What we learned today - Tuesday 14 October
Thanks for your attention today. We’ll close the blog here, but not before a summary of the day’s main events:
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, revealed the influence of former Labor prime minister Paul Keating on watered-down super tax plan.
Australian businesses are losing money at a skyrocketing rate to cybersecurity threats, the nation’s top cyber spy agency warned.
Penny Wong said Donald Trump deserves “enormous congratulations” as Israeli hostages are released.
Urgent action is needed on medicinal cannabis, peak bodies have warned the health minister.
Coalition said super tax changes are a “victory” for everyday Australians.
A joint federal and state response plan for SA algal bloom was announced.
Uluru dialogue leaders reflected on the two-year anniversary of the failed voice referendum.
A man was arrested in Melbourne CBD after alleged carjackings.
It has been a record year for EV sales with Tesla and BYD dominating and more charging points, a new report showed.
The Venezuelan embassy in Australia will close, Reuters reported.
Terminally ill Victorians will be able to access voluntary assisted dying earlier under new changes.
Creative Australia awarded an $100,000 grant to Khaled Sabsabi.
Police partially reopened the national park shut down during manhunt for Dezi Freeman, saying he might have left the area.
RBA’s latest minutes showed no mention of future interest rate cuts.
An Australian Antarctic Division ship is being assessed after it touched the seafloor.
Two executives resigned from Affinity Education Group.
Sussan Ley called for parliament to investigate Lidia Thorpe’s claim she would “burn down” Parliament House.
See you back here tomorrow!
Updated
Police standoff in Brisbane park
A Brisbane CBD park has been cordoned off amid a police standoff with a man armed with a knife.
The City Botanic Gardens are currently blocked off, on Albert Street.
The Special Emergency Response Team arrived minutes ago through the entrance on Albert Street. There are several other vehicles on the scene and the park gates are all locked.
A police spokesperson said they are now negotiating with the man, who they said was armed with a knife. The spokesperson said the public are asked to avoid the area.
Updated
No new evidence found in first day of renewed search for Gus Lamont
South Australian police say the first day of the renewed search for missing four-year-old Gus Lamont has not brought any new evidence.
Police today resumed searching for the preschooler at a property located 43km south of Yunta. In a statement, they said:
The first day of the continuing search for the missing boy has concluded with no evidence being located.
The coordinated search has progressed in zones outside of the original search area and will continue on Wednesday. Extreme heat forecast for Thursday is expected to restrict searching to the cooler morning period.
Resources used today include 18 police officers, 82 ADF members and 33 vehicles and SES resources including seven members, a drone and two utility terrain vehicles.
The search for Gus, who was last seen on Saturday 27 September, is being conducted as part of Task Force Horizon that was announced this morning by Police Commissioner Grant Stevens.
Updated
Venezuela reportedly closes embassy in Australia
Venezuela is reportedly closing its embassy in Australia. We asked the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade about the change: a spokesperson told us briefly the department was “aware of reports of Venezuelan embassy closures in Norway and Australia and is monitoring the situation.”
Reuters reported on Tuesday that Venezuela’s government had announced the closure of embassies in Norway and Australia, and plans to open new ones in Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe in what that country’s government said was a “strategic re-assignation of resources.”
President Nicolas Maduro’s government said consular services to Venezuelans in Norway and Australia would be provided by diplomatic missions, Reuters reported.
We’ve reached out to Venezuela’s embassy in Canberra for a response, but have received no reply.
Updated
Queensland Katter MP resigns from parliament to run for Townsville mayor, triggering byelection
Katter MP Nick Dametto has resigned from Queensland state parliament, to run for mayor of Townsville, triggering a byelection.
In an emotional 15-minute valedictory speech, the MP relayed a series of policy and project achievements before making his pitch for the role of mayor. He said:
This will be a campaign won on policy and vision, Mr Speaker. That city that I call home deserves strong leadership. It has floundered for the last 18 months. We’ve lived in limbo. We want to make sure that the person that steps forward to run that city has the right mindset, convictions, someone who wants to instil pride and prosperity back in the capital of north Queensland.
He then thanked a list of former staff and other MPs he was close to, before thanking himself:
I want to thank me. I want to thank me for turning up whenever I could. I want to thank me for turning up when nobody else would. I want to thank me for backing me, because I believe if you don’t back yourself, Mr Speaker, who else will?
Dametto was elected in 2017 and was one of three Katters’ Australian Party MPs in state parliament. His resignation took effect immediately. He left the chamber saying “arrivederci”, reflecting his Italian heritage.
Updated
New parliamentary friends group for urban policy planning
The collective committees representing Australia’s biggest cities have launched a new parliamentary friends group in Canberra, set to be led by independent Kate Chaney, Liberal Simon Kennedy and Labor senator Richard Dowling.
Organisers say it will be the first ever Parliamentary Friends of Cities group, established to advance long-term, place-based urban policy within federal parliament. Friends groups advocate on a huge range of specific issues around Canberra, taking advantage of bipartisan backing for important topics.
The new group has been established by the Committee for Capital Cities, which includes Sydney, Greater Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane, along with the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors.
Capital cities are home to two in three people and jobs in Australia, and contribute about 70% of Australia’s GDP. Major priorities include housing, the hunt for global talent, innovation and highly skilled employment markets. Kennedy said:
The Parliamentary Friends of Cities is about practical collaboration, not politics. It’s about making our cities more productive, more connected and better places to live and work.
Chaney said ensuring cities could grow effectively was critical:
Building sustainable, liveable cities of the future requires working together across all tiers of government and listening to the needs of our communities.
I am excited by the opportunity to bring together people and visions for prosperous and thriving cities or all sizes.
Updated
Sussan Ley calls for parliament to investigate Thorpe’s claim she would ‘burn down’ Parliament House
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has demanded the parliament’s presiding officers investigate the “credibility” of independent Senator Lidia Thorpe’s claim that she would “burn down” Parliament House at a Melbourne pro-Gaza rally.
The Australian federal police announced on Monday they would investigate whether her remarks at the protest breached legislation.
In a letter to the Senate president and House speaker, Ley said the parliament should do its own investigation into the “threat” and the implications of Thorpe’s comments.
“Our social cohesion is being tested by extreme ideologies and overseas conflagrations. It is beholden on parliamentarians to refrain from incendiary behaviour that may incite those unable or unwilling to differentiate between naive rhetoric and a call to arms.”
The letter was signed by Ley and the shadow foreign minister, Michaelia Cash.
Thorpe said on Monday her remarks were “clearly a figure of speech” and condemned what she called the “mock outrage” that followed them.
Updated
Police will resume the search tomorrow for a Tasmanian man who went missing in a forest without a trace.
Tasmania police say they will return, alongside SES volunteers, to the Hollybank forest reserve on Wednesday to search for missing Scottsdale man Peter Willoughby.
The 76-year-old was reported missing on the afternoon of Sunday 5 October after he went walking in thick bushland near Hollybank, in the state’s north-east. Police said:
Despite extensive search efforts in the days after Mr Willoughby’s disappearance, sadly, there has been no sign of him or new clues that could lead to his possible location.
The search effort had been paused since Friday, due in part to inclement weather which posed a risk to searchers in the heavily forested search areas.
Nick Clark, an inspector with the Tasmania Police Northern Search and Rescue (SAR) unit, said approximately 30 people would be on the ground tomorrow actively searching for Willoughby, while Sustainable Timber Tasmania staff will be offering logistical assistance.
Clark said they would look to review some of the terrain previously covered as well as some new areas to the south of Willoughby’s last known location. Searchers were determined to find Willoughby, but given it has been several days since his last contact, police hold serious concerns for his welfare, he said.
Updated
Two executives resign from Affinity Education Group
Two executives at scandal-plagued childcare chain Affinity Education Group group have resigned. The moves come amid a difficult period for the company, after dozens of child sexual abuse charges were laid against a former employee.
In a statement, Affinity Education Group said its chief executive, Tim Hickey, and chief operating officer, Nishad Alani, had stepped down from their roles and left the organisation.
A spokesperson said Affinity Education Group’s board had appointed Glen Hurley, its senior advisor for compliance & quality, as the incoming chief executive:
Affinity remains deeply committed to providing safe, high-quality care to the families across our entire network and supporting our dedicated, professional team who nurture and educate the children in their care with compassion and integrity.
Alleged pedophile Joshua Brown, who worked at childcare centres run by Affinity, was charged in Juy with more than 70 offences including the alleged sexual abuse of children. Brown worked at 11 Affinity childcare centres in Victoria during 2024, according to a list on its website.
Updated
Australian Antarctic Division ship being assessed after it touched seafloor
The Australian Antarctic Division’s main ship has been involved in an incident after it made contact with the ocean floor off the coast of Heard Island.
The icebreaker, RSV Nuyina, is the “main lifeline” to Australia’s Antarctic and sub-Antarctic research stations and the central platform of the division’s Antarctic and Southern Ocean scientific research.
The ship made contact with the ocean floor off the coast of Heard Island afternoon at 1502 (UT+6), during seafloor mapping activities, according to a division spokesperson:
There were no injuries to anyone on board, and there is no danger to any of the passengers or crew. Expeditioners on board Nuyina felt a small vibration through the ship when the contact occurred.
The ship has moved into deep waters off Heard Island and the crew are now conducting an assessment of RSV Nuyina to determine if there has been any damage to Nuyina’s hull or underwater scientific equipment.
The AAD is working with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority as part of the assessment and response.
The safety of the expeditioners and crew remains the highest priority and all operational activity has paused while the assessment is under way.
Updated
RBA’s latest minutes shows no mention of future interest rate cuts
The Reserve Bank board didn’t give much thought to future interest rate cuts when it met two weeks ago, according to the minutes released today.
Board members agreed there was “no need” to cut interest rates on 30 September, saying the last cut in August had helped reduce mortgage payments and household spending was rising more than expected.
Adelaide Timbrell, an ANZ economist, noted the board did not mention any more rate cuts – though it had in August, when it weighed up options for the “likely pace of reduction in the cash rate over the period ahead”.
The board was divided on whether the economy was steaming ahead strongly, which would imply no more rate cuts. The minutes read:
Members agreed that there were still risks on both sides of the forecast and debated their relative importance.
Some members believed household spending could be stronger, and the economy more stretched, than the RBA had forecast, reducing need for a cut. Others believed the forecasts were too optimistic, given weak jobs growth, slower wage growth and the puzzle of poor consumer sentiment (as this liveblog reported earlier).
Belinda Allen, a Commonwealth Bank economist, said it would take an unexpected rise in unemployment or lower-than-expected inflation to justify a cut.
Evidence is building that the onus will be on the data to prove why further rate cuts are needed for the Australian economy.
Updated
Asked about the interventions, Minns said Minister Hoenig knew about a referral from Icac and he’d known that not much had been done about it for years. He said:
With an election coming up … I guarantee you, the first question from the opposition would have been: why did you sit on this information?
Maybe he [Hoenig] was caught between a rock and a hard place, but given the information in front of me, I think he made the right decision.
Saravinovski had been mayor of Rockdale and Bayside councils for 40 years, and was accused of failing to properly declare the extent of his relationship with a developer, as well as allegations he yelled at staff.
He was removed from the Labor ticket before the 2024 local government elections. Ed McDougall, the chief of staff to Steve Kamper MP (one of Minns’s closest allies), replaced Saravinovski as mayor. Sravinovski’s son was also elected to council.
Minns said in the past Labor had been criticised over inaction relating to Labor councillors and “they effectively averted their eyes in order to avoid embarrassment”:
Ron hasn’t done that, so I think the coalition is going to have to explain, if they want him to go, what course of action should he have taken? Just turn a blind eye?
In question time, Hoenig said he found it “troubling that Icac had provided advice of serious corruption” but there had been no action by his department.
He said the matter needed “to be dealt with promptly and thoroughly” and that he expected his department “to act competently and efficiently”.
Updated
Minns defends Hoenig over Bayside council legal battle
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has defended the actions of his local government minister, Ron Hoenig, in attempting to hasten proceedings against the mayor of Bayside council ahead of preselections for the Labor ticket for Bayside council in 2024.
The NSW opposition is calling for Hoenig’s resignation, alleging that he attempted to improperly influence a public servant in his department over the matter.
Bill Saravinovski, the longtime Labor mayor of Bayside, had been the subject of an Icac investigation.
Icac made no findings but referred the matter to Hoenig’s Department of Local Government for further investigation which in turn took action in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) against Saravinovski. He received a reprimand.
The allegations of interference have been made previously in a parliamentary inquiry and have been probed by Mark Latham in questions on notice.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported today that in-camera evidence from Brett Whitworth, the local government deputy secretary, to a parliamentary committee alleged Hoenig spoke five times about the submission being compiled for the NCAT case against Saravinovski.
Saravinovski, who spent 40 years on Rockdale and Bayside councils, was dumped from Labor’s ticket just weeks before the local government elections. In February, NCAT found Saravinovski guilty of misconduct on three grounds and issued a reprimand.
Updated
National Park reopens as police say Dezi Freeman might have left the area
A national park shut down during the hunt for Australia’s most wanted man has reopened, as police say accused cop killer Dezi Freeman might have left the area, AAP reports.
Mount Buffalo national park partially reopened to the public on Tuesday, seven weeks after officers Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart were shot dead while serving a warrant at Freeman’s home in Porepunkah, 300km north-east of Melbourne.
There has been no sign of Freeman since the shooting on 26 August, when the 56-year-old was last seen fleeing into bushland shortly after the shooting.
Hundreds of Victoria police officers and specialist resources from across Australia and New Zealand have been involved in the search, including in large areas of the Mount Buffalo national park.
Victoria police today said their investigations had given them the confidence to reopen the park, although some areas remained off limits.
Despite the park’s reopening, Commissioner Mike Bush said finding Freeman was one of the force’s top priorities.
Updated
Council loses millions in scam using ‘AI techniques’
A beachside council has kept ratepayers in the dark for months after losing millions to an international crime gang who were using “social engineering AI techniques”, AAP reports.
Noosa council, north of Brisbane, has revealed it was defrauded of $2.3m back in December 2024, sparking a major police investigation.
But the council did not tell ratepayers about it for more than 10 months and have been tight-lipped about the nature of the “well organised cyber fraud” – though this was at the direction of the police.
The council’s CEO (and basketball great), Larry Sengstock, said:
The criminals used sophisticated social engineering AI techniques but we won’t disclose specific details of how the fraud occurred to protect staff and from also highlighting the criminals’ actions.
The four-time Olympian and former Basketball Australia boss said about $400,000 had been recovered, bringing the total loss to $1.9m.
Sengstock emphasised that it was not a cybersecurity attack and no council staff were at fault or involved in the “sophisticated, strategic, and targeted” fraud. He said in a statement:
Council systems were not breached or affected, no data was stolen and there was no impact to the public or our services.
The Australian federal police had instructed the council not to disclose the scam due to the risk of compromising an investigation, he said.
Updated
SpaceX Starship delays Qantas flight while landing in Indian Ocean
The latest SpaceX launch splashed down in the Indian Ocean this morning, delaying a Qantas international flight.
Elon Musk watched along as his company’s Starship took its eleventh test flight, launching from Texas and testing its ability to deploy Starlink satellites before returning to earth, Space X said.
The rocket guided itself to a pre-planned splashdown zone in the Indian Ocean, the company said in a statement. Video of the landing shows Starship landing with its nose pointed to the sky, then exploding (as planned).
SpaceX is now looking to upgrade its vehicles to new models that can go into orbit. The test flights showed the potential for Starship to enable one-hour trips to land from anywhere in the world, according to company staff who were commentating the launch livestream:
[It] is going to be pretty crazy. Imagine going from New York to Sydney in one hour instead of the 20 hours it takes currently.
For now, SpaceX is slowing down Australian customers’ travel somewhat. One flight from London to Perth was delayed by 15 minutes after pilots had to adjust their flight path, a Qantas spokesperson said.
No other Qantas flights were impacted or were expected to be impacted.
SpaceX test flights have disrupted international air traffic in the past, as you can read here:
Updated
Two current PwC partners found to have breached code of conduct in tax leaks scandal
PwC has continued to employ two partners who breached the tax agent code of conduct and were officially cautioned over their role in the global tax leaks scandal.
Three partners were found to have failed to meet industry requirements around honesty and integrity by the regulator, the Tax Practitioners Board, in investigations that concluded a few months ago.
A fourth had findings made against them but is appealing those findings in the high court, according to Peter de Cure, chair of the TPB. De Cure told Senate estimates about the cautions last week:
They are on notice that that behaviour does not meet the standards of the code of professional conduct and are expected to improve.
A spokesperson for PwC has confirmed two of those cautioned partners are still working at the firm and were found not to have shared any confidential information. They added:
PwC respects and acknowledges the important work of the TPB.
Guardian Australia understands the other two cautioned partners are no longer at the firm.
The findings conclude TPB investigations into a total of nine partners related to the scandal, which related to the sharing of confidential tax policy details. Four other partners were cleared in similar investigations, but the TPB this year stripped the former PwC chief executive, Tom Seymour, of his tax agent registration and barred him from reapplying for four years after finding he had breached the industry code of conduct.
Updated
Man allegedly set alight in Coonabarabran
A man was allegedly set alight overnight in western NSW by a group of people who will today face court.
The 19-year-old man was walking in Coonabarabran about 6pm, when he was approached by a man and two women, NSW Police said.
A member of the group allegedly poured a liquid on to the man before he caught alight, police have been told. Their statement continued:
Passers-by extinguished the fire and the man before he was taken to hospital for treatment.
A short time later, police were called to the same street after reports of a public order incident.
…A crime scene was established, and a 45-year-old woman, a 19-year-old man, and a 17-year-old girl were arrested at a nearby property.
They were all taken to Coonabarabran Police Station where the man was charged with cause grievous bodily harm to person with intent, and affray; the older woman was also charged with affray.
… The teenage girl was released pending further investigation.
Updated
Consumer confidence in economy hits 12-month low
Australian consumers are the most worried they’ve been in a year, new survey data shows.
Consumer confidence is at its lowest level since October 2024, on a four-week average basis, ANZ-Roy Morgan data today shows. Australians are even more uncertain about the economy than they were in April when Donald Trump unleashed a wave of tariffs.
Households’ confidence in how the economy will hold up in the next five years, a key part of the index, has dropped to its lowest level in over 15 years.
Sophia Angala, an ANZ economist, said the confidence drop was most pronounced among mortgage holders, which could be a response to the growing predictions the Reserve Bank won’t cut interest rates this year.
Renters and debt-free homeowners also lost faith, she said. Expectations for inflation have also been on the rise over the last few months.
The Reserve Bank has been confused as to why consumer confidence has been so low in 2025 when incomes have been rising and inflation has been falling, the RBA governor, Michele Bullock, said last week.
Bullock told a senate estimates hearing on Friday the trend was a “puzzle”:
Around the world, we’re seeing low consumer confidence. Even as interest rates are declining here, even as we’re observing that people are responding by [spending more], their confidence is still low and it’s a little bit of a conundrum. We don’t really know why that is.
Updated
Millions of Australians yet to lodge tax returns
About 2 million people are yet to lodge a tax return ahead of the 31 October deadline from the ATO.
Tax office assistant commissioner Rob Thomson said taxpayers submitting their own annual return need to do so before the end of the month. Taxpayers planning on using an accountant or tax agent need to have started the process by the same deadline. Thomson said:
If you’re lodging yourself, you need to have completed and submitted your return by 31 October. If you plan to lodge through a registered tax professional, you must be on their books by 31 October.
Moving before the deadline means taxpayers won’t be subject to late lodgement penalties. Thomson said:
There’s a bit of a myth that delaying lodgment of your tax return will buy you more time to pay – that’s not true.
If you have prepared your own tax return and incur a tax bill, it will be due on 21 November.
If you’re worried you won’t be able to lodge or pay by the due dates, contact your registered tax professional or visit the ATO website beforehand to find out what support options are available to you.
More than 8.7 million taxpayers have already ticked lodging off their to-do list, with more than 4.4 million having self-lodged and more than 4.2 million lodged through a registered tax agent.
Most completed tax returns take about two weeks to be processed by the ATO.
Updated
Creative Australia awards $100,000 grant to Khaled Sabsabi
Creative Australia has awarded a $100,000 grant to Khaled Sabsabi, the artist controversially dumped and then reinstated by the government funding and advisory body as Australia’s representative for the 2026 Venice Biennale.
The grant, one of 16 made under the Visual Arts, Craft and Design Framework, will fund the creation of a new body of work to be exhibited at Adelaide’s Samstag Museum of Art in March 2027.
In August, Sabsabi was awarded a major grant by Create NSW for the creation of a new work in Western Sydney.
The two commissions represent a reprieve in a tumultuous year for Sabsabi, a Lebanese Australian artist from Western Sydney. In February, he and curator Michael Dagostino were announced as Australia’s representatives for the prestigious Venice Biennale before being controversially sacked less than a week later after criticism of Sabsabi’s art by the Australian and the then shadow arts minister, Claire Chandler.
Creative Australia’s decision to renege on the commission fuelled a massive backlash from the arts community, with calls to reinstate the team made by leading figures such as former Museum of Contemporary Art director Elizabeth Ann Macgregor and artist Archie Moore, who won the Golden Lion at the 2024 Venice Biennale.
In July, Creative Australia reinstated Sabsabi and Dagostino.
Updated
Vic opposition announces plans to scrap treaty legislation within 100 days if elected
The Victorian opposition has announced that if elected in 2026, it will introduce legislation within its first 100 days of government to scrap the treaty.
As parliament’s lower house begins debate on Australia’s first formal treaty with traditional owners, the opposition announced their own plan.
They said they would establish a new government – First Nations Victoria – and a new advisory body made up of Aboriginal Victorians.
This body will not be elected, as is the case with the First People’s Assembly, which under the treaty bill will become permanent.
Nationals MP Melina Bath, who is the opposition spokesperson for Aboriginal Affairs, said:
First Nations Victoria takes in a breadth of voices … Certainly, we respect the First People’s Assembly, we’re happy and willing to always listen to leaders in our community, in our Aboriginal communities, but this policy will be about across the board, listening to all voices, not just the First People’s Assembly.
Here’s more on the government’s treaty bill:
Updated
The federal environment minister, Murray Watt, said:
South Australians have a strong connection to their coast, and this summer plan will back locals and encourage them to get out and about in the warmer weather.
We’re delivering funding for the science and environmental measures to help marine life recover, and ensure South Australia is at the forefront of our country’s algal bloom research.
We’re tackling this algal bloom outbreak from all angles, and will continue to work closely with the Malinauskas government to deliver what’s needed.
Updated
The SA premier, Peter Malinauskas, said:
This is a comprehensive $100m plan to protect our environment, support coastal businesses and communities and ensure South Australians can enjoy their summer.
Together with the ommonwealth, we’re pulling all levers available to governments to help the state respond to the algal bloom. And, we’ve undertaken significant consultation with experts, industry and the broader community.
This plan isn’t just about responding to a challenge, it’s about ensuring our coastline remains vibrant this summer and for years to come.
Updated
Federal Labor to release $102.5m plan to manage algal bloom off SA coast
The federal government is today releasing a much more comprehensive algal bloom plan to protect South Australia’s coast than one the one from the state government we saw earlier.
We’re expecting a press conference soon but a statement has come through about the $102.5m Algal Bloom Summer Plan, jointly funded by the Albanese and Malinauskas governments.
They want the plan to advance research and protect the environment, while also ensuring South Australians can enjoy their summer and support coastal businesses and communities.
It includes $17.3m for science, research and monitoring, including real-time oceanographic water quality monitoring and forecasting through “state-of-the-art monitoring buoys”, offshore water analysis to understand the link between offshore and onshore bloom distribution and movement, and a $1m trial of “state-of-the-art AI-powered submersible cytobots” to build understanding of phytoplankton communities.
It will also see new limestone native oyster reefs constructed along the coast, additional community recycled oyster reefs, seagrass restoration research and targeted breeding, conservation and fish stocking programs for vulnerable and threatened species affected by the algal bloom.
This is in addition to measures covering the other two key objectives, including investing more than $16m in ensuring South Australians can enjoy their summer, including more beach patrols and clean ups, as well as support for other community facilities and businesses.
Updated
Greens senator alleged Nacc commissioner’s defence ties damage public confidence
The Greens senator David Shoebridge has alleged the head of the national anti-corruption commission’s ongoing links to the defence force have undermined trust in the watchdog and brought it into “disrepute”.
During senate estimates hearings last week, the office of the inspector-general of defence confirmed commissioner Paul Brereton had consulted for it on 11 occasions since becoming the head of the watchdog.
Brereton is a former assistant inspector-general of defence and led the inquiry into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. He remains a member of the reserves with the major general rank. According to the ABC, he has attended several defence functions in uniform since becoming chair of the Nacc.
Shoebridge has told a conference organised by the Centre For Public Integrity that the Nacc has not been transparent about Brereton’s assistance to the inspector-general of defence. He said the commissioner’s links to the defence force were a bad look, if not a direct conflict of interest.
When you can see this ongoing relationship and connection between the chief commissioner of the national anti-corruption commission and its major customer, the Australian Defence Force … I think that does bring the Nacc into disrepute.
My focus is on public confidence and public perception. I could be persuaded that it’s fine. The inspector [of the Nacc] could be persuaded that it’s fine. The prime minister and every politician could be persuaded that it’s fine. But the real ultimate test is the public. We are doing this so they can have confidence that corruption is being rooted out … without concern for prior relationships and ongoing connections.
The Nacc was contacted for a response to Shoebridge’s criticism.
Updated
Chalmers speaks about super changes
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is speaking in Brisbane about the super changes he announced unexpectedly yesterday. There’s not much he’s saying that we haven’t already reported.
The prime minister and I have been discussing this for some time, we agreed the changes that are recommended to the expenditure review committee on Friday when he was there.
I got the cabinet to agree them in his absence on Monday yesterday and I thought the best thing was to announce those changes more or less as soon as the cabinet had agreed on my recommendation and so I fronted up yesterday, confronting up ever since to explain this changes which represent meaningful and substantial tax reform to make a superannuation system stronger, fairer and more sustainable.
The reason for the press conference is apparently the treasurer has wanted the changes to literally pass the pub test:
The new element – which we are here talking with Sasha, Jared and Chuggy at the Paddo – which is to get an even better outcome for Australians on low incomes. We should not lose sight that the genuinely new bit of what was announced yesterday in addition to the practical changes we made to the implementation of our better targeted superannuation tax concessions is a much better outcome for Australians on low incomes, that’s what I’m here to talk about.
In case you’re wondering, the Paddo is a well-known Brisbane pub, and Chuggy runs it.
Updated
Terminally ill Victorians will be able to access voluntary assisted dying earlier under new changes
Terminally ill Victorians will be able to access voluntary assisted dying earlier under changes to the state’s once nation-leading legislation to be introduced to parliament today.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, and the health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, are holding a press conference to announce the changes to the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act, which include expanding the eligible timeframe for all terminal diagnoses from six to 12 months.
A “gag clause” that stopped doctors from initiating conversations about voluntary assisted dying with patients will also be lifted, as will the legislation’s ban on non-Australian citizens and non-permanent residents from accessing the scheme.
The changes follow an independent review of Victoria’s assisted dying laws released in February. The review found Victoria, which was the first state in Australia to pass VAD laws in 2017, had become a “more conservative model” when compared with other states that followed.
Allan says:
We’ve looked carefully at what’s going on in other states and understood. There were areas of improvements that can – and in the view of the minister and I – must be made. These are sensible, practical changes that give people compassionate and clarity as to how they can access voluntary assisted dying here in Victoria. It does bring our system in line with operations in the rest of the country.
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Parramatta council sacks CEO
The City of Parramatta has announced it will “part ways” with its chief executive, Gail Connolly, “effective immediately”.
In a statement today, the council announced it voted to depose Connolly at its council meeting last night.
The City of Parramatta lord mayor, Martin Zaiter, said:
Since joining in March 2023, Ms Connolly PSM has led the delivery of a number of significant projects and initiatives for the City of Parramatta.
I would like to assure our community and ratepayers that our Councillors, executive team and staff remain committed to delivering on our services and commitments and making the City of Parramatta the best place to live work and play.
Executive director of city services and projects, George Bounassif, will take on the role of acting chief executive during the recruitment process.
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Prodded by a reporter, Wells acknowledges that perhaps “grateful” is not the best word to describe how kids feel about these laws.
She said:
I think the gratitude is this law applies to everybody and everybody will face the same cultural expectations kids are not online at a social media accounts between the ages of 13-16. The sense everyone will be facing a new world and everybody will have to talk to each other face-to-face as they used it was also a good thing whereas you also ask those thinkers they will be able to tell you about harms that they or their friend has experienced online as well.
Communications minister announces ad campaign for under-16s social media ban
The communications minister, Anika Wells, has been speaking to the media in Melbourne, announcing a national advertising campaign for the government’s social media ban for teens.
That ban will come into effect on 10 December on platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, X and YouTube. The campaign will feature on billboards near schools, on TV, online and on social media.
Of that, Wells said:
[Kids] will see [the campaign] on TV, online, ironically on social media because until December 10 it is legal for kids to be on social media. If that is where they are, that is where we need to talk to them about what this means and why we are doing it.
Wells continued:
The vast majority of students I speak to are happy and grateful for these laws are coming in. That’s not the case for everybody. We are particularly attuned to the fact that people who are 13, 14, 15 are having something taken away, rather than kids who are under 13 who will just meet the new law as it exists.
Also for kids who are 16 or over who may be suffering harm online but won’t actually have their account taken away, we are cognisant of that and are working through that and occasions like today are opportunities to ask kids, particularly those aged between 13 and 16, if there is anything we have not considered that we should be considering and anything that we might not be doing that we should be doing.
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Matilda Boseley sports homemade pelican outfit to talk bird of the year on ABC
Guardian Australia’s Matilda Boseley and her incredible homemade pelican costume made an appearance on ABC TV News Breakfast this morning to talk about the final day of voting for bird of the year. If you’ve never seen a pelican in mourning, you can rectify that now:
Did I mention it was the final day of voting for bird of the year? Go and vote! May the best bird (the tawny frogmouth, ahem) win!
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Venezuelan embassy in Australia to close
Venezuela will close its embassy in Australia, along with its embassy in Norway, and open new ones in Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe as part of a restructure of its foreign service, Reuters reports.
The restructure comes after weeks of growing tensions with the US. The closures are part of a “strategic re-assignation of resources”, Venezuela’s government said in a statement, setting up new embassies in “two sister nations, strategic allies in the anti-colonial fight and in the resistance against hegemonic pressures.”
Consular services to Venezuelans in Norway and Australia would be provided by diplomatic missions, with details to be shared in coming days, the statement said.
The announcement occurred just days after the Nobel committee in Oslo announced that Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado had won the 2025 Nobel peace prize for fighting for democracy in the South American country. Machado dedicated the prize to the US president, Donald Trump.
Venezuela has called on the United Nations for support over several deadly US military strikes on vessels off its Caribbean coast, which Washington alleges were carrying drugs. Some US allies on the UN security council called for de-escalation and dialogue.
Venezuela has said it is in a situation where it is rational to expect an armed attack against the country in the short-term, and President Nicolas Maduro has alleged the US is seeking a change in government.
Washington has not responded to this accusation, but has called Venezuela’s socialist leader the illegitimate head of a narco-state. The US also has announced a new counter-narcotics taskforce in its Southern Command, a military branch that oversees Latin America.
Read more on the closure of the embassy in Norway:
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Australian ETF industry surges past $300bn milestone
Australia’s exchange traded fund industry has surged past $300bn in funds under management, a new record in a year full of them, AAP reports.
Australia’s ETF industry had $309.3bn in funds under management at the end of September, up $9.9bn, or 3.3%, from a month ago, Australian ETF issuer Betashares said in a report.
The Australian ETF industry has grown by $63bn since the start of the year, thanks to investment growth and $37bn in net inflows, Betashares said.
Betashares is now predicting the Australian industry could hit $320bn by year-end and $500bn by the end of 2028 – two years ahead of its previous forecast.
Betashares chief executive Alex Vynokur said:
We’re witnessing a structural shift in how Australians invest, with ETFs increasingly becoming the vehicle of choice for building diversified portfolios.
ETFs are financial instruments that trade like shares on stock exchanges like the ASX, but offer exposure to a basket of underlying assets such as stock market indexes, commodities, cryptocurrencies or investment themes.
Vynokur said investors and financial advisers were embracing them because of their ease of access, transparency and cost-effectiveness.
Adrian Neiron, chief executive and managing director of VanEck Asia Pacific, said Australia’s ETF industry was scaling at pace:
It took 21 years to reach the first $100bn in assets, a further three years to reach $200bn, and only 15 months to reach $300bn.
VanEck predicts that the industry will grow at a 20 per cent compound annual growth for the next five years, surpassing $750bn by 2030.
A Vanguard ETF that invests in 1,320 of the largest companies around the globe received the most inflows in September, at $257.2m, VanEck said.
Close behind, with $246.4m in net flows, was an iShares ETF that tracks the US S&P500 index.
Despite their strong growth, Betashares said that ETFs still represent around only 6% of the broader managed fund industry in Australia, so there was significant headroom for further adoption.
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Record year for EV sales with Tesla and BYD dominating and more charging points
It’s been another year of bumper growth for electric vehicles sales with 12% of all new car sales being electric or plug-in hybrid and Tesla and BYD dominating the charts.
The Electric Vehicle Council has released its annual State of EVs report that says there are now 410,000 EVs on the road – but that’s still only 2% of all the cars out there.
Sales in the first half of this year were up 24% compared with the same period last year with 72,758 electric or hybrids sold – a record high – and market share hitting 16% for the first time in June.
The top-selling EV by a whisker was the Tesla Model Y, with 10,431 models sold. That’s only seven more than the BYD Shark 6 – the big plug-in hybrid ute from the Chinese carmaker.
The number of charging locations and the number of plugs were both up 20%.
The council said the government’s new vehicle efficiency standards was delivering more choice with 153 models of electric or plug-in hybrid now available – 30 more than last year.
• This post was amended on 14 October 2025 to correct the name of the BYD model. A previous version incorrectly referred to it as the Seal 6.
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Search resumes for hiker missing in Tasmanian wilderness
A large-scale search has resumed in Tasmania’s Mount Field national park this morning for a 30-year-old solo walker, Daryl Fong, who has been missing for more than 48 hours.
According to police, the Tasmanian man was day-hiking in the Mt Field area over the weekend, but his last known contact was about 3am on Sunday when he texted a friend, advising that he intended to seek shelter and camp in the park overnight.
He was known to have some experience in the outdoors and may have had some suitable equipment and clothing, but the area was subject to freezing temperatures and snow depth up to 1m in some places.
Police were notified on Monday afternoon that Fong had not returned. A helicopter search crew was deployed to the area at 4pm, but was not able to locate him.
Four Tasmania police search and rescue officers and an Ambulance Tasmania wilderness paramedic were deployed to the park late yesterday, with additional teams of police and SES search and rescue personnel and wilderness paramedics deployed this morning. The rescue helicopter will also be in the area today.
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Man arrested in Melbourne CBD after alleged carjackings
Police have said they have arrested a male in Melbourne’s CBD this morning following alleged carjackings in Tarneit and North Melbourne.
The male, who was allegedly armed with a firearm, was taken into custody to be interviewed. We expect police to provide more information on this incident soon.
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What Pocock’s ban from parliament’s sport club says about lobbying – Full Story podcast
Last week, independent senator and former elite athlete David Pocock was banned from the parliament’s social sports club after raising concerns about its association with gambling lobbyists.
Senior reporter Henry Belot speaks to Reged Ahmad about how he broke the story and what the saga says about how lobbyists access politicians.
‘We will not walk away’: Uluru dialogue leaders reflect on two-year anniversary of failed voice referendum
The architects of the voice to parliament referendum say the two-year anniversary of the failed vote is a reminder that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders still lack meaningful engagement with the Australian government.
Uluru dialogue leaders Megan Davis and Pat Anderson have reflected on the vote, held on 14 October 2023. They said:
While the result was devastating for many Australians, and especially for our communities who overwhelmingly voted Yes, it does not end the journey.
This movement for constitutional recognition now involves 6.2 million Australians in 151 electorates across all parties. 6.2 million Australians have joined the movement, and that invitation still stands for all Aussies.
They said little has changed two years on:
First Nations people still have no voice, and this manifests in the relentless and unyielding gap in disadvantage.
The Closing the Gap statistics are not improving, and the data lag makes it difficult to assess.
The Federal government works through a complex array of Indigenous incorporated entities reliant on taxpayer funds. This has softened the critique, and the situation has become more bureaucratic and more Canberra-driven, despite the devolution of responsibility to the states and territories.
Anderson and Davis say they remain steadfast in their commitment to improving the situation for Indigenous communities.
The Voice Referendum may have been lost, but political loss is a normal feature of the political process.
The future is ours to shape. We will not walk away.
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Murray Watt backs tawny frogmouth as bird of the year as poll enter home stretch
Importantly, Murray Watt was asked who he is voting for in Guardian Australia’s 2025 bird of the year poll.
Keen beans who’ve paid attention to our social media videos will already know the answer to this question, but for those who don’t, Watt said:
I’ve cast my vote in this, probably the most important vote I’ll ever cast and I went with the tawny frogmouth. It’s been the runner-up a couple of times and I like an underdog. The Guardian asked me to record a sound of me making the noise of some of the birds and I figured that was easier to do than some of the other choices.
Also – it’s the final day of voting! Tallies are no longer visible, because we’re down to the final 10 birds. The bird with the most votes when the poll closes at 6am on Wednesday will be crowned bird of the year 2025. The winner will be announced on Thursday 16 October.
Vote here!
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Response plan for SA algal bloom to be announced today
The environment minister, Murray Watt, has been speaking to ABC News Breakfast this morning from Adelaide, where he and the South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, will launch the full summer plan to tackle the algal bloom.
The plan is jointly funded between the federal and state governments to a total of $102.5m in addition to the more than $30m support that has been provided by both governments to date.
Watt said:
I actually attended a community forum in Aldinga, which is 45 minutes to an hour south of Adelaide last night, to hear directly from community members. People are obviously worried about what is going to be happening through the summer. They’re looking to governments to support them and that’s what we’re doing and also people are looking for really clear information and facts.
Unfortunately, there is some information being put out there about what the causes of this are, what the likely impacts are, so it’s an important opportunity to provide those facts but … I mean the scientists are telling us that we can’t predict how long this event will go on. It’s pleasing to see that particularly outside of Adelaide, places like Kangaroo Island and elsewhere the bloom has effectively disappeared. It certainly has had an impact on the marine environment, but it’s not impacting on people’s daily lives, which is terrific.
There is still an impact on the metropolitan beaches here in Adelaide and whether it be here or in Australia or when we’ve seen these things overseas, no one can predict with certainty how long they’ll be around, which is exactly why governments need to continue providing the support in the way that we are.
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Body found after house fire in northern NSW
A body has been found after a house fire on the NSW north coast this morning.
Police said emergency services were called to a two-level home on fire in Bellingen shortly after 5.10am on Tuesday.
A woman was able to escape the house, but a second resident was unaccounted for.
Firefighters put out the blaze after half an hour and a body – believed to be that of the missing person – was found when the building was searched.
Police have established a crime scene and inquiries are under way to formally identify the body and determine how the fire started.
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Marles says watered down super tax changes represent ‘better way’ of achieving goals
Back to Richard Marles on Channel Nine:
The acting PM asked about the watered-down superannuation tax changes announced yesterday, and rejected characterisation of the announcement as a backdown in response to criticism of the original plan.
Superannuation was always intended to be a source of retirement income. It wasn’t meant to be its own specific investment …
But we’ve listened to feedback over the course of the election, during of course, since the roundtable. And what we’ve got here is a better way of achieving the outcome that we were trying to from the very beginning.
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Coalition says changes a ‘victory’ for everyday Australians
Ted O’Brien, the shadow treasurer, described the major changes to the super tax plan as a “a victory” for “those everyday Australians who were otherwise going to be taxed unfairly by the government”.
He told RN Breakfast this morning: “It is first and foremost a victory for them”.
O’Brien said that under the government’s initial indexation plan, “millions of Australians” would be “caught in Labor’s tax trap”:
It just meant that over time, as people earn more money … what sounds like a really big balance in super today, well, fast forward 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, well, those balances actually become the norm.”
O’Brien said the Coalition’s economic policies were still under review, but would not be drawn on whether its policy would include changes to indexation.
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Marles echoes praise of Trump in Gaza peace deal
The acting prime minister, Richard Marles, has echoed Penny Wong in crediting Donald Trump with securing the release of all remaining Israeli hostages from Gaza.
Speaking to Channel Nine’s Today show earlier, Marles said:
I think you have to acknowledge and give credit to President Trump and administration. This is an achievement that is incredible and will be remembered by history. And I think now is the moment to take this move forward and ensure that what we are seeing here is an enduring [peace] in the Middle East.
Asked if Australia would follow the US in sending troops to Gaza, Marles said “we’re not in that world yet”:
We’ve not had any requests of that kind and I wouldn’t speculate on that other than to say, you know, obviously we would seek to be as constructive as we can … [as] we’ve tried to be over the last two years. But really, it is now for all of the parties to commit to every point of this plan and make sure that this lasts.
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Super tax changes aimed at improving ‘intergenerational equity’, Chalmers says
Chalmers said the changes announced yesterday are about making more equity in the superannuation scheme. He told RN:
What we did yesterday was we wound back some of the generosity of the tax concessions for the biggest balances at the same time as we increased the low-income super tax offset so that young people on low incomes can retire with more money. And this is precisely what we’re talking about when we’re talking about intergenerational equity.
I think people know that that’s a big priority for me, and that’s what these changes are exactly all about.
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Chalmers says superannuation tax reforms a ‘better deal’ for many
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is speaking about the changes he announced yesterday to the government’s superannuation tax policy.
He told RN Breakfast the new policies meant a “better deal for low-income earners and also better targeted superannuation tax concessions for people with millions of dollars in super”.
The objective here is a superannuation system which is stronger and fairer and more sustainable and which delivers a better outcome for those low-income workers, partly paid for by better targeting those superannuation tax concessions. And so we found another way.
Chalmers added the reform was a “very significant” move.
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Cannabis being prescribed for conditions where it may be harmful, AMA says
Dr Danielle McMullen, the president of the AMA, said they are seeing a boom in prescribing medicinal cannabis for conditions for which there is no evidence it can help, and in conditions where the guidance is that it should not be used because it may be harmful.
We are seeing the use of medicinal cannabis for conditions where it is contraindicated or where it’s use should be under strict and/or ongoing supervision, and our members are increasingly reporting serious adverse outcomes for patients.
We recognise medicinal cannabis can be useful for some patients with specific conditions supported by evidence, such as epilepsy, chemotherapy induced nausea, or muscle spasticity in multiple sclerosis.
However, there is little, or no evidence base for many of the conditions for which it is being prescribed, such as anxiety, insomnia or depression.
We welcome the action taken to date by regulators including updated prescribing guidance, but urgent action is needed to ensure medicinal cannabis is prescribed, dispensed and regulated in the same manner as other registered drugs of dependence.
Urgent action needed on medicinal cannabis, peak bodies say
The peak medical and pharmaceutical bodies in the country have told the health minister urgent action is needed to stop the prescription of medicinal cannabis from being “exploited”.
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia have written a joint letter to the health minister, Mark Butler, calling for urgent action to tackle the largely unregulated increase in medicinal cannabis prescribing and dispensing across the country.
In submissions to the medicine regulator’s review into the safety and regulatory oversight of unapproved medicinal cannabis products, both groups have recommended all medicinal cannabis products used beyond exceptional access be registered, with special access scheme pathways reserved for genuine exceptions.
Prof Trent Twomey, the president of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia said:
We are seeing a system that is being exploited – with prescriptions issued without proper clinical oversight and patients bypassing their regular GP and pharmacist. What began as a special pathway for medication has now become the norm with thousands of products prescribed without safety, quality or efficacy controls.
Penny Wong says Donald Trump deserves ‘enormous congratulations’ as Israeli hostages are released
Foreign minister Penny Wong has called the Gaza ceasefire a “singular achievement” by Donald Trump as the first hostages were returned to Israel on Monday.
Speaking to ABC News last night, Wong called it an “extraordinarily moving” day and one of immense relief for people in Israel and Australia.
This is a singular achievement by President Trump. Only the president of the United States could bring this about. And as I said on Friday, he deserves enormous congratulations … it is an enormous achievement. We haven’t seen this sort of progress in the Middle East for some time. And he’s brought, you know, this conflict to a pause and hopefully to an end, and has a pathway to peace that he’s been so critical in articulating.
The foreign affairs minister added that the thousands of Palestinians being released from Israeli jails was “such an important part” of the peace plan.
Asked whether Australia would be participate in a future monitoring presence in the region, or an international stabilisation force, Wong said Australia had not been approached to join.
We haven’t been asked, so I’m not going to get ahead of myself. And what I have said all along is … we want to play our part in contributing momentum to peace. That’s how we’ve sought to approach these matters for a long time.
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Staying on the subject of those super changes, you can read the analysis by our economics editor, Patrick Commins, here:
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Cost of cybercrime soars
Australian businesses are losing money at a skyrocketing rate to cybersecurity threats, as the nation’s top cyber spy agency warns of mounting ransomware and identity fraud risks, Australian Associated Press reports.
Cybercrime reports have dropped but businesses face a bigger financial impact from them, the Australian Signals Directorate’s annual cyber threat report reveals.
The average cost of cybercrime to large businesses was $202,700 in the past financial year, up 219% on the previous year.
The ASD report calculates an average of $97,200 was lost per medium-sized business.
The average cost of cybercrime for small businesses was $56,571.
The directorate received 84,700 reports of cybercrime over the past financial year, down 3% on the previous 12 months.
The agency’s director-general, Abigail Bradshaw, said ransomware and identify fraud remained the most disruptive and common cybercrime threat.
“Australia is increasingly targeted by cybercriminals looking to steal credentials,” Bradshaw said.
“Once access is gained, they mimic legitimate user behaviour to steal sensitive personal or corporate information, install ransomware or malware and take over accounts.”
Networks are increasingly being breached through compromised or stolen details to gain unauthorised access, rather than being hacked.
In the past week, Qantas customers have had stolen information posted on the dark web by cybercriminals. Read more here:
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Chalmers reveals Keating influence on watered-down super tax plan
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says he spoke to former Labor prime minister Paul Keating on multiple occasions as he finalised the federal government’s watered-down superannuation tax plan.
The Albanese government on Monday backed down on its contentious plan, dumping the proposal to target unrealised gains after sustained criticism.
In a statement, Keating – the architect of Australia’s superannuation system and a critic of Chalmers’ original proposal – described the revised plan as a “huge policy achievement”.
Speaking to the ABC’s 7.30 last night, Chalmers said he takes Keating’s feedback and views “very seriously”:
As I finalised this package to take to the expenditure review committee, I probably spoke to him half a dozen times in the second half of last week alone.
He said the government had listened to feedback and found another way to deliver a fairer superannuation system:
It’s really important we make these tax concessions more sustainable. It’s really important that we take the sorts of difficult and necessary steps to safeguard the system into the future.
These are just responsible, pragmatic changes.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says he spoke to former Labor prime minister Paul Keating ‘half a dozen times’ last week as he finalised the federal government’s watered-down superannuation tax plan. More coming up.
As the last living Israeli hostages were released by Hamas overnight, Penny Wong has called the moment a “singular achievement” by Donald Trump. The foreign affairs minister called it an “extraordinarily moving” day and one of immense relief for people in Israel and Australia. More shortly.
And the cost of cybercrime to Australian businesses has soared over the past year, a new report estimates – more than doubling to an average of $200,000 for big companies. More on that soon too.
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