What we learned today, Wednesday 4 June
With that, we’ll end our live coverage of the day’s news. Here’s a summary of the main news developments:
Independent Nicolette Boele has won the Sydney seat of Bradfield, defeating Liberal Gisele Kapterian with a wafer-thin margin of 26 votes.
Erin Patterson has told a court her estranged husband asked her if she had used a dehydrator to poison his parents, and admitted resetting her phone out of fear police would discover photos she had of foraged mushrooms.
Jeremy Rockliff, the minority Tasmanian Liberal premier at risk of being turfed from the role by a parliamentary no-confidence motion, has conceded the numbers are against him.
More than two and a half centuries after Capt James Cook arrived in Australia on the HM Bark Endeavour, the Australian National Maritime Museum has published its final report on the ship’s resting place.
The Greens have warned Australia’s $4tn superannuation system has become a taxpayer-subsidised wealth accumulation scheme, signalling they’ll take a tough line in negotiations on Labor’s plans to hike taxes on accounts worth more than $3m.
Thanks for reading. Have a pleasant evening.
Updated
Greens signal a tough line in negotiations on Labor’s super plan
The Greens have warned Australia’s $4tn superannuation system has become a taxpayer-subsidised wealth accumulation scheme, signalling they’ll take a tough line in negotiations on Labor’s plans to hike taxes on accounts worth more than $3m.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, confirmed on Thursday he wanted the Senate to consider the government’s existing proposal to double the earnings tax on superannuation balances above $3m – from 15% to 30%. The change affects only an estimated 80,000 people, and still leaves in place highly favourable tax treatment for retirement savings.
The Greens want the $3m threshold lowered to $2m, and for indexation rules to be added to the proposal. Labor says its plan is the best and fairest approach.
Read more:
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O’Brien quizzed about Kapterian’s inclusion in Liberal leadership vote
The deputy Liberal leader, Ted O’Brien, has shot down a suggestion that the party’s post-election leadership vote should be revisited after an MP in the party room was since declared not to have won her seat.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Australian Electoral Commission declared that the independent Nicolette Boele had narrowly won the recount for the Sydney seat of Bradfield, defeating the Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian by a margin of 26 votes.
Kapterian had looked to be the likely winner in the days after the 3 May election, and was included in the party room vote that elected Sussan Ley as leader, defeating Angus Taylor 29 votes to 25. O’Brien was also elected as deputy leader in the vote.
However, the AEC has now confirmed Katperian will not represent Bradfield.
Asked if that meant the leadership votes should be revisited, O’Brien told the ABC:
No, that’s the usual approach taken. Advice is received by the parliamentary wing from the federal director as to who should be given a franchise to vote in the party room. That’s standard process.
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Liberals saddened by Gisele Kapterian’s loss in Bradfield
The Liberal party deputy leader and shadow treasurer, Ted O’Brien, has lamented a “really sad result” in the recount for the Sydney seat of Bradfield in which his party’s candidate narrowly lost.
O’Brien was asked about the potential for a legal challenge against the Australian Electoral Commission’s (AEC) declaration, after a recount found the independent Nicolette Boele beat Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian by 26 votes.
O’Brien, who learned of the AEC’s declaration during a live interview with ABC TV, said:
Any court challenges, that will be a matter for the Liberal organisation in that division, together with the candidate.
What I can say, though, is I think this is really sad result, because the people of Bradfield, and I know a lot of them, I’ve got a lot of friends actually in that seat, I think they really could have had someone enormously special with Gisele [Kapterian], so I’m saddened by the result that you’ve just confirmed here with me now.
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Boele says Bradfield has ‘chosen a new path’ after teal win confirmed
Nicolette Boele says Bradfield has “chosen a new path” in electing its first independent MP, after she was declared the winner of the seat by the Australian Electoral Commission this afternoon.
Bradfield was the last seat to be called, and Boele won it on a slim margin of just 26 votes.
She put out a statement after the formal declaration, and also thanked her volunteers and AEC officials:
This result belongs to our community. Over 1,450 volunteers came together to reinvigorate our democracy from the ground up. After 75 years, Bradfield’s long-standing hold by one party has changed.
We have chosen a new path – one that puts people above parties.
Thank you to the Australian Electoral Commission officials and all the scrutineers for their careful and professional work throughout the count and recount.
I also want to acknowledge Gisele Kapterian for the civility she’s shown as a candidate during this close contest.
I do not take this responsibility lightly. As Bradfield’s first independent Member of Parliament, I’m dedicated to serving this community with integrity, courage and care.
Updated
Power for Victorian principals to expel students for poor behaviour outside school criticised
Victorian school principals will soon have the power to suspend or expel students for their behaviour outside school, in a move that has been described as “putting more pressure” on overworked educators.
The state education minister, Ben Carroll, on Wednesday announced the expanded authority for principals to use when “harmful behaviour” outside school and online puts other students and staff “at serious risk”. It will come into effect from term three.
Carroll told reporters it was a “commonsense change” that principals and parents had long been calling for and would bring the state into line with New South Wales and South Australia.
“Poor behaviour has consequences, whether it’s inside the classroom or out,” Carroll said.
Read more from Benita Kolovos and Caitlin Cassidy here:
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Electoral commission declares Boele as Bradfield winner
Independent Nicolette Boele has been declared the winner of the Sydney electorate of Bradfield, after a nail-biting recount.
At about 3pm, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) declared the final margin after the recount to be 26 votes in Boele’s favour.
The teal independent defeated Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian for the seat in Sydney’s north which has been held by the Liberal party since its creation in 1949.
The recount in the electoral division of Bradfield (NSW) has been finalised today. The final margin is 26 votes in favour of the Independent candidate. pic.twitter.com/BV9ZblgYyi
— AEC ✏️ (@AusElectoralCom) June 4, 2025
You can read more about the battle for Bradfield here, from Tom McIlroy and Krishani Dhanji:
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That’s all for me today. Elias Visontay will be your guide through the rest of today’s news. Take care.
Coronial investigation into death of Kumanjayi White on hold during criminal investigation, police say
The Northern Territory police force has released an update on the death of Kumanjayi White who died in police custody in Alice Springs, saying the coronial investigation will be on hold while criminal investigations are under way.
In a statement, NT police said the coronial investigation had been “paused” while the criminal investigation into the man’s death was ongoing to determine whether “any criminality was involved” after consulting with the NT coroner.
Police said the coroner would be given regular updates as the criminal investigation progressed.
In the statement, authorities said the cause of the man’s death remained undetermined and an independent examination of the autopsy findings was being conducted. They said that any footage or CCTV would not be made public before the investigation had been completed.
Updated
Call for independent inquiry after death of man restrained by police in NT
The Central Land Council is urging the federal government to withhold funding from the Northern Territory government until it sets up an independent police conduct commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death in custody of Kumanjayi White last week.
The Warlpiri man, from the remote community of Yuendumu, died after being restrained by plain-clothed police officers in a Coles supermarket last week. The 24-year-old lived with disabilities and was reportedly subject to a guardianship order.
The CLC is also calling for any independent inquiry to be led by the NT coroner and be finalised within 12 months.
The Central Land Council chairman, Warren Williams, who is the uncle of the man, said in a statement that the territory lacks an independent authority to investigate any alleged police misconduct. Williams said:
Unlike most jurisdictions, the NT lacks a body to investigate police misconduct and has failed to overhaul the culture of its police force.
Williams said the community lacked trust in the appropriateness of the NT police to lead the inquiry. Members of the NT police force have been at the centre of alleged racist conduct during the long-running coronial inquest into Kumanjai Walker, who died in police custody, also from Yuendumu. Williams went on:
But let me be clear, only money will force the NT government to act. Our lives are worth less than a chocolate bar to those in power and money is the only language they understand.
We don’t trust this government and its police force to keep us safe.
NT police talk of reform and anti-racism strategies is just that, talk. It’s time for the federal government to hold the NT accountable and force the change we so desperately need.
The NT police has rejected any outside inquiry, saying that White’s death will be thoroughly probed with “full transparency” and the investigation will also be “independently reviewed” by the NT coroner during the coronial process.
Updated
Final resting place of James Cook’s Endeavour confirmed by National Maritime Museum
More than two-and-a-half centuries after Capt James Cook arrived in Australia on the HM Bark Endeavour, the Australian National Maritime Museum has published its final report on the ship’s resting place.
The museum published a preliminary report in 2022 that a wreck in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island was the Lord Sandwich, which was previously known as the Endeavour. The museum was confident of its identification but there was some transatlantic pushback and the museum continued its research for three more years.
On Wednesday, the museum’s director, Daryl Karp, said it stood by its 2022 conclusions – the culmination of 25 years of research.
Read more about that process here:
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Police release CCTV footage after man’s body found in bin near Hobart
Tasmania police have released CCTV images of two women seen near an industrial-sized bin where a man’s body was found by a garbage contractor on Monday, AAP reports.
The body of Luke Jon Telega, 45, was discovered by a garbage contractor about 9am on Monday, behind a hairdresser and Salvation Army store in Bellerive, Hobart. Telega was last seen alive at 10pm on Saturday, but police said there was a significant gap in the timeline leading up to the discovery of his body.
Police have identified two people of interest, including a woman seen on CCTV standing outside a shopfront in the area at 7.50pm on Sunday. She may have spoken with someone on the street at the time and was seen driving what is believed to be a light-coloured Toyota Prado. Police have identified another woman, who was seen on the footage at 8.05pm on Sunday. She was driving a red SUV.
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More from Chalmers on the tobacco excise: not ‘convinced’ cut would end illegal sales
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said earlier Labor won’t cut or freeze tobacco excise, despite calls from the New South Wales premier for action from the federal government.
Chris Minns says the huge surge in illegal tobacco sales across his state shows the federal excise is pushing smokers to illegal options, and driving down revenue for the federal government.
Other states are dealing with crime related to illegal tobacco sales and some health experts believe recent increases in the excise levels are not driving down smoking rates in Australia.
I’m not convinced that cutting the excise on cigarettes would mean that that would be the end of illegal activity.
He also confirmed a freeze was not under consideration.
Updated
Man in custody in ongoing investigation into missing teen Pheobe Bishop
Queensland police say a man, 34, is in custody as part of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of missing teen Pheobe Bishop.
Police said the man is assisting with enquires. No charges have been laid or allegations made against him.
Bishop has been missing since 15 May. She was last seen near Bundaberg airport, where she was meant to board a flight to Western Australia. Officials say she never made it inside the airport.
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Greg Jericho breaks down Labor’s super tax plan
The Albanese government wants to reduce the tax breaks for those with more than $3m in superannuation. And while sections of the media are highly critical of the changes, others say the proposal does little to address intergenerational inequality in the tax system.
Columnist Greg Jericho speaks to Reged Ahmad about why the media debate over a smaller tax break for Australia’s wealthiest 0.5% is divorced from reality.
Health minister also throws water on Minns’ call to lower tobacco tax
The health minister has quashed the NSW premier Chris Minns’ suggestion the federal government consider lowering the tobacco excise because it may be contributing to the rise of illegal tobacco across the country.
Mark Butler said:
I want to be very clear, since the increase in tobacco excise started a little more than a decade ago, 1 million fewer Australians are smoking. That is having a profound impact, not just on their health most importantly, but also on the health system itself.
It’s quite clear from evidence all around the world that in the toolbox of tobacco control, lifting the price of cigarettes is the most effective tool.
Government data at the end of last year showed that as a result of smoking rates declining, obesity last year overtook tobacco smoking as the leading risk factor contributing to disease in 2024.
Butler said:
I also make the point that a number of other countries, most countries that have lower-priced cigarettes than Australia, also have burgeoning illicit or black-market cigarette markets. This is just the nature of organised crime around the world. They recognise illicit cigarettes as a low-risk, high-reward way in which to make money, to bankroll all of their other criminal activities.
… We can’t raise the white flag on big tobacco and organised crime.
Updated
Wait is on for official AEC verdict as multiple media outlets declare Nicolette Boele winner in Bradfield
Nicolette Boele is close to being declared the winner for Bradfield, 27 votes ahead of Liberal Gisele Kapterian according to the latest updated count by the Australian Electoral Commission.
But we’ll have to wait a couple more hours before the AEC formally makes the call, as their state manager for NSW reviews a few final challenged ballot papers. But those few remaining ballots to be confirmed are unlikely to change the result.
Multiple outlets have declared the count for Boele.
It’s been one of the tightest seat contests in history, and the candidates were tied at one point while the counts were taking place.
Updated
Chalmers defends super tax changes, will make system ‘fairer’
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said earlier that Labor had spent years open to comment on the proposed changes to taxes on large superannuation balances north of $3m, but no one had come forward with a better plan. He said during a press conference:
We said to people, if there is a better, fairer way of making this calculation, tell us about it. …
We provided years of opportunities for people to suggest different ways of liability and nobody has come up with one.
More from Chris Minns on the tobacco excise
NSW will raise cutting the tobacco excise to deter illegal tobacco sales at the next health ministers’ meeting later this month, the premier, Chris Minns, said on Kiis FM this morning. He said:
Look, it’s probably not a popular thing for a premier to say, because there’s been a tax on cigarettes and excise on cigarettes for decades, and I understand that. But they’ve been radically increased since 2019 so a packet in 2020 had a $16 tax on it. Today it’s $28.
Minns said that the high taxes were causing ordinary citizens, who would never usually break the law, to buy illegal tobacco:
They wouldn’t break the law in a million years, but they’re being dragged into a black market where they go to the store, they can either buy a $17 or $20 packet of illegal cigarettes or a $60 packet of cigarettes.
He also said that tobacco shops, often associated with organised crime, were driving out legitimate businesses like bread shops from shopping strips because of the higher rent they could afford to pay.
I mean, every tax and every tax change starts with an idea. Every single one of them, someone’s saying, “Look, I don’t think this is working. We need to change and so we might as well get the ball rolling here.”
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Multiple media outlets call Bradfield for teal independent Nicolette Boele
Multiple media outlets have declared Nicolette Boele the winner of the NSW seat of Bradfield after a recount, defeating Liberal challenger Gisele Kapterian.
The ABC declared Boele the winner, saying even though the margin is just 27 votes, only a “very small number” of ballot papers are awaiting final adjudication. AAP has also called Bradfield for Boele, as have the Sydney Morning Herald and Sky News.
Updated
Chalmers says government won’t cut tobacco taxes despite call from Chris Minns
Chalmers was asked about a recent call from the NSW premier, Chris Minns, to lower the tobacco excise in an attempt to undercut the sale of illegal cigarettes and other products. Chalmers said he wouldn’t move to make cigarettes “cheaper for people”:
We’ve seen tax revenue for cigarettes come down for two reasons … fewer people smoking, the bad reason is we know that we’ve got a challenge when it comes to illegal tobacco. …
I respectfully disagree with Chris. … I don’t think the answer here is to make cigarettes cheaper for people.
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Treasurer says even modest growth is ‘welcome’ in this economy
Treasurer Jim Chalmers just addressed Australia’s underwhelming start to the year, with growth slowing to just 0.2% in the first three months of 2025. He said:
Our economy continues to grow despite very substantial global headwinds. …
With all of the uncertainty in the world, any growth is a decent outcome. Even modest growth is welcome in these global economic circumstances.
Chalmers said the private sector was leading growth as the “public sector takes a step back”, noting that real incomes per capita and living standards had seen “solid” increases.
So if you think about it this way, in the second half of last year, real incomes in Australia grew faster than the OECD average and almost twice the G7 average and that is a welcome development.
What will happen if Tasmania’s no-confidence vote succeeds?
Election analyst Kevin Bonham notes that if Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff finds himself on the losing side of the motion of no confidence, he has limited options. Bonham wrote on his blog:
In the event of the motion passing Premier Rockliff will be obliged to resign (or dismissed if he fails to do so) unless he can convincingly argue that the loss of confidence is temporary and confidence will soon be recaptured.
Bonham went on to say that Rockliff could possibly resign in advance of a vote “to avoid defeat on the floor”.
Upon his departure, Tasmania’s governor would seek to appoint a replacement premier, Bonham says.
Updated
A loss by Gisele Kapterian would mean shadow ministry reshuffle
Opposition leader Sussan Ley will need to reshuffle her shadow ministry already if Boele is declared the winner of Bradfield later today.
Ley tapped Gisele Kapterian as the shadow assistant minister for technology and the digital economy last week, with an asterisk by her name. That qualifier could soon be activated.
Read more about the new shadow ministry here:
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Brittany Higgins moves to PR job
Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins has announced she is taking on a new role with a public relations agency.
Higgins wrote on her Instagram account:
I’m so excited to be the new director of public affairs for the female-founded public relations agency Third Hemisphere.
It was so personally important to me that wherever I ended up working had values that aligned with my own.
To be in a workplace run by a fellow survivor, a working mum and someone who fundamentally believes in the importance of corporate social responsibility is a dream come true.
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Australian economy grew just 0.2% in first quarter of 2025
The economy has had an underwhelming start to the year, with growth slowing to just 0.2% in the first three months of 2025, versus 0.6% in the previous quarter.
Annual growth was steady at 1.3%, the new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show.
Katherine Keenan, the ABS’s head of national accounts, said “economic growth was soft in the March quarter”.
GDP per capita fell 0.2% in the three months to March, after a 0.1% rise in the December quarter. Keenan said:
Public spending recorded the largest detraction from growth since the September quarter 2017.
Extreme weather events reduced domestic final demand and exports. Weather impacts were particularly evident in mining, tourism and shipping.
Cyclone Alfred, the first cyclone to hit south-east Queensland in 50 years, and associated flooding, weighed on economic activity through the three months to March.
Treasury has estimated that natural disasters through the first half of 2025 will deliver a $2.2bn blow to the economy, concentrated in the first quarter of the year.
Donald Trump’s aggressive trade tariffs continue to reverberate around the world, with the Reserve Bank flagging the heightened uncertainty over the outlook as a major factor in its decision to cut interest rates.
Updated
Just one ‘tiny’ booth left to count in Bradfield
Kevin Bonham just said there’s only one “tiny” booth left to count in the recount for the NSW seat of Bradfield. The margin remains at 27 in Boele’s favour. Bonham said on his blog:
Not sure if there is anything else to come after that or if we could be getting a statement that the recount has finished soon.
Updated
Rockliff says the day ‘might not end well for me’
Jeremy Rockliff just appeared to acknowledge to colleagues that the numbers may be against him today if the opposition leader’s motion secures the 18 votes needed. He said:
I will fight for my last breath to ensure that we remain in government and to ensure that we continue delivering for the people of Tasmania. I will fight to my last breath. …
This day, it might not end well for me, but this day will define you.
Tasmania’s premier calls Dean Winter ‘weak leader’, ‘reckless’ over no-confidence motion
Tasmania premier Jeremy Rockliff is speaking before parliament amid a motion of no-confidence, attacking the effort led by the opposition leader Dean Winter. Rockliff just said:
I, hand on heart, can say to you that I have fought more for vulnerable people in this place than the Labor party could ever dream of. …
You demonstrated by your reckless behaviour today and your weak leadership decided that you are more important than Tasmanians.
Rockliff went on to say Winter’s move had put “so much at risk”.
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Do you have any questions about politics this week?
Back to Back Barries is Guardian Australia’s political analysis podcast. Each week, veteran political journalist Barrie Cassidy and former Liberal adviser and pollster Tony Barry pull apart the spin behind the strategies.
And they want to hear from you. Send your politics questions to backtobackbarries@theguardian.com and they’ll pick some to answer on this week’s episode.
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Tasmania premier says no-confidence vote will force state to early election
Tasmania’s premier, Jeremy Rockliff, said yesterday the no-confidence motion would force the state to an early election. He wrote on Facebook last night:
An election just over 12 months since the last one. That’s the last thing Tasmania needs. That’s the last thing Tasmanians want. …
That’s not leadership. That’s an obsessive desire for power at any cost. Tasmania deserves better.
Tornado formed over WA yesterday
A tornado flipped a car and caused some minor damage in Western Australia yesterday. The ABC reports the weather event – which the BoM called a “coldie” – formed from a thunderstorm and caused havoc for about two minutes on Tuesday afternoon. Angeline Prasad, a forecaster for the BoM, told the ABC:
They don’t last for long, usually just a few minutes [and are] usually associated with quite vigorous thunderstorms.
Check out the video, filmed by Nathan Macgregor, below:
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An update on Bradfield: Boele still up by 27 votes as recount nears end
As we reported here yesterday, the recount in Bradfield could be finalised sometime today or tomorrow. Independent Nicolette Boele is currently up by 27 votes over Liberal Gisele Kapterian, per the AEC.
Election-watcher Kevin Bonham noted last night there were just three booths remaining in the recount, two of them tiny.
Some cockatoos can use drinking fountains now, study says
An incredible new study says a population of sulphur-crested cockatoos in western Sydney have begun drinking from twist-handled public drinking fountains. Researchers published their findings in the journal Biology Letters:
Successful operation requires a coordinated sequence of actions, with only 41% of observed attempts ending in success …
To our knowledge, this behaviour has not been observed elsewhere. Altogether, this suggests that this drinking innovation has spread to form a new urban-adapted local tradition.
Cockatoos have already been observed lifting household bin lids to access food, a behaviour that has spread across southern Sydney.
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Dean Winter stands to move no-confidence motion over ‘direction that this premier is taking us’
The Tasmanian opposition leader, Dean Winter, just stood before state parliament to move his no-confidence motion. Winter said:
The house has had deep concerns about the direction that this premier is taking us.
The instability of this government is the fault of one person, the premier of Tasmania. Now, the house has already let its views be known publicly and yet the premier still sits here. The debate is very important today.
Updated
Some math on Tasmania’s no-confidence vote
The numbers against Tasmania premier Jeremy Rockliff don’t look good. Opposition leader Dean Winter needs 18 votes to succeed.
Labor has 10 seats and secured the support of three crossbenchers yesterday. With the Greens support this morning and its five seats, that adds up to 18.
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Raelene Cooper says Dorinda Cox has ‘done nothing for grassroots Aboriginal communities’
Raelene Cooper, a founder of Save our Songlines and a former chair of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, said “good riddance” to former Greens senator Dorinda Cox after the latter defected to Labor this week.
Cooper, a Mardathoonera woman, had harsh words for Cox after the Albanese government gave a green light to Woodside’s extension of the North West Shelf gas project to 2070. Unesco recently deferred a decision to add an ancient rock art site in Western Australia to the world heritage list unless fossil fuel developments are stopped in the area.
Cooper said in a statement:
Senator Dorinda Cox has done nothing for grassroots Aboriginal communities or to help us protect Murujuga except put out lots of media statements that she walked away from as soon as she jumped ship to the government.
She has clearly realised that her only hope of political survival is to leave the Greens … and run to the government she has spent the past three years attacking.
Cooper went on to say Cox did not speak for the “traditional custodians of Murujuga, for Aboriginal people or for Western Australia”.
She and this government deserve each other – good riddance.
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Dean Winter says Tasmanian premier’s minority government has ‘collapsed’, no-confidence motion at 10am
Dean Winter, the leader of the opposition in Tasmania, said he will move a motion of no-confidence against Jeremy Rockliff at 10am, saying the “deals the premier struck for minority government after the last election have collapsed”. Winter said in a statement:
Three independent members of the crossbench have lost confidence in the Premier due to his financial mismanagement, his appalling handling of the Spirit of Tasmania project, and his plan to privatise Tasmania’s most precious assets.
And the State Budget confirmed Tasmania would never get the change it needs under this Premier.
I confirm I will be moving a motion of no confidence at 10 am.
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Tasmania Greens leader will back no-confidence vote in premier’s leadership
Rosalie Woodruff, leader of the Tasmanian Greens, will support a motion of no-confidence in premier Jeremy Rockliff’s leadership. She wrote on X:
I have spoken to the Leader of the Opposition Dean Winter and informed him that the Greens will support Labor’s motion of No Confidence in Jeremy Rockliff’s leadership.
I have informed the Premier.
I have spoken to the Leader of the Opposition Dean Winter and informed him that the Greens will support Labor’s motion of No Confidence in Jeremy Rockliff’s leadership.
— Rosalie Woodruff 🌿💚 (@rosaliewoodruff) June 3, 2025
I have informed the Premier. #politas
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Regulator sues Rams claiming widespread misconduct
The corporate regulator is suing Westpac-owned mortgage provider Rams Financial Group over allegations it engaged in “systemic misconduct” in arranging home loans.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission alleges in a statement that Rams failed to supervise its representatives properly and failed to have adequate policies and procedures in place.
Some of the alleged misconduct includes Rams franchise staff submitting false payslips from nonexistent employers and altering customers’ liabilities and expenses to help them qualify for home loans. In one example, a Rams worker allegedly manufactured a fake contract of sale for a home.
The ASIC deputy chair, Sarah Court, claimed:
This is a systemic organisational governance failure by Rams who did not adequately supervise its franchise network.
Rams allowed years of unlawful conduct to occur across its franchises, creating the opportunity for loans to be provided to customers who otherwise may not have qualified for those loans, and thereby increasing commissions earned by Rams franchisees.
ASIC has started civil penalty proceedings in the federal court against Rams, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Westpac.
Westpac said in a statement Rams would cooperate with ASIC to resolve the proceedings as quickly as possible.
Westpac said after a review of the business, the Rams business was closed to new home loan applications from 6 August 2024.
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Second man charged after alleged murder in Sydney’s south-west
A second man has been charged following an investigation into the alleged murder of a man in Sydney’s south-west on Monday. Police allege the victim, 29, had stab wounds to his neck.
Police are yet to formally identify the man found in a Croydon Park home but said he is a Malaysian national.
As reported in the blog yesterday, a 32-year-old man was charged with murder on Tuesday and remains before the courts.
Later Tuesday evening about 6.50pm, police arrested a 36-year-old man following extensive inquiries and an appeal for public information. He has since been charged with concealing a serious indictable offence. He will appear before the courts today.
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Greens to prioritise women’s safety in next parliament
Greens leader Larissa Waters has announced the party’s priorities in the next parliament, saying she will focus on women’s safety and women’s policy across health, housing and workplace relations.
Waters will also leverage her time as an environmental lawyer to focus on the party’s climate and energy policies. She will also take over the Greens’ First Nations portfolio after the departure of senator Dorinda Cox, who defected to Labor this week. Waters said in a statement:
This parliament could achieve real progress: climate and environment action, dental into Medicare, free childcare, and meaningful action on the housing crisis. With the Greens being in sole balance of power, there is no excuse now for Labor to resist real reform to help people and nature.
Women’s safety and equality will be a priority of my leadership, as will acting on the climate and environment crisis plus the housing and cost of living crises people are facing.
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Independent explains support for no-confidence motion against Tasmania’s premier
The Tasmania independent MP Kristie Johnston spoke to RN Breakfast this morning amid a growing threat to Liberal premier Jeremy Rockliff. Tasmania’s Labor opposition leader, Dean Winter, tabled a no-confidence motion this week against the government’s leadership citing the budget, plans to privatise and its handling of the Spirit of Tasmania replacement project.
A number of other MPs have since joined that effort, Johnston included, presenting a real threat to Rockliff’s leadership. She told RN:
There are three critical issues that many Tasmanians are very concerned about. I’ve been very vocal on, and there are issues that the government has consistently failed over. So, on the face of it, with the motion before us, I have no option but to support it. …
We want an accountable government that’s transparent and acts with integrity and is responsible with our resources. And certainly, that’s not what we’re getting from this government.
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Nationals to fight super changes ‘to the death’
Canavan adds the Nationals will fight the super tax changes “to the death”.
Labor has suggested the party could shun the Greens and work with the Coalition to increase those taxes. The plan would double the earnings tax on superannuation balances above $3m from 15% to 30%.
The plan, first announced in 2023, would only impact an estimated 80,000 people and still leaves the highly favourable tax treatment for retirement savings in place.
Read more about those plans here:
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Matt Canavan says there’s ‘no way in hell’ Nationals will support super tax changes
Nationals senator Matt Canavan was on Nine’s Today this morning to speak about Labor’s plans to increase taxes on superannuation balances over $3m. Canavan said there’s “no way in hell” the party would support those changes, calling it “incredibly unfair”, telling Today:
There’s no way in hell we’ll support attacks on people that don’t have the means to pay for it … We should have a basic principle that we should only tax people where you’ve got some sort of income to be able to pay the tax man.
The problem with unrealised gains is a lot of people out there, like farmers who have assets in superannuation, they may be asset-rich, but they’re cash-poor and they don’t have the cashflow to pay a tax bill on an annual basis that could come under this scheme.
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Snap protests continue over extension of major gas plant to 2070
Snap protests are being held in capital cities across Australia in opposition to the Albanese government’s decision to provisionally approve the extension of Woodside’s North West Shelf gas processing plant to 2070.
State and territory conservation councils said the decision could drive demand to open new gas fields – such as Woodside’s proposed Browse project – “while every corner of Australia is reeling from the climate crisis”.
The federal environment minister, Murray Watt, announced last week he intended to approve the North West Shelf extension with “strict conditions”. A final decision is due soon.
The announcement came days after Anthony Albanese visited flood-affected areas of New South Wales. Elsewhere, parts of Victoria and South Australia are experiencing record-low rainfall and a marine heatwave has caused coral bleaching events on the Barrier and Ningaloo reefs and driven a toxic algal bloom that has caused the deaths of more than 200 marine species off South Australia.
Matt Roberts, the executive director of the Conservation Council of Western Australia, said:
Minister Watt’s provisional approval of the North West Shelf last week has received unprecedented national public backlash as new information about the impacts of the project continue to emerge.
Over 65 groups are calling on Minister Watt to release the conditions of the decision and open the decision for public consultation.
Kirsty Howey, the executive director of the Environment Centre Northern Territory said:
From Broome and Darwin, communities are witnessing an alarming trend as these fossil fuel projects get ticked off. It isn’t a coincidence – it’s a pattern of climate change denial.
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More on the boogying alleged burglar in Victoria
Victorian police have asked the public for information to help in their investigations into an alleged theft of about $5,000 in computers and a projector from a school. Officials released footage of a man dancing in the school’s car park on 23 April.
Authorities allege the dancing man exited a silver Holdon Commodore about 1.10am that day, where he was captured on CCTV footage “dancing, spinning and jumping while listening to music.” They allege he then scaled school property and broke into a building.
Three laptops and a projector were allegedly taken.
He is described as a Caucasian man in his 30s, with a medium build and long dark brown hair. Take a look at his moves:
Police urged anyone who recognises the man or has information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit an online confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
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Family of man who died in e-scooter collision call for law reform
The family of a man who died after a collision with an e-scooter has called for a review of the governance and safety regulations surrounding the mode of transportation to help prevent more lives being put at risk.
The incident occurred when Thanh Phan was walking in Perth’s CBD on Saturday night when the 51-year-old was allegedly struck by a 24-year-old riding an e-scooter.
Phan was rushed to Royal Perth hospital, where he underwent brain surgery for swelling on the brain.
In a statement released by his family Tuesday evening, they said he was a “beloved husband, father of two, brother, and dear friend”:
Yesterday evening, we received the heartbreaking news that Thanh passed away as a result of his injuries.
We ask that the media respect the privacy of Thanh’s family as they grieve their loss. We also call for a review of the governance and safety regulations surrounding hired e-scooters to help prevent further serious incidents that put lives at risk.
You can read more about the injury toll e-scooters are taking in Australia, with experts in the area also calling for reform to create nationally consistent laws to increase safety:
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Amanda Rishworth says protections for penalty rates and paid leave for stillbirths ‘top priority’
Amanda Rishworth, the minister for employment and workplace relations, said the Labor government was set on protecting the country’s safety net and would soon work to legislate protections to penalty rates and paid leave for stillbirth or early death. She told RN Breakfast:
In our safety net, we want to protect penalty rates. And I would hope that whether you’re the Coalition, the Greens, or the cross-bench, that you would be very clear that we were elected at the last election to deliver on our election commitments.
On paid leave for stillbirth, Rishworth said legislation would help fill in a grey area of the law.
I would say that the vast majority of employers do the right thing.
What we have is a situation where sometimes it’s clear when it comes to unpaid leave, it’s clear when it comes to the government paid parental leave, but [support for stillbirth and early death] is a grey area in the law. And so sometimes managers or HR departments are grappling with that issue.
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Trade union says even with 3.5% rise, new minimum wage still not ‘livable’
Sally McManus, secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, said the body still believes there’s “more catch-up to do” for lower-wage workers after it announced a 3.5% increase to the minimum wage yesterday. While the new rate will be $24.95 an hour, she said for a full-time worker it’s still “not enough to live on”. McManus told Radio National Breakfast:
I think it’s a good outcome. We always wanted one that was more than inflation. …
Minimum wages actually have gone backwards over the last couple of years because of that inflation spike. And that’s also what small business owners have got to think about, too. Their workers have gone backwards in real terms, and if they don’t start to catch up now, when are they going to catch up?
She also addressed criticism that small businesses would struggle to absorb the costs associated with a higher minimum wage, saying critics predict closures every year that don’t take place.
Over the last four years, businesses between one and 19 staff grew by 108,000 or 13%. For those over 20 [people], they grew even faster by 36%. So they don’t come back and say, oh, sorry, we were wrong.
Good morning
Good morning, and happy Wednesday. Nick Visser here to take you through the day’s breaking news. Let’s get started:
Sally McManus, the secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, defended the decision to raise the minimum wage by 3.5% yesterday. She said even with the increase to $24.95 an hour, real wages had gone backwards in recent years and “if they don’t start to catch up now, when are they going to?”. She points out the minimum wage is still not enough for most people to live on.
Police in Victoria are appealing for information to identify a dancing thief who was “feeling the groove” before he allegedly stole laptops from a local school. Officials released video footage of a man “dancing, spinning and jumping” and hope the clip will assist in their inquiries.
We’ll also be sharing updates on Labor’s plans to change taxes on large superannuation balances, the ongoing fallout over Senator Dorinda Cox’s defection from the Greens and we could have results from the seat of Bradfield today, which is finalising a recount.
Stick with us.
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