What we learned, Thursday 27 February
That’s where we’ll leave the blog for today. Have a good evening – we’ll be back with more news for you tomorrow.
Here were today’s major developments:
Queensland police say they have seized a car in their investigation into yesterday’s fatal shooting of a 27-year-old woman on a suburban street in Toowoomba.
Qantas released its half-yearly financial results, showing the airline enjoyed a bumper $1.39bn pre-tax profit in the six months to the end of 2024, thanks to improved profitability and a 10% uptick in customers.
In more aviation news, Qatar Airways’ acquisition of a 25% stake in Virgin Australia was approved by the federal government, subject to conditions.
Passengers will receive almost double what they paid to take a trip on what their lawyer dubbed the “cruise from hell”, after a settlement was reached in a class action over the a May 2017 journey on the P&O Cruises Pacific Aria.
A “suspicious” device that washed ashore on a Gold Coast beach and led to it being closed for several hours was confirmed to be a practice torpedo.
Former NSW Liberal MP Rory Amon has been committed to stand trial over multiple alleged sexual assaults.
The Victorian government has moved to seize planning controls of 25 suburbs such as Prahran, South Yarra and Windsor in an effort to increase density and build more homes.
New analysis is suggesting an “unprecedented” marine heatwave off the coast of Western Australia that has caused coral bleaching at Ningaloo Reef and mass fish kills extends down to deep-sea waters.
Gambling giant Sportsbet confirmed it will no longer advertise live betting odds and multi-bet options during sport broadcasts, acknowledging strong community criticism.
And 21-year-old Jack Gibson-Burrell, the man police allege is behind Melbourne’s infamous “Pam the Bird” graffiti, was granted bail to live with his grandmother.
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Passengers from 2017 P&O cruise to receive double the price of their ticket in multimillion-dollar settlement
Staying with that AAP story, P&O Cruises’ parent company Carnival denied liability, pointing to ticketing terms expressly rejecting any guarantees and giving the cruise operator the ability to alter a cruise’s circumstances. The firm also argued it had reasonably anticipated the voyage would proceed appropriately when it departed.
But after mediation the company agreed to pay more than $2.4m to settle the matter.
Legal costs for the class action were capped at $1m, with about $1.2m to be paid out to class-action members after administration fees and taxes.
The passengers will receive the $944 median cost of a ticket on the cruise as well as an additional $900 in damages, while the lead applicant is owed an extra $2,000.
The court noted they would have faced hurdles in showing Carnival was liable in any manner and would have to establish disputed facts about whether the conditions were the result of a cyclone, as opposed to localised weather systems.
“The fact that the class members receive anything by the proposed settlement should be regarded as a victory,” Derrington said, noting the case was likely settled for commercial reasons to avoid risk.
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Multimillion-dollar settlement for passengers on trip described by lawyer as ‘cruise from hell’
Passengers will receive almost double what they paid to take a trip on what their lawyer dubbed the “cruise from hell”, AAP reports.
The May 2017 journey on the P&O Cruises Pacific Aria left passengers disappointed after the ship hit rough conditions, curtailing onboard activities and preventing them visiting planned ports on the trip from Brisbane to New Caledonia.
They launched a class action lawsuit, which resulted in a multimillion-dollar settlement that was finalised on Thursday.
“The enjoyment of the cruise was not as desired and, generally, the cruise was a rather unpleasant experience,” Roger Derrington, a federal court justice said.
Peter Carter, a class action lawyer, had previously described the trip as a “cruise from hell” which left passengers so scared they stayed in their cabins.
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Police seize car after woman fatally shot on Toowoomba street
A manhunt is under way after a woman was fatally shot on a suburban street in broad daylight on Wednesday, AAP reports.
Police were called to a North Toowoomba home about 2pm after reports of a disturbance and found a 27-year-old woman on the footpath with multiple serious injuries. Surrounding city streets were locked down and residents warned to stay indoors after the woman was discovered on Wednesday afternoon.
She was taken to hospital in a critical condition but later died.
Police do not know how many offenders were involved and have not found a weapon. A white Toyota Camry sedan believed to be linked to the shooting has been seized, with police releasing images of the vehicle on Thursday.
“We’re still seeking further information to ascertain … how many people may have been in the area and involved in this incident,” Acting Detective Inspector Brian Collins told reporters on Thursday.
Investigators are calling for any witnesses around West and Christmas Street in North Toowoomba on Wednesday from 1.30pm to 2pm to come forward. It is understood the victim did not live at either address.
Investigators are also seeking anyone who saw the Toyota Camry in the area or near Gladstone Street.
Det Collins said the incident was concerning but did not believe there was any risk to the community. “We’re confident that it’s not a random attack however, at this point in time, we’re still trying to investigate exactly what occurred,” he said.
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Man allegedly behind Melbourne’s ‘Pam the Bird’ graffiti to contest all charges
Guardian Australia’s Victorian state reporter Adeshola Ore was in court in Melbourne earlier today to bring you the latest on the legal matter involving the young man who is allegedly behind Melbourne’s prolific “Pam the Bird” graffiti.
Jack Gibson-Burrell, 21, has been granted bail to live with his “no nonsense” grandmother. He was released after flagging he will fight more than 50 offences, including criminal damage estimated to be worth more than $200,000, aggravated burglary, shop theft and stealing a motor vehicle.
Police have alleged Gibson-Burrell was the sole person behind the infamous signature cartoon-like bird which has been graffitied across Melbourne and Geelong on property and heritage buildings including the Flinders Street station clock.
Gibson-Burrell has indicated he plans to contest all the charges.
You can read our full story from today’s court hearing here:
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Hi, I hope you’ve had a good day so far. I’ll be with you on the blog until this evening.
Updated
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, Catie McLeod will be with you for the rest of the afternoon. Take care.
Students for Palestine holds protest over definition of antisemitism agreed to by universities
Students for Palestine has held a protest in Melbourne warning a definition of antisemitism agreed to by universities could have a “chilling” effect on grassroots protests.
The body, which represents a coalition of school and university students, participated in last year’s pro-Palestine encampments across Australian universities. Its members gathered outside the state library this afternoon, urging universities to reject the definition and for staff to oppose it.
The definition adopted by Universities Australia this week notes criticism of Israel is not in itself antisemitic but “can be”, including “when it calls for the elimination of the state of Israel”.
Jewish co-convener of Students for Palestine, Yasmine Johnson, said the new definition, which was adopted this week by Universities Australia members, “dangerously conflates Zionism with Judaism”.
Many Jewish students and staff members do not identify with the political ideology of Zionism and in doing so, the Universities Australia definition actually silences critical Jewish voices. Especially those of us who have, over the course of this genocide, maintained that Israel does not speak for us.
The adoption of a sector-wide definition emerged as a key recommendation of a report on antisemitism on Australian university campuses, which found there was an “urgent need for reform” to ensure the safety of Jewish students and staff.
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NDIS chief says new plans will eventually be longer than 12 months
Back to the community affairs Senate estimates for a second: the chief executive officer of the National Disability Insurance Agency, Rebecca Falkingham, has clarified that new plans will eventually be longer than 12 months.
When the government announced the changes, it said each new plan would initially last for 12 months. Falkingham said this will change as time passes:
That’s a big feature … to be able to give participants a much longer plan. So we will speak to participants.
And obviously, there’s a range of factors that will go into determining those time periods, but that’s most definitely [the plan to be] not only more flexible, but [to have] longer plans.
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Victorian opposition lashes government’s proposal to increase density in 25 more suburbs
The Victorian opposition’s planning spokesperson, Richard Riordan, has lashed the state government’s proposal to increase density in 25 more suburbs across the inner city.
He said the plans released by the government to seize planning controls in areas such as Prahran, South Yarra and Windsor “puts fear in homeowners and tenants and communities right across Melbourne”:
It says to them, the city, the neighbourhood, the community that you have loved … that you live in and have cherished for your life or for your family, is now under threat and will not be the same into the future.
Not only not the same, but vastly different. It’s not going to resemble the Melbourne and the city that everyone has loved and has made us one of the most livable cities for a long time.
There is more to housing and the way people want to live than being on top of a train station in a 20 storey tower or in a once leafy street now filled with six storey apartment blocks. That is not the Melbourne that people voted for.
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China is pushing police into the Pacific, a Senate estimates committee has heard
A range of agreements have been struck between China and Pacific islands, some of which include policing cooperation.
Elizabeth Peak from the Department of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Trade said “we’re seeing China push into the Pacific … we see no role for China in the security sector in the Pacific”.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said it’s a situation of “permanent contest” in the region, and that policing is where “some of these matters play out”.
Here is a detailed and fascinating piece on the network of agreements and the concerns on policing:
And you can read about the recently signed China/Cook Islands agreement here.
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Watch: update on Tropical Cyclone Alfred
The Bureau of Meteorology has provided an update on Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which has been tracking through the Coral Sea well off the Queensland coast this week:
Severe Weather Update: Update on Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) February 27, 2025
Video current as of 11:00am AEST Thursday 27 February 2025.
Know your weather, know your risk. For the latest forecasts and warnings, go to our website https://t.co/4W35o8iFmh or the BOM Weather app. pic.twitter.com/uNij69SMBz
Paterson asks Wong if government is ‘less supportive’ of Israel than previous one
Earlier in Senate estimates, the shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, asked foreign affairs minister Penny Wong about a range of UN votes on Israel and Palestine, and how Australia’s position had shifted (short answer: it’s nuanced).
Now, after the lunch break, he gets to the nub:
Do you think it’s fair to say that the government’s position is less supportive of or less close to Israel than the previous government?
Wong says Australia’s position is more consistent with most of the international community and progress towards a two-state solution.
Paterson asks if there’s a substantive difference between the two major parties. Wong says opposition leader Peter Dutton hasn’t expressed support for the two-state solution.
Paterson protests. It continues.
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Read more: Victoria moves to seize planning controls in affluent suburbs
It’s been a busy day on the blog so far. Just looking back to earlier this morning, here is our full story on the Victorian government’s move to seize planning controls of 25 suburbs and build more homes:
And here are all the details on that mysterious device – now confirmed to be a practice torpedo – that washed ashore on a Gold Coast beach and led to it being closed for a number of hours:
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Fire risk remains for parts of Victoria this autumn
Large swathes of western and central Victoria, as well as south and west Gippsland, are facing an increased fire risk in early autumn, according to the latest seasonal bushfire outlook.
A statement from Victoria Emergency said a lack of rain over the past 12-24 months has led to increased fuel in forests and heathlands – which has already led to large, fast-running fires in the Grampians over summer.
Forecast warmer than average maximum temperatures might increase fuel availability, making it easier for fires to start and spread.
Across the rest of the state, Victorians can expect normal fire potential.
The emergency management commissioner, Tim Wiebusch, said:
The Grampians and Little Desert fires showed just how fast fires can start and spread. With no significant rainfall expected this autumn, we all must remain vigilant the risk of fire across the state.
Understand your local risks, never rely on one source of emergency information and tune in to your local emergency broadcaster.
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Thousands of NDIS customers estimated to be impacted by fraud
In Senate estimates, the chief executive officer of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIS), Rebecca Falkingham, said 140 active cases of NDIS fraud are now being investigated, up from 100 in December.
She was answering a question from Labor senator Louise Pratt, who wanted to know how the fraud taskforce was going. Falkingham said:
At the 31st of December 2024, there were 100 active fraud operations being led by the NDIA, the NDIS Commission Services Australia and the Australian Skills and Quality Authority.
530 investigators, including 50 persons [who were] referred to the commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions or are currently before the courts. And over 18,000 customers of government services are estimated to be impacted.
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Device found on Main Beach confirmed to be practice army torpedo
Police confirmed the suspicious device that washed ashore a Gold Coast beach this morning was a practice army torpedo.
As AAP reports, police confirmed the device was an inert practice torpedo that had been used in a recent army drill off the Queensland coast.
The acting inspector, Leon Wort, said the ADF has boxed up the device and returned it to its depot.
It’s been recovered and we’ve got no further concerns for public safety. The ADF will … work out what went wrong and why they couldn’t recover it.
Wort thanked the members of the public who alerted police and urged people not to handle suspect devices on the beach. Main Beach has since reopened.
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First national ecosystem accounts released by the ABS
Australian ecosystems stored more than 34.5m kilotonnes of carbon in 2020-21, a service valued at $43.2bn, according to the first national ecosystem accounts released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The experimental accounts – which quantify and value the country’s environmental assets – estimated that in 2020–21, climate regulation through carbon storage was the most valuable service provided by Australian ecosystems, a value that doubled in five years thanks to a higher carbon price and inflation.
Perhaps surprisingly the ABS found grasslands stored more carbon (14.4m kilotonnes of carbon) than forests (14m kilotonnes of carbon). Together these two ecosystems comprised the vast majority (80%) of Australia’s carbon storage.
Jonathon Khoo, ABS’ head of environment statistics, said grasslands contributed $18.1bn in carbon storage, followed by native forests at $17.8bn, and savannas at $7.1bn.
The accounts – which covered land, ocean and freshwater systems – found more water was used for hydroelectricity (48.3m megalitres) than for drinking (1.5m megalitres), although high rainfall in 2020-21 meant the monetary value of freshwater for drinking fell by more than a third from $307 to $198m.
In the five years between 2015 and 2020, 126 new species were added to the list of threatened species under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (with many more added since) and found average populations of threatened species, across all groups, had declined across the country.
The new experimental estimates also revealed the importance of natural landscapes like mangroves and saltmarsh, in protecting coastal properties against tidal and storm surges, a service the ABS valued at $65m.
Shadow education minister accuses minister of lying in media release
The shadow minister for education, Sarah Henderson, has accused the education minister of a “complete and utter misleading ... and misrepresentation of the facts” in a media release, and subsequent statements, that said the Liberal party “ripped the guts” out of public school funding.
Appearing before education estimates, the department of education’s secretary was asked if the media release had been fact checked before it went public.
The assistant education minister, Anthony Chisholm, interjected that it “was a fact” the former Coalition “ripped the money out of public schools” when it came into government:
Billions have been ripped out of public schools and if you doubt me, let me point you to the 2014 budget overview page 7, there it is in black and white.
Henderson said it was “misleading representation” and annual school funding had increased year on year, requesting the department of education review its website and make any “appropriate corrections”. She said the claim had been debunked in the media, including ABC RMIT Fact Check.
Chisholm requested her to withdraw her request, and again pointed her to the budget:
There’s no corrections to be made ... I’m very surprised you’re coming in here and justifying your future cuts already ... it’s extraordinary.
Henderson later said the Commonwealth would match public school funding arrangements Labor had forged with states and territories if it were elected.
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More on the Godwin Grech drama
After the break, the Asic chair, Joe Longo, wouldn’t speak about Godwin Grech specifically, but talks separately and more generally about the complexity in prosecuting cases related to insider trading.
Market sensitive information and trading on it ahead of that information being published or made known isn’t necessarily information [that] is going to prohibit you from trading, because there’s so many factors that go into an insider trading prosecution.
Then Deb O’Neill made this pretty pointed claim:
There are members of the Liberal party though who know exactly what Mr Grech was communicating to them at the time.
I believe it would be in the national interest if people of integrity who had that information and didn’t use it were able to inform the current interest.
There hasn’t been anyone named or accused in the estimates hearing.
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Godwin Grech drama resumes at Senate estimates
The Godwin Grech drama has resumed at economic estimates today.
If you were following along yesterday, Labor senator Deb O’Neill brought evidence from a previous privileges committee inquiry that former Treasury official Godwin Grech had been “heavily involved” in the GFC bank package and had been sending emails from his Treasury account to senior Liberals. Here’s a recap of what she said:
The committee of privileges page 84, Mr Grech was heavily involved in the development of the Australian Business Investment Partnership, ABIP, including attending meetings and negotiations with the major banks.
The Treasury submission to the committee of privileges included emails from Mr Grech to senior Liberal party figures and this ran across the period from September 2008, roughly around collapse of the Lehman brothers, through to the period ending June 2009.
O’Neill has brought up this evidence from the privileges committee again today, while Asic is fronting estimates, to discuss the investigation of insider trading. Her questioning sparks an uproar from the Coalition, with senator Andrew Bragg shouting:
This hearing is not about your political grubby machine … you are out of order.
The committee promptly went into a 25-minute break, and decides like yesterday, the questions from O’Neill are in order.
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Solar panels for doctors, vets’ clinics
Doctors, dentists and vets will be able to secure cheap loans to purchase EVs and solar panels for their clinics under a new $20m investment.
The commonwealth’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is working with healthcare lender Credabl to help medical providers cut their power bills.
Under the scheme, the businesses will be able to access loans with interest rates of up to 0.65% to purchase solar panels, electric vehicles and EV chargers. The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, said:
By providing access to cheaper loans, the Albanese Labor government is bringing energy bills down for good for Australian doctors, dentists and vets.
This CEFC investment is supporting small businesses to capitalise on the renewable revolution and play their role in the net zero transformation.
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Ex-Liberal MP to fight child sexual abuse charges at trial
A former NSW Liberal MP has been committed to stand trial over multiple alleged sexual assaults, AAP reports.
Roderick “Rory” Amon is accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy he knew on Sydney’s Northern Beaches in 2017.
The 35-year-old former MP for the seat of Pittwater appeared at Sydney’s Downing Centre local court today, when pleas of not guilty to all of the charges were formally acknowledged.
Amon is due to stand trial in the district court on 10 separate charges, including sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 14. A bail variation was also granted unopposed, allowing him to live at a different address.
The former politician declined to answer questions from media outside court as he was ushered away alongside several supporters. One onlooker hurled verbal jabs at Amon.
Amon was arrested in August and charged with a series of offences, including five counts of sexual intercourse with a person over the age of 10 and under 14.
The matter is due to return to court on 28 March.
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Sharma questions Wong meeting with Ardern, representatives from Iran and Palestinian Authority last year
Back in Senate estimates, Liberal senator Dave Sharma has tried to take the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, to task for meeting with former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern and representatives from Iran and the Palestinian Authority at the UN general assembly last year. (It has been a somewhat febrile time).
Wong said her counterpart was not there.
An official said they did seek a meeting with the then Israeli foreign minister, Israel Katz, but they were advised he was not attending.
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Lockdown after ‘suspicious device’ washes up on Queensland beach
AAP has more details about the “suspicious device” that washed up on a Gold Coast beach this morning, as we flagged earlier:
Police are on the scene at Main Beach after the object was spotted by a dog walker and surf lifesavers about 5.45am.
An exclusion zone of 100 metres has been established around the device while authorities examine it, and police have asked members of the public to avoid the area.
The Australian defence force has reportedly been notified, with media outlets saying it appears to be a military device, possibly a torpedo.
Images posted on social media by locals indicate the object is rusty and been submerged for some time.
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Dfat reviewing US freeze on foreign aid, Senate estimates has heard
The Greens senator and foreign aid spokesperson, Mehreen Faruqi, has used Senate estimates to ask about the government’s response to the United States’ freeze on foreign aid – describing it as a “catastrophic blow” for the Pacific, Gaza, the climate, sexual reproduction and LGBTQ+ communities.
The Trump administration froze funds coming from the US Agency for International Development (USAid) soon after coming into power. The move has caused chaos, health crises, job losses and deaths. It has also left climate change and poverty projects in the Pacific in limbo.
Dfat official James Isbister said they are reviewing the situation and will continue to do so after 20 April, the end of the 90-day freeze:
The situation is fluid and we’re continuing to look at how we amend our programs in response.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said Australia, as the largest development partner, takes a particular responsibility for the Pacific. But, she said, it’s “unrealistic to think a country of Australia’s size could make up the difference”:
Australia can do what Australia can do, and we will do that. But … Australia is not a great and global power so we have a set of responsibilities and we will discharge those.
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Targeted advertising campaign launched ahead of election with major push for private schools
Independent Schools Australia (ISA) has launched a major push for private schools ahead of the federal election, with a “school choice counts” targeted advertising campaign to begin from today in 17 seats, including those where independent families make up a significant proportion of the electorate.
At today’s launch at Parliament House, ISA CEO, Graham Catt, said families who chose independent schools “deserve fairness”.
Families make sacrifices every day to give their children the best start in life. They should not be publicly vilified or penalised for choosing an independent school.
The body is calling for “stable, predictable funding” that keeps private school fees “affordable” and for increased infrastructure funding and regional loadings for rural and remote areas. Catt also accused the Greens of peddling a “competition” between government and private sectors over school funding.
About 98% of public schools remain underfunded, the latest data shows, while the vast majority of private schools are overfunded. But Catt said most independent school families were “everyday Australians”, with the median independent school fee sitting at $5,537 a year.
The Greens attack hardworking families with misleading and inflammatory rhetoric. It needs to stop now. This election, we will make sure every independent school parent knows who supports them – and who wants to make their child’s education more expensive.
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NSW government announces support for three long-duration energy storage systems under state roadmap
The NSW government has announced support for three new energy storage projects capable of storing electricity for eight hours or more, under its electricity roadmap.
The successful projects include the Phoenix 15-hour pumped hydro project in Lake Burrendong, 35km west of Mudgee, and two 8-hour batteries located in Narrabri and Griffith.
Combined, the three projects represent 1.03 gigawatts (GW) or 13.79 GW-hours (GWh) of energy storage capacity. One gigawatt of energy stored could provide enough electricity, when released, to power half a million households for a day.
The projects are expected to create about 900 construction jobs and 60 ongoing positions and support reliable power at times of high electricity demand or low solar or wind generation, according to the state government.
The NSW minister for climate change and energy, Penny Sharpe, said the energy storage projects would provide jobs and investment for local and regional areas, as well “delivering a reliable energy system for the whole of NSW”.
Daniel Burrows, the chief executive of Eku Energy – the company behind the Griffith battery storage system – said the announcement was a significant milestone that would help deliver safe and reliable energy storage.
The tender is the fifth conducted under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, a 20-year plan designed to support investment in new renewable power and long-duration storage, ensuring reliability as the state’s ageing coal-fired power stations retired.
With the addition of these projects, the NSW government said it had now locked in 40% of its long-duration storage by 2030 target.
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Hunter MP lashes Coalition nuclear plan as 'ludicrous' and 'false hope' for coal-fired power station workers
Hunter Labor MP Dan Repacholi, who was speaking alongside Jim Chalmers, was asked to weigh in on the opposition’s nuclear plan.
The Coalition has previously flagged the Liddell power station, within his electorate, as one of seven locations for a proposed nuclear plant. Repacholi said he was part of a committee on the matter, with 19 days of hearings and more than 850 submissions.
For me, and for the what the committee found out, there’s a lot more cons and pros on this subject. The biggest thing is it takes too long, it costs too much, it’s going to push our power prices up, [and] that is unacceptable for Australians.
The Hunter MP said the Coalition can’t detail costs, how long it would take to build the reactors, how much water it is going to use, or how many people they would employ.
What they’re doing is just giving out false hope that coal-fired power station workers in the Hunter, in Lithgow and all other parts of Australia where they’re saying that they’re going to put these seven sites, to give them false hope that they can out of a coal fired power station job and into a nuclear power job in that same time. It cannot happen. It is impossible. These will not be built until the mid 2040s – and that is only one, that is only one that is built by that stage – and then however long it takes to build the seven rest of them.
It’s just ludicrous what they’re trying to talk about here, and we need to keep on just showing the facts on this.
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Chalmers outlines conditions he set for approving Qatar acquisition of 25% stake in Virgin
Earlier in the press conference, Jim Chalmers said he approved Qatar Airways’ acquisition of a 25% stake in Virgin Australia “based on some very strict, enforceable conditions”.
First of all, Qatar gets to appoint two board members out of 12 on the Virgin board. We have imposed a condition, which means that at least one of those has to be an Australian citizen, normally resident in Australia.
The other condition that I’ve imposed is to protect the data, to make sure that the data is not unnecessarily shared … I’ve also sought and received from both companies assurances about Australian jobs.
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Chalmers says Australia still working towards exemption on US tariffs
Back to tariffs, Jim Chalmers said his preference is for Australia to “get a full exemption from these tariffs on steel and aluminum”.
So those other options … that the [US] treasury secretary was talking about yesterday, they’re not our preference, because our preference – our objective – is to get an exemption.
Now, again, we don’t take that outcome for granted. We know that there are policy announcements coming out of DC which have the capacity to affect our local industry. My job, the government’s job, is to stand up for local workers and employers and investors, and that’s what we’ve been doing.
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Chalmers says Australia has ‘made it clear’ notice from Chinese vessels was ‘not appropriate’
On the Chinese vessels – which have been the topic of much discussion in recent days – Jim Chalmers said Australia has “made it clear that the notice that was given was not appropriate”.
As I understand it, [the foreign affairs] minister [Penny] Wong has discussed that with her counterpart and we have relayed that in other ways. Beyond that, you know, I’m reluctant to go too much further into the detail of that.
I’m aware that the deputy prime minister has already made extensive comments about that this morning … I want to leave the rest of the commentary to my colleagues.
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Chalmers addressing media in Hunter Valley
We’ll go now to the Hunter Valley in NSW, where the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has been speaking alongside the local MP Dan Repacholi.
Chalmers said he had just returned from Washington and there was “a lot of uncertainty in the global economy, which is playing out in our own national economy and in local economies, like this one”.
Taking questions, Chalmers said he had “very constructive conversations … with my American counterparts”. On tariffs, the treasurer said Donald Trump would “make a final call about Australia’s bid”.
My job wasn’t to conclude those discussions, it was to inform them, and Australia has a very strong case to make about why we are different to some of the other countries that are of greater concern to our American friends.
Americans run a trade surplus with us, they have done since the Truman administration. Our steel and aluminum sectors are not big competitors with theirs. In fact, our businesses, Rio, BlueScope and others, are making a positive contribution and investing in local communities, in the US.
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SafeWork issues six prohibition notices affecting all ventilation fans at Snowy 2.0, union says
Continuing from our last post: The Australian Workers’ Union said SafeWork NSW inspectors had conducted an assessment and have issued six prohibition notices affecting all ventilation fans at the project.
The AWU is demanding all ventilation equipment “undergo comprehensive inspection by the original manufacturers before any worker returns to the underground portions of the project”. Tony Callinan said:
These fans provide the essential ventilation that makes underground work possible. Their failure not only represents an immediate hazard from flying debris but could also create lethal atmospheric conditions underground.
Tunnelling is a dangerous industry but, Snowy 2.0 management just can’t seem to get the basics right. It’s the worst project I have seen in 20 years as an AWU organiser.
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AWU provides more details on safety incident at Snowy 2.0
The Australian Workers’ Union has responded to the safety incident at Snowy 2.0 as a “catastrophic failure of critical ventilation equipment that could have resulted in worker fatalities”.
In a statement, the union said an industrial-sized ventilation fan about 2.5 metres in diameter “catastrophically malfunctioned, sending dangerous metal shrapnel flying through the air”.
By sheer fortune, no workers were in the immediate vicinity at the time of the failure.
The union said the incident comes one month after workers were forced to stop work after underground refuge chambers “were found to be inoperable and not maintained to the manufacturer’s specifications”. The AWU NSW secretary, Tony Callinan, said:
This latest incident represents a significant near-miss that could have resulted in workers being killed. Had anyone been in the path of this high-velocity shrapnel, we would be discussing fatalities rather than equipment failure.
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Underground works halted at Snowy Hydro after fan falls and loses part of blade
Underground works have halted at major energy project Snowy 2.0, after a fan fell and lost part of its blade.
In a statement, Snowy Hydro said it would seek an “immediate independent safety review and audit” – which would require changes to principal contractor Future Generation Joint Venture’s (FGJV) leadership on the project.
Snowy Hydro confirmed no one was hurt during the incident, but work has been stopped to “allow inspection of all fans”.
FGJV will work with SafeWork NSW to ensure they are safe, with the aim of progressively restarting work.
Nothing is more important to Snowy Hydro than safety. Recent safety concerns at Snowy 2.0 have made it clear that as the client, our assurance role over FGJV’s activities requires this intervention.
Snowy Hydro said it was “committed to working with our workforce and unions to ensure that the safety standards we expect are in place at Snowy 2.0”.
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Allan says she is glad Sheargold taken off air after Matildas comments
Circling back to the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan’s, press conference in Melbourne: She said she’s glad to see Marty Sheargold has been taken off the air.
Sheargold has departed Triple M after being condemned for comments he made about the Matildas, saying he “would rather hammer a nail through the head of [his] penis” than watch Australia’s national women’s football team in next year’s Asian Cup.
Allan said it was a “good thing that he’s off the air”.
And I’ll say this, women’s sport is real sport. And also too women’s pain is real pain, and it doesn’t deserve that shabby treatment that we’ve seen.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, also reacted to the comments earlier.
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Fiery exchange between Sheldon and Henderson at education estimates
Education estimates is off to a cracking start, with a temporary suspension just one hour in following a fiery exchange between the chair, senator Tony Sheldon, and the shadow education minister, Sarah Henderson.
Sheldon put to the Department of Education whether it was “concerned” about the amount of money that would come out of its budget as a result of the Coalition’s planned spending cuts, which won’t be revealed before the federal election.
Henderson interjected, putting to the committee that the question was irrelevant, “quite false” and dragging “officials into your politicking”.
Sheldon replied for the “rest of the country” that watched Insiders when the opposition leader appeared, he wasn’t going to say where the cuts would be.
Henderson again interjected, asking he didn’t “drag officials into what are clearly untrue assertions about opposition policy and just to get your clip up on your social media page”. Sheldon pressed on, noting he gave leeway to the opposition to ask broad questions, before Henderson again interjected.
“You’re interrupting me when I’m speaking,” Sheldon said, to which Henderson replied: “You’re interrupting me.”
“Well, alright, we’re interrupting both,” Sheldon said, before Henderson again repeatedly interjected, with phrases including “desperate government” and “false, untrue lies”.
Senator Karen Grogan weighed in before suspension:
I’m finding senator Henderson’s behaviour really challenging here … Every time I speak or you speak, she shouts over us in a really disrespectful manner … And I wonder if this is going to be the day we’re going to have.
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Senate estimates continuing to look at how much notice China gave of live firing
Let’s circle back to the Senate estimates hearing for the department of defence, foreign affairs and trade, where the next brouhaha has been over how much notice China should have given on its live firing exercise.
The shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, said Defence gives a timeframe of 24 to 48 hours, while Dfat has said 12 to 24 hours. He’s suggested Australia might have given the wrong advice to China on how much notice is expected. But Dfat official Elly Lawson said:
We are certain, our clear position is that China did not follow international best practice.
And she’ll check on those timeframes.
Wong said there are different timeframes for different sorts of exercises. She noted the defence minister, Richard Marles, has framed it as 12 to 24 hours, and sometimes 48.
(Marles told ABC radio this morning that “at the end of the day, we would, in a live-firing event, be giving 12 to 24, sometimes 48 hours’ notice”).
Paterson should put the different circumstances to the chief of the defence force, Wong said. Lawson said she would have to ask Defence to clarify.
Wong said the notice has to be given in good time for transparency, and also to not cause undue alarm or commercial disruption (in response to a question from Paterson about flight disruptions).
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Victorian government to look ‘street by street’ for unused space in Yarra and Melbourne
Jacinta Allan has explained the two local councils the government has identified as activity zones – Yarra and Melbourne – will take a different approach to the other areas.
The process with those municipalities is we’re going to run a ruler over those municipalities, knowing that there is unused space, available space right across those two municipalities.
Now there’s already quite a bit of height in those municipalities, so we’ll be going street by street, block by block, looking at where we can, with those councils, unlock that unused space that’s sitting there, particularly space that is close to those great public transport connections.
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For reference, here is a complete list of the 25 locations
Caulfield station
Springvale station
Noble Park station
Yarraman station
Dandenong station
Glen Huntly station
Ormond station
Bentleigh station
Mentone station
South Yarra station
Prahran station
Windsor station
Elsternwick station
Ashburton station, Riversdale & Willison stations
East Malvern station
Holmesglen station
Coburg station
Brunswick station
Heidelberg station
High St, Thornbury (tram corridor)
St Georges Rd (tram corridor)
Kew Junction (tram corridor)
Inner city (City of Melbourne)
Inner city (Yarra)
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Allan addressing media on 25 locations selected for increased housing density
Let’s go back to Victoria, where the premier, Jacinta Allan, has begun speaking.
Allan said the 25 locations have been chosen due to their proximity to public transport, which has been upgraded via the removal of level crossings and the creation of the Metro Tunnel, allowing for more services to run.
It just makes sense to build more homes close to these stations, close to these existing services, because they’re also close to jobs, to schools and other opportunities that families look for when they’re looking at buying a home.
Allan said she’s also bracing for opposition to the plan, as there was in October.
We know the fearmongers will be coming, and we know that they’ll be saying, ‘Don’t build more homes.’ They want to say, stick with the status quo. Well, those fear mongers have picked a side. And I say this to young Victorians, I say this to working families, they’ve picked a side, and it’s not yours. My government, we are on the side of Victorians wanting to find a home, wanting to find an affordable home … in exactly the right location for them and their family.
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Albanese says comments criticising Matildas ‘completely unacceptable’
The prime minister has labelled comments made about the Matildas by Marty Sheargold has “shocking” and “completely unacceptable.”
Sheargold has departed Triple M after being condemned for comments he made about the Matildas, saying he “would rather hammer a nail through the head of [his] penis” than watch Australia’s national women’s football team in next year’s Asian Cup.
Speaking on Nova 100 radio earlier, Anthony Albanese said the “Tillies are just legends” who brought the country together. He went on, and said:
[Sheargold] also made some comments as well about endo not being real. You know, we need to respect each other, and disrespecting more than half the population is not on … It’s just not funny. It’s offensive.
And these are great athletes, like they performed so well to get to the Semis in the World Cup, but even if they didn’t, so what! They’re doing their best, and they’re great athletes, and they’re better footballers than all the blokes who’d be critiquing them, frankly.
Albanese said the Matildas have been “more successful historically than our men’s team have been.”
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Map showing final 25 locations Victorian government plans to take planning control of to increase density
Here’s a photo of that map on display at the Victorian press conference, where Jacinta Allan is due to begin speaking any minute – Benita Kolovos will continue to bring us the latest.
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More from the Victorian government’s plan to increase housing density
Last year, Jacinta Allan announced the plan to overhaul of planning rules in 50 inner-Melbourne areas, to allow for “taller buildings” of between 10 and 20 storeys near the stations and “gentle, scaled height limits and more low-rise apartments and townhouses” of between three and six storeys alongside exisiting homes in the “walkable catchments” surrounding them.
The government said in these catchments, which will be up to 800 metres from the stations, the rights of residents to appeal development “will not change and heritage and landscape overlays will stay in place”. However, residents could lose the power to appeal developments closer to stations.
The plan led to immediate pushback from residents and the Coalition opposition who, at the time, had the majority of centres in their electorates. Several of the new zones to be announced shortly are located in Labor electorates.
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Allan to announce final 25 locations Victorian government will target for increased housing density
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, and the planning minister, Sonya Kilkenny, are about to hold a press conference in Noble Park, in Melbourne’s south-east, to announce the final 25 locations where it plans to seize planning control to allow for greater density.
A map on display at the press conference shows two entire local government areas – the City of Melbourne and Yarra – are included as “inner-city activity centres”, which appears to be a broadening of the scope of the plan.
The map also shows Bentleigh, Ormond, Glenhuntly, Caulfield and Ormond, on the Frankston train line, are to become activity zones, as well as Elsternwick, Prahran and Windsor on the neighbouring Sandringham line, and the South Yarra station interchange connecting the two rail lines.
In the north, Coburg and Brunswick have been added to list, as well as Kew Junction, Willison and Riversdale in the inner east, and Ashburton, Homesglen and East Malvern a little further out.
In the south-east, Springvale, Noble Park, Dandenong and Yarraman have also been designated activity zones.
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Where does the RBA sit on future rate cuts?
It’s the question everyone around the country is asking – after a rate cut in February, when will we see another?
The deputy governor, Andrew Hauser, has told Senate estimates the Reserve Bank’s mission to bring down inflation is “on track” but there’s more to be done.
Central banks never declare mission accomplished but so far appears on track … We hope and expect that we will receive more further positive news, but we do need to see it before I think we feel confident that further removal of restrictiveness is appropriate.
Hauser was also asked about the impact of US tariffs and global uncertainty on the economy, and on the bank’s decision to cut rates in February. He said it was considered by a few board members, including himself.
He also noted the impact of uncertainty could lead to delays in investment in the economy:
If things remain as uncertain as they are currently then perhaps they’ll [businesses] delay their investment projects … just to see how things pan out.
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'Unprecedented' marine heatwave affecting WA deep sea
An “unprecedented” marine heatwave off the coast of Western Australia, which has caused coral bleaching at Ningaloo Reef and mass fish kills, extends down to deep sea waters, new analysis suggests.
Waters off much of the state’s north-west have experienced a prolonged heatwave since September. Dr Jessica Benthuysen, an oceanographer from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, said:
Monitoring shows the warm temperatures are not confined to just surface waters and have reached to at least 300 metres in the past few months, which has helped the extreme event to remain for such an extended period.
The temperatures reached unprecedented levels through December and January. In mid-to late January we saw warm waters exceeding 3C above normal along the shelf from the southern Pilbara to Ningaloo and Shark Bay.
Benthuysen added that though southerly winds had provided recent relief at Ningaloo, water temperatures were already “well above” what was expected in March or April, when waters tend to be warmest.
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Wong says China gave notice of firing exercise but not in accordance with best practice
There has been some hectic semantics in estimates about whether, and when, China gave notice about its live-firing exercise in the Tasman Sea.
The shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, said there’s an inconsistency between the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, saying China gave notice and others saying China did not give notice.
China gave notice, but it wasn’t in accordance with best practice, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said (a commercial aircraft raised the alarm first). Dfat official Elly Lawson added:
It was not a formal notice to mariners, so it was not given directly to Australia or New Zealand.
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Paterson describes handling of Chinese ships issue as ‘shambolic’
Circling back to the foreign affairds minister, Penny Wong, who has been appearing before Senate estimates: The shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, has been hyper-focused on who knew what, and when, in regards to the Chinese ships.
He’s digging into the time at which Wong was notified about the live-firing incident (it was about half an hour after the transport minister was notified, he said).
Wong said he asked the same questions yesterday, and referred him to those answers:
I think you are engaging in politicisation of this event for your own political purposes. And I think people can see that.
Paterson says the handling of the issue has been “shambolic”. He also has a back-and-forth with officials over the whereabouts of the taskforce. It’s 548km west of Hobart, he is told, and officials add there are regular updates on the defence website.
If too much taskforce talk is barely enough, you can follow those updates here.
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$44m announced for boarding schools in remote First Nations communities
The federal government has announced a $44m investment towards boarding schools that cater to First Nations students in remote communities.
It follows ongoing lobbying from independent providers, who cater to First Nations boarders, warning schools were at risk of closing after the commonwealth’s grants program was discontinued in the 2024-25 budget.
More than 50 boarding providers will share in the latest funding, expected to support about 2,500 First Nations students to graduate high school with upgrades to facilities and tech, employment of First Nations teachers and wellbeing officers or counsellors trained in trauma-informed care.
The minister for education, Jason Clare, said investing in boarding facilities helped First Nations students access quality education and finish school.
The government understands the importance of choice for families in supporting their children through their education and options to study on-Country, or nearby where possible. Boarding continues to be an important education pathway for First Nations students, particularly for families in remote areas.
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Deputy RBA governor fronting Senate estimates
Sticking with Senate estimates, the Reserve Bank of Australia is in the spotlight this morning – but the governor, Michele Bullock, isn’t in the hot seat. She’s over at a G20 meeting, so the deputy governor, Andrew Hauser, is taking her place.
Liberal senator Dean Smith is trying to get a peek behind the curtain on when and how the board makes decisions on the cash rate.
Hauser says that decision is generally made on Tuesday morning – so the board first meets on Monday afternoon, then takes the evening to ponder. That decision is then revealed at 2.30pm on the Tuesday.
Hauser is also asked about whether the board will vote on rates decisions when new RBA reforms come into effect (at the moment the board makes a decision based on consensus rather than a formal vote). Hauser says the bank is looking at how other central banks operate before settling on a model of voting v consensus or somewhere in the middle.
Updated
Wong outlines further details on who knew what, when, about Chinese firing exercises
Continuing from our last post: Penny Wong has described China’s live-firing in the Tasman Sea as “unsafe and unprofessional”.
She told Senate estimates that Defence had monitored the Chinese task group and that commercial aircraft had issued an alert about the live firing, as had New Zealand (although she didn’t mention the exact timing of these alerts).
The government asked China for an explanation within hours, Wong said, adding that she made direct representations to her counterpart, Wang Yi, and made it clear that the activities “did not meet our expectations and was of deep concern”, she said.
Wong said some politicians “seem to be insinuating” that Australia is responsible for China not giving notice.
We now see gunboat diplomacy being added to the litany of war talk from the opposition. Such rhetoric does not make Australia safer.
She said reckless political point-scoring had implications at home, importing hatred and division. She said “we all want to end the scourge of antisemitism, of Islamophobia and of violence extremism” and called for the temperature to be dialled down.
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Wong says world facing ‘growing challenges’ amid Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan conflicts
Australia faces a “world of growing challenges”, of unpredictability and the “devastating human toll” of conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has told Senate estimates.
Wong outlined those challenges before accusing the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, of reckless political point scoring and “gunboat diplomacy”. In her opening statement to the hearing for the department of defence, foreign affairs, and trade, she said:
Each day, our assumptions are being tested. Malign actors continue to engage in sabotage and terrorism. Bullies threaten to use nuclear weapons. Authoritarianism is spreading. Some countries are shifting alignment.
Wong said the changing climate, opaque military build ups, inflation and trade disruptions were also challenges.
Australians don’t want “reckless political gain from people who claim to be leaders”, she said, accusing the previous government of leaving a “massive vacuum” in the Pacific.
Dutton once said it was “inconceivable” we would go to war, but he “is going to keep beating the drums of war”, she said.
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Chance tropical cyclone could move closer to Queensland coast on Sunday
Let’s check in on Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which has been tracking through the Coral Sea this week, well off the coast of Queensland.
The Bureau of Meteorology said it is moving south as a severe category 3 system, with a risk it might impact the coast:
There is a risk that it may move closer to the central or southern Queensland coast by Sunday. However, there remains large uncertainty with Alfred’s future track and intensity forecast beyond the weekend.
Dutton continues to defend purchase of bank shares
Continuing from our last post: Peter Dutton was asked whether he had learned anything about the package from then-opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull, and responded:
I’ve conducted myself with integrity my whole life. I have never made an investment decision based on insider information or insider knowledge. I mean, why would I do that, and then knowing that the shares are all disclosable?
I saw an opportunity to invest, as I’m sure many other Australians did at the time, with banks that had strong balance sheets, and because of global instability, particularly in the US, that the bank share price was depressed at the time. My judgment was that it was a good investment to make. I disclosed it all. I didn’t do with any insider information and that’s the reality of it.
Dutton claimed he simply “took a punt” on the stocks he bought.
Like, as I say, many other Australians would have looked at blue chip stocks and thought, you know, they’re down a lot at the moment. There’s nothing wrong with them. The problem is emanating out of the US, and you know, I made a decision to invest and disclose at all.
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Dutton defends purchase of shares in big banks at height of GFC before bailout
Staying with Peter Dutton’s interview on 2GB radio, he also defended his conduct around buying shares in the big banks at the height of the GFC and just before a major bank bailout package was announced by the then-Rudd government.
Dutton’s office has previously stressed he had no sensitive information about the bailout before it was made public. On 2GB, he again said:
I wasn’t privy – particularly from opposition – to insider information or anything other than what was publicly available.
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Dutton says Albanese ‘out of his depth’ in regards to Chinese ships
Peter Dutton claims Anthony Albanese has been “completely out of his depth” on the issue of the Chinese ships off Australia’s coastline, continuing to raise concerns about what the federal government and defence force knew about the live firing drills.
Speaking about Albanese in a radio interview on 2GB this morning, Dutton said:
I don’t know whether he makes things up, but he seems to get flustered in press conferences. You hear it – the umming and ahing, and at the end of it, you don’t know what he’s actually said.
Dutton went on to accuse Albanese of having “misled the Australian people”.
As reported through the week, there has been confusion over when the federal government knew about the firing drills. Albanese initially said the government had gotten notice of the drills happening but in Senate estimates yesterday it was confirmed that the defence force only found out from a Virgin commercial airline pilot flying in the area, then an hour later from New Zealand’s navy.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, earlier on ABC radio, backed the government’s actions and defended the time it took for Australia to learn about the issue, saying it was only a firing drill and not a live threat. But Dutton said the government should have been more across it:
I think the prime minister’s either confused, he’s mixed up in his details or he’s misled. Whatever it is, I think he needs to stand up and say, ‘look, I got it wrong. I misunderstood the briefing that I had.’
We don’t know whether there’s a nuclear submarine attached to this exercise or why the government wouldn’t be putting in place very definite measures to collect the intelligence and be ahead of the game here.
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Man and woman charged after alleged date rape drug seizure
A man will face court today after more than 6.5 tonnes of apparent Butanediol – a substance commonly linked to sexual assaults and overdoses – was seized.
NSW Police said officers conducting a firearms prohibition order compliance check in Croydon located a parcel, sent from a storage facility in Homebush, containing around 5L of a prohibited drug, believed to be bute. The parcel was seized for forensic exams.
Police executed a search warrant at a postal facility in Silverwater and allegedly seized 225kg of bute. On Tuesday, a search warrant was also executed at a Rhodes post office, where 23L of bute was seized.
Police also stopped a vehicle in Homebush, which was searched and officers allegedly located 110kg of bute, and seized it for forensic exams. The driver, a 27-year-old man, was arrested and taken to Burwood police station.
Officers executed two further search warrants. At a unit in Ashfield, police allegedly located approximately $28,000 in cash, and a 28-year-old woman was arrested. At a Homebush storage facility, officers allegedly located more than 6.3 tonnes of the same prohibited drug.
The man was charged with supplying a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, and was refused bail to appear before Burwood local court today. The woman was released without charge.
But after further investigations, she was arrested and taken to Burwood police station yesterday, charged with taking part in supplying a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, and refused bail to appear before Burwood local court today.
Queensland beach locked down after suspicious device washes ashore
An exclusion zone has been established at a Gold Coast beach after a suspicious device washed ashore early this morning.
Queensland police said officers are now on scene at Main Beach examining the device, which washed ashore about 5.45am.
An exclusion zone of 100m is in place, and police are asking the public to avoid the area.
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Coles profits from bare shelves at Woolworths
Coles has posted a strong lift in revenue from grocery sales after taking advantage of industrial action that left supermarket shelves bare at rival Woolworths.
Supermarket sales revenue at Australia’s second-biggest grocery chain lifted by 4.3% over the last six months of 2024, according to half-year results released today, to $20.6bn.
Coles attributed part of the sales growth to its decision to “rapidly increase supply of products” to stores in Victoria and New South Wales, where a strike at Woolworths’ distribution centres hampered sales late last year.
The strong grocery sales helped offset a rise in financing costs and struggling liquor business that triggered a modest 2.2% slip in Coles’ six-month net profit to $576m.
Its supermarket profit margins expanded slightly, in a sharp contrast to Woolworths, which disclosed yesterday that its six-month net profit had fallen by more than 20% to $739m amid contracting profitability.
The competition regulator is due to hand its report into the supermarket sector to the government by the end of the week, after earlier raising concerns that the “oligopolistic” market may limit incentives to compete vigorously.
Coles and its larger rival Woolworths control a combined two-thirds of the supermarket sector.
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Documents show why federal government banned DeepSeek from its devices
Documents obtained by Guardian Australia under freedom of information law reveal the federal government was concerned with the data collected by DeepSeek when it decided to ban the Chinese-owned app from government devices.
The federal government banned the app earlier this month and, in a briefing document from the home affairs department, it reveals that a key reason for the ban was the amount of data collected:
Like all digital systems, AI presents both opportunities and risks. DeepSeek retains significant amounts of data to train its Al model. This data is also subject to foreign control and influence risks.
The app has also been banned from work devices at government companies such as NBN, ABC and Australia Post. The Victorian government also banned DeepSeek from state government devices nearly two weeks ago.
Guardian Australia originally sought access to communications regarding DeepSeek in the week between the arrival of the app and its subsequent ban from government devices, but the department estimated there were more than 4,000 internal communications about DeepSeek in the short period of time.
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‘It was very 1970s’: Bowen on Sheargold’s Matildas comments
Circling back to Chris Bowen on the Today Show: He was also asked about Triple M’s decision to part ways with host Marty Sheargold after his Matildas comments, and said:
Marty Sheargold can be very funny – I mean, he’s made me laugh over the years a lot – but this wasn’t one of his funny moments. This was just way out of line and it was very 1970s. You know, it’s not the 1970s anymore.
Women’s sport is real. It’s fantastic to watch. We’ve all lived through the Matildas women’s AFL … It’s sad to see, but he’s made a big mistake here. And he’s paying the consequences, as he should.
Qantas posts $1.39bn profit
Qantas has posted a bumper $1.39bn half-year pre-tax profit, thanks to improved profitability and a 10% uptick in customers.
Qantas has also announced it would reward shareholders with $250m in base dividends and $150m in special dividends, as chief executive Vanessa Hudson praised improved financial strength.
An 18% increase in cash inflows from Qantas’ loyalty program has also helped the airline group boost its financial position, which Hudson said had allowed the company to reward investors with a dividend payment for the first time in six years.
The $1.39bn half-year underlying profit before tax is a 6% increase from the same half-year result last year, as the airline continues its period of profitability in the post-Covid restriction era.
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Bowen discusses private health premium increase
The energy and climate minister, Chris Bowen, was also on breakfast TV this morning to discuss private health cover.
As we flagged earlier, the federal government has signed off on an average industry premium increase of 3.73%. Bowen told the Today show that the health minister, Mark Butler, had “worked very hard at getting this down as low as possible.”
It’s much lower than the private health insurers asked for … [Butler] worked it through, got the increase as low as possible, because we believe that cost of living and health is a key issue for the Australian people.
Asked about the potential for more people to show up at emergency departments, Bowen pointed to the Medicare urgent care clinics.
More than 80 rolled out across Australia … If you know there’s an urgent care clinic, you know it’s not an emergency, but it is urgent, you’ve got a whole different option. They’re available. None of these existed three years ago, all created by our government.
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Littleproud weighs in on radio comments made about Matildas
David Littleproud also said that Triple M had done the right thing by parting ways with host Marty Sheargold after his comments he made about the Matildas.
Littleproud noted the “outpouring of disgust by men and women across this country” and said while he agrees with free speech “that comes [with] responsibility and this gentleman hasn’t shown any responsibility whatsoever”.
I think we should look as a society and see that there has been uniform disdain for what has been said, and it shows that our society still works and that there are standards that we expect of people and particularly those that have platforms to be able to express them, to do it responsibly.
And I think it’s great to see the whole country has basically said, ‘Mate you’re out of touch, get out of the way’. Triple M has done the right thing and got rid of him.
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Littleproud says Coalition will detail policy platform ‘well before polling day’
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, was up on ABC News Breakfast earlier, and was asked when the Coalition would start rolling out a detailed policy platform.
He said the Coalition had already detailed its nuclear policy but flagged further announcements in the first three weeks of the campaign:
In the first three weeks of the campaign, you’ll see most of our policies out … We have pre-polling for two weeks, so we want the Australian people to see very clearly what our policies are and we’ll continue to see those over the coming couple of weeks as we lead up – we don’t know when the prime minister is going to call this, but you’ll see them well before polling day.
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More details on the Qatar acquisition of 25% stake in Virgin Australia
Continuing from our last post: Jane Hrdlicka said Qatar Airways group – which also has a stake in British Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia – taking a stake in the airline “will provide Virgin Australia with access to the scale and expertise of a world-leading global airline, strengthening its ability to compete domestically and internationally and driving increased competition in Australian aviation”.
Beyond the 25% ownership stake, the alliance will see the two carriers operate an additional 28 weekly flights from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to Doha, to begin from June.
The agreement will see Virgin Australia, which has not owned any planes capable of long-haul flights since its pandemic-induced restructure, enter into a “wet lease” agreement with Qatar Airways, in which it leases not just the Middle-Eastern carrier’s aircraft but also its crew.
In effect, the authorisation via an Australian airline allows Qatar Airways to bypass the requirement for its government to secure increased bilateral air rights with Australia, more than a year after the Albanese government infamously shot down the carrier’s push for an additional 28 weekly flights in a decision that fuelled speculation about Qantas’ influence in Canberra.
Virgin CEO heralds ‘new era’ for airline after approval of Qatar acquisition
Virgin Australia’s chief executive has heralded a “new era” for the airline in which Australian aviation will be a more competitive industry, after news the federal government had approved Qatar Airways taking a 25% stake in the carrier.
As we flagged earlier, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said he had approved the proposal after advice from the Foreign Investment Review Board that the move was consistent with the national interest, nine days after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced it was authorising the wet lease agreement between Virgin and Qatar Airways that forms part of the broader alliance.
The deal will only officially get over the line once final approval is given – expected in March or April – and the International Air Services Commission must still make a decision to grant Virgin the air right, but the indications from the commonwealth and competition watchdog so far have buoyed Virgin Australia’s CEO, Jayne Hrdlicka, who said “today is an incredibly proud day for everyone” at the airline.
Today we welcome a new era for Virgin Australia. Qatar Airways’ investment is a huge vote of confidence in our business and Australian aviation more broadly. It sets us up for long-term success and adds fuel to our bold transformation agenda.
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Marles unable to definitively say whether Chinese flotilla has submarine with it
Richard Marles said the Chinese flotilla was currently just over 500km west of Hobart, on the edge of the Australia’s exclusive economic zone.
Asked whether it has a submarine with it, the deputy PM could not definitively say:
We can’t answer that question definitively, which is precisely why it’s important that Australia has a long-range submarine capability. But we are observing closely the task group, and we will continue to do so for as long as this task group is in Australian waters.
Marles said it is “much more common for Australian vessels to be in the vicinity of China than for Chinese vessels to be in the vicinity of Australia”.
We rely heavily on our rights under international law to do the important work that we engage in in that part of the world, and what is therefore really important is that we keep referencing the bedrock of international law when we’re dealing with a task group here.
Now what is within our power under international law is to engage in the surveillance of this task group, and what we are doing is an unprecedented level of surveillance in relation to this particular Chinese mission.
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Marles takes questions on when Defence notified about Chinese firing exercises
Richard Marles was asked if it had been a real incident unfolding, would it be too slow if it’s taking an hour-and-a-half for the ADF to be notified by one of its closest allies?
The defence minister said it “wasn’t a real incident” and, based on the advice he has, the Chinese vessels are complying with international law.
I think we really do need to bear that in mind here in terms of all the commentary that is being undertaken.
The host asked if Australia was under threat down the track, and it took New Zealand an hour-and-a-half to let Australia know what it had seen, would that be OK? Marles said she was “conflating two different circumstances”.
No one is suggesting that that is what is occurring here. And so to equate what is going on with the observation of a Chinese exercise with a real threat is not fair in terms of what is going on right now versus the kind of response that we would have if there was a real, live threat.
He repeated his earlier point that the main priority is that “people on station are in a position to act promptly and effectively, and that occurred in this instance as well”.
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Richard Marles questioned on who knew what, and when, regarding Chinese navy ships
In the five days since Chinese navy ships held live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, an unclear picture has emerged of who knew what – and when.
The deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, has been on ABC RN this morning to discuss this very question. He pointed to the timeline outlined at Senate estimates – which you can read here – and said “we’ve made really clear that that notice was inadequate”.
It notified a window which, according to the evidence in Senate estimates, would appear to have begun before the notice was given. But it’s also unclear whether or not live-firing took place.
But in any event, I think the point is this, whilst what China has done in terms of the advice that’s been given to me is in accordance with international law … At the end of the day we would, in a live-firing event, [give] 12, 24, sometimes 48 hours’ notice.
Asked if there are issues to be resolved around how long it took the ADF to find out through official channels, had the Virgin pilot not passed on the information, Marles rejected this:
I don’t think so … What matters is that the personnel who were on station at the time … were aware at the time … I think trying to make something of when that information ultimately makes its way to Canberra is not the pertinent point here.
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Dutton says he has always acted with ‘honour and integrity’ as historical bank shares raised
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, spoke with Sunrise earlier this morning where he was again asked about his investment in bank shares during the global financial crisis.
He told the program that he has “always conducted myself with honour and I don’t think anyone has ever disputed that”.
I saw values in bank shares that were depressed at the time, not because of balance-sheet problems … or because of profitability. It was an opportunity I saw to invest and, if there was anything to hide, I would not have declared. I provided that information. I have never acted … in a way that is anything other than honourable and with integrity.
Dutton was asked whether he would release the minutes of the shadow cabinet meeting from the time, to prove Labor’s bank bailout wasn’t brought up ahead of time.
The opposition leader said those minutes are “pretty sacrosanct” and it was “probably a decision for others”. He turned the focus back on the Labor government, and said:
There would have been discussions at the time on other topics so I just think let’s call it for what it is. The government is having a shocker. The prime minister is on his knees. The government is collapsing. They are throwing dirt from 15, 16 years ago. Why not raise these issues before now?
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Qatar Airways' acquisition of 25% stake in Virgin Australia approved
Qatar Airways’ acquisition of a 25% stake in Virgin Australia has been approved by the federal government, AAP reports, subject to conditions.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has announced the approval, saying the proposal would deliver more flights for Australians, create Australian jobs and strengthen competition in the aviation sector.
My decision aligns with the advice of the Foreign Investment Review Board that this proposal is consistent with the national interest.
The government approval followed cross-government consultation by Treasury, engaging the aviation industry, unions and other relevant stakeholders.
It follows the draft determination by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to allow the airlines to engage in co-operative conduct under an integrated alliance for five years, leading to 28 new weekly return services between Doha and Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
Chalmers said he had approved the proposal subject to legally enforceable conditions to ensure Australian representation on Virgin’s board and protection of its customer data.
The CEOs of Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways have written to me with assurances that this investment will create employment benefits and job growth opportunities for Australians.
The proposal is expected to provide a long-term pathway for Virgin Australia to operate its own long-haul flights.
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More data from latest First Home Buyer report
Continuing from our last post: Domain’s chief of research and economics, Dr Nicola Powell, said the report highlights “the big challenges first-home buyers face in Australia”.
In the past five years, entry house prices have increased 58%, while unit prices have risen by 27%. Meanwhile, inflation surged 20%, and wages only grew by 15%. This shows the growing gap between earnings and property costs, making it harder for first home buyers to get into the market.
She said there was some good news, pointing to Sydney, where “it’s now 15 months faster to save for an entry-level unit compared to five years ago” despite being the toughest city overall.
This is thanks to higher wages, better interest rates on savings, and more stable unit prices. On the flip side, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth have seen longer saving times for both units and houses because prices have risen faster than wages and saving rates.
Darwin was still the top city for first home buyers, she said, having the quickest path to home ownership with “just three years and five months needed for an entry-level house and two years and one month for a unit – half the time it takes in Sydney”.
These differences highlight the huge gap in affordability across cities, making it clear that coordinated government action is needed to tackle Australia’s housing shortage.
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It takes 20 months less to save for entry-level unit than a house, report shows
Domain’s latest First Home Buyer Report has revealed that buying a unit saves almost two years compared with buying a house, making it one of the fastest ways for first-time buyers to own a home.
While mortgage serviceability and savings time have improved since last year, high home prices and rising debt costs are still major barriers to entering the property market.
Here are they key findings from the report:
Across the combined capitals, it takes about 20 months less to save for an entry-priced unit than a house. This difference is even greater in Sydney and Canberra, at two years and five months and two years and four months faster, respectively.
Saving for a 20% deposit as a first home buyer in Australia varies greatly. A house in Sydney takes the longest path to home ownership, while a unit in Darwin offers the quickest.
Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth were the only cities where the time to save for an entry-priced house or unit deposit increased, as double-digit price growth outpaced wage growth and higher saving rates.
Melbourne is the only capital city where the time to save for both an entry-priced house and unit deposit has decreased over the past 5 years. As a result, Victoria now leads the nation in first-homeowner participation.
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Sportsbet drops controversial multi-bet ads during live AFL and NRL broadcasts
Gambling giant Sportsbet will no longer advertise live betting odds and multi-bet options during sport broadcasts, acknowledging strong community criticism.
The decision has been made despite the federal government’s decision to defer any action on gambling ads until after the election.
A bipartisan parliamentary inquiry called for gambling ads to be banned 20 months ago, due to community harm and the close association of sport and wagering.
For several years, Sportsbet has suggested same-game multis during televised coverage, in segments hosted by the former athletes including Richmond’s Nathan Brown.
These bets allow gambling on a combination of outcomes such as possessions and goal scorers, and all must succeed before money is paid out. The promotions have been criticised as one example of a bombardment of gambling advertisements now associated with the sport. The AFL gets a cut of money gambled on these options.
Sportsbet has confirmed it will no longer air the controversial ads:
Sportsbet can confirm that after listening to stakeholder and community sentiment on gambling advertising, we have taken the decision to remove integrations and ‘odds style’ ads in live sporting broadcasts.
The company will continue to broadcast other ads without live odds.
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Good morning
Emily Wind here, signing on for blogging duties – thanks to Martin for kicking things off for us. I’ll be taking you through our rolling updates for most of today.
As always, you can reach out with any tips, feedback or questions via email: emily.wind@theguardian.com. Let’s go.
Australia on charm offensive to counter Pacific threats
Australia is seeking to shore up its national security through soft power diplomacy as the United States threatens a Pacific retreat, AAP reports, leaving a vacuum China could exploit.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has tasked her department to review all projects in the Pacific and south-east Asia funded by US foreign aid that has been frozen by the US president, Donald Trump, and remains at threat of being cut entirely.
It would give Australia eyes on what gaps could emerge from any US funding drain and help plan for challenges that would arise from projects collapsing.
On top of the humanitarian benefits, the foreign affairs minister has pointed to development aid and assistance being good for Australia’s national security by ensuring the region was stable and bolstering diplomatic ties.
It helped tackled regional challenges including poverty, healthcare, climate change and food security, Wong said in a 2025 foreign policy snapshot released today.
Australian development assistance, diplomatic efforts and multilateral engagement contributed to peace building and conflict prevention, the document states.
Navigating a protectionist Trump administration, Wong echoed her public comments about the president’s America first agenda shaking up the superpower’s role in the world but expressed confidence at navigating challenges.
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Woman dies after shooting in Toowoomba
A woman has died and multiple streets were locked down after a shooting in Toowoomba yesterday.
Queensland police were called to a home in North Toowoomba after receiving reports of the shooting at about 2pm.
A woman in her 20s was taken to Toowoomba Hospital with life-threatening injuries from reported gunshot wounds, a Queensland Ambulance Service spokesperson said.
The Queensland police Darling Downs district acting detective inspector, Brian Collins, said the woman was found on the footpath with serious injuries and she died in hospital.
He said no one else had been injured and “three associates” of the victim were assisting police with their inquiries.
Shadow home affairs minister on Chinese warship naval drills
James Paterson also had his say last night about the naval drills carried out by China off the coast of Australia last week, describing the exercises as “provocative and designed to send a message to Australia”.
The appearance of the warships off the south coast of New South Wales caused a furore and appeared to catch the military by surprise. Peter Dutton accused Anthony Albanese of “ducking and diving” yesterday about what he knew about the incident. Chinese ships were then seen off Tasmania inside Australia’s exclusive economic zone.
Speaking on 7.30, Paterson said the drills were “designed to send a message about the reach and the power and the capability of the Chinese defence forces”, and that the exercises in international waters was sending “a message they want us to hear”.
His comments echoed those by Coalition MP Andrew Hastie who said yesterday that he believed China was “testing US allies as Donald Trump resets relationships in Europe”. However, Paterson dismissed the suggestion that China was only doing what Australian warships do when they sail in the South China Sea.
When we do operations like this, it’s entirely consistent with international law and best practice. The same cannot be said for China. They did not give us notice at all, not even adequate notice. They did it under a flight path, that required 49 aircraft to divert themselves for the safety of the passengers on board. And they did so in a way that was extremely reckless and provocative.
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Labor and Coalition trade blows over Dutton’s bank share investments during GFC
Labor and Coalition proxies have traded blows after the revelations about Peter Dutton’s investment in bank shares during the global financial crisis.
The opposition leader defended his “astute” purchases yesterday but Labor MP Andrew Charlton, who was an economic adviser to Kevin Rudd at the time, said on 7.30 last night that while everyone in government, the opposition and public servants were “working every single day, tirelessly, to save Australia and save Australians”, Dutton was “focused on his own financial interest”.
However, James Paterson defended his leader and said that Labor had resorted to a “grubby attack” because “they have very little to talk about” regarding their own achievements”.
Dutton had been transparent, he said, and had not been privy to any market sensitive information.
It reflects on the Labor party they’re spending taxpayers’ money in a dirt unit digging up 16-year-old share trades in order to dish it out on Peter Dutton in the lead-up to an election, rather than focusing on the problems that Australians are concerned about in their own lives, including the very pressing problems with the cost of living but also community safety and national security.
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More from last night’s Senate estimates
Continuing from our last post: Wait times for home-care packages have grown to an average of six months, with medium-priority applications blowing out to 11 months, the Department of Health and Aged Care revealed last night in Senate estimates.
The first assistant secretary, Thea Connolly, said:
The important thing to note is that if a person is assigned a high-priority package, they receive their package within one month, but what that means is that they go to the front of the queue, and that causes medium-priority people on the waitlist to have to wait longer … It is unexpected in terms of the level of demand that we’re seeing. It’s unprecedented.
The home care packages program was designed many years ago to be a size I think of around, initially launched with less than 100,000 packages. We’re now up over 300,000 packages and the program is struggling to keep pace. It wasn’t designed in this environment. That’s why support at home is really so critical.
The government has said the Support at Home program will replace home care packages and the Short-Term Restorative Care program from 1 July 2025.
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More than half of aged-care sector not meeting care requirements, Senate estimates hear
In Senate estimates last night, the assistant secretary of residential care funding reform, Mark Richardson, said more than half of aged care providers across the country are not meeting the new care minutes.
In response to the royal commission on aged care, the government mandated that from 1 October 2024 providers must deliver 215 care minutes per person each day. This includes 44 minutes of registered nurse care.
Answering a question on whether over-reporting of care minutes was of concern, Richardson said:
While 55% [of providers] are reporting that they’re not delivering their care minute targets, I would argue that there isn’t systemic over-reporting.
While we are re-capping last night’s Senate estimates, aged care quality and safety commissioner Liz Hefren-Webb said they are getting about 10,000 complaints a year. When talking about the staffing levels for the commission, she said:
We get around 10,000 complaints a year and we aim to resolve those complaints within 60 days. So having sufficient staffing is critical in meeting that deadline. It also enables us to undertake a sufficient number of audits, of residential aged care facilities and also of home-based services.
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Millions face rise in health insurance premiums
Millions of Australians will soon be paying more for private health cover after the approval of premium increases for insurers who say the rise is as low as they can go, AAP reports.
The federal government has signed off on an average industry premium increase of 3.73%, the health minister, Mark Butler, announced yesterday. It is an increase on previous years but less than the 6% jump some insurers had hoped for.
Already some have announced their increases will be higher, with insurer NIB announcing an average rise of 5.79%.
The insurer’s chief executive, Ed Close, said premiums were driven up by hospital costs including wages and supplies increasing, as well as the renewal of contracts with private hospitals. HBF announced a 2.8% average premium increase.
The Private Healthcare Australia CEO, Rachel David, said the rises were “as low as the health funds can go without seriously squeezing private hospitals and other providers”. The changes take effect in April.
The opposition health spokesperson, Anne Ruston, said the incoming increase was the highest in seven years and policyholders had been left with little time to shop around before their premiums go up.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with some of the main breaking stories this morning before Emily Wind steps in.
Millions of Australians will soon be paying more for private health cover after the approval of premium increases for insurers. The federal government has signed off on an average industry premium increase of 3.73%, the health minister, Mark Butler, announced yesterday, although the insurer NIB said its average rise would be 5.79%. The opposition health spokesperson, Anne Ruston, said the incoming increase was the highest in seven years. More coming up.
Penny Wong has launched a charm offensive in the Pacific in an effort to shore up Australia’s soft power amid the threat that the US could begin to pull back from the region. In a 2025 foreign policy snapshot released today, the foreign affairs minister outlines a plan to task her staff with reviewing all projects in the Pacific and south-east Asia funded by US foreign aid that has been frozen by Donald Trump and remains at threat of being cut entirely. More coming up.
On similar ground, Liberal senator James Paterson has described China’s naval drills off the coast of Australia as “provocative and designed to send a message to Australia”. He also told ABC’s 7.30 last night that the exercises had been “reckless”. It came after Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton clashed over the drills, which appeared to catch the authorities by surprise. More on this coming up as we try to get to the bottom of who knew what and when.
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