What we learned today, Wednesday 12 February
Thanks for joining us on the blog today. Here’s a wrap of what’s been keeping us busy:
The major parties have struck a deal to cap political donations and campaign spending, sidelining crossbenchers in a major overhaul of federal electoral laws.
Jim Chalmers has announced the government is changing rules so banks won’t consider student debt when granting home loans.
The mining magnate Clive Palmer has lost a high court bid to reregister his United Australia party ahead of this year’s federal election.
The NSW government will hold an inquiry into antisemitism after a motion put forward by the opposition passed the Legislative Council today.
The prime minister has labelled a video circulating online – showing two hospital workers claiming they would refuse to treat Israeli patients and one saying they would “kill them” – as “antisemitic” and “disgusting”.
The Coalition MP Andrew Wallace has today relaunched the Australia-Israel allies caucus, hosting a small event in Parliament House with the Israeli ambassador, Amir Maimon.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Melbourne will move from weekly to monthly.
Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro has said Australia is “killing” the US aluminium market, while the president considers an exemption on tariffs for Australia.
Commonwealth Bank has delivered a bumper $5.13bn half-year cash profit, in a result that has beaten market expectations and threatens to attract political attention amid widespread cost-of-living pressures.
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Labor and Coalition reach deal on overhaul of federal electoral laws
The major parties have struck a deal to cap political donations and campaign spending, sidelining crossbenchers in a major overhaul of federal electoral laws.
The legislation is poised to pass on Wednesday night after the special minister of state, Don Farrell, agreed to several amendments to secure the Coalition’s support for his plan to strip big money out of politics.
Guardian Australia understands that under the changes, the cap on individual donations will rise from the proposed $20,000 to $50,000 and the disclosure threshold will increase from $1,000 to $5,000.
The campaign spending limits will remain at $800,000 per electorate, and $90m nationally.
There are currently no limits on donations or expenditure, allowing mining magnate Clive Palmer to spend tens of millions of dollars campaigning at previous elections.
Under the amendment, peak bodies such as the Australian Council of Trade Unions and Business Council of Australia would be able to set aside up to $200,000, or four times the new donations cap, from affiliated unions or members to fund national campaigns.
The agreement will infuriate the crossbench, who have been warning about a Labor-Coalition “stitch-up” that disadvantages minor parties and independents.
The Greens’ democracy spokesperson, Larissa Waters, said the deal would allow the major parties to “keep power and privilege”:
Today, we’re seeing Labor and the Liberals vote together to help themselves, not help the community or democracy.
This post has been updated to clarify the rules around peak bodies.
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Police seize more than 17,000 vapes in NSW traffic stop
Police have seized more than 17,000 vapes with an estimated street value of $873,000 during a car stop on the Hume Highway.
The driver, a 35-year-old man, was charged with goods in personal custody suspected of being stolen.
Police said the highway patrol stopped the car on the Hume Highway about 15km south-west of Holbrook on Tuesday.
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NSW to hold antisemitism inquiry
The NSW government will hold an inquiry into antisemitism after a motion put forward by the opposition passed the Legislative Council a short time ago.
The inquiry will examine the causes of antisemitism and its threat to social cohesion. It will also explore ways to improve community safety and security around synagogues, and privacy arrangements for information such as people’s addresses.
The inquiry, which will be undertaken by the Justice and Communities committee, is due to report back on 1 September this year.
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‘We don’t want young people to have to choose’: housing minister on changes to Hecs-Help consideration in home loans
The minister for housing, Clare O’Neil, has spoken about the government’s announcement this morning that it is changing rules so banks won’t consider student debt when granting home loans.
Speaking on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing a little earlier, she said:
We don’t want young people in our country to have to choose between bettering their education and getting access to secure housing.
One of the barriers to them doing that was the fact that banks were taking effectively Hecs-Help loans and treating them as a normal type of debt. The treasurer has been working closely with our financial regulators to set some new boundaries around that and make sure the banks understand Hecs and Help should be treated in that way.
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Allowing banks to disregard homebuyers’ student debts a ‘desperate attempt’ to win young voters, Greens deputy says
The treasurer’s announcement that Labor will change rules to allow banks to disregard student debt in their consideration of home loans is a “desperate attempt to win young voters,” the Greens say.
The move was a recommendation of the government’s Universities Accord, handed down last February, acknowledging Hecs/Help debts were locking young people out of home ownership.
Greens deputy leader and higher education spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, said the announcement was “yet another demonstration of the Albanese government’s pathological inability to pursue anything other than ‘too little, too late’ solutions”.
We have heard for years now that massive student debts are locking people out of the housing market, and finally, in the dying days of the Albanese government’s first term, they’ve decided to do the bare minimum in a desperate attempt to win young voters. The problem here is the fact that student debts exist and grow every year. Banks won’t solve the student debt crisis, only governments can.
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Hello, I’ll now be with you until later this afternoon.
Thank you all for joining me on the blog today! I’ll leave you in the very capable hands of Jordyn Beazley to take you through rest of the news this afternoon.
I’ll see you here again bright and early tomorrow.
Democracy ‘dead’, says Palmer after high court ruling on UAP
The mining magnate Clive Palmer has responded to the high court’s ruling that he can’t reregister the United Australia party before the next election.
Palmer’s released a statement saying that in his opinion, “democracy was dead in Australia” after the ruling.
This is a disappointing outcome, but it will not deter us from ensuring Australians have a real alternative at the ballot box.
This is a very dangerous precedent, standing in the way of real democracy where people can vote for the party of their choice.
The UAP was voluntarily deregistered after the last federal election. He was challenging the law that said he could not reregister it within the same electoral cycle, and the court ruled that law is valid.
Palmer says he’ll continue to fight on.
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Tl;dr: what did we learn in question time today?
It was largely cost-of-living focused from the opposition today, namely why people are worse off now than they were under the previous government. It’s a big issue, and one both the government and opposition will keep the spotlight on through the election campaign.
Speaker Milton Dick does not like long preambles – he told MPs to keep it tight (both in length and content of the question) and to stick to 30 seconds.
The government’s dixers were mostly tied to the cost of living again today, and there were a fair few (more than one might hope) references to the Coalition’s tax-deductible lunch policy (which they still haven’t publicly released the costings for).
From the crossbench, the Greens asked whether the government would introduce a billionaire tax (the answer was basically no).
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Here’s a video of Anthony Albanese during question time a little earlier, responding to the video on social media of NSW healthcare workers.
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Question time finishes
The final question is a dixer for the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, on the significant investor visa, which Peter Dutton has said he may bring back. Burke’s been getting a question on that one every day this week in question time.
And with that, QT is over for another day.
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Electric vehicle uptake highest in outer suburbs, Bowen says
Independent MP Kylea Tink gets the next question from the crossbench, and asks the energy minister, Chris Bowen, for an update on new vehicle efficiency standards, and how much of an uptake we’ve seen from electric vehicles.
Bowen says until 1 January, Australia, along with Russia, were the only two major economies without new vehicle efficiency standards, and says it was “in the too-hard basket for too long”.
He says there are now eight electric vehicle models that are priced under $45,000 and that will benefit Australians commuting from outer metropolitan suburbs.
The people who really benefit from this policy are people in the outer suburbs and regions who drive for longer distances. For example, an average motorist in the electorate of Mitchell would benefit compared to a motorist in the electorate of North Sydney. $90bn in overall benefit between now and 2050 in terms of petrol costs, but much more in the outer suburbs.
These are the suburbs and electorates that benefit that those opposite tried to deny choice to. They don’t really represent outer suburbs and region.
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In dixer land, the latest question goes to Mark Butler on the $573bn women’s health package that was announced Sunday.
Before that, the education minister Jason Clare was asked about how good and important education is (answer: very).
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Milton Dick tells MPs to ‘practise’ their questions to stay under time limit
The next opposition question starts with the same “cost-of-living crisis, gas crisis, crime crisis” preamble. The member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox, asks why households are “paying thousands more under the Albanese government”.
Milton Dick says there was “far too much preamble”, and tells members to “practise” their questions so they’re within 30 seconds. Dick says he’s “feeling generous” and will let the question stand (but he sounds as if he’s pretty done with chamber drama).
Albanese says he’ll do his “best to give an answer to a non-question”.
I’m happy to speak about cost of living, because it’s only this side of the parliament that have raised cost-of-living measures, that have taken action on cost-of-living through each of our three budgets and, indeed, every day in this parliament through question time while those opposite have looked for culture wars.
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PM says Coalition ‘came up with three policies in total’
The shadow energy minister and member for Fairfax, Ted O’Brien, gets to the podium next. He begins broadly: “The Albanese Labor government has created a cost-of-living crisis, a gas crisis, a crime crisis, a rent crisis, an energy crisis and a housing crisis.”
The question then goes to whether there’s anyone paying less for their energy bills now (a reference to the Labor promise of bringing down power bills by $275 that they made before the last election).
The member for Fairfax was one of the people who opposed the $300 rebate on energy bills for every single Australian household.
… They [the Coalition] came up with three policies in total … They came up with a $600bn nuclear plan. Then they came up with, of course, another plan $10bn for long lunches for business. They had that and then of course they’ve come up with a third plan announced on the Insiders program that they’re going to cut everything to pay for it.
O’Brien gets up on a point of order, but the speaker, Milton Dick, says the question was “broad by anyone’s definition”.
Albanese continues, saying Australian taxpayers will “get the bill” if Dutton is elected (another lunch reference).
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Albanese gets more animated as he goes along:
Well, here’s what a serious member of the National party had to say. Had to say. ‘If not for Rex, they [regional towns] wouldn’t be able to get doctors, nurses, vaccines and most importantly medication …’
That is why he went on to say, “I’ve raised the possibility of the federal government having an equity stake in Rex to ensure the airline’s future.” That’s a real leader sitting down the end over there for the National party. And you, sir, are not fit to represent a serious job in this parliament.
He gets a big shout of support and some desk slapping from the government benches.
The next dixer to the government goes to the infrastructure minister, Catherine King, on the Rex update, and calls the previous question a “joke”.
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Albanese hits back over ‘Albo Air’ question on potential Rex purchase
Things are heating up – Michael Sukkar, manager of opposition business, asks the PM:
My question is to the prime minister. Will the prime minister rule out a appointing his close friend Alan Joyce as CEO of the new Albo Air?
There’s plenty of grumble from the government benches, and immediately Tony Burke stands up with a point of order.
The member knows full well that he was asking that question for the purpose of getting up the nose and he’s not referring to a government agencies. The question is completely out of order.
Despite that, the PM decides to answer.
Having seen the mess that the previous people who were operating Rex Airlines, who have close links with a political party – not ours – in having delusions of grandeur, being given by the former government $150m – untied – of taxpayers’ money during the pandemic, on top of jobkeeper, who chose, rather than fix up the Saab aircraft … with delusions of grandeur, to buy or lease big aircraft to try and compete on Sydney-to-Melbourne route and drove an airline into the ground.
The following airlines that were grounded under the former government – Pacific Air Express, Jet Go, SkyTrans, Aeropelican, Brindabella, Tiger and Virgin and others all went into either administration or fell apart.
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‘A party of protest that can say whatever they like’: PM dismisses Greens’ proposed billionaire tax
The first crossbench question goes to the Greens MP Stephen Bates who asks:
Currently, billionaires are making out like bandits, while everyone else is being squeezed. Yesterday, the Greens announced a plan for Australia’s 150 billionaires to pay an annual 10% billionaire tax on net wealth, raising $50bn over the decade.
Prime minister, do you agree it is time billionaires paid their fair share to ensure everyone can get access to the services they need such as seeing the GP for free?
Albanese has a dig at the minor party, and says he understands young people feel they “aren’t getting a fair crack”.
I’m surprised that he stopped at 10%. Why not 20%? 30%? 40%? 50%? Because that’s the difference between a political party that seeks to form government and a party of protest that can say whatever they like.
That is: Labor isn’t going to introduce an annual billionaire tax.
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MPs of all stripes greet Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull
As Krishani brought you earlier, Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull are in the VIP visitors seating in question time today, for the condolence motion for former attorney-general Thomas Hughes – Lucy’s father, Malcolm’s father-in-law, and a celebrated barrister and politician.
They were warmly welcomed in speeches from the prime minister and opposition leader, and numerous MPs walked to their seats to greet them. Anthony Albanese was one of the first, before a large number of Labor, Coalition and crossbench members also shook their hands.
Peter Dutton, the man who sought to roll Turnbull as PM in 2018 during the spill that led Scott Morrison to take the top job, was among those to briefly shake hands with the Turnbulls. Malcolm, who has described Dutton as a “thug”, rose out of his chair to shake the opposition leader’s hand before he moved on down the line.
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Housing minister takes dixer on social and affordable homes
The first two dixers today have been on housing – the first goes to the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and now the housing minister, Clare O’Neil, is up:
On this side of the parliament, we’re investing $10bn to build tens of thousands of social and affordable homes through the housing Australia future fund. On that side of the parliament, they want to scrap the Housing Australia Future Fund, rip up the $10bn and instead start a $10bn long lunch tab for corporate bosses.
(That’s right … we’re still talking about the opposition’s tax-deductible lunch policy here.)
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PM spruiks Labor economic policies in response to Angus Taylor question
Angus Taylor has the next question. There’s a long preamble and the question is … “Why are Australians paying the price for Labor’s economic incompetence?”
Albanese says “I thank the shadow treasurer for his very tight question there,” which gets a chuckle. He’s basically saying that the question is so broad he can go where he likes with it. So he gives us the full array of Labor’s key policies.
We haven’t had a single quarter of negative growth. We’ve continued to have positive growth. Inflation is down, down to 2.4%.
All of our cost-of-living measures, whether it was energy bill relief, cheaper childcare, cheaper medicines, extra bulk-billed GP appointments, free Tafe, the largest rent assistance increase in 30 years, student debt relief for 3 million families – [the opposition] have opposed every single one of those measures.
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Question time begins
We’re now on questions. The Liberal MP Julian Leeser, who is Jewish, asks the prime minister:
Prime minister, for the last 15 months, Jewish Australians have been subjected to harassment, doxing, firebombing, death threats and terror plots. Today, we’ve seen revelations of New South Wales health workers calling for Israeli patients to be refused treatment and claiming to have murdered Israelis under their care. Prime minister, the Australian Jewish community is living in fear. How did the country get to this point?
Anthony Albanese responds:
I have seen this antisemitic video. It’s driven by hate and it’s disgusting. The comments are vile, the footage is sickening and it is shameful. Antisemitic comments have no place certainly in our health system but no place anywhere else in Australia either. Overwhelmingly, people in our health system, our nurses, our doctors, our orderlies, they go into the health system because they care about their fellow Australians, their fellow humans.
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PM and opposition leader pay tribute to former Liberal MP Thomas Hughes
Anthony Albanese says in Hughes’ 101 years, “he gave us many remarkable chapters”.
Even in Tom’s absence, may his presence always loom large in your lives. As Tom himself once put it: ‘It’s been a long life, but I’ve been very, very lucky.’ Australia was certainly lucky to have him. May he rest in peace.
Peter Dutton also gives his condolences.
Born into a greatly accomplished family, Tom Hughes undoubtedly felt the weight of great expectations; but, imbued with the same sense of service as his grandfather and father, it was inevitable that Tom would add to the Hughes family legacy and leave his mark on this nation. And he most certainly did.
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ASRC welcomes extension of appeals timeframe for refugees and asylum seekers
Earlier this morning, changes to how the Administrative Review Tribunal operates passed the upper house into law.
Some of the amendments passed included extending the appeals timeframes for people in immigration from seven days to 14 days.
The amendments were welcomed by the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre, but its deputy chief executive, Jana Favero, said there were still missed opportunities.
Those missed opportunities included not extending the ability to review decisions for those made by the Immigration Assessment Authority, which was abolished in October.
Favero said while some changes provided “basic procedural fairness for refugees and people seeking asylum”, the amendments overlooked the lack of recourse or pathway to permanency for those who received IAA decisions.
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The chamber is getting louder as we count down to question time.
Malcolm Turnbull and Lucy Turnbull are here today. There will be a condolence motion before questions begin for Lucy Turnbull’s father, Thomas Hughes, who was a former Liberal MP and attorney general.
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Palmer loses high court bid to reregister UAP ahead of federal election
Mining magnate Clive Palmer has lost a high court bid to reregister his United Australia Party ahead of this year’s federal election.
The UAP was “voluntarily” deregistered by the Australian Electoral Commission in September 2022, with its lone senator, Ralph Babet, saying at the time the party would continue and he would represent it in parliament.
You can read more details from when it was deregistered below:
The high court today upheld the validity of the Commonwealth Electoral Act, which plaintiffs Palmer, Babet and Neil Favager, the party’s national director, had sought to challenge.
According to the pronouncement of the orders, the pair were ordered to pay costs. Candidates with the party will not be identified with the UAP on ballot papers at the upcoming election.
The court is yet to publish its reasons, but is expected to do so in “due course”.
Palmer formed the UAP in 2013.
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Husic says aluminium production cutbacks not being considered amid US tariffs
Back to the press club, and to the issue dominating the globe, Ed Husic is asked about the tariffs Donald Trump has just signed off on.
He says it’s important to recognise the “breadth of work” that’s been done by the government to exclude Australia from the tariffs on steel and aluminium.
The world has a high demand for our aluminium. We need it as part of the transition to net zero and there is a healthy future for Australian aluminium and the question is for our American friends: do you want to pay more for that product that you have got a big demand for? We will work through all those issues.
Husic is also asked whether Australia would consider cutting back its aluminium exports to the US.
To your question would we cut back production for the purpose of export, that is not something we are contemplating. I imagine that the firms involved wouldn’t be contemplating that either. They will satisfy demand wherever it exists on the globe.
Having spoken with the owners of aluminium smelters themselves, their preference is not to have those tariffs in place. They are also confident in their product, in their people, in what they are offering the world and I think they will continue to export.
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Greens condemn video about treating Israeli patients
Greens leader Adam Bandt and Greens senator David Shoebridge have also condemned a video circulating social media, allegedly showing two hospital workers claiming they would refuse to treat Israeli patients and one saying they would “kill them”.
More on the story here:
In a post on X, Bandt wrote, “everyone must be able to access healthcare”.
Any suggestion that people would be unsafe or denied treatment in hospital is appalling.
Shoebridge echoed the statement, saying the comments were “abhorrent and have no place in our society”.
It is entirely appropriate that this has been referred for investigation. Public hospitals are a place where everyone should be safe.
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Husic sidesteps whether he’s pressing Chalmers again on company tax
Over at the National Press Club, Ed Husic is asked about whether he wants to advocate – as he did last year – to the treasurer for a reduction in the company tax rate, as a way to drive private research and development.
Husic chuckles, and won’t bite on whether he’s challenged the treasurer on the policy again.
I see what you’re doing and I ain’t falling for it. Jack, I appreciate the question but there are a lot of things we do need to do. Today is an opportunity for us to recognise from a primarily economic lens, the value of R&D and the way it transfers confers advantage to Australian firms [that] will be really important long-term.
Earlier Husic said he’d like to see a higher target on how much research and development Australia does.
It has been reflected upon, in terms of our investment in R&D relative to the economy and also relative to our performance in the OECD, we have often said we need to get somewhere up to around 3% [of GDP]. We are a shade under 1.7% at the moment.
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Australia-Israel allies group relaunched at parliament
Coalition MP Andrew Wallace has today relaunched the Australia-Israel allies caucus, hosting a small event in Parliament House with the Israeli ambassador, Amir Maimon.
Wallace addressed the audience, which included a number of Coalition MPs and senator and former Labor MP Mike Kelly, shortly after Maimon, who requested his speech be off the record.
Parliament already has a friends of Israel group established, but Wallace – who chairs the group – said the caucus was necessary because friendship groups couldn’t “rock the boat”.
Parliamentary friendship groups, by their very nature, walk a fine line between not being critical of the government of the day, and unfortunately, this government has abandoned Australian Jews and has abandoned the state of Israel to such an extent that, as the chair of this caucus, I have had to be very vocal.
The member for Fisher also condemned the two New South Wales hospital workers who appeared in a social media video allegedly refusing to treat and threatening to kill Israeli patients.
I would say it’s not just on the left side of politics. You’ve got the far left and you’ve also got this far right as well. So you’ve got the extremities of Australian politics and those people that tend to gather in those environments, spewing out the most vile hatred.
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Australia set on ‘seizing benefits’ of AI as it signs Paris summit declaration – Husic
Industry and science minister Ed Husic is at the National Press Club today spruiking science (no shock there) and the pathway for growing Australian research and development.
It’s the 40th anniversary of science and technology Australia (STA), which he says has gone from “strength to strength”.
On the more contentious area of artificial intelligence and its regulation, Husic says Australia signed the declaration on “inclusive and sustainable” artificial intelligence in Paris yesterday at the AI action summit.
He’s still working on broader guardrails for AI in Australia.
We are focused on seizing the benefits [of AI] while building trust, that is why we signed the Paris declaration overnight at the AI Action Summit, unlocking AI growth in ways that benefit the economy and communities. That is the focus of our national AI capability plan, while developing the right guardrails for high risk AI that might cause harm.
Debates about how to best govern AI are moving swiftly. We are listening closely to conversations here and overseas and we will have more to say on this soon.
You can see more of that AI summit here:
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AGL holds ground on renewables saying 'time and cost' rule out nuclear power
Electricity giant AGL Energy is standing firm on replacing ageing coal-fired power stations with renewable energy, as it rejects a federal opposition plan to add nuclear energy to the nation’s network.
AGL chief executive Damien Nicks told AAP.
Both time and cost won’t allow nuclear to be done on time ... the question right now is about getting on and getting this done as soon as we can.
Our strategy is about building a whole range of assets, not one or the other. It’s going to be renewables, batteries, pumped hydro, gas peakers to support what this market needs.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton plans to build seven nuclear reactors on former coal sites across the nation, including sites owned by AGL in NSW and Victoria, if elected in 2025.
Nicks said that on the Liddell site in the NSW Upper Hunter region, AGL was a third of the way through construction of a major battery, a $750m, 500-megawatt project that was on track for commencing operations in 2026.
We’re making 20-year decisions that will outlive changes in politics every three or four years.
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Rail protest outside NSW parliament blocks street – report
2GB reports that Macquarie Street in Sydney is blocked outside of the NSW parliament, amid the Electrical Trade Union train dispute protest – with demonstrators bringing along a giant inflatable rat.
As reported in yesterday’s blog, the ETU said the action would take place between 8am and 4pm today.
Members of the Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU), who operate trains, were going to take part in protected industrial action for a two week period from today, but this was paused.
Macquarie street blocked off outside Parliament by ETU train dispute protest. They’ve brought along a giant inflatable rat. @2GB873 pic.twitter.com/2MAiBLziN5
— Clinton Maynard (@ClintMaynard2GB) February 11, 2025
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Former Tasmanian Labor leader quits to focus on federal tilt
Tasmania’s ex-Labor leader Rebecca White is resigning from state politics to focus on run for federal parliament.
AAP reports that White, who led the Tasmanian party to three election losses, has announced her resignation from parliament effective immediately. She said in a statement:
The time has come for me to step aside and focus my energy on the upcoming federal election campaign, where I hope to continue my service to our community of Lyons in the Australian parliament.
It is with great excitement that I now dedicate myself to the task of winning the support of my community to represent them in the federal parliament.
White said she timed her resignation to allow the electoral commission to conduct a recount and enable the next member for the seat to join the parliament for the first sitting week in March.
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Albanese condemns video of hospital workers claiming they would refuse to treat Israeli patients
The prime minister has labelled a video circulating online – showing two hospital workers claiming they would refuse to treat Israeli patients and one saying they would “kill them” – as “antisemitic” and “disgusting”.
Guardian Australia is working to verify the footage and we will have more details on this later.
In a post to X, Anthony Albanese wrote:
The antisemitic video circulating today is disgusting. The comments are vile. The footage is sickening and shameful. These antisemitic comments, driven by hate, have no place in our health system and no place anywhere in Australia.
These individuals have been stood down by NSW authorities. They have rightly been referred to the NSW police for criminal investigation. Individuals found to have committed criminal antisemitic acts will face the full force of our laws.
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Melbourne pro-Palestine rallies turn monthly as ceasefire teeters
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Melbourne will move from weekly to monthly, AAP reports, after protesters have gathered in the CBD for 70 consecutive weeks.
With a ceasefire deal hanging in the balance, Australian Palestine Advocacy Network head Nasser Mashni defended the “unified decision” of organisers to move the rallies to monthly. He told ABC Radio earlier:
We are not stopping our movement. We are not stopping our actions. We are strategising to make bigger and more impactful actions, and stopping a weekly rally doesn’t mean that we won’t call snap rallies and actions as and when necessary.
The next Melbourne protest is slated for Sunday and another on 23 March. At that point, the rallies will become monthly unless Israel resumes bombing Gaza. The march route from the state library to the steps of state parliament will not change.
Rallies are also planned for Canberra (14 February), Adelaide (16 February) and Sydney (2 March) in coming weeks.
Nasser denied organisers had backed down following calls from premier Jacinta Allan, the state opposition and Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry to move or end the weekly rallies.
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Departing MP Stephen Jones reveals he is sex abuse survivor: ‘I didn’t want to be defined by it’
Stephen Jones has revealed he was the survivor of child sexual abuse, in his valedictory speech to parliament yesterday.
Jones announced last month he’d be retiring from the seat of Whitlam, after representing the electorate for 15 years.
He reflected on former prime minister Julia Gillard’s establishment of a royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse in 2012, calling it a “really brilliant contribution” and said it didn’t get enough recognition.
What was so important about this was that for decades the victims had been denied; their stories, if ever told, were contested, and they were told they were not true.
I can say, because I was part of some of those earlier discussions, that establishing this royal commission wasn’t inevitable; it was contested, including in this chamber. It wasn’t inevitable. It took courage, and I thank former prime minister Gillard for it.
Jones said the royal commission was a “necessary piece of truth-telling and reconciliation”.
The royal commission was a really painful experience for survivors but a necessary piece of truth-telling and reconciliation. Survivors, including me, appreciate it – a point I’ve never disclosed because I didn’t want to be defined by it and because I didn’t want to detract attention from those who, unlike me, didn’t have a voice or didn’t have access to power to tell their story.
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Vandalised office understood to be Senator James Paterson’s
We have more information on the vandalism of a Victorian senator’s electoral office in South Melbourne that we reported earlier.
Guardian Australia understands the office that was vandalised was Senator James Paterson’s.
The incident took place in January, and federal police have said they’re investigating.
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Butler pushes back on private health insurers over premium hikes
Going back to health minister Mark Butler’s press conference earlier, he also confirmed private health insurers will need to come back to the government by early next week with their applications for premium increases.
Butler has sent insurers back twice to settle on a premium rise for consumers for this year.
I have written back to some of the insurers only, I think, very late last week from memory, asking them to resubmit their applications for premium rises for 2025 from memory.
I asked that response be delivered late this week or very early next week…So I think I’ll be in a position to make that decision relatively soon.
Butler says he believes a decision will be made before the government enters into caretaker mode during the election campaign.
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NBN Co fails to declare airline lounge memberships on gifts register
NBN Co has failed to declare the airline lounge memberships of a number of staff on its gifts register.
The company responsible for the National Broadband Network confirmed to Guardian Australia after several days of inquiries that:
A small number of NBN employees receive lounge memberships.
These memberships are managed under the company-wide gifts or benefits policy, with appropriate governance and independent oversight by NBN’s internal audit and fraud function.
NBN Co’s gifts and benefits register has just three entries in total, none of which include the airline memberships.
Australia Post declares the group CEO’s Qantas chairman’s lounge membership on its register, while the infrastructure department overseeing the NBN declares lounge membership for key personnel, as does the eSafety commissioner.
It comes as the Greens will attempt to move amendments to cut the CEO of NBN’s salary by $2.5m in the bill to protect the NBN from being privatised.
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Australia ‘turning the corner’ against corruption but risks remain, transparency group says
Australia has slightly improved its anti-corruption rating on the world stage, entering the top 10 for the first time since 2016.
Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index rated Australia 77 out of 100 on the scale, alongside Iceland and Ireland at 10th position out of 180 countries and ahead of close allies the UK and US.
The group’s Australian chief executive, Clancy Moore, said the improvement showed Australia was “turning the corner in the fight against corruption” but warned corruption risks remained without key electoral reforms, needed to stamp out “dark money” and vested interests.
New foreign bribery and anti-money laundering laws were among the changes attributed to boosting the country’s anti-corruption rating.
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, welcomed the news at the report’s launch on Wednesday morning, criticising the former government for “trashing” Australia’s reputation for being open and transparent.
Australia’s lowest rating on the index came in 2021 when it scored just 73 and fell to its lowest ranking of 18th under the former Morrison government.
Dreyfus said:
Corruption thrives in the shadows. It festers where integrity is weak, where accountability is absent and where silence prevails. We must work to prevent it, root it out and dismantle the systems that allow it to take hold.
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Butler comments on unverified footage around treating Israeli medical patients
Health minister Mark Butler has held a quick press conference and responded to news reports about social media footage.
The unverified footage, shared widely online, appears to show two hospital workers in Australian hospital uniforms. They claim that they refuse to treat Israeli patients and one says they would “kill” them. Guardian Australia is working to verify the footage and we will have more on this later.
Butler says the reported claims by the workers “runs contrary” to the fundamental principles of healthcare:
You treat whoever comes before you, you do no harm, and you treat whoever comes before you, no matter what their race, their creed, their religion – that is just so core to the delivery of healthcare and the professional ethos of the wonderful doctors, nurses, health professionals that we have in this country.
The idea that a couple of health professionals would say that they refuse to treat someone because of their race or because of their religion runs contrary to the most fundamental principle of healthcare.
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Greens push for medical evacuations to be available to offshore detainees
The Greens are attempting to restore a pathway to allow refugees and asylum seekers held in offshore detention centres access to medical evacuations for serious health conditions.
More commonly referred to as the medevac bill, the pathway existed briefly in early 2019 after the Labor opposition and the Greens teamed up to pass it into law. It was repealed later in 2019 by the Coalition government.
There are about 100 asylum seekers and refugees in Nauru while around 40 refugees and asylum seekers remain in Papua New Guinea – some for more than a decade – as part of an agreement struck years earlier.
The Greens senator David Shoebridge was joined by independent MPs Monique Ryan and Andrew Wilkie along with spokespeople from the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and Amnesty International this morning to urge for the law’s reintroduction.
Shoebridge said:
This parliament did the right thing in early 2019, we can do it again now and show Australians how politics can be better than the anger and division offered by the likes of Peter Dutton.
The resource centre on Wednesday revealed a man with a heart condition was medically evacuated from Nauru to Brisbane last week but no further details are available.
The ASRC’s deputy chief executive, Jana Favero, said politicians came together in 2018 and should do so again to address the health crisis.
It’s hard to believe we are still having this debate when people’s lives are at risk.
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MPs address women’s health
Parliament is sitting, and this morning assistant health minister Ged Kearney and deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley have given statements on women’s health.
It follows the $573m package on contraception and menopause treatment that the government announced on Sunday.
Kearney tells the house:
Again and again we hear the same stories that at most difficult times in their lives, women have had to fight to get the care they deserve. Not because they were without symptoms or pain, but because they were women.
Ley says she hopes the government’s announcement, which the Coalition has backed, will show women that they’ve been listened to.
We know what period pain feels like. We have lived through the debilitation of endometriosis. We have felt the pangs of despair when the doctor has told us that the IVF didn’t work again, and we have held our babies in maternity wards too. We have experienced the judgement of medical professionals who just have not got what we have told them.
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Trump adviser says Australia ‘killing’ US aluminium
Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro has said Australia is “killing” the US aluminium market, while the president considers an exemption on tariffs for Australia.
Trump signed executive orders on Monday for a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports, which will take place from 12 March.
Navarro told CNN on Tuesday:
Australia is just killing our aluminum market.
And President Trump says no, no, we’re not doing that any more. We’re going back to where we were, golden age of steel and aluminum. And that’s what he’s going to do.
Navarro also accused Australia and other nations of “flooding” the US market with aluminium:
And what they do is, they just flood our markets after Biden let them, gave them an agreement that said don’t flood our markets, you could have a reasonable amount. That’s what we’re dealing with.
Our aluminum industry … is on its back.
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AFP releases CCTV footage after Victorian senator’s office vandalised
Federal police have released footage of a man who they say could assist in an investigation into the vandalism of a Victorian senator’s electorate office in January.
Police say CCTV images show a man spray-painting allegedly abusive messages on the window and front door of the office in the Melbourne suburb of South Melbourne on 31 January.
The man then left the area in a vehicle.
Police say the man had light coloured hair, a moustache and was dressed in an orange, high-visibility work shirt, beige coloured pants and black work boots.
AFP counter-terrorism and special investigations command assistant commissioner Stephen Nutt said Special Operation Avalite investigators were working through dozens of reports of alleged antisemitic crimes.
This post was corrected on 12 February 2025. An earlier version incorrectly located the office in South Yarra. The original error came from a police press release.
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Sanctions placed on cybercriminals over 2022 Medibank data breach
Australia, the US and UK have put cyber sanctions on five Russian citizens and ZServers, the Russian hosting company, for allegedly providing services for the LockBit ransomware criminal group, and the cybercriminals responsible for the Medibank data breach in 2022 that affected millions of Australians.
The Australian federal police said ZServers was what was referred to as a bulletproof provider, which provided infrastructure to cybercriminals in an online space to operate and run illicit content and operations, and was harder for law enforcement to take down or request cooperation from.
The LockBit ransomware group used ZServers to sell ransomware to others to then pursue ransomware attacks on people in countries including Australia, the AFP said.
The financial sanctions and travel bans have been imposed on Aleksandr Bolshakov (owner of ZServers), Aleksandr Mishin and Ilya Sidorov (ZServers senior employees), Dimitriy Bolshakov and Igor Odintsov (ZServers employees) in relation to illicit cyber activity conducted by ZServers.
The AFP said it was the first time Australia had imposed cyber sanctions on an entity.
Under the cyber sanctions framework, it is a criminal offence for Australians or people in Australia to provide assets to ZServers or the five Russian individuals, or to use or deal with their assets, including through cryptocurrency wallets or ransomware payments, and is punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment and/or significant fines. Any assets owned by ZServers or the five individuals held in Australian institutions must be frozen.
The first cyber sanction against an individual was Aleksander Ermakov for his alleged role in the Medibank data breach.
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MP Dai Le says independents’ small budgets ‘a problem’
While electoral donations reform is up in the air, independents are still criticising the proposed bill, saying they’ll effectively roadblock new independent contenders.
Dai Le, who beat high-profile Labor candidate Kristina Keneally (parachuted into Fowler after she didn’t win the top spot on the NSW senate ticket), managed to do it on a small budget.
But she told RN Breakfast earlier that’s because she was already well known in her community, and it would be really hard for other independent candidates to do the same.
For a major party, you know, they’ve got, obviously, $90 million. As an independent, I mean, I spend about $161,000 to get elected. I think I’m a unique case, but for other independents, this is going to be a problem for them.
It takes a lot to actually, you know, billboards, corflutes, mailing out, all of that costs a lot of money. So therefore … for the other independents they find that that’s a real challenge for them, and it’s a real blockage.
Le also disagrees with rules that will give parties and independents $30,000 per MP and $15,000 per senator each in administrative funding, to comply with the new disclosure requirements.
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SA premier seeks federal help on Whyalla steelworks crisis
Peter Malinauskas is speaking to RN Breakfast on the embattled Whyalla steelworks in South Australia.
He says it’s a “national interest question” and his government is starting to look at contingency plans if the steelworks can’t pay back “tens of millions” of dollars owed to a number of creditors.
This is where the national sovereignty question comes to mind, because this is not an issue in Whyalla alone or South Australia alone. This is truly a national interest question, because there is no Future Made in Australia without steel being made in Australia.
Malinauskas says he’s been engaging with the federal government on the issue.
We are seeking assistance from the commonwealth … when I say assistance, [I mean] engagement from the commonwealth, and I’m very grateful with the fact that the prime minister and senior members in his cabinet are well and truly across the brief in terms of the challenges that we’ve got in Whyalla and the importance of sustaining the steelworks into the future.
We’re looking at a range of plans and contingencies in the event, in the unfortunate event that GFG enters administration.
The owner of the Whyalla steelworks said in a statement on Tuesday that GFG Alliance was in the process of “vigorously finalising new financing” with the firm that’s been beset by problems due to a series of shutdowns of its coal-fired blast furnace, which lies at the heart of the steelmaking process.
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CBA posts bumper $5bn half-year profit
Commonwealth Bank has delivered a bumper $5.13bn half-year cash profit, in a result that has beaten market expectations and threatens to attract political attention amid widespread cost-of-living pressures.
The result, which includes an expansion in profit margins, is up 7% on the preceding six-month period. Australia’s largest bank declared an interim dividend of $2.25 per share, up from $2.15 last year.
The CBA chief executive, Matt Comyn, said he expected a cycle of interest rate cuts would provide some relief to households amid ongoing cost pressures.
The Australian economy has slowed considerably, with cost-of-living pressures continuing to weigh on consumer demand and younger customers in particular making real sacrifices.
However, underlying inflation is now moderating towards the target range and we expect Australia will follow offshore economies with an easing cycle starting in 2025.
The strong profit result will likely draw criticism from Canberra, given Australia’s biggest lender has been able to expand profits at the same time as household budgets are strained.
Comyn told a parliamentary inquiry last year that criticism of business profits “erodes trust in institutions”.
CBA’s accounts show that home loan arrears are now above historical averages, but the bank has described the level of late repayments as “broadly stable”.
CBA shares are a favourite among investors, and have risen 40% in the past 12 months, far outpacing market gains.
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Plibersek urged to protect Indigenous WA rock art from industry
Indigenous leaders, scientists and conservationists are in Canberra to call on the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, to protect ancient rock art at Murujuga in northern Western Australia from industrial development.
Hosted by the independent MP Kate Chaney, they are particularly focused on an upcoming decision by Plibersek on whether to allow the North West Shelf gas processing facility at Karratha to continue to operate until 2070.
Environmentalists have estimated the new gas fields needed to feed the facility across those decades could lead to 6.1bn tonnes of carbon dioxide emission. The campaign against its approval is equally focused on the impact of local acid pollution on rock art, some of which is estimated to be 50,000 years old.
A report by the group Friends of Australian Rock Art says the rock surface on many monitored Murujuga sites is between 100 and 1,000 times more acidic than background levels. Josie Alec, the Australian Conservation Foundation’s First Nations lead and a Murujuga traditional owner, said of the proposed development:
It would not be allowed to occur anywhere else in the world and it shouldn’t be allowed to continue occurring here.
Woodside, the oil and gas company heading the development, says “research to date on the impacts of emissions on rock art has not been conclusive”.
A decision is due by 28 February.
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Price says Coalition wouldn’t scrap $840m funding for NT communities
Following from the last post…
On the federal government’s funding announcement this week of $840m over six years for remote communities in the Northern Territory, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said the funding deal would remain under a Coalition government.
We wouldn’t be removing that funding. We’d be ensuring that those programs are ongoing, but as I think I’ve mentioned many times, we would be conducting an audit into federal spending, especially with Indigenous programs in the Northern Territory, which is something that the chief minister has also called for recently.
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Jacinta Price outlines Coalition position on Indigenous affairs if elected
The shadow minister for Indigenous affairs, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, says the Coalition “wouldn’t go so far as scrapping” Closing the Gap if elected – but would look at “understanding where the actual gap is”.
Speaking with ABC RN just earlier, she said that “over the years, things haven’t changed ... for the better” and Indigenous Australians would “absolutely be a focus priority under a Coalition government”.
Asked if a Coalition government would continue the co-design model of the government working alongside Aboriginal organisations through the Coalition of Peaks, Price said “we have to assess everything to see how that is working or isn’t working”.
I think the model definitely needs to be looked at. I don’t necessarily think that it is true to say that only Aboriginal organisations have the capacity to improve the lives of our marginalised.
On how the Coalition would approach treaty or treaties if it wins office, Price said she has “always put it on the public record” she is not in favour of this approach.
I don’t believe that a country can establish a treaty with its own citizens. I think in terms of our nation’s history, we’ve come too far forward.
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Trump gave ‘clear signal’ on possible tariffs exemption – Albanese
To a few other issues, the PM is asked for an update on the tariff situation from the US. He gives the same lines that he did yesterday, that they’re under “great consideration”.
President Trump gave a very clear signal yesterday when he said that an exemption for Australia is under great consideration. They’re his words. They’re consistent with the discussion that I had with President Trump.
He’s also asked about an update on electoral reform. That legislation was close to a deal at the end of the last sitting year, before the government pulled it at the eleventh hour. Special minister of state Don Farrell has continued negotiating over summer.
Albanese says he’s hopeful the Senate “will see reason” but that he’s “confident that reform of some basis will be carried by the Senate”.
I think we’re still working on that issue. Don Farrell, the minister, is working hard. He was continuing to have meetings right across the parliament with the crossbenches, with the Coalition. I think that getting big money out of politics and getting more transparency is important, that is Labor’s view.
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PM says governments overseas often support airlines
Albanese points to the international market, where other nations have backed or bailed out their airlines, because he says they play a “critical role”.
The reason why governments have intervened in airlines around the world, whether you look at Singapore, in [Germany], Lufthansa, as well as of course the Middle Eastern airlines are all connected with their governments, whether it be Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, Gulf Air, these are all connected. There’s a reason for that. Because aviation plays a critical role in communities.
He says Rex’s expansion into the Sydney to Melbourne route left the government with a “financial mess”.
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Labor to work on ‘incentives package’ for potential Rex buyers
Catherine King says the second sales process for Rex will begin this month to try to find the airline a buyer.
The infrastructure minister says Rex is the “backbone” of connectivity for regional areas.
What has become evident through the failure of the first sales process is that without government support, a second sales process is unlikely to be successful. So what we’re announcing today is that we will, and have worked with the administrators, and we will work via the sales agents and my department, is that we will have a competitive process for the bidding for this new for this airline, and that my and that my department will work with success for bidders on an incentives package from the commonwealth government.
There are a few elements to that incentives package.
The government says that includes a waiver of the “use it or lose it” test for Rex regional flight slots at Sydney airport, which will ensure its access to those slots until 24 October 2026.
It also follows a loan for Rex of up to $80m to keep Rex’s regional routes operating to 30 June 2025, and acquiring $50m of debt from Rex’s largest creditor, earlier this year.
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‘Not left behind’: PM provides Rex update
Anthony Albanese is speaking from Merimbula in NSW, with infrastructure minister Catherine King, discussing the government’s consideration to purchase Rex airlines.
We will work with the shortlist of bidders to maximise a successful sale and … provide support to bidders.
This will be contingent on commitments to provide an ongoing reasonable level of services to regional and remote communities.
Albanese says again that if those negotiations for sale don’t come through, the government will work with state governments and consider contingency plans including commonwealth acquisition.
Albanese says Rex is an “incredibly important airline”:
We’re determined to make sure that regional communities are not left behind. It’s a core commitment that I make.
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Trump tariffs an insult? ‘I wouldn’t use those words,’ treasurer says
Chalmers is continuing his media appearances down the parliamentary corridor. He’s on ABC News Breakfast now, talking trade and Trump.
The lines that the government is using are tight – they’re very focused on the call being “productive” and “positive” and not straying from the words that the US is willing to consider exemptions for Australia.
He’s asked whether he agrees with Democratic representative Joe Courtney, who yesterday called potential tariffs on Australia an “insult”.
I wouldn’t use those words, no. I know Joe Courtney, I’ve met him on a couple of occasions. He’s a wonderful guy and a great friend of Australia. But we don’t necessarily see it that way.
What Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was able to do yesterday was to point out how mutually beneficial this economic relationship is, how close we are as partners in the economy, in national security, and in other ways. We obviously don’t take any outcomes for granted here, but it was a good, productive and positive conversation between the two leaders yesterday.
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PM and Trump talked ‘mutually beneficial trade’ – US
The White House has released a ‘read-out’ of prime minister Anthony Albanese’s phone call yesterday with US president Donald Trump.
The White House said:
President Donald J Trump spoke with prime minister Anthony Albanese of Australia. Among other topics, they discussed cooperation on US and Australian defence industrial capacity, mutually beneficial trade and investment, resilient critical mineral supply chains, and concerns about China’s aggressiveness.
The leaders emphasised their commitment to advancing the US-Australia alliance and upholding a free and open Indo-Pacific.
“Mutually beneficial trade” is a phrase that will be forensically parsed in the days ahead, with mixed signals emerging from the Trump White House over whether Australia would be exempt from newly imposed steel and aluminium tariffs.
Trump signed an executive order on Monday, imposing 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports, saying they would apply to all countries with “no exemptions, no exceptions”.
But he then said he was giving “great consideration” to carving Australia out of the tariff regime.
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Treasurer asks banks to be 'more reasonable' so young people with Hecs debts can get home loans
Jim Chalmers has this morning announced the government is changing rules so banks won’t consider student debt when granting home loans.
Home ownership among young people is low. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, data from August shows the home ownership rate of those born during 1992–96 was 36% in 2021 (when they were aged 25–29), a whole 18 percentage points lower than the 1947–51 cohort at the same age.
So they’ve definitely gone backwards.
AM host Sabra Lane asks Chalmers how many young people have been knocked back due to these rules. He doesn’t have the number but says:
We’ve asked the regulators and the banks to take a more reasonable approach to student debt.
Earlier Sussan Ley was asked about the announcement on Sky News and she didn’t confirm if she supported it:
It taken Jim Chalmers three years to work out it’s really hard to buy a home if you’re a young person … and we do have to make the environment that everyone lives in much more affordable and get the economy back on track.
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Treasurer says Labor prefers private sale of Rex
Jim Chalmers is doing the media rounds this morning.
On ABC AM radio, Chalmers says the government would still prefer a private sale for regional airline Rex.
Our preference here is for a private sale. We’ve indicated to the bidders in the sale process that we are prepared to negotiate with them packages of support subject to strict conditions
We have already … helped out with some of the debt and in other ways as well, and that’s because we really want to see these flights continuing into regional Australia.
Chalmers says if that doesn’t work, the government is still considering contingency plans to keep the airline alive.
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‘Governments shouldn’t own airlines’ – Ley
Deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley says the government shouldn’t buy regional airline Rex, as it struggles to find a buyer.
Ley says the government could “crowd out competition” by having a stake in the market, and Labor should instead be looking at the policies in the sector.
Governments shouldn’t own airlines, because that does mean that taxpayers own them, and taxpayers pay for them … The most important thing for a government with airline policy is to get the policy and regulatory settings right so that you do have a sustainable and competitive aviation sector.
You can read more on that story here:
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R&D review makes for ‘sobering reading’ – Husic
Australia is at risk of “being left behind” because of a failure to leverage research and development for economic gain, an expert panel has warned.
The industry and science minister, Ed Husic, will release an overview of the state of the nation’s R&D sector ahead of a speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday.
Husic last year commissioned Tesla chair Robyn Denholm to lead a review into R&D amid warnings Australia’s performance was “slipping”.
The panel’s first piece of work was a “reconnaissance” of the R&D landscape that made early observations about the industry’s problems and areas for improvement.
In excerpts of the press club speech supplied to Guardian Australia, Husic said the panel’s preliminary findings made for “sobering reading”.
The panel says there’s an over-reliance on our good fortune, leaving us unprepared to achieve sustained economic growth.
They describe our economy as one of the least differentiated in the world.
And an R&D system that’s siloed and barely engaged with the national need.
At the national level there is little planning to maximise the value of our scientific output and minimise the inadequacies in the system.
The sector overview will inform the panel’s final advice, which will be presented to the government later this year.
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Good morning,
Krishani Dhanji here with you as we continue our way through the sitting fortnight.
The will they or won’t they on tariffs on steel and aluminium from the US has been quite the journey so far, and we’ll probably be hearing more reaction to that today.
The government has said they could put in for regional airline Rex as they struggle to find a buyer.
And the prime minister will be standing up shortly, so it’s all starting early this morning.
Put your seatbelts on, it’s going to be a big one!
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More on that home loans story from AAP:
The treasurer also asked Apra to clarify a misconception that had limited housing supply by preventing developers from accessing finance for apartment projects.
That was apparently due to a misinterpretation of advice given by Apra in 2017 which some lenders misconstrued as preventing them from handing out loans to builders who had not yet pre-sold all properties in a development.
The regulator will tell the banks that, while it expects them to consider the extent of pre-sales as part of prudent credit risk management, it does not expect 100% pre-sales for them to approve a loan.
Chalmers said:
By unlocking more finance from the banks we’ll see more housing projects get off the ground more quickly
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Home loan guidance on Hecs debt to be clarified to help more Australians get into homes, treasurer says
Home ownership will be made easier for Australians with outstanding student debt after financial regulators promised to update their guidance on lending restrictions, reports Australian Associated Press.
Regulators Asic and Apra have agreed to clarify their guidance to lenders, along with reducing serviceability and reporting requirements for Hecs debts, at the request of the treasurer, Jim Chalmers.
The “commonsense clarifications” would help more Australians into a home, Chalmers said.
People with a Help/Hecs debt should be treated fairly when they want to buy a house and we’re working with the regulators to make sure they are.
Banks had indicated they were unsure about how to interpret the existing requirements, which were holding them back from providing mortgages to some prospective borrowers with student loans.
Apra will tell banks they can exclude Hecs repayments from serviceability assessments if they expect a borrower will shortly pay off their debt.
The prudential regulator will also ensure Hecs is not treated as a debt for debt-to-income reporting purposes, recognising that the size of a person’s Hecs repayments depends on their income.
Asic will also change its guidance on Hecs debts after consultation.
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Marles ‘confident we will be able to pursue a productive relationship’ between Australia and America
Marles was asked if Australia would use upcoming Aukus payments as part of a leverage to the US regarding potential tariffs. He said Australia would “walk down the path of pursuing the Aukus arrangement as we have been”.
We want to maintain a sense of momentum that we have in the way in which we have been engaging with the Trump administration … We’ve now just had the second conversation between President Trump and prime minister Albanese. And we really have hit the ground running in the way in which we’re engaging with the Trump administration.
Pointed to comments by the opposition leader that tariffs on Australia would “damage the relationship” with the US, Marles replied:
Let’s work on pursuing the exemptions that we are seeking.
Let’s take the fact that the president has agreed to give active consideration to an exemption in relation to Australia that he acknowledged today in his statements that it is a trading relationship where America has the surplus … And I am confident that we will be able to pursue a productive relationship between Australia and America under the Trump administration.
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Marles describes 'positive' US talks
Australia should take “at face value” what the prime minister and US president Donald Trump have said about potential tariff relief, the deputy prime minister and minister for defence, Richard Marles, has said after his trip to Washington.
Speaking on ABC 7.30 on Tuesday evening, Marles said both Anthony Albanese and Trump had “made clear” an Australian exemption from tariffs put in place under the US administration was under active consideration after their conversation today.
That’s not said lightly … that was the agreement they reached in their conversation this morning which, having spoken with the prime minister himself, he said was very positive, very constructive. And we will obviously now work diligently to put forward our case for those exemptions to apply.
Pointed to accusations Australia had disregarded their commitments to restrain aluminium exports, Marles said he couldn’t speak for the former government and it was a “matter for them to explain”.
We do roughly over $100bn of trade every year. It’s about two to one in favour of the US. In that sense, having that trade in a manner which is tariff-free is very much in the interests … of the US.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.
Richard Marles says the government has “hit the ground running” with the Trump administration as he returned from talks in the US amid the threat of tariffs being imposed on Australian goods exported to the States. The deputy prime minister told the ABC last night that voters should take at “face value” comments by Anthony Albanese about positive talks with Donald Trump and the possibility of exemption from the proposed US levies. More coming up.
We have an exclusive story this morning on how Coalition frontbencher Bridget McKenzie and Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming, along with key figures from News Corp, are set to attend a UK conference next week led by the rightwing figure Jordan Peterson which aims to “re-lay the foundations of our civilisation”. The former prime minister Tony Abbott will speak at the gathering in London.
Attendance at school in Australia is falling and fewer children are going through to complete year 12. These are the two main takeaways from the Productivity Commission’s latest report on education services. The numbers showing attendance and retention at a 10-year low, while there is a record low number of children (63.9%) enrolled at public schools. A separate report reveals that almost half of school-age children have trouble sleeping.
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