What we learned today, Friday 14 November
We will wrap up the live blog here for the night. This is what made the news today:
The Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, wouldn’t say which level of global warming she would be comfortable with when asked.
Anthony Albanese says the Coalition does not have a plan to reduce electricity prices and is “too busy fighting each other” to be taken seriously after the opposition dumped its commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
The former Liberal MP Keith Wolahan says debate on climate change and emissions reduction is “mostly driven by emotion and virtue signalling” from all sides of the political spectrum.
The former boyfriend of Molly Ticehurst has pleaded guilty to her domestic violence murder and made other admissions.
The driver responsible for one of Australia’s deadliest bus crashes lost his bid to reduce his jail sentence over the crash.
Yvette Berry, the ACT’s education minister, closed 10 public schools today and several others were partially closed after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued a recall notice earlier this week about children’s sand products that may contain asbestos. A special school in Brisbane also closed.
The federal government will spend $37m over five years to improve working with children checks (WWWC) in early childhood and care, including monitoring changes to criminal history.
Tasmania’s contentious waterfront stadium – and attendant AFL dream – passed its first parliamentary hurdle last night but a do-or-die debate still awaits.
Until next time, enjoy your evening.
Updated
Coronary heart disease deaths down 50% over 50 years
Deaths from coronary heart disease in Australia have fallen to their lowest rate in almost 50 years, with dementia overtaking it as the nation’s leading cause of death, AAP reports.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Friday shows coronary heart disease remains the leading cause of death for men and for people living in outer regional and remote areas.
The number people dying from the disease has been declining steadily for decades and reached the lowest rate since 1968, but still claimed more than 16,000 lives in the past year.
The data suggests the mortality rate for coronary heart disease has decreased by 87% over the 50 years, while the rate of dementia increased by more than 840%.
More than 17,000 people died from dementia including Alzheimer’s disease in 2024, with 62% of dementia-related deaths being women.
Dementia has been the leading cause of death among women since 2016.
Improved healthcare and medical interventions for heart disease were some factors behind the decrease, along with treatment of risk factors such as hypertension and high cholesterol, the bureau’s head of mortality statistics, Lauren Moran, told reporters.
Moran said the increase of dementia deaths was likely due to people living longer, which raises the chances of developing dementia towards the end of their lives.
“This is especially true for women who have longer life expectancies,” Moran said.
Updated
Bondi Sands recalls two sunscreens due to formulation concerns
Bondi Sands is recalling two of its mineral-based sunscreens due to concerns about their effectiveness in protecting against sun damage because the lotions can become separated.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has issued a recall notice for the Bondi Sands Zinc Mineral Broad Spectrum SPF 50+ Face Lotion 60ml and the Bondi Sands Zinc Mineral Broad Spectrum SPF 50+ Body Lotion 120ml.
In the recall notice, published earlier today, Australia’s medicines regulator said:
The products may appear to have an uneven texture and visible water separating out of the product. If this happens, the ingredients are no longer properly mixed.
This could affect the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) rating and overall performance of the sunscreens which may cause inadequate sun protection.
In June, the consumer advocacy group Choice published test results that showed 16 of 20 popular Australian sunscreen products did not meet the SPF claim on their label.
The Choice testing found the Bondi Sands SPF 50+ Zinc Mineral Body Lotion had an SPF of 26.
The TGA launched an investigation after the Choice testing, which has recently focused on a mineral-based formulation created by a laboratory in Perth that is used in many sunscreen products.
Last month, theTGA said this base formulation had been identified in 21 sunscreens that it warned were unlikely to have an SPF rating of more than 21, with some products as low as SPF 4.
Many of those products were recalled or had their sales “paused” while they were reviewed by the TGA.
Bondi Sands has been contacted for comment.
Updated
A new Liberal and Labor MP on their first terms in parliament – Australian Politics podcast
It’s been six months since the May election, which brought new personalities to Parliament House – along with an even larger majority for the Albanese government.
The Labor MP Renee Coffey, who beat the Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather, and Liberal MP Leon Rebello, a former staffer and parliamentary attendant, join political editor Tom McIlroy to discuss the start to their first terms.
Updated
Sydney public transport architecture wins prize in Florida
Sydney’s striking public transport architecture continues its award streak, with Central station picking up an international prize at the 2025 World Architecture festival in Miami, Florida.
This latest international victory – awarded in the transport category – for the Sydney Metro network adds to an impressive tally that already includes the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2025 Walter Burley Griffin award for urban design and NSW architecture medallion for the new city stations, and the Prix Versailles award for Gadigal station. Central station, designed by Woods Bagot in collaboration with John McAslan + Partners, was recognised on day two of the world’s largest live-judged architectural event on Friday, which features more than 460 nominees.
Three other Australian projects have so far secured major category wins.
The Younghusband wool store redevelopment in Melbourne’s Kensington, designed by Woods Bagot, won the creative reuse category, and BVN’s redevelopment of Sydney’s controversial Sirius public housing won the retrofit category.
Shepparton’s Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence by ARM Architecture won in the higher education and research category, also announced on Friday.
All winners will compete on the final day for the highest accolades, including World Building of the Year, which was won last year by fjcstudio for its design of Sydney’s Darlington public school.
Updated
Attorneys general note retail industry needs ‘certainty’ on lawful use of facial recognition
The communique out of the standing council of attorneys general meeting earlier today has a bit more information on what was discussed beyond child safety measures.
It included discussion of the retail sector pushing for legal certainty for using facial recognition technology in stores.
Both Bunnings and Kmart are challenging the privacy commissioner’s rulings against them for using the technology in store to prevent theft or fraud.
The communique notes that there is a “need to provide industry with greater certainty on pathways for safe and lawful use of facial recognition technology to reduce retail crime, with updates on developments to be provided at the next meeting”.
Today the Victorian government also announced legislation to allow retailers to ban repeat offenders from their stores.
The communique also revealed the attorneys general discussed the use of AI in the legal system “and its potential to improve accessibility and affordability of legal services for the community”.
As we have reported, there have been dozens of cases where lawyers or self-represented litigants have been found to have used AI in their submissions to the court, after false case citations were discovered.
Updated
Victorian Liberals have not discussed ditching net zero
The Victorian Liberal leader, Brad Battin, says the state party has not discussed following their federal counterparts on ditching the net zero emissions target.
He told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing that the legislation was already in place and had not been discussed by the party.
What we do know is we need affordable and reliable energy, but we must continue to work on keeping the emissions down here in Victoria. It’s been a priority that we have been speaking about in the past and one we’ll continue in the future.
He said the federal Liberals’ decision was a matter for them.
My representation is to the people of Victoria who elect me. I will continue down that path. Every so often, parliamentary teams have a difference of opinion, a difference of a view moving forward, and I can tell you right now that the difference of opinion is my focus here in Victoria is to ensure that we can keep the energy costs down, that we can focus on reducing emissions, and talking about all the other issues in an issue-rich part of Victoria at the moment because we have so many crises going on.
He said Victorians were raising the cost of energy as an issue, and the Liberals were keen for more gas extraction in the state. Battin said with more AI and data storage there will be a need for more energy in the system and “we’ve got to do it responsibly but we can still focus on reducing emissions”.
Updated
Victorian opposition leader brands retail crime announcement ‘a new media release’
The Victorian government’s legislation carrying a five-year jail term for assaulting a retail worker, announced on Friday, is doing little but changing the title on the existing law for serious assault, the opposition leader, Brad Battin, says.
He told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing that serious assault has been in legislation since before he was a police officer in the early 2000s, and the new legislation from the Victorian government doesn’t do anything but change the title.
The reality here is this is just about a media grab for the government to get the headline. Serious assault is already in place in Victoria, by changing the definition or putting a new title in, it just gave an opportunity for a new media release.
There are other parts of the bill – we haven’t reviewed all of this yet – but this is the main part the government wanted to focus on, which is already in place.
He said it was legislation based on polling.
Updated
Westpac staff member back paid $56,000 after $50m in underpayments uncovered
After underpaying nearly 47,000 staff over an 11-year period, Westpac has back paid more than $50m, paid the government $800,000 to show contrition and signed an enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Staff were underpaid across minimum wages, casual loading, leave, termination and more, due to failures in Westpac’s systems, governance and oversight, according to the FWO.
The average back pay was about $1,000 but one staff member was back paid $56,085, the FWO said. Westpac couldn’t find 372 former employees who were owed $90,490 and the government is holding the balance for them to reclaim.
Westpac paid out a further nearly $9m in interest and superannuation and adjusted leave balances for 10,585 current employees and paid out former employees to account for the leave and time off breaches.
Julia Angrisano, the national secretary of the Finance Sector Union, said the charge may not be enough to deter similar behaviour:
Westpac has been let off the hook with a mere slap on the wrist … It is astonishing that one of our biggest and most profitable banks [was] unable to competently navigate its own Enterprise Agreement.
Anna Booth, the ombudsman, said Westpac had fully cooperated with the FWO’s investigation and committed to solving the issue. A spokesperson for Westpac said the bank apologised and had discovered and responded to the issues itself and updated its systems and processes, adding the bank had not sought repayment from anyone who was overpaid.
Updated
Severe weekend storms forecast for east coast
All states and territories are in for a wet weekend, with potentially severe thunderstorm outbreaks forecast across north-eastern parts of New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland.
The Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Sarah Scully says showers and storms will cover the northern half of the country and the east coast, brought on by “multiple troughs of low pressure that’s combining with tropical moisture”.
“This trough tomorrow will extend all the way down eastern Australia into the south-east, drawing a cloud band as far south as Tasmania,” Scully says.
The potentially severe thunderstorms “on the cards” for north-eastern NSW and south-eastern Queensland between today and Sunday may involve “damaging winds, large hail or heavy rainfall that could cause flash flooding”, according to the meteorologist.
Scully says Australians are “well and truly into the severe weather season”, noting this marks Queensland’s fifth consecutive weekend of severe forecast storms.
The meteorologist suggests people stay up to date with the BoM’s latest thunderstorm warnings and “keep an eye on the radar”.
Updated
NSW workers’ compensation: what is whole person impairment?
Returning to the deadlock over NSW’s workers’ compensation scheme, the main sticking point has been over “whole person impairment”, the tool used to assess whether a worker can claim damages for a workplace psychological injury.
But what is whole person impairment, or WPI, and how is it calculated? In short, psychiatrists assess factors including the duration of a psychological impairment, the likelihood of improvement, whether a worker has undertaken reasonable rehabilitative treatment, and any other relevant matters, to create a percentage figure which describes the level of injury.
Currently the level of WPI at which a person can claim lump-sum compensation is 15%. The government’s original proposal was to lift this to more than 30%. The government says psychological injuries account for 38% of total workers’ compensation costs, despite making up only 12% of total claims.
A parliamentary inquiry heard that most workers who are assessed as having a WPI of 21% or higher were “not fit to work in any capacity”. The final report claimed the government’s proposal to raise the threshold left workers at serious risk of self-harm or suicide.
Many say WPI is an imperfect tool to assess psychological injury. One of the proposals of a compromise deal which fell apart last night was for the NSW chief psychiatrist, Dr Murray Wright, to develop a new tool within 18 months.
Updated
‘Opportunity to recommit’: shadow immigration minister on 1 million refugees
The shadow immigration minister, Paul Scarr, says the milestone of 1 million refugees being settled in Australia since 1947 is an “opportunity to recommit to our humanitarian and refugee program”.
He was speaking at the Refugee Council of Australia’s annual general meeting in Parramatta, Sydney, last night.
This year 1 million people will have been settled in Australia through refugee and humanitarian programs since 1947, the Refugee Council said. The meeting celebrated the milestone by launching its documentary series One Million Untold Stories.
Scarr said:
I believe it’s an opportunity to recommit, to recommit to our humanitarian and refugee program, to celebrate the success that it’s been, to look at different barriers, ways in which it can be improved for the future, to communicate to the Australian people what a great benefit it has been to our country and to everyone in our country.
Paul Power, the Refugee Council CEO, urged Scarr to “appeal to your colleagues in the Liberal and National party rooms to review the policy and certainly not to advocate for a cut to the current program”.
I think it would be remiss of us not to ask the Liberal National Coalition to review the policy for the last election in terms of the size of the refugee and humanitarian program. Over the past 10 years, the refugee and humanitarian program has only made up about 6% or 7% of net overseas migration.
Carlos, who lived Chile until 1974, spoke on a panel at the event. Asked what he would do if he were in parliament, he said:
I would say that we need more refugees everywhere. Coming from different countries, no matter what colour, skin, no matter religion. We need more people to come because the world is in crisis now. So Australia has to be open for any refugee from any country in the world.
Updated
Northern Territory makes croc pet permit process more snappy
Keeping a snappy predator as a back yard pet is being made easy with new guidelines on crocodile ownership restoring a right seen as part of a “unique territory lifestyle”, AAP reports.
As Victoria moves to ban pet crocs, the Northern Territory government has scaled up plans to allow ownership of the reptiles, with 63 people already licensed to keep 123 of them.
“It’s proof our unique territory lifestyle is alive and thriving,” the NT parks and wildlife minister, Marie-Clare Boothby, said.
The NT government is inviting Territorians to have their say on new safety and welfare guidelines to make owning a pet croc simpler and safer.
The proposed regulations would strengthen guidelines already in place to own a pet crocodile.
The crocs will receive a unique identification marking, owners will be charged a $299 fee for a five-year permit and there will be a $100 an hour recovery fee if departmental staff need to capture an escaped reptile. Updated enclosure standards include a lockable door and an isolating section to reduce human-crocodile interaction during cleaning or vet checks.
Updated
That’s all from me. Josh Taylor will guide you through the rest of the afternoon. Take care!
Updated
Attorney general touts $37m to strengthen criminal history monitoring in early childhood and care
The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, just spoke about the federal government’s commitment of $37m to strengthen criminal history monitoring in early childhood and care.
She told reporters at a news briefing in Brisbane the reforms were part of the government’s focus on ensuring a “safer community in the long term”, adding of a national tracker:
This will ensure that the states and territories can plug into this system to have that real-time monitoring and ensure that we know who should be excluded, what their criminal histories are and this will make for a much safer system …
The significant progress we have made … particularly when it comes to working with children checks, demonstrates the focus of the Albanese government on keeping our most vulnerable safe.
Updated
Victorian ombudsman sounds warning on youth crime crackdown
The Victorian ombudsman has sounded the alarm on the Allan government’s youth crime crackdown, warning it will lead to less humane treatment of children in detention and no long-term improvement in community safety.
In an unusual intervention, the ombudsman wrote to a number of MPs on Thursday, in response to the Allan government’s proposed “adult time for violent crime” policy. The changes could see children as young as 14 sentenced to life in prison.
In the letter, viewed by Guardian Australia, the ombudsman, Marlo Baragwanath, said since May there had been a 20% increase complaints from prisons and youth justice facilities, including allegations of misuse of force, compared with the previous year.
Baragwanath said she anticipated a 157% increase in youth justice complaints before the proposed reforms came into effect:
Put simply, our work shows that rapid increases in the number of people in custody leads to less humane treatment and less effective rehabilitation, which does not improve community safety in the long run.
Updated
Former Liberal MP says climate debate driven by ‘emotions and virtue signalling’
The former Liberal MP Keith Wolahan says debate on climate change and emissions reduction is “mostly driven by emotion and virtue signalling” from all sides of the political spectrum.
In an interview with Sky News on Friday, the former member for Menzies, who lost his seat in May, said he was back working as a barrister, which he claimed was sometimes considered “90% logic and 10% emotion”. On the other hand, politics was more like 10% logic and 90% emotion, he said.
Wolahan continued:
You can’t ride it on emotion alone and there’s temptation for those on the left or the right to run the energy debate on emotion … we should be driven by logic, by facts and by what’s in our national interest. And I think if we get the debate to there – I think it needs to move there, because I think it’s mostly driven by emotion and virtue signalling from the left and the right. The debate needs to move away from that – then I think we can have a proper conversation about this.
Asked whether Wolahan would have another crack at the seat of Menzies in Melbourne’s north-eastern suburbs at the next federal election, he said he was “more likely than not to put my hand up to run again”, but warned:
Unless the Liberal party in the Coalition wins more metro seats, it will always be a voice in opposition only, and I don’t think that’s in the country’s interest.
Updated
Minns says workers’ compensation deadlock ‘a real shame for NSW’
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says businesses will be forced to close and charities to reduce services over Christmas, after upper house MPs rejected the government’s proposed changes to the workers’ compensation scheme last night.
Minns says the decision by Coalition and Greens MPs to vote against raising the impairment threshold for psychological injury to 31%, which could exclude hundreds of workers from the scheme, is “a real shame for NSW”.
Asked if the government will seek to negotiate further on the threshold before the end of the parliamentary year, Minns says: “It’s over.”
Premium increases will go to both charities and businesses in the state. I’m sorry about that. I genuinely am. It’s the last thing that they need. But I can’t make people vote a certain way. That’s their decision. If they do vote that way, they can live with the consequences.
The premier’s comments echo those of the independent MP for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, who worked on a compromise deal with upper house independent MP Taylor Martin, which the government said it would support.
Earlier today, Greenwich said he was disappointed it had fallen apart at the last minute, saying it was Martin’s prerogative for walking away from the deal.
“If we don’t do our job, people across NSW will start losing their jobs,” he said.
Updated
Seismic impact levels reveal ‘interesting’ crowd dynamics of AC/DC fans
While AC/DC fans spent Wednesday rocking out at Melbourne’s MCG, they made only one-fifth of the seismic impact of Taylor Swift’s fans.
The Seismology Research Centre in Melbourne measured the seismic level of the rock concert through frequencies of crowd motion and music, finding levels were “about 5 times smaller” than from Swift’s concerts last year.
The centre’s chief scientist, Adam Pascale, says it is “quite interesting” to see how crowd dynamics affect what they record.
If everyone’s sort of jumping in unison, that tends to amplify the signal so we can pick that up better. We saw that with Taylor Swift’s concert. I think everyone [there] was probably dancing more in unison than the guys that rock out at the AC/DC concert.
Following an “international movement of seismologists” recording Swift concerts last year, Pascale says the centre now has a seismograph essentially “dedicated to recording concerts”.
Although seismographs can pick up vibrations from concerts, Pascale says the centre is unable to assign a magnitude to the levels because they are far less than the seismic levels of an earthquake.
Updated
Victorian fire authority issues warning after series of haystack fires
Victoria’s Country Fire Authority (CFA) has issued a warning to farmers to take extra care to help prevent haystack fires after a spate of blazes where thousands of bales were lost.
The CFA said hay season was in “full swing” across the state. The agency pointed to a large fire on 9 November when a hay shed caught fire, resulting in the loss of about 1,000 bales. The bales can burn for days and cause major smoke in the area.
Between 30 June 2024 and 1 July 2025 the CFA responded to 73 haystack and shed fires in regional areas, which can be caused by spontaneous combustion when hay is baled with too much moisture.
Jason Heffernan, the chief officer with the CFA, said:
Farmers who have decided to carry on with hay production need to be extra vigilant this year to make sure conditions are right for making hay and for the future storage and transport of the product as well.
Hay fires are a real threat to properties and stock in farmland areas. Whether you’re a seasoned hay grower or switching to hay this year, it’s important to take care of your hay and crops this fire season.
Updated
Victoria to crack down on violence against retail workers with jail terms of up to five years
Customers who assault or threaten retail and hospitality workers in Victoria will face prison sentences of up to five years, under proposed tougher penalties to be introduced by the Allan government on Friday.
The crackdown will also apply to workers in fast food or transport, according to reports on Friday. The proposed legislation is the latest in a suite of crime crackdowns announced this week, in a bid to reduce community concern ahead of next year’s state election.
Speaking to the ABC, Allan said abuse and threats against retail workers was happening “far too often”:
Everyone knows the difference between a customer from hell and a customer who harms.
We will stand with retail workers but also other workers in those customer-facing roles to strengthen the protections for them with stronger jail terms and consequences for people who threaten, abuse retail workers.
Read more here:
Updated
Commonwealth Bank CEO has security guard accept Shonky award on his behalf
Commonwealth Bank’s chief executive declined a tongue-in-cheek awards ceremony invitation from consumer group Choice this morning, with a security guard accepting the award on his behalf.
The bank last week became Australia’s most awarded business in Choice’s annual Shonky prizes, notching up another win after charging low-income customers a collective $270m in unfair fees.
CBA has declined to repay all the fees, with a spokesperson last week saying it had paused fees or made goodwill adjustments for some eligible customers.
Choice last week invited the CEO, Matt Comyn, to accept a trophy and a petition signed by more than 27,141 Australians who wanted the bank to refund the fees.
Comyn was a no-show when Choice’s head of policy, Morgan Campbell, turned up this morning with colleagues to present the trophy and petition. Campbell told Guardian Australia: “When I went into the building to deliver it, a very friendly security guard intercepted me and said he had been asked to collect the trophy on behalf of Matt Comyn.”
Perhaps the CEO was distracted by the $28bn drop in the bank’s market value this week, now sitting under $264bn, after disappointing shareholders with a $2.6bn profit for the three months to September. Handing down the result on Monday, Comyn said:
Many Australians have found the past four years challenging, particularly dealing with cost-of-living pressures ... We remain focused on our strategy to build a brighter future for all.
Read more about CBA’s prize-winning performance here:
Updated
At least 30,000 graduates lose qualifications in Australia’s vocational education crackdown
At least 30,000 people have lost their qualifications in the past year as the regulator cracks down on Australia’s shonky vocational education and training providers.
Since late 2024, the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) has cancelled the registrations of 11 training organisations and voided diplomas, certificates and statements of attainment that providers had issued.
Affected graduates had completed courses including early childhood, aged care to community services, disability, first aid and building and construction, with courses costing as much as $20,000.
ASQA also deregistered an additional four providers, however graduates have not yet been notified that their qualifications were cancelled, the regulator said on Thursday.
More than 144 providers remained under investigation by ASQA’s enforcement team over “serious matters”, the regulator said.
Read more here:
Australian economy an ‘island of security’, treasurer says
The nation’s economy is an “island of security”, says the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, despite less certainty about interest rate cuts among economists after stronger-than-expected jobs data, AAP reports.
Chalmers hailed low unemployment in a speech to investors in Sydney, saying 1.2 million jobs had been created since Labor won office in May 2022.
Rattling off a list of economic achievements, he said about 80% of employment growth since then had been in the private sector.
Participation above two-thirds of the available workforce.
Real wages growing at their strongest rate in five years. Inflation around a third of its peak.
Australia is an island of security, stability and reliability in a sea of uncertainty and risk.
But the strong jobs data has more forecasters convinced the Reserve Bank’s easing cycle is over.
NAB on Thursday became the latest big bank to abandon its call for a rate cut in 2026, after the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported employment jumping in October by a larger-than-expected 42,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate fell from 4.5% to 4.3%, also wrong-footing economists who had predicted the rate to edge down to 4.4%.
On top of a still-tight jobs market, underlying inflation is on track to print above the Reserve Bank’s 2-3% target band for the next six months, activity is accelerating and the economy is showing signs of being at full capacity, NAB economists say.
Updated
Public schools in Victoria and NSW remain open after asbestos risk
No public schools in New South Wales or Victoria have been closed as a result of a product recall of coloured sand products by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for potentially containing asbestos.
Fifteen schools and seven preschools in Canberra fully shut their doors on Friday after discovering the product on campuses, while a further five were partially closed while remediation and investigations took place. About 10am this morning, Mancel College, a special school in Brisbane, also confirmed it would be closed for the day.
A spokesperson for the NSW education department said no public schools had been closed after the recall but, as a precaution, a safety alert had been sent to all NSW public schools to “immediately and safely remove these sand products if they have them”.
The health, safety and wellbeing of students, staff and the school community is the department’s highest priority.
A spokesperson for Victoria’s education department said advice from the department of health and the ACCC was that “the health risk from use of these products is low”.
As such, there is no indication of a need to close schools or early childhood services at this time. We are working swiftly to identify any schools and early childhood services that may be using the recalled products and will then support them to follow the remediation advice from relevant authorities.
Updated
What gifts has Albanese received lately?
Anthony Albanese declared receiving a desk set and stationery as a gift from Donald Trump, alongside a number of other items from world leaders, as well as free tickets to Oasis.
The prime minister’s latest update to his register of parliamentary interests included a painting from the prime minister of Singapore; from the president of the United Arab Emirates, a number of gifts including “boxes of honey and dried dates”, an “Artisanal Emirati Spherical Box”, and a jewellery box; and from Trump, a “Desk Set with Stationery”.
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet told Guardian Australia last month that Trump gifted the prime minister, via protocol, a White House desk set with stationery – but provided no more details. During his trip to Washington in October, Albanese indicated in a press conference that he didn’t know what Trump had given him yet, claiming: “I’ll probably get whatever has come to us in about three years and six months after it goes through all the security things and PM&C, all of that”.
His disclosure of the gift came three weeks after the Trump visit.
The disclosed gifts were all surrendered to government departments and not personally taken by Albanese himself, according to the register. Trump’s desk has been “displayed in Commonwealth/Parliamentary Office”, the disclosure states, while the ornamental boxes from the UAE have been donated and displayed in Australia’s embassy in Abu Dhabi.
Albanese also declared receiving a “friendship bracelet from Florence”, a student who visited his office recently to talk about the under 16s social media ban. The PM additionally declared receiving tickets to Oasis’ Sydney concert from Venues NSW, after he was spotted in a corporate box at the stadium show alongside other VIPs.
Updated
Bus driver behind deadly Hunter Valley crash loses appeal to reduce jail term
The driver responsible for one of Australia’s deadliest bus crashes lost his bid to reduce his jail sentence over a horrific mass fatality crash, AAP reports.
Brett Andrew Button, 60, was handed a decades-long sentence for causing a crash that killed 10 mostly young wedding guests and injured another 25 in June 2023.
He was driving too fast and under the influence of the opioid painkiller Tramadol before his bus tipped at a roundabout in Greta in the NSW Hunter Valley.
Button appealed the length of his 32-year sentence, with his lawyer arguing some of the 35 criminal charges he pleaded guilty to had been double-counted.
The NSW court of criminal appeal dismissed his appeal on Friday, leaving in place the full term and 24-year non-parole period.
Button’s lawyer had argued the sentence was disproportionate to the crime.
Updated
ASX falls sharply after Wall Street sell-off
Australian shares opened sharply lower this morning, after Wall Street sold off technology stocks overnight.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell more than 1.5% in early trading to 8,620 points, and is now down about 4% from its record highs hit last month, representing about $140bn in market losses.
There was no obvious trigger for the steep sell off in the US overnight aside from lingering concerns the hot run by stocks tied to the AI boom may have gone too far.
The tech-heavy US Nasdaq closed down 2.3%.
US traders are also no longer confident the Federal Reserve will deliver an anticipated cut in December amid rising inflation concerns; the same dynamic that has dimmed hopes for further rate cuts in Australia.
Some of Australia’s tech stocks have been heavily sold off in recent days, with shares in location-sharing app Life360 down by almost 30% over the past month.
Australia’s biggest listed company, Commonwealth Bank, is down more than 10% over the past five trading sessions.
Updated
Brisbane special school closes over potential asbestos contamination
A special school in Brisbane has shut with “immediate effect” after a product recalled by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for potentially containing asbestos was discovered on campus.
In a post to Facebook about 10am on Friday, the head of Mancel College, Craig Duncan, said the campus would be closed for the day after reviewing the ACCC’s guidance of the coloured sand, used in sensory play activities.
Fifteen schools and three preschools in Canberra fully shut their doors on Friday after discovering the product, while a further five were partially closed while remediation and investigations took place.
Duncan said Mancel College had some of the product on-site at its junior and senior school:
While the advice is low risk and there are only minor traces, we are acting with an abundance of caution. We are therefore advising parents that with immediate effect we are closing the entire college today. You are requested to make arrangements to collect your child this morning.
In the interim, we have followed the published guidelines and quarantined the products. Students currently on site will be kept away from any impacted area until collected by parents. We apologise for this inconvenience, but we will always act in the best interests of the students.
Updated
Graeme Samuel says native forest logging exemption in environment laws should end
Former competition watchdog chair Graeme Samuel, who has appeared before a Senate committee examining proposed environmental law reforms, has criticised the loophole that effectively exempts native forest logging covered by a regional forest agreement from national environment laws. The loophole has been retained in the bills currently before the parliament.
Samuel said:
I hate the RFA exemption. It shouldn’t be there.
Samuel told the committee the exemption should be removed but if the government was to retain it then the agreements “should be governed by a very tough national environmental standard”.
Samuel also emphasised the importance of the laws being underpinned by “clear and granular” national environmental standards. The government has so far released two draft standards with more “under development”.
Asked about concerns about “vague” elements of the bill or language that appeared to allow too much ministerial discretion in decisions about whether or not developments go ahead, Samuel said that was intended to be “overcome” by national environmental standards.
Environment law review chair Graeme Samuel says government should remove ‘national interest’ exemption from environment bills
The former competition watchdog chief Graeme Samuel has told a senate inquiry the government should axe its proposal to allow the federal environment minister to make decisions in breach of national environment law if it was deemed in the “national interest”.
Samuel, who led a 2020 review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, is the first speaker before a senate committee examining legislation to reform the laws.
Using language very similar to former Treasury secretary Ken Henry, Samuel said the proposed exemption would encourage a “conga line of lobbyists” to seek favourable decisions from the minister of the day. Samuel said:
There’ll be a conga line of lobbyists that will be outside their door saying, Well, look, you just use the national interest exemption.
So I would take it out of the legislation and simply say it is now a balancing matter that ought to be taken into account in determining approvals and assessments.
In his submission to the committee, Samuel said “national interest” should instead be incorporated as a consideration in the national environment standard for matters of national environmental significance, which covers environmental values such as threatened species and world heritage areas. In that context, “national interest” would be a consideration that was “balanced against other considerations, in particular the protection and restoration of the environment”, the submission says.
ACT education minister says risks of asbestos exposure ‘low’, but schools closed for safety of students and staff
Yvette Berry, the ACT’s education minister, said testing has started on coloured children’s sand used in schools across the region but stressed that officials have been told the risk of potential asbestos exposure is low.
Fifteen schools are now closed today, with five others facing partial closures. Three preschools are closed, with a list of affected locations being updated throughout the day.
Berry just said during a press conference:
I understand the news will be upsetting for some families, however WorkSafe have advised the risk of exposure to traces of chrysotile [asbestos] is low.
As people will understand, this is an evolving situation and, as things change and maybe new schools are identified that need to be closed or partially closed, that will be added to the information on the education ACT website.
Air monitoring testing was conducted in some schools. The results from eight tests have come back this morning and all eight were negative to airborne asbestos fibres.
Updated
Former boyfriend of Molly Ticehurst pleads guilty to her murder
The former boyfriend of Molly Ticehurst has pleaded guilty to her domestic violence murder and made other admissions, AAP reports.
Daniel Billings appeared via audio-video link in Forbes local court, in central western NSW, on Friday morning to enter the plea.
The 30-year-old, who is in custody in the supermax wing at Goulburn jail, also admitted three other charges including animal cruelty.
Ticehurst, a 28-year-old childcare educator, was found dead in her home at Forbes in the early hours of 22 April 2024.
Billings was freed on bail by a local court registrar a fortnight before the murder, despite being charged with several counts of raping Ticehurst and domestic violence offences.
The pleas came more than 18 months after Billings was charged with murder, following a mental health assessment and lengthy legal negotiations.
Updated
Deadlock on NSW workers’ compensation reforms after 15-hour debate
The Minns government has suffered an embarrassing defeat in a late-night vote on its reforms to the workers’ compensation scheme, as a 15-hour overnight debate on changes to the scheme dragged on into this morning.
The changes to the scheme, which the government says is costing it billions, would raise the threshold at which workers would receive compensation for psychological injury, or “whole of person impairment” (WPI), from 15% to about 31%. The Coalition has described the changes, which could see hundreds of workers excluded from the scheme, as “nasty”.
A compromise put forward by crossbench MPs, which the treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, told a press conference yesterday had the government’s support, would have seen the threshold gradually increase to 29% by 2029. The NSW chief psychiatrist would also have been tasked with developing a new assessment tool for psychological impairment.
Instead, the member responsible for introducing the amendments to the upper house, independent Taylor Martin, had a change of heart, saying in a speech on Thursday evening he would not be a “patsy” for the government:
If the Labor government really needs to take away workers’ compensation to plug the holes in its budget, it should take that to an election and seek that mandate from the public.
I have not heard a single convincing argument today or at any other time about why workers with severe impairment need to be dudded. I do not know how members supporting that can sleep at night.
After Martin walked away from the amendment, the upper house was left to vote on the government’s original proposal, which a majority made up of the Coalition, Greens and crossbench members including Martin rejected.
The debate on the changes started at 2.30pm yesterday afternoon and finished at about 5.30am this morning, as dozens of amendments were considered. The bill has now been sent back to the lower house for further debate.
Updated
Albanese shares some details about wedding plans
Albanese revealed wedding plans with his partner, Jodie Haydon, are advancing but it will be a small, private affair rather than one in full view of press packs and the public.
The prime minister said there were wedding updates but wouldn’t reveal to ABC Sydney this morning what they were, or when the big day would happen.
He said:
I think that people will be aware once it has occurred, but it will be a wonderful day, and it’s a day primarily to celebrate and commemorate our love for each other in front of our family and friends.
Updated
Albanese says he wants to see ‘orderly migration system’
Albanese was asked about media reports that the Australian Border Force has bought old vessels and sold them to alleged illegal fishers and people-smugglers to return them to their departure points.
On ABC Sydney this morning, the prime minister was asked whether this amounted to taxpayer money supporting the illegal operations. Albanese said border force officials undertook what they considered was necessary to keep the borders safe, before turning to a growing worry about community perceptions of immigration levels.
Albanese said:
As I said prior to my election in 2022, one of the ways that you ensure support for our migration system is by being consistent, is by being certain about protection of our borders, and that’s what we’ve done by keeping ABF in place. If you compare with some of the disruption that’s occurring in other parts of the world – with social division over the issue of migration – I don’t want to see that occur. I want an orderly migration system.
Updated
PM says Coalition ‘too busy fighting each other’ to reduce energy prices
Anthony Albanese says the Coalition does not have a plan to reduce electricity prices and are “too busy fighting each other” to be taken seriously after the opposition dumped its commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 yesterday.
This morning on ABC Sydney radio, the prime minister said the Liberals under the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, capitulated to their junior Coalition partner on energy policy after months of campaigning by Nationals backbenchers, including Barnaby Joyce and Matt Canavan.
Albanese said:
Sussan Ley has said that she would be a moderate and that she’d modernise the Liberal party’s agenda after their 2025 result. Instead, she’s chosen to take Australia backwards.
They’ve chosen to walk away from jobs for Australians and investment, certainty that the business community have said is so necessary going forward. They’re walking away from climate action. They’re fundamentally dismissive of the science of climate change.
Updated
Allan defends youth crime laws, saying state needs to send ‘clear message’
The Victoria premier, Jacinta Allan, spoke to ABC News this morning to defend a slate of youth crime laws, namely the state’s decision to introduce adult crime, adult time legislation.
Allan said Victoria’s cabinet had resolved to address the issue of youth crime after listening to victims and being told officials were not doing enough. She said:
Cabinet has resolved and we are focused on bringing about stronger consequences for this brazen violent offending. We are doing this because, from listening to victims of crime, they told us there are not enough consequences and there needs to be consequences for this brazen violent offending, offending that is causing harm.
We need to send a clear message that not only do children who commit these crimes need boundaries in place, they see that there are consequences, which is why putting a range of offences into the adult courts will see jail more stronger and sentences that are longer.
Allan rejected calls she resign if crime is not lower at the next election:
I want to be really clear: I’m not a quitter and I’m going to continue to fight very, very hard to continue to keep our communities safe. I accept for many people they don’t feel it is safe enough.
Updated
Ley says Australia’s immigration intake needs to be reduced and better managed
After a big day thrashing out energy and emissions policy on Thursday, the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, delivered the John Howard Lecture in Sydney last night.
Before the party’s next difficult debate on immigration policy, Ley set down some guardrails for how things should move forward.
She said Australia’s immigration intake needs to be reduced and better managed:
I have said it needs to be lower. I have also said the problems we’re facing are not the fault of any migrant or migrant community, they are failings of infrastructure.
Those failings should be sheeted home to governments who have not planned, who have not implemented, and who have wasted public funds.
She also blamed governments for not building enough schools, roads, hospitals and public transport systems, and promised a “respectful” debate on immigration.
[We will] develop a policy that recognises its not just about one overall number, it’s about a variety of strands, whether it be the humanitarian intake, skilled visas, working holiday visas, and how that is mapped to the needs and the aspirations of different parts of the country.
Updated
Ley says Liberals care about global warming, but Australia ‘should always act in our national interest’
Sussan Ley wouldn’t say which level of global warming she would be comfortable with when asked by ABC News Breakfast this morning.
Ley and her Liberal colleagues said yesterday their policies would keep Australia in the Paris climate deal without setting “long-term” targets. She told the ABC there was still concern about climate change, but not at the expense of lower power prices.
I know that we do care about action on global warming and climate change and that’s something I believe in very firmly and I know the next generations do as well.
But Australia will always act or should always act in our national interest.
Ley said the Liberal party’s decision wasn’t about ruining Australia’s reputation on the global stage, but about “being honest with the Australian people”.
We need to step on the gas, it’s as simple as that … I don’t think it’s fair that we look generation Z and millennials in the eye saying ‘you’re going to inherit a lower standard of living than your parents’. That’s not right. A lot of that is due to the cost of energy. When energy is unaffordable, everything is unaffordable.
Updated
Some ACT schools partially closed, with preschools also affected over asbestos warning for play sand
The list of schools closed in the ACT also includes partial closures affecting multiple classes and preschool closures.
The ACT has released a full list of the impacted schools here.
Updated
Opposition maintains affordability key driver in backing down from net zero targets
Dan Tehan, the shadow energy minister, said energy prices were a key driver of the change in policy from the Liberals.
He told RN Breakfast the Liberal party was seeking to provide assurances to Australians and business about their energy future, saying their policies would be “technology-neutral” to focus on affordability.
What we’ve done is been very clear and said we’re going back to an approach where the market will determine the types of technologies and the pathways. And that is the traditional Liberal approach to addressing these types of issues. And that’s how business gets certainty because it enables the market to dictate.
Tehan added:
I think people will understand that they don’t want us racing ahead of the rest of the world, costing us manufacturing jobs, costing us industry jobs and putting unrealistic and unreasonable pressure on households because of their electricity bills.
Updated
Climate change minister says Coalition’s ‘climate deniers have won’ after Liberals dump net zero targets
Chris Bowen, the federal climate change minister, has said “the climate deniers have won” after the Liberal party decided to dump its net zero by 2050 target yesterday.
Bowen spoke to RN Breakfast this morning. He said:
What we saw yesterday was a blaming of contradictory, internally inconsistent statements and claims, all an alibi to avoid action on the greatest environmental challenge and economic opportunity of our time.
I wish the Liberal party was engaged in better economics and better discussions about the pathway to net zero, but they’ve chosen to declare themselves completely irrelevant to the main issues that are so important for Australia’s future.
Bowen said there had been challenges bringing down power prices across the country, but said voters in May had told the Albanese government to “keep going” on that effort.
We’ve got a lot more to do in making sure that Australians are in charge of their energy use and needs.
Updated
Ten Canberra public schools closed today after ACCC issues warning about asbestos in play sand
Yvette Berry, the ACT’s education minister, said 10 public schools will be fully closed today and several others would be partially closed after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued a recall notice earlier this week about children’s sand products that may contain asbestos.
Berry wrote on social media that some of the coloured sand products were used in ACT public schools for sensory play and arts and crafts. She said:
I understand that this news might be upsetting for families. WorkSafe ACT have advised the risk of exposure to traces of chrysotile is low, however the safety of students, staff and families is our highest priority.
The decision to close schools has been made in line with Education Directorate policy and on the advice of WorkSafe on the safe management and remediation process required.
Closing the schools will allow testing and remediation efforts to occur “as soon as possible”, and Berry said officials will provide results from the tests “as soon as possible”.
You can read more about the recall here:
Updated
Study finds beach safety terms can be difficult to understand for overseas visitors
Australia’s beaches continue to pose fatal risks to overseas-born people, with a study suggesting many struggle to understand warnings presented on signs, Australian Associated Press reports.
A Monash University study found beach-related terminology and even the colour of warning signs were regularly misinterpreted by international visitors.
About a third of Australia’s 357 drowning deaths in 2024/25 were people born overseas.
Monash University drowning prevention researcher Masaki Shibata, who is also a surf lifesaver, said instructions such as “swim between the flags” were open to misinterpretation.
Other terms such as “shore dump”, “rip current” and “submerged object” also do not always translate well.
“To make the terms more universal, first we have to revise English ... shore is location, dump is action, and a lot of people don’t know what is dumping you or what’s being dumped,” he told AAP.
“Can we just simply say ‘crushing waves’ instead, for example, and instead of ‘swim between the flags’, can we just say ‘stay between the flags’.”
Updated
Good morning, and happy Friday. Nick Visser here to get things moving. Let’s dive in.
Federal government commits $37m to strengthen criminal history monitoring in early childhood and care
The federal government will spend $37m over five years to improve working with children checks (WWWC) in early childhood and care, including monitoring changes to criminal history.
The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, said the funding boost would go towards establishing the national continuous checking capability (NCCC), first announced earlier this year to provide “continuous, near real-time monitoring of changes to criminal history information for WWCC holders, significantly strengthening safeguards for children and young people”.
The NCCC pilot would be ready from the end of 2025, Rowland said, while work continued to close a “loophole” that allowed potential child abusers to work across jurisdictions.
Five jurisdictions have so far recognised interstate negative decisions, which means a person rejected for a WWCC in one jurisdiction will be rejected in others, since reforms were agreed to in August, while the remaining three are on track to introduce legislation this year.
Rowland said child safety was a “top priority” for the Labor government.
That’s why we are progressing a coordinated and ambitious reform agenda to achieve meaningful consistency across jurisdictions for when a person is suitable to hold a WWCC and when they should be excluded. This addresses existing gaps and inconsistencies and will improve protections for children and young people.
Read more on the topic here:
Updated
Tasmanian Greens say government caved to the AFL
The Tasmanian Greens leader, Rosalie Woodruff, whose party voted against the stadium, said the government had caved to the AFL for a shiny, vanity project.
“We have already more than earned the right to join the league, without the strings of a $1bn stadium attached,” she said.
Anti-stadium independent Kristie Johnston said many Tasmanians could not afford the basics, and the state budget was in the same position.
“When you are putting the groceries on the credit card … you shouldn’t be buying a boat,” she said.
Eric Abetz, the minister for Macquarie Point urban renewal, said that, if the stadium wasn’t built, doors would be shut in the face of aspirational young people.
“Confidence will be shattered and our self-esteem as a state will be trashed,” he said.
“The message will be: don’t try and do business in Tasmania.”
Updated
Tasmania's stadium plan passes first parliamentary hurdle
Tasmania’s contentious waterfront stadium – and attendant AFL dream – passed its first parliamentary hurdle last night but a do-or-die debate still awaits, Australian Associated Press reports.
Construction of a roofed stadium at Macquarie Point in Hobart is a condition of the Tasmania Devils entering the AFL and AFLW in 2028.
The $1.13bn project requires the approval of both houses of state parliament to proceed.
An order to build the stadium passed the lower house last night by 25 votes to nine as expected with the support of the governing Liberals and Labor opposition.
However, it faces a trickier passage in the upper house early next month when a handful of independent MPs will decide its fate.
Jeremy Rockliff, the state premier who signed the deal with the AFL, said the stadium represented an opportunity Tasmania could not afford to lose.
“[The team] has been a long-held dream of many, many Tasmanians,” he told parliament.
“People will be aghast if we say no to what we’ve fought for ... for decades.”
The Labor leader, Josh Willie, said his party would vote for the stadium, even though the Liberals’ management of the project had been “abysmal” and the journey unnecessarily divisive.
“We do not trust the government to deliver, but that doesn’t mean Tasmania should miss out on opportunities,” Willie said.
Willie, whose party at one point said it would try to renegotiate the stadium deal if elected, said the AFL commission stood ready to pull the pin on the Devils if the venue was not built.
The stadium has split the community and drawn political battlelines amid budget debt set to double to $10bn in 2028/29 and criticism the venue is not the right priority.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the overnight stories before Nick Visser takes you further towards the end of the working week.
The contentious plan to build a new stadium at Macquarie Point in Hobart passed its first hurdle in the Tasmanian parliament last night as governing Liberal MPs were joined by Labor members to approve the $1.3bn project by 25 votes to nine. A tougher test awaits in the upper house next month. More coming up.
The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, has announced $37m of federal funding over the next five years to improve the system of working with children checks in early childhood and care after recent childcare scandals. More details on the way.
