geelong and 36C for Ballarat.
Meteorologists had predicted overnight minimums to stay in the mid to low 20s, heightening the chance of heat exhaustion.
Severe heatwave warnings are also in place on Monday across the border in Adelaide and the South Australian regions of Riverland, Upper South East, Murraylands, Mount Lofty Ranges, Lower South East and the Mid North.
Sunday’s hot conditions breathed new life into bushfires in the Grampians and Little Desert national parks, burning in Victoria’s west since Australia Day.
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Governments partner in extra $43m to counter domestic violence
The minister for social services and the NDIS, Amanda Rishworth, has made a joint announcement with the Western Australian Labor government to invest an additional $43m to address family and domestic violence.
The partnership renews a five-year agreement on family, domestic and sexual violence responses in the state, with the additional funding to be matched by the state government.
Rishworth said the funding formed part of a goal to end gender-based violence “in one generation”.
I’m so pleased Western Australia is the first state to sign onto the new partnership agreement and we will continue to work in tandem with all states and territories to ensure that the safety and wellbeing of all women and children is paramount, no matter their circumstance or location.
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Government hits neo-Nazi network Terrorgram with sanctions
An online network for neo-Nazis that openly advocates acts of violence has been hit with counter-terrorism sanctions in an escalation of the federal response to the spate of antisemitic attacks in Australia.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, announced the sanctions on Terrogram, a network of groups that use encrypted platforms such as Telegram to share radical white supremacist content.
The group promotes militant accelerationism, which calls for violent acts to destabilise society.
Read more from Dan Jervis-Bardy here:
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NSW teacher vacancies fall to four-year low
Teacher vacancies have dropped by 40% in New South Wales public schools since 2023, new data released by the Minns government has found, ahead of students’ return to the classroom.
There are currently 1,294 vacancies in the state’s public schools, a four-year low and a 40% reduction on the same time in 2023. Vacancies peaked at 3,311 in 2022.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said the government had committed to improving teaching conditions.
We respect teachers, and we want them at the front of our classrooms doing what they do best. That is what we committed to before the election and that is what we are continuing work to deliver.
The deputy premier and minister for education and early learning, Prue Car, pointed to improved teachers’ pay as leading to a drop in resignations and retirements.
The massive fall in teacher vacancies shows what you can achieve when you actually listen to our dedicated and hardworking teachers and value the life-changing work they do.
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Labor names sites of more study hubs for regional uni students
The federal government has announced the sites of 10 additional study hubs, which operate to improve university accessibility to students living in regional Australia.
It comes alongside data, released by Labor, that suggests a 32% increase in the past year of students using the existing 43 hubs, which provide campus-style facilities for students completing degrees without leaving their community.
Queensland will receive two hubs in Clermont and Moranbah and Hughenden, as will New South Wales at Tumut and Hay and Western Australia at Northam and Kununurra.
One hub will be established on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, at Hamilton in Victoria, St Helens in Tasmania and Burnt Pine on Norfolk Island.
They are expected to be operational from mid-2025.
The minister for education, Jason Clare, said outer suburban and regional Australians were underrepresented when it came to university attainment.
Bringing university closer to where you live will encourage more people who otherwise might decide not to go to university at all to give it a crack.
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How rape myths are weaponised in courtrooms
Our broken justice series continues this week, detailing how the criminal justice system delivers poor outcomes for victim-survivors of sexual violence.
Why are rape myths, those unkillable zombie tropes we have been talking about for years, still being weaponised in courtrooms? asks Lucy Clark in a comment piece that explains the scope of our series about the retraumatisation of victim-survivors in the court system.
Meanwhile, Jordyn Beazley and Josh Nicholas look at the culture of courtrooms and the numbers behind societal attitudes to sexual violence, and how they are reflected in the courts.
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Continuing from last post: The higher education sector has faced pressure on multiple fronts over its handling of accusations of antisemitism on campuses and growing concern over university governance.
Iain Anderson said an independent, impartial body was necessary following growing concern around the ability of the regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Teqsa), to act on complaints, as well as “structural and attitudinal barriers” of universities.
For some time there have been concerns that student complaints aren’t being appropriately dealt with by providers, particularly serious issues like gender-based violence and antisemitism.
[Students] feel universities are prioritising their own reputation and issues of profit. We come with … extensive powers to acquire information and publicly shine light on it.
The ombudsman’s establishment follows the 2023 release of the universities accord interim report, which found sexual assault and harassment on campuses was “affecting the wellbeing of students and staff, and their ability to succeed”, requiring “concerted action”.
The latest national student safety survey, released in 2022, found one in 20 students had been sexually assaulted since starting university and one in six had reported being sexually harassed.
Universities Australia committed to running a new national safety survey in 2023 but nearly a year-and-a-half later no new data had been released.
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National watchdog has ‘wide remit’ to investigate students’ complaints
Australia’s first national student watchdog has begun taking official complaints, functioning as the key pillar of an action plan commissioned by the federal government to address student safety concerns.
Legislation to establish the watchdog passed parliament with bipartisan support last November, with the watchdog slated to address “a broad range of complaints”, including sexual violence and harassment.
The commonwealth ombudsman, Iain Anderson, told Guardian Australia he was “very optimistic” about the power of a student watchdog to promote systemic change and improvement in the sector.
Universities should be taking note. It might be a university has no complaints [with the ombudsman] but the fact they know we’re there will induce them to think about own processes and improving them.
Just by existing, we’re promoting systemic improvement … Transparency can be a very powerful lever.
Anderson said the watchdog, in addition to handling complaints over safety and welfare, would have a “wide remit” to investigate a host of student issues including racism, course administration, student experience and disability adjustments.
If the ombudsman is unsatisfied with the response of universities, he will be able to provide a report to the education minister to be tabled publicly in parliament.
“We will see what comes through the door but we can also do our own investigations,” he said, pointing to reports of antisemitism on campuses as an “abhorrent issue” that would receive a key focus.
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New Labor ads swipe at Coalition on cost of living
If you weren’t already feeling like it was an election year, Labor has launched a new campaign detailing how Australians will be “worse off” under a federal government headed by Peter Dutton.
The ad campaign will be distributed on free-to-air TV, video-on-demand, YouTube and Meta services from this week, going hard on the Coalition’s voting track record towards cost-of-living measures.
The ad lists nine cost-of-living measures introduced by the Albanese government and opposed by the Coalition, including cheaper childcare and reducing student loans.
Government modelling projects an Australian household with two workers earning average incomes would have been around $7,200 “worse off” under Dutton, based on opposition wages, tax cuts and energy bill reforms.
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Over 80% of Australian schools face high climate risk by 2060 – report
More than eight in 10 Australian schools will face a “high climate risk” by 2060, severely impacting the nation’s education system and infrastructure, a new report has forecast.
The Zurich-Mandala climate risk index, released on Monday, analysed the risk of the climate crisis across 9,829 primary and secondary schools across Australia for the first time.
Two-thirds of schools in Australia currently face high climate risk. The report estimated this would increase to 84% of schools by 2060, under an intermediate climate scenario with 2C of warming.
New South Wales and Queensland have the most schools at high risk with 92% and 91% respectively, followed by the ACT and the NT.
The report found increased chances of bushfire and hail posed the greatest climate risk to Australia’s schools. Students are projected to experience 34 annual heatwave days by 2060.
Mandala partner Dr Adam Triggs said high classroom temperatures could slow children’s cognitive ability and function.
Perhaps most troubling is how climate risks compound existing inequalities. The same schools already facing socio-educational disadvantage are often those most exposed to climate impacts, creating a double burden for vulnerable communities.
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Childcare prioritised as parliament returns
Laws to enshrine the next step in Labor’s plan for universal childcare will be introduced when federal parliament this week, as Anthony Albanese attempts to leverage the flagship policy to propel his bid for re-election.
The $426m plan, which the prime minister announced in December, would guarantee the childcare subsidy for three days a week to all families earning up to $530,000 from January 2026.
The Coalition and Greens likely won’t allow swift passage of the bill through parliament, meaning it almost certainly won’t pass in what could be the final sitting fortnight before the election.
But Labor will push ahead nonetheless in order to highlight a clear point of contrast with the opposition, which in December described the childcare announcement as a “desperate pitch to lure voters”.
The minister for education, Jason Clare, said that “every child has the right to early education … and our Labor government is going to make that possible”.
This is fundamentally about making sure every child gets a great start in life and start school ready to learn.
At the moment the children who need early education the most can’t access it. They are missing out. As a result they start school behind and often never catch up. This will help fix that.
Legislation to enshrine fee-free Tafe places, set up tax breaks for critical minerals processing and green hydrogen production and prevent any future sale of the National Broadband Network will also be prioritised in the coming sitting fortnight.
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Continued from previous post:
Lattouf lost her job after she posted on social media about the Israel-Gaza war, which the ABC said was a breach of editorial policy.
The ABC denied she was sacked because she was paid for the full five days of her contract.
The Fair Work Commission found last year she was sacked, triggering her unlawful dismissal case.
The ABC has strongly denied Lattouf’s dismissal was the result of outside pressure on the broadcaster, after the Age reported that it had seen a chain of leaked WhatsApp messages showing a campaign from pro-Israel lobbyists to have Lattouf sacked days before her dismissal.
The new court documents reveal there is a key difference of opinion over whether Lattouf was told by her ABC radio manager not to post anything about Israel/Palestine on social media or was told to only post factual information, a point the Fair Work Commission made last year.
Lattouf claims the post about the situation in Gaza was factual information based on a report from Human Rights Watch.
The commission found there was some confusion over whether the manager had advised Lattouf it would be best to make no social media posts at all for the rest of the week or had been “directed” not to make any posts.
The commission heard Oliver-Taylor had been told on 18 December by Anderson that he had received external email complaints about Lattouf’s position on the Israel-Gaza war and asked radio management to “ensure that Antoinette is not and has not been posting anything that would suggest she is not impartial”.
“I am concerned her public views may mean that she is in conflict with our own editorial policies … Can we also advise why we selected Antoinette as stand in host?”
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Antoinette Lattouf’s unlawful dismissal case goes to court
Today is the first day of the unlawful dismissal case brought by journalist Antoinette Lattouf against the ABC, which allegedly unlawfully dismissed her from a casual Sydney radio job in December 2023 three days into a five-day contract.
Witnesses who are expected to appear in the courtroom at Sydney’s federal court during the trial include former ABC chair Ita Buttrose, outgoing chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor and outgoing managing director David Anderson.
The three ABC leaders have all left or are in the process of leaving the national broadcaster but were central figures in the case in 2023.
On Friday the court released a number of documents which included a list of emails between Buttrose and Anderson.
The content of the emails are yet to be released by the court.
But the list of dozens of emails shows the flow of communication between the chair and the MD in the hours leading up to Lattouf’s sacking after her shift on Wednesday 20 December.
“Between 11.04 am and 11.31 am on Wednesday, 20 December 2023, Ms Buttrose sent a series of emails,” the agreed statement of facts published by the court says.
Continued in next post
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Welcome
Good morning, readers.
Caitlin Cassidy here to take you through today’s news, with all eyes on Canberra ahead of parliament’s return on Tuesday.
This will be one of the last sittings before the formal election campaign kicks off, and Labor has a full slate of legislation to deal with, from hate speech laws to super tax changes.
Speaking of the federal election: Labor launched a new ad campaign this weekend with the tagline “You’ll be worse off under Peter Dutton” – we’ll bring you more on that in a moment.
In Sydney, today is the first day of the unlawful dismissal case brought by journalist Antoinette Lattouf against the ABC. Lattouf was taken off air three days into a five-day casual contract in December 2023 after she posted on social media about the Israel-Gaza war, which the ABC said was a breach of editorial policy.
Witnesses who are expected to appear in the court room at Sydney’s federal court during the trial include former ABC chair Ita Buttrose, outgoing chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor and outgoing managing director David Anderson.
And more record rainfalls are forecast in north Queensland after a woman was killed in floodwaters amid emergency warnings and evacuations.
Let’s get into it.
