What we learned, 13 July 2025
With that, we’re wrapping up the blog. Before we go, here are the major stories from Sunday:
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is in Shanghai for a six-day visit to promote Australian tourism and trade deals
Speaking to the media, the PM reiterated that Australia “supports the status quo” for Taiwan
The federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has been in Tasmania for the launch of Labor’s state election campaign, where he called on voters to ditch the “bumbling” Liberals
The Queensland LNP government has declared that it will use a royal commission-like inquiry into the CFMEU to pursue Labor
It is expected that China will send a vessel to monitor the Talisman Sabre war games, with the country having had a presence in the area of the exercises since 2017
New South Wales police have defended two officers who fatally shot a man armed with a machete as he advanced on a group of women allegedly engaged in a brawl in Sydney’s Mount Druitt
We’ll pick things up again tomorrow.
Updated
Auction activity down
Auction activity has fallen this weekend, with 1,458 auctions having been held.
This is a drop from the 1,794 held last week, and a fall from the 1,512 auctions that took place at the same time last year.
Based on results collected so far, CoreLogic’s summary found that the preliminary clearance rate was 72.2% across the country, which is lower than the 73.1% preliminary rate recorded last week, but above the 67.9% actual rate on final numbers and the 63.2% final success rate records at the same time last year.
Across the capital cities:
Sydney: 453 of 578 auctions, with a preliminary clearance rate of 76.2%
Melbourne: 508 of 630 auctions, with a preliminary clearance rate of 70.5%
Brisbane: 80 0f 103 auctions, with a preliminary clearance rate of 61.3%
Adelaide: 41 of 75 auctions, with a preliminary clearance rate of 75%
Canberra: 50 of 61 auctions, with a preliminary clearance rate of 68%
Tasmania: No auctions held
Perth: Seven of nine auctions held
Updated
Tens of thousands lose qualifications in the wake of investigation
At least 23,000 Australians have had their qualifications cancelled by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (Asqa) since November after investigations into what the agency calls “non-genuine providers and bad faith actors”.
A spokesperson for the agency said its integrity unit is managing more than 200 serious matters involved 150 providers.
Asqa has cancelled more than 25,000 qualifications and statements of attainment held by people who could not demonstrate their provider had equipped them with the skills and training they had been certified for.
Asqa launched a tip-off line in October 2023 to catch out diploma mills and other organisers in the VET sector seeking to exploit students. It has since received 5,000 tip-offs, with more than half providing useful intelligence.
The skills and training minister, Andrew Giles, said these investigations were important to ensure a viable VET system, with the government taking a “zero tolerance” approach to “dodgy providers that put students or the community at risk”.
For a decade, Asqa was under-resourced and deprioritised, and the VET system was left to drift.
The Albanese government has changed that, investing more than $40m to strengthen VET integrity since we were elected – and compliance activity is surging.
We have zero tolerance for dodgy providers that put students or the community at risk. The cancellation of more than 25,500 shonky qualifications is evidence that what we’re doing is working.
Updated
All signs point to jobs market holding firm in new data
Forward indicators suggest Australia’s unusually low unemployment rate will stay steady in fresh dataset to be released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The unusual resilience of Australia’s jobs market is expected to continue according to the fresh figures due out this week.
Despite expectations that unemployment will rise over the course of 2025, forward indicators point to more jobs growth ahead of the bureau’s labour force release on Thursday.
Economists predict the figures to show the unemployment rate held at a relatively low 4.1% in June, while about 20,000 jobs are tipped to have been added to the economy.
Another insight into household confidence levels will be revealed in the Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment report on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the ABS will release building activity data for the March quarter.
– AAP
Updated
US position on Taiwan inconsistent
For some more context on the questions being asked of the PM and other Labor figures about Taiwan on Sunday, the US undersecretary of defence for policy, Elbridge Colby, is demanding more of Australia and Japan than what the US is prepared to do itself.
For decades the US policy towards Taiwan has been underpinned by a doctrine of “strategic ambiguity”, refusing to say whether or not they would defend Taiwan. The doctrine is aimed at deterring both Beijing and Taipei from making significant moves – an attack or invasion by the former, or a declaration of independence by the latter.
Under Xi Jinping, the Communist party’s growing aggression clearly shows it wants to change the status quo and annexe Taiwan (by force if it can’t convince Taipei to peacefully accept it), leading some observers to argue that strategic ambiguity has lost its relevance.
Joe Biden previously suggested several times that the US would militarily defend Taiwan, at least while he was president, and for now it remains US policy.
Donald Trump’s position has been less consistent. Early in his term he questioned whether it was worth supporting Taiwan at all, but CNN also reported last week that he claimed to have told Xi he would “bomb the shit out of Beijing” if China tried to invade it.
For more on this, read the full report by Guardian Australia’s Josh Butler:
Updated
‘The whole back of my HiLux was covered in rats’: what to do about Sydney’s growing vermin problem?
Nathaly Haeren has seen patios in Sydney collapse because brown rats have tunnelled under and created sinkholes. She’s been electrocuted in the roof of a house after they chewed through air conditioning wiring. She’s even visited a hairdresser where they’d gnawed a circle through double brick.
More recently, Haeren has started seeing rats standing in the street in the middle of the day, “oblivious” and unbothered – like they just don’t care.
“It’s the destruction they cause that blows my mind, that scares me, because I’m competing against them,” the owner of Pesty Girls pest management says.
Rats need to keep gnawing to keep their teeth down. Their strength is like iron. And they can flatten to the size of your thumb – they’ve got hinged ribs … I need to be 10 steps ahead.
For more on this story read the full report by Guardian Australia’s Caitlin Cassidy:
Albanese underscores importance of China trade on first day in Shanghai
Anthony Albanese has given some brief remarks on his first full day in China, talking up the links with Australia as he seeks to drum up economic and tourism ties.
In Shanghai, the prime minister went for a walk along the riverfront with his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, and Australian football coach Kevin Muscat, who is managing Shanghai Port FC – a club with strong ties to Australia. Albanese today will also visit the headquarters of Trip.com, one of the world’s largest travel agent companies, to help launch a new tourism campaign.
Eagle-eyed readers and Australian politics tragics might remember this was the same river Albanese, clad in a yellow Socceroos jersey, took a walk along on his prior visit in 2023 – video of which led to him going somewhat viral on Chinese social media and being branded a “handsome boy” by the premier, Li Qiang.
On Sunday, Albanese said he was keen to “build the people-to-people relationships”.
I’ve brought with me a whole range of business people from the resources sector, the tourism sector, from the education sector, because one in four of Australian jobs is dependent upon our exports and overwhelmingly by far the largest destination for Australian exports is right here in China.
About 25%, more than the next four countries combined: Japan, South Korea, the United States and India. That says something about how important this relationship is.
Albanese said he was keen to talk about tourism and looking forward to meeting Xi Jinping on Tuesday.
Tomorrow, we’ll have a really important business round table as well from businesses around Australia who’ve travelled up to be here and led by the Business Council of Australia.
Updated
Position on China part of ‘private conversations’ – PM
The PM, like his ministers earlier this morning, has been resisting calls for clarity about Australia’s position on China, saying he won’t comment on “private conversations”.
It is not clear what private conversations he is referring to, or what exactly is being discussed, but what is clear is that the public aren’t going to get answers about business ostensibly being conducted for their benefit.
Albanese said:
So you don’t take private comments [public] at a media conference. We engage in a mature way. That’s the way that we deal with our relationships.
The PM is asked about the questions of sovereignty raised by the Aukus agreement, and he returns to talking about how Australia is working to ensure “peace and security in our region, in the Indo-Pacific”, saying “we have our Aukus arrangements in place”.
We’ll continue to work through all of these issues. Our alliance with the United States is a very important one for Australia. So we’ll continue to engage constructively in a coherent, stable, orderly way. That’s the way I conduct this government.
And that’s a wrap.
Updated
Albanese: 'We support the status quo' for Taiwan
Anthony Albanese says Australia is looking to partner with Trip.com to promote Australia as a destination for Chinese visitors, showcasing the potential for significant events like the Australian Open, the Melbourne Cup and the grand prix, but also significant times of year like New Year’s Eve and the lunar new year.
Tourism is such an important economic benefit for Australia. It’s about jobs, it’s sustainable jobs. Australia has so much to offer as well. And one of the things about the market here is that for many of the visitors to Australia, they will go for a long period of time. It’s not just dropping by for a weekend, they’re here for a period of time. They visit our cities, but they also visit our regions such as the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, the other sites that are there in regional Australia.
The prime minister was asked the same thing his counterparts were asked during earlier appearances on Australian television this morning: what would Australia do in the event China went to war with Taiwan; is Australia willing to spend more on its defence; and is it willing to put more money into the Aukus alliance?
Albanese offered the same response his colleagues did – the same numbers, almost word for word: Australia is investing in the region and trade to ensure its peace and security; private conversations will remain private; Australia is already spending billions on defence and will take spending decisions on merit; Australia is already investing in its industrial capability as part of Aukus.
On Taiwan specifically:
I think it’s important that we have a consistent position, which Australia has had for a long period of time. We support the status quo when it comes to Taiwan. We don’t support any unilateral action there. We have a clear position and we have been consistent about that.
What’s important when it comes to international relationships is that you have a stable, orderly, coherent position going forward. Australia does. We want peace and security in our region. We don’t want any change to the status quo. That’s Australia’s position today. That was Australia’s position last week. That’s been a bipartisan position for a long period of time.
Updated
Man arrested after alleged axe attack on NSW south coast
A man has been arrested after he allegedly attacked a police vehicle with an axe, assaulted a woman with an axe, stole her car and began a chase across the New South Wales south coast on Saturday.
The state’s police say officers were called to a property in Worrigee just before 1pm on Saturday following reports of a man armed with an axe and a hammer.
When officers arrived, the man allegedly threw the axe at the police vehicle, collected the weapon and ran to a nearby home. There he allegedly assaulted a 66-year-old woman sitting in a Ford Mustang.
Police allege the man hit the woman many times with the axe before forcing her from the car. Taking control of the car, he allegedly ran over the woman as he drove away.
Paramedics treated the woman for multiple leg and torso injuries before she was rushed to Shoalhaven memorial hospital in a serious but stable condition. She has since been transferred to St George hospital in Sydney for further treatment.
Police spotted the Mustang heading south on Princes Highway at about 2pm and initiated a pursuit after the driver failed to stop.
The pursuit continued through Nowra, Bomaderry, Berry, Gerringong and Kiama, during which the sports car allegedly reached speeds of 180km/h in an 80km/h zone.
Police deployed road spikes, but the driver drove the car towards a highway patrol officer, narrowly missing him and the spikes.
The pursuit ended after the Mustang was seen driving on the opposite side of the Princes Highway at Kiama Downs, where it collided with a ute before stopping.
The alleged driver, a 25-year-old man, then tried to run from the scene, but members of the public held him until police arrived.
He was arrested and taken to Wollongong hospital under police guard, where he remains.
The driver of the ute was also taken to Wollongong hospital for assessment.
Police established a crime scene and – following a search of the Mustang – seized an axe and a hammer for forensic examination.
The investigation is ongoing.
Updated
Chalmers calls on Tasmanians to vote out ‘bumbling’ Liberals
Chalmers is in Devonport, Tasmania, where he has helped launch Labor’s state election campaign, urging those present to end Jeremy Rockliff’s 11-year government next Saturday.
The treasurer used the opportunity to promote the federal Labor government’s record, but credited Labor’s Tasmanian representatives with driving some of the most significant decisions of the government’s agenda, particularly the decision to rework the stage 3 tax cuts.
Some of the strongest voices in our caucus backing that decision came from right here in Tasmania.
I remember how Brian Mitchell, at the time the member for Lyons, was so determined to reshape those tax cuts. He didn’t just support the changes, he championed them.
He described the Rockliff government as “bumbling and stumbling”, saying the state government wasn’t “just out of touch or out of ideas, they’re utterly out of their depth”. Chalmers tried to link the embattled premier to failed Liberal leader Peter Dutton.
From what I see and hear at global economic forums and in the expert advice I sift through every day, Tasmania has what the world wants. What the country needs. And what the future demands.
Updated
Chalmers backs RBA decision on rates
The treasurer said he understood the frustration of many Australians at the decision to leave interest rates on hold but stood by the Reserve Bank governor, saying Michele Bullock had made clear it was “a matter of timing not a matter of direction”.
The direction of travel when it comes to inflation and interest rates is already quite clear. The governor made that even clearer on Tuesday. We’ve already had two interest rate cuts in the last five months. That’s because of the progress we’ve made together on inflation. That’s already providing some relief to millions of people with a mortgage.
But of course, people are looking for more rate relief where they can get it. The governor of the Reserve Bank has made it clear that that will come at some point, but that she and her board would like more information before they make that decision to cut rates for the third time this year.
On government support for industry, Chalmers said the commonwealth was already talking to the governments of South Australia and Tasmania about what it can do to help struggling manufacturers.
The federal government has already offered $70m to support Nyrstar, which operates the Port Pirie lead smelter in South Australia and operations in Tasmania, with the treasurer saying the company can access a $2bn aluminium fund for smelters.
Nyrstar said at the start of July that it was weeks away from closing its Port Pirie operation. The operation has faced problems, including environmental pollution issues, after dying birds and bats found across the town were exposed to lead at 3,000 times acceptable levels.
The treasurer said he was in Tasmania to help out with Labor’s campaign in the state election, which he framed as a “pretty simply choice”.
Four more years of farce and failure and economic mismanagement from a Liberal government stumbling from one stuff-up to another, or a fresh start under Dean Winter and Tasmanian Labor.
Updated
Relationship with China ‘a very good earner’ – Chalmers
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has described Australia’s relationship with China as “a very good earner” as he has joined other Labor MPs on Sunday in framing the prime minister’s visit as a critical step towards strengthening economic ties with Australia’s biggest trading partner.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday morning, Chalmers said China is a “big part of our prosperity” and an “important obvious focus of our economic diplomacy”.
Look, it’s a really important part of the trading relationship. No doubt about it. It’s a very good earner for Australia. We’re very supportive of the industry and its efforts to create that prosperity with that trade with China.
Chalmers was asked about an upcoming visit to South Africa for the G20 meeting this week, where he said economic instability will form a large part of the discussions.
We are trying to navigate together a world where conflict and tension and unpredictability and volatility are the norm rather than the exception. And so, we come at this challenge of international engagement in that light.
The treasurer said he would be meeting with his Indonesian counterpart on the sidelines of the meeting and hoped to have “a specific way to announce later in the week that we can advance that really important economic relationship” relating to a two-way trade in critical minerals and capital restrictions.
More broadly, if you think about the fragmentation in the world, you think about the uncertainty, unpredictability and volatility which defines the times in the global economy, our strategy is more engagement, more diverse markets and more resilience in our own economy as well.
Those are the principles which drove our response to the tariff announcement out of DC, but also which drive our trade and investment and foreign policy as well, and you’ll see that in the prime minister’s engagement this week.
Updated
Queensland LNP to use CFMEU inquiry to pursue Labor
Queensland’s governing Liberal National party says it will use a commission of inquiry into the state branch of the CFMEU to pursue its Labor opposition, which they described as a “protection racket” for the embattled union.
The deputy premier and chief LNP attack dog, Jarrod Bleijie, likened Sunday’s announced inquiry into the Queensland Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) to the landmark Fitzgerald inquiry, which led to the downfall of the longstanding conservative premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen and ushered in the state’s modern political era.
The LNP will purge the underbelly of the CFMEU and its enablers in Queensland. This is Labor’s Fitzgerald moment.
In 2015 the Labor party was elected back in government in Queensland and what we saw ensue over the last 10 years is nothing but a protection racket for the CFMEU orchestrated by Labor, its administration and its ministers at the time.
The LNP swept Labor from power last October after nearly a decade in government. Bleijie named most of the senior Labor figures who remain in parliament but focused heavily on former industrial relations minister Grace Grace, whom he described as the CFMEU’s “chief enabler”.
The premier, David Crisafulli, said he wanted the inquiry to begin its work “this next month”, saying it was the “most powerful tool” at the government’s disposal and one needed to bring “sunshine” into the construction sector ahead of a building boom in the leadup to the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.
Updated
‘We don’t want to be climate refugees’: Torres Strait uncles fear for their islands and their people
Uncle Paul Kabai and Uncle Pabai Pabai are afraid for the future of their ancestral homelands.
Their country on the outer islands of Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait), less than 10km off Papua New Guinea, is under siege from the impacts of the climate crisis.
The two men fear the loss of their islands, their culture and their way of life, forcing their families and communities to become Australia’s first climate refugees.
The uncles have taken the federal government to court in the landmark Australian climate case, seeking orders which would require the commonwealth to undertake steps to prevent further harm to their communities.
This would include cutting greenhouse gas emissions in line with the best available science.
For more on this story, read the full report here:
India ‘at the crossroads of a lot of the chop and change in the global order’
Lemahieu added that while India was recognised as an “anchor” for strategic balance, Australia’s academic community was playing catch-up on the rapid evolution of the bilateral relationship.
He said India was often understood through the prism of the Quad security partnership, which also includes Japan and the United States.
But India sits at the crossroads of a lot of the chop and change in the global order and I think the understanding of that is what can be underdone sometimes in Australia.
For more, read on this story, read Daniel Filton’s analysis on the Australian-Indian relationship:
Updated
New India research role ‘an asset to Australia’s foreign policy landscape’ – Wong
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said Labor would fund a global search for the new chair through the Maitri Grants program, administered by the Centre for Australia-India Relations.
We are deepening cooperation across priority sectors that are vital to both nations’ futures, including in defence, trade, education and technology.
In an increasingly complex Indo-Pacific, our countries’ alignment on regional priorities continues to grow, while our cooperation is essential to ensuring lasting peace and stability for the region.
The establishment of the Lowy Institute’s first India chair reflects this importance; it will be an asset to Australia’s foreign policy landscape, developing research, informing policy and strengthening debate within the sector.
Lowy’s director of research, Hervé Lemahieu, told Guardian Australia the appointment was a significant investment in the organisation’s global reach.
It elevates India, and south Asia more broadly, in terms of our research agenda, and brings in new talent, more depth and a deeper bench on a vital piece of the puzzle in terms of understanding the future of the regional order.
It also elevates our understanding of the role India will play globally in coming years.
Updated
Australia funding new Lowy Institute expert position on India
The federal government will boost Australia’s foreign policy and academic ties with India, helping fund a new thinktank position to lead research on the global power.
The Lowy Institute will name its first India chair in coming months, appointing a distinguished scholar to study the country’s growing influence, focusing on relations with Australia, China and the United States, and changing dynamics in the Indian Ocean region.
The government’s strategy for economic engagement with India, released earlier this year, said the country was adding the equivalent of the New Zealand economy to its national GDP each year.
India’s economy is on track to be the world’s third largest by 2030. With a population of more than 1.4 billion people, it is among Australia’s top five trading partners and is the country’s largest source of skilled migrants.
Nearly 1 million Australians have Indian ancestry, and more than 15,000 Australians live in India.
But despite its size and influence, India has long been considered a missing piece of Australia’s foreign policy academic landscape, and support for the new appointment will assist creation of a new program of work to progress Australia’s national interests.
Updated
Second person dies after Melbourne playground car crash
A second person has died after a car struck three people when it crashed through a playground in Melbourne’s east on Thursday.
Victoria police confirmed a 60-year-old man died in hospital on Saturday. He had been critically injured in a stable condition.
A 59-year-old woman died at the scene. A two-year-old boy was also struck and received non-life-threatening injuries.
It is believed the 91-year-old driver of a Toyota Yaris lost control at about 12.20pm, striking three people before driving through a fence, with the car stopped against a park bench.
Police have opened an investigation into the incident.
Updated
Nats leader supports alcohol labelling overhaul to highlight cancer risk
Littleproud said he would be supportive of a proposal by the Cancer Council to overhaul alcohol packaging to highlight the link between alcohol and cancer. The Nationals leader said he didn’t link alcohol consumption with cancer risk at all.
With so many youngsters now drinking a little bit earlier than perhaps people did in the past, I think they’ve got to understand the dangers, rather than just the feeling they’re going to get when they have a few beers or they start something, to actually realise that it’s damaging their body and it’s poison going in, and you need to make sure you do these things in the right manner.
So the best way is to educate. It is to chuck it on the label and then obviously have these conversations at home with Mum and Dad talking about it with their kids.
Rates of alcohol consumption by young people have fallen sharply over the last decade.
In 2001, more than two-thirds – 70% – of young people in Australia aged between 14 and 17 had consumed alcohol in the past year, according to the 2022-2023 National Drug Strategy Household Survey.
This figure has been dropping in recent years, with only about a third of young people consuming alcohol within the last year, a trend that has been replicated internationally.
Updated
Littleproud disappointed PM is in China but ‘hasn’t been to see Trump’
Littleproud said it was “disappointing” that Anthony Albanese had secured a meeting with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, but “hasn’t been to see President Trump”.
Australian officials have been lobbying to secure a meeting with the US president, with the prime minister previously having locked in a meeting with Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Canada.
That meeting was abruptly cancelled when Trump left early to respond to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, a situation that culminated with US strikes on an Iranian nuclear facility.
I think it’s not just China that he needs to visit. It’s President Trump that he needs to be sitting down with as well, but an important visit nonetheless, one he should do. We’re not begrudging him that. We hope there’s progressive trade talks.
Littleproud said Albanese needed to have “the tough conversations” with China over its human rights record and the security situation in our region.
China is Australia’s biggest trading partner.
Updated
‘Has to be a real penalty’ for machetes – Littleproud
The alleged shooting of an armed Mount Druitt man in the car park of a shopping centre by police on Saturday is a sign of “the degradation of society”, the federal National party leader, David Littleproud, has said.
Speaking to Sky News this morning, Littleproud said it was the sixth incident of violence at a shopping centre, suggesting there needed to be a Victorian-style ban on machetes.
Littleproud said “there has to be a real penalty for it” and that “we need to have a deterrent, have a consequence for doing the wrong thing”.
I think this starts at home, and it starts with respect, respect to the institutions. And I think as parents, we’ve got to instil that and where, sadly, there’s homes that don’t have the stability, that’s where the state needs to step in.
But we can’t abrogate all our responsibility to the states as parents. We’ve got to do the right thing in building that respect to the institutions, from teachers right through to police. And I think that makes us a stronger society, and believing in those institutions will protect us, serve us and make sure that it keeps us safe into the future.
The Nationals leader appeared to suggest the incident involved an attack with a machete on shoppers at the shopping centre, saying that he, personally, thought about the risk of an attack when going to a shopping centre.
Littleproud was speaking before a New South Wales police press conference this morning that clarified that police were responding to a separate brawl between two groups of women in Mount Druitt.
A 29-year-old man, the partner of a woman involved in the fight, arrived at the scene where he interacted with police, before returning to his car to retrieve a machete and advancing on a group of women who had been involved in the fight. Police officers placed themselves between the man and the women when they allegedly shot him.
Updated
Queensland premier announces inquiry into state’s CFMEU
The Queensland premier is announcing a commission of inquiry into the state branch of the CFMEU this morning on the back of an investigation that found the embattled union “embraced a culture which encouraged and celebrated the use of threats of violence, intimidation, misogyny and bullying”.
David Crisafulli is fronting the press after dropping news of the “royal commission-style inquiry” into the Queensland Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) to the Courier Mail on Sunday, which he said would have the power to compel union officials to give evidence and provide witness protection.
The Centre for Public Integrity senior counsel Geoffrey Watson’s report into the Queensland CFMEU was released on Wednesday night and immediately referred to the Queensland police by the state’s governing Liberal National party.
Updated
Is Australia’s bloated property market destroying the middle class?
Ross Hamilton spends his work days in a laboratory developing treatments for fibrosis. At home, he sets aside as much time as possible to be with his partner, their four-year-old daughter and their baby boy, who was born just a few weeks ago.
The 43-year-old is well educated, works in a cutting-edge industry and is part of a dual-income household. But despite this, the couple cannot afford a family home anywhere near his Sydney workplace or prospective schools as property prices increase at a faster pace than the family can save for a deposit.
“It’s just capitalism gone crazy. A house is no longer a domicile. It’s an investment, and it’s pushed people out who just happened to be born later. That’s all it is,” says Hamilton.
There’s a huge population now that had a bit of wealth years ago, and they bought property, and then it’s gone up dramatically since then.
I don’t blame the players. I blame the game.
For more on this story, read the full feature by the Guardian Australia’s Jonathan Barrett:
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Conroy: ‘Our view is a two-state solution’
To close the interview, Conroy is asked about the report by the antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, and specifically what would qualify as anti-Semitism under these proposals.
Karvelas: Do you consider a view, which is that Israel shouldn’t exist, it should be one state, for instance, with equal rights? That’s a lot of the protest movement’s call for instance. Is that antisemitic, that view?
Conroy: Well, like all Australians, I’ve been appalled about the rise of antisemitism since 7 October, and that’s why we’ve taken a huge range of actions that you know about regarding the Segal report. We’ve welcomed it and we’ll consider it and come back with our response.
Karvelas: But on the question specifically that I put to you, do you consider the view that Israel shouldn’t exist to be antisemitic?
Conroy: Well, we support the international Holocaust memorial’s definition of antisemitism. Our position on Israel is there should be a two-state solution with both states …
Karvelas: That’s your view but protesters might say something different. Do you think it’s their right and that’s not antisemitic?
Conroy: Well, we’ve made the point that you can have views about the Middle East without resorting to racist language and our view is a two-state solution with two states, with civilians’ rights being protected.
Karvelas: Is it racist to call for one state?
Conroy: I’m not a lawyer. I won’t get into that. Our position is there should be two states. We support the international Holocaust memorial’s definition of antisemitism and people can have a view about the Middle East conflict without resorting to racist language.
Conroy appears to be referring to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism. This is a non-legally binding definition that includes several examples intended to illustrate how it should be applied. This definition has been criticised by some for being vague, poorly drafted and geared towards suppressing criticism of the Israeli government. A number of examples suggest criticism of the state of Israel is antisemitism.
Australia, under the Morrison government, adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism in October 2021.
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Australia won’t make changes to PBS over US tariffs, Conroy reiterates
Asked whether he has been briefed on the Pentagon’s report “yet”, Conroy says “there’s lots of speculation” about its publication and that “we’re engaging at senior levels, as you would expect us to do, and we’ll continue to do that”.
Conroy says the Australian government has increased defence spending to $57bn “above the previous trajectory”, and that may be open to further spending “if a case is made for more capability”.
Asked whether there has been any clarity on US tariffs being imposed on pharmaceuticals, Conroy says the government will “keep engaging” with the US, as “there are questions about timelines”.
We’ve been clear that we won’t be sacrificing or making changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme or other policies. We’ll always act in our national interest and always argue that these tariffs are not a friendly act and they’re an act of economic self-harm to the United States.
Asked whether it is “not a friendly act to get an answer back when you ask for it”, Conroy says:
We’ll keep pushing for that information.
Updated
Conroy ‘confident’ Pentagon review will ‘support Aukus’
Asked about Aukus and what the US may be looking for out of Australia to “demonstrate our own readiness”, Conroy says that “work is under way”, with the Australian government having “invested billions of dollars” to upgrade the facility where Australia’s submarine fleet is based and where US submarines are likely to visit. A second facility, the Henderson maritime precinct, is a facility that would provide maintenance on submarines when they are received.
Work is going well at HMAS Stirling. We had a US submarine dock there last week and received some maintenance. We’ve had successful maintenance activities of US submarines and, importantly, that facility at HMAS Stirling will contribute 1,800 maintenance days over the five years of service, which is 1,800 maintenance days that the US won’t be needed to give in their own maintenance spaces.
Henderson is going through a consolidation process but, again, that is not required until the 2030s and late into the 2030s, when we need to maintain our Virginia-class submarines. HMAS Stirling is the immediate activity and that’s where we’re investing billions of dollars right now.
Asked about a Pentagon report examining the Aukus deal that is expect to be released this week and the possibility the US may seek to impose additional costs on Australia, Conroy declines to comment.
I’m not going to speculate about hypotheticals.
Asked about the government’s comments that “there is no plan B” to Aukus, and whether Australia is prepared to spend more, Conroy says:
Let’s see what the review finds. I’m confident it will support Aukus just as our review of Aukus found that, just as the UK review of Aukus found that. It’s in the national interest of all three countries. It will contribute to deterrence as well as grow 20,000 jobs in Australia.
Let’s see what the US review comes forward with and then we’ll react accordingly but we are investing in the US industrial base to release submarines, just as we’re investing $30bn in our own base to build nuclear-powered but conventionally armed submarines and grow 20,000 jobs.
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China spying on Talisman Sabre war games 'won’t be unexpected'
Conroy says it “won’t be unexpected” if the Chinese military surveils Australia’s Talisman Sabre military exercises, saying that “we’re always cognisant that they’re being observed by people who want to collect information about how we work with our allies”. But he added that there is no indication that China has been observing preparations that begin today.
It would be unusual for them not to observe it and we will adjust accordingly.
Asked what that meant, Conroy says:
Well, it means that we’ll obviously observe their activities and monitor their presence around Australia but we’ll also adjust how we conduct thousands [of] exercises. People observe these exercises to collect intelligence around procedures, around the electronic spectrum and the use of communications, and we’ll adjust accordingly so that we manage that leakage.
Talisman Sabre is a joint military exercise with the US that involves 30,000 personnel from 19 countries.
The Chinese military have observed these exercises since 2017 and it would be very unusual if they didn’t do that this time.
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‘A balanced region where no one is dominated and no one dominates’
China needs to be “more transparent” about military and nuclear buildups in the region, Conroy says, and this has been a message communicated “publicly and privately” with China.
Conroy also says Australia will not declare ahead of time how it will respond in the event of a military crisis in its region, such as a war between China and Taiwan, despite pressure from the US to make its position clear.
It is the government’s position that any decision will be made by the elected government of the day.
That is our position. Sovereignty will always be prioritised and that will continue to be our position.
However, Conroy, the minister for Pacific island affairs as well as defence industry, declined to elaborate on what the PM will say when he meets with his Chinese counterpart.
I’m not going to foreshadow everything that the prime minister will or won’t say but the conversation with his counterparts will cover economic security and human rights issues. We’ve been clear about that, but we are being very clear that we want a balanced region where no one is dominated and no one dominates.
In my portfolio of the Pacific, we’re seeing China seeking to secure a military base in the region and we’re working hard to be the primary security partner of choice for the region because we don’t think that’s a particularly optimal thing for Australia.
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Conroy: Albanese’s China visit not about preserving options
The defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, has rejected the suggestion that the prime minister Anthony Albanese’s six-day China trip is about preserving options, while the US president, Donald Trump, has threatened another round of tariffs on US allies and trade partners.
This is about Australia having good international relationships with everyone in the world. The Australian people expect us to invest strongly in our diplomatic capability as well as our military capability. China is our largest trading partner. Twenty-five per cent of our exports go to China.
We’ve worked hard to stabilise the relationship and unblock $20bn worth of trade. That’s hundreds of thousands of jobs that we’ve helped protect so Prime Minister Albanese’s trip is about promoting jobs, promoting trade but also managing differences.
Conroy said that in addition to trade, Australia will raise “broader” issues, including human rights, as Australia’s relationship with China is a “complex relationship but one we’ll handle in a mature adult way as we have over the last three years”.
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Wood: officers’ role ‘to protect the community’
Wood said the fight that broke out evolved into a brawl involving six people, and that this altercation was the event that prompted the involvement of the 29-year-old man.
[The officers] role was to protect the community. Their role was to have presence within the footprint of the Westfield, which they did [by] their attendance at the scene. The melee was very, very quick and very swift. And they’ve done their job. They’ve done it well.
One woman involved in the initial fight has been taken into custody and questions about the incident but has since been let go.
CCTV footage, he says, showed there was “a lot of people in proximity” and asked members of the public who might have been witnesses to contact police.
In response to a question, Wood said the 29-year-old man who was killed was a Mount Druitt resident with no gang affiliation and was known to police but “only in a very, very limited way”. He was married with two young children, Wood said.
Which against highlights the tragedy of this.
And that’s a wrap.
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NSW police ‘content with the actions’ of officers who shot man dead
Wood said he had reviewed body-worn camera footage of the police involved in the incident and said the officers “got in the middle” between the man and six women he was approaching.
I’m content with the actions of police – and I might say this if I could: the police officers got in the middle between the deceased person who was carrying a large machete and some of those females subject to the melee.
Their actions were brave. I want to put that on record. Their actions were brave. The investigation will be subject to scrutiny, as it should be, but their actions were brave.
Wood said he had spoken to the two officers on Saturday night.
They are good police officers. They didn’t come to work yesterday knowing they had to shoot somebody. They didn’t know that, but their actions, what I have seen today, were commendable, and as I said, they were brave.
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Women involved in fight in Mouth Druitt not known to each other – police
Two groups of young women involved in a fight that led to a man allegedly being shot by police in Sydney’s Mount Druitt had no gang affiliation and were not known to each other.
Assistant commissioner Gavin Wood, the North West Metropolitan Region commander, is speaking to reporters now about the shooting incident. He says that it was a “sheer fluke” that two groups of young women “crossed paths” before a fight broke out.
He described how this fight evolved into a brawl.
When police officers were called, they described a man in his 20s arriving at the scene. The man was the partner of one of the women who had been involved in the fight. After a brief interaction with police, Wood said, the man allegedly returned to a car, from where he retrieved a machete and began walking towards a group women who had been involved in the fight.
Two officers on the scene intervened and fatally shot the man.
Wood said the 29-year-old man was not known to the police and was a resident of the area.
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PM spruiks importance of China-Australia economic relationship
Speaking to reporters upon his arrival in Shanghai overnight on his tour to woo Chinese trade and investment, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said he was excited to return for his second visit to China while in office.
There are important meetings to be had this week, and the fact that I am leading a very large business delegation speaks to the importance of the economic relationship between Australia and China.
We know that one in four of Australia’s jobs depends on our exports, and China is our major trading partner, with exports to China being worth more in value than the next four countries combined.
So this week, we will have important meetings about tourism, about decarbonisation of steel, about the full range of issues.
And I look forward to the annual leaders’ dialogue that will take place as well in Beijing, as well as a visit to Chengdu, which is an important city in western China.
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PM marks arrival in China with tourism ad blitz
The Chinese actor Yu Shi will spearhead a new tourism campaign to be launched by Anthony Albanese in a bid to lure Chinese travellers to Australia.
After touching down late on Saturday with his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, Albanese’s six-day visit begins in the bustling financial hub of Shanghai, where he will promote Chinese tourism to Australia.
The prime minister is expected to meet Xi Jinping during his trip.
China is the second-largest visiting tourist market to Australia, trailing only New Zealand. But the number of visitors has yet to recover after pandemic-era restrictions were eased.
On Sunday, the prime minister will oversee the signing of a memorandum of understanding between online travel giant Trip.com – which owns popular bookings sites such as Skyscanner – and Tourism Australia.
He will also unveil a new tourism ad campaign to air in China, hoped to further promote Australia as a travel destination.
Not only is Australia’s beef, barley, red wine and lobster the best in the world – we’re the best place in the world to come for a holiday.
Expanding our tourism relationship with China will mean more jobs for Australians and a boost to Australian businesses.
– with AAP
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The defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, will speak to Patricia Karvelas on ABC Insiders this morning.
Meanwhile, the federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has spoken to Sky News.
We will bring you all the latest as it happens.
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Man shot dead by police in Sydney being investigated
New South Wales police will address the media at 9am to share more details about the shooting of a man at a shopping centre car park in Mount Druitt on Saturday.
Police were called to the shopping centre in response to a brawl before, they allege, officers were confronted by a man armed with a machete.
The man, who police believe to be in his 20s, was shot and killed at the scene.
A critical incident has been declared.
More details:
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Good morning
And welcome to another Sunday Guardian live blog.
Anthony Albanese landed in China late on Saturday for a six-day visit with Australia’s biggest trading partner. The prime minister is expected to meet the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, with trade and tourism at the top of the agenda.
New South Wales police will address the media this morning after a man armed with a machete was shot dead in Mount Druitt. Police were responding to a brawl at a Westfield shopping centre on Saturday when they fired a number of shots at a man who allegedly confronted them with a machete.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
With that, let’s get started …
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