That's it for today, thanks for reading
Here are the main stories making news on Tuesday, 2 December:
The Albanese government has rejected criticism of its failure to take up key recommendations from a scathing review of public sector board appointments, insisting a proposed ban on new jobs in the weeks before an election is not necessary;
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) says that Optus’s “worst case scenario” for the number of Samsung devices on its network that may not be able to call triple zero is 470,000;
Victoria police will inform the state’s anti-corruption watchdog that it did not comply with the law when it used wide-ranging powers to search people for weapons on 23 separate occasions dating back eight years;
ABC boss rejects claims Patricia Karvelas is an “activist” after host labelled Peter Dutton “authoritarian” in political analysis;
A farmer working frantically to protect his property from a fast-moving bushfire in south-east Western Australia has died after his vehicle was engulfed in flames;
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said the state government is considering a “serious change” to the maximum power of legal ebikes amid growing concerns about the devices’ safety, a change flagged before a rider died after colliding with a garbage truck in Sydney;
Victoria’s attorney-general, Sonya Kilkenny, has admitted the government’s “adult time for violent crime” bill is incompatible with the state’s charter of human rights; and
NSW police charge 155 people at Rising Tide climate activist event.
We will see you again for more news tomorrow.
NSW police charge 155 people at Rising Tide climate activist event
NSW police have said in a statement that 155 people were charged as part of an operation “conducted to ensure the safety of attendees and the wider community” at Rising Tide, a climate activism event in Newcastle.
It said:
100 were charged with “Disrupt/Obstruct Major Facility”,
52 were charged with “Breach Marine Exclusion Zone”,
Two were charged with “Boarding Vessel Anchored at Sea”, and
One was charged with “Reckless Wounding”.
In a statement, police said:
During the event, police called out the unsafe behaviour of several event attendees after witnessing a number of dangerous practices on the water.
The NSW Police Force recognises and supports the rights of individuals and groups to exercise their rights of free speech and peaceful assembly; however, the priority for NSW Police is always the safety of the wider community and police will not tolerate illegal and dangerous behaviour.
You can read more on the protests here:
Updated
ACT passes law to address Closing the Gap commitments
The ACT has become the first state or territory to legislate its commitments under the national agreement on Closing the Gap.
The independent for Kurrajong, Thomas Emerson, introduced the bill, which the ACT Legislative Assembly unanimously passed on Tuesday.
Emerson said in a statement:
This bill reframes our Closing the Gap commitments as core government business.
We’re nowhere near on track to meet our targets nationally, and here in the ACT the gap has remained stagnant or even widened in multiple critical areas.
We’ve been talking about Closing the Gap for the past 20 years, and I really believe the ACT can be the first state or territory to actually do it.
The Assembly’s unanimous support for this bill shows our community wants the ACT Government to act with greater urgency and ambition in improving life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, at a time when other parts of the country are taking backward steps.
Updated
ABC boss rejects claims Patricia Karvelas is an ‘activist’ after host labelled Dutton 'authoritarian' in political analysis
ABC managing director Hugh Marks is being asked by Coalition senators Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Sarah Henderson to defend political analysis published by ABC News.
At Senate estimates, Price was critical of Afternoon Briefing host Patricia Karvelas for labelling former opposition leader Peter Dutton as an “authoritarian” in an online analysis last month.
Marks denied that Karvelas was an “activist” and said the highly experienced journalist had written a piece of political analysis about the internal Liberal discussion about net zero. He said:
I don’t think it would be activism. I think she’s trying to be factual and provide audiences with some context to the material she’s writing.
Anyone who watches Afternoon Briefing and reads her writing knows that she is incredibly objective and impartial. I would encourage people to read the raw article rather than going off the commentary that sat around it from Sky [News] and others.
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Police investigate teacher who allegedly stabbed colleague at Melbourne school
Victoria police is investigating after a teacher allegedly stabbed another staff member at a school in Melbourne’s outer south-east on Tuesday.
In a statement, police said a man was arrested after allegedly assaulting another man at a secondary school in Keysborough about 3pm. It is believed both men were teachers at the school.
In a statement, police said:
Officers quickly arrived on scene and arrested a man … [who] will be interviewed.
The victim was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries consistent with a stabbing.
At this stage investigators believe the people involved are known to each other. The investigation remains ongoing.
Updated
Police car crashes in western Sydney
Seven News have reported that a police car has crashed into a property in Blacktown in Sydney’s western suburbs.
The footage from its helicopter confirms this.
Updated
Queensland police investigating death in custody
Queensland detectives are investigating the death of a prisoner after an alleged assault by two other inmates at the Maryborough Correctional Centre last week.
According to a statement from police, about 9am on 26 November, a 28-year-old was “located unresponsive following a suspected altercation with two other prisoners”.
Police attended and declared a crime scene.
The 28-year-old person was transported to hospital for treatment, but passed away from their injuries on Monday, December 1.
Investigations into the incident leading to the person’s death are ongoing.
Updated
Boy, 15, dies on Surfers Paradise building site
The workplace watchdog will investigate the death of a teenage boy at a Surfers Paradise building site on Monday.
The ABC reported that Queensland police would also prepare a report for the coroner after the “sudden and non-suspicious death”.
According to a fundraising page related to the death, the boy, 15, died while working on the concreting site when he was struck by something that fell from a pump truck.
In a statement, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) said:
WHSQ Inspectors attended the site and are investigating. No further comment can be made at this time.
Updated
No surgical abortion services available in southern NSW health district, budget estimates hears
There are no surgical abortion services in a southern NSW health district, Greens MLC Dr Amanda Cohn has told NSW budget estimates.
The Murrumbidgee local health district chief executive, Jill Ludford, said the NSW Pregnancy Choice helpline and the district women’s health service directed women to where they could access the service, with the usual referral pathways to Wodonga, Sydney and Canberra.
Cohn told budget estimates that she had been advised Orange hospital was no longer seeing patients outside its district.
Ludford agreed that the situation was inequitable and said the district was committed to improving equity. She said the introduction of medical termination had been successful, but they were now facing challenges in providing surgical termination in the district. She said:
The issue we have faced is our four specialist obstetricians and gynaecologists really have their personal beliefs and values where they’ll only provide surgical termination to women who have complex medical or fetal conditions.
But we understand now the importance of balancing the rights of clinicians with the rights of women to access care. So we have made a commitment to bring stakeholders together to work on a reproductive health plan that makes our responsibilities clear about how we are going to look to provide a service using an alternative workforce and looking to see where we can provide that.
Updated
NSW Health confirms at least one site where mental health patients can’t see a psychiatrist
NSW Health has acknowledged there is at least one location in the state where mental health patients are unable to see a psychiatrist due to workforce shortages.
The shortages reached a boiling point at the beginning of the year when psychiatrists in the public system threatened to resign en masse, saying they were unable to keep working in such understaffed conditions, with the Industrial Relations Commission in October deciding that a special levy was necessary to avoid the “collapse” of psychiatric care in the state.
Dr Brendan Flynn, the executive director of the mental health branch of the NSW Ministry of Health, told NSW budget estimates that it was not necessarily required for psychiatrists to see every patient if a case manager (another allied health professional) and consumer were confident.
Greens MLC Dr Amanda Cohn said she was “aware of at least one location where the workforce situation has meant no patient sees a psychiatrist directly, where psychiatrists are limited only to secondary consultation to support existing staff”.
Flynn acknowledged that some patients were complex and needed to see psychiatrists directly. He said he was aware and concerned about the situation, but the government’s virtual psychiatry hub would allow psychiatrists to see patients across the state and help in these circumstances.
Updated
Sloane rejects claims of policy backflip after calling cashless gaming proposal ‘under review’
NSW opposition leader, Kellie Sloane, says there is no backtracking on Coalition gambling policy, despite telling the ABC earlier in the day that the Perrottet era cashless gaming proposal was “under review”.
A spokesperson for Sloane said: “Nothing has been watered down. The issue is that the technology has changed. Our policy will be announced closer to the election.”
A spokesperson later followed up with additional comment, saying: “There is no retreat from cashless gambling reform. Our commitment to reducing harm hasn’t moved. We’re looking at the policy before the election to reflect new technology so it’s practical, balanced and genuinely works”.
Sloane told the ABC earlier:
When the Coalition came to the last election, Dominic Perrottet, who was the premier at the time, proposed cashless gaming. That’s something we’ll review at the moment. But we’ve, we’ve had a strong and principled stand on that, you know, very happy to work with industry to look at a policy that will be, you know, have a real impact on the ground, a real and genuine reduction in problem gambling and harm, you know, harmful gambling practices in our state.
I think we have to review it, because the technology has changed in the last few years, but what we are committed to is addressing problem gambling; that hasn’t changed.
Updated
'Adult time for violent crime' laws for children incompatible with human rights, Victoria's attorney-general admits
Victoria’s attorney-general, Sonya Kilkenny, has admitted the government’s “adult time for violent crime” bill is incompatible with the state’s charter of human rights.
Kilkenny introduced the bill to parliament on Tuesday, which, if passed, will uplift several serious crimes committed by children as young as 14 from the children’s court to adult courts. As a result, the maximum penalty for teenagers convicted of offences such as aggravated home invasions and carjackings will increase from three years to 25 years.
The bill has been roundly criticised by legal and human rights groups who say it will have a detrimental impact on already vulnerable young people and will disproportionately affect First Nations children.
Even Kilkenny, in her compatibility statement tabled in parliament, admitted as much. Her statement reads:
The bill, as introduced to the Legislative Assembly, is in part, incompatible with the human rights set out in the Charter. The measures in the bill constitute significant limits on the fundamental rights of children who are by their nature a vulnerable cohort, which require a very high standard of justification in order to be compatible with rights.
While it is my strong view that the bill is necessary to address compelling and pressing community safety concerns brought about by unprecedented incidents of serious and violent offending by children, my acknowledgement of incompatibility accepts the inherent difficulty in meeting this high standard of justification.
The government has allocated just one hour to debate the legislation in the lower house before it is voted on. It will then be sent to the upper house, with Kilkenny and the premier, Jacinta Allan, telling reporters earlier this morning that the parliament would not rise until it passed. The Coalition have indicated they will support the bill.
It comes as more than 100 legal, human rights, social services and community groups signed a joint letter to Allan on Tuesday describing the changes as a “serious step backwards for Victoria”. It reads:
They ignore strong evidence about child development, rehabilitation and human rights, and will cause lifelong harm while making our communities less safe.
Updated
NSW opposition reviews support for cashless gaming
The newly appointed NSW opposition leader, Kellie Sloane, is reviewing a long-held Coalition policy in support of cashless gaming for NSW, which was championed by the former Liberal premier Dominic Perrottet.
Perrottet backed the system as the best way to deal with problem gambling and money laundering of illegal cash through poker machines. But he lost government before it could be implemented.
The Minns Labor government trialled the technology in 2023 and a three-person executive committee reported in September 2024, but its recommendations have not been actioned, amid strong resistance from the powerful clubs and pubs lobby.
The executive committee recommended that the NSW government introduce a mandatory statewide account-based gaming system, with a phased implementation approach allowing for voluntary adoption until a centralised system is fully operational, estimated to be by 2028.
Speaking on ABC Sydney Radio 702 on Tuesday morning, Sloane agreed with a caller that there was “a lot of pain and harm caused by problem gambling” and said she supported the new restrictions on hours at gambling venues that came into force recently.
But she said she would review the proposal for the cashless gaming card because technology had moved on.
When the Coalition came to the last election, Dominic Perrottet, who was the premier at the time, proposed cashless gaming. That’s something we’ll review at the moment. But we’ve, we’ve had a strong and principled stand on that, you know, very happy to work with industry to look at a policy that will be, you know, have a real impact on the ground, a real and genuine reduction in problem gambling and harm, you know, harmful gambling practices in our state.
I think we have to review it, because the technology has changed in the last few years, but what we are committed to is addressing problem gambling; that hasn’t changed.
This post has been updated to reflect that Sloane is reviewing support for the policy but has not walked away from the policy.
Updated
That’s all from me. Nino Bucci is back to take care of things for the rest of the afternoon. Take care!
‘Worst case scenario’ for incompatible triple zero Samsung devices on Optus at 470,000
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) says that Optus’s “worst case scenario” for Samsung devices on its network that may not be able to call triple zero is 470,000.
The figure was revealed in Senate estimates on Tuesday, following the telcos announcing in late October that dozens of older Samsung devices would not be able to call triple zero on the TPG network.
The telcos gave customers with such devices between 28 and 35 days to get new devices or upgrade their software, or face their devices being blocked from the network. TPG reported a Sydney man died last month after his Samsung device was unable to dial triple zero.
There has been no confirmed number of devices affected, but estimates at the time put it at about 50,000 across Australia. However, in Senate estimates on Tuesday, Acma officials said Telstra reported 114,527 devices on its network were affected and would be blocked between now and early January.
For Optus, it was having to go through a “manual process”, and officials said the “worst case scenario” was 470,000 devices.
Acma took questions on TPG figures on notice, noting that the risk factor was different for TPG customers, given they would not be able to call triple zero at all. In contrast, Optus and Telstra customers would be able to make calls on their respective networks, but not when camping on the TPG network if their networks were unavailable.
TPG blocked 5,389 devices on 16 October this year and 1,763 in late November. TPG moved to block the devices sooner, given that its customers were unable to call triple zero.
Acma said that constituted all of the devices on TPG’s network.
Updated
Vic inquiry says group voting tickets ‘have had their day’ and should be abolished for 2026 election
A Victorian parliamentary inquiry has urged the government to immediately abolish the controversial group voting ticket (GVT) system and allow voters to preference multiple candidates above the line in upper house elections.
The electoral matters committee has tabled its report into the upper house voting system, arguing it’s time the state came into line with the rest of the nation and abolished GVTs.
Currently, voters mark one party above the line on the ballot paper. If that party is eliminated during counting, the party – not the voter – decides how their preferences will be distributed.
But the system has long been exploited, with backroom deals allowing little-known candidates to preference each other and then leapfrog rivals with 10 times as many first-preference votes.
The inquiry chair, Labor MP Dylan Wight, said the committee, community and stakeholders all agreed GVTs “have had their day”. He said:
They have led to votes being counted in ways that voters could not predict and may not have expected. Combined with the practice of ‘preference whispering’, they have undermined trust in our electoral system. Victoria is the last Australian jurisdiction to still use group voting tickets and it is time for us to remove them.
However, there was no consensus on what the upper house should look like without GVTs. While the inquiry examined six options, Wight said there was “no single model that satisfies all perspectives, and no single change that can be made without consequences for the balance of representation, accountability and fairness”.
The inquiry recommended a two-step process to immediately abolish GVTs in time for the 2026 election and allow voters to select multiple parties above the line. Then, a new process would be set up after the poll to “build agreement about what the electoral system should be”.
“If this process recommends changes to the electoral structure, a referendum could be conducted in 2028 or 2030,” the recommendation reads.
Guardian Australia has analysed each model proposed by the electoral matters committee using the actual vote totals in the 2022 election. You can see the results here:
Updated
Worker dead and teen seriously injured after wall collapse in Brisbane
A worker has been fatally crushed and a teenager seriously injured after a retaining wall collapsed during peak hour at an inner city building site in Brisbane, AAP reports.
The wall gave way as workers were on site just before 8.30am in Brisbane’s West End during construction. Two workers, 45 and 19, were trapped when the wall toppled, with the younger man pinned by his legs under massive concrete blocks.
Firefighters inflated special airbags around the injured man to raise the concrete to drag him free of the rubble.
The rescue operation took more than 90 minutes before the worker could be released and taken to the hospital in a stable condition with serious leg injuries.
The second man died at the scene.
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland is investigating, and police are preparing a report for the coroner.
Updated
Zinger kebabs help KFC operator lift sales
New time-limited menu items and flavours have helped a major KFC franchisee attract more customers and post double-digit profit growth, AAP report.
Collins Foods on Tuesday credited its Habanero Hot & Crispy boneless chicken, Zinger Kebab spicy chicken fillets and Sweet Tokyo teriyaki-style chicken with lifting sales.
Australian revenue grew 5% to $563.8m for the half-year to 12 October, with same-store sales up 2.3%.
Collins Foods opened another eight KFC restaurants in Australia during the half-year, bringing its total footprint to 292 nationally.
While the profits report ended in October, Collins and other franchisees will be hoping the bánh mì launched in November could be just as lucrative. You can read what we thought about it here:
Updated
Victorian Greens urge government to scrap nominated entities instead of capping them
The Victorian Greens leader, Ellen Sandell, has urged the state government to abolish nominated entities used by major parties to fund election campaigns, rather than capping the amounts they can access.
It comes after the premier, Jacinta Allan, announced legislation this morning to limit major parties, including Labor, the Liberals and the Nationals, to withdrawing a maximum of $500,000 from the entities over an election period.
Sandell said:
Labor and the Liberals rigged the rules so they could access tens of millions in slush-fund money while everyone else was locked out. It’s dodgy, and Victorians are sick of it … If Labor were serious about fairness, it would scrap the slush funds.
Updated
Google to pay $55m over ‘anti-competitive’ telco agreements on search
The federal court has agreed to a joint proposal by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Google Asia Pacific that the tech company pay $55m in penalties for anti-competitive conduct over agreements with Telstra and Optus to pre-install Google search on Android devices.
The understandings were in place between December 2019 and March 2021 and required the two telcos to only pre-install Google search on Android phones sold to customers.
In return, Telstra and Optus received a share of the revenue Google generated from ads in search results on those devices.
Google admitted it had engaged in anti-competitive conduct, and made joint submissions to the federal court with the ACCC on penalties, which the court ordered today.
ACCC deputy chair Mick Keogh said:
This penalty should send a strong message to all businesses that there are serious and costly consequences for engaging in anti-competitive conduct.
Google has also entered into an undertaking to remove pre-installation and search engine restrictions from Google’s contracts with Android phone manufacturers and telcos.
Telstra, Optus and TPG have also agreed not to renew or make new arrangements of a similar nature.
Updated
NSW Health defends social media policy covering private WhatsApp chats
Back in NSW health budget estimates, the Greens MLC Amanda Cohn has asked NSW Health why it was necessary to seek oversight of private communication, such as WhatsApp chats, in its social media policy.
In August, Guardian Australia revealed the doctors’ union concerns over this feature in the department’s draft policy.
The state’s health secretary, Susan Pearce, said staff had flagged “less than desirable” commentary in group chats, and that the department was concerned people were being exposed to it in the workplace.
The executive director of workforce planning at NSW Health, Richard Griffiths, said some WhatsApp groups had several hundred members, so it was “appropriate we build into policy because the reach of groups is so wide”.
Griffiths said NSW Health wished to guide staff on how to appropriately use social media, not to restrict it.
Updated
Shoebridge criticises Segal over antisemitism definition
The Greens senator David Shoebridge has criticised the antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, over how antisemitism is defined, saying those who conflate genuine criticism of Israel with antisemitism “do the cause no credit”.
In a Senate estimates hearing this morning, the Greens senator asked why Segal relied on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition for her report. IHRA’s working definition suggests antisemitism can include holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel and drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
Shoebridge said:
I would join with anybody to fight antisemitism … genuine antisemitism. But when you and others conflate legitimate criticism of … the state of Israel, it’s appalling genocidal behaviour against Palestine. When you conflate that with antisemitism, you do the cause no credit.
The Liberal senator Paul Scarr interjected to make a point of order, requesting whether Shoebridge could “simply limit himself to asking questions rather than giving soliloquies”.
Segal said IHRA’s definition “makes it very clear that legitimate criticism of Israel in the same form as you would criticise another state is not antisemitic”.
She continued:
So, legitimate criticism is fine, and I think that has been a misunderstanding generally by some people in relation to what is permitted by IHRA, and hence, has resulted in very unfair criticism of IHRA.
Updated
Antisemitism envoy says 'perhaps I should have' issued press release after neo-Nazi rallies
The antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, says she told individual media outlets she condemned recent neo-Nazi rallies but conceded she could have made a broader statement.
At a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday, the Greens senator David Shoebridge questioned her public response to the rallies:
I’ve seen you publicly condemn, put out proactive statements condemning, pro-Palestinian protests, but when the most high profile neo-Nazi protest is held out the front of a state Parliament House, you choose not to put a proactive public statement condemning it.
A proactive statement is industry jargon for a press release distributed to the media without being asked.
The envoy said the group’s actions were “quite despicable”, but she had been apprehensive about giving them more airtime than necessary.
Segal said:
I did convey to various news outlets who asked – those who approached me for a condemnation. I had a statement prepared. I did not put out a press statement. And you know, I note that perhaps I should have, to make it clear, but news outlets that did contact my office, I did convey that.
It’s a movement, as you say, grounded in hate and intimidation. And they just, they are absolutely seeking to disrupt public life, destroy our social cohesion. I was initially, I might say, reluctant to give them more airplay, but I take your point because they do crave notoriety.
Perhaps there should have been a broader statement, but I chose to do it through individual media responses, but be under no illusion, I do condemn them.
Updated
Queensland average home price passes $1m
The average Queensland home price has passed $1m for the first time, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest stocktake on the total value of the country’s residential property market.
Queensland is the second state, after NSW, to reach the depressing milestone for many Australians amid a national housing affordability crisis.
The total value of dwellings climbed by 2.7% in the September quarter to $11.9tn, up 60% over the past five years.
That compares with $4.3tn in total retirement savings, and this booming wealth is helping to underpin households’ confidence and spending, according to UBS economists.
The ABS data showed that in NSW, the average home price was nearly $1.3m, followed by Queensland at just over $1m, and the ACT at $968,000.
The lowest priced homes on average were in Northern Territory, at $564,000, followed by Tasmania at $669,000.
The average dwelling price in Western Australia was $948,000, in Victoria $919,000, and in South Australia $887,000.
Updated
Fatal WA fire has burnt 4200 hectares
Just a little more on that deadly fire in the south of Western Australia: according to emergency alerts, a watch and act warning is now in place for the blaze near West River.
It has burnt 4200 hectares (10378 acres), and 60 firefighters are at the scene working on containment lines, according to the latest warning.
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Foster says detention centre incident numbers ‘too many’ as reports show sharp increases
Over in Senate estimates this morning, the home affairs department secretary, Stephanie Foster, has acknowledged that the number of critical incidents in onshore immigration detention centres is “too many”.
The department’s latest annual report showed there were 59 critical incidents per 1,000 detainees over 2024-25 compared to 27.84 the year before, representing an 11.93% increase.
The report also showed an increase in the number of “sexual assault critical incidents” over 2024-25, rising to 30 from 19. The department’s report does not provide further details on whether the alleged perpetrators are detainees, staff or other persons.
The report highlighted a “correlation” between a higher rate of detainees with criminal histories (88.55%) and increases in the number of critical incidents.
However, Foster said:
The number of incidents is too many, and we need to keep working if we are to reduce that number. And there are a range of things that we have done over the past few months, and a range of things that we will continue to do that will help ameliorate that, and we can go through that in outcome three [later on Tuesday].
Read more:
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Mental health services at Northern Beaches hospital won’t be diminished in public transition, minister says
The NSW mental health minister, Rose Jackson, says there will be no reduction in mental health services at Sydney’s Northern Beaches hospital after the government repurchased it in a deal that will integrate it into the public system.
The hospital had a 20-bed ward for private health care admissions, in addition to a 20-bed ward for public health care admissions, a 15-bed ward for the care of older people and a six-bed ward for short stay crisis mental health admissions.
Asked about the hospital in NSW budget estimates this morning, Jackson confirmed there would be no diminution, but said there “may be an opportunity for services to be enhanced”.
The state’s health secretary, Susan Pearce, said the team was “working day and night” as they finalised the contractual arrangements of the hospital’s transition in the next week or so.
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Allan rejects claims Victoria’s donation law changes aim to dodge high court
Victoria’s premier, Jacinta Allan, has denied the government’s proposed changes to political donation laws are designed to avoid a high court finding that the existing rules are unconstitutional.
Such a finding would have huge ramifications for the November 2026 election and federal donation laws.
Earlier this morning, Allan said:
There is a matter before the high court that is testing this question. That matter is still going through the high court processes, and there has been no finding or determination in that matter. I will acknowledge, the matter before the high court has required an examination of the settings here in Victoria.
The premier said the bill was about ensuring there was “fairness and transparency around how political parties and independent candidates are supported during the conduct of elections”.
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Victorian independent candidate urges Libs and cross-bench not to support donation laws
Melissa Lowe, one of the independents taking the Victorian government’s electoral donation laws to the high court, has described proposed changes as a “fix” that would “entrench unfairness”.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, earlier this morning announced plans to introduce a cap on how much Labor, the Liberals, and the Nationals can withdraw from their fundraising bodies, known as “nominated entities”. Under the proposal, major parties would be limited to withdrawing up to $500,000 over an election period.
Independent candidates would also be allowed to establish a nominated entity, which is not permitted under the existing laws. But they would be restricted to withdrawing only $50,000.
In a statement, Lowe, who ran in Hawthorn in 2022, described the proposed changes as an “extraordinary development” that proved the state’s donations laws were “designed to protect the major parties from competition and discourage the electorate from supporting independents”. She has argued in the past that a fair outcome would be to abolish nominated entities.
Lowe continued:
Rather than scrap a system designed to deny voters fair freedom of choice, the government has decided instead to try to put in a ‘fix’ that would be likely to entrench the unfairness confronted by new entrants, who would still have to battle the donations cap while the majors got advance public funding, courtesy of the taxpayers.
If [opposition leader] Jess Wilson had any ticker she’d oppose this and enlist the crossbench in the upper house to do the same.
Updated
ANZ abandons RBA rate cut call as inflation rebounds
The economics team at ANZ have scrapped its forecast of one more Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) rate cut in 2026, joining a broad consensus view that the cash rate is on an “extended hold” at 3.6%.
Inflation has bounced back in recent months, with data showing consumer price growth accelerated to 3.8% in the year to October, way above the RBA’s 2-3% target range.
ANZ’s head of Australian economics, Adam Boyton, said he thought the lift in underlying inflation was “likely temporary”.
But signs of ongoing inflation pressures in the monthly CPI, GDP growth running around the RBA’s estimate of potential, and the RBA’s view that the labour market is tight, all suggest the RBA’s board is likely to be cautious about further easing.
At the same time, the rise in the unemployment rate this year and conflicting signals across leading indicators of demand make it difficult to see a case for a 2026 rate hike.
Financial markets are no longer pricing any meaningful chance of a rate cut over the coming 12 months, and put a more than 40% chance of a hike by November 2026.
The next RBA monetary policy board decision is in a week’s time.
Updated
Man dies in WA bushfire
A man has died while responding to a bushfire at West River in southern Western Australia, police have confirmed.
About 2.20pm on Monday, emergency services responded to reports of a large bushfire threatening several homes in the vicinity of West River and Fitzgerald roads, police said.
The fire burned about 300 hectares (741 acres) of farmland.
A man in his 60s, believed to live in the area, was operating a front-end loader to establish a firebreak when his vehicle was engulfed in flames.
Police said in a statement that he died at the scene.
An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the man’s death will be conducted by WA Police, who will prepare a report for the coroner.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation but is currently not being treated as suspicious.
Updated
Japanese encephalitis found in Australia for first time this season
The Victorian department of health has confirmed the first detection of Japanese encephalitis in mosquitoes for the 2025–26 season, with the virus found as part of a disease control program near Horsham, in the state’s north-west.
The virus was found in a mosquito trap in the Horsham Rural city council area as part of Victoria’s Arbovirus Disease Control Program, the department said.
It marks the first detection of the virus in Australia this season, and the department said it was working closely with the council to treat mosquito breeding sites and reduce the risk to the community.
Japanese encephalitis is a rare but potentially serious disease transmitted through mosquito bites. Most infected people have no or only mild symptoms, but in around 1 in 250 cases, it can cause severe brain infection (encephalitis), which can be fatal.
Victoria’s chief health officer, Dr Caroline McElnay, said detecting the virus in mosquitoes caught in traps was vital for informing the community about current health risks on the preventable disease.
A free Japanese encephalitis vaccine is available for eligible people due to their increased risk of exposure.
Simple actions like wearing repellent, covering up, and limiting outdoor activities at dawn and dusk can help reduce your risk.
Anyone can be bitten by mosquitoes, but people living, working or spending time outdoors in northern Victoria, especially near rivers, may be at higher risk.
A free Japanese encephalitis vaccine is available in 24 local government areas across Victoria, including Horsham Rural city council, for eligible people at increased risk, including those not eligible for Medicare.
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Social media ban won’t be ‘digital isolation’ for teens, department says
The department of communications deputy secretary, James Chisholm, rejected concerns raised by Greens senator David Shoebridge that the under-16s social media ban will isolate teens online, particularly those in regional areas.
Chisholm told Senate estimates on Tuesday that the ban applied to a limited number of platforms, and that children “are not excluded from the internet, from technology generally”.
Shoebridge said the government was putting kids into “digital isolation”.
I was just talking to a young person from a regional part of this country who lives like, an hour away from a regional town.
They are going to lose all of their social media connections on Instagram, on Snapchat. They are already physically isolated and their ability to communicate [to] break down that isolation through social media was being taken off them because, yes, they have access to the internet, but their friends circle on Instagram, their friends circle on Snapchat is all just being literally ripped from them.
What do you say to that young person in physical isolation?
Chisholm said children were not in “digital isolation” because they would still have access to online services. He said children would be able to access those connections again once they turn 16, pointing to the platforms’ advice that those accounts would be placed on hold until they reactivate at 16.
He said the government policy was “very clear” that children under 16 should not have social media accounts.
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LinkedIn, Lemon8 could be added to under-16s social media ban
More platforms are likely to be added to the federal government’s social media ban for under-16s after the scheme comes into effect next week, with the communications minister, Anika Wells, saying if large numbers of kids migrate to other sites or apps not currently in the framework, they could also be lumped in.
Speaking in Adelaide today, Wells told media to “stay tuned” for news about Lemon8, an Instagram-style app not currently included in the ban. She said:
But I’ve also made the point LinkedIn is currently an exempt platform. If everybody ends up on LinkedIn, and LinkedIn becomes a place where there is online bullying, algorithms targeting of 13 to 16-year-olds in a way that’s deteriorating their mental and physical health, then we will go after LinkedIn, and that’s why all platforms are on notice. We have to be agile and dynamic.
The ban comes into effect on 10 December. Several platforms have warned users about the age verification methods they will use, but others have not yet notified their customers. The Coalition opposition is raising concerns about the timing and implementation of the ban, and at least one legal challenge is in the works.
Wells said the government “will not be flinching in the face of any intimidation, any threats” from big tech platforms who may be considering challenging the ban. She warned that “people with ulterior motives are going to throw the kitchen sink and try to strike this down, or water this down”.
Wells will speak and take questions at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday.
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Australian National University walks back cuts to music and humanities
The Australian National University (ANU) has walked back on a major restructure to its arts and social sciences college after facing backlash from staff, students, politicians and stakeholders over the handling of its controversial $250m cost-cutting plan.
On Tuesday, ANU released its updated implementation plan for the college, after the initial proposal, released this July, was widely canned. It included shutting the Australian National Dictionary Centre, the Centre for European Studies, the Humanities Research Centre and the ANU School of Music, in addition to job cuts.
In September, days before the resignation of then-vice-chancellor of ANU, Prof Genevieve Bell, almost 30 staff in the school stopped work after an internal report warned of psychological hazards in their workplace related to the restructure.
The interim vice-chancellor of ANU, Prof. Rebekah Brown, said due to “higher-than-expected voluntary separations, staff attrition, retirements and vacancy management, the university’s financial position has improved” and humanities schools could be saved.
Its dean, Prof Bronwyn Parry, said the Dictionary of Biography and the Australian National Dictionary Centre secured its future through philanthropic generosity, while no structural changes would be made to the School of Music, which would feature a new Performance+ Hub.
Parry said the updated plan reflected the “extensive feedback received during consultation and demonstrates that we have listened and responded”.
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How the first Aboriginal bilingual school in NSW is resurrecting an Indigenous language
The Gumbaynggirr Giingana Freedom school in Coffs Harbour opened three years ago amid a broader push to breathe new life into the critically endangered Gumbaynggirr language.
As Indigenous languages decline nationally, Gumbaynggirr is experiencing a resurgence.
For 12-year-old Darruy, the difference to his previous school is “like night and day”. He says:
The other school … they didn’t really understand the components of Aboriginal culture. I do prefer this school a lot more, because they understand how culture is to us.
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Metro Tunnel goes viral as Melbourne’s commuters turn into ambassadors
Melbourne’s new Metro Tunnel has become a social media sensation, and the public transport system was packed over the weekend as people rode the new train route for the first time.
Brodie Lancaster was one of them, and he wrote about it here:
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Pocock says ‘now it’s clear’ why Labor was ‘hiding’ the report into government board appointments
David Pocock says “it’s clear why the Albanese government was hiding” the Briggs report into government job appointments, after Labor shrugged off major recommendations about cleaning up a “jobs for mates” culture.
Briggs’ report – finally released on Tuesday after a long fight from politicians including Pocock – warns the major parties have abused appointments to government boards so routinely that the public fears being lumped with “overpaid political hacks” who cannot do important jobs properly.
Nonetheless, Labor has decided not to take up many of the suggestions about reforming the system.
Pocock led a Senate revolt over the government’s failure to release the report in recent weeks. On Tuesday, he said it was:
… very disappointing that the Albanese government has refused to accept the full suite of recommendations from the Briggs review designed to stop the rampant jobs for mates culture that exists in federal politics.
He continued:
It is no surprise there is such low trust in politicians. Communities constantly call for more integrity but are ignored.
I’ve worked hard with all non-government senators to secure the release of the Briggs review. Now it’s clear why the Albanese government was hiding it for two years.
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Tim Ayres says government ‘up to cracking down hard’ where needed in AI landscape
Ayres added that the government’s new AI safety institute would help protect Australians, saying officials would “not hesitate” to crack down “hard” where needed.
He said:
This government is absolutely up to cracking down hard where there’s harms in the digital landscape.
The eSafety commissioner and the government crack down hard on deepfake pornographic images, we cracked down hard on other areas of social media, we’re making sure we’re protecting our kids from social media harms and we will be watching very closely the interaction of artificial intelligence with social media and other digital platforms because of all of its implications.
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Government says AI roadmap should not be concerning to Australian creatives
Tim Ayres, the minister of industry and innovation, just spoke in Sydney about the government’s new AI roadmap.
He was asked about any plans to better protect the rights of creatives from AI. Ayres said there were no plans to weaken copyright law:
Australian creatives, Australian writers, Australian journalists should be confident that the Albanese government will in no way weaken our approach to copyright law. We’re for the creative community.
Read more:
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Allan also announced $4.92m in funding for sports and arts programs, as part of the government’s new crime education program.
She says the funding – as part of the violence re-education unit – will be provided to programs run by Melbourne Storm, Melbourne Victory, Western Bulldogs and Foundation House.
This is an initial list, and we will add to this list … as part of the violence reduction unit, understanding that crime isn’t inevitable, it’s preventable. But we do need new approaches here in Victoria to keep young people connected to school, to family and community as well.
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Allan says Victoria parliament will sit until ‘adult time for violent crime’ bill passes
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, held a press conference at AAMI Park to announce parliament will sit this week until her “adult time for violent crime” bill passes.
The bill will be introduced to parliament today. If passed, it would uplift several serious crimes committed by children to adult courts, likely leading to much lengthier sentences.
The attorney general, Sonya Kilkenny, says the bill will introduce a new carjacking offence to capture conduct where a person steals a car with a child under 10 inside. She says:
What we are doing with the laws that we’re introducing today is responding to this new type of offending that we’ve seen, including the carjacking or theft of vehicles with a child inside. I think there was an example recently in regional Victoria but there have been others as well. As a mum, I have watched in horror when I’ve seen these particular stories broadcast and shared with the public. So it is in response to that.
Kilkenny says it will be fast-tracked through the lower house as an urgent bill, with the expectation the upper house will debate it through Thursday. She says:
Parliament will not be rising until this bill passes.
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NSW police urging parents to do their research and only buy legal ebikes for Christmas
NSW police are urging parents to only buy legal ebikes for their children for Christmas this year, saying officers are cracking down on modified bikes and dangerous riding.
David Driver, the commander assistant commissioner of traffic and highway patrol, said parents had a responsibility to ensure any purchase was not modified and to ensure their kids are able to ride a bike safely before they went on to the road or footpath.
He said in a statement:
Don’t get pressured by your children, peers or salespeople into buying the most powerful bike. Police don’t want someone to make a mistake that costs them their life or causes them serious injury.
We have seen more modified bikes and powerful motors fitted. We need riders to understand the dangers of riding on one wheel, without a helmet or in the dark with no lights.
He added parents needed to be aware about how “easy” it can be to modify an ebike.
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Chris Minns says NSW considering ‘serious’ change to maximum power of ebikes amid safety concerns
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said the state government is considering a “serious change” to the maximum power of legal ebikes amid growing concerns about the devices’ safety.
Minns spoke to 2GB this morning, saying the government currently allows ebikes on the road that have up to 500 watts of power. New rules, if put forward, would limit that to 250 watts of power. He said:
We spent a lot of time on the road in my job, and we see some kids on bikes that are more like motorbikes …
It means the highest limit you can travel at is currently 50 to 60 kilometres an hour. [Under a change], that’ll be reduced to 25 to 30 kilometres an hour …
They can go as fast as a car, and as a result, people can get hurt.
Minns said he expects the change could be done by regulation, not legislation, in the coming months.
I don’t want perfection to be the enemy of good here. We do need to make a change and we want to do it.
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Instagram’s age-verification identified a moustachioed adult as over 16 – but how did it go with a 13-year-old?
Instagram’s process for determining whether a user is over 16 is relatively quick and painless if you’re clearly an adult – but how does it work if a 13-year-old tries to change their account’s date of birth to make them appear grown up?
Meta in November began notifying Instagram and Facebook users whose date of birth is set as under 16 – or who the platform understands to be under 16 – that their accounts will be deactivated as part of Australia’s social media ban for children. The ban takes effect on 10 December, but Meta has said it will start removing access to users under 16 from 4 December.
As part of Guardian Australia’s reporting on what the platforms show to various age demographics, a phone was set up with dummy social media accounts.
See what our reporter, Josh Taylor, found:
Victorian government announces changes to political donation laws
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has announced changes to the state’s donation laws that will cap how much money major political parties can withdraw from their war chests during a campaign and set a 10-day early voting period.
It comes ahead of a high court challenge to the state’s donation laws next year, brought by two candidates who ran as independents at the 2022 state election. Melissa Lowe and Paul Hopper argued the government’s donation laws, which allow Labor, the Liberals and Nationals to withdraw unlimited sums from their fundraising bodies, known as “nominated entities”, set up a David and Goliath battle for independents.
Under the electoral amendment bill, to be introduced to parliament this morning, parties will be able to withdraw a maximum of $500,000 over an election period. Independent candidates will also be able to set up a nominated entity but will only be able to withdraw $50,000 during a campaign.
The bill also caps early voting at 10 days and ensures if a political party drops its support for a candidate or if a grouping of candidates changes mid-election, that will be reflected on the ballot paper.
Allan said:
We’re making elections fairer and easier to run while also ensuring there is integrity and transparency when it comes to political donations. Fair elections are the bedrock of democracy, and we are delivering these reforms to ensure Victorians can be confident in their electoral processes.
It’s unlikely to be the only changes to election laws before November 2026 – the government is also considering scrapping group voting tickets. More on that issue here:
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NSW RFS urges holidaymakers to have a fire plan while traveling
With 36 fires burning across NSW at 6pm yesterday, the NSW Rural Fire Service told Guardian Australia it’s important for anyone living or travelling in a fire-prone area to have a discussion with their families about what you will do should a blaze threaten your location over the warm summer months.
That includes knowing where to go and tending to your property, including cleaning out guttering and removing overhanging trees and shrubs that could flare up.
If you’re travelling, the RFS says you should download the Hazards Near Me app on your phone and set watch zones for the areas you’ll be in. If there’s a new incident nearby, you’ll be notified straight away.
Also, if you see any new fires with open flames and no trucks on site, immediately call triple zero with as much information about your location as possible. Crews will attend to the blaze.
As of 6:00 pm, Monday 1 December, there are 36 fires burning across NSW, with 12 yet to be contained. While conditions are expected to ease over coming days, more than 500 firefighters will continue to strengthen containment lines ahead of worsening weather across the weekend. pic.twitter.com/VT1MfXVulE
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) December 1, 2025
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Ebike rider dies after collision with garbage truck in Sydney CBD
An ebike rider has died this morning in Sydney’s CBD after a collision with a garbage truck, NSW police said.
Emergency services responded to the inner-city suburb of Ultimo around 6am this morning amid reports of a crash. Officers arrived to find the ebike and truck had collided.
The rider, a man in his 30s, was treated by paramedics at the scene, but died. The truck driver, a man, 28, was taken to the hospital for mandatory testing.
Police have established a crime scene and begun an investigation. No charges have been laid.
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Minister says AI roadmap meant to give Australia a ‘stake’ in new technological future
Tim Ayres, the minister for industry and innovation, said Australia is a “terrific” place for AI investment, saying the country wants to make sure to “capture” the opportunity such technology presents.
Ayers spoke to RN Breakfast this morning as the government releases a federal roadmap on a national AI plan. He said:
It’s all about capturing the economic opportunity here in Australia in productivity terms, in investment terms, but also for the things that artificial intelligence can do for us. … That’s in our national interest to solve big national challenges.
Ayres admitted that AI wasn’t a major employer. But he said a national plan would give Australia a “stake in this system”.
Read more here:
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Search to continue today for missing 18-year-old swimmer
Rescue officials are set to continue their search for a missing 18-year-old on NSW’s mid-north coast.
Emergency services were called to Little Bay beach in Arakoon on Sunday afternoon amid reports the man was in distress in the water. Authorities conducted a search in the area, but they were unable to find him.
Those search efforts continued for more than eight hours yesterday, with Marine Rescue NSW committing a large number of resources trying to find the teenager. The ABC reports the man recently graduated from high school and was on a schoolies trip with friends after the end of the HSC exams.
A search will continue today.
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BoM pushes back on IT cost blowouts claim
Greens senator Barbara Pocock in Senate estimates on Monday night described the BoM IT project as a “nightmare handbasket case study in contract failure and management of contracts”.
The BoM CEO, Dr Stuart Minchin, said the Robust program had gone through multiple finance department reviews, and reviews by the Digital Transformation Agency and the 15% cost blowout to $866m was “well within the expectations of major technology projects”.
He said:
There was no contingency provided for this program when it was originally funded. So to actually only go 15% over despite Covid and the extension of the program overall was seen through those reviews as consistent.
The environment minister, Murray Watt, said the government was taking the issue seriously, and that the contracts awarded to Accenture as part of the website overhaul was being examined.
This may well be a contract that demonstrates the need for greater oversight … of consultants and greater use of public sector capacity wherever possible.
BoM chief information officer, Nichole Brinsmead, said the BoM had to understand the complexity of the old legacy systems and what it would take to rebuild and said she didn’t think the contracts “were as badly managed as you make out”.
We did actually have quite strong governance over the projects. They had contract managers, there were steering committees, there were meetings with the vendors, there was project control groups that had external members on them, and then we had the eight gateway reviews and external DTA reviews as well, and that all fed up into how those contracts were managed.
And never once did we get any commentary or recommendations from those reviews that related to how we manage those contracts.
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Good morning, and happy Tuesday. Another day closer to Christmas. Nick Visser here to take over the blog. Let’s get to it.
BoM blames APS caps, Covid for website costs
The Bureau of Meteorology has blamed Covid-era inflation and a Coalition government cap on public service headcount for cost blowouts in the IT project and the use of contractors such as Accenture in its controversial overhaul of the agency’s website.
BoM revealed last month the true cost of its new website to be $96.5m after initially saying the user-facing aspect was just over $4m. It led to calls to explain why the cost had been so high given public outcry over issues with the new site.
The agency’s new CEO, Dr Stuart Minchin, told Senate estimates that the broader $866m IT overhaul program, known as Robust, of which the website accounted for 10% of the budget, was subject to “strict caps” on public sector employees meaning the agency was reliant on vendors and contractors. He said given it was delivered early in the Covid pandemic, that had an impact on labour markets and there was a period of beyond forecast inflation, “which particularly impacted technology costs”.
He said the cost of the website itself “reflects the significant investment required to fully rebuild all the layers of technology and system that underpins the website.”
He said:
We needed to make sure it is secure and stable and can draw in the huge amounts of data gathered from our observing network and weather models as we handle millions of visits each day.
Top super funds hold $33bn in big fossil fuel companies
Australia’s top 30 super funds have a combined $33bn in investments in global companies with major fossil fuel expansion plans, new analysis shows.
Green advocacy group Market Forces found the investments had fallen from the $39bn recorded in December 2023, in part due to holdings in BHP and Woodside falling in value, and were still far more than the $19bn totalled in the group’s 2021 report.
Nearly $6 of every $100 in the average investment option across those super funds was backing major fossil fuel producers, according to the latest report, released on Tuesday.
Just one of the country’s 30 largest super funds had no investments in any major global coal, oil or gas producers: Australian Ethical, which actively excludes companies with substantial fossil fuel revenue.
Funds have maintained their exposure despite fossil fuel investments underperforming major share market indices over the last seven years. The funds have collectively invested less than $10bn in clean energy companies, despite these offering higher returns, according to Market Forces’ estimate.
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One Nation threatens Liberals, not just Nationals: Canavan
Matt Canavan, the Nationals backbench MP, has warned rising popularity of One Nation threatens the Liberal party as well as the National party.
The junior Coalition partner last week faced the departure of its former leader, Barnaby Joyce, who has hinted he may join Pauline Hanson’s increasingly popular rightwing minor party.
Canavan said One Nation was threatening the Coalition not only in rural seats but also in outer suburban Australia, which is typically represented by Liberals more often than Nationals. He told the ABC’s 7.30 :
Pauline Hanson started her career [and] is from the outer suburbs of Brisbane. There’s a misconception that somehow One Nation is just or only a regional, country phenomenon … The discontent we’re seeing across Australia is very much concentrated in our outer suburbs, and yes, in our larger regional cities.
Canavan also praised his ally and former employer as an effective politician and mourned his departure from the National party.
I’m disappointed in that, expressed that disappointment to Barnaby, to no avail.
Read more on Joyce’s move here, from political editor Tom McIlroy:
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Nick Visser with the main action.
Matt Canavan, the Nationals backbench MP, told ABC’s 7.30 last night that the rising popularity of One Nation threatens the Liberal party as well as the National party because it could take outer suburban seats from the former as well as regional ones from the latter. More details coming up.
And the Bureau of Meteorology has defended the cost of IT upgrades, including a revamped website which has drawn criticism from users, at a Senate hearing. Lots more on that soon too.
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