That's it for today, thanks for reading
Here are the main stories on Thursday, 18 September:
The Albanese government insists its new 2035 emissions reduction target of 62% to 70% represents the “maximum level of ambition”, as climate campaigners warn it falls short of what Australia should be doing to combat global heating;
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, says the Albanese government’s emissions reduction target “fails on both counts” when it comes to cost and credibility, adding she is deeply concerned about how much the plan will cost Australians and the details as to how it will take place;
The Greens leader, Larissa Waters, says climate risk report scenarios “will come to pass” as a result of Labor’s “weak” emissions target;
Independent senator David Pocock said the emissions reduction targets did not go far enough to address the major threat of climate change;
The South Australian government’s two most senior ministers have quit, forcing a reshuffle just six months out from the state election;
Australia’s jobs market is forecast to remain in good health, despite an expected rise in the unemployment rate;
A man has been charged by Queensland police for allegedly threatening to kill Justice for Palestine spokeswoman Remah Naji; and
An Abu Dhabi-based consortium has withdrawn its planned $30bn takeover bid for offer for the Australian oil and gas producer Santos.
We will see you here again for more news tomorrow.
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Queensland man charged for allegedly threatening to kill pro-Palestine activist
A man has been charged by Queensland police for allegedly threatening to kill a Justice for Palestine spokeswoman.
Remah Naji alleged she received two threatening phone calls in August.
She said while she took the threats seriously, she would not be silenced.
I’m not going to be intimidated by anyone, I’m going to continue the work that I’m doing.
The attention should be focused on people suffering real oppression, like Palestinians.
In a statement, police said detectives from the counter-terrorism investigation group (CTIG) charged a 43-year-old West End man on Thursday following investigations into alleged verbal threats via a carriage service on 14 and 18 August.
The man has been charged with one count each of use a carriage service to make a threat to kill, using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence.
He is due to appear in Brisbane magistrates court on 26 November.
Everyone in Queensland has a right to feel safe and the Queensland Police Service remains committed to community safety and engaging with people from across our culturally diverse society to help foster relationships and build upon platforms for community engagement.
Instances of serious vilification and hate crime are a criminal matter in Queensland, and where these are reported to police, investigations will be undertaken to prosecute those responsible.
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Manhunt ends with capture of allegedly dangerous Queensland fugitive
An allegedly “dangerous” fugitive accused of shooting a man and evading police at the scene of a car crash is in custody following a manhunt, AAP reports.
John Durham Willey, 42, was found in bushland a day after his dramatic alleged escape following the two-vehicle crash in central Queensland.
He was charged with a string of offences after he was located following a public appeal for assistance, ending a manhunt spanning more than 1,000km.
Willey had been on the run since he and a 47-year-old woman allegedly shot a 45-year-old man in the leg in a Cairns hotel in the state’s far north on September 9, police said.
A week later, police were called about midday on Tuesday to the two-vehicle crash involving a Holden ute and a caravan on the Bruce Highway near Rockhampton.
Willey and the woman allegedly fled the Holden on foot, sparking an emergency exclusion zone by police.
The woman was arrested in nearby bushland, with footage released by police showing the dramatic scene.
“Show me your hands. Get on the ground. Hands behind your back,” a police officer can be heard yelling before placing handcuffs on the woman.
Willey evaded police, with officers later finding two firearms and ammunition in the ute. Other firearms were found in a golf bag nearby, police said.
Police issued a public plea for information on Wednesday, warning Willey was armed and should not be approached.
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Self-driving car forecasts speed up after Tesla launch
Autonomous cars with no human behind the wheel could be roaming Australian roads in time for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games, a transport summit has been told, although questions remain about their safety and cost, AAP reports.
Strict regulations will also need to be in place to govern their use around the event, according to speakers at the National Future Transport Summit in Brisbane, although Australia was “on track” to deliver them.
The predictions came as US carmaker Tesla announced the launch of its self-driving software in Australia following weeks of testing and widespread speculation.
The two-day transport summit heard Uber considered Australia to be a prime location for self-driving vehicles as it had embraced ride-share options and regulators were taking steps to create national laws.
Other countries that raced to adopt self-driving cars have had to change regulations on the fly, Uber autonomous policy global head Richard Willder told the audience.
We certainly feel that Australia’s regulatory approach and the way that it’s going about it in such a thoughtful, holistic and really nuanced way is a very strong way to develop a regulatory framework.
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Australian shares slip as Santos drags on energy stocks
Australian shares have ended the day lower after Santos led a plunge in energy stocks as yet another suitor abandoned plans to buy the oil and gas giant, AAP reports.
We brought you news of that failed bid earlier.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 fell 63.7 points, or 0.72 per cent, to 8,754.8, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 55.2 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 9,039.7.
Nine of 11 local sectors closed in the red, as energy stocks tumbled more than five per cent after Abu Dhabi National Oil Company bailed out on its $28bn takeover offer for Santos.
The heavyweight financials and materials sectors also tracked lower, as CBA sold off and easing iron ore prices dragged on large-cap miners.
The Australian dollar is fetching 66.24 US cents, down from 66.74 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm, after weaker-than-expected August jobs growth narrowed bets for further interest rate relief ahead.
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NSW government says it has toughest working with children checks in Australia
The NSW government has passed laws it says will strengthen working with children checks (WWCC) to better protect kids from harm.
The government said in a statement that the legislation ensures only the Office of the Children’s Guardian – the state’s independent child safety regulator – will be responsible for reviewing WWCC decisions, removing external appeal pathways through the NSW civil and administrative tribunal (NCAT).
Minister for families and communities Kate Washington said:
NSW already has the strongest Working with Children Check system in the country and this week we’ve made it stronger.
The new laws come a week after Steve Kinmond, the New South Wales children’s guardian, was dismissed from his job after a scathing inquiry found he oversaw an “inept” complaints process and did not declare potential conflicts of interest.
Kinmond told Guardian Australia at the time that he rejected that he had a conflict of interest and characterised the relationship and communication as “purely professional” in nature.
You can read more on that story here:
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SA premier 'taken aback' and 'really saddened' as treasurer and deputy quit
The South Australian government’s two most senior ministers have quit, forcing a reshuffle just six months out from the state election, AAP reports.
Premier Peter Malinauskas on Thursday announced that deputy premier Susan Close and treasurer Stephen Mullighan had stood aside from cabinet and will retire from parliament at the March election.
He said he was “taken aback”, “somewhat disappointed” and “really saddened” when he was approached separately by the ministers several weeks ago, and he had tried to talk them into staying.
“I’m here today to make it very clear that my persuasive powers failed, and they have both announced their resignation to our cabinet earlier today from cabinet and their intention to not contest the next state election,” he said.
“I’ve known Susan and Stephen for a long time and they’re good friends of mine and they’ve been incredible support to me in different ways over the last few years and I’m really sad to see them go,” Malinauskas said.
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Greens not surprised Santos takeover bid withdrawn
Larissa Waters, the Greens leader, also spoke about the decision of an Abu Dhabi-led consortium to withdraw its $30bn takeover bid for Australian oil giant Santos.
She told the ABC she wasn’t surprised the consortium backed out, given recent revelations methane gas had been leaking from Santos’s Darwin facility since it was built in 2006, adding:
I think it would have been a bad move for the climate to sell off this company to a foreign-owned company with deep pockets.
You can read more on the withdrawn bid here:
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While we’re talking about Labor’s new emissions target, it may pay to take a look at this equally new snappy graphic.
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Waters says climate risk report scenarios ‘will come to pass’ as a result of Labor’s ‘weak’ emissions target
Labor has “kissed the hand” of coal and gas companies with its “weak” ambitions on the climate crisis, the Greens say.
Leader Larissa Waters told the ABC:
It is not ambitious to have a target that does not restrict coal and gas, that doesn’t end native forest logging, and the direct result of such a weak and thoroughly disappointing target is that the climate risk report scenarios which said 1.5 million people’s homes risk being flooded by 2050, heatwave days leading to more deaths, more natural disasters, destruction of species, extinction rates, all of that will come to pass because the prime minister has chosen to kiss the hand of coal and gas companies rather than managing that polluting industry.
It is a betrayal of the public who voted for climate action.
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‘Protective’ factors to prevent male violence should be encouraged, report says
Services must engage with men and boys to change the conditions that enable DFSV (domestic, family and sexual violence), a government report published today says.
The Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission has put together a snapshot of the existing knowledge base on DFSV and what “protective” factors can be encouraged to prevent men becoming violent.
Commissioner Micaela Cronin wrote in the snapshot that calls to work with men and boys “acknowledge that there must be accountability for men who use violence, but that these men also need support from those around them, including friends, families and support services, to stop their violence”. She said:
This is a challenging and confronting topic to consider, particularly at a time when rates of homicide and sexual violence against women and children are so high.
The snapshot says extremism and men’s violence can be viewed within a national security lens, to help tackle rising misogynistic views in young men and boys, some of whom are being radicalised online.
It says men and boys must be “meaningfully” engaged, warns that terms such as “toxic masculinity” can be alienating, and argues for better integration of men’s behaviour change programs within the justice, social services, health and child protection sectors.
Assistant minister for social services and the prevention of family violence, Ged Kearney, said the government had invested $4bn towards preventing violence but that there was much more to do. She said:
We know that when boys grow up with love and affection from their fathers, they are far less likely to use violence. That tells us something powerful – the answers don’t just lie in stopping harm, but in building a culture where care, respect and equality are the foundations of what it means to be a man.
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International Jewish organisations release statement ahead of UN meeting
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs have released a joint statement ahead of a UN general assembly meeting in New York.
In the statement, the representative organisations of Jewish communities in Australia, Canada and the UK call on their governments to “keep central to their diplomatic efforts to end the devastating conflict in Gaza the following priorities”:
• the return of all remaining hostages taken on or before 7 October 2023, living and dead;
• the disarming of Hamas and its removal from power;
• the need for unrestricted aid to reach civilians in Gaza, whilst ensuring it is not diverted to serve Hamas’s interests;
• the obligation of all parties to adhere to international law.
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NSW opposition ‘inclined to support’ changes to planning laws
A day after the NSW premier, Chris Minns, announced significant changes to planning laws to speed the delivery of new housing, the overall response has been supportive, if cautious.
“Well, we’ll have to look at the detail. But as I said, our default position is to say why not rather than why. And unless there is something stuck in it, then we’re inclined to support the legislation,” opposition leader Mark Speakman said.
He’s also backing the decision to develop the half-built Woollahra station in the blue-ribbon seat of Woollahra, though he cast doubt on whether the already builtup area would support 10,000 homes.
The peak body for local government in NSW has broadly welcomed the changes too, despite the fact that the bill contains provisions that require them to deal with complying developments that have minor deviations within 10 days or see it automatically approved. Local Government Association president, mayor Phylis Miller, said:
LGNSW supports genuine and sensible efforts to streamline planning regulation and contribute to increasing housing supply and diversity. We want to work with the government to ensure councils are supported to fulfil their assessment and broader planning responsibilities.
She particularly welcomed the proposed one-stop shop for state approvals.
On a less welcome note, she said councils were unhappy with plans to enshrine the Housing Delivery Authority (the HDA) as a permanent fixture.
She said state and federal government funding and delivery of key infrastructure should remain the priority.
But not everyone is enamoured with a one-stop shop for state agencies.
The independent member for Wakehurst, Michael Regan, whose electorate on the Northern Beaches is particularly bushfire prone, expressed “serious concern that the government’s bill risks diluting the Rural Fire Service’s role”.
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More on the developing Townsville mayor story
Townsville mayor Troy Thompson has responded to the announcement that he faces sacking from the council in parliament this morning.
Thompson was elected mayor last year, but was suspended over allegations he’d misled the electorate about his military history. Local government minister Ann Leahy told parliament she had issued him with a 14-day show cause notice to explain why he shouldn’t be dismissed from the council. Thompson said on Facebook:
These are allegations – not findings. And they have been brought forward by a minister who, in my view, is politically conflicted in this matter. Her recent comments suggest more about point-scoring and political distraction than genuine concern for due process or the Townsville community.
My legal team is prepared to respond in full once the allegations have been formally provided. Until now I have not been afforded natural justice by either the state or local government. That is unacceptable in a democratic system that claims to value fairness and integrity.
Thompson was referred to the state’s Crime and Corruption Commission last year after allegations he embellished his military record by stating he spent five years in the army, including time with “SAS Swanbourne”.
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Townsville mayor asked to ‘show cause’ to save job
Controversial Townsville mayor Troy Thompson will be issued with a show cause notice today to explain why he shouldn’t be sacked by the state government.
Local government minister Anne Leahy told parliament on Thursday that she had made the decision after a briefing by the Crime and Corruption Commission last month which “set out serious allegations”. Leahy said:
I will today issue councillor Thomson with a formal show cause notice. This will provide him with 14 days to respond and sets out in detail the basis of my concerns, as required under Section 120 of the Local Government Act 2009. The notice includes a detailed explanation of the factual basis for forming my reasonable belief that dismissal may be appropriate.
Following the 14-day period and upon receipt of councillor Thomson’s response, I will carefully consider the matters raised before making a final decision.
Mr Speaker, these are serious matters, and the actions I have taken reflect this government’s firm commitment to transparency, natural justice and the highest standards of integrity in local government. At every step, my focus has been on the people of Townsville, they deserve a council that is stable, accountable and able to deliver for its community.
Thompson was elected as Townsville mayor last year. He was suspended by Leahy on full pay after allegations he misled the electorate about his military history.
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Greens also lash Labor’s emissions target
The Greens, as it happens, are also not fans of Labor’s emissions target, describing it (over and over again) as an utter failure.
Greens leader Larissa Waters said in a statement:
Coal and gas corporations will love this utter failure of a target.
Labor has sold out to coal and gas corporations with this utter failure of a target.
Labor’s utter failure of a climate target is a betrayal of people and the planet and a win for coal and gas corporations.
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Littleproud says Nationals won’t support ‘nonsense’ targets
Unsurprisingly, Littleproud says of the target:
So we won’t be supporting these interim targets. We won’t be legislating targets. That’s nonsense.
What we’ll do is be responsible. What we will be is sensible and what we’ll make sure is we put Australian families and Australian business at the core of this because, coming to Australian families, whether it be directly through job losses or through their energy bill or through their food bill or whether their daily movement around this country, you are going to pay the price of this.
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Climate target ‘nothing more than an expensive charade’, Nationals leader says
Nationals leader David Littleproud is speaking about Labor’s new emissions target.
He says it’s “nothing more than an expensive charade on the people of Australia”.
The reality is that in three years of government they haven’t reduced emissions at all, yet they’re trying to tell us that they’re going to take us from around 26 to 28% of reduction that we achieved … to 62% by 2035. They can’t do it and they can’t explain how they’re going to do it. And the detail around the cost. Australians need to know that they’re going to foot the bill for this. They’re going to foot a very expensive bill, either through their energy bills but also through their grocery bills and everything else they buy. So the Albanese government is very much big on rhetoric, but not a lot on detail.
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That’s all from me! Nino Bucci will take the blog from here. Enjoy the rest of Thursday.
‘Worst is over’ when it comes to cocoa prices but retail chocolate prices to remain high for longer
The cost of cocoa is forecast to reduce significantly by mid-2027, but retail chocolate prices will take longer to fall and are still expected to remain higher than they were four years ago.
Researchers at the agribusiness bank have published a new report that found consumers can expect some relief from rising chocolate prices, which are today more than 50% higher than they were in 2021.
The price has jumped markedly in the last year alone. In September last year, a premium-branded 100g chocolate tablet retailed at EUR 2.93 at the time at a Dutch supermarket, the report said.
The same product is now retailing at EUR 3.95, an increase of nearly 35% in just 12 months.
Paul Joules, an agriculture analysist at RaboResearch, says the surge in retail chocolate prices was caused by a “cocoa shock” or crisis in the industry caused by poor harvests, crop disease and “structural supply issues”.
Joules says while the worst is over, global cocoa prices will remain above “pre-crisis” levels due to ongoing issues including aging trees, crop disease, and climate volatility, which means retail prices could take longer to fall. He said:
The chocolate market is entering a new era of higher costs and persistent volatility, requiring agility and continuous adaptation from industry players.
While the peak of chocolate retail price inflation may be behind us, the pressure remains, and the industry is hedging its bets for a resilient future.
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David Pocock says emissions reduction target ‘not ambitious enough’
Independent senator David Pocock just spoke to the media about the emissions reduction targets, saying the levels announced by the Albanese government did not go far enough to address the major threat of climate change.
He said:
It is not ambitious enough to allow us to go to the world stage and to push big emitters, the rest of the world, to do better. We know what is at stake. We have seen in the national climate assessment just what climate change is going to do to our country, is going to do to our communities, the ocean that we love, the reefs that we love, the bushland that we love, the native species that make this continent so incredible.
And yet we have a government that is not listening to the science.
Pocock added:
We cannot give up on this. We have to keep fighting and keep pushing, the Labor party, the major parties to take our future seriously.
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Ley says there is ‘no division’ among Coalition to oppose ‘latest piece of trainwreck energy policy’
Ley said she just came out of a shadow cabinet meeting and said the Coalition is unified in its plans to oppose the emissions reductions targets.
She said:
I can assure you there was absolutely no division in opposing Labor’s latest piece of trainwreck energy policy. And we know that we’re doing this on behalf of hard-working Australians who actually expect better from a government whose credibility is in tatters.
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Sussan Ley on emissions reduction target: ‘you cannot trust a single thing this government says’
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, says the Albanese government’s emissions reduction targets “fails on both counts” when it came to cost and credibility, adding she is deeply concerned about how much the plan will cost Australians and the details as to how it will take place.
She said during a press conference:
Under this government we’re seeing a trifecta of energy failures. Costs are up. Reliability is down. And emissions are flatlining.
… You cannot trust a single thing this government says.
If the government wants to have an honest conversation with Australians, they need to be upfront about announcements they make in critical areas of energy. Energy is the economy. They need to be upfront about what it will actually cost. Australians deserve to know this.
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More than 600,000 Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people enrolled to vote
For the first time, the estimated Indigenous enrolment rate is more than 600,000 people, according to new figures from the Australian Electoral Commission.
The new data shows an estimated 93% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are now enrolled to vote, with 16,000 First Nations people estimated to have enrolled in the past year. The AEC has visited 50 communities since the 2025 election to improve electoral participation.
The national enrolment rate for the general population is 98.1%.
Jeff Pope, the acting commissioner of the AEC, said in a statement:
We’ve been working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities for many years now as part of our commitment to closing the gap in the Indigenous enrolment rate.
There is clearly still more work to do, but we’re very pleased with the significant increases to the figures over the past several years.
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Australian government announces 2035 emissions reduction target – video
In his announcement, prime minister Anthony Albanese said: “It is the right target to protect our environment, to protect and advance our economy and jobs and to ensure that we act in our national interest and in the interest of this and future generations”.
Emissions reduction target ‘a denial of climate justice’, 350.org says
350.org, a major international climate change group, said the targets announced today were “nowhere near what is needed to secure our survival”.
Fenton Lutunatabua, the group’s deputy head of regions, said in a statement:
Anything less than a 75% cut this decade backed by a plan to phase out coal, oil and gas is not a climate plan, it’s a denial of climate justice.
Pacific peoples are already living the losses that come from every fraction of a degree of warming. The supposed ‘sweet spot’ decided by the Albanese government is nowhere near what is needed to secure our survival. Not only that, but it doesn’t address the enormous burden of Australia’s fossil fuel exports, the consequences of which the children of the Pacific will have to bear.
Brittany Higgins to appeal damages after defamation ruling
Brittany Higgins will appeal a $341k payout and 80% of legal costs to her former boss, ex-Liberal senator Linda Reynolds, after a Western Australian supreme court ruled last month she defamed the once-Liberal frontbencher in two social media posts.
Two appeal notices, submitted to the court on Wednesday, show Higgins’ defence team will fight the orders delivered by Justice Paul Tottle on 27 August.
Tottle ruled Reynolds’ reputation was damaged by a 2022 social media post from Higgins’ partner David Sharaz, which Higgins responded to, as well as an Instagram story published by Higgins in July 2023.
Higgins’ legal team, however, successfully defended a third social media post – also found to be defamatory – as honest opinion, fair comment and qualified privilege. Reynolds was unable to prove Higgins and Sharaz had concocted a conspiracy to publicly release the details of Higgins’s alleged rape with the “sole or predominant purpose” of destroying the former senator’s reputation, Tottle’s judgment said.
The court ruled that Higgins pay $315,000 in damages with an additional $26,109.25 in interest. Earlier this month, the court made a separate ruling on additional costs, ordering Higgins to pay 80% of Reynolds’ legal costs for the five-week defamation trial. It’s expected the total bill will easily surpass million-dollar territory.
The appeal notices show Higgins’ legal team is not appealing the judgment but focusing on the damages payout and the direction to pay 80% of Reynolds’ legal bills.
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Well that was a highly anticipated announcement, and there’ll be plenty more reaction to it throughout the day! I’ll hand you back over to the wonderful Nick Visser to bring you all that.
Analysis: Labor's climate targets promise everyone a prize
The Albanese government has announced an Oprah Winfrey-style emissions target for 2035 - tried to promise (nearly) everyone a prize.
We haven’t had time to absorb the advice that underpins it, but the range of 62% to 70% is clearly at least partly a political solution. It is extraordinarily wide.
At the bottom end, the goal is clearly designed to dampen criticism from business organisations arguing for less action. At the top end it meets a demand from some scientists and climate campaigners that it must include a number with a “7” in front of it - that is, that it reaches into the 70s.
This won’t be enough to nullify criticism: it is already pouring into my inbox from climate-focused organisations and scientists. The reality is the target sets a minimum goal of 62% but scientists say the country’s part in meeting the goals of the 2015 Paris agreement would be more than 75% - possibly significantly more.
The range is well below what the Climate Change Authority thought was “ambitious, but achievable” early last year when it nominated 65% to 75%. Why the change? We need more detailed answers on that than we got at the press conference.
Will this goal help Australia take a leading role in avoiding the worst projections set out in the national risk assessment released on Monday? Certainly not if we end up at 62%.
But what matters now is the policies. And we will need a lot more - a lot more - to get where we need to be.
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Fortescue head says Labor has shown ‘courage of leadership’ but calls for even higher emissions cuts
Andrew Forrest, chairman of mining giant Fortescue, has also called on the government to be more ambition, arguing the upper range of 70% should be a “floor” not a ceiling.
It [the government] has shown the courage of leadership. Yet let me be clear: the upper range of its target – 70% – must be a floor, not a ceiling.
A cut of at least 75% is what is needed for Australia to pursue emissions reductions in line with the science. This remains the only course that can avert the accelerating impacts of a world warmed beyond 1.5°C.
Fortescue was one of more than 500 businesses including Atlassian, Canva, and Unilever calling for a 75% target in the lead up to the announcement.
Former emergency leaders are also warning the target will leave emergency responders in a critical situation. The Emergency Leaders for Climate Action group warns the bottom end of the target will fall “dangerously short of what’s needed to protect both communities and emergency responders.” The former commissioner of Fire & Rescue NSW, Greg Mullins, says:
If that’s the level of risk we’re accepting, then what’s the plan for dealing with it? Emergency leaders want to see a concrete, well-funded plan for how the Albanese government is going to support communities and first responders to adapt to the compounding, cascading and concurrent disasters its own risk assessment outlines if we’re choosing not to cut climate pollution any further or faster.
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Environmental groups’ verdict on Labor emissions targets: ‘weak’
We’re getting plenty of reaction to the 2035 target, and environment groups are pushing for far more ambitious action.
Greenpeace has called the target “weak” while the Australian Conservation Foundation has labelled it “timid”.
Both groups accuse the government of prioritising the fossil fuel industry over community safety.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific says the target is “not science-aligned, and undermines global action under the Paris Agreement to limit warming to 1.5C”.
It prioritises fossil fuel profits and business interests over people, and effectively abandons our commitment under the Paris Agreement… a temperature goal that is non-negotiable for Pacific nations staring down the barrel of climate catastrophe.
The ACF’s climate and energy program manager, Gavan McFadzean, says:
A target range of 62% to 70% falls significantly short on all measures of what’s needed, with the government’s plans preparing Australia only to meet the bottom end of the range.
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PM won’t say how much power bills will drop under 2035 plan
The prime minister says there needs to be “lean in” from all levels of government and business to get to the target.
He also adds that the amount of wind and solar power in China is now “nearly twice as much as the rest of the world combined. Just a fun fact”:
We have a target range, it depends upon as we have outlined, whether there is a lean in and by other levels of government, by the private sector as well, industry … we know that the federal government can only do so much.
Finally, Albanese is asked exactly how much power bills will come down (which makes all the journalists in the room laugh).
Albanese won’t give a figure – you might remember how much the opposition likes to bring up Labor’s pre-2022 election promise of a reduction in energy bills by $275, which they had to abandon. The PM says:
You yourself laughed when he asked that question so, it should be treated in the spirit which you’ve done. What we know is if we do not act, they will be a cost [to] the economy as [the] treasurer has outlined. They will be: lower wages, lower growth, less jobs.
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Bowen says target ‘within the realm’ of global emissions reduction to keep warming under 1.5 degrees
Further to the last point, Bowen says the work by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows that Australia’s target is within the realm of keeping global warming under 1.5 degrees.
We will not pretend that some sort of figure over 70[%] with no evidence or no modelling or no advice is achievable [or] is a sensible ambition for this country to go after. The IPCC, in their report about what was necessary, said 68% [is] around the world emissions reduction. That is within our range.
On how the government will get there, Jim Chalmers adds that the target and modelling released today will help investors “invest with confidence” to achieve the target.
Private investment will be the thing that help us achieve this ambitious target and get us closer to the 70% and the 62% … and so our priority, recognising our constraint, is to leverage as much private investment as we can.
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Bowen confirms target aligns with goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees
Albanese is asked whether the range means the government’s target is actually 62%.
He says the target is consistent with those of other nations who also have a target range, and says it’s consistent with technological development that will help Australia achieve that target range.
The government is also asked whether the range means the government isn’t aligned with the goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.
But Bowen says the target still has that objective.
It is very clear that we have set a target based on science and the objective of 1.5 degrees. That is what we are required to do under law.
They [the Climate Council Authority] said we should go for maximum ambition. They then looked at what is achievable in the Australian context and that is exactly 62% to 70%.
This range reflects two things, it reflects that technology changes over a decade in ways that not everyone can easily predict 10 years out and we recognise that.
Bowen was also asked about whether there will need to be changes to the Safeguard Mechanism and New Vehicle Efficiency Standard – he says both are subject to legislative reviews next year.
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‘We think we have a sweet spot’: PM
Anthony Albanese says the independent advice from the Climate Change Authority is based on science but is also consistent with the European Union’s target.
This is ambitious but achievable.
We think we have a sweet spot that will be criticism from some who say it is too high some who will say it is too low. What we have done is accept the Climate Change Authority’s advice and, importantly, this is worlds best practice.
The Climate Change Authority chair, Matt Kean, says the targets are about opportunity and delivering a “cleaner and safer and better” world for future generations.
He says the CCA considered more than 500 submissions and conducted over 560 meetings and events to reach the target range.
There is a path that will deliver benefits and savings, not cost. Our leading scientific body, the CSIRO has done that work. This is a range that I am hopeful we can overachieve on. Our range positions Australia is a global leader on climate.
Today’s report is ambitious for Australia, ambitious for a prosperous future.
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Treasurer: net zero transition ‘golden opportunity’
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says he asked his department to model several scenarios, which found a “disorderly transition” would result in lower wages and higher electricity prices.
But a 65% target, which is what Treasury modelled for the government – broadly in line with what the Climate Change Authority would recommend, Chalmers says the department found the economy would be better off.
The baseline scenario would see our economy $2.2tn bigger by 2050 and an extra $36,000 per person wealthier 5.1 million jobs and investment up 80%. That is the baseline scenario that represents the trajectory that the government believes is the baseline coming from the arrangements that we are announcing today.
If we leave the heavy lifting to others at the start of the 2040s and where our country and economy would need to scramble to hit net zero by 2050 and in the disorderly transition the economy would be a cumulatively $1.2tn smaller.
Chalmers also adds that he welcomes the unemployment rate remaining at 4.2%, and says the labour market has been a “genuine source of strength”. On the immigration rate he says:
We are now 17,000 people lower than the Treasury forecast for net overseas migration and 40% below the peak that we saw in that overseas migration following Covid.
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Bowen outlines commitments for ‘achievable and ambitious’ target
The global shift to clean energy is the “biggest economic transition since the Industrial Revolution” says the climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, who takes the mic after Albanese.
Bowen says the advice from the Climate Change Authority was to help determine an “achievable and ambitious” target, and one that can be done in “a realistic fashion”.
Bowen says the target comes with a comprehensive plan on how to get there.
The updated plan that we are releasing today is that path together with the six sector plans that we release today that show industry and investors what the government thinks is the most feasible decarbonisation pathway beyond 2030.
There’s a few commitments under the target that are being announced today:
$2bn for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
A $5bn net zero fund within the national reconstruction fund.
$1.1bn for the production of clean fuels – announced yesterday.
$40m to speed up the rollout of kerbside and fast EV charging.
$85m for frameworks to help households and businesses improve their energy performance.
$50m for sports clubs to decarbonise.
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Renewables backed by gas and battery storage, says PM
Albanese says emissions need to drop in electricity, transport and industry, and announces $2m for the clean energy finance corporation, to “accelerate long term renewable projects”.
There’s also $40m on the table to accelerate the rollout of curb-side fast EV charging.
He also takes a swipe at the opposition for their “23 different energy policies and did not land one of them”.
Today we announce a fund in the national reconstruction fund to help large industry decarbonise and scale up more renewables and low emissions manufacturing. This builds on what we have been doing through the safeguard mechanism.
[Renewable] capacity is up 45% since we came into government, enough to power some 6m households.
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Labor announces 62-70% emissions reduction target
Labor has announced it will set a 62-70% emissions reduction target by 2035, taking the advice of the Climate Change Authority and says it’s the “right target”.
Anthony Albanese is standing up with the energy minister, Chris Bowen, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and Climate Change Authority chair, Matt Kean, in Sydney.
This has been a highly anticipated announcement, and comes just ahead of the PM taking off to New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly, where he will submit the target.
Albanese says:
This is a responsible target supported by science and a practical plan to get there and built on proven technology. It is the right target to protect our environment, to protect and advance our economy and jobs and to ensure that we act in our national interest and in the interest of this and future generations.
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Jobless rate steady at 4.2% despite fall in employment
The unemployment rate stayed at 4.2% in August, despite the number of employed people falling by 5,000 people in the month.
The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed a 41,000 drop in full-time employment, partially offset by a 36,000 rise in part-time jobs.
The steady jobless rate was expected, although economists had forecast employment growth of 21,000, so the jobs report is broadly a disappointing one.
A slight drop in the workforce participation rate – essentially the pool of people either working or actively looking for work – helped explain the unchanged jobless rate, despite a drop in employment.
The key unemployment measure has been bumping around in the low 4s since early 2024.
Updated
Krishani Dhanji is going to take the reins ahead of the big climate announcement.
Labor to set 62-70% climate target
Australia will aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions between 62% and 70% on 2005 levels by 2035 under the Albanese government’s new climate target, a Labor source told Guardian Australia.
The prime minister is due to unveil the target at 12pm in Sydney after cabinet met on Thursday morning to consider the Climate Change Authority’s advice.
The authority’s preliminary advice suggested a target of between 65% and 75% was ambitious but achievable.
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Annual net overseas migration slows in March
Net overseas migration contributed 315,924 people to Australia’s population in the year to March, new official data has revealed, slowing from 334,565 people in the year to December.
Our estimated national population as at 30 March was 27.5 million people, or 423,400 higher than a year earlier, according to the quarterly estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Migration has become an increasingly fraught political topic in the wake of a spike in overseas arrivals that followed the end of Covid lockdowns.
Net overseas migration, or Nom, peaked at nearly 555,798 in the year to September 2023 – a powerful catch-up after migration collapsed and went into reverse through 2020 and 2021.
Nom is now retracing back towards pre-pandemic annual growth rates of about 240,000 people, and annual Nom has dropped in every quarter since late 2023.
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UN sent complaint over Hannah Thomas arrest
The Human Rights Law Centre has sent a formal complaint to the UN over the “violent arrest” of Hannah Thomas and the “wider erosion” of protest rights in New South Wales.
In a statement, the centre said the complaint warned:
The NSW “protest permit” Form 1 system is being increasingly misused as a protest authorisation system, forcing protest organisers to seek police approval or face significant financial penalties and/or imprisonment.
NSW Police have unchecked discretion to determine which protests receive legal protection and which do not.
The dangerous consequences of these powers [were] seen most starkly in Ms Thomas’ violent arrest, where the absence of a Form 1 was used as the basis for dispersal and arrest, with serious consequences for her safety.
The complaint called on the United Nations Special Rapporteur that focuses on rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association to request the Australian government to explain how the form 1 system and NSW anti-protest laws are compatible with the nation’s human rights obligation.
Earlier this month, the office of the director of public prosecution dropped charges against Thomas, a former Greens candidate who was arrested at a Sydney protest in June.
The 35-year-old, who is now suing the State of NSW, was taken to hospital after she was arrested and underwent two rounds of surgery to her eye, with her lawyers alleging a police officer punched her in the face.
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PM to unveil 2035 emissions reduction target at 12pm
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will unveil Australia’s 2035 emissions reduction target at 12pm in Sydney.
Cabinet met to sign off on the announcement on Thursday, with Labor caucus also briefed.
The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, and the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will also stand up at the press conference.
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ANU’s interim vice-chancellor will not ask Julie Bishop to resign
Brown said she will not ask the university’s chancellor, Julie Bishop, to step down.
Last week, Bishop vowed to stay on as chancellor after Prof Genevieve Bell tendered her resignation, ending a tumultuous two years at the institution marked by redundancies, proposed course closures and allegations of a toxic work culture.
In a staff question at the town hall, Brown was told the university had “no confidence” in any plan moving forward while Bishop remained in her role, with the questioner asking: “If the university is serious about rebuilding trust, will you commit to asking the chancellor to step down?”
Brown replied “the short answer is no”, going on:
It’s not the interim or vice-chancellor’s prerogative to ask a chancellor or any member of council to step down, that is a decision for council … I have no aspirations [or] intentions to change the existing leadership team. The university leadership group is over 70 members of our staff.
Many of her answers were met with applause from the crowd, but this one was met with a beat of silence.
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Interim vice-chancellor of ANU says ‘we will do better’
The interim vice-chancellor of the Australian National University (ANU), Prof Rebekah Brown, says there will be a “different type of communication” after the exit of Prof Genevieve Bell and she will “expect better” from management going forward.
Brown is responding to questions at an all staff town hall at ANU. Pointed to the fact the university’s restructure had “demonstrably caused harm” at the university and what accountability would look like going forward, Brown said it was “her job” to take responsibility as ANU’s interim leader.
She also apologised for the harm caused by a “confusing email” in recent weeks that led staff to believe there would be no further involuntary redundancies, which was inaccurate at the time. Brown said:
We are going to be having a different type of communication. That is really significant. I’d say also that what we can do is be better going forward, act differently going forward. So what I can say is that at least under my interim leadership, we will do better. I’ll expect better.
Brown also said ANU would also do a stocktake of its finances and “be transparent” with its community. She said the university’s model going forward would be to rely on its own people before employing the use of consultants.
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Shares in Santos sink after takeover bid withdrawn
Shares in oil and gas producer Santos have fallen more than 10% this morning, after an Abu Dhabi-led consortium withdrew its $30bn takeover bid for the Adelaide-headquartered company.
XRG, the investment arm of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, was required to submit a binding proposal by Friday after lodging an indicative bid in mid-June.
It withdrew its offer last night.
The proposal was expected to receive significant scrutiny from the Foreign Investment Review Board, which provides advice to the treasurer.
Santos shares are now priced below $7, which is around the same level they traded at before the June bid.
Takeovers generally lead to a spike in the target’s share price given most buyers need to pay a premium to secure control of another company.
Updated
No further job cuts at ANU sends ‘powerful message’ to Australia’s universities, union says
The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) says “every university staff member” facing job cuts around the nation can “take heart” from the Australian National University’s announcement that there will be no forced redundancies.
Its ACT division secretary, Dr Lachlan Clohesy, said the interim vice-chancellor, Prof Rebekah Brown, deserved credit for “reading the room accurately” on the issue. The announcement at a town hall this morning came just a week after the exit of former vice-chancellor, Prof Genevieve Bell.
Clohesy said the university’s restructure process, Renew ANU, had “damaged the university and its people”:
It has broken the University. While there is work to do, we can now start to pick up the pieces. Today demonstrates that much of the pain and psychological damage of recent times was not necessary. I hope that leadership at UTS is taking note of what has happened at the ANU.
NTEU national president, Dr Alison Barnes, said the announcement sent a “powerful message” to “all vice-chancellors pursuing reckless and unjustified cuts” and pointed to the need for major governance reform.
The town hall is continuing, with staff waiting to ask questions of Brown.
Updated
No more job cuts at Australian National University and School of Music saved, town hall meeting reveals
There will be no more involuntary redundancies at the Australian National University, the interim vice-chancellor, Prof Rebekah Brown, has confirmed.
Briefing staff at a town hall meeting on Thursday morning, Brown became emotional before confirming she and the chancellor had supported no more involuntary redundancies at the institution.
She said the university would still need to do realignments and consolidate its professional services in colleges flagged for restructures, saying:
We still need to be really mindful of our expenditure. It’s critical. What I would like to say also is that the other four colleges that are not listed here in these change proposals, they’ve been able to meet their 2025 budgetary targets, which were all contractions as well through vacancy management retirements [and] attritions.
Brown said an “anonymous donor” had also offered a generous philanthropic gift in order to continue the Australian National Dictionary Centre for the next two years. The School of Music will also be saved, Brown confirmed.
Updated
Migration and jobs numbers to be released today
While the government’s announcement of its 2035 emissions reduction target will rightly dominate our collective attention, today we also get new figures on another increasingly hot button issue: migration.
The ABS at 11.30am will release estimated population stats for the March quarter.
Net overseas migration (or Nom) was 340,750 in the year to December, and it reached a remarkable peak of nearly 556,000 in the year to September 2023 – a rebound from the Covid-era lockdowns and closed borders.
In the few years leading up to the pandemic net overseas migration averaged about 240,000 people a year.
Today’s data should show Nom slowing again, but perhaps not as quickly as Treasury officials have forecast in the budget.
And if that wasn’t enough, the ABS will also publish labour force figures for July.
Unemployment has been in the low 4s for more than a year now, and the consensus forecast among economists is for the jobless rate to stay at 4.2% – good news that will probably keep it out of the headlines.
More from the privacy commissioner’s findings on Kmart’s use of facial recognition tech
Kind found that the collection of biometric information was a disproportionate interference with privacy. The privacy commissioner considered the estimated value of fraudulent returns against Kmart’s total operations and profits as part of the evaluation.
Kind said:
I do not consider that the respondent (Kmart) could have reasonably believed that the benefits of the FRT system in addressing refund fraud proportionately outweighed the impact on individuals’ privacy.
Hardware giant Bunnings is now challenging a 2024 privacy commissioner ruling over its use of facial recognition technology in the Administrative Review Tribunal.
Kmart was approached for comment.
Updated
Kmart’s facial recognition tech breached privacy, commissioner finds
Retail giant Kmart breached Australians’ privacy through the use of facial recognition technology in 28 of its stores, which the company said was aimed at addressing refund fraud.
Between June 2020 and July 2022, Kmart used facial recognition tech to capture the faces of every person entering 28 of its stores, and all people who went to a refund counter, in an attempt to identify people committing refund fraud.
The privacy commissioner, Carly Kind, found Kmart did not notify shoppers or seek their consent to use the technology to collect their biometric information.
Kmart argued it was not required to obtain consent because of an exemption allowing organisations to collect the information to tackle unlawful activity or serious misconduct.
The commissioner said there were other less intrusive methods available to Kmart to address refund fraud, and the system was of “limited utility”.
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‘I don’t know that Australians can trust this government’, Ley says before release of emissions targets
Ley is holding another press conference ahead of the release of the Albanese government’s emissions reduction targets.
She said:
I’m happy to explain as I often do to Australians that we do take climate action seriously, we believe that Australia should play its part in reducing emissions, but not at any cost.
I’m listening to what Australians say and they’re telling me how expensive it to run their households, run their businesses, employ more people, to actually conduct life, business, and the next generation in an economy where their living standards are going backwards …
Cost and credibility are the two important standards for this government to meet. Because we need to be able to – I don’t know that Australians can – trust this government.
Updated
When Ziggy’s bond was withheld after eviction without cause from his Sydney rental, he challenged it – and won
Ziggy Tow and his housemates thought they had had enough trouble after their property manager evicted them without grounds and listed their inner-Sydney home for an extra $300 a week.
Then the property manager claimed back all of the $3,400 they paid in bond to cover cleaning and repair fees.
It took three months of disputes before New South Wales’ rent tribunal ruled the claim was nearly triple a justified amount, awarding $2,100 to the housemates, who Tow said live “paycheck to paycheck”.
“I spoke to a lot of people who [said] ‘I would have just left it’,” Tow said.
A growing number of tenants are losing some or all of their bond after their leases expire in Australia’s biggest housing markets, as surging rents and other living costs pressure households, analysis of public data has found.
Read more here:
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Sydney Water names new chief executive
The NSW government announced Darren Cleary as the new chief executive of Sydney Water this morning, nearly six months after the surprise departure of the agency’s managing director, Roch Cheroux.
Cleary has been the chief executive of Hunter Water since 2020, where he improved water security for the region through an investment in a desalination plant and the creation of the lower Hunter water security plan, Sydney Water said.
Rose Jackson, the NSW water minister, said in a statement:
As a trusted public face with a wealth of experience, the future of Sydney Water as a reliable, sustainable, customer-focused organisation is in good hands with Darren.
Cleary will begin his role on 17 November.
Second Queensland coalminer announces job losses
A second Queensland coalminer has announced job losses, just a day after BHP announced 750 job cuts and the closure of a mine.
On Thursday, Anglo American Australia vice-president of people and corporate relations, Ben Mansour, said the company had slashed roles. It’s expected that more than 200 roles will be made redundant, many of them in Brisbane.
The BHP-Mitsubishi Alliance yesterday blamed the state’s royalties scheme for plans to mothball its Saraji South coalmine. Anglo American did not cite royalties in its Thursday announcement.
Anglo American is the country’s second largest steelmaker, operating five mines in central Queensland, including the region’s largest, the Grosvenor underground mine. Grosvenor closed as a result of an explosion last year and staff started the process of reopening in June.
Mansour said the company had undertaken a comprehensive review of its organisational structure to ensure the long-term sustainability of our business:
As part of this review, a small number of staff roles across our Brisbane office and operational sites have been impacted. A substantial proportion of reductions have been achieved through voluntary redundancy, and we are committed to supporting our people through this transition with access to outplacement services and wellbeing support.
For more than a year, we’ve worked to protect the jobs of our Grosvenor workforce – including redeploying roles to our other underground operations. The phased nature of the re-entry work, carried out in close coordination with regulators, means we are now in a position to engage unions and our Grosvenor EA (enterprise agreement) workforce in a voluntary redundancy expression of interest process, which is in its very early stages.
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Queensland limits use of ‘good character’ evidence for convicted sex offenders
Queensland parliament has limited convicted sex offenders from using “good character” evidence to reduce their jail term.
The laws are based on recommendations from Queensland’s sentencing advisory council and make a number of changes to the sentencing process. It also creates a new aggravating factor requiring the court to treat offences against people aged 16 or 17 as more serious, among other reforms.
Historically, rapists, like other convicted criminals, were able to introduce evidence from employers, friends and family to argue that they were otherwise of “good character”, which would be required to taken into account by the judge.
The state attorney general, Deb Frecklington, who introduced the legislation, said “no one wants to hear that a rapist is all-round great person, a trustworthy mate, or that they’re respected in the community – especially not their victim, bravely sitting in court”.
Now such evidence can only be taken into account where it is relevant to the offender’s prospects of rehabilitation or likelihood of reoffending. The legislation passed on the voices, effectively unanimously, last night.
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Laneway drops lineup featuring Chappell Roan, Alex G, Lucy Dacus and more
Laneway has just announced its lineup for next year’s festival.
The top of the bill is stacked with pop and indie darlings, including Chappell Roan, Alex G, Geese, Wet Leg and local legends Armlock and Shady Nasty, among many others.
The pre-sale starts next Tuesday, 23 September.
Updated
NSW treasurer says new planning system will stop state ‘tripping over our own red tape’
Daniel Mookhey, the NSW treasurer, said this morning yesterday’s proposal to majorly overhaul the state’s planning system would help speed up housing approvals.
He told RN Breakfast:
We have a tendency in New South Wales to have been tripping over our own red tape. 22 agencies having to be involved in deciding whether or not a home can be built is just too many.
And what we’re wanting to do with this reform is fundamentally modernise how we make planning decisions. But the reason why that’s important is because we do need to build more homes and we do need to build them fast than we have been in recent times. And so we do think that these reforms are a big, big step up on the existing status quo.
Shoebridge says Australia has obligation to act after UN commission report
Shoebridge went on to say Australia had an obligation to apply sanctions on Israel akin to those applied to Russia, but said the Albanese government “can’t even acknowledge that a genocide is happening”. He told RN:
We haven’t had that clear acknowledgment from the Albanese government, and that means we’re not taking the action we’re obliged to, both legally and morally. …
The evidence, the overwhelming evidence that it’s not just a fear, but a reality of a genocide, means we have an obligation to act. And I cannot understand why we continue to provide material support to the Israeli military, why we continue to give diplomatic cover to the Netanyahu.
Updated
Greens accuse opposition of engaging ‘in genocide denial and climate denial’
The Greens’ foreign affairs spokesperson, David Shoebridge, said Cash’s remarks reflected an opposition engaging in “genocide denial”, adding her comments were “incredible”. Shoebridge told RN Breakfast:
We have a so-called opposition in Australia that’s engaged in genocide denial and climate denial. They’re not a serious political party. They’re not engaging with the reality of what’s happening on the ground.
That’s a war against the people of Gaza, an obscene war against the people of Gaza that is killing children, using mass starvation as a tool of war. It is incredible that. Somebody who wants to be a senior player in Australian politics is engaged in genocide denial right now.
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Michaelia Cash disputes UN body findings and says genocide not ‘simply about loss of life in war’
Michaelia Cash, the shadow foreign affairs minister, has discounted findings from a UN commission this week that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, saying genocide was not “simply about loss of life in war”.
Cash spoke to RN Breakfast this morning after the independent UN body, which does not speak on behalf of the UN, found that “genocide is occurring in Gaza and continuing to occur”.
Cash said this morning:
Well, genocide, Sally, as you know, and I’m a lawyer, has a very specific meaning in international law.
It’s not simply about loss of life in war, however, tragic. It requires a deliberate intent to destroy a people in whole or in part. Now, Israel has made it very clear that its actions are about defending its citizens from Hamas terrorism, not about destroying the Palestinian people. …
Hamas does not seek peace or coexistence. It seeks to wipe Israel off the map and that is why Israel is acting to defend its citizens.
Cash also said the Coalition maintained emissions needed to be reduced, but not “at any cost”, claiming Labor was “hiding” the costs of their policies and any emissions targets.
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Ley says her economic roadmap is about ‘fairness’
Ley said her economic roadmap announced yesterday, which would rein in some welfare payments and undertake an audit of government spending where “every dollar would be tested”, is based on fairness.
She told ABC News:
This is about fairness. But importantly, it’s about guaranteeing essential services for Australians. Because if we don’t manage the budget properly, then those essential services, including the safety net for Australians, who need help and who should expect help, are at risk. …
If universal childcare means that someone with a billion-dollar income receives the same amount of support from the government, as someone who is struggling in the suburbs, and only just holding it together, well that’s not fair.
Ley 'deeply sceptical' about Labor's upcoming emissions reduction targets
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, said she is “deeply sceptical” about the Albanese government’s upcoming announcement on emissions reduction targets.
Ley told ABC News:
I’m deeply sceptical about what the government may announce today with respect to these targets. And they need to demonstrate what is the cost and most particularly, and relevant to your question, where’s the credibility? Because we know that the cost to consumers and households has escalated under this government. And the promises for the future therefore really don’t hold water …
We need to make sure our energy policy delivers a stable reliable grid that brings affordable energy for households and businesses. And yes, we do need to play our part in reducing emissions.
Ley refused to name the Coalition’s own target.
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Shadow treasurer says Jim Chalmers has ‘no rules’ on government spending
Ted O’Brien, the shadow treasurer, said the Albanese government was spending as if there were no rules guarding the government purse strings, saying Sussan Ley’s economic roadmap she unveiled in a speech yesterday would do things far differently.
O’Brien spoke to RN Breakfast this morning after Ley said the Coalition would move to ramp up means-testing of welfare payments and rein in government spending. He said:
Growing the economic pie is absolutely critical but the other part is the government has to stop the spending spree. And this is probably the biggest criticism I have of the Albanese government’s economic management. They have increased spending. …
This is the problem because ever since the Hawke government, every treasurer has had to abide by rules. This treasurer Jim Chalmers has no rules, which is why spending just keeps on going.
Read more:
Unemployment expected to rise as ABS releases latest data
Australia’s jobs market is forecast to remain in good health, despite an expected rise in the unemployment rate, Australian Associated Press reports.
Labour force figures to be released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics later this morning could show the jobless rate ticked up to 4.3% in August, retracing a 0.1% drop to 4.2% the month before.
That would be in line with the Reserve Bank’s forecasts for the unemployment rate, meaning it would have little impact on the central bank’s cash rate considerations, economists at JP Morgan said.
“That said, at these levels there is little scope for any further deterioration without a dovish shift in the bank’s tone/forecast,” said Ben Jarman, Tom Kennedy and Tom Ryan in a research note.
With jobs growth trending in line with overall population growth, recent data paints a picture of a labour market in balance.
“Indicators of labour demand generally have steadied over the past year or so at healthy levels,” economists at NAB said.
While strong employment growth in 2023 and 2024 was driven primarily by a rapid expansion in the health and care economy workforce, jobs growth in those sectors has flatlined since the start of 2025, they said.
In the US, the Federal Reserve cut rates for the first time since December. Read more here:
Good morning, Nick Visser here to take over for Martin Farrer. Let’s see what Thursday holds.
TV presenter Roger Climpson dies at 93
The former TV presenter Roger Climpson, who was the face of This is Your Life and Seven News in Sydney, has died aged 93.
Climpson, who was also chair of Hope Media for 20 years, died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday. He was best known for hosting This Is Your Life between 1977 and 1980, and hosting Australia’s Most Wanted between 1997 and 1999.
He also hosted Sydney’s 2GB radio afternoon show from 1977, and was the anchor of Sydney’s Seven News between 1989 and 1994. Phillip Randal, the Hope Media chief executive said yesterday:
Roger left a legacy of love, faith and vision at Hope Media. So much so, it’s virtually impossible to sum it all up in a few words.
During his term as chairman, Roger oversaw a time of great change for the ministry, enabling it to engage with a wider audience and meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
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Abu Dhabi drops its planned $30bn bid for Santos
An Abu Dhabi-based consortium has withdrawn its planned $30bn takeover bid for offer for the Australian oil and gas producer Santos.
The consortium led by investment company XRG – a vehicle for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company – blamed a “combination of factors” for its change of heart.
It said that there had been a comprehensive evaluation but it had decided not to proceed after due diligence “impacted the consortium’s assessment of its indicative offer”.
XRG said:
The consortium was prepared to undertake new long-term commitments to Australian energy production that would deliver meaningful benefits to domestic gas consumers and enhance regional energy security.
As a strategic long-term investor, XRG remains dedicated to pursuing opportunities across gas & LNG, chemicals, and energy solutions, and has a rich and deep pipeline of investment opportunities
Adelaide-based Santos has operations in Australia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the United States, and is a major supplier of liquefied natural gas in Australia and Asia.
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Murder charge over 2002 death after bones found in back yard
Police have charged a man with murder, hours after bones were found during a search for the remains of a woman who vanished more than 20 years ago, Australian Associated Press reports.
The breakthrough in the cold case was made late on Wednesday following the discovery of suspected human remains, believed to be those of Susan Goodwin, 39, buried in the back yard of a house in Port Lincoln, South Australia.
Detectives arrested and charged a 64-year-old Port Lincoln man with the murder of Goodwin, who was reported missing in July 2002.
He will appear in Port Lincoln magistrates court today.
An anthropologist from Forensic Science SA has travelled to the town to confirm if the bones are human remains and continue excavations.
Police had been using specialised radar equipment to scan a property in Pamir Court, which adjoins Moonta Crescent, where Goodwin had lived.
On Tuesday, Det Insp Andrew Macrae said it was “a tragedy that Susan’s family have spent the last 23 years without answers”.
Goodwin was last seen about lunchtime on 19 July, 2002 after shopping at Coles and Woolworths in Port Lincoln.
In 2017, police said a public appeal for information had led to seven persons of interest being cleared by the investigation.
A reward of up to $200,000 is offered for information leading to the conviction of Goodwin’s killer and/or information that leads to the recovery of her remains.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the stories making the headlines first thing, before I pass the baton on to Nick Visser.
The big news today is expected to be the Albanese government announcing its carbon emissions target for the next decade. But before we get that, there’s plenty of other news around.
Australia’s jobs market is forecast to remain in good health, despite the prospect that the latest figures due out this morning will show a rise in the unemployment rate. Economists don’t think it will affect interest rates, although there could be a knock-on from the US Fed’s decision overnight to cut rates for the first time since December. More coming up.
Police in South Australia have charged a man with murder, hours after bones were found during a search for the remains of a woman who vanished more than 20 years ago. More coming up on that too.
And a $30bn takeover bid for Australian gas giant Santos has been withdrawn at the last minute after a consortium led by the UAE’s state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company reconsidered its offer.
