Hello and welcome to Afternoon Update.
Jim Chalmers has announced a spectacular backdown on Labor’s controversial superannuation tax policy just three days after Anthony Albanese insisted his government’s plan remained unchanged.
The original proposal to double the tax rate on superannuation balances above $3m from 15% to 30% faced sustained attack despite only affecting 0.5% of savers. The government now intends to index the threshold up to $10m, scrap its application to unrealised gains and delay the start date until July 2026.
Paul Keating took a swipe at John Howard and Peter Costello while hailing the six super tax changes as a “huge policy achievement”. The shadow treasurer, Ted O’Brien, noted the announcement as a “victory for common sense”, but “humiliating” for Chalmers.
Top news
First seven hostages handed to Red Cross in Gaza, according to reports – live updates
Google won’t reveal if it is lobbying Trump about YouTube’s inclusion in Australia’s under-16s ban
Pat Cummins concedes he is ‘weeks away’ from bowling and unlikely to play in first Ashes Test
Record number of babies born to foreign parents in Japan amid political row over migration
In pictures
This photo of a river bursting its banks in Mexico, where floods have killed at least 23 people in recent days, is among a selection by the Guardian’s picture editors of photos from around the world this weekend.
What they said …
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“This mock outrage is ridiculous.” – Lidia Thorpe
The independent senator today shrugged off criticism of comments she made at a pro-Palestine rally in Melbourne yesterday, saying a remark about burning down Parliament House “to make a point” was “clearly a figure of speech”.
Full Story
Could Japan get its own Thatcher this week?
A former heavy metal drummer who cites Margaret Thatcher as an influence, Sanae Takaichi could make history this week if chosen to become Japan’s first female prime minister. Guardian Japan correspondent Justin McCurry speaks to Reged Ahmad about the rise of the polarising politician and her tough approach to China.
Before bed read
When Melbourne writer Debbie Lustig started birding, “it was daggy – that was precisely why I wanted to learn more”.
“I wanted to do something so niche, so consuming, I could lose myself in it,” she writes. “I was in a funk that needed urgent lifting.” Then a hobby that began as a distraction while she battled addiction became something much more.
Vote for your bird of the year
Cast your vote for the 2025 Australian bird of the year – before the winner is announced on Thursday. The bottom five birds will be eliminated at the end of each day, with tallies starting afresh just after midnight. You can vote every day.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: COOP. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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