What we learned, Wednesday 12 March
And that’s where we’ll leave you this evening. It’s been a day dominated by international affairs; here’s a wrap of the main events:
The White House confirmed a blanket 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports from US trading partners “with no exceptions”, scuttling Australia’s hopes of securing just that.
Anthony Albanese said Donald Trump’s decision to slap tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium were “not the actions of a friendly nation”.
Labor’s Ed Husic said of the same: “Let’s call a spade a spade. I think this is a dog act after over a century of friendship.”
The trade minister, Don Farrell, has said he believes the US never intended to give Australia an exemption to the tariffs.
The prime minister ruled out imposing reciprocal tariffs on the United States.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, criticised the prime minister, accusing him of failing to “deal with our trading partners effectively”.
Dutton said he believed Australia could “do a deal with the Trump administration” if there is a “change of government”.
The ASX fell more than 1% in the 15 minutes after it opened, in the wake of the Trump tariff announcement.
More than 4,000 properties in NSW are still without power in the wake of Cyclone Alfred.
Welfare organisations are again demanding the rate of jobseeker be lifted to 90% of the pension, from $56 to $74 a day.
Thank you so much for your company today. We’ll be back with you as usual at sun-up tomorrow with all Thursday’s news. Look after yourselves.
Updated
LNP denies using Cyclone Alfred as ‘cover’ to scrap mining lease objections review
Queensland’s government has denied using the “cover” of Tropical Cyclone Alfred to cancel a long-running review of the way objections to mining leases are handled by the state land court.
The Queensland Law Reform Commission had been conducting the independent review since June 2023, with recommendations due on 30 June.
On 4 March, with the cyclone bearing down on the state, the attorney general, Deb Frecklington, cancelled its reference, ending the process.
The opposition leader, Steven Miles, accused the government of “sneaking through these changes while the south-east is bunkered down under the cover of a cyclone warning”.
Read the full story here:
Updated
Coalition criticises PM’s office for ‘diminishing’ gambling harms to reform advocates
The Coalition has criticised the prime minister’s office for reportedly telling a gambling harm survivor that placing a single bet was not as dangerous as smoking a single cigarette.
Alliance for Gambling Reform advocate Mark Kempster met with staffers from the prime minister’s office and the communication minister’s office in late October.
As first reported in Crikey and verified by Guardian Australia, Kempster told staffers that gambling posed the same public health threat as smoking. There was a polite disagreement with staffers who suggested smoking a single cigarette could do more damage to a person than placing a single bet.
The shadow minister for communications, Melissa McIntosh, told Guardian Australia she was disturbed by the reports. She said the prime minister’s office should apologise to Kempster and another advocate who was in the meeting:
Gambling reform advocates have had their stories diminished by this conversation. Families’ lives have been torn apart due to betting.
McIntosh then continued to attack the Labor government’s record on gambling advertising:
Labor has been sitting on a report from their own committee inquiry since 2023 which noted gambling as a public health issue, and now they’re waiting until after the election to announce a position on gambling ad reforms.
A Dutton-led Coalition government will ensure families enjoying the broadcast of their favourite sporting event will be protected from gambling ads which we know cause harm, particularly to children.
The prime minister’s office was contacted for comment.
Updated
US was never going to exempt Australia from tariffs, trade minister says
The trade minister, Don Farrell, has said he believes the US never intended to give Australia an exemption to the tariffs.
Here’s how the Nine papers are reporting his comments, made to Sky News earlier today:
I don’t believe that there was any intention on the part of the United States government to give us an exemption …
We did all of the things that [Peter] Dutton claimed he would have done … if it was Mr Dutton and his team that was doing this negotiation … [Would the result] have been any different, particularly in light of some of the events that occurred earlier this week? The answer … I think, is a comprehensive no.
We did what we thought was appropriate after the conversation between the prime minister and the president. We engaged with all of the relevant officials; we did that extensively over the last weekend.
Updated
Universities Australia’s ‘lack of shame almost breathtaking’, Senate inquiry chair says
Chair of the Senate inquiry into university governance, Labor senator Tony Sheldon, was scathing in his critique of Universities Australia.
He told the Senate inquiry:
The lack of shame of Universities Australia is almost breathtaking when they’re putting such a short representation about what they think should be happening on governance, and obviously not accepting the important role they should be playing in the governance of our universities.
In the submission filed by Universities Australia, the body noted what was important through the inquiry “is that we focus on real improvements and outcomes”:
All too often, we see issues tangentially linked to governance framed as such and utilised for political purposes. When this happens, it distracts from the major policy and funding discussions that we need our policy and decision makers to prioritise.
Updated
Faruqi rebukes Universities Australia for claiming criticism of high vice-chancellor salaries ‘distracting’
Greens deputy leader and spokesperson for higher education, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has told a Senate inquiry she was “outraged” by Universities Australia’s claim that criticism of high vice-chancellor salaries was “distracting”.
The peak body for the sector’s submission to the Senate inquiry into university governance said “governance and industrial relations matters largely fall outside of our remit”.
It also said “debate over vice-chancellor salaries … distracts from the conversation we need to have about funding our universities properly”.
Faruqi said she was “outraged” by their response, adding the debate was “fundamental to how universities operate”.
Head of the National Tertiary Education Union, Dr Alison Barnes, told the Senate inquiry it “beggars belief” university management “would not look the crisis in the face”:
Universities Australia is the organisation that represents Australia’s vice-chancellors. If they’re saying they’re not responsible for the governance crisis, then who is?
Updated
Should Australians be worried about Trump’s tariffs?
If you’re still trying to get your head around the tariffs situation, allow my colleague Ben Doherty to help you out there, with this explainer :
Updated
Universities operating in ‘culture of fear and uncertainty’, Senate inquiry hears
University staff have told a Senate inquiry they fear to speak out about managerial concerns amid ongoing restructuring and cuts.
Branch president of the NTEU at Federation University and twice elected sole staff member on the university’s council, Dr Matthew Abbott, told the Senate inquiry into university governance that staff were operating in a “culture of fear and uncertainty”.
Abbott said he had had their contributions at council meetings “mocked or interrupted” and been explicitly told not to raise concerns:
I’ve been subject to intimidation, vilification and attempts at silencing.
Asked by the inquiry chair, Labor senator Tony Sheldon, to explain the pressure he was under not to speak out following “shocking examples” he had raised, Abbott said university councils worked in a “culture of secrecy”:
This is one of the impacts of constant cuts and restructures – staff fear for their livelihoods … I fear that too.
NTEU branch president at the University of Southern Queensland, Andrea Lamont-Mills, told the inquiry she had worked at the university since 2000 and “never seen staff so disempowered, distressed and disheartened”:
There is a culture where senior executive decisions are beyond question … it wasn’t always like this, but it is now, and it shouldn’t be.
Updated
Husic: Trump's imposition of tariffs ‘a dog act’
Labor’s Ed Husic has been speaking to ABC TV just now about the US tariffs, and was asked if he considered it the way to treat a good friend and ally.
Husic responded:
Let’s call a spade a spade. I think this is a dog act after over a century of friendship.
Australians have stood by and stood with Americans for many decades. In fact, Australians have spilled blood alongside Americans in different conflicts. We have stood together not just from a national security perspective but from an economic security perspective as well, trying to improve trade relationships between countries because it is good for economies and workers when done right.
What we have seen here, what has it been for?
Updated
Tertiary education faces ‘crisis of poor governance’, NTEU president tells Senate inquiry
Australia’s higher education system is facing a “crisis” of poor leadership, a Senate inquiry has heard.
The inquiry into university governance kicked off in Canberra today, to examine the adequacy of the regulator to address higher eduction concerns, including vice-chancellor salaries, the impact of consultants, and compliance with workplace laws.
President of the National Tertiary Education Union, Dr Alison Barnes, said Australia’s public universities were facing a “crisis of poor governance”, pointing to more than 300 senior executives that are paid more than state premiers, at the same time as wage theft has totalled $271m.
Barnes said:
Universities fail in workforce planning, leading to a redundancy merry-go-round.
This undermines staff’s capacity to provide pastoral care for students and the world-class research our communities deserve …
We cannot afford to allow this culture to prevail given universities’ primary role must be to serve the public good.
Updated
Ukrainian groups urge Coalition to remain ‘open-minded’ on sending troops
Ukrainian groups in Australia have urged the federal opposition to remain “open-minded” on sending troops to the war-torn country as leaders in Europe consider how to support the nation in its ongoing fight against Russia.
Earlier this morning, the shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, described the Albanese government’s consideration of sending troops to Ukraine for peacekeeping efforts a “thought bubble”.
Australia sent its representative to a meeting of defence force chiefs in Paris on Tuesday as part of a “coalition of the willing” designed by European leaders.
Paterson said sending Australian troops to an active war zone without the US’s support “would risk their lives”. Anthony Albanese had earlier said he would consider any requests for Australian soldiers to assist with coalition peacekeeping efforts.
Paterson told ABC radio this morning Albanese’s consideration wasn’t a “serious proposal”:
It should be something which is done with very careful consideration and planning. And the prime minister hasn’t given that. And he’s proposing to deploy them to what is right now an active war zone, potentially without any American support, any security guarantees, from our most important ally in a way that would risk their lives. And it’s done so flippantly in a press conference, not the normal way that this is done through very careful consideration by the National Security Committee of cabinet.
Kateryna Argyrou, co-chair Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, said the Ukrainian community had been “extremely grateful” for the bipartisan support to date but urged the Coalition to stay open about sending peacekeepers to Ukraine.
In a statement to Guardian Australia, Argyrou said:
The prime minister’s willingness to consider committing Australian peacekeepers is welcome. Members of the Australian Parliament understand that what happens in Ukraine matters for all countries in the Indo-Pacific, so we urge the opposition to be open to committing Australian peacekeepers to Ukraine.
The coalition has been a strong supporter of Ukraine since day one of Russia’s full-scale invasion and delivered the first packages of Australian support for which we are extremely grateful. Their support has been a source of strength for our community.
Australian governments of both stripes have offered principled support for Ukraine for these past three years, and we hope that the Coalition can remain open-minded about opportunities to stand with Ukraine and with Ukraine’s supporters.
Updated
Albanese: US-imposed tariffs 'not the actions of a friendly nation'
Anthony Albanese said Donald Trump’s decision to slap tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium were “not the actions of a friendly nation”, as he blasted Peter Dutton for criticising the government’s failure to secure an exemption.
Speaking on 2GB on Wednesday afternoon, Albanese said the 25% tariffs would ultimately harm the US:
We’re not being singled out here but this is not the actions of a friendly nation.
Asked if the US was no longer “friendly” with Australia, Albanese replied:
No, what I’m saying is that this is a decision that will hurt American consumers.
The prime minister also fired back at Dutton, who said Albanese and his US ambassador, Kevin Rudd, have had a “shocker” in failing to secure another phone call with Trump to make a last-minute case for an exemption.
Albanese said of Dutton:
You get the sense that whenever he gets the chance to back Australia, he looks at other options.
The role of leader of the opposition isn’t to oppose Australia’s interests. He should be backing Australia rather than backing the Trump administration.
Health insurers accuse specialists of overcharging
Amid the ongoing stoush between private hospitals and insurers, the peak body representing the health insurance funds says the problem lies in the increasing fees specialist doctors choose to charge.
As the federal government urges both parties to negotiate a funding deal to keep private hospitals viable, peak bodies the Australian Private Hospitals Association and Catholic Health Australia have rejected the insurers’ proposal of a “hardship package” saying the one-off financial assistance would fail to address the serious viability challenges of Australia’s private health system.
Private Healthcare Australia, the peak body for the health insurance sector, has issued a statement this afternoon highlighting the problem of excessive fees from specialist doctors who are sometimes charging more than $950 for a single appointment.
CEO Dr Rachel David said:
This is understandably putting people off seeing specialist doctors when they need to, and it’s clearly putting untold numbers of people at risk of worsening health and crises that land them in hospital.
It’s also wreaking havoc for private hospitals because people need to be able to see a specialist doctor to get referred into a private hospital for treatment. With 20% of people referred to a specialist doctor skipping attendance or declining treatment due to the cost, it is no wonder some private hospitals are struggling, and private hospital beds are sitting empty.
We must get specialist doctors charging more reasonable fees if we want to address this unbalanced use of our hospital resources.
PHA said health funds and want the federal government to step in with a range of measures including an opt-out system for the Medical Cost Finder website, so all specialist doctors’ fees are disclosed to consumers to view before they book a consultation. As of June, only 20 specialists listed their fees on the $24m website.
The health minister, Mark Butler, has given both parties three months to negotiate a more generous funding deal for private hospitals, or the minister will take unspecified regulatory action.
Updated
NBN update on outages
Today’s daily update from the NBN on outages from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred: about 101,000 services in south-east Queensland and northern NSW are affected across both NBN fixed line and fixed wireless networks, down from 147,000 yesterday.
About 5,000 of the current outages are in northern NSW; the remainder are in Queensland.
Electricity supply is still the biggest obstacle to restoration of services, and NBN says 800 network sites are without mains power.
Updated
That is all from me on the blog today. Handing over now to Stephanie Convery, who will keep you updated with the afternoon’s news.
Naplan testing begins across Australia for 2025
Naplan – loathed by students and loved by data analysts – has kicked off across the nation, with 1.3 million students across more than 9,400 schools expected to take part in the annual tests.
This year, data will be able to be comparable after proficiency levels were changed in 2023 and testing was moved to March, not May. Preliminary results will be distributed from early Term 2, with full results to be published by early August.
Schools affected by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in Queensland and NSW will have the option to delay testing until next Monday.
Australian Catholic University associate professor in teaching education, Steven Lewis, welcomed the more timely delivery of results but cautioned against teaching to Naplan.
Teaching to any test is never going to work to create long-lasting, rich learning among students. Evidence-based practices addressing the needs of each student are always the way to go.
The testing window will end on 24 March.
Updated
Dutton believes deal could be struck with US if ‘there is a change of government’
Dutton said he believes Australia could “do a deal with the Trump administration” if there is a “change of government”:
I do believe that [if] there is a change of government we will do a deal with the Trump administration, no question about that.
We have a lot of jobs, not just in the defence, material space, but obviously in financial services. We have a trade surplus for a reason, because we are a desirable destination for investment from the US.
I believe we can get a deal done with the Trump administration. Because we will be a strong government that stands up for a national interest … and stands up Australians, jobs and industry and economic growth in our country.
He then repeated his criticisms of Albanese.
Updated
PM is ‘on his knees and can’t even get a phone call’ with Trump, Dutton says
Dutton continued:
This is a bad day for Australia and a bad day because of the decision our ally in America [has] made, but even worse because the prime minister is on his knees and can’t even get a phone call or a meeting with the President of the United States, our closest allies.
Updated
Dutton says failure to secure tariff exemption evidence of PM’s ‘inability to deal’ with US
Peter Dutton addressed press from Brisbane earlier today. The opposition leader expressed disappointment with Trump’s tariff decision, and criticised the prime minister’s ability to “deal with our trading partners effectively”.
He said:
Thoroughly disappointed with the decision made to apply the tariff to Australia’s industries here, there are tens of thousands of jobs in these steel and aluminium industries
I want to make sure that we are a government that can deal with our trading partners effectively, and clearly the prime minister hasn’t been able to do this. It’s obvious Anthony Albanese and Kevin Rudd have had a shocker, the prime minister can’t secure a phone call or meeting with the president of the United States and how on earth can outcome be negotiated if the president won’t take his call.
It’s not just Australians who see the prime minister is weak and incompetent, it’s our trading partners as well. The sad reality is because of the prime minister’s inability to deal with this issue, Australian jobs are at risk, and Australian industry is at risk.
Updated
Coalition labels Labor’s $156.7m package to target illicit tobacco a ‘clear admittance of failure’
The Coalition says the government’s announcement today of $156.7m to help law enforcement agencies tackle the tobacco black market is a “clear admittance of failure” in their policy.
The package destined for the Australian federal police adds to the initial $188.5m the government announced at the start of last year which provided funding for a major Border Force crackdown and strengthened cooperation between the commonwealth, states and territories to combat illicit tobacco.
In a joint statement, Anne Ruston, the shadow minister for health and James Paterson, the shadow minister for home affairs, said:
Combatting this thriving black market should have been a priority of the Government more than a year ago. Instead, it has exploded out-of-control under Labor’s watch, as organised crime syndicates are making money hand over fist and wreaking havoc in our communities.
The Coalition say their policy if elected would be to commit $250m for a law enforcement package, which would be used to stand up an illicit tobacco and vaping taskforce led by the Australian federal police and the Australian Border Force to tackle illegal vapes from the border to the shopfront.
With this announcement, the government said they were committing more money to the Office of the Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarettes Commissioner, but the Coalition’s statement accused them of having yet to formally appoint an Illicit Tobacco and E-Cigarette Commissioner, more than a year after they voted in support of the Coalition’s amendment to establish this new role.
Updated
Suspicious packages wash up on Queensland beaches
Packages “containing a suspicious substance” are washing up on beaches in the Bundaberg area, Queensland police said in a media release.
Around 6am yesterday police were advised that a “suspicious package had washed up”. After extensive patrols of the water and shoreline, more packages “containing a suspicious substance” were discovered. Patrols continued today, and Police are investigating the circumstances around these packages.
Updated
Queensland police responding to ‘opportunistic’ looting in wake of ex-Cyclone Alfred
Queensland police have launched an operation in response to what they allege are “opportunistic offenders” looting properties during severe weather.
Anti-looting patrols of affected areas will be conducted under Operation X-ray Secure to “disrupt and prevent crime, protect properties and enhance community safety,” according to a QLD Police media release.
There have already been several arrests related to separate incidents during these “proactive patrols” on the Gold Coast and Brisbane overnight.
Allegedly a vehicle was broken into and items stolen in the flooded car park of a unit complex at Labrador, which police were called to just after 6pm. They found a 26-year-old man nearby, allegedly with a knife. Police will allege he was found with a knife, drug utensils and stolen property. His charges include stealing by looting in a natural disaster.
On Brisbane’s south, police were patrolling in Rocklea around 11pm when a vehicle with allegedly false registration plates was observed in flood waters. Police allege the driver, a 44-year-old man, was found in possession of 10 sets of vehicle keys, drug utensils, and housebreaking implements. The man allegedly attempted to run from police. He has been charged with property and traffic offences.
And on Brisbane’s north, police patrolling at Nudgee Beach just after midday yesterday allegedly observed a man “with a machete in his pants”. The 27-year-old has been charged with one count of possessing a knife in a public place.
A number of property offences are alleged to have occurred across the south-east overnight and are under investigation, the statement said.
More than 110 police have arrived in the south-east from Cairns, Townsville, Mackay and Rockhampton to support police and emergency services response to the ongoing severe weather. They join 249 officers already deployed along local police.
Updated
Back teals if you are a ‘double hater’, Holmes à Court tells voters
Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes à Court is at the National Press Club, imploring frustrated voters to back teal independents at the 2025 election.
Tony Windsor – an independent who held the balance of power during the Gillard minority government – is in the room, and there are a couple of remarks on whether this is a sign for the upcoming election.
Holmes a Court says across the globe, voters have turned against incumbents, or away from the major parties entirely. In the US, he says the “double hater” phenomenon saw support go to Trump, an “outsider”.
We are not America – we are not destined to follow them – but we are grappling with the ramifications of massive geopolitical changes, while facing a range of crises here at home …
If you’re angry with the political system, if you are perhaps a ‘double hater’, in Australia we have a much better option.
Climate 200 will support 35 candidates at this election, with millions of dollars in donations behind them.
But Holmes à Court told the press club the organisation doesn’t choose candidates nor run campaigns.
Climate 200 does not start campaigns. Climate 200 does not run campaigns. Climate 200 does not target seats or select candidates.
Updated
Queensland police appeal for information in investigating death of woman found in Brisbane River
Queensland police have asked for public assistance in investigating the circumstances of the death of a woman found in the Brisbane River in February.
The body of 49-year-old Crystal Beale was found early in the morning on 22 February after a member of the public observed it in the Brisbane River at Yeronga and called emergency services.
Initial investigations indicated the death was non-suspicious. After further investigations, however, including the results of a postmortem, police now believe Beale’s death was suspicious, QPS said in a statement today.
Detective Acting Inspector Rod Watts said several lines of inquiry were being examined including collecting CCTV in the West End area on the night of Friday 21 February.
Watts said:
We believe Crystal was near the Brisbane River at Orleigh Park, West End and on Ryan Street, West End late on Friday February 21.
Our investigation has centred around collecting CCTV from this area and we are now making an appeal to anyone who may have been in this area between 9.30pm on Friday February 21 and 1am the following morning and has seen Crystal or any suspicious behaviour to please come forward.
As this is an ongoing investigation, police are limited in what details we can disclose, but we are confident people saw Crystal on the night and they have information that will assist with our inquiries. We are urging anyone with any information, no matter how small, to contact police.
A CCTV image, released by police, of Beale from the night of Friday 21 February at a restaurant in Sunnybank showed her with long brown hair, wearing a long white dress with a brown leather shoulder satchel across her body. Police urged anyone with information that may assist with investigations to contact them.
Updated
Watch: NSW police minister refuses repeatedly to answer when she was told caravan plot was fake
Here’s some footage of that back-and-forth in NSW budget estimates that we mentioned earlier, in which the NSW police minister, Yasmin Catley, repeatedly refused to answer questions from the Greens’ Sue Higginson about when she was told the Dural caravan plot was not a terrorist threat or attack, and was asked why she allowed the parliament to be “bombarded” with legislation on a “false basis”.
Updated
Queensland Labor accuses government of scrapping mining lease inquiry under ‘cover of a cyclone’
Queensland’s Labor opposition has accused the government of using the cover of Cyclone Alfred to scrap an inquiry into mining leases.
The Queensland’s Law Reform Commission had been considering ways to improve the way the Land Court handles contested resource leases.
It had been scheduled to publish recommendations in coming months.
The shadow attorney general, Meaghan Scanlon, accused the government of using the “cover of a cyclone” to axe the inquiry.
The attorney general, Deb Frecklington, said she had first met with the head of the QLRC on 25 February, “well before” there had been predictions of a cyclone in South East Queensland.
It was finally axed on Tuesday, as the cyclone was bearing down on Brisbane.
The opposition also criticised the government for closing a committee advising the government about youth crime, also during the cyclone period.
Frecklington called it “Labor’s Independent Ministerial Advisory Committee” and said government had appointed a minister for victims which would replace it.
Updated
Cyclone-hit families eligible for up to $900 in hardship grants from today – Scully
Hardship grants of $180 will be available for individuals in impacted LGAs from midday today, Paul Scully said.
Payments of $180 for immediate food, medicines and other relief will be available. We’re encouraging people to apply online with those. As I said, they’ll be available from midday today. A reminder, $180 for individuals that have been impacted in one of the LGAs that have been disaster declared, where you’ve been evacuated or had 48 hours of power outage, up to $900 per family.
If you in in an impacted region, you can learn more about disaster relief payments here:
Updated
More than 4,000 NSW properties still without power after Alfred – minister
Seventeen homes have been found uninhabitable in Lismore following ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, the NSW minister for planning and public spaces said.
Paul Scully addressed press alongside Saffin and authorities earlier today:
Damage assessment process is under way. As I said, we’re shifting from response to recovery. We want to make sure that we’re getting out and checking out as much not only infrastructure but also houses and the like. We’ve completed around 1,700 damage assessments so far. Seventeen homes have been found to be uninhabitable and a further seven with serious damage. We’re getting support to those people to see where we may be able to provide additional assistance.
Scully said 4,100 properties remained without power, but “work will continue until full power is restored”.
Updated
Lismore emergency centre winding down, local MP says
The Lismore emergency operations centre is in the “wind-down stage” days after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, Janelle Saffin says.
The Lismore MP and authorities gave an update earlier today as the flood clean-up continues. Saffin said:
We’re in the emergency operations centre and … you can see today it’s in the wind-down stage. That’s a good sign. That means we’re going from response to recovery, and that is important for the community.
Updated
Queensland rainfall and flood waters easing after cyclone – Crisafulli
The Queensland premier has updated parliament about the response to ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
David Crisafulli said rainfall has eased and floodwaters were beginning to recede.
I will shortly be appointing a disaster coordinator to lead the recovery.
He said the State Emergency Service had completed an additional 400 tasks in the past 24 hours.
They have never received as many calls for assistance as in the response to Alfred. The SES has done more than 13,000 jobs throughout the event.
Forty have been people rescued from flood waters during the disaster.
Crisafulli said 57,913 people were still without power, while 390,000 homes had been reconnected. The last homes were scheduled to be reconnected by the weekend.
Parliament itself was delayed by a day by the storm and many rooms are still closed, covered in mould.
Updated
Black market tobacco ‘bankrolling very bad criminal gangs’ – Butler
Butler told ABC Radio Melbourne that the extra money for tobacco enforcement will help federal police trace criminal activities, go after the money and seize it in the same way they do in other areas of crime.
The health minister said:
This is an infrastructure we have targeted at other criminal activity, we’ll extend it to tobacco.
We want to go harder at tracking these people down, bringing them to justice … This is criminal activity that undermines our public health campaign to stamp out smoking essentially. But it’s also bankrolling some very, very bad criminal gangs with their criminal activities like drug trafficking and sex trafficking.
I think people out in the community, whether they’re retailers or otherwise, think that this is a relatively innocuous thing to do, to sell these cigarettes at cheap prices, but ultimately you’re bankrolling some very bad criminals.
Updated
Labor gives $157m boost to fight illegal tobacco
The federal government will give law enforcement agencies an additional $156.7m to help them tackle the tobacco black market.
The package adds to the initial $188.5m announced at the start of last year which provided funding for a major Border Force crackdown and strengthened cooperation between the commonwealth, states and territories to combat illicit tobacco.
This new funding, health minister Mark Butler says, is focused on breaking the business model of criminal networks by dismantling their business capabilities and confiscating illicitly-gained assets and monies.
It will be used to step up funding for the Australian federal police, increase international collaboration to better understand the sources of the illegal trade, enable use of emerging technology at the border and commit more money to the Office of the Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarettes Commissioner.
States and territories will receive $40m to support them to establish local level increase their compliance and enforcement capability, and strengthen regulatory authorities’ cross-jurisdictional partnerships.
Updated
Forrest meets the king in London
Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest met with King Charles at a sustainability summit overnight.
Forrest, who is executive chairman and founder of tech company Fortesce, was among CEOs and government leaders attending the global Terra Carta Roundtables and Exhibition at Hampton Court Palace, London. He joined SMI chief executive Jordan-Saifi in welcoming the king at Clock Court, according to the Oxford Mail.
The summit – hosted by the Sustainable Markets Initiative founded by King Charles five years ago – “set out the economic case for a transition to a sustainable future”, according to a media release.
Updated
Caravan plot a hoax but fear it created was ‘very real’ – PM
Albanese confirms the caravan plot was a “hoax”, but says that does not dismiss the fear it created for the Jewish community:
It was a hoax and the police have done a thorough and full investigation. They gave full briefings in appropriate forums and briefings were available to others who chose not to receive them.
I make this point that the fact that it was a hoax does not mean that it didn’t create fear for the Jewish community. It did. While it was a hoax and the motivation was about criminal activities and not related to those issues, the fear that it created was very real and that is absolutely understandable that people felt that fear.
Updated
Albanese says he knew of fake terrorism plot ‘for some time’
The prime minister has moved on to answering questions about the “fake terrorism” caravan plot. Albanese says he has “known for some time”.
I was informed appropriately by the AFP and what I did was engage and support the AFP, not engage in the sort of nonsense that we saw from the Coalition. You had a leader and deputy leader who in question time, in parliament, I called for them to get briefed by the AFP and by our security agencies. I have known for some time what the AFP thought and what the Asio and security agencies thought about the events that occurred, including the caravan.
What I chose to do in spite of some of the media commentary and in spite of the criticism of the opposition, was to act in our interest, back [our] security agencies, back the Australian federal police and allow them to do their job. And that is what responsible leadership looks like, not the commentary that we saw from members of the Coalition.
Updated
Albanese dismissed the prospect of charging the US to use defence bases in Australia, when asked by a reporter. The prime minister says it is in Australia’s best interest to upkeep a defence relationship with the US.
He is speaking live:
We will engage constructively with the United States. It is in Australia’s interest to have the defence relationship that we have with the United States. It is also in the United States’ interest. We will continue to point out that the United States’ interest are not served by today’s decision.
Updated
‘This is not a friendly act’: PM on Trump’s tariff
Albanese continues, saying Trump’s tariff on steel and aluminium imports is disappointing given “Australia has a close relationship with the United States”.
It is disappointing. Australia has a close relationship with the United States. Friends need to act in a way that reinforces, to our respective populations, the fact that we are friends. This is not a friendly act. But it is imposed on every country, that is important. In terms of the competition aspect, every country’s exports on aluminium and steel into the United States will have the same tariff.
Updated
Albanese rules out reciprocal tariffs on US in retaliation against Trump
The prime minister has ruled out imposing reciprocal tariffs on the United States. He is speaking live:
Tariffs and escalating trade tensions are a form of economic self-harm and a recipe for slower growth and higher inflation. They are paid by the consumers. This is why Australia will not be imposing reciprocal tariffs on the United States. Such a course of action would only push up prices for Australian consumers and increase inflation.
We will continue to engage constructively with the United States and to make the case for Australian trade and the benefits that it gives to people in the United States of America.
Updated
PM says Trump tariffs 'against the spirit' of Australia-US relationship
Anthony Albanese says Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from US trading partners – including Australia – are “entirely, entirely unjustified”.
The prime minister said the decision was “against the spirit of our two nations’ enduring friendship”.
Albanese is speaking live:
Such a decision by the Trump administration is entirely unjustified. This is against the spirit of our two nations’ enduring friendship and fundamentally at odds with the benefit of our economic partnership that has delivered over more than 70 years. Australia has no tariffs on goods from the United States and, of course, we have a agreement with the United States. Our government will continue to put forward a very strong case for an exemption, noting that the last time this occurred it took months for that exemption to be granted.
We will advocate for Australian trade with United States at every level, through every channel. Australia will work hard for different outcome and discussions with the Trump administration are ongoing.
Updated
Police chief questioned on Dural caravan plot briefings
The police had suspicions about whether or not the Dural caravan plot was a terrorist threat from the “very early stages of the investigation”, a senior police commissioner has confirmed, as questioning over who knew what when continues to dominate budget estimates.
Deputy police commissioner David Hudson told a parliamentary committee just now under questioning from Liberal MP Susan Carter that police briefings to the government would have not “categorically” said if the plot was a terrorist threat or criminal plot, but that it was being “treated at its highest” and both lines on inquiry were being investigated.
The questioning comes after police minister Yasmin Catley refused to answer when she was informed the caravan plot was not a terror threat, and why the public was not informed sooner.
Asked if the NSW premier Chris Minns was briefed by police “that this caravan was a terrorist event”, Hudson responded:
The premier was told that we were treating it as a terrorist event.
Asked if the premier was also told that it could be a criminal conspiracy, Hudson said the details of that were complicated by “external reporting” that entered the investigation, and “until that was discredited, we treated it as a terrorist incident”.
Updated
Catley stands her ground in grilling on caravan plot
The NSW police minister has again refused to answer in budget estimates when she knew the caravan plot was not a terror threat but a con job by organised crime figures, saying she does not disclose confidential police briefings.
Liberal MP Susan Carter, the shadow assistant minister for the attorney general, pointed out to the minister, Yasmin Catley, that these details were no longer confidential and as of Monday were now in the public domain.
In response to this, Catley maintained that it was her duty as police minister to not disclose confidential briefings.
Carter said:
I am not asking you for confidential details. I’m asking you for details that are no longer confidential.
Catley responded:
Well they were confidential and I’m not sharing them with you.
Carter, after pointing out that Catley had said “were confidential”, responded:
Minister, this is no longer confidential, and I find your recalcitrance to actually provide details to this committee distressing.
Updated
Continued from last post: Higginson later asked Catley why she allowed the parliament to be “bombarded” with legislation by the Minns government drafted to respond to a wave of antisemitic attacks up until 11 February “on the false basis” of the caravan plot being a terrorist event.
Catley responded that the legislation did not specifically relate to that event and was drafted to respond to “hateful crimes” that had occurred for months in Sydney, with the Jewish community increasingly feeling terrorised.
Higginson then asked:
At no point did you, before imposing on the parliament these laws, go to the public and disclose the truth of the matter that this was not a terrorist event? Why did you not do that?
Catley responded:
I will remind you Mrs Higginson that from July 2023 until January 2025 there have been more than 700 antisemitic events and incidents.
Higginson then asked:
There has been 14 people arrested as part of Strike Force Pearl, and not one of them was motivated by ideological, religious or hatred … Why did you not tell the public that the Dural event was not motivated by ideology, politics or religion?
Catley responded:
Well, that has now been.
Updated
NSW police minister in fiery exchange with Greens MP over Dural caravan plot
Yasmin Catley has refused to answer when she was told the Dural caravan plot was not a terrorist threat or attack, arguing she does not share her high-level police briefings with police with “anybody”.
The NSW police minister is before budget estimates today, where questioning over the caravan plot - which police revealed on Monday was a “con job” by organised crime figures and not ideologically motivated – has so far dominated the line of questioning.
The Greens’ spokesperson for justice, Sue Hugginson, repeatedly asked in a fiery exchange over when Catley – who said she’d had daily briefings on the investigation since the end of January – knew the plot was not a terrorist attack, and why the public was not informed sooner.
Higginson asked:
You came out and said this is a terror event. The premier said it is a terror event. Could you please tell this committee so that we can do our job as an oversight committee and an accountability body on behalf of New South Wales: did you become aware that it was not a terrorist event before the 13th of February?
Catley responded:
I’m not going to divulge conversations I had with [deputy police commissioner] David Hudson.
More to come in the next post.
Updated
Allan says the ban of machetes announced today will be dealt with in seperate legislation to the bail laws:
Today, my focus is on bail and talking through the detail of the bail changes. On the implementation of a ban on machetes, what is legitimate use? We’ll have more to say very soon, on the details of banning machetes – we will be the first state in the nation to do so.
There is work to be done to work through implementation with Victoria police … there will be work with retailers. We need to crack down on these dangerous and deadly weapons and there is no place for them being carried on Victorian streets.
Updated
‘We got it wrong’, Allan says of Victorian government’s 2023 law changes
Back to the Victorian premier’s presser.
Allan says the changes the government introduced in the wake of the coronial inquest into the death in custody of Aboriginal woman Veronica Nelson were “wrong”.
So in terms of the 2023 changes I do acknowledge we got it wrong, and I’m standing here as the premier today having listened to the Victorian community – it’s clear to me, it’s clear to everyone in the Victorian community. But the current laws do not reflect community expectations.
She says she doesn’t expect people who have committed low-level offending will be caught up in the latest changes she’s announcing today.
What occurred with Veronica Nelson was an absolute tragedy, an absolute tragedy, and some of those safeguards that were put in place in the changes that were made in 2023 remain in place as part of this package … the target here is on the serious, the worst of offences, bringing in higher tests for the worst of offences, whilst also understanding that we have a responsibility to keep some of those safeguards in place from 2023 to support some of the more vulnerable members of our community.
Updated
ASX falls 1% in 15 minutes
Turning away from the Victorian premier’s presser to the Australian share market for a moment – which has seen a drop of more than 1% in the 15 minutes since it opened today.
ASX200 shed 84.4 points, dropping from 7,880 to 7,805.7 – a quick plunge in just over 15 minutes since it opened at 10am.
Updated
Allan says more set to be in custody after bail laws tightened
Allan says she expects to see more people on remand as a result of the changes:
These changes will see more people on remand. These changes will tackle the heart of the issue, which is this repeat offending that is.
The premier says the new laws will come into effect as soon as they are passed:
We’ll be putting these tough new bail laws to the parliament at the earliest opportunity, which is next Tuesday … These laws can be in place by the end of next week, should the parliament choose to act with the same urgency that the government have and that the community are demanding.
Updated
Kilkenny added:
The crimes that we are seeing at the moment that is driving fear within our communities – where young offenders are breaking into our homes, at night, often with weapons – these new bail laws are going to target squarely these kinds of crimes to ensure that community safety is put first.
No one wants to see kids on remand, but we know there are young offenders and other offenders out there who are committing the very worst types of crime that is driving community fear.
Updated
Toughening Victoria’s bail laws meets community expectations – Allan
Victorian premier Jacinta Allan, attorney general Sonya Kilkenny and police minister Anthony Carbines are holding a press conference on their proposed changes to the state’s bail laws.
Allan is explaining why she’s introducing them:
It is absolutely clear to me and to the Victorian community that the current laws are not just not meeting community expectations, they are not dealing with this repeat pattern of offending we are seeing across our community – which is why, last month, I directed the attorney general and the police minister to look at what more needed to be done.
What more needed to be done to toughen our bail laws, to meet those community expectations and to get these repeat offenders off our streets? Which is why today we are bringing forward these tough new bail laws that are making sweeping changes to our bail system that will put the focus on reducing the risk of people offending and reoffending on bail, reducing that risk across our system.
Updated
White House confirms 25% tariff on steel and aluminium 'with no exceptions'
The White House has confirmed the blanket 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports from US trading partners “with no exceptions”, the Guardian’s US Politics live blog is reporting.
Here is the statement:
President Trump has once again used the leverage of the American economy, which is the best and biggest in the world, to deliver a win for the American people. Pursuant to his previous executive orders, a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium with no exceptions or exemptions will go into effect for Canada and all of our other trading partners at midnight, March 12th.
Read more in the Guardian US Politics live blog.
Updated
Raising welfare payments would help domestic violence victims – Acoss
The Australian Council of Social Service (Acoss), which was a member of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee, called for the government to lift the merger rate in the upcoming budget.
Acoss CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie said:
The benefits are crystal clear. It would improve people’s mental and physical health, it would improve wellbeing, and it would reduce poverty in one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
It would also support women experiencing domestic and family violence, helping them to leave an abusive partner.
The committee again heard harrowing testimony from people receiving jobseeker and related payments about how it is not possible to get by on such little income. People broke down in front of the committee because of the severe stress they are under, not knowing if they can pay the next electricity bill and keep a roof over their heads.
How many more times do people need to explain the distress and harm caused by living in poverty in one of the wealthiest countries in the world?
The way to fix this, in Acoss’s view, is to lift jobseeker, youth allowance and related payments to at least the pension rate of $82 a day so that everyone can get through difficult times.
Updated
Increase jobseeker payment, welfare groups urge: ‘$56 a day goes fast’
Mission Australia has joined other welfare organisations, including Acoss, in demanding the rate of jobseeker be lifted after the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee suggested raising the rate to bring people out of abject poverty.
The independent committee said increasing jobseeker to 90% of the pension from $56 to $74 per day would help ensure its adequacy.
Mission Australia’s executive of practice, evidence and impact, Marion Bennett, said:
Our frontline workers know that $56 a day goes fast and not very far when there is rent, food, bills and healthcare costs to cover. It is heartbreaking to see so many people relying on charities like Mission Australia for the first time in their lives because inadequate income support is pushing them into poverty, housing instability and even homelessness.
People in Australia are compassionate and caring and the government’s actions should reflect these qualities. We hope third time is a charm for the government to heed the recommendation of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee to permanently and adequately increase the base rate of jobseeker and youth allowance to help protect people and families from poverty and homelessness.
Updated
The Age publishes Palmer ad after staff protest
The Age has published an ad from Clive Palmer’s new Trumpet of Patriots party today which says “there are only two genders”. This comes after the Newcastle Herald apologised for publishing the same ad after journalists were “furious” yesterday, Guardian Australia reported.
In the past week the Age has published Palmer’s anti-immigration and anti-welcome-to-country advertisements, which have also appeared in News Corp publications.
Read more about the ad in the Newcastle Herald from Amanda Meade here:
Updated
Victorian government lashed for ‘draconian bail reforms’
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, is going to hold a press conference later this morning on the changes, which will likely face opposition from legal and human rights groups, as well as within her own Socialist Left faction.
On X, the former president of Liberty Victoria, Michael Stanton, wrote:
The duplicity of this Government fronting Yoorrook and now desperately introducing these draconian bail reforms is just breathtaking. Including removing the principle of detention being a last resort for children? This will result in deaths in custody. It’s a disgrace.
Ali Besiroglu, the head of legal services at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, replied:
300 kids, that’s it. Overhaul the entirety of the bail system for 300 children (with 25 kids being responsible for a quarter of those offences). Unbelievable!
Besiroglu linked to our feature, which includes those figures:
Updated
Scrapped Victorian offence set to be brought back
The Victoria government is also going to reintroduce the offence of committing an indictable offence while on bail. The offence was scrapped in 2023 an inquest into the death of Veronica Nelson, an Aboriginal woman who died in custody after being remanded for shoplifting.
The coroner investigating her death, Simon McGregor, found the state’s bail laws were a “complete, unmitigated disaster”, contributing to the death of Nelson, a proud Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta woman in custody on January 2020. She had been refused bail for shop theft offences in December 2019.
The coroner said the Bail Act had a “discriminatory impact on First Nations people, resulting in grossly disproportionate rates of [First Nations people] remanded in custody, the most egregious of which affects alleged offenders who are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women”.
Updated
Victoria moves to bring in country’s ‘toughest’ bail laws
The Victorian government will today announce its plans to introduce the “toughest bail laws in Australia”, which will treat children accused of serious crimes like adults when courts decide whether to remand them or release them into the community.
As we reported earlier this morning, cabinet met on Tuesday to agree to make changes to the Bail Act, which – if passed by parliament – will scrap the principle of remand only as a “last resort” for accused youth offenders. In its place, community safety will become the “overarching principle” when deciding bail for children and adults.
Repeat offenders of serious and violent crimes will also have a greater onus to convince courts they can be bailed while they await trial, with a new test to be introduced the government says is “extremely hard to pass”.
Under the test, bail can’t be granted to repeat offenders unless a court is satisfied to a “high degree of probability” they won’t reoffend. The test will apply to offences such as murder, aggravated charges of home invasion, burglary and carjacking.
The government says a similar test recently introduced in NSW led to a halving of the number of people who received bail.
Victoria’s test goes further: it will apply to adults as well as youths and it will apply to more offences.
Tougher bail tests will also be introduced for crimes including home invasions and carjackings, even when no weapons are involved.
Updated
Australia will push for tariff exemption ‘until very last moment’ – O’Neil
The government is “fighting with every single tool” available on the US tariff decision, Clare O’Neil said on Sunrise earlier this morning.
The federal housing minister said Australia was still in discussion with the US, “so I’m not going to accept this as the situation yet”. She continued:
We still have a little bit of time and lots of discussions continuing to happen.
We’re in a world where Canada and Mexico, the two largest trading partners of the US, will have tariffs imposed. In Canada, perhaps even at 50%. I think, to put it mildly, we’re operating in a new context here.
It is obviously in Australia’s best interests for these tariffs not to be imposed. We are doing everything we can and fighting with every single tool that we have available in order to get ourselves in the best possible position. We’re still continuing those negotiations and discussion. That will continue until the very last moment.
Updated
Trump tariff decision bad for Australia-US ties – Butler
Mark Butler said the US tariff decision was “bad for our relationship” when asked whether it had a damaging effect on international relations on ABC News Breakfast a short while ago.
The federal health minister also said it was a bad economic decision:
This is a disappointing decision. It’s a bad economic decision. It’s bad for our relationship. It’s bad for the US, ultimately, because we think that the exports we send to them - which are significantly less than the exports they send to us - are good for the US economy. They’re good for US industry. They’re particularly good for defence, which is an important area of cooperation.
We think this is a bad decision that’s disappointing, and we’ll continue to press the case for it.
Updated
Australia to keep pressing ‘at highest level’ for tariff exemption
Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, has been “relentless” in pressing the case for Australian exemption to US steel and aluminium tariffs, Butler says.
We’ve only been going at this for almost seven weeks that President Trump has been back in office. We intend to continue to press the case at the highest level – particularly ambassador Rudd has been relentless in this, meeting with officials almost constantly to press the American case. We’ve had a lot of senior ministerial engagement.
Obviously the prime minister has spoken directly with the president. We’ll continue to do that. It’s not only in Australia’s interest – which for us, is the most important thing – we’re confident, we’re very sure it’s in both of our interests’ interest to continue the open trade that has characterised particularly the last 20 years under the US FTA.
Updated
Butler says Trump tariffs decision ‘deeply disappointing’ but battle’s not over
Federal health minister Mark Butler says Australia’s case for exemption from US tariffs is not over “by any means”. He is speaking live on ABC News Breakfast:
This is obviously deeply disappointing news, but we knew this was going to be a tough fight. The second … Trump administration seems much more determined on this front than perhaps the first administration. Even back then, when the Turnbull government was in office here in Australia, it took nine months to gain the exemption that they ultimately did. So we’ve been working very hard on this.
Today’s news is disappointing, but we don’t see this issue as being over, by any means. We will continue to press the case for an exemption from Australian exports from these new tariffs.
Updated
House prices show signs of recovery in bellwether suburbs – CoreLogic
There’s bad news for prospective homebuyers looking to pick up a bargain in Sydney’s affluent eastern suburbs or Melbourne’s inner east, Australian Associated Press reports.
Following a relatively short-lived downturn, prestige housing markets in Australia are picking up momentum – a sign that the broader market is set for stronger growth following the Reserve Bank’s first rate cut in more than four years.
The upper quartile of the housing market tends to act as a bellwether and swung from a 0.3% decline in January to a 0.2% rise in February, says CoreLogic economist Kaytlin Ezzy.
“If this momentum continues, the quarterly change in upper quartile values could turn positive and potentially outperform the lower quartile and middle market for the first time since August 2023,” she said.
The northern end of Sydney’s eastern suburbs, including the ritzy locales of Point Piper, Double Bay and Vaucluse, recorded a 250-basis point turnaround from a 0.5% fall in January to a 2% lift.
Meanwhile, Stonnington in Melbourne’s inner east, which includes the well-heeled suburbs of Prahran, South Yarra and Toorak, experienced a 264-basis point recovery.
CoreLogic research shows the higher end of the market has historically been the most sensitive to changes in interest rates.
Updated
Clive Palmer kickstarts another ad blitz
In the latest of our series looking at what lies behind the headlines of the election campaign, Josh Butler and Dan Jervis-Bardy have been digging into what Clive Palmer has been spending on ads since he set up his new political vehicle – the Trumpet of Patriots.
After starting up its Google and YouTube blitz last Thursday, it has spent about $15,000 in 48 hours. “Over the seven days to Monday, Trumpet of Patriots had spent about $140,000 on Google and YouTube ads, which generated between 4m and 5m impressions online, according to Google’s ad library tool,” they write.
Our reporters also look at a sporting chance for Eden-Monaro’s Labor member, Kristy McBain, and they have some banter with Adam Bandt.
Read the full piece here:
Updated
Good morning, blog readers – this is Rafqa Touma. I’ll be taking you through the day’s live news updates. Thank you to Martin Farrer for getting us rolling this morning.
Updated
Labor just ahead of opposition in new poll
Labor has taken a slim lead over the Coalition in a weekly survey ahead of a federal election expected in May, Australian Associated Press reports.
The Roy Morgan poll puts Labor on 51.5% to the Coalition’s 48.5% on a two-party-preferred basis, with a two-point rise in support for the government and a two-point dip for the opposition flipping the prior week’s result.
A Roy Morgan survey issued in the last week of February had also had Labor leading the coalition, 51% to 49%.
Anthony Albanese said on Friday he would not pick 12 April as election day and that the federal budget scheduled for 25 March would go ahead.
Other Saturdays later in April have been ruled out for an election due to the Easter and Anzac Day long weekends.
While the election must be held by 17 May, the next most likely date is 3 May.
Updated
SES warns of dangers for children playing in cyclone-eroded dunes
The NSW state emergency service has urged people to be careful around coastal sand dunes that have been damaged by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
The service’s assistant commissioner, Nicole Hogan, has expressed concern about reports of children and young people playing on the severely eroded dunes:
While the weather has now eased and it is encouraging to see communities return to normality and visit the beach, it is vital that I remind families that severe coastal erosion occurred on many beaches due to the storm surge and big waves which we experienced.
There is currently an increased risk that the sand dunes will collapse and cause injury due to the severe erosion. While it may appear fun for children to play on them, it is not worth the risk
Updated
Trump ‘considered against’ tariff exemption for Australia as deadline looms
Australia will reportedly not get an exemption to US steel and aluminium tariffs, with Donald Trump said to have decided against giving a carve-out that he dangled in front of Anthony Albanese.
But the federal government says it remains in discussion with the Trump administration, and will have “more to say” on the matter soon.
Multiple Australian media outlets reported early on Wednesday (AEDT) that White House press secretary Katherine Leavitt had told them in a private briefing in Washington DC that Canberra would not receive an exemption to the 25% steel and aluminium tariffs due to come into force today.
The ABC reported that Leavitt had said Trump “considered it, and considered against it”, for the purpose of backing American-made products over overseas ones.
Trump had previously told Albanese that a carve-out for Australian products would be considered; the president said there would be “great consideration” given to such a move.
An Albanese government spokesperson told Guardian Australia on Wednesday morning that it had “been working hard at all levels to secure an exemption”.
“We remain in discussion with the United States administration, and will have more to say,” the statement said.
The Coalition had said it would be a test of Albanese’s leadership if Australia failed to receive an exemption, as Malcolm Turnbull’s government had in 2017. Shadow trade minister Kevin Hogan said on Wednesday that Albanese had “failed” steel and aluminium workers, claiming “the prime minister lacked the courage to travel to Washington” to discuss the matter directly with Trump.
But Turnbull himself this week rejected the claims from his former party, saying this week: “There has been an attempt to set Albanese up to fail on something that he was most unlikely to succeed in.”
Updated
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with some of the top overnight stories before Rafqa Touma takes the helm.
Time is running out for Australia to escape US metals tariffs ahead of the deadline later today with a run on gold exports creating a trade surplus with the US and posssibly providing Donald Trump with another reason to place levies on Australian steel and aluminium. The US president’s spat with Malcolm Turnbull may not have helped Australia’s case and attitudes are hardening across the board, as demonstrated by Trump’s decision overnight to double tariffs on Canadian metal imports to the US. All of which has caused further losses on stock markets during the European and US trading day. The ASX is tipped to fall more than 2% at the opening this morning. We’ll have more as it unfolds.
Clive Palmer’s new party, the Trumpet of Patriots, is already outspending the major parties as the shadow election campaign gathers pace. The mining mogul has created controversy with newspaper campaigns and has invested in Google ads at a higher rate than even the Western Australian Liberal and Labor parties ahead of the state election last week.
Staying with politics, a poll out today shows that Labor has edged ahead of the Coalition. The Roy Morgan poll puts Labor on 51.5% to the Coalition’s 48.5% on a two-party-preferred basis, widening a lead that first emerged at the end of February in the polling series. And a report from CoreLogic today says house prices are rising again in some areas. More coming up.
And there has been severe erosion on eastern Australian beaches pounded by Tropical Cyclone Alfred – now authorities are warning about the dangers that poses to visitors. More on that very soon.
Updated
