What we learned: Monday, 17 February
With that, we will wrap the blog for the day. We’ll be back first thing tomorrow, with all eyes on interest rates.
For now, here were today’s major developments:
The latest Newspoll published in The Australian newspaper shows the Coalition has a 51-49 lead over Labor in the two-party preferred stakes.
Embattled casino operator Star Entertainment Group has been offered a five-year financial lifeline worth $650m after a series of bruising battles with regulators over scandals at its venues.
Victoria is set to recruit a new police boss after the embattled chief resigned days after a majority of his workforce declared no confidence in his leadership. Shane Patton has advised he would step away from the role “effective immediately”.
More people are falling behind on their personal loan repayments, while mortgage arrears have steadied, according to Westpac’s quarterly update released today.
Chaos is continuing throughout the Sydney train network amid the rail unions’ ongoing standoff with the New South Wales government.
And the name of Australia’s next tropical cyclone has been preemptively changed from “Anthony” to “Alfred”, because the name is also held by the prime minister.
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Continued from previous post.
It has been alleged pegs not compliant with national standards were used at only four of the castle’s eight anchor points despite the manufacturer’s instructions recommending eight.
The castle’s Chinese manufacturer, East Inflatables, didn’t provide instructions to Gamble upon purchase and only supplied four pegs, Dockray told the court.
She instead downloaded a two-page manual from the company’s website, he said, which resulted in an interpretation that four pegs were sufficient.
Dockray said Gamble had been “failed” by a safety system predicated on the manufacturer providing instructions.
She was left out, hung and dry, from the moment that jumping castle arrived.
East Inflatables lied to Gamble about the castle complying with Australian standards and provided false documents to workplace regulators, Dockray alleged.
Jumping castle operator ‘hung out to dry’, court told
The operator of a jumping castle that became airborne and killed six children was hung out to dry by the inflatable device’s “bunch-of-crooks” manufacturer, a court has been told.
Students Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt died after the incident in Tasmania in December 2021.
Three other children were seriously injured when a wind gust lifted the castle and inflatable balls into the air during end-of-year celebrations on the oval of Hillcrest Primary School.
Rosemary Gamble, the operator of Taz-Zorb which supplied and set up the equipment, has pleaded not guilty to failing to comply with a health and safety duty.
In closing submissions in Devonport magistrates court on Monday, Gamble’s lawyer Chris Dockray said his client had previously used the castle more than 100 times without incident.
Continued in next post.
Updated
Protected coin worth at least $525,000 returned to Poland
In coin-related-diplomacy news, the Australian federal police has helped return a stolen 1813 Holey Dollar to Poland that was last sold at auction for $525,000.
The AFP says it’s the first time Australian law enforcement has arranged the return of a cultural object to the European nation.
The coin, which was stolen from a museum collection in Toruń, Poland, between 2011 and 2018, had been tracked globally by Polish authorities after it was reported missing.
They identified it as being exported into Germany sometime between 2011 and 2018, where it was offered for sale in two auctions. From there, the coin made its way to Melbourne, where it was sold at auction to a collector in Perth for $525,000.
In August last year, the AFP seized the coin in Perth after the owner was identified through its most recent seller, and it was surrendered willingly. It is not expected any Australian-based individuals will face criminal charges, as all transactions were made in good faith.
The coin is a protected object of the Republic of Poland, significant for “historical, cultural, and monetary reasons”.
The coin was struck from a Spanish Silver Dollar minted at the Mexico Mint in 1777 during the reign of King Charles III of Spain.
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Minister chides Coalition for ‘measuring the curtains’
Watt was also asked about a story being reported in Nine media outlets that former Nationals leader, Barnaby Joyce, will be denied a ministry if the Coalition wins this year’s federal election.
There’s reporting in that story that I have not yet independently verified, that he was speaking to One Nation … are you surprised by that development?
Watt said he saw that report breaking, which has not been independently verified by Guardian Australia, either, before he came on air.
I guess none of us should be surprised about the latest edition of the Barnaby Joyce soap opera. It’s been going the entire time he’s been there. The most important story is that David Littleproud is out there saying who will be in the ministry and who will be in the cabinet when they win the election.
These guys are so cocky, they think they have this in the bag … to think they have won the election, without releasing any policies at all, and they can start dishing out portfolios and measuring the curtains.
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Industrial relations and employment minister, Murray Watt, appeared on ABC Afternoon Briefing earlier ahead of an interest rate decision on Tuesday.
Asked if he expected a cut would be on the cards, Watt said the government approach regardless of the outcome would be the same.
We’ll be relentlessly focusing on bringing down cost-of-living pressures for Australians.
I know most households around Australia will be paying close attention tomorrow. I suspect that broadcast when the Reserve Bank makes the decision will out-rate anything in Australia this year, whether it’s grand finals or anything else. But I guess what I’m saying is just as today, yesterday, last year, our focus has been assisting Australians with their cost-of-living pressures, that will be remain the case tomorrow, the day after that, and for the remainder of this term.
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PNG workers scheme gets under way to fill much-needed roles
Childcare workers from Papua New Guinea are helping to fill demand in the Northern Territory under a pilot scheme beginning this week, AAP reports.
PNG educators, who have earned accreditation to work in Australia’s early childhood sector, are headed to Alice Springs and Katherine to take up much-needed roles.
The program is part of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (Palm) scheme, which sees workers from the Pacific and Timor Leste find jobs with Australian employers that are desperate for workers.
While the Palm scheme has been typically involved with the agriculture and meat processing industries, in recent years it has branched out into aged care, hospitality and tourism, and now early childhood.
The Pacific minister, Pat Conroy, said he was excited for the new cohort to begin.
Palm scheme workers enrich the culture and society of communities across rural and regional Australia.
The pilot begins with 14 childcare workers taking up their roles across two childcare businesses.
The Palm scheme oversees 27,260 workers currently engaged in work in every Australian state and territory.
While some workers in the Palm scheme have suffered mistreatment, most derive great financial reward from their participation.
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School curriculum ‘infused with ideology’ Coalition says
The Coalition has come out against the Australian curriculum, accusing it of being so “infused with ideology” it is “impossible to teach” because of priorities to integrate First Nations knowledge and history into courses.
Shadow minister for education, Sarah Henderson, said her party’s analysis found nearly 2,500 ways for teachers to weave into lessons the three mandatory cross-curriculum priorities: sustainability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures and Australia’s engagement with Asia.
While learning Indigenous history and culture is vital to every child’s education, the requirement to embed cross-curriculum priorities in every subject flies in the face of world-leading curricula which is focused on the core knowledge students need to excel at school.
The Coalition is determined to get back to basics by focusing on explicit instruction and other evidence-based teaching methods which prioritise reading, writing, maths and science.
Since 2010, the curriculum has included an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority across all learning areas.
Reconciliation Australia has found including Indigenous content in classroom teaching contributes to the closing of the gap and allows students to “develop respect for diversity and understanding of cultural difference”.
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Some NSW teachers and staff decry ‘McCarthyist backlash’ against Palestinian rights
Teachers and School Staff for Palestine will hold a rally tomorrow afternoon outside the NSW education department, critiquing what they describe as anti-Palestinian discrimination in the state’s schools.
It follows a Palestinian-Australian teacher being banned from wearing the keffiyeh at work. Students from the teacher’s school have penned an open letter with more than 350 signatures, rejecting that the keffiyeh created concern within the student body.
Spokesperson for the body, Chris Breen, said a “McCarthyist backlash” was taking place against Palestinian human rights.
Public expression of Palestinian identity is being suppressed as part of this backlash.
The Minns Labor government ultimately sets the policy that lies behind the attempts to silence voices for Palestine, and expressions of Palestinian identity in NSW schools. Palestinians, supporters of Palestinian human rights, and anti-racists will not be silenced.
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Majority want government to grant asylum seekers work and study rights, survey finds
Political leaders are being urged to embrace refugee policies “grounded in humanity, not cruelty” as new research has found a majority of Australians polled believe the federal government has a responsibility to accept people seeking asylum.
The polling, commissioned by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and conducted by Redbridge, shows more than half of those polled support granting asylum seekers work and study rights while they await the outcome of their protection visa applications.
Read the story here:
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Many thanks for joining me on the blog this Monday, Caitlin Cassidy will be here to take you through the rest of our rolling coverage. Take care!
Name of next cyclone changed from Anthony to Alfred
The name of Australia’s next tropical cyclone has been preemptively changed from “Anthony” to “Alfred”, because the name is also held by the prime minister.
The Bureau of Meteorology is responsible for naming tropical cyclones in the country, as a way of raising public awareness and ensuring there is no confusion when there are multiple cyclones at the same time.
It began naming cyclones in 1964, using a list of approved names in alphabetical order. It alternates between male and and female names, with the list divided into five sections.
A Bureau spokesperson said the next names on its list are Alfred and Bianca – but that Alfred was originally meant to be Anthony.
When a name matches a prominent person of the time, we reorder to the next name starting with that same letter to avoid any confusion. As the name Anthony represents a current prominent person in Australia, we have moved to the next name on the list which is Alfred.
The change occurred earlier this month, the spokesperson said.
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Falling Star offered $650m lifeline for ailing casinos
Embattled casino operator Star Entertainment Group has been offered a five-year financial lifeline worth $650m, AAP reports, after a series of bruising battles with regulators over scandals at its venues.
The proposal would require approval from the NSW and Queensland governments, and would still leave the company short of funds before the deal kicked in.
The board is considering the proposal from Oaktree Capital Management, a US firm majority owned by Canadian giant Brookfield Asset Management, to provide up to $650m in funding across five years, The Star announced today.
In an announcement to the Australian stock market, the company said:
There is no certainty that the proposal will be progressed, that the conditions to the proposal will be satisfied, or that the proposal will be implemented.
If The Star proceeds with the proposal, the company will require additional funding for the period prior to the proposal being implemented. There remains material uncertainty as to the group’s ability to continue as a going concern.
The company has been battling a cash crunch that threatens to push it into insolvency as its revenues continue to slide. It ended the year with just $78m in cash available, losing more than $8m in the final quarter of 2024.
Updated
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Zelia lingering over inland WA
The Bureau of Meteorology says that ex-Tropical Cyclone Zelia is continuing to linger over the interior of Western Australia.
The system is bringing showers and possible thunderstorms to eastern parts of the state today.
Ex-Tropical #CycloneZelia continues to linger over the interior of #WA, bringing showers and possible thunderstorms across eastern parts of the state today.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) February 17, 2025
Latest forecasts: https://t.co/4W35o8i7wJ or the BOM Weather app. pic.twitter.com/JrPFWMFkFc
Banking, goldminers dragging Aussie shares lower
The local share market has fallen, AAP reports, retreating from record levels amid losses by the banks amid disappointing earnings from Westpac and Bendigo and Adelaide.
Goldminers were also struggling amid a pullback in the price of the yellow metal, while insurance companies were dropping after opposition leader Peter Dutton accused them of price gouging and threatened to break them up if the Coalition wins power.
At noon, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 51.1 points, or 0.6%, to 8,504.7, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 44.9 points, or 0.51%, to 8,776.7.
The ASX’s financial sector was down 1.9% at midday, with Westpac dropping 5.4% to a four-week low of $32.84 and Bendigo and Adelaide plunging 16.7% to a nine-month low of $11.18 following their financial updates.
The other big banks were down as well, with NAB dropping 1.8%, ANZ falling 1.6% and CBA dipping 1.7%.
Elsewhere in the sector, Suncorp Group had dropped 6.4% and IAG had retreated 3.4% after Dutton floated the idea over the weekend of extending the Coalition’s plan to carve up supermarkets into the insurance industry to stop consumers from getting “ripped off”.
The Australian dollar was at a fresh two-month high against its US counterpart, buying 63.60 US cents, from 63.23 US cents at 5pm on Friday.
Jewish business targeted with antisemitic graffiti in Melbourne
A Jewish business has been targeted with antisemitic graffiti in Victoria’s Malvern East.
Police believe the roller door of the business on Dandenong Road was offensively graffitied sometime during 15 and 16 February. An investigation remains ongoing.
Police said in a statement:
Investigators are keen to speak to anyone who has CCTV or dashcam footage that may assist the investigation. There is absolutely no place at all in our society for antisemitic or hate-based symbols and behaviour.
The Australian reported an image of the graffiti, showing swastikas and the phrase “gas the Jews”.
Updated
Supermarket shelves bare amid widespread Western Australia flooding
Supermarket shelves are bare in tropical cyclone-affected northern Australia, AAP reports, with flooding cutting off freight routes.
Residents in Broome are some of the hardest hit by road closures in Western Australia’s northwest in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Zelia.
Roads have been cut across the region including the Great Northern highway which connects the northwest with WA’s south, ensuring no fresh supplies for many including in Broome.
Broome Shire president Chris Mitchell said contingencies were in place to have trucks arrive via South Australia and the Northern Territory.
I believe the shelves are fairly bare. I am not sure how long the highway [to the south] will be closed but we can get stuff in from the Territory and South Australia.
Road closures are a concern for East Pilbara shire which is larger than Victoria and Tasmania combined, featuring more than 3000km of unsealed roads.
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NSW premier blasts rail union
Chris Minns has taken aim at the Rail, Tram and Bus Union as disruption continues across the Sydney Trains network. As AAP reports, the NSW premier said:
They think everybody in Sydney is stupid or that they’re getting away with it, when everyone’s on to them. We are on the side of commuters here.
The ongoing uncertainty around the train network is set to continue ahead of another Fair Work Commission hearing and opposition calls for the federal government to get involved. Minns said:
We are hopeful that the commission steps in at this point and ends this circus, but we’ll have a plan B and a plan C.
Disagreement over a previously undiscussed $4500 incentive payment, included in the previous agreement, caused negotiations to break down. Minns continued:
The government cannot give in to the union’s blackmail ... it would only embolden them. I could solve this dispute this afternoon by handing over a blank cheque to the union and agreeing to their latest outrageous claims, but it wouldn’t solve it permanently.
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Dutton calls out government for not releasing 2035 targets
Responding to the latest polls, Peter Dutton said “there’s a lot of fluctuation in them”. He took aim at Labor over energy policy, calling out the government for not releasing details of its 2035 targets:
The government’s got a 2035 target that they have modelled and they’re refusing to release it. If it’s good for consumers and good for our country, why not release the detail? I tell you why they don’t want to, because in it will be the assumptions around how much more electricity will go up if Mr Albanese is re-elected.
On the Coalition’s decision to scrap rebates, the opposition leader outlined the decision:
Say you give a family $300 but their electricity bill has gone up by $1,000, people are happy to take the money – but it means their interest rate is staying higher on their mortgage for longer. That’s what the Reserve Bank has warned about.
You can put out little amounts of money that people happily take and they’d be happy to take more because the costs of everything has gone up under Mr Albanese, but they all say no – Australians aren’t stupid. They know their power bills [have] gone up by $1,000.
Dutton puts insurance industry ‘on notice’ after flagging divestment powers
Speaking about insurance, after he yesterday flagged breaking up companies in the industry, Peter Dutton said:
I just put the insurance sector on notice right now – that when we win the election, I expect them to bring down insurance premiums significantly by the time we form a government. And if they don’t, then I will deal with the industry afterwards because we can’t have people who can’t afford to insure against public liability.
David Littleproud spoke about this earlier on ABC RN, saying Dutton’s announcement wasn’t a policy, after being asked if it had passed the joint party room.
Speaking just now, Dutton said “we had the policies in relation to a number of issues [and] I’m not going into internal processes”.
If we have a situation where people have been priced out of insurance or deemed an uninsurable risk when they shouldn’t be, that is a failure of the market and we’ll respond accordingly to that. We have done it in relation to supermarkets and we’ll speak with the insurance companies.
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Dutton says RBA cutting interest rates would be 'fantastic' but not an endorsement of Labor policy
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has been speaking with reporters in Brisbane.
Asked about tomorrow’s RBA interest rate decision, Dutton said he is hoping for a “25 point cut, or if it’s more than that, that’s fantastic.”
If there is a rate cut, would this be an endorsement of Labor’s policies? Dutton rejected this and said no, it wouldn’t:
The short answer is no. But interest rates have gone up 12 times under the prime minister’s watch.
He accused Albanese of being “distracted right from the very start” of his term:
He spent the first 16, 18 months of his term in parliament on the [Indigenous] voice [to parliament]. And it meant that he wasn’t concentrating on how to deal with inflation, how to deal with the decisions that needed to be made in the first couple of budgets. Instead, he was distracted by the voice and other issues and it’s just meant that interest rates have been higher for longer.
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Chalmers dismisses suggestion he would be next Labor leader if party loses election
Taking a final question, Jim Chalmers was asked if he would become the next Labor leader if Labor loses the federal election?
But the treasurer shot this down, saying “I’m not even thinking about that.”
100% of my time is spent putting together the budget, putting together our economic policies with our colleagues, working around the clock not just to see the return of the Albanese Labor government, but also to make sure that we can continue to make progress in the economy.
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Chalmers on RBA decisions, March budget
Just jumping back to Jim Chalmers interview on Channel 7, he was asked whether speculation he has been privately telling MPs not to speculate on what the RBA may do is true?
The treasurer said he says “the same thing to my colleagues behind closed doors that I say publicly”.
I don’t predict or pre-empt those discussions that are underway right now. I say that to my colleagues as well. They will announce their decision in due course.
On the budget scheduled for March, and whether the government can commit to that at this stage, Chalmers said “that’s what we’re working towards.”
The final decision on the timing of the election will be up to the prime minister, as is always the case. But Katy Gallagher and I are working very hard with the expenditure review committee to put together that budget for March.
Chalmers says no major party has policy on breaking up insurers
The treasurer was also asked whether the government would consider divestment powers for the insurance industry to bring down premiums – as floated by Peter Dutton yesterday.
Nationals leader David Littleproud was asked about this today, and whether it passed the joint party room, but said it wasn’t a policy.
Asked about the prospect of breaking up insurers, Jim Chalmers told reporters just now that “no major party has a policy for that”.
We know because David Littleproud shafted the leader of his party this morning. So Peter Dutton’s so-called policy didn’t last 24 hours, and when you can’t get the National party over the line on something, then you’ve got a problem.
And so, whether it’s what Angus Taylor has said about this before, what Peter Dutton said yesterday or what David Littleproud said today, Peter Dutton’s so-called policy has already fallen down in a heap, just like his free lunches policy has as well.
He argued the Coalition still had “no costed, coherent or credible economic policies”.
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Jim Chalmers said he wasn’t going to “apply a political lens to decisions taken by the Reserve Bank.”
They will take their decisions based on the economics, not the politics. And the respectful role that I will play in that is to not engage in a running commentary about their deliberations.
Chalmers addressing media in Canberra
Sticking with Jim Chalmers, he has been giving a press conference in Canberra.
The treasurer was asked how confident he is Labor can win the election, no matter the outcome of tomorrow’s RBA rates decision? He responded:
We know that this election will be really tight. It will be contested, and that’s as it should be. Elections in this country are typically very tight at the federal level, and I expect that to be the case once again.
On the latest polling results, Chalmers said his focus is on “the numbers in the economy, not the numbers in the polls”.
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Chalmers avoids predicting outcome of RBA rates decision tomorrow
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has been speaking with Channel 7 ahead of tomorrow’s RBA interest rate decision – with a rate cut expected.
Chalmers said he didn’t want to “make predictions or pre-empt the discussions” occurring within the RBA board.
We’ll know tomorrow afternoon whether the independent Reserve Bank’s decided to cut interest rates or not. But I do accept your broader point, and that is that these cost-of-living pressures are pretty widespread … The cost of living has been the number one focus of this government, and that will continue to be the case no matter what the Reserve Bank decides independently tomorrow.
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Another child bitten by dingo on K'gari
A 12-year-old boy has been bitten on the back by a tagged dingo at Kingfisher Bay, K’gari, in the fifth attack at the popular Queensland tourist destination this year.
The boy was playing in shallow water near Yidney Rocks around 12.15pm on Sunday with another child and an adult when the male dingo approached him from behind.
Nearby fishers ran to assist and attempted to deter the dingo with a stick, who subsequently moved away but followed the group back to their accommodation.
The group were carrying a dingo stick but put it on nearby rocks before entering the water. The boy was treated by paramedics for superficial puncture wounds and a laceration. He did not require further treatment.
When rangers attended the scene, the dingo was still in the area. Rangers have identified the dingo from photographs and provided safety information.
The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) are investigating the incident.
It follows another incident late in January, when a three-year-old girl was bitten by a dingo on K’gari while on a walk with her family at a beach near Kingfisher Bay.
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School student-to-teacher ratio at lowest point since 2006
Continuing from our previous post: Another improvement was student-to-teacher ratios. There were 320,377 full-time equivalent teaching staff in 2024, a 2.8% rise on 2023.
Cassandra Elliot said with a rise in the number of teaching staff, the average student-to-teacher ratio across Australian schools fell to a 2006 low of 12.9 students to one teacher.
Independent schools had the lowest student-to-teacher ratios with 11.7 students to one teacher. Meanwhile, government and Catholic schools had 13.1 and 13.3 students to one teacher respectively.
There were 4.1 million students enrolled across 9,653 schools in 2024, a 1.1% rise on the previous year.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school student enrolments were up 3.7% on the previous year. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students now make up 6.6% of all school students.
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Proportion of students finishing year 12 rises
The proportion of students staying in school until year 12 has increased for the first time since 2017, new Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures show.
The ABS figures, released on Monday morning, show the proportion of students staying at school from year 7 until year 12 rose to 79.9% in 2024, up from 79.1% the previous year.
The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students staying at school until year 12 also rose from 55.9% in 2023 to 56.7% in 2024.
Cassandra Elliott, ABS head of education statistics, said the overall growth was largely driven by students at government schools, which was up 1.3% to 74.3% in 2024.
This compared to a 0.9 percentage point rise to 88.1% for students at non-government schools.
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Final submissions due in Tasmanian jumping castle tragedy
A court will hear final legal submissions in a case against the operator of a jumping castle at the centre of a tragedy that killed six primary school students, AAP reports.
Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt died after the incident in Tasmania in December 2021.
Three other students were injured in the accident at Hillcrest primary school in Devonport, which made global headlines.
They were enjoying end-of-year celebrations on the school’s oval when a wind gust lifted the castle and several inflatable balls into the air.
Rosemary Gamble, who was charged in November 2023, has pleaded not guilty to one count of failure to comply with health and safety duty.
Lawyers on both sides of the case will make their final submissions on Monday, following a 10-day hearing in Devonport magistrates court in November.
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WA police arrest and charge sixth person in relation to alleged robberies targeting LGBTQ+ community
Western Australian detectives from Fremantle have concluded their investigation into a series of alleged robberies targeting the LGBTQ+ community.
Police allege that between 17 and 18 September last year, a group of six juvenile males used an online dating app to organise meetings with four separate victims in various locations.
On each occasion, police allege the men organised to meet with the victims with the intention of committing offences against them.
On the weekend a sixth and final man was identified, located and arrested. Police said as a result of the investigation, six people have been charged with a total of 52 offences.
An 18-year-old Yangebup male will appear before the Perth children’s court on 20 March, charged with several offences including aggravated armed robbery, deprivation of liberty and unlawful wounding.
Spender says she has worked with both major parties, including Coalition
Continuing from our last post: Allegra Spender yesterday responded to statements from Peter Dutton that Independents should back him in any minority government.
She said:
Yes, I’m sure that is what he thinks and it will depend on the numbers and the shape of the crossbench and what people are willing to negotiate and back at that time, so I think we really need to look at it at the time.
And asked about comments by Dutton that the independents will “never support a Coalition government” Spender says she has “been explicit, time and time again” that she has worked with both major parties, including the Coalition in the past.
Spender said she takes things “on the basis of the arguments and … evidence” and implied if the Coalition wants her support, they need a better climate policy:
In relation to climate, I haven’t worked with the Coalition because I don’t think they are committed to a transition in terms of the most cost-effective and frankly good for the climate transition that we have at the moment.
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Katter, Spender among the 'sensible' independents who could help Coalition to minority government, Littleproud says
Nationals leader David Littleproud spoke with Sky News earlier about the prospect of a minority government, and the latest polling numbers out today.
On the crossbench, he said there was “only very few that would be able to work constructively with the Coalition government.” Asked how many crossbenchers whose support they might be able to gain, he responded:
You only have to look at the voting record of most of them, they vote with the Greens and the Labor party the majority of the time.
There are some eminently sensible ones there, I mean, Bob Katter has proved it before, so too has Rebecca Sharkey and Dai Le. And I think Allegra Spender has shown, probably of all the teals, the maturity that the others haven’t, in being able to work constructively and understand that it’s not always about trying to save the planet, it’s also about trying to save Australian’s wallets [that have] been bled dry by an ideology.
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Jacinta Allan has been fielding questions from reporters on the Shane Patton no-confidence vote, and reiterating the same response:
I think it is very clear that both the participation rate and the outcome is unprecedented … and it simply cannot be ignored. The views of the men and women of Victoria police who are looking to have confidence in their command, who are looking to have confidence as they go out onto the streets every single day, cannot be ignored …
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Police no-confidence vote ‘unprecedented’ – minister
The Victorian police minister, Anthony Carbines, has also been taking questions from reporters following Shane Patton’s resignation.
He labelled the vote of no confidence as “unprecedented” and said it was important “the government hears that message”.
It’s important that Mr Patton also had time to discuss and reflect on those matters across the weekend and advise the government that he was stepping down.
Carbines and Jacinta Allan both skirted questions on the specifics of those discussions at the weekend.
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Victorian premier addressing media after Patton resignation
Jacinta Allan is addressing reporters after the state’s police commissioner, Shane Patton, stood down following a vote of no confidence.
The Victorian premier said the “overwhelming vote” from police members demonstrated two things to her:
One, it was an outcome that simply could not be ignored. And secondly, it sent a very clear message that police members were looking for a fresh start, and that response – that vote – was something that just simply couldn’t be ignored.
Allan said there were “a range of discussions that were held over the course of the weekend between senior government officials” but she wouldn’t go into specifics out of respect for Patton and the office of chief commissioner.
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Price and policy changes redirect Uber’s electric drive
Ride-share giant Uber could ditch discounts given to Australian electric vehicle drivers – that cost the company more than $30m – to provide greater support for EV charging.
AAP reports the company has pledged not to back down from its goal of reaching net zero by 2040, despite challenging international economic and political conditions.
Uber electrification and sustainability head Rebecca Tinucci made the comments during a visit to Australia, following a dramatic drop in sales of new electric cars in Australia and significant transport policy changes in the US.
I’m not going to sugar-coat it: the job does get harder when you have a large government like the US not leaning in as much but we work with a lot of different governments across the globe.
Our electrification ambitions will remain and do remain but we want to be smart about understanding what are the regions where we can lean in and do more, one of which I believe is Australia.
In addition to discounted car finance options, Uber has delivered electric vehicle drivers on its platform a half-price service fee since 2022 – at a cost of “about $30m”. The discount is due to expire on 30 June and Tinucci said the company was weighing up whether to discontinue it to prioritise making it easier or cheaper for drivers to recharge EVs.
We are starting to see [total cost of ownership] in Australia get closer to parity so the question becomes where should our investment go. I think some of the other puzzle pieces might be a better place for our investment – as an example, charging.
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Police union and Victorian opposition leader respond to Patton resignation
Circling back to earlier news that Victorian police commissioner Shane Patton has stepped down following a vote of no confidence:
AAP reports that police union secretary Wayne Gatt has thanked Patton for his service, after triggering the events leading his resignation. Gatt said the association would now continue fighting to address many of the issues impacting the force, its members and the community.
Victoria’s opposition leader, former police officer Brad Battin, said a change of leadership wouldn’t resolve the systemic issues plaguing law and order in the state:
The dismissal of the chief commissioner is also not going to change many of the frustrations that our officers are experiencing when the criminals they arrest are released hours later or the resources they need to do their jobs are not forthcoming.
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Westpac reports rising personal loan arrears
More people are falling behind on their personal loan repayments, while mortgage arrears have steadied, according to Westpac’s quarterly update released today.
Personal loans, which are sometimes taken out to consolidate debt, require much higher repayment rates than a typical home loan, and are often used by people already under financial pressure.
Westpac’s figures show that personal loan delinquencies, representing those who have fallen more than 90 days behind in repayments, are near five-year highs, representing 2.83% of that part of its lending book.
The equivalent delinquency rate for mortgages dropped during the last quarter from 1.12% to 1.03%.
The banking sector has been reporting reduced rates of mortgage arrears, with some under-pressure homeowners able to direct last year’s stage-three tax cuts to staying solvent.
Property agents are also reporting increased sales activity by stressed households, which wipes those arrears from lending books.
Westpac reported a quarterly net profit, excluding large one-off expenses, of $1.9bn, up from $1.8bn a year ago.
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Lindy Lee quits board after ‘fraught’ dumping of Biennale artist
The Creative Australia board meeting that led to Lebanese-Australian artist Khaled Sabsabi being dumped as the nation’s representative for the 2026 Venice Biennale was “fraught and heartbreaking”, the artist Lindy Lee has revealed.
You can read the full story from Nour Haydar, below, for the latest:
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Littleproud asked if Coalition nuclear costings include power plant insurance
The CEO of the Insurance Council of Australia, Andrew Hall, spoke with ABC RN this morning and said if Australia went down the path of nuclear energy, the federal government would need to lead the insurance coverage.
David Littleproud was asked about this, and whether the Coalition would consider this, and responded:
We’ll look at what Mr Hall is trying to articulate there.
Asked if the Coalition’s costings for nuclear included insurance for nuclear power plants, Littleproud responded:
They cover the whole costings around, what we’ve been able to do with independently verified numbers that is consistent internationally.
Littleproud was again asked specifically if insurance was included in the costings, and responded:
That’s exactly why we had it independently costed, internationally, and to make sure that it is within international comparisons.
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Littleproud says Dutton idea to break up insurers ‘not a policy’
Earlier this morning, Nationals leader David Littleproud was up on ABC RN after Peter Dutton floated the idea of divestiture powers applying to the insurance industry.
Asked if the policy had been approved by the joint party room, Littleproud instead took aim at Anthony Albanese and argued insurance premiums had gone up 19% since he came to power.
If you’ve got the policy levers, why wouldn’t you look to make sure that everyone is doing what they should be, and … making sure that there’s deterrence for companies to make sure that they’re doing the right things? If they don’t, there is a penalty – and unfortunately, that’s why we had to act with the supermarkets.
Asked why the didn’t the Coalition act on this when it was in power for a decade, Littleproud said it had put in place mitigation works.
Drawn back to the original question on whether this policy was approved by the joint party room, Littleproud responded:
It’s not a policy, what was announced. What Peter Dutton has said [is] we are prepared to use whatever policy lever we need to ensure that Australia’s cost of living, and consumers, are being treated fairly … I think it would be unfair to say that that was a policy announced by Peter Dutton.
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Hanson-Young says arts community ‘reeling’ after Creative Australia decision
At the core of the controversy is Khaled Sabsabi’s 2007 video installation titled You, which includes images of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Asked if it was appropriate for him to be selected, Sarah Hanson-Young said that “the process by which artists need to go through to get selected is very rigorous”.
That’s what happened in this case … it was a very, very rigorous process. I’ll tell you what’s not appropriate is to go through that process, to have a peer-reviewed, to sign a contract, spend taxpayers’ money, and then have it withdrawn because of some questions being asked that, frankly, [are] completely naive and and uninformed about the artist’s work, the impact of their work and the message that their work is sending, which is about peace, unity and inclusion.
The Greens senator said that “artistic work must be free from political interference and intimidation”. She said Creative Australia’s emergency meeting came off the back of a member of Peter Dutton’s team asking a question in Senate question time.
What pressure was put on members of that board to make that decision for political convenience? If the minister has nothing to hide, if there are no other members of government that have nothing to hide, then ensure there is a full, frank investigation, including the records of phone calls and notes that may have been taken.
Hanson-Young said members of the arts community had reached out to her and were “reeling” from the decision, saying Australia looked like “a laughing stock”.
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Greens respond to Creative Australia inquiry into Venice selection process
Greens senator and arts spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young was on ABC RN this morning to discuss Creative Australia’s decision to withdraw Lebanese-born Australian artist Khaled Sabsabi from the 61st Venice Biennale.
Australia’s principal arts investment and advisory body has been rocked by two senior resignations after the decision from the board, which led to media and political pressure.
Hanson-Young responded to news this morning that the organisation will conduct an independent and external review into its 2026 Venice artistic selection process. She said a “full and frank” inquiry was needed.
I also think it needs to look at the political interference into this appalling decision that the board made in a very fast and rush meeting last Thursday.
And only six days after awarding the submission to two of Australia’s most influential creators, to have that withdrawn because a question was asked in parliament by a conservative MP, and there was a gossip column in The Australian newspaper, and who knew what? Why did this occur? And why didn’t the premium arts body, Creative Australia, stand up for Australian artists and the arts world?
The federal arts minister, Tony Burke, has denied allegations of political interference.
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Syndicate busted for allegedly targeting crypto ATMs and collectible cards
Victorian police say they have dismantled an organised crime syndicate that was allegedly involved in stealing six cryptocurrency ATMs and committing a series of burglaries at collector card stores.
Detectives arrested four people over the past week as part of their investigation into alleged commercial burglaries. The ATM’s were allegedly stolen from businesses in Hoppers Crossing, Bentleigh, Brunswick, Werribee and Vermont.
It will be alleged the group targeted three collectible card stores in Epping, Moonee Ponds and Eumemmerring, and detectives believe the group may have been using stolen cars.
The investigation allegedly led to police uncovering a cave of items, including about $50,000 worth of collectible trading cards, including Pokémon, Disney Lorcana, Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic the Gathering, Dragon Ball Z, AFL and NBA.
Police allege they also uncovered five stolen firearms, 100 stolen car keys, ammunition, a pill-press machine and stolen power tools.
Four people have been arrested in total, including two alleged primary offenders – a 37-year-old man from Reservoir and a 32-year-old man from Epping – with both facing numerous charges including burglary.
The two other men, a 33-year-old and a 46-year-old, both from Reservoir, were released pending further investigation.
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Plibersek on latest polling numbers
The federal environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, was on Sunrise earlier this morning, where she also weighed in on those latest polling numbers.
She said the results show “every vote counts”, taking aim at Peter Dutton for opposing cost-of-living measures put forward by the government.
We know that cost of living is top of mind for Australian families. We are working every single day to take pressure off families. All Peter Dutton has done is try to get in the way of those us helping those families.
If he has a plan to make life easier for families, what is it? Free lunch for bosses and nuclear power some time in the 2040s. He won’t tell us the cost of those policies, he won’t tell us what he will have to cut to pay for the nuclear power.
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Malinauskas asked if SA government would take stake in Whyalla steelworks to save it
The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, was on ABC News Breakfast earlier and he discussed the future of the embattled Whyalla steelworks.
Last week he said the state government was starting to look at contingency plans if the steelworks couldn’t pay back “tens of millions” of dollars owed to a number of creditors, and that he’d been engaging with the federal government on the issue.
Today, asked if the SA government would be prepared to take a stake in the business in order to save it, Malinauskas said: “I don’t think we’re in a position at the moment … to be ruling anything in or out.”
I don’t think we should have a completely nationalised steelworks. I think that’s not the go-to option, to say the least. I think we want a highly capable steelmaker producing steel for this country domestically. I’m relatively agnostic about who that is, just as long as they have the capability to make the investment for the capital upgrades that are required.
But I do think the government’s got to play a role here if something were to go wrong with GFG. It’s too important for the nation. It’s a critical piece of economic infrastructure that simply can’t be lost.
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O’Neil on RBA rates decision tomorrow
The Reserve Bank is due to announce its latest interest rate decision tomorrow. Clare O’Neil weighed in on this and told the Today Show:
Whether the RBA decides to cut rates this week or whether they do that at a future date, what I really want people to see is that we’ve done exactly what was needed for the economy at the time.
Host Karl Stefanovic said O’Neil seemed “desperate to sell the government’s bona fides, but you’re frustrated that [voters are] not listening”. She shot back, saying: “I don’t feel frustrated at all.”
That’s not what this is about … My job as a politician is to make sure that I do the right thing and make the right decisions for the Australian people. It’s up to your viewers at home to decide on election day whether they want to, you know – our government’s played some really important foundations for prosperity for our country, or are they going to go with negative?
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O’Neil responds to latest polling results
The housing minister, Clare O’Neil, has been making the rounds on breakfast television this morning and also spoke with the Today Show about the latest polling numbers.
Responding to the numbers, she acknowledged it has been “a really difficult period globally for the economy”, noting that the UK, the US and Canada had “all gone through some real difficulties, similar to what Australians have faced over the last three years”.
O’Neil took aim at the opposition and said:
It’s been a difficult period. No one’s going to deny that Australians have been under huge pressures. But all of those things that we’ve done to assist people with cost-of-living issues, remember that Peter Dutton came out and opposed those, so people would be feeling worse today if Peter Dutton had been the prime minister.
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Rail union chief weighs in on pay talks with NSW
The president of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, Craig Turner, was also on ABC News Breakfast this morning to discuss the latest on negotiations between the unions and the NSW government.
He was asked if this was the best way for the unions to approach negotiating, amid “a cost-of-living crisis [with people] who can’t drive at the moment, who rely on the train network”. Turner responded:
Unfortunately, it’s the only way we can get – or try to get – the government back to the table … The government rhetoric and Sydney and NSW Trains is, ‘We will just take you to court all the time.’ They have an external legal firm who seem to be just consistent on taking us to court and not getting the deal done.
Turner said there was meant to be conciliation in the Fair Work Commission at 10am this morning, “which we would attend, and we think we could get the job done”.
But unfortunately, their legal firm has contacted the commission to vacate today. So we’ll be showing up to get it done. It’s not a personal thing, this. We need to get everything done and to move on, especially for the commuters of NSW.
Turner told commuters that “you can’t just blame the union for everything, the government should get this sorted”.
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Hume rules out working with teals if Coalition wins 70-72 seats
Jane Hume was asked whether the Coalition was in a position to form any alliances with the crossbench, amid new polling from YouGov showing neither party looks to be coming out with a clear majority.
The shadow finance minister said the “worst possible outcome would be a hung parliament”.
That would cause chaos, and would cause chaos politically and economically as well.
If the Coalition was to get around 70-72 seats, could it govern with the Teals? Would the Coalition work with them? Hume rejected this notion:
On average, the teals have voted with the Greens around 78% of the time, with Labor around 75% of the time, and with the Coalition around 18% of the time.
I think it’s really important to look at what people do rather than what people say. We’re planning on going to this election to win the election, because Australians deserve better than what they’ve had for the last three years.
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Hume says Coalition would look at breaking up insurance companies
The shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, was on ABC News Breakfast earlier where she was questioned on comments from opposition leader Peter Dutton saying insurance was too expensive.
He flagged a future Coalition government could break up some of the companies. Is that something you’re seriously going to do? Hume responded:
I think it’s really important that we have competition in the insurance sector. There’s no doubt about that. That’s something that we would look at.
She described insurance as “one of the great expenses that people have felt during this cost-of-living crisis”.
Insurance premiums have gone up around 19%. That means that people make decisions to underinsure or not insure at all. That’s not a good thing. One of the pressures that we’ve seen on insurance is inflation itself, because of course when inflation goes up, things like building costs go up.
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Sydney rail chief says 90% of timetable operating and no big delays this morning
Sydney Trains CEO Matthew Longland says 90% of the rail timetable was operating and no major delays were being seen across any lines so far today.
But the situation is unpredictable and we may see conditions deteriorate later today.
Speaking on the Today Show, Longland described the situation as “incredibly frustrating” as negotiations continue with the unions.
We were close to a deal last week. We spent most of the week with unions, working through the last bits and pieces to settle this deal for good. Unfortunately, those discussions came unstuck on Thursday and this new round of industrial action started on Friday.
Friday was a very difficult day on the network. Thankfully, today looks like it’s a more positive day for passengers, but there will still be impacts … Conditions may be unpredictable this afternoon.
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Lambie weighs in on latest polling numbers
Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie was up on the Today Show this morning, where she responded to those latest Newspoll numbers.
She said it “doesn’t matter who you have in government at the moment” because “nothing would have been done differently”.
We still would have had those interest hikes. We’re still waiting … for an interest rate drop in the next few weeks. Even then, for many people out there, it’s not going to be a lot of money in the back pocket. So I just think overall they’ve done it really hard.
We’ve been through Covid, nothing’s really picked up. I think that, you know, people had some hope after that and the hope just hasn’t flowed through.
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Coalition leads 51-49 over Labor in latest Newspoll
The latest Newspoll published in The Australian newspaper shows the Coalition has a 51-49 lead over Labor in the two-party preferred stakes, AAP reports.
Labor’s primary vote is languishing at 31, compared to the Coalition’s 38, the poll found. Some 53% of those surveyed believed the Albanese government did not deserve to be re-elected, while 34% were happy to give it another term.
About 45% believed Anthony Albanese would be the better PM, compared with Peter Dutton’s 40%. The poll surveyed 1,244 voters nationally last week.
Meanwhile, modelling from pollster YouGov projected the Coalition to win 73 seats at the election – putting Dutton in pole position to form government. Polls show voters consider Dutton a stronger leader on matters of law and order than Albanese, who voters consider the weakest party leader in decades.
While these issues are Dutton’s strong suit, Redbridge polling published in News Corp papers on Sunday showed they are not the most pressing for voters. The cost of living was far and above the biggest concern, with 84% of respondents ranking it in their top three.
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Labor won’t touch capital gains tax or negative gearing in lead-up to election – O’Neil
Clare O’Neil was also asked why the government doesn’t do something more significant in the housing space – for example, addressing the capital gains tax or negative gearing?
The housing minister responded that “no”, the government wouldn’t touch either of these issues in the lead-up to the election, with the focus on building more supply.
The reason we have got a housing crisis in our country is because really, for 30 or 40 years, we have not been building enough homes in Australia. And so almost everything the Australian government is doing is making sure that we provide more housing for Australians and then give Australians the opportunity to buy into those homes. So that’s why this is just one piece of this really, really broad agenda for housing.
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O’Neil on Labor’s foreign home-buyer curb
The housing minister, Clare O’Neil, spoke with ABC News Breakfast earlier after Labor matched an opposition policy of stopping foreign investors from buying existing homes for two years.
Asked if she always personally supported this idea, or if it was about getting this on the agenda ahead of the election, O’Neil said this was because “Australians are under real housing pressure today.”
You asked if I always believed in this – the honest truth is yes. I feel really strongly about this. We’ve got serious problems with housing in our country at the moment, and that’s why you’re seeing our government throw absolutely everything at this problem.
She was asked what impact this would actually have on housing prices, with the move catching about 0.5% of the market. O’Neil said it wasn’t “a silver bullet and no one is pretending that it is”.
If this was an easy problem to solve, a government would’ve done this a long time ago. We got a housing crisis in our country which has been in the generation in the making …
Will it make a difference? The answer is, yes, it will mean thousands of Australian families get the opportunity to own their own home that otherwise wouldn’t have had that chance. If we keep making moves like this, then we’re going to make a difference.
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Hundreds of train services cancelled across Sydney as transport disruption continues
Transport for NSW says the rail network is running “close to timetable” this morning with minimal delays and a smaller number of cancellations.
But passengers are still being advised to plan ahead and allow extra travel time, with disruptions throughout the day flagged.
197 Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink train drivers and guards did not report for their normal shifts as of 5am today, and this number could grow throughout the day. As a result, 335 services have been cancelled so far today.
Across Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 1,525 train drivers and guards did not report for work, resulting in 3,935 services cancelled or delayed.
Transport for NSW said the matter would be back in the Fair Work Commission for a full bench hearing on Wednesday.
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Victorian police commissioner quits after no-confidence vote
Victoria is set to recruit a new police boss after the embattled chief resigned days after a majority of his workforce declared no confidence in his leadership.
As AAP reports, chief commissioner Shane Patton said last night that he had advised the Victorian government he had decided to step away from the role “effective immediately”.
It is with a heavy heart that I have made this decision, however I think it is the right one to allow fresh leadership in the role.
After more than 45 years of serving the community with Victoria police, he had “utmost pride” in the organisation.
Victoria’s emergency management commissioner, Rick Nugent, would step into the role “as soon as practicable” until a replacement was chosen, premier Jacinta Allan said in a statement yesterday. Deputy commissioner Wendy Steendam will lead the organisation temporarily.
The state’s top cop had gone to ground since initially vowing to stay on after a union no-confidence vote was passed on Friday. Of the 14,571 Police Association members who took part in the online ballot, more than 12,600 – or 87% – did not have confidence he could lead and manage Victoria police in the future.
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Welcome
Good morning, and welcome back to a new week on the Australia news live blog. I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be taking you through our rolling coverage for most of today.
As AAP reports, Victoria’s police commissioner Shane Patton has advised he would step away from the role “effective immediately”. He said last night:
It is with a heavy heart that I have made this decision, however I think it is the right one to allow fresh leadership in the role.
After more than 45 years of serving the community with Victoria police, Patton had “utmost pride” in the organisation. We’ll have more on this shortly.
Meanwhile, chaos is continuing throughout the Sydney train network amid the rail unions’ ongoing standoff with the New South Wales government. Commuters are being advised to plan ahead and allow extra travel time today, with service disruptions already occurring.
We’ll bring you updates throughout the day as the situation develops. You can read more on this below:
As always, you can reach out with any tips, questions or feedback via email: emily.wind@theguardian.com. Let’s get started.
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