The doctor’s union will be striking at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle where a medical administration manager accidentally sent an email to junior doctors calling them a “workforce of clinical marshmellows [sic]”.
As Guardian Australia first revealed on Friday, the local health district has apologised for the incident which the union representing doctors, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation (Asmof), called “tone-deaf” and “unacceptable.”
The NSW branch of Asmof has this afternoon announced on its instagram page that junior doctors will protest for a safer workplace on Thursday:
Junior doctors, aka clinical marshmallows, are saying enough is enough. They’ve had it with the Minns Government and how it treats healthcare workers.
Join us at the Royal Newcastle Centre this Thursday 11am, to stand with NSW Doctors and their demand for a safe workplace.
What we learned; Tuesday 4 February
Thanks for joining us on the blog today, here’s our top stories from today:
The embattled NSW transport minister, Jo Haylen, has resigned after days of revelations about her use of a ministerial driver for private trips.
Allegra Spender and Jacqui Lambie introduced a motion on antisemitism that was backed by the government and the Liberal party.
The government’s Senate leader, Penny Wong, accused her Liberal counterpart – Michaelia Cash – of spreading misinformation after Cash asked Wong whether the Albanese government would commit to no longer supporting “one-sided anti-Israel motions at the United Nations that fail to condemn Hamas”.
The Greens will support Labor’s childcare legislation, which partially abolishes the activity test to guarantee three days of subsidies for families earning up to $530,000.
The commonwealth ombudsman has announced it will investigate the mutual obligations framework, with a focus on whether income support cancellations are being made in a way that is lawful, reasonable and fair.
Australia has sweltered through the second warmest January on record, according to Weatherzone, with temperatures 2.15C above the national long-term average.
More than 100 firefighters have been battling a significant blaze at a recycling plant in Sydney’s west this afternoon, with stores of chemicals at the factory making it a “complex operation”.
Updated
Albanese lists ‘rental income’ from Central Coast property on register of interests
Someone on the Central Coast now has Anthony Albanese as their landlord after he rented out a $4.3m clifftop home he bought last year. The prime minister listed on his official register of interests in January that he was earning rental income from the “investment property”.
His purchase of the property with his partner, Jodie Haydon, during a cost of living and housing crisis was criticised at the time as tone-deaf.
Albanese defended himself at the time, saying his wife-to-be was a “coastie” and they bought it to be closer to her family.
He had also pointed out amid the criticism that he “knows what it’s like to struggle”, and reminded the public that his mum lived in public housing.
Updated
Australia farewells second-warmest January on record
Australia has sweltered through the second warmest January on record, according to Weatherzone, with temperatures 2.15C above the national long-term average.
Meanwhile this January did set the hottest month on record for Western Australia, which recorded 2.13C above average.
Nationally, the warmest January on record was in 2019 – which also turned out to be the hottest year on record – with temperatures 2.85C above average during the month.
All states and territories recorded above average temperatures this January:
South Australia +2.52°C
Queensland +2.16°C
Northern Territory +2.14°C
Western Australia +2.13°C
New South Wales (including ACT) +2.02°C
Victoria +1.71°C
Tasmania +0.85°C
Updated
Lambie says federal hate crimes legislation amendment should wait until NSW’s laws are evaluated
The independent senator Jacqui Lambie has spoken about the hate crimes bill that has got attention today after Wentworth MP Allegra Spender proposed the reintroduction of a specific offence for serious vilification.
Speaking on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Lambie said that reintroducing an offence for vilification into the bill would be a difficult balancing act, with those concerned about its impact on free speech likely being against the move.
Lambie encouraged the parliament to wait until the NSW government – which has flagged it may introduce hate speech laws to parliament as soon as next week – put this into effect.
Then we can see through that legislation where the weaknesses are and then we can come back and go ‘you know what? They haven’t got that right’. So I think it is great that New South Wales is having a shot at this beforehand.
We covered what Spender is proposing a little earlier in the blog here.
Updated
NSW firefighters battle factory blaze in St Marys
More than 100 firefighters have been battling a significant blaze at a recycling plant in Sydney’s west this afternoon, with stores of chemicals at the factory making it a “complex operation”.
Fire and Rescue New South Wales (FRNSW) said earlier this afternoon that evacuations were under way within the 800 metre exclusion zone that had been set up around the factory in St Marys.
Emergency services responded reports just after 1.45pm today that the fire had caused gas cylinders to explode and that a black smoke was visible from the factory. FRNSW said in a statement:
Ongoing explosions and stores of chemicals are making it an extremely dangerous and complex operation.
Firefighters, including hazardous materials crews, are working to contain the fire, protecting adjoining properties and ensuring all individuals are accounted for … People are being urged to follow advice from emergency services personnel on scene.
The public has been advised to avoid the area.
Updated
Queensland University of Technology appoints former judge to review anti-racism symposium
The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has appointed a former judge to lead an independent review into a controversial anti-racism symposium hosted on campus last month.
The Hon Justice John Middleton AM KC’s review will consider the content of the symposium, run by QUT’s Carumba institute, and its broader program of events and activities.
Middleton has been a federal court Judge, part time commissioner of the Australia Law Reform Commission and deputy president of the Australian Competition Tribunal.
QUT’s vice-chancellor, Margaret Sheil, said she appreciated Middleton had agreed to independently assess the symposium and awaited his findings, which would be made public once the review was completed.
On Wednesday, Sheil will front a parliamentary inquiry into antisemitism. Their appearance follows widespread backlash over the symposium, which included a pre-comedy event with a cartoon image of a character dubbed “Dutton’s Jew”.
The slide, presented by head of the Jewish Council of Australia, Sarah Schwartz, criticised what she described as stereotyping of the Jewish community by the Coalition, providing a “human shield” to talk about “hating on migrants … protecting everyday Aussies from left-wing anti-war protesters and … bolstering support for Israel”.
Updated
Hello, I’ll now be with you until this evening.
Thanks all for being with me on the blog today, I’ll be back with you bright and early tomorrow for more political shenanigans!
I’ll leave you with Jordyn Beazley to take you through the rest of the afternoon.
What did we learn in Question Time today?
Here’s a brief roundup of what happened in the House and Senate this afternoon.
The big focus was on cost of living. The government used questions from the opposition and dixers to bring up the opposition’s tax-free lunch policy, which they claim doesn’t pass the “pub test” for voters.
The opposition tried to bat that away with questions on the cost of tax deductible lunches at big boardroom meetings, which Labor said is existing policy, and the Liberals struggled to shake the debate away from them.
The Liberals attempted to challenge the government on the prices of goods and groceries and even put a question to the Prime Minister on how much food has increased (which Albanese had to come back to right at the end of QT)
Healthcare and education, two key areas for Labor, were also brought up several times today by ministers. As I mentioned earlier, Labor is trying to pin Peter Dutton on his record as health minister and both areas also sit squarely within the cost of living, which the government are trying to stay on top of with their messaging.
Updated
Penny Wong accuses Cash of spreading misinformation over Australian position on Israel and Gaza
Following on that earlier clash in Senate question time over antisemitism, the government’s Senate leader, Penny Wong, accused her Liberal counterpart of spreading misinformation.
The Western Australian senator, Michaelia Cash, who is now also the opposition’s leader in the upper house, asked Wong whether the Albanese government would commit to no longer supporting “one-sided anti-Israel motions at the United Nations that fail to condemn Hamas or call for the release of the hostages?”
As we mentioned earlier, the Australian government has shifted position slightly to be more critical of Israeli’s actions in the Gaza conflict. In particular, it joined with other nations last year to condemn Israel for banning the aid agency Unrwa and urged Israel to support an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza.
Those actions have enraged the Israeli government, with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu accusing Australia of adopting an “extreme anti-Israel” position.
So when Cash asked the question, Wong responded curtly.
We have consistently called for the release of hostages and, in fact, that question, that question demonstrates the sort of misinformation that those who wish to bring the conflict here engage in ... I would note that the person who is out of touch with the international community is Mr [Peter] Dutton, because Mr Dutton opposed the ceasefire. That ceasefire was supported by President Trump and [President] Biden.
Updated
Spender proposes reintroduction of ‘serious vilification’ to hate crimes bill
Allegra Spender called a press conference just before question time to detail her proposed amendments to the government’s hate crimes legislation.
The Wentworth MP wants to reintroduce a specific offence for serious vilification after it was removed from the original bill.
I’m seeking to do this because I believe, and this is really backed by Mike Burgess from Asio, when he said ‘words matter’.
Words are the start of many things that we don’t want as a country. And so when we consider how to stop antisemitism, but frankly, how to stop different types of hatred in our community, we need to consider how words are being used to drive some of this.
Spender used the example of a preacher calling for a “final solution” in relation to Jewish people as one type of vilification that would be captured under her amendment. She acknowledged the need to protect freedom of speech but said guardrails were essential to prevent the “whipping up of animosity and hatred in our society”.
The teal MP is expected to move the amendments when debate resumes on the hate crimes bill on Tuesday afternoon.
The chief executive of advocacy group Equality Australia, Anna Brown, fronted the press conference alongside Spender to back the amendments. Brown said:
The laws currently before the Commonwealth parliament are a welcome step, but they will only prevent hate if they stop it at its source, and the member for Wentworth’s bill does that by prohibiting serious vilification.
Updated
Minns bans use of ministerial drivers for purely private purposes
Chris Minns has banned the use of ministerial drivers for exclusively private purposes after this morning accepting the resignation of Jo Haylen.
In a statement, the NSW premier said the transport minister “clearly” made an error of judgment, but that “there are also too many grey areas where private and public uses blur”:
Jo has paid a high price for that.
He continued:
While private use of Ministerial drivers has been permitted under longstanding rules, community expectations and standards rightly do not match these rules.
The best way to fix this is to change the rules, and that is what I have done today.
As such, the vehicle use policy in the minister’s office handbook will be updated to ban the use of ministerial drivers for exclusively private purposes.
All ministers must comply with the policy which will take effect immediately.
He thanked Haylen for her hard work and for her service to the people of New South Wales.
He said he has asked John Graham to administer the transport portfolio on an interim basis. He will be formally sworn in by the governor on Friday.
Updated
Albanese provides food price increase figures as question time ends
Just before question time ends, the prime minister brings up the figures on how much food prices have increased.
Albanese says food prices have increased 3.0% in the last year, while in the last year the Coalition was in office, he says it was 5.9%.
And with that, the first question time of the year is done.
Updated
Minor skirmish over significant investor visa
There were reports earlier this week that Peter Dutton said at an event that the opposition would bring back the significant investor visa. The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, is given a dixer on the reports:
This is a visa that was abolished by this government, and abolished for very good reason. Because it was not consistent with the integrity of the visa system that Australians would expect. I had thought that that was bipartisan because of the serious national security reasons associated with its abolition.
Burke brings up quotes from Liberal senator James Paterson discrediting the visa in the past and then attacks Dutton on his record of approving visas as home affairs minister.
There’s a lot of back and forth on this with the speaker as to whether Burke has “impugned” the character of members of the opposition. Michael Sukkar says Burke should withdraw his references.
Updated
Albanese champions $300 energy rebate after needling from opposition
Back to the House. Chris Bowen, the energy minister, gets a dixer on lowering energy bills. Immediately after, the shadow energy minister, Ted O’Brien, gets up to ask the PM:
Can the prime minister provide a single example of an Australian family had a… $275 cut to their power bill?
Albanese quickly responds:
I note that all Australian households, including that of the honorable member, got $300, as a direct result, as a direct result of our government’s policy.
The $300 energy rebate was the centrepiece of Labor’s February 2024 budget.
Updated
Wong cautions Cash against conflating concerns about Gaza with antisemitism
Earlier in Senate question time, the government leader, Penny Wong, hit back at the opposition for conflating recent antisemitic incidents in Australia with the Albanese government’s support of UN motions critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The new opposition Senate leader, Michaelia Cash, asked: “Minister, when will you acknowledge that the antisemitism crisis in Australia has been fuelled by the Albanese government’s consistent actions against Israel on the world stage?”
Cash was referring to Australia’s shift at the UN general assembly in recent months to back motions condemning Israel’s recent vote to ban Palestinian aid agency Unrwa over allegations its staff had ties with Hamas and supporting a “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza.
In December, conservative-leaning Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom reported the Israeli foreign affairs minister, Gideon Sa’ar, had chastised Wong in recent talks for choosing to “distance itself from Israel in its most difficult year”.
In response to Cash, Wong said:
I will make the point to Senator Cash that the position Australia has taken in the United Nations, and elsewhere, reflects the concern that so many in the international community had and reflects the position of countries like Canada, like the United Kingdom, like New Zealand, like Japan and like Korea ...
It isn’t helpful to conflate Australian government’s concerns and Australian community concerns about the scale of loss of life in Gaza or UN votes with antisemitism.
Updated
Zali Steggal asks PM to commit to climate resilience round table
The next question goes back to the crossbench, to independent MP Zali Steggall, who asks:
Prime minister. You spoke earlier of the Queensland floods. We’re seeing yet again the impacts and escalating risks of climate crisis. Over in the US, the wildfires damage will exceed $135bn. Clearly, we cannot insure our way out of the climate crisis. Action on preparation and resilience must occur now. Will the government commit to a round table?
Albanese says Labor is putting together a national adaptation plan, as well as national risk assessments. He also points to the disaster-ready fund to help build bridges to avoid flooding in areas and other measures:
… $200m a year, every year, in disaster prevention resilient projects through the disaster-ready fund. So that’s doing things such as raising levies around Mackay.
Earlier last month Albanese said the wildfires in California were reason for Australia and the world to take strong action on climate change.
Updated
Labor takes dixer on fee-free Tafe
It’s time for another dixer, this time for skills minister Andrew Giles, on fee-free Tafe.
The government will likely pass its legislation for permanent fee-free Tafe places this fortnight, and it’s another pillar of their cost of living campaign. Giles says:
The free Tafe Senate inquiry has now received dozens of submissions, highlighting the positive impact of free TAFE.
Updated
PM says he won’t undermine security agencies when asked on Dural explosives caravan
Michael Sukkar has asked about the van that was found in Dural in outer Sydney with explosives in it.
My question is to the prime minister. on what date was the prime minister first advised of the planned mass casualty terror attack against Sydney’s Jewish community?
Albanese says:
On national security, there are two priorities. The first priority is, of course, keeping the public safe. The second and related principle is that we engage with the Australian Federal Police and the national intelligence agencies, we don’t go out there and brief about national security committee meetings. We don’t … discuss those details because it’s an ongoing investigation.
Sukkar gets up to claim the PM hasn’t been relevant, before Albanese continues, saying he backs the security agenices, won’t undermine them and won’t reference any classified information.
Updated
Labor promotes aged care worker pay changes
Anika Wells, who’s just been promoted to the frontbench, is now given a dixer on aged care worker wages.
We said if elected, a Labor government would put our money where our mouth is. We have done exactly that – $15bn for increases to aged care workers’ pay. Underneath the Albanese government, registered nurses are now taking home an additional $196 a week or more than $10,000 a year.
She ends her answer bringing up the tax-free lunches.
Updated
Education minister consulting health minister over commonwealth-supported places for medicine
Independent MP Rebekha Sharkie asks the education minister whether the government will “urgently lift the number of commonwealth-supported places to study medicine” to help address a doctor and GP shortage in Australia.
Jason Clare says he’s in “consultation” with the health minister.
That’s something that’s always under consideration by this government as I have said in this chamber many times, I want more people to get a crack at going to university or go to Tafe.
I know this is important to the member because she’s contacted me on a number of occasions about young people being able to study far away from capital cities.
Clare points to regional study hubs that the government has set up and extra funding to help students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to study.
Updated
Labor’s childcare legislation set to pass soon
This fortnight the government will introduce new legislation for universal childcare, which would guarantee three days a week of subsidised childcare for families.
The bill will also pare back the activity test for low income families, which advocates have said was harming the ability for women to find work.
The Greens have said they’re supportive of universal childcare, so it could pass soon. Anne Aly, the minister for early childhood education is given a dixer on it, and says:
We’re building the foundations for a future where every single Australian child and every single Australian family can have access to good quality early education.
Updated
Albanese targets Liberal health policy when asked about cost of living ‘collapse’
Angus Taylor’s up again, keeping QT focused on cost of living. He asks the PM:
Under this bad Labor government, Australians’ living standards have collapsed by 8.7%. This is the biggest collapse on record and bigger than any other peer economy. Will the prime minister now apologise for promising Australians they would be better off and admit that Australians can’t afford another three years of Labor?
Albanese brings up the figure Labor has been using, that the public would be $7,200 worse off each under a Coalition government. (It’s a figure the opposition has disputed.) He then brings up Medicare again, targeting Peter Dutton’s record as health minister under the Howard government.
The leader of the opposition, when he was health minister, said that there were too many free health appointments. Medicare was bad because it was free, which is why he tried to introduce a GP tax, just as the deputy leader of the opposition has said that free Tafe is not valued because it’s free. Because you don’t value it unless you pay for it.
… if it wasn’t for us, 5.8m extra bulk-billed appointments wouldn’t have happened.
Updated
Tony Burke targets Liberals over not detailing cuts until after the election
It’s all cost of living today, Tony Burke gets a dixer on wage increases for workers in Australia.
What does he bring up? You guessed it … the free lunches.
He also raises the opposition saying they’ll make cuts to the budget, but haven’t yet said where:
The leader of the opposition confessed on the weekend that he’ll make huge cuts, but won’t say what they’ll be till after the election. We already knew about $350bn in cuts. Another $600bn to pay for his nuclear scheme.
Updated
Sussan Ley continues Liberal attacks over cost of living
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley is now up, and asking about inflation.
My question is to the prime minister: prime minister, by what percentage has the cost of food increased since the election of the Albanese Labor government?
Anthony Albanese goes through the regular talking points – lowering inflation, and attacking the coalition for not supporting Labor’s cost of living measures. But he hasn’t given a number on what percentage food has increased in cost, which Sussan Ley tries to pull him up on.
Albanese continues:
One of the things that has helped to bring prices down and inflation down was the fact that we turned a $78bn Liberal deficit into a $22bn Labor surplus. And backed that up with a second surplus. So whether it’s cost-of-living relief, whether it be action against supermarkets …
He’s interrupted again on relevance, and then finishes his answer:
We have had a multifaceted approach to this. We have sought to bring inflation down through a range of measures. By ensuring that our cost-of-living support is also having a downward impact on inflation.
Updated
Health minister says urgent care clinics ‘under threat from the leader of the opposition’
Mark Butler, the health minister is now asked a dixer about the government supporting medicare and the healthcare system. It’s pretty standard territory for the government, and Labor is trying to use Peter Dutton’s record as health minister against him. Butler says:
The prime minister and I have both said that we do need to do more to keep strengthening Medicare after a decade of cuts and neglect. But we also know that all of this progress – like urgent care clinics – is under threat from the leader of the opposition.
Updated
Fight over lunch costs to the budget continues
Angus Taylor gets up for a second question to treasurer Jim Chalmers:
My question is to the treasurer: treasurer, a large company can cater for a lunch with food and alcohol in its boardroom worth thousands of dollars and can claim that cost as a tax deduction. What is the cost of this tax policy to the budget?
Chalmers goes straight on the attack:
Their policy for lower wages for workers and longer lunches for bosses is a matter of fairness – but not the way that they think it is. Not the way that they think it is.
He’s interrupted as the opposition says talking about their policy is not what the question is asking. The speaker, Milton Dick, seems like he’s not loving all the interruptions:
I’d like a yes/no answer. It’d make my job a lot easier. But that’s not the standing orders.
Updated
Clare continues government attack lines on Liberal lunch policy
We get another dixer for the education minister, this time on cutting Hecs debt.
It’s important to note here that Labor has promised to cut student debt by 20% – but only after an election if they win.
Jason Clare says:
We want to cut student debt by 20%. They want students and Aussie workers to pay for their bosses’ lunch. That’s how that would make them worse off to the tune of $1.6bn a year. That’s a lot of [steak] tartare.
That’s right, the lunch talk is still going.
Updated
Albanese says corporations are taxed and spruiks urgent care clinics
On taxing big corporations, Albanese says companies are taxed and the money does go towards funding Australia’s healthcare system. He also brings up the changes Labor made to the stage-three tax cuts last year.
On the question of adding dental to medicare, Albanese just says “universal healthcare is so important”, and spruiks the urgent care clinics set up:
That stands in stark contrast to the record of the leader of the opposition, who of course wanted a tax every time people visited a doctor, wanted a tax every time people visit a hospital, ripped $50bn out of the health system.
He doesn’t directly address adding dental to Medicare.
Updated
Bandt questions corporate tax rate and dental in Medicare
A question from the crossbench now, and it goes to the Greens leader, Adam Bandt:
One in three big corporations in this country pays no tax. Zero dollars tax. Meanwhile, people can’t afford basics like going to the dentist. Why does a nurse from Coburg North pay more tax than a multinational corporation? Why won’t you make big corporations pay tax to get dental into Medicare so that, in this wealthy country of ours, everyone can get the healthcare they need?
For some more context on this, my colleague, Dan Jervis-Bardy, last week looked at what the Greens are proposing and how feasible it might be.
Updated
Albanese claims opposition are doubling-down on lunch policy
And we’re still talking about lunches.
The prime minister gets a dixer this time about what the government’s doing to “address the challenges of today” and is asked about “alternative approaches”.
Alternative approaches is basically a license for the minister to attack what the opposition is doing or saying.
Albanese brings up policies like fee-free Tafe, childcare subsidies, and at the end adds:
On top of the opposition of all of our cost-of-living measures, the only policy that they [the Coalition] have put forward, the only policy they have come up with, is for every taxpayer to fund a free lunch that those opposite have now doubled-down on today. Doubled-down on.
Updated
Liberals try attack lines on cost of tax-deductible boardroom lunches
There’s plenty of back and forth now about boardroom lunches v tax-free lunches for small businesses and why we’re not getting any costings for them.
Peter Dutton chimes in, asking how much an existing policy that “allows Qantas to have a boardroom lunch to have thousands of dollars and that lunch to be deductible” costs.
Chalmers says:
The reason that number is not in the budget is because we’re not changing the arrangements. That’s the point that I’m making. The only change that’s been proposed is the change being proposed by those opposite.
Updated
Labor and Liberals spar over tax-free lunch policy
Angus Taylor gets up to ask the second question from the opposition:
Treasurer, unlike small businesses, big businesses like Coles and Woolworths and Qantas can cater inhouse in their corporate boardrooms and do so as a tax deduction. How much does this cost the budget?
The question prompts uproar from the government. Chalmers begins:
Now, Mr Speaker, two points about the Shadow Treasurer’s question. First of all, only the Liberal and National parties could see taxpayers and workers funding between $1.6bn and $10bn to shout their bosses lunch as an issue of fairness. Only those opposite could see that as an issue of social justice, Mr Speaker. And an issue of fairness.
The second point I would make is this e Mr Speaker: The nerve of these characters on a day when they have been sprung not releasing the cost of their own policy, jumping up and asking about the costing on a policy which has been longstanding, Mr Speaker.
Updated
Chalmers claims Coalition’s tax-free lunches for small business will ‘smash the budget’
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is asked a dixer about Labor’s “responsible, economic management”.
Naturally Chalmers brings up the Coalition’s tax free lunch policy – a heavy feature in his press conference and interviews this morning, saying:
He wants workers to pay for bosses’ lunches and he will smash the budget in the process. Now, this is the only kind of policy that could have been agreed at the tail-end of a very long lunch, Mr Speaker.
Updated
Haylen says she was ‘lucky to serve’
Continuing from our last post…
Jo Haylen said she has always prided herself on “trusting in people and in the goodwill of people”. She said that she is “lucky to serve, treating people with respect and acting with integrity, and that I am loyal and always will be.”
It kills me right now that some people might think otherwise of me.
She went on:
Government is a collective effort, and our agenda is more important than one individual. When we came to government, we inherited a public transport system that was on its knees. I’m incredibly proud that we’ve managed to make public transport exciting again. People are voting with their feet. Patronage is up. Public transport is the great social equalizer.
It doesn’t matter how much money you make or how where you live, you can get public transport, get to work, do your job and book after your family. It’s core to our Labor values. Great global cities of the world have great public transport systems, and Sydney is well on its way. I’m disappointed I don’t get to finish the job.
She thanked her colleagues including Josh Murray and her husband and kids.
They’re going to see a lot more of me very soon.
Updated
Jo Haylen says she will continue as the member for Summer Hill
Cutting away from question time, we have more from Jo Haylen’s press conference, announcing she’s quitting.
Jo Haylen has told reporters that she took another trip to the Hunter Valley last year.
I will continue to serve this government as the member for Summer Hill, but I want to put on record and to preempt the questions you probably want to ask.
I did take a trip last year with my husband to the Hunter Valley. It was not the same circumstances as the 25th of January. I was working on that day, but I do want to acknowledge that my use of my personal driver was an error of judgment by me, my mistakes are now causing the government damage.
Politics is difficult. Expectations are high, and I know that from the very minute I was appointed a minister, I have worked my ass off. You don’t clock out from being a minister. You work every single minute of the day, just like you don’t clock out from being a mum. Combining those roles is difficult, but I’m not alone in that challenge.
Updated
Albanese counters Liberal attacks on cost of living
Albanese continues on interest rates:
Under the two to three range that the RBA aim for, in the bottom half of that range. That was achieved without seeing the massive spike in unemployment that we have seen in comparable economies. Employment is 4% – up from 3.9% to 4% on the latest figures. So what we have seen also is that wages increase[d] four quarters in a row. So inflation up, wages down, unemployment low.
That is what has been achieved through the hard work of Australians. We also have received during that period – two – not one, but two – budget surpluses. Back-to-back surpluses. Now, those opposite didn’t worry about inflation at a time when you had that inflation rising, rising, rising, interest rates had begun to rise, what was their response for the March 2022 budget that produced a $78bn predicted deficit, and deficits each year all the way through?
Michael Sukkar, who’s just been promoted to manager of opposition business stands up on relevance grounds, before the PM continues.
I’m asked to compare and contrast. That’s what I’m doing, Mr Speaker. I’ll make this point as well: If they had their way, there wouldn’t be cheaper medicines. If they had their way, it wouldn’t be cheaper childcare. If they had their way, there wouldn’t have been any rebates on energy bills.
Updated
Dutton starts question time on cost of living
Questions have now begun, and unsurprisingly, we’re starting on the cost of living.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton asks:
My question is to the prime minister: Under this this weak Albanese government interest rates have increased 12 times, energy bills have risen by $1,000, living standards have collapsed, 27,000 businesses have gone insolvent and we’re at a record breaking household recession. Will the prime minister now apologise for promising Australians they would be better off and admit they can’t afford another three years of this weak Albanese Labor government?
The PM retaliates, saying:
When we came to office, real incomes were going backwards, inflation was going up, rising, had a “6” in front of it, and indeed we had people’s living standards going backwards.
Updated
Dutton offers bipartisan support to address north Queensland floods
Back in QT: Peter Dutton is also making a statement to the house on the Queensland floods ahead of questions.
He pays tribute to emergency workers and volunteers who have been supporting Queenslanders.
The work that is under way in north Queensland at the moment not just the response to the initial devastation, but to the clean-up will be quite phenomenal, and we offer on a bipartisan basis to the prime minister whatever support is required to help those people.
Updated
Jo Haylen apologises for letting the public down
The NSW transport minister, Jo Haylen, has quit her portfolio. This afternoon, she told media:
It’s not an easy statement for me to make.
As I said on Sunday, I’ve made some mistakes, people aren’t perfect. I’ve let the public down and I’m very sorry for that.
Updated
Albanese says federal government stands ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’ with every Queenslander
Over in question time, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking ahead of questions on the state of the floods in Queensland.
The speaker has informed the house that Bob Katter and Liberal MP Phillip Thompson are not in the house today due to the floods in north Queensland.
Albanese says:
We are thinking of all those Australians battling natural disasters. I note that the member for Kennedy, the comments you have made, I spoke with Bob late on Sunday night and again yesterday. I note that the member for Herbert is also appropriately absent from the chamber and the member for Dawson [the LNP’s Andrew Wilcox] as well.
Rising flood waters are inflicting devastation on homes and communities, thousands have had to evacuate, and I want to assure the House that in this challenging time, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder [with the] Queensland government and with every Queenslander.
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Jo Haylen quits as NSW transport minister
In NSW, the embattled transport minister, Jo Haylen, has resigned from her role after days of revelations about her use of a ministerial driver for private trips.
Speculation about Haylen’s future had been mounting after the Daily Telegraph first reported on Sunday she had summoned a taxpayer-funded ministerial driver from Sydney to the Hunter Valley on the Australia Day long weekend to chauffeur her and friends – including the housing minister, Rose Jackson – to and from a long lunch at a Hunter Valley winery.
Using a ministerial driver for private travel is permitted as a benefit ministers are entitled to, but while Haylen did not break any rules in summoning the driver for the 446km round trip, the premier, Chris Minns, has acknowledged it was a bad look for his government, and has vowed to tighten the rules to prevent such trips.
While Minns had initially defended Haylen’s trip as a lapse of judgment, reports of further instances of her using the chauffeur service – including to pick her and her children up from their holiday house to drive to sport in Sydney, as well as a trip to the Blue Mountains – have surfaced in recent days.
On Tuesday afternoon, Haylen confirmed she would step down from the role.
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First question time of 2025 begins
Alrighty folks, MPs are filing their way into the House (and senators into the Senate), and you know what that means … it’s question time.
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Haylen calls snap press conference
Embattled New South Wales transport minister Jo Haylen has called a snap press conference amid growing calls for her to be removed from her portfolio.
Amid growing reports of Haylen using a ministerial driver for purely private transport – including from her holiday house to a winery and back – the premier, Chris Minns, announced the rules for the vehicle scheme would be tightened to rule out such behaviour.
We’ll bring you updates from Haylen’s press conference shortly.
You can read more here:
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Musk-like efficiency role ‘strange’ call for Australia
There have been industry calls to reduce red tape in Australia but introducing an Elon Musk-style minister for deregulation is a “strange” way to go about it, Jim Chalmers says.
The treasurer was responding to a suggestion by the business lobby on Tuesday to follow the lead of US President Donald Trump and slash clunky regulation to boost productivity.
The finance department was already working on streamlining government spending and regulation and creating another department to do the same thing was a “strange way” to seek efficiency, Chalmers said.
Without doing that, we’ve found $92bn worth of savings in our budgets and budget updates.
Regulators have identified excessive red tape was stifling business and making life harder for enforcement agencies, with ASIC’s chair, Joe Longo, calling for a national de-regulation agenda.
The Business Council of Australia (BCA) warned Australia could get left behind and experience a decline in living standards if unwieldy regulatory systems were not stripped back, particularly for environmental approvals and business licensing. BCA CEO Bran Black said:
This election and the period beyond must prioritise reforms that will make our economy stronger and more resilient, boost living standards and, overall, make Australia a better place to invest and do business.
- Australian Associated Press
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As we gear up for question time, here was prime minister Anthony Albanese earlier speaking on Allegra Spender’s antisemitism motion:
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Negotiations on electoral donations still unclear
Earlier this morning the Coalition briefed us on their partyroom meeting.
Electoral reform wasn’t discussed in the meeting this week, meaning the contentious reforms to donations and funding for candidates won’t come up for at least another week.
We brought you some of Peter Dutton’s speech earlier where he claimed Anthony Albanese was “not up to his task”, pointing out inflation on food and essential items and claiming the Coalition had “momentum for change”.
Nationals leader David Littleproud called on colleagues to “stay the course” and keep working hard at their election campaigns; deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley was again critical of the government’s policies as they related to small business.
It was a relatively short meeting, a spokesperson said afterwards: only five pieces of legislation were discussed.
The Coalition resolved to support a Commonwealth Workplace Protection Orders bill, as well as a customs amendment around seizure of engineered stone. The Coalition will look to move amendments to a treasury laws amendment bill in hopes of increasing the instant asset write-off for business from $20,000 to $30,000.
On two other pieces of legislation – a transport security amendment and a healthcare legislation amendment on Medicare integrity - the opposition won’t oppose, but is keen to wait for committee reports to come back.
But it was confirmed the electoral reform bill, which we understand is still the subject of furious negotiations between the government and other politicians, was not discussed in the Coalition party room. It remains unclear when, or if, we’ll see that before the election.
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House and Senate debate antisemitism motion
We have some photos of both chambers where Allegra Spender and Jacqui Lambie have introduced a motion on antisemitism.
So far both leaders have spoken, as well as Jewish MPs Josh Burns and Julian Leeser in the House.
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Lambie tells Jewish community ‘we have your back’
Independent senator Jacqui Lambie was visibly emotional in the senate, speaking on the antisemitism motion.
She was up in response to two amendments – one from the opposition that calls on the government to support mandatory minimum sentencing for terrorism offences, and one from independent Lidia Thorpe to condemn racism “of all kinds”.
Lambie says she “doesn’t want any division”.
[This] shouldn’t come down to politics. It shouldn’t come down to amendments. OK? They [the Jewish community] are feeling the hurt, and they are feeling the pressure, and, God forbid, their kids don’t even want to go to school. It’s not about politics. It’s saying, You know what, we’re here for you … we have your back.
Earlier, Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi also spoke, calling out antisemitism and all other forms of racism. She points to the rise of right wing extremism.
The Greens and I have been calling out racism in all its forms before anyone in here was doing it. We’ve been calling out right-wing extremism, neo-Nazism, which is a threat to everyone in this country.
… And we are seeing the consequences of it right here, because that threat is converting into antisemitism, into Islamophobia.
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Acoss welcomes ombudsman investigation into jobseeker compliance system
Following from our last post …
Acoss’s CEO, Dr Cassandra Goldie, said the system has been plagued by errors in recent years, including previous instances of confirmed illegal payment cancellations and large-scale IT problems leading to confusion and distress for people using the system.
Goldie:
This investigation into this harsh and potentially illegal compliance system is urgently needed.
Payment suspensions and cancellation have extremely harmful impacts on people, including not only the loss of income but also potential homelessness, relationship breakdown and destitution. The fact they may be happening illegally is extremely serious.
Every three months 240,000 people – over a third of people in Workforce Australia – have their payment suspended. The TCF must be urgently removed to prevent further harm to people on low incomes.
We thank the Commonwealth ombudsman for opening this investigation and stand ready to assist in any way we can.
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Mutual obligations framework to be investigated
The Commonwealth Ombudsman has announced it will investigate the mutual obligations framework, with a focus on whether income support cancellations are being made in a way that is lawful, reasonable and fair.
The Targeted Compliance Framework (TCF) administered by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations was introduced in 2018 and is designed to increase job seeker compliance with mutual obligations.
After news about 1,000 income support payments may have been illegally cancelled between April 2022 and July 2024, The Australian Council for Social Services (Acoss) made a complaint about the federal government’s administration.
In response, the ombudsman has announced today it will investigate the TCF, which administers penalties to people using employment services.
The commonwealth ombudsman, Iain Anderson, said:
Noting these matters and the potential impact of the TFC on highly vulnerable people, my office will be examining the TCF to consider if cancellation decisions are being made and implemented in a manner that is lawful, fair and reasonable.
My office will be seeking information from relevant agencies. Given a parliamentary inquiry has previously examined and delivered recommendations to overhaul the TCF, my office will not seek to duplicate the inquiry. We also do not intend to duplicate the department’s own reviews, although we will monitor these.
DEWR is also conducting an internal review of the IT system and legislative framework supporting the TCF.
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‘Time of national crisis’: Dutton
Coming back to the House of Representatives, Peter Dutton has also spoken on Spender’s motion:
There are people within the Jewish community that I’ve spoken to, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, but not just in Sydney of Melbourne, now across the rest of the country, who are talking about leaving our country, leaving our country. People who were born here, who know little of Israel and little of that life, they’re talking about leaving our country and going to Israel because they feel safer there.
This is a time of national crisis, and it has been brewing away and been in the making for a long period of time.
He’s followed by others in the house and in the Senate who are speaking on the antisemitism motion.
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S&P warns state budgets have a ‘spending problem’
Rating agency S&P Global says Australian states are facing credit downgrades if they don’t curb their spending amid what it described as “lax financial discipline”.
The report, by S&P’s credit analyst Anthony Walker, found state budgets are under pressure from a slowing economy, rising community expectations and increasing infrastructure needs:
While states have high credit ratings and have collected record tax revenues since the pandemic, they have failed to rein in pandemic-size spending, choosing instead to prioritise voter-friendly expenditures.
While all Australian states have high credit ratings of at least AA, any downgrade would increase the cost of their borrowings, weighing further on their debt loads.
State governments around the country are grappling with increased budgetary demands due to cost-of-living pressures and an increasing population. At the same time, there are demands for spending restraint to help avoid triggering another surge in inflation.
Walker said states have a “spending problem”, given revenue flows have been strong.
States insist they are making ‘difficult decisions’ or ‘hard choices’.
At the same time, spending continues to rise rapidly, and new projects are regularly announced.
Resource-rich WA has an AAA rating, the highest among Australian states and territories, while Victoria’s AA is the lowest. The AA+ rating of NSW, Tasmania and ACT is on negative watch, which means they are at risk of downgrades.
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‘Our country is better than that’: PM speaks during motion against antisemitism
Anthony Albanese is now standing up in the house speaking on Spender’s antisemitism motion.
As we’ve been following, the government has been under growing pressure over the spate of attacks on Jewish communities.
Albanese says the attacks and prejudice against the Jewish community have “no place in Australia,” and points to the measures the government has so far taken – including banning Nazi symbols, criminalising doxxing and establishing a special envoy on antisemitism.
Hatred feeds on ignorance, and ignorance strides in darkness. Since we fight these crimes of bigotry in the present, we are building for a better future through the light of education.
Our country is better than that, and our country is a better place because of our Jewish community.
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Liberal and Labor MPs back Spender’s motion
Labor MP Josh Burns, who is Jewish, is seconding Spender’s motion. His office in Melbourne was vandalised last year.
He urges all members of the house to come together and support the motion, and says all Australians deserve to live “without fear”.
The first step is to listen to the Jewish people of Australia they hold the collective memory of microaggression[s], a hate of words, of acts of vilification and discrimination, and they understand the history of antisemitism. And we cannot allow history to fester and to get out of control even more.
He’s followed by Liberal MP Julian Leeser, who is also Jewish, who accuses the government of allowing antisemitism to “flourish”.
We have a domestic terrorism crisis in this country the sort of which Australia has never experienced.
… I will not cop criticism to standing up for my family, my community, or the country I love, in the face of a government that has constantly let down the Jewish community and every law-abiding Australian.
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Spender formally puts forward motion on antisemitism
The house has now resolved to allow Allegra Spender to put forward her motion. It’s the same as Lambie’s motion in the Senate, which states:
That the house:
1. Deplores the appalling and unacceptable rise in antisemitism across Australia, including violent attacks on synagogues, schools, homes and childcare centres;
2. Unequivocally condemns antisemitism in all its forms, as we condemn all similar hatred directed to any groups in our community; and
3. Resolves that all parliamentarians will work constructively together to combat the scourge of antisemitism in Australia.
Spender says:
Australia has, for many years, offered a safe haven. Now, parents and grandparents are genuinely wondering if they can continue to build their lives here. It broke my heart last year when a mother told me that her preschool aged daughter was proudly taking part in a Hanukkah celebration and the only thing she could think of was she’s so happy to be Jewish. She has no idea how many people hate it.
Spender is also pushing for amendments to the government’s hate crimes bill.
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Sukkar takes aim at PM for not showing leadership after Spender’s antisemitism motion
Allegra Spender’s motion was designed to be a unifying moment for the parliament but divisions are flaring before the debate has even started.
The new manager of opposition business, Michael Sukkar, has criticised the fact an independent – rather than the prime minister, Anthony Albanese – was moving the motion.
Why on earth the prime minister is not in here showing leadership and moving this motion after the summer we have had is an absolute outrage.
Updated
Opposition senate leader Michaelia Cash is now speaking, following Penny Wong.
They’re speaking on a motion from independent senator Jacqui Lambie on antisemitism.
The motion states that the senate “deplores the appalling and unacceptable rise in antisemitism”, condemns antisemitism and urges parliamentarians to work together to combat antisemitism in Australia.
Cash says:
The Jews of Australia are currently living in fear. There are people who don’t want their children to go to school on a daily basis. There are people who wake up every morning and wonder, ‘is it going to be me when I leave my house today?’
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Wong speaks on antisemitism in Australia
Over in the Senate, the foreign minister, Penny Wong, is making a statement on the rising number of attacks on Jewish communities.
This has been so distressing for so many Australians, because we are a nation that welcomes different races. We are a nation that welcomes different religions. We are a nation that welcomes different views.
… It is important and appropriate that today across the chamber, we stand together to unequivocally condemn antisemitism in all its forms, just as we should condemn hatred in all its forms directed at any group in our community.
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Allegra Spender puts forward motion on antisemitism as Parliament begins
The bells are ringing and it’s midday, so that means MPs and senators are now seated in the chambers.
First up in the House of Representatives, independent MP Allegra Spender will put forward a motion on antisemitism.
Tony Burke, the leader of the house, is speaking to allow her to bring forward the motion.
There is no argument from the people in this parliament that antisemitism … must end.
Updated
Greens to back Labor's childcare plan, condemn Trump as 'threat to Australia'
Here’s what we learned in the Greens party room meeting:
The Greens will support Labor’s childcare legislation, which partially abolishes the activity test to guarantee three days of subsidies for families earning up to $530,000. The party will push an amendment to scrap the activity test entirely but ultimately want the bill to pass this fortnight. It is a big boost for Labor, which now just needs three crossbench votes to get its flagship policy through the Senate.
The Greens will move a motion in the Senate on Tuesday which condemns Donald Trump as a “threat to Australia and the world”. The motion won’t lead to anything of substance but we can be assured of some theatrics in the upper house as senators offer their various character descriptions of the new US president.
The Greens are still in negotiations on Labor’s tax production credits legislation, which the government hopes to pass this fortnight.
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Discretionary spending up for third month straight
Household spending rose by 0.4% in December, driven by new vehicle purchases, dining out, air travel and streaming services. That’s according to seasonally adjusted figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today, after a 0.8% rise in November and a 1% rise in October.
Robert Ewing, the ABS head of business statistics, said household spending on discretionary goods and services rose 0.6% – “the third straight monthly rise”.
The growth in December was driven by new vehicle purchases, dining out, air travel and streaming services. Continued strength in clothing and footwear, furnishings and household equipment and goods for recreation and culture also contributed to higher discretionary spending.
Consumers have capitalised on the end-of-year sales season, driving a sustained rise in spending to finish 2024.
Household spending grew in all states and territories. Household spending volumes were also 1.4% higher in the December 2024 quarter than the same time last year in original terms, the ABS said.
Furnishings and household equipment (+5.3%), miscellaneous goods and services (+3.9%) and transport (+3%) had the largest annual rises, while alcoholic beverages and tobacco fell 12.2%.
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‘We don’t need to wait for a shooting bullet in 20 years’: Kean lashes Coalition nuclear plan
The Climate Change Authority chair and former NSW Liberal minister Matt Kean has condemned the Coalition’s nuclear energy plans during a panel at the Sydney summit today.
As reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, Kean told the crowd Australia should remain focused on renewables and not become “distracted by unicorns”.
He said that renewables were the “only solution to meeting our energy needs” and anyone talking about other technologies is “arguing for higher prices and an economic damaging false information [sic]”:
The fact that it takes 492 days for a renewable project to see SSI approval, means that you see a blowout in time it takes to build that new capacity that we really need right now, in windfarms and solar farms of between two and four years. That’s increasing the cost of these projects by 25 times, and flows through to consumers.
We can remove a lot of that red tape and get that cheap, reliable and clean electricity into the system. Today, we don’t need to wait for a shooting bullet in 20 year’s time …
Kean said Australia was “in a race against time” to replace its ageing coal-fired power stations and extending them “doesn’t make them more reliable.”
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Leaders provide update on far north Queensland floods
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, has been speaking to reporters in Townsville, alongside the federal emergency management minister, Jenny McAllister, about the flooding situation in far north Queensland.
McAllister said communities weren’t out of the woods yet and that “recovery isn’t something that starts tomorrow and then ends after a week”:
For many communities after a big event, it takes a lot to get that community back on its feet financially, psychologically, physically. We are here for the long haul …
In response to a request from Queensland, we have mobilised ADF support and, particularly, helicopter support that will be critical in resupplying those communities that remain isolated.
She added that the national aerial fleet has been positioned for a number of days, and hardship payments had been established.
We remain ready to work with the Queensland government if more information emerges about impact in different communities to deepen and extend that support.
Widespread moderate to major #flooding is ongoing across parts of NE #Queensland. Major Flood Warnings are in place for the #Herbert, #Burdekin, and #Haughton Rivers. Moderate Flood Warnings are current for #Ross, #Tully, and #Murray Rivers.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) February 4, 2025
Latest: https://t.co/jlOoTZL1iF pic.twitter.com/UXEOnQ8RzR
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Greens to put forward motion on Trump
There’s been plenty of discussion this morning on how “exposed” Australia is to trade tariffs being placed by the US, as Donald Trump imposes tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China (though the Canada and Mexico tariffs are “‘on hold” after some last-minute negotiations).
The Greens will put a motion forward today to stop “Trump-style politics” coming to Australia. The motion states:
That the election of President Trump is a threat to Australia and the world, including his attacks on human rights, democracy and climate action, that the toxic influence of billionaires and corporations in political decision making must end, and that we must do everything we can to stop Trump-style politics coming to Australia.
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Tax-free lunches cost how much?
There’s been plenty of back and forth this morning on the cost of the Coalition’s tax-free lunch policy, and no doubt the debate will continue throughout the week.
The government says it will cost $1.6bn, all the way up to $10bn if small businesses use that policy to the max, while the opposition has accused the government of politicising the treasury department to get those numbers.
For a full rundown of how this has played out, Josh Butler’s got you covered:
You can also see more of what Jim Chalmers had to say on it here:
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If you’re wondering why parliament hasn’t yet started, normally on a Tuesday the parties hold caucus meetings, where they discuss policies, answer questions from members and get themselves into gear.
We saw the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, making his opening remarks before the Coalition caucus meeting a little earlier, where he attacked the government on the rise of antisemitism as well as the cost of living.
We’ll shortly get some more info on how a few of those caucus meetings went down this morning, and then the House and Senate will sit at midday.
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Today marks the 25th anniversary of World Cancer Day
The Cancer Council is calling on the government for further support to prevent and treat cancer in Australia.
They say Australia’s been a leader in cancer care and over the past 25 years our public policies and healthcare sectors have helped to save more than 107,000 lives.
Research from Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) predicts that there will be an estimated 209,000 Australians diagnosed with cancer in 2034. So they’re calling on the government to:
Increase participation in the national bowel cancer screening program
Reduce the financial burden of cancer through improved services and support
Invest in skin cancer prevention campaigns
Tackle the rise of obesity to reduce the incidence of 13 types of cancer
Mark Nevin, Cancer Council Australia’s CEO says:
As new research and evidence emerges, so does new methods of prevention, detection and treatment, as well as improved ways to support those affected. The Australian government can support the adoption of these advances now, to continue to improve cancer survival rates.
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Business council pushes for a cabinet minister for deregulation
A group of 30 chief executives will meet with the treasurer Jim Chalmers and shadow treasurer Angus Taylor and push the Business Council of Australia’s election policy platform.
It’s pushing for a cabinet minister for deregulation and to focus on making environmental approvals and business licensing more efficient.
Chalmers was asked about it during his earlier news conference:
Every couple of months or so, we have a discussion, very frank discussion, with business leaders, and I welcome it. We don’t pretend that we have all the answers here in the cabinet room next door, and so we engage enthusiastically and in a genuine way with the business community. I’m grateful for the opportunity to do that regularly and I’ll be grateful for the opportunity to do that tomorrow night as well.
Chalmers also points to cabinet colleague Katy Gallagher, the finance minister, who he says is already working to “streamline regulation”.
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Bail laws to be reviewed in Victoria
Jacinta Allan has also confirmed a review into the state’s bail laws, which the government only changed last year. She says:
It’s just simply unacceptable to me that many Victorians, particularly women and children, aren’t feeling as safe as they should … we do need to look at what more needs to be done.
Asked if this is a result of poor polling, and a byelection in Werribee this weekend, where crime has been a major concern of voters, Allan says:
This is because it’s unacceptable to me that too many working families, too many women and children, don’t feel safe and, as premier, I will act, I will listen to those concerns and take action to support the safety of Victorian families.
It remains quite unclear what the premier has ordered the attorney general and police minister to review.
She’s now saying it’s not specifically in regard to bail, it will be a review into “current laws”. Allan says:
It includes the justice settings in this state.
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Jewish communities 'really living in fear', Dutton tells Coalition caucus
Dutton is talking to his Coalition colleagues this morning, before the parliament sitting.
There will be a big focus on antisemitism attacks this week and it’s an issue Dutton’s gone straight to in his opening remarks.
People in the Jewish community and right across the country now, Australians are watching their prime minister knowing he’s out of his depth and not up to the task.
People in Jewish communities are really living in fear at the moment.
The Coalition has said it will work with the government to pass hate crimes laws but they also want new mandatory sentencing penalties.
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We’ve got some more photos from the the church service this morning.
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Inquiry announced into McCrae landslide
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has announced an inquiry into the landslide that occurred at McCrae last month.
In January, multiple homes were evacuated in McCrae and a council worker was hospitalised after a house slid down a hill and collided with other homes following the landslide.
Allan says a board of inquiry will be asked to determine the cause of the landslide, what happened and whether it could have been avoided. It will also determine the adequacy of preventive measures taken to mitigate the risks after other landslides in McCrae.
Its findings and recommendations will identify any measures deemed necessary to prevent or mitigate risk of similar events occurring in the future across Victoria. Allan says:
We’re doing this because we’ve heard very clearly from the local community that they want to get to the bottom of the cause of this landslide. They want answers. Also too, I know the community want a pathway to be able to return back to their homes, and that is why there is work that is going on with the Mornington Peninsula shire to accept the formal transfer back from the Victorian State Emergency Service, so that we can get a pathway for residents to return to their properties.
She says the community will be able to engage with the inquiry, which will have to report back before the end of the year.
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AGL penalised over energy bill increases
Power company AGL has paid $924,600 in penalties over alleged breaches of Victorian energy rules that led to increased prices for thousands of residential and small business customers.
Victoria’s economic regulator, the Essential Services Commission, said today that AGL charged customers more than the law allowed on 49,394 occasions.
AGL was contacted for comment.
The commission’s chairperson, Gerard Brody, said rules protecting customers from unexpected price increases were particularly important given cost-of-living pressures.
AGL’s conduct put an unnecessary financial burden on households and small businesses at a time when many were already under pressure.
Breaches like this weaken public trust in the energy sector, which should ensure fairness and certainty in pricing so customers know they’re not being overcharged.
The relevant retail code limits tariff increases to once a year.
Small business customers were charged, on average, about $979 more than allowed, according to the commission, while residential customers were charged about $21 more than allowed.
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Treasurer says Coalition’s tax-free lunches would ‘smash the budget’
Jim Chalmers, who has been doing the media rounds this morning, has also just done a press conference in parliament.
The tax-free lunches are big feature – Chalmers is again criticising the policy and says Labor are “big supporters” of small businesses.
Peter Dutton’s policy would smash the budget and he hasn’t been able to answer basic questions about how he would prevent rorting, what would be the eligibility, and they haven’t released the costing.
Chalmers is also asked about Angus Taylor’s comments on Sky earlier, saying that the treasurer had “politicised” the Treasury department to do these costings on an opposition policy. Chalmers says Taylor was “losing it”.
I would rather not have to do it. I would rather a responsible opposition provided the costings of their policy … part of my job is to understand risks to the budget and this is a very substantial risk to the budget. This would smash the budget.
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Victorian Greens on anti-vilification legislation
The Victorian Greens are yet to form a position on the state government’s anti-vilification bill but say they’re pleased with protections for LGBTQIA+ people it includes. Their equality spokesperson, Gabrielle de Vietri, told reporters outside parliament:
We’re really pleased that the government has finally come on board and it’s introducing those expanded attributes that are protected from vilification. We have been speaking with stakeholders and we are concerned that there are some elements of this bill that present a risk of over policing and of criminalising the cohorts that this bill is, in fact, meant to protect. So we’re working very closely with those human rights, legal and community organisations to be able to put forth new amendments and negotiate with the government to improve this bill, to make sure that it does indeed protect the people it’s meant to protect.
She says adding vilification to the Crimes Act could lead to overpolicing:
The criminal element has had a significantly lower threshold and a higher penalty. So it’s really, really important that we keep guard rails on the policing of this bill to make sure that there is no overreach and to make sure that these aren’t weaponised against the communities that they’re meant to protect. We’re receiving advice from human rights and legal centres as we speak.
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Peter Dutton says he is ‘ready for the election’
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, was also doorstopped outside the church service.
Asked if he was ready to lead the country after this year’s election, Dutton said:
I believe very strongly that there’s a mood for change in our country, and we’ve demonstrated over the course of the last three years that we have a stability and we have the depth of experience to make the decisions to keep our country safe and help families recover from a really tough period that many people didn’t predict two-and-a-half years ago, and I fear that it gets worse if the (Labor) government’s re-elected.
I am ready for the election. I believe it’ll be tough. It’ll always be hard fought but I do believe that we can, we can win.
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Taylor claims Labor politicising public service to attack Coalition on tax free lunch policy
As Krishani reported earlier, Treasury is estimating the Coalition’s plan for tax-free lunches for small businesses would cost the federal budget $1.6bn a year.
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, spoke with Sky News earlier about this and continued to defend the Coalition’s policy as “a modest tax cut for small businesses” – adding he would write to the secretary of Treasury and ask “for a full explanation as to why he has done this”.
Taylor argued that Labor was using public servants to “attack, in pure political terms, the opposition.”
The public service is not there to make political attacks on your opponents. The code of conduct is very clear on this. This is an egregious politicisation of a public service, which Labor is bloating for its own purposes.
Taylor also claimed the cost of the Coalition’s policy would be under $250m.
We’ve had it costed. We’ve worked closely with the Parliamentary Budget Office. It’s nothing like what the treasurer is saying. We’ll be putting out the detailed costings in advance of the next election.
The host asked if it was politicisation, though, if Labor has come up with the costs the Coalition hasn’t announced yet? Taylor rejected this and said the Coalition had worked closely with the Parliamentary Budget Office. He doubled down, and claimed:
There’s no there’s no ambiguity about this, we’ve got a Treasury here who is politicising the public service. That’s why he needs to add 36,000 public servants, because he, frankly, is on a mission to turn the public service into an arm of the Labor party.
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Minns stands by Haylen, says having a driver is a ‘privilege’
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says he doesn’t believe it’s acceptable for ministerial drivers to take kids to weekend sport. But he said in this instance the transport minister, Jo Haylen, says her kids were dropped at sport while she was on her way to work.
Haylen has apologised after using her ministerial driver to chauffeur her and some friends to and from a three-hour private lunch on the Australia Day weekend – at a cost of $750.
Speaking to Nine radio earlier this morning, Minns said it was a “privilege” to have a driver “so that you can work longer and harder on behalf of taxpayers in the state”.
That hasn’t happened. I am saying today on the program that we are changing the rules in NSW to ensure that it’s used for official business purposes.
If it’s private use, it’s only for incidental or minor parts of a minister’s job.
Minns also said he doesn’t believe it’s acceptable for drivers to take kids to weekend sport.
In relation to that, I asked and said, ‘that’s clearly not acceptable’. And her response to me was, ‘I was going to work. Yes, my child dropped off at sport on the way, but I was going to work’.
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‘Worst, sloppiest policy’: Albanese on free lunches
The prime minister is having a go at the opposition over their tax-free lunch policy for small businesses.
The policy would allow small businesses to tax deduct up to $20,000 for “meals and entertainment”, which the treasurer this morning has been saying would cost about $1.6bn.
The PM says it shows the opposition isn’t “fit” to lead.
This is the worst, sloppiest policy put forward by any opposition that I’ve seen in my entire time since I’ve been in Parliament, and that was a while ago. This shows they are simply not fit as an alternative government. They have opposed every cost of living measure, and this is all they’ve come up with.
Remember when I said the church service is the calm before the storm? Looks like the storm is starting a little earlier than expected.
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Hate crimes legislation to be debated this week
In response to the spate of antisemitic attacks around the country, the government and opposition have said they will work this fortnight to pass news laws that would criminalise speech that incites violence on vulnerable people and vulnerable groups.
The opposition has said they want the legislation to specifically state places of worship, which the government says is already broadly included in the legislation.
Anthony Albanese says:
I’ve been talking about the need to protect places of worship very clearly. I’ve made the government’s position on that very clear.
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The prime minister is speaking after church service this morning
The government’s still trying to focus on cost of living, the biggest issue most of us are facing at the moment, and one that will feature significantly in parliament and during the election campaign. Anthony Albanese begins with a message of “hope”:
We do need hope and we need optimism and, as we begin the parliamentary year, that’s precisely what I have – optimism for the year ahead and optimism that we can create a better future for Australia. If we seize the opportunities that are before us, we begin the parliamentary year with inflation falling, wages rising and with unemployment low.
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Victorian Liberal party room to meet for the first time since leadership spill
Victorian parliament also resumes today, which means the Liberal party room will be meeting for the first time since a spill last year, which saw Brad Battin take on the leadership of the opposition.
It will be a big day for the Berwick MP, who will take his place at the leadership table during question time with his new deputy, Sam Groth. Hawthorn MP John Pesutto, who lost the leadership in December, returns to the backbench, while in the upper house Moira Deeming rejoins the Liberals after a stint on the crossbench.
The Greens are gearing up to wedge Battin’s leadership, with a motion on abortion set to be introduced in the upper house on Wednesday. They will also second read their bill to enshrine abortion rights into the constitution, which would require a super majority of the upper house.
The Greens’ leader, Ellen Sandell, says she wrote to Battin regarding his position on the bill several weeks ago but he hasn’t replied. According to her, Pesutto had “expressed his personal support for abortion and said he would put it to a conscience vote”.
Sandell accused Battin of “lurching the party to the right”:
People deserve to know where their leaders sit when it comes to their reproductive rights and access to essential healthcare.
Meanwhile, the premier, Jacinta Allan, is ramping up the pressure on him to support her anti-vilification legislation. On Monday she described him as an “extreme rightwing leader”.
The Liberal party did not respond when asked for a response to her comments. They will be voting on their position on the bill on Tuesday morning. Several Jewish community groups are unhappy with the bill’s “genuine political purpose” defence.
On the Labor side, the newly shuffled cabinet will face their first grilling, including Jaclyn Symes, the new treasurer who unusually sits in the upper house, and the attorney general, Sonya Kilkenny.
And Allan appears to be backing away from bail laws she introduced just six months ago.
It will all set the tone for the parliamentary year ahead and I’ll be there with updates as it unfolds.
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Crossbench continues push for gambling reform
We know the government won’t be going ahead with gambling reform before the election, but it’s something the crossbench will still bring up and try to push this fortnight.
Lambie and Pocock are asked about it on RN Breakfast and are getting pretty fired up.
Pocock says:
It’s pretty astonishing that we had the [Peta] Murphy review, a landmark report that the parliament unanimously backed, no dissenting remarks from anyone, and said we need a full ban on all gambling advertising and then 31 other recommendations. This is a public health issue. We needed to deal with it as such, and we’ve seen the prime minister listen to Peter V’landys rather than Peta Murphy.
Lambie says the major parties “don’t give a stuff” about the next generation of young Australians.
And as we brought you earlier, the Greens have offered to support the government to pass gambling reforms this week.
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Question mark on electoral reform bill
Crossbench senators Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock are on RN Breakfast, saying neither was consulted over summer on the electoral reform bill.
The bill would cap donations and spending for candidates, and increase transparency for donations, but the caps have been heavily criticised by the crossbench (which they say will “entrench” the two-party system).
Lambie says:
I don’t know who Don Farrell, [is] consulting with but it must have been the faerie … because it certainly wasn’t us.
Instead of reducing your cost of living out there, they want to come and make sure that they can hold power up here for years to come with their electoral reforms. That’s what they’re doing … Nothing’s changed, 2025 you know, a new year, same rubbish.
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As Krishani has been bringing you, Jim Chalmers has been pinballing around the press gallery doing multiple media rounds to criticise the Coalition’s policy for tax-deductible business lunches – which, according to costings that the government asked Treasury to prepare, would cost between $1.6bn and $10bn per year.
Chalmers claimed the policy was at risk of being “rorted” by businesses claiming personal food expenses.
This is Peter Dutton’s “meals and entertainment” policy, which would allow businesses and bosses to tax deduct up to $20,000 per year. Dutton and the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, billed it as a policy which could help firms attract new clients with business lunches, or allow bosses to reward workers after a hard week – but it attracted confusion last week over what expenses would be eligible, with differing reports on whether work parties, golf days or football matches could be put on the public purse.
Dutton later clarified that it was meals only (but then why was it billed as a “meal and entertainment expenses” policy in the opposition’s own media release?) and said the Coalition would release costings down the track.
Chalmers overnight said: “In the absence of opposition costings, the government asked Treasury to cost a proposal based on parameters made publicly available by the Coalition”.
The Liberals’ taxpayer-funded long lunches policy would smash the budget. This is why they won’t come clean on costings or cuts.
He said the Treasury department had forecast the policy would cost $1.6b annually – but that “this becomes more than $10bn a year if all eligible businesses claimed what they’d be entitled to”.
If take up and average claims are higher than expected or if businesses rort the system by illegitimately claiming food and entertainment that is personal, not for business, the cost of the policy would increase substantially.
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Looping back to the shadow infrastructure minister, Bridget McKenzie, on the Today show this morning.
She and Amanda Rishworth weighed in on the controversy around the NSW transport minister, Jo Haylen, using a ministerial car for personal use in multiple instances.
McKenzie said:
When you breach ministerial standards under the Westminster system, you should resign. It is actually about keeping faith and trust with the Australian public. And if she has breached the ministerial code in NSW, then she should. It’s an immense privilege to serve the public as we do, and we need to take all the supports that are given to us to help us do that, to use them wisely and efficiently.
No rules were broken in Haylen’s use of a publicly funded car and driver, the NSW premier, Chris Minns, has said but those regulations were likely to be changed after the “bad judgment”.
McKenzie had a brush with the federal ministerial standards back in 2020 and resigned from the frontbench over the “sports rorts” controversy, when it was found she skewed community sports grants towards marginal seats.
Rishworth said it’s important politicians “keep faith” with taxpayers and use their privileges “wisely”.
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Politicians gather at Canberra church for pre-sitting service
The prime minister, opposition leader and others are meeting this morning at a church in Canberra, for the parliamentary ecumenical service.
It’s a tradition held on the morning of the first sitting day of each year, and the prime minister will make some remarks.
It’s generally the calm before the storm.
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Treasury estimates Coalition tax-free lunch plan at $1.6bn
How much will a plan from the Coalition for tax-free lunches for small businesses cost the federal budget? Treasury is guessing $1.6bn a year.
It’s a big number, and the Coalition hasn’t yet put out its own figure.
But Chalmers says:
If only one-eighth of what is eligible is claimed, if everything is claimed, it goes to more than $10bn a year. But that’s unlikely … the best estimate the Treasury has provided us is $1.6bn a year.
Host Sally Sara also asks Chalmers about the olive branch from the Greens to work with the government on gambling.
Chalmers says he “hasn’t seen” the letter from the Greens, and that Labor works constructively with the crossbench.
There’s also more on how much the government has done on gambling reform in its term. (This is something the PM and Rowland also tend to say).
We continue to work through the recommendations of the [Peta] Murphy inquiry, including when it comes to things like ads, and we know that there are people who would like us to go further and faster when it comes to gambling reform, but the government does already have a very substantial record of dealing with the harms of online gambling in all of the ways
It’s also important to remember here, action on online gambling ads was only one of the recommendations from Murphy’s review.
Her committee also recommended consumer protections for licensed online gambling, a legislated duty of care, and a crackdown on illegal gambling websites.
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Treasury has done modelling on cost of potential US tariffs
Jim Chalmers has now gone to ABC RN Breakfast and says the government has done modelling on what impact tariffs from the US would have.
He won’t give us a number but says he’s worked with colleagues on the figures and the bottom line is that Australia is “exposed”.
I’ve had the ability to brief my colleagues on a number of occasions now on some of that sort of work, and the broad conclusion out of that work is that Australia is a big beneficiary of open global trading. We are a very trade exposed economy, it means that we’re not immune when they are escalating trade tensions.
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, is also headed over to the US later this week to speak with his defence counterpart Pete Hegseth (remembering Aukus is a thing, and the government wants it to continue).
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Chalmers says trade relationship with US must be ‘beneficial to both sides’
Jim Chalmers is now on ABC News Breakfast, again starting on the impact of the flooding in north Queensland.
He points out that these natural disasters are becoming more frequent here, which he says Labor has been trying to act on, in making “communities more resilient”.
They move to trade – the main point we’ve been hearing from the government, including Chalmers, is that the US runs a trade surplus with Australia, a “substantial” trade surplus, Chalmers says.
Our relationship is mutually beneficial and all the conversations we’ll have with our American counterparts will be about making sure that this really key economic relationship continues to be beneficial to both sides.
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What’s the Coalition’s nuclear plan again?
There has been plenty of back and forth on just how much the Coalition’s nuclear plan will cost, and you can bet it will be brought up again in parliament today.
For a deep dive into what the experts are saying, and what impact the plan will have on the climate (also important), have a read of Graham Readfearn’s explainer:
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Treasurer: Australia ‘exposed’ to China’s economy and global trade
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is doing the TV rounds this morning.
The Queensland MP starts off on the Today show, talking about the flooding in his state, and the support the government is providing.
We’ve got ADF personnel already helping in Townsville. We’ve provided military helicopters to help reach isolated communities. The assistance payments are flowing, and people should check their eligibility, but we’re helping in every way that we can.
Moving on to the trade tariffs the US is imposing overseas, he says they’re “not a big surprise”.
They were flagged in one way or another in the American election campaign. We won’t be immune from trade tensions around the world but we’re confident that we can navigate these new policies out of the US.
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Government pushes case against trade tariffs from the US
As confusion and concern escalate over Donald Trump’s trade tariffs for Canada and Mexico, Australians are hoping to be spared.
Government frontbencher Amanda Rishworth and shadow minister Bridget McKenzie are on the Today show this morning, and have both weighed in.
Rishworth says the government is putting forward its case on the “mutually beneficial arrangements”.
We’ve been working, and we’ll continue to work very hard, to show that why Australia is in a really unique position. Of course, America, you know, benefits as well from our free trading arrangements, as does Australian exports.
While McKenzie says it’s a “test” for the government.
America is our third largest trading partner … But these tariff issues, particularly on aluminium and steel, are potentially going to have flow-on impact for us. And it’s a real test for ambassador Rudd, for Penny Wong, for our trade minister.
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Greens challenge Labor to act on gambling
The Greens have pledged to help the government pass legislation to limit gambling advertising this week, challenging Labor to enact wagering reforms that were shelved late last year.
Anthony Albanese promised “we will do more” to prevent gambling harm, in a podcast interview published on Monday, but the prime minister again downplayed the prospect of fulfilling late Labor MP Peta Murphy’s call for a full gambling ad ban.
The communications minister, Michelle Rowland, agreed government reforms were “taking longer than hoped” but said she was still working through consultation and policy processes, seemingly rejecting the Greens’ push.
You can read the full story here:
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Good morning
I’m Krishani Dhanji, here with you for our first parliamentary sitting day of the year.
There’s plenty to chew on this week – we’re looking at production tax credits, debates on universal childcare subsidies, hate speech laws and we’ll probably hear more about cutting down the public service.
These are also some of the big ticket items likely to be dominating the election campaign, which could be in a matter of weeks. And the closer we get to one, the more theatrical parliament is likely to get.
There are also still some big question marks over key policies such as electoral donation reform, which will introduce caps on election donations and spending. Conversations are ongoing but it doesn’t appear the government has reached a deal. Meanwhile, nature positive laws, which would have established a federal environment watchdog, have been officially shelved, but they will likely still be talked about this week.
Grab your coffee, let’s get started.
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Business council calls for budget spending caps
Australia’s business industry body has released its pre-election policy recommendations designed to tackle what it describes as the “nation’s most pressing challenges” such as inflation, housing shortages and the energy transition.
In a policy document directed at all sides of politics, the Business Council of Australia has called for caps on budget spending to help control inflation, and less red tape and regulation to promote productivity.
The budget spending recommendation could be viewed as a critique of the federal government, which has faced calls from some economists to rein in spending to bring inflation under control faster.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has previously argued against a policy of “scorched-earth austerity” during a cost-of-living crisis.
The business group wants spending growth capped to an annual rate of 2%, and a tax-to-GDP ratio cap of 23.9%.
The council is also advocating for reforms to the approvals process to boost housing supply and for political parties to take a “technology agnostic approach” in pursuit of a pathway to net zero by 2050.
Labor and the Coalition are taking vastly different energy policies to the election, due by May.
The council has also called for a “move back to basics” to lift the quality of education.
Teenager dead in island shark attack
Stepping away from politics for a moment before things kick off: a teenager has died after being bitten by a shark off south-east Queensland.
Queensland ambulance service confirmed the female teenager had sustained injuries to her upper body while swimming off Woorim beach on Bribie Island, north of Brisbane, on Monday afternoon. She died just after 5pm.
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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 will be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.
After a summer of sharpening their messaging, Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton will return to lock horns in Canberra today along with all other federal MPs and senators in what could be the final sitting of parliament before a federal election is called. It comes as more voters see Peter Dutton as in touch with ordinary Australians, decisive and better in a crisis than Anthony Albanese, with the opposition leader’s standing improving on key leadership indicators in our latest Guardian Essential poll. More coming up.
A leading energy industry expert says Dutton has “no idea what he is talking about” after the opposition leader claimed that slowing the rollout of renewable energy and backing nuclear power could bring down bills by 44% “or of that order”. Dr Dylan McConnell, of the University of New South Wales, said Dutton didn’t even understand his own policy. More coming up. Check out our explainer for more analysis on the Coalition’s nuclear plans.
A small community near Brisbane is in shock today after the death of a teenager after a shark attack. She was swimming off Bribie Island just north of Brisbane yesterday when she was attacked. More coming up.
