What we learned: Friday, 16 May
With that, we will wrap the blog for the evening. Have a lovely weekend and thanks for reading.
Here were the major developments of the day:
Candidates in the Sydney seat of Bradfield face a nervous weekend with the Australian Electoral Commission confirming there will be no more vote counting until Monday. Meanwhile, independent Zoe Daniel has narrowed Tim Wilson’s lead in the seat of Goldstein, but the Liberal, who says he remains “relaxed”, is still likely to win the seat.
ANZ has lowered its interest rate cut prediction to just two for 2025 and expects a third in 2026, becoming the first major bank to push its prediction back that far.
The Albanese government has advocated for an above-inflation rise in the minimum wage for nearly 3 million workers, ahead of the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC’s) annual decision next month.
Former Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto has been ordered to pay $2.3m in costs after losing a defamation case brought by Liberal MP Moira Deeming.
And Ben Roberts-Smith has lost his appeal against a defamation case ruling, with three justices of the federal court agreeing he was not defamed by Nine newspapers and journalists Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters when they published reports in 2018 which claimed he had committed war crimes.
Updated
Zoe Daniel trails Tim Wilson by 206 votes
Liberal Tim Wilson’s lead over independent Zoe Daniel in Goldstein has shrunk again to 206 votes.
According to the AEC, there were 256 ballots awaiting processing shortly before 5pm.
But the AEC commissioner, Jeff Pope, said “a few thousand” votes for electorates across the country would come in on Friday, including around 120 from Nairobi:
We will have staff potentially out at Sydney airport at late hours tonight, before midnight, trying to pick up some of these votes.
Pope said it was difficult to estimate how many of these votes could be for tight seats such as Bradfield or Goldstein, but suggested around 30-50.
Postal and overseas votes received before the midnight Friday deadline will be counted on Monday.
If the vote margin is less than 100 after all preferences are distributed, a recount is automatically called.
Pope said candidates could request a recount once all preferences had been distributed, even if the margin was higher than 100.
Updated
Aussie shares hit three-month high as streak continues
The Australian share market has clocked its highest close in three months after eight straight sessions of gains.
The S&P/ASX200 retreated after an early spike but finished 38.2 points, or 0.46%, higher at 8,335.7.
The broader All Ordinaries rose 41.6 points, or 0.49%, to 8,571.4.
The top-200 is within 3% of its all-time peak after local shares rallied on this week’s US-China tariff de-escalation and a likely Reserve Bank interest rate cut next week.
The Commonwealth Bank also pipped a new intraday all-time high of $172.92, but ran into heavy selling to trade back below $170.
The Australian dollar is buying 64.32 US cents, down slightly from 64.39 on Thursday afternoon after a surprise slip in US producer prices weighed on the greenback.
-Australian Associated Press.
Updated
Election result ‘bittersweet’ for Greens: Faruqi
Faruqi said the Greens would do a “detailed evaluation” of the election result, adding there had been “highs and there’s been lows”.
We lost wonderful, wonderful colleagues and representatives of their communities. Where changes need to be made, we’ll make the changes … It’s been bittersweet for us, losing those lower house seats, but then getting sole balance of power in the Senate and tens of thousands of people in migrant and multicultural communities really backing our stance on the cost-of-living crisis, a strong stand against the genocide in Gaza and against racism.
Pressed on whether she was “comfortable” with the Greens’ position on Gaza given how the “public debate … played out in the domestic scene”, Faruqi replied:
Our position against a genocide in Gaza is not a position taken because we would win votes or lose votes.
I couldn’t sleep at night if the Greens hadn’t spoken up in the strongest way against the massacre of tens of thousands – of if not hundreds of thousands of – innocent people who are now being starved. There were just 100 people in Gaza that were murdered last night. So, we took a strong moral position and a position of justice. And we will not back away from that.
Updated
Mehreen Faruqi defends Greens’ record in previous parliament
The deputy Greens leader, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, appeared on ABC Afternoon Briefing earlier after being re-endorsed for her position.
Asked if the approach her party had taken was “not effective” given they lost three lower house seats, Faruqi said the Greens had the trust of “millions of people who have put us in the sole balance of power in the Senate”:
There’s tens of thousands of voters who have voted for the Greens for the first time in communities that had not done that before … migrant and multicultural communities … to hold the Labor government to account. And that will take many shapes and forms. Of course we’ll work constructively and cooperatively when needed. But we’ll also fight for people and the planet when needed. That’s what people are asking us to do.
On whether the Greens had been too obstructive in the last parliament, Faruqi said that was a narrative pushed by Labor and her party had negotiated a number of concessions.
Because of the pressure we put on Labor for the last three years and even beyond that, wiping all student debt, making price gouging illegal for supermarkets, and on free GPs, because of Greens pressure, Labor took on those policies and I think the first cab off the rank in the next parliament should be for Labor to do that work and we are ready and willing to do that.
Updated
ANZ predicts just two interest rate cuts this year
ANZ has lowered its interest rate cut prediction to just two for 2025 and expects a third in 2026, becoming the first major bank to push its prediction back that far.
Even a heavily tipped rate cut from the Reserve Bank next week is no longer a “near certainty” but only a two-in-three chance, ANZ analysts wrote on Friday, stepping back from their previous assurance:
We have lessened our conviction on this, though we still consider a May cut more likely than not.
Financial markets, though, were this morning predicting a 95% chance of the RBA board will cut when it meets on Tuesday. Markets expect a further two in 2025, as do Commonwealth Bank and Westpac, the latter of which says holding rates was out of the question in its own note today.
But ANZ thinks even that figure is too high, after signs the US and China are getting closer to a deal on lower tariffs. At home, slight improvements in business and household confidence and sustained strength in job growth and wage levels add to arguments for a hold, the bank’s analysts say.
All of these predictions are well below the five or more cuts markets were expecting in the wake of Donald Trump’s tariff announcement in April. NAB is the only major bank expecting five cuts this year, including a double-sized rate cut on Tuesday.
That said, ANZ still expects Australia’s economy will need lower rates to manage the damage it sustains from heightened global uncertainty in the wake of Trump’s tariffs. The bank is expecting unemployment to rise to 4.4% over 2025, from its current level of 4.1%, and the economy to grow just 2%, below the 2.4% the RBA predicted in February.
Updated
Police officer allegedly punched and stabbed in Wagga Wagga
A man is in custody after a female police officer was allegedly stabbed and punched in the New South Wales city of Wagga Wagga this afternoon.
The, officer aged in her 20s, was allegedly attacked in Kooringal shortly before 2pm today when trying to stop a man who was riding a bike without a helmet.
Police allege the 31-year-old man punched her multiple times in the head before stabbing her in the arm and abdomen with a small screwdriver.
The officer was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to Wagga Wagga Base hospital in a stable condition. She was also being checked for suspected fractures to her fingers and a head injury.
The man was arrested at the scene and taken to Wagga Wagga police station.
Updated
Algal bloom linked to surge in shark sightings in South Australia
A sharp rise in shark sightings could be linked to an algal bloom that has killed about 100 species of fish and sharks amid a nine-month long marine heatwave across southern Australia, AAP reports.
A shark attack at a popular Adelaide beach on Thursday, in which a swimmer aged in his 60s had his leg mauled, has focused attention on the growing number of sightings and strandings since the bloom formed in March.
South Australia’s shark sightings log shows 195 reports so far in 2025, compared with 313 in 2024, 148 (2023), 153 (2022), 264 (2021) and 84 (2020).
Since the microalgae bloom, karenia mikimotoi, was identified off the Fleurieu Peninsula in March, there have been hundreds of reports of marine deaths, ranging from sharks and penguins, to popular fishing species such as flathead, squid, crabs, and rock lobsters.
The state environment minister, Susan Close, said the bloom had grown to an unprecedented scale, close to the size of Kangaroo Island, which is 4,405 sq km, and as deep as 20m.
Earlier in May, authorities removed a dead white shark washed up on Henley beach in Adelaide and two other sharks were reported dead at Port Willunga in Adelaide’s south and at Port Moorowie, on the south coast of Yorke Peninsula.
Updated
Wet and wintry weekend ahead for south-east Australia
Get your umbrellas and thick socks outs, winter is coming for south-eastern Australia this weekend.
The Bureau of Meteorology forecasting rain, hail and even snow for some parts of the country. In New South Wales, wet and windy conditions could see a “really rough end to the weekend”, Miriam Bradbury, a senior meteorologist at the bureau, said.
Read the story from Petra Stock here:
Updated
Pfas contamination in Blue Mountains may be due to 1992 crash, WaterNSW says
A rural fire station and a petrol tanker crash in 1992 may be possible causes of elevated levels of Pfas chemicals in untreated water in the NSW Blue Mountains, WaterNSW says.
It completed an initial investigation into the source of Pfas in the Adams Creek and Medlow catchments after disconnecting two dams from the water network last year due to the detection of elevated levels of so-called “forever chemicals”.
The state water agency said on Friday it was commencing a more detailed investigation, with support from the Environment Protection Authority, to try to confirm the source and identify possible management measures.
The Medlow and Greaves Creek dams are part of the raw water supply network that feeds into the Cascade filtration plant for treatment.
The agency said in a statement the two dams “will only be returned to the raw water supply network once WaterNSW is confident appropriate permanent mitigation measures are in place”:
With these disconnections in place and according to the most recent monitoring results, NSW Health and Sydney Water have advised drinking water in the Blue Mountains meets the existing Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and is safe to drink.
WaterNSW said its investigation included taking more than 250 samples from 37 different locations.
The initial report finds the Medlow Bath fire station on the Great Western Highway in the upper portion of the Adams Creek catchment and two vehicle crashes on the highway – one in 1992 and one in 2002 – were potential sources of the Pfas contamination.
The report said fire-fighting foam containing Pfas had reportedly been used at both vehicle accidents.
The report recommended further investigation to confirm if any of the three options were the source of the contamination.
It found Pfas concentrations were higher in the upper Adams Creek catchment than downstream in Lake Medlow or Lake Greaves.
WaterNSW said this suggested that “any contamination may be moving downstream into the Medlow/Greaves catchment via rainfall and surface water runoff, and previous water transfers between dams”.
Updated
Thank you for joining me on the blog today. Handing over now to Caitlin Cassidy who will keep you posted with the afternoon’s news.
Government invests in new ADF munitions
The Albanese government is investing in developing precision loitering munitions for the Australian Defence Force.
Mission Talon Strike has been launched as an advanced strategic capabilities accelerator mission to “support the development of medium-range precision loitering munition systems that carry a kinetic payload and have the precision strike capabilities of a guided missile”, according to a statement.
This comes after last week’s “Mission Syracuse” announcement, which supports the ADF’s drone countering capabilities. The minister for defence industry, Pat Conroy, said:
The launch of Mission Talon Strike by ASCA is about developing a priority capability at an accelerated pace.
This mission is aligned with the Albanese government’s work over the last three years, in conjunction with the ADF, to develop a domestically manufactured precision loitering munition capability that addresses threats quickly and accurately.
Through Talon Strike, we are continuing to back Australian industry and ingenuity while demonstrating support for a critical pathway to meet the needs of the ADF.
Updated
Bradfield candidates to wait until Monday before vote counting continues
Candidates in the Sydney seat of Bradfield face a nervous weekend with the Australian Electoral Commission confirming there will be no more vote counting until Monday.
Scrutineers had expected to receive an additional dispatch of votes this afternoon, but have just been told that will no longer happen.
All outstanding ballot papers will be opened and added to the count on Monday, before the full distribution of preference. This count may take up most of next week.
At the moment, Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian leads the independent candidate Nicolette Boele by just 43 votes.
There are slightly more than 300 votes left to count at this stage, but that number may increase if more postal votes are received before tonight’s midnight deadline. As mentioned earlier, some of these votes will be coming from Nairobi.
If the margin in Bradfield remains under 100 once all remaining votes are processed then there will be an automatic recount. Liberal sources concede that is the likely outcome.
Updated
‘Eye-watering’: CBA shares break all-time highs
Australia’s biggest company and the world’s most expensive bank stock has broken its price record three times in a month.
Commonwealth Bank shares spiked almost 2% to $172.92 on Friday morning, thanks to broader cyclical flows into the Australian share market and narrowing bets on an interest rate cut next week.
However, as the price snapped back by the afternoon, analysts say the stock is overvalued and its profit growth cannot justify its lofty valuation.
“It’s eye-wateringly overvalued still,” Capital.com’s senior market analyst, Kyle Rodda, told AAP.
“It’s priced like a high-value, growth tech stock in the United States, when it’s a bank that doesn’t really have strong growth.”
CBA’s price-to-earnings ratio, a key-measure of a stock’s value, is around 28.7, while NAB, Westpac and ANZ – still considered expensive – range from the low-to-mid teens.
Its earnings ratio is on par with Facebook owner Meta, at 25.7, but lower than the world’s two largest companies Apple, at roughly 33, or chipmaker Nvidia’s 45.3, and is currently more than double investment giant JP Morgan’s 13.
– Australian Associated Press
Updated
Blue Mountains drinking water contaminated by Pfas since early 90s
Residents in a tourist hotspot have been exposed to cancer-causing “forever chemicals” in their water supply for decades, a major investigation has revealed.
Pfas, known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (Pfas), are a group of 15,000 highly toxic, synthetic chemicals resistant to heat, stains and grease, dubbed “forever chemicals” because of their inability to break down.
High-level contamination was detected in the drinking water catchment serving 30,000 people in the Blue Mountains in NSW in mid-2024.
A WaterNSW investigation released on Friday zeroed in on three potential sources of contamination, dating as far back as 33 years ago.
Two separate motor vehicle accident sites on the Great Western Highway in 1992 and 2002 near the Medlow Bath township and the Medlow Bath Rural Fire Brigade station were all identified as possible source of contamination in the Adams Creek and Medlow catchments.
Test samples at all three sites revealed the chemical compound signature consistent with the historical use of firefighting foam which contained Pfas, which were banned nationwide in 2007.
- Australian Associated Press.
Updated
NSW man arrested after information over alleged possession of child abuse material
A 33-year-old man has been charged over the alleged possession of child abuse and bestiality material after a search warrant was issued at a home at Lavington in southern New South Wales this morning.
Officers initiated inquiries on Monday into the allegations, acting on information provided by State Crime Command’s Child Internet Exploitation Unit (CIEU).
At about 6.20am today, police attended the home where an electronic device was seized and taken for further examination. The man was arrested at the home and taken to Albury police station where he was charged with possess child abuse material, person possesses bestiality material and use carriage etc to access child abuse material.
The man has been refused bail to appear in Albury local court today.
Updated
Death cap mushrooms detected in samples from dehydrator, expert tells Erin Patterson’s murder trial
Back to Erin Patterson’s murder trial.
A scientific expert has told the trial that tests detected death cap mushrooms in two out of seven test tubes containing samples from a dehydrator dumped by Patterson in the days after the mushroom lunch.
He says the positive test tube results had a 99% similarity to the DNA of death cap mushrooms.
Dr David Lovelock worked as a virologist at Agriculture Victoria in August 2023 when the Department of Health requested he analyse leftovers of the beef wellington, the court hears.
Victoria police later provided him with a fruit platter, a jug of gravy and seven test tubes containing debris from dehydrator dumped by Patterson in the days after the lunch.
Under questioning by prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC, Lovelock says only DNA from button mushrooms were found in ziplock bags containing the beef wellington leftovers.
The court previously heard that two days after the lunch a police officer had fished leftovers of the beef wellington meal from a bin at Patterson’s property in Leongatha, with her permission.
The court has adjourned for the day. The trial will resume from 10.30am on Monday.
Updated
Murder-accused mum’s matter in court after house fire
A mother of five charged with murder has had her matter heard in court, more than a week after a horror house fire that killed three of her children.
The 36-year-old remains in hospital after the Toowoomba blaze west of Brisbane that devastated her family.
She did not appear in Brisbane magistrates court when her matter was heard on Friday.
The mother had been airlifted to a Brisbane hospital in a critical condition and placed under police guard after the family home went up in flames on 7 May.
Neighbours helped six people escape the Toowoomba house fire in the early hours, with some reportedly smashing windows to assist the family’s rescue.
A body, believed to be the woman’s nine-year-old son, was found in the charred remains. Two of the woman’s daughters, aged four and seven, later died from their injuries after being airlifted to Brisbane hospitals along with their mother.
A 34-year-old man – the father of some of the children – and the woman’s two other sons, aged 18 and 11, also escaped the house. The man underwent surgery on his arm while the 18 and 11-year-olds were treated for minor injuries.
Counsel representing the woman on Friday said they were seeking a brief of evidence, which magistrate Peter Saggers listed for 21 July.
The 36-year-old’s case will next be mentioned in Toowoomba on 19 August. She was remanded in custody.
The mother has been charged with three counts of murder and attempted murder along with one count of arson.
- Australian Associated Press
Updated
Tim Wilson ‘very relaxed’ about Goldstein election result
As the vote count in Goldstein tightens further, Liberal Tim Wilson says he is “very relaxed about the result”.
Wilson was declared the projected winner of Goldstein last week, a seat he lost at the 2022 election, but the gap in votes narrowed considerably in recent days, with the former assistant minister now leading by just 254 votes.
Wilson, who yesterday urged scrutineers to help knock out invalid votes for the teal independent Zoe Daniel, is keeping a close eye on the count:
I’m extremely grateful to my wonderful scrutineers that are ensuring this vote count has integrity and will deliver the will of the people. And I’m very relaxed about the result because it is the will of the people of Goldstein.
So far, there are 474 remaining votes ready to be counted. But this number may increase by 50-100 votes. Postal votes received before midnight will be counted on Monday. Some of those votes are coming from as far away as Nairobi.
Updated
John Pesutto issues statement after being ordered to pay $2.3m in legal costs
Former Victorian opposition leader, John Pesutto, has issued a statement after the federal court ordered him to pay more than $2.3m in costs after losing a defamation case brought by Liberal MP Moira Deeming.
In the statement posted on X, the Hawthorn MP said he would take time to review the court’s decision with his family and advisers:
I reiterate that I am determined to continue serving the people of my electorate of Hawthorn and the people of Victoria for as long as they will have me.
I am grateful for the support I am receiving from the community and am hopeful with this support that I will be able to fulfil these obligations and continue serving the people of Victoria.”
Liberal sources have said the ruling could force Pesutto to declare bankruptcy, which would disqualify him from being a member of parliament and trigger a byelection in his seat of Hawthorn, held by a slim margin of 1.74%.
They say Liberal figures have been exploring the possibility of the party or donors covering Pesutto’s costs in an effort to prevent voters from going back to the polls.
Updated
Brutal boulevard for Opera Australia as it posts a $10m loss
Opera Australia has plunged to an operating deficit of $10.6m for 2024, thanks in part to its production of Sunset Boulevard.
The musical starring Sarah Brightman did indeed prove to be a brutal boulevard for the company – it saw poor reviews and Brightman herself unable to perform after an injury.
The annual financial reports released Friday reveal the sheer extent of the financial pressures the company was under as the co-production wrapped in Melbourne in the second half of 2024.
One of the company’s directors offered Opera Australia a $6m interest-free loan last September, of which the company drew down $2m that was repaid by the end of December.
Sunset Boulevard did manage to return to the black following a more successful run in Sydney, but as widely expected it missed box office forecasts.
But the 2024 operating figures for Australia’s national opera company are even worse than in 2023, when it returned a loss of $7.8m.
Total box office was $50.7m, making up just under half the company’s $106m revenue.
The company also relies on taxpayer funding, with $23.9m from Creative Australia, $3.8m from Create NSW and another $1m from Creative Victoria.
Opera Australia also raided its savings in 2024 to boost its bottom line by $4m, making for an overall deficit of $6.1m.
- Australia Associated Press
Updated
Gambling company pays $500k fine for spam breaches
Online gambling company PointsBet has paid a $500,000 fine and been subjected to an enforceable undertaking by the media regulator, which has accused it of breaching spam and self-exclusion laws.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) has accused Pointsbet of sending 508 marketing messages to people who had self-excluded themselves from gambling.
Acma has also accused the company of sending 705 emails containing a direct link to betting products without including an unsubscribe function. An investigation found a further seven emails were sent “without receipt consent” along with 90 “commercial texts that did not have sender contact information”.
While the self-excluded people were not able to gamble, the authority’s chair, Nerida O’Loughlin, said there was no excuse for gambling companies that breach the law and contact people experiencing gambling harms.
It is deeply concerning that these failures have impacted PointsBet’s customers, some of whom had taken proactive steps to exclude themselves from online wagering.
Wagering providers must also appropriately identify where messages promote or advertise their services and ensure that those messages comply with the rules, including the obligation to promote the national self-exclusion register.
The $500,800 fine relates only to the breaches of spam laws.
Updated
Aussie shares hit three-month highs as rate cut looms
The Australian share market has surged to its highest level in three months after economic data paved the way for interest rate cuts in Australia and the United States.
The S&P/ASX200 rallied by 60.1 points, or 0.72%, to 8,357.6, as the broader All Ordinaries jumped 61.4 points, or 0.72 per cent, to 8,591.3.
The rally followed a mixed Wall Street session, but the S&P500 is up 22.8% in 27 trading days, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq has surged roughly 30% since early April’s Liberation Day sell-off.
Despite hotter than expected jobs figures on Thursday, money markets are still tipping a 97% chance the Reserve Bank will cut interest rates by 25 basis points next week, which will give equities room to push higher.
Overnight, US producer inflation slipped by the largest amount in five years, raising the likelihood of a cut in the United States.
– Australian Associated Press
Updated
Tim Wilson's margin over Zoe Daniel shrinks further
Another update from Goldstein, in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs.
The Liberal candidate Tim Wilson says his margin over teal independent Zoe Daniel has now further shrunk to 258 votes, with 474 votes remaining. That remaining vote figure may grow, however, with postals still coming in until midnight.
Here’s how an AEC spokesperson put it:
Postal votes can be received by the AEC until midnight tonight, so it’s possible we won’t have absolute final figures until Monday. For both seats our expectation is that we’ll be receiving a couple of hundred additional votes before the deadline.
Updated
Tense wait as Goldstein and Bradfield counts inch forward
If you’re glued to the Australian Electoral Commission website hoping for the latest details on the vote count in Goldstein and Bradfield, perhaps come back later this afternoon. It’s been pretty slow progress so far.
Scrutineers in Bradfield – where Liberal Gisele Kapterian leads by just 43 votes – expect to begin counting new votes from about midday.
In Goldstein, Liberal Tim Wilson’s lead has dropped from 292 votes to 289. This morning, scrutineers conducted a second count of votes they dealt with yesterday. This likely explains the tiny change. They expect to deal with new votes at some stage later today.
So we’ll get a better sense of how the votes are tracking later this afternoon. Postals can still come in until midnight. Votes received late today may be counted on Monday. If the vote remains very tight in Bradfield, they may be key.
Updated
Mushroom lunch trial hears from toxicologist
We’re following Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial today and will bring you updates.
Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in Leongatha, regional Victoria, on 29 July 2023. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The jury has been hearing more evidence this morning from Dr Dimitri Gerostamoulos, the head of forensic science and chief toxicologist at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine.
Under cross-examination by Patterson’s defence team, Gerostamoulos says there are “lots of variables” that need to be considered in determining the lethal dose of death cap mushroom toxins. He says factors like an individual’s age, weight and health can influence their response to toxins.
On Thursday, Gerostamoulos told the court death cap mushroom toxins were discovered in samples taken from Patterson’s father-in-law, Don Patterson, and Ian Wilkinson, the uncle of Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson.
The toxins were also uncovered in vegetable matter and debris found on a food dehydrator dumped by Patterson at a local tip days after the lethal lunch, Gerostamoulos told the court on Thursday.
Updated
Firefighters down helmets as Victoria tax hike ticked off
Volunteer firefighters have left their posts as a controversial Victorian emergency services tax hike passed into law in the dead of night.
Regional communities were without local brigades on Thursday night after crews took themselves offline as parliament debated legislation to enact the emergency services and volunteers fund.
The Country Fire Authority’s acting chief officer, Garry Cook, said leaders were working to understand whether it was in protest against the incoming levy.
“The word strike, I probably wouldn’t use that,” he told ABC Radio Melbourne on Friday morning.
But what we’ve done is had brigades book themselves off by saying that [they have] a shortage of crews available to respond.
The bill to establish the levy passed the Victorian parliament in the early hours of Friday after the state Labor government brokered a deal to secure crossbench support.
The levy will replace the fire services property levy from 1 July and expand coverage to other emergency and disaster bodies, including the State Emergency Service.
It was originally projected to lift the average annual bill for residential homeowners by $63 and $678 for primary producers, sparking protests from farmers and firefighters on the steps of state parliament.
But under last-minute changes, the Allan government agreed to lower the rate for primary production land and rebates for CFA and SES volunteers and life members.
Farmers will also be offered partial rebates but they are limited to those eligible for a temporary drought support package.
The agriculture minister, Ros Spence, announced $15.9m to expand the program to another 13 local government areas, taking the total to 24.
The expanded levy was originally forecast to raise an extra $2.14bn over the next three financial years when unveiled in the mid-year budget update.
– Australian Associated Press
Updated
Labor calls for real rise in minimum wage
The Albanese government has advocated for an above-inflation rise in the minimum wage for nearly 3 million workers, ahead of the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC’s) annual decision next month.
In this morning’s submission to the FWC, the government said it “believes workers should get ahead with a real wage increase”.
The annual minimum wage determination affects 2.9 million employees. It’s currently $24.10 per hour, or $915.90 a week.
Last year the FWC granted a 3.75% increase.
Inflation was 2.4% in the year to March, and 2.9% in underlying terms.
In line with longstanding Labor practice, the government did not nominate a figure.
In contrast, employer groups, such as the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, are arguing for an increase of 2.5-2.6%, citing the steep rise in costs for businesses.
The small business lobby group, Cosboa, says the increase should be between 2% and 2.5%, with a strong preference for the lower end of that range as employers will also be up for an extra 0.5% in compulsory super from July.
In contrast, the ACTU has advocated for an increase of 4.5% to help low-paid workers make up some of the lost ground to high cost of living over recent years.
In a joint statement, Jim Chalmers and employment and workplace relations minister Amanda Rishworth said their argument in favour of a real wage increase was “both economically responsible and fair”.
An increase in minimum and award wages is consistent with inflation sustainably remaining within the RBA’s target band, and will provide further relief to lower income workers who are still doing it tough.
While nearly a quarter of employees are on awards that are affected by the change in the minimum wage decision, only a tiny fraction – fewer than 200,000 – are actually paid the minimum wage.
Updated
Court orders Pesutto to pay $2.3m in costs over Deeming defamation
Former Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto has been ordered to pay $2.3m in costs after losing a defamation case brought by Liberal MP Moira Deeming.
Federal court registrar Alison Legge made the ruling during a short hearing on Friday. She said:
It is uncontroversial that the purpose of a costs order is not to punish the unsuccessful party. The purpose – no more and no less – is to compensate the successful party.
Updated
Sophisticated phishing scam impersonates Australia Post
People are being urged to be on alert as a sophisticated scam is circulating in text messages and emails, impersonating one of the country’s largest organisations.
Dubbed “Darcula”, the phishing scam sends out fraudulent messages claiming that a delivery from Australia Post failed due to an invalid postcode.
It lures recipients into clicking malicious links, designed to steal personal information.
The scam uses advanced techniques to bypass telco and network filters, allowing it to spread over iMessage and Rich Communication Services.
It comes as new data released by the postal giant reveals that more than 90% of Australians have been targeted by scammers in their lifetime.
Meanwhile, 74% of people have reported that scams commonly impersonate shipping and parcel delivery.
This is a worrying statistic, according to Adam Cartwright, chief information security officer at Australia Post.
He said it has never been more important to rely on trusted channels when managing deliveries.
If you’re expecting a parcel, don’t click on suspicious links or respond to unexpected messages, always check the [AusPost] app first.
Australians reported close to 250,000 scams last year, with financial losses totalling $318.8m according to the National Anti-Scam Centre’s Scamwatch service.
Phone scams had the highest overall losses for contact method with $107.2m reported lost across 2,179 reporters.
– Australian Associated Press
Updated
Ben Roberts-Smith loses bid to overturn defamation loss
Ben Roberts-Smith has lost his appeal against a defamation case ruling, with three justices of the federal court agreeing he was not defamed by Nine newspapers and journalists Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters when they published reports in 2018 which claimed he had committed war crimes.
Updated
eSafety chief faces new lawsuits from X and Telegram over rules on child abuse material
The Australian online safety regulator, the eSafety commissioner, is facing two new lawsuits from Elon Musk’s X and Telegram over moves to force the platforms to comply with regulations around child abuse material.
Telegram is challenging in the federal court a nearly $1m fine issued in February for failing to respond on time to questions about what the company does to tackle terrorism and child abuse material on its platform. Telegram has argued it complied with the reporting requirements.
It’s the second challenge of such a fine, with a similar case launched by X still ongoing.
This week X has also separately launched a legal challenge related to eSafety standards around what action platforms need to take to stop child abuse material on their platforms, which are due to come into effect next month.
An eSafety spokesperson said:
eSafety is aware X has filed a judicial review in the federal court as to whether eSafety’s relevant electronic services (RES) standard should apply to its X platform. We are assessing the documents filed and will consider next steps accordingly.
The RES standard requires online platforms to take meaningful action to tackle the worst of the worst online content, including child exploitation and abuse material.
eSafety is prioritising its efforts on ensuring all platforms and services meet their obligations under the Online Safety Act to address high-impact and harmful content to keep Australians safe online.
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Ley says new deal with Nationals shouldn’t be rushed amid internal push to scrap net zero
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, says progress on a new cooperation agreement with the Nationals will take time, promising productive talks amid an internal push to ditch net zero policies and even end the longstanding coalition with the Liberals.
Ley met with the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, in Albury on Thursday for the first formal talks between the pair since the Coalition was thrashed in the 3 May election.
Read the full story:
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Chemical probe in pipeline amid clean water scrutiny
Residents in a New South Wales tourist hotspot are awaiting the latest in a string of investigations of cancer-causing chemicals in their water supply.
Pfas, or per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of 15,000 highly toxic, synthetic chemicals resistant to heat, stains and grease, dubbed “forever chemicals” because of their inability to break down.
High-level contamination was detected in the drinking water catchment serving 30,000 people in the NSW Blue Mountains in mid-2024.
Pfas levels were found to be about 300 times higher than Sydney’s main drinking water source but they still met Australian guidelines for safe drinking water.
A WaterNSW investigation into Blue Mountains drinking water is set to be released on Friday.
John Dee, a veteran environmental activist who started the group Stop Pfas, has urged the buck-passing between various agencies such as Sydney Water, the NSW Environmental Protection Authority and WaterNSW to stop.
It’s been shown that Sydney Water and WaterNSW have not been fully transparent with the Pfas testing of our local drinking water.
Dee has called for a single, independent statewide authority with comprehensive responsibility for overseeing Pfas contamination management and removal.
– Australian Associated Press
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Homes over $1m proliferate across country
One in three Australian homes are now worth $1m or more, a share that’s tripled over the past decade as surging demand and slow-growing supply worsen housing affordability, new data shows.
Ten years ago, just one in 10 homes around the country had broken the million-dollar threshold, but that has soared, led by the capital cities, where four in 10 are now over $1m.
In regional Australia, two in 10 have cracked that barrier, or nearly 20%, where only 0.5% had reached that level a decade ago.
Cotality’s head of research, Eliza Owen, said the data out today reflected that Australia was a wealthy nation where some could afford to spend millions on homes, but high prices had driven up household debt and priced younger generations out of home ownership. She said:
The rate of home ownership has gradually declined over time, particularly among younger, low-income households where income cannot keep pace with growth …
With values expected to continue rising on the back of rate falls in 2025, the wealth divide between homeowners and non-homeowners is also likely to expand.
We’ll get a sense of just how far interest rates will fall on Tuesday when the Reserve Bank meets and decides whether to deliver a second cut this year.
In Sydney, nearly two in three homes have surpassed $1m in value, or about six in 10. For Brisbane it’s about four in 10, Melbourne is just over three in 10, and it’s just under three in 10 in Perth and Adelaide.
At the other end of the scale, Hobart went backwards from two in 10 to one in 10, while Darwin has held steady with less than one in 50 cracking $1m.
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PM bound for Rome for papal mass and talks with world leaders
After a flying visit to Jakarta on Thursday, Anthony Albanese is on his way to Rome on Friday.
The prime minister met with Indonesia’s president, Prabowo Subianto, for the first time, part of his first international trip since his 3 May election victory. The visit to Rome for the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XVI was added on after the papal conclave wrapped up.
Despite the historic nature of events at the Vatican on Sunday, the mass might be overshadowed by planned meetings with world leaders. Albanese has flagged he intends to hold pull aside meetings, an agenda which could include talks with French president Emmanuel Macron and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney.
It appears unlikely Albanese will meet US president Donald Trump. Signals from the White House suggest the American delegation will be led by Vice-president JD Vance. That could mean the first talks between Albanese and Trump happen next month during the G7 leaders meeting in Canada.
A possible visit to the White House is also being speculated as part of that trip.
Albanese this week politely declined an offer of honorary citizenship from the Italian city of Barletta, the birthplace of his late father, over fears the gesture could conflict with Australia’s constitutional rules on foreign allegiance.
Barletta, about four hours from Rome, is not part of Albanese’s trip. His father, Carlo, lived there until his death in 2014.
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Woman charged after alleged bomb threats sent to Queensland childcare centres
A 50-year-old woman has been charged over five bomb hoaxes sent to childcare centres and a primary school in Brisbane yesterday.
Queensland Police allege a series of threatening messages were sent to childcare centres and a primary school in Bayside early Thursday morning. They also allege the woman was not known to or connected with the centres or school.
On Thursday afternoon, detectives charged a Cleveland woman with “five counts of making a bomb hoax – falsely inform bomb present”.
Police investigations found there was no risk to any children or the community. The woman will appear before Cleveland magistrates court on 5 June.
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Where Waters may take the Greens
One of those new party leaders is, of course, Larissa Waters, who took the mantle of Greens’ leader this week.
It’s said she was reluctant to become party leader ahead of some more high-profile names. But she is regarded by colleagues as smart, warm and friendly, and – perhaps crucially – is seen as pragmatic by Labor counterparts with whom she will have to deal if she wants to help the government be bolder.
Our chief political correspondent, Tom McIlroy, assesses where she might take the party.
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What the party leadership changes could mean to Australian politics – podcast
The Liberal party elected its first female leader in Sussan Ley this week, but she’s already fighting to keep the factional sharks at bay. Same goes for the Nationals, who’ve re-elected David Littleproud in a leadership challenge that revealed deep divisions. The Greens also elected a new leader on Thursday, but will that mean a change in strategy after their stinging election loss?
Reged Ahmad talks to head of newsroom Mike Ticher, national news editor Jo Tovey and chief political correspondent Tom McIlroy about whether changes in leadership could mean a change in our politics.
Listen to the podcast here:
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Court to rule on John Pesutto costs over Moira Deeming defamation case
Former Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto will learn today what costs he will have to pay after losing a defamation case brought by Liberal MP Moira Deeming.
Federal court registrar Alison Legge will rule on costs during a short hearing this morning, which begins at 10.30am.
It comes after the court in December found Pesutto defamed Deeming by falsely implying she sympathised with neo-Nazis and white supremacists, and ordered he pay $300,000 in damages. According to several senior Liberal sources, he is also yet to pay hundreds of thousands to his legal team.
In an earlier hearing, Deeming’s lawyers had said they were seeking $2.4m from Pesutto, mostly to pay back a loan that the New South Wales property developer Hilton Grugeon offered the MP to cover her legal expenses.
Both parties hired top defamation barristers for the weeks-long trial, with Sue Chrysanthou SC representing Deeming and Dr Matthew Collins KC representing Pesutto.
Liberal sources say the ruling could force Pesutto to declare bankruptcy, which would disqualify him from being a member of parliament and trigger a byelection in his seat of Hawthorn, held by a slim margin of 1.74%.
They say Liberal figures have been exploring the possibility of the party or donors covering Pesutto’s costs in an effort to stave off a byelection.
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As few as ‘30, 40, 50’ votes still to come in by midnight in some seats – AEC
Australian Electoral Commissioner Jeff Pope was speaking on ABC Radio National this morning.
Two weeks out from the federal election, there are only a few thousand votes still expected to come in by midnight tonight – that is only as few as “30, 40, 50” in some seats.
Asked about the number of informal votes, Pope said “it is looking pretty similar to previous elections for the House of Representatives”:
It’s coming in nationally I think around about sort of 5%. You’ll get some divisions a bit below that, some a bit above, a few well above, regrettably. But it’s nationally coming in around about the same as what it has for the last few federal elections.
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Ley says she’ll bring ‘different approach’ than Dutton to Liberal leadership
Sussan Ley says she and former opposition leader Peter Dutton have different leadership styles and personalities.
The new opposition leader appeared on Today a short while ago and was asked if she is “partly responsible” for the Liberal’s recent election loss as Dutton’s deputy.
Ley responded:
We all have to accept responsibility and I don’t step back from that, and after every election we look at what went wrong, at what we didn’t do that we should have done, and we’ll do that in an open and transparent way – and that will of course happen.
But now is about the future, it is about the next election, it is about the team that I lead, and it is about optimism and a sense of purpose, and always remembering that we are elected … I’m elected here in my seat representing my community. My colleagues and their own individual life experiences bring tremendous passion and tremendous determination for that future that we want to provide for the Australian people. As I said, to get up every day to work for them.
Peter Dutton and I have different styles, we’re different personalities, and I will bring a different approach to my leadership.
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Ley’s elevation to leadership about ‘so much more’ than being female, she says
Asked what took the Liberal party “so long to elect a female leader,” Sussan Ley said her appointment “is about so much more than that”.
The opposition leader was speaking on Today earlier this morning:
I’m incredibly humbled to have the endorsement of my party room just a few days ago to be the leader of the Liberal party, it’s an incredible honour. Now, Karl, people reflect on the female aspect and I understand that and I want to say it’s significant, but my appointment is about much more than that. We didn’t meet the expectations of the Australian people at the last election. We have to change, we have to step up, we have to have a fresh approach.
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D-day for Ben Roberts-Smith's appeal
After a marathon legal battle spanning seven years, disgraced special forces veteran Ben Roberts-Smith will learn this morning whether he has cleared his name of war crime allegations, Australian Associated Press reports.
The Victoria Cross recipient sued Nine newspapers and journalists Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters for defamation over their reports in 2018 which claimed he had committed war crimes.
But Justice Anthony Besanko found the claims that Roberts-Smith was responsible for the murder of four unarmed civilians when deployed in Afghanistan were substantially true.
But Roberts-Smith launched an appeal against findings, which was heard in the federal court over 10 days in February 2024.
More than a year on, three justices will hand down their decision on Friday morning.
If Roberts-Smith is unsuccessful, only the high court could overturn the war criminal findings.
The 46-year-old steadfastly denies any wrongdoing and has not been criminally charged.
If his appeal is dismissed, it could clear a path for a criminal investigation by the Australian federal police and the Office of the Special Investigator.
Roberts-Smith could be forced to pay out tens of millions of dollars over the legal saga after the cost of the defamation proceedings was tipped to exceed $25m back in 2023.
Taking into account the subsequent appeal and interlocutory issues, the final bill could be far higher.
Today the full court will also rule on Roberts-Smith’s push to reopen the appeal over a secret recording he claims reveals an alleged miscarriage of justice.
In a taped call, McKenzie can be heard telling Roberts-Smith’s ex-lover that two crucial witnesses were “actively briefing us on his legal strategy” during the initial trial.
But the journalist has denied claims he obtained privileged information while investigating Roberts-Smith, whose reputation was tarnished by his reports in 2018.
Roberts-Smith rose to prominence in 2011 after he was awarded Australia’s highest military honour, the Victoria Cross, for single-handedly taking out machine-gun posts to protect pinned-down colleagues in Afghanistan.
– Australian Associated Press
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Fresh delay for Australian-made rocket launch
The first Australian-made rocket was set to be test launched into orbit from north Queensland today after being pushed back by a system issue, but has been delayed again.
“During final launch preparations last night, an electrical fault triggered the system that opens the rocket’s nose cone,” Gilmour Space Technologies said in a statement this morning. “This happened before any fuel was loaded into the vehicle.”
No one was injured, and there has been no damage to the rocket or launch pad. An investigation was under way into the cause of the issue, they said.
As a result, we’ll be postponing this test launch campaign to fully understand what happened and make any necessary updates.
The Queensland-based company got the green light from the Australian Space Agency to launch the Eris TestFlight1 from 7:30am yesterday morning, but they had to halt plans after the team “identified an issue in the ground support system during overnight checks”.
There is no new test flight date yet.
Its launch would be the first orbital launch from Australia in more than 50 years and the first Australian-made rocket to attempt orbit.
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Only 43 votes between Bradfield candidates as count continues
An update on the narrowing race in electorates yet to be called.
In Bradfield, Liberal Gisele Kapterian leads independent Nicolette Boele by just 43 votes, with 303 left to be counted.
And Liberal Tim Wilson continues with a tight lead of 292 over independent Zoe Daniel in Goldstein. There are 717 votes still to be counted.
Today is the last day for postals to be received, so there may be a handful still to come.
We will keep you posted.
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Greens leader Larissa Waters was asked whether she could bring independent senator Lidia Thorpe “back into the fold” on ABC News Breakfast a short while ago.
Waters said:
Look, I’m not sure that’s what Lydia is after. There was a bit of a media circus about that yesterday … Lydia is a really strong person and I respect the work she does. But I don’t think there’s any truth to the suggestion she wants back in.
She’s doing strong work in the way she’s doing it now.
Larissa Waters decries poll campaign’s ‘tokenistic’ treatment of violence against women
Greens leader Larissa Waters is “dismayed” that violence against women was addressed as “an afterthought” in recent election campaigns.
She is speaking on ABC News Breakfast. Asked about whether there will be a focus on preventing violence against women under her leadership, Waters says:
I was really dismayed that it didn’t get a look-in, until, as you say, the last week of the campaign with what felt to me like some fairly tokenistic announcements. They were really small financial commitments and it just felt like a bit of an afterthought. It’s not an afterthought to ordinary people. It’s not an afterthought to the vast legions of women who are facing violence.
We need to make sure there’s no women’s refuge that doesn’t have the funding that it needs to help everyone that needs help. We need to make sure those women’s legal services are fully funded, we got to work on prevention, we got to change the attitudes that’s leading to this crisis. That’s a job for all of us. But government funding has a lot to do there.
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Larissa Waters says climate and nature at core of Greens
New Greens leader Larissa Waters is speaking on ABC News Breakfast this morning.
Asked if the party will “return to its roots” under her leadership after its campaign made “more noise about renters, about dental” in the recent election, Waters says:
We have always had a broad policy platform … We have always had a number of priorities. Climate and nature is at our core.
My personal priorities have always been acting on the climate crisis and protecting biodiversity. That’s why I was an environmental lawyer, that’s what drives me personally. I’m a strong feminist and gender equality and ending gender violence against women. But making sure that everyone can have the things they need. And have good healthcare, have good-funded schools, and you know make sure we’re just a bit of a kinder and a less unified … community that’s not struggling so much.
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Thanks to Martin Farrer for kicking off the blog. I’ll be keeping you posted from here – let’s go.
Woman allegedly splashed with chemicals in Sydney attack
A young woman has been injured in an alleged unprovoked chemical attack in Sydney’s north, New South Wales police have said.
They said an unknown woman had approached a 27-year-old woman at the intersection of Norfolk Road and Callistemon Close in North Epping about 6.15pm on Wednesday.
The stranger allegedly splashed an unknown liquid from a cup she was holding at the 27-year-old, which landed on her face, clothing and headphones, police said in a statement yesterday afternoon.
They said the 27-year-old contacted them and then attended Ryde hospital, where she was treated for a chemical burn.
Police said they established a crime scene and patrolled the area but were unable to find the alleged attacker.
As part of their inquiries, police have said they would like to speak to a woman who may be able to assist. Police have described the woman as being of Asian appearance and said she was seen wearing a light-coloured cap, a N95 white face mask, black jumper and dark long pants.
She was holding a silver-coloured metal cup in her hand, police said.
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Energy bill hardship targeted in proposed changes
In Victoria, the Essential Services Commission is expected to propose a suite of reforms today aimed at easing energy hardship.
The proposed changes will include obligations for retailers to move customers receiving assistance under the payment difficulty framework on to their cheapest plan, and address the “loyalty penalty” where consumers on expensive contracts more than four years old must be switched to a reasonable price.
In response, the Consumer Action Law Centre said it strongly supported the draft decision, which would help the increasing number of Victorians struggling with energy costs and growing debt.
Consumer Action senior policy officer Eirene Tsolidis Noyce said:
People who call the national debt helpline tell us they often forego other expenses in order to meet their electricity costs – one of the proposals is that people experiencing energy poverty are identified and supported to find a more competitive offer and prevented from accruing larger debts.
The ESC’s draft decision estimates Victorians could save up to $730 per year on electricity, and up to $1,890 per year on gas bills, by requiring retailers to automatically switch consumers in payment difficulty to their best offer. For those stuck on bad deals, the dollar amount is likely to be much higher.
These reforms will address some longstanding issues in the energy market, making it easier for Victorians to access an affordable energy price.
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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 my colleague Rafqa Touma will take over.
Our top story this morning concerns the meeting yesterday between the new Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, and her Nationals counterpart, David Littleproud. Ley said progress on a new cooperation agreement with the Nationals would take time, but the problem areas promise to be a Nationals push to ditch net zero policies and even end the longstanding coalition with the Liberals. More coming up.
It’s a huge day in the courts for disgraced special forces veteran Ben Roberts-Smith, who will learn today whether he has cleared his name of war crime allegations. The ruling by three justices is expected in Sydney this morning and we’ll have their verdict as soon as it’s out.
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