What we learned today, Thursday 12 June
This is where we’ll wrap the blog up for the day. Let’s recap the day’s main events:
The defence minister, Richard Marles welcomed the US review into Aukus, calling it “perfectly natural”.
Shadow defence minister Angus Taylor said “If Aukus falls over, we will all pay a heavy price”.
Former prime minister Paul Keating says the Aukus review by the US “might very well be the moment Washington saves Australia from itself.”
Former prime minister Scott Morrison has said Australia is “delusional” if it thinks there is a better defence alliance option than the US.
Former foreign minister Bob Carr says Australia and the US should agree to “slide out” of the Aukus submarine deal.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission found there was “no corruption issue” regarding the $2.4m settlement paid to Brittany Higgins following her alleged rape within Parliament House. Linda Reynolds says she is “bitterly disappointed” by the outcome.
The Monash IVF chief executive, Michael Knaap, has resigned in the wake of the reproductive healthcare company’s second embryo transplant bungle.
Griffith University underpaid more than 5,000 staff to the tune of $8.34m including super and interest.
Australians are saving and making extra mortgage repayments at higher rates, instead of boosting their spending.
Adelaide’s first skyscraper – which critics have described as a “phallic” mistake – has been approved.
Updated
Secret examination of agency running Aukus submarine program handed to government
A top secret examination of the agency in charge of the $368bn Aukus nuclear submarine program has been handed to the government, as the new US review fuels fresh doubt about the security pact.
Guardian Australia has confirmed former top public servant Dennis Richardson has presented the findings of a rapid assessment of the Australian Submarine Agency (ASA) to the defence minister, Richard Marles.
Marles late last year tapped Richardson to examine the agency amid concerns about the running of the newly formed organisation.
Weeks of murmurings about staff unhappiness and disillusionment culminated in the abrupt resignation of one of the agency’s most senior leaders, Guardian Australia reported at the time.
The probe was not a formal review with Richardson only asked to provide advice to Marles.
The advice, which was not prepared in the form of a final report with recommendations, will not be publicly released.
In a statement to Guardian Australia, a spokesperson for Marles said:
The Deputy Prime Minister asked Mr Richardson last year to have a look at the work of the nuclear-powered submarine enterprise and make sure we have the right settings in place to succeed in the task of acquiring conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines.
Mr Richardson has provided his advice to the Deputy Prime Minister, which will inform the government’s priorities and directions to support Australia’s acquisition of a conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability.”
Updated
BoM forecasts warmer than average weather for much of Australia
Australia can expect warmer than average weather and also more rain than usual for large swathes of the country from July to September.
The Bureau of Meteorology released its long-range forecast earlier today, which shows rainfall is expected to be above average for much of Australia, except in parts of the countries south-east and south-west.
The days will also be warmer than average in most parts of the country, particularly in the far north and south.
Unusually high temperatures overnight are also expected.
Updated
Territory’s prison lockdowns surge amid crime crackdown
Lockdowns at a territory’s overcrowded and understaffed prisons have surged since a crime crackdown and tougher bail laws were imposed.
The Northern Territory government has made law and order the cornerstone of its budget with a record $1.5bn investment in corrections, courts and police.
Its tough new bail laws have led to a surge in inmate numbers, with more than 500 prison beds added since the Country Liberal party government came to power in 2024.
But the territory’s corrections facilities are overcrowded and understaffed, leading to more lockdowns during which inmates are confined to cells, wings or blocks, a parliamentary estimates session was told on Thursday.
Corrections commissioner Matthew Varley said he would expect some form of lockdown at most facilities on most days due to security and operational reasons or staff shortages.
He said:
They have been substantial in the last couple of months because of the rate of prisoner growth and the stretch we have experienced – I’ll be quite open about that.
But it was relatively rare for a lockdown of an entire facility to occur because of staff shortages, he said.
- AAP
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Israeli minister sanctions dubbed too little, too late
The sanctioning of two Israeli ministers by Australia has been labelled a “slap on the wrist” by a prominent pro-Palestine advocate.
AAP reports that Australian Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni welcomed the move but said it was too little, too late. He said:
These sanctions are crumbs, tossed by the Australian government 613 days too late. This is a small step, but Australia must stop pretending that a slap on the wrist for two fascist ministers is justice.
Mashni said further sanctions, similar to measures imposed against Russian officials for the country’s invasion of Ukraine, need to be applied.
Updated
Independent review into Kumanjayi White’s death needed, NT opposition leader says
The Northern Territory’s opposition leader has said she supports a review independent of police into Kumanjayi White’s death.
Selena Uibo, the leader of the Labor opposition, told ABC:
We think in terms of ensuring that both the police process continues in the way it should, and the coronial process continues in the way it should, this will provide another solution around the questions that may not be able to be answered by the NT police in the investigation that is currently afoot with Kumanjayi White’s death.
Uibo also spoke about the NT government’s proposal to make pepper spray available for personal use in a bid to improve community safety, saying it had “many risks”.
Our Labor opposition would like to ensure the government fully explores the risks that would be – if the OC spray falls in the wrong hands, which unfortunately we anticipate it will do. How is the government going to regulate community safety and improve and enhance community safety if there’s something that could be weaponised in the public that could be publicly available?
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No Aukus alternative, former Australian ambassador to US says
Sinodinos, Australia’s former ambassador to the US, says Australia doesn’t have a plan B for obtaining submarines because “there is no alternative”.
Speaking on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Arthur Sinodinos said:
We don’t have a plan B because there’s no alternative.
There’s arguments we should take the money for AUKUS and spend it on drones and other stuff - it’s a case of all of the above. You don’t see the Chinese, the Americans or others saying it’s only got to be one piece of hardware and not another. And particularly because we are in a maritime situation here, submarines play a very important role in the domain and Australia can play a significant role as an ally and partner in that context.
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Australia’s former ambassador to the US after being asked if the US’ review of Aukus should be considered standard or worrying has said “I don’t think it’s a binary”.
Asked on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Arthur Sinodinos said it’s normal for the Trump administration to want to review an agreement like Aukus which was struck by the former US government.
However, he said:
I think the reason people were concerned is because in the past the man who seems to have been charged with carrying this out, may have initiated the review, Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary of defence for policy, has been sceptical at times about the capacity to deliver AUKUS.
Updated
Australia needs to consider backup plan to Aukus deal, Turnbull says
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says the debate about the American review into Aukus is “missing the key points”, warning again that the US could simply decide they can’t bear to send Australia any submarines.
Turnbull wrote in a post to his Substack blog this afternoon:
The central theme is “Will the United States abandon AUKUS?” That is not the issue. The United States can stick to the AUKUS deal, comply with the letter of the deal, AND not transfer any submarines to Australia.
That is because it has always been part of the deal, and part of the US legislation, that the transfer of submarines to Australia is highly conditional.
Turnbull notes the US legislation authorising the submarine transfer states that the ships would only be sent our way if America is satisfied that the transfer “will not degrade the United States undersea capabilities”, “is consistent with United States foreign policy and national security interests” and “the United States is making sufficient submarine production and maintenance investments to meet the combination of United States military requirements”.
Turnbull says the US is struggling to make enough submarines for themselves, let alone enough to satisfy the requirement that any transfer wouldn’t degrade their readiness.
He wrote:
So given these submarines are the most valuable, and survivable, elements in the US Navy it is very difficult to see how a US President could sign such a certificate today.
Elbridge Colby, who is the Deputy Secretary of Defence conducting the review, has made this point himself prior to assuming office - when the US is short of this vital strategic asset why would it (how could it) part with three and up to five of them to Australia.
Both sides of politics have been denying reality on this score and ducking the real issue. Unless you believe the United States will deprive its own Navy of 3 and possibly 5 of its single most valuable strategic assets at a time of intensifying rivalry with China then the odds are that we will get no Virginias at all.
Turnbull wrote that it was “time to wake up” and consider a Plan B backup option.
Updated
French submarines would have been ‘obsolete before they got wet’, Morrison says
Staying with Morrison, he told the ABC that the submarines Australia was going to buy before Aukus under the now scrapped deal with France were going to be “obsolete before they got wet”.
He said:
I think the capability of having nuclear-powered submarines is essential to Australia’s long-term strategic defence. I mean, the submarines we were going to buy would have been obsolete before they got wet.
We moved to a plan B that was actually better than plan A, and of course, difficult things are very challenging. And this is a big test of our resolve and our capability.
But I’m not one of those defeatists who want to surrender to the idea, which says Australia’s just not up to it. I don’t agree with that. I think Australia is up to it. I think the alliance is up to it and I think it can be achieved. And I think that’s a view that the government and I share.
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Morrison says ‘delusional’ to think Australia has better defence alliance options
Former prime minister Scott Morrison is having his say on ABC right now about the US undertaking a review of Aukus.
I’ve never had concerns about this, and I’ve never had any reason to.
This notion that I hear the critics of, of these arrangements and the, the US alliance thinking there is some other power out there that can provide that level of engagement and alliance to provide our security is honestly delusional.
Asked if US president Donald Trump had told him he wanted Aukus to proceed, Morrison responded:
I don’t go into my conversations with others, particularly post-politics. And, you know, I have relationships with many people in the US and the UK, and I think I can be of most use if I continue to engage in those where I can and where I can be helpful in an unofficial capacity.
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NSW government ‘tinkering around the edges’ of gambling reform, union says
Unions NSW has called out the NSW government for failing to reduce gambling harm, saying its reforms amount to “tinkering around the edges of a system that extracts $8.6 billion annually from NSW communities”.
A damning audit released today found the Minns government had not set targets to reduce the harm caused by about 90,000 poker machines in the state and does not know if it is protecting people.
The union said that it had welcomed the government reducing cash limits and introducing responsible gambling officers, but that failed to address what it called the fundamental problem – “there are simply too many poker machines”.
“NSW still has 87,298 poker machines - 15 per cent more than Queensland and Victoria combined,” the union said in a statement.
“Unions NSW’s solution is clear: a moratorium on new licences, cancellation when venues close, and a phased five-year reduction to bring NSW in line with Queensland.”
Unions NSW secretary, Mark Morey, said:
Supply creates demand, and in turn, misery.
While the Government congratulates itself on administrative changes, families in Fairfield are losing $3,225 per adult annually to poker machines.
Real harm minimisation means fewer machines, not more bureaucracy.
You can find out more about the auditor’s findings here:
Updated
Hi there, I’ll now be with you until this evening.
Thanks for sticking with me during a busy, submarine-filled day. Jordyn Beazley will guide you through the afternoon’s news.
Sydney Theatre Company sees $10m revenue boost after Dorian Gray becomes smash hit
Sydney Theatre Company has recorded a $10m boost to revenue after its Dorian Gray production became a West End hit, and is poised to reap millions more when it receives a cut from this year’s even more lucrative Broadway run.
The company’s chief executive, Anne Dunn, cited commercial in confidence when asked whether that additional $10m was attributable to the heavy lifting done by Kip Williams’ phenomenally successful production, which is now grossing more than $1.6m a week on Broadway and earlier this week earned Sarah Snook her first Tony.
More than 77,000 people paid to see Australia’s stage adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray in London’s West End last year.
Read more here:
Pedestrian dies after being hit by car in Sydney last week
A pedestrian has died after he was allegedly struck by a vehicle in the inner Sydney suburb of Camperdown last week. Emergency services responded to reports a man, 70, had been hit by a car last Wednesday just after 5.30pm. He was taken to the hospital in a critical condition. He later died in hospital.
The driver of the car, a 31-year-old woman, was also taken to the hospital for mandatory testing.
A crime scene has been established and officers have opened an investigation into the crash.
Updated
Adelaide’s first skyscraper approved, despite ‘phallic’ concerns
Adelaide’s first skyscraper – which critics have described as a “phallic” mistake – has been approved.
The Walker Corporation’s 38-storey, 160 metre building will be built next to the state parliament on North Terrace.
The premier, Peter Malinaukas, said it would generate $1bn in economic activity annually, and ensure the vibrancy of the area. He said:
This development will transform our capital for the better, and is demonstrative of Adelaide’s rise as a truly global city.
But prominent South Australians say it would overshadow Parliament House, the first place in the world to give women the right to vote and to stand for parliament.
In an open letter signed by about 130 people, including former Labor premier Lynn Arnold and former Labor attorney general Peter Duncan, critics said the proposal “desecrates a national and global landmark of democracy and women’s rights”, and called for the site to be turned into a “democracy hub”. They wrote:
Let us turn North Terrace into a beacon of democracy, not a shadow of corporate power.
When parliament returns next week, the Greens will move for the state government to intervene and stop the development.
Updated
Why are households saving more than the RBA expected?
Commonwealth Bank analysis showing households paying off more debt faster than normal instead of spending, mentioned earlier in the blog, helps explain why the amount of money we’re saving has risen faster and higher than the Reserve Bank forecast just a month ago.
The proportion of household income saved rose to 5.2% in March, the highest level since 2022, according to data released early in June. The RBA in May predicted that ratio would only rise to 4.8% by the end of 2025, ahead of its decision to deliver just one interest rate cut.
Household deposits with banks have risen by $41bn since the end of last year, according to government data. Australians’ incomes have increased in the year since July 2024 but more than half of the lift has been saved amid rising global uncertainty, CommBank senior economist Belinda Allen said:
There’s potentially some more precautionary savings coming through, or less willingness to go out there and spend that additional windfall.
Natural disasters and insurance payouts after cyclones in Queensland could also have depressed spending and lifted savings in May, according to Nalini Prasad, a senior lecturer at the UNSW Business School. But the big factor was still interest rates, which remain at 13-year highs. Prasad said:
The interest rate is still high [enough] that they want to be saving rather than spending … If you want to see a pickup in consumption, then that would probably come off the back of lower interest rates.
Markets expect three more rate cuts in the next 12 months, with an 80% chance of one when the Reserve Bank board next meets in July.
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Linda Reynolds ‘bitterly disappointed’ by Nacc findings over Brittany Higgins payout
Linda Reynolds says she is “bitterly disappointed” by the national anti-corruption watchdog’s statement this morning, which found “no corruption issue” regarding the $2.4m settlement paid to her former employee Brittany Higgins after her alleged rape in Parliament House in 2019.
In a statement on Thursday afternoon, the former Liberal senator said she questioned “how the Commonwealth could possibly settle unsubstantiated and statute barred claims made against me, alleging egregious conduct on my part without taking a single statement from me or speaking to me at all”.
Reynolds referred the issue to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nacc) in October 2023 after the Labor government agreed to the settlement with Higgins in December 2022, signed while Mark Dreyfus was the attorney general. Higgins was provided compensation for her loss of earning capacity, legal costs, medical expenses, domestic assistance and “$400,000 for hurt, distress and humiliation”.
As part of Higgins’ claim, she alleged the commonwealth had breached its duty of care because Reynolds and her staff mishandled the matter and did not adequately support her.
Reynolds told the WA supreme court last year that the claims against her were “utterly defendable” and accused Dreyfus of “seeking to silence” her for not allowing her lawyers’ involvement in the final mediation settlement.
On Thursday, Reynolds said:
I fail to understand how the Commonwealth and its lawyers could not appreciate the serious and probable consequences of settling such serious allegations on my behalf, which included claims for gender-based discrimination, disability discrimination and victimisation and the message that it would send to the public about the truth of those matters.
The WA supreme court is expected to deliver its judgment in Reynolds’ defamation case against Higgins next week, more than 10 months after it began.
Read more here:
Updated
Mark Dreyfus welcomes Nacc findings on Brittany Higgins settlement
The former attorney general Mark Dreyfus welcomed the federal integrity watchdog’s finding that there was “no corruption issue” regarding the $2.4m settlement paid to Brittany Higgins.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nacc) released the findings of its preliminary investigation into the matter on Thursday, concluding there was “no inappropriate intervention” by the Labor government.
The referral was lodged by the former Liberal senator Linda Reynolds in 2023 after the Labor government signed off on a $2.4m settlement for Higgins after her alleged rape at Parliament House in 2019 in Reynolds’ then ministerial office.
Reynolds, who was Higgins’ former boss, told a court last year she had not been able to defend herself in the settlement negotiations against Higgins, who claimed she had not been given adequate support after the incident.
The senator accused Dreyfus of “seeking to silence” her. The Nacc’s statement on Thursday found “there was no inappropriate intervention in the process by or on behalf of any minister. The then attorney general approved the settlement in accordance with the departmental advice.”
On Thursday, Dreyfus responded:
I regret the baseless allegation of corruption has been so widely publicised ahead of this finding and hope future matters can be resolved in a more timely manner. I also regret any further distress caused to Ms Higgins as a result of this matter.
Read more below:
Updated
Renters and mortgage holders spending more, but debt-free homeowners saving up
Renters and mortgage holders lifted their spending in May amid interest rate cuts and slowing rental increases, but those who own their home outright weighed down an expected recovery in consumer spending.
Commonwealth Bank’s Household Spending Insights report showed debt-free homeowners lifted their spending by just 0.3% in the year to May and replaced renters as the weakest-growing spending group.
Renters’ spending on non-essential goods picked up as inflation pressures eased and the pace of rent increases moderated, spending 2.3% more in May than they did 12 months before.
Rate cuts boosted disposable income for mortgage holders, who picked up their spending by the most at 3.3% over the last year, also with a focus on non-essential goods. Across all households, spending on hospitality and recreation soared from its lows a year ago, up 11% and 9% respectively over the year.
Motor vehicle spending had the biggest jump of all categories in the month of May, but essential purchases including food and utilities cut back, which saw the overall index rise 0.5% in the month.
Analysts at UBS previously warned the sluggish recovery in consumer spending was a sign the Reserve Bank’s rate cuts were having little effect on economic activity, with most of the effect being seen in higher house prices. They wrote in a note on Wednesday:
The impact of RBA rate cuts, so far, is providing limited support to the ‘real economy’, but arguably a more material boost to asset prices, or at least expected asset prices.
Updated
Griffith University underpaid more than 5,000 staff by $8.3m
Griffith University has signed an enforceable undertaking (EU) with the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) after underpaying more than 5,000 staff to the tune of $8.34m including super and interest.
Under the EU, the university must repay the underpaid staff, implement a range of measures to ensure future compliance with workplace laws and make a contrition payment of $175,000.
The underpaid employees were working across all six of the university’s Queensland campuses and faculties between 2015 and 2024, with one underpayment exceeding $90,000.
In a statement, the FWO said the university had self-reported in early 2022 after identifying breaching its enterprise agreements and two awards. It said:
The underpayments were caused by a combination of insufficient training … insufficient data collection … insufficient or non-existent payroll and data review processes, lack of automation allowing for human error, and deficiencies in various payroll systems.
A Griffith University spokesperson said it was a situation “we apologise for and regret the impact it has caused to affected staff”:
All affected current and former staff who can be contacted have been repaid with interest.
The Fair Work Ombudsman, Anna Booth, said the matter “serves as a warning of the significant long-running problems that can result from an employer failing to have appropriate checks and balances to ensure workplace compliance”.
Since 2022, the FWO has entered into EUs with La Trobe, the University of Sydney, the University of Technology Sydney, the University of Newcastle and Charles Sturt University as well as securing court penalties against the University of Melbourne and commencing ongoing legal action against the University of NSW.
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A note on the timing of any federal election challenges
The AEC says any challenge to federal election results must be lodged by 22 July. That just happens to be the first scheduled sitting day for federal parliament, meaning the independent Nicolette Boele will be entering as a new member on the last day a challenge could appear for the Sydney seat of Bradfield.
The Liberals haven’t announced any formal plans to do so. But the party has reportedly been seeking legal advice.
Boele’s official margin in Bradfield is 26 votes, out of more than 112,000 ballots cast.
Updated
Australians saving and paying off debt faster instead of spending, report shows
Australians are saving and making extra mortgage repayments at higher rates, instead of boosting their spending, despite Reserve Bank interest rate cuts, forming a potential handbrake on economic activity and job creation.
Household spending rose just 0.5% in May after staying flat in April, according to a new Commonwealth Bank report tracking the behaviour of 7 million anonymised accounts with the bank. Extra payments on home loans, though, had by April already reached a level not reached until July or later in most years, even before the RBA cut interest rates in May.
Belinda Allen, a senior CommBank economist, said:
Households are trying to save and pay down debt rather than spend, and at this point, even though we’ve now seen income tax cuts and two interest rate cuts, that behaviour has not yet changed.
[Repayments are] lifting at a much faster rate than what we’ve seen in 2024 and the next largest was 2020, when we were all in lockdown and couldn’t spend.
Previous Commonwealth Bank data has shown fewer than one in six eligible accounts reduced their mortgage repayments after the Reserve Bank’s first 2025 interest rate cut in February, though Allen noted CommBank required customers to actively opt in to cut payments.
Updated
AEC returns writs for federal election, starting countdown for Bradfield challenge
The Australian Electoral Commission has returned the writs for the 2025 federal election to the governor-general. Writs for all 150 House of Representatives elections and two Senate elections in the ACT and NT were returned, ahead of a 9 July deadline.
That process starts the clock for any challenge of the results. To contest them, a petition must be filed with the high court within 40 days of the writs’ return. Meaning any challenges – like for the exceedingly close result in NSW’s seat of Bradfield – must be lodged by 22 July.
Senate writs in all six states have already been returned to state governors over the last few weeks.
Police criticise call to alert victims of abuser’s release
Police should be responding to family violence incidents, not stuck behind a desk delivering news to victims that abusers are being released from custody, a union says.
AAP reports Victoria’s police union has criticised a recommendation from State Coroner John Cain that officers warn victims when perpetrators were getting out of jail or about their court outcomes. The recommendation was made following an inquest into the 2020 death of Noeline Dalzell, who was fatally stabbed by her abusive ex-partner in front of their three children.
Judge Cain in November found police missed opportunities to protect Ms Dalzell before she was murdered by James Fairhall.
Fairhall had been released from custody three months earlier for breaching a family violence intervention order designed to protect Ms Dalzell. He is now serving a 25-year sentence for her murder.
Among his 11 recommendations, Judge Cain echoed calls from the 2016 Royal Commission into Family Violence for an improved information-sharing system between agencies.
He also called on Victoria Police to carry out an independent review of its family violence units, saying investigators’ actions fell short of best practice.
Currently, victims are only notified about their abusers’ movements if they opt-in to an alert system through the Victorian Victims Register.
The Police Association of Victoria said notifications should sit solely with the Department of Justice and Community Safety, allowing more police on the streets. The union told AAP on Thursday:
We don’t have enough police to respond to victims of violence when they call us in the first place, let alone committing to further processes that would further diminish our emergency response and preventative abilities, by sending officers out in person to deliver these messages.
These perpetrators are leaving jails, not police stations. The responsibility for notifications should sit with the department that runs those facilities.
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Bob Carr says Australia and US should agree to ‘slide out’ of Aukus deal
Former foreign minister Bob Carr says Australia and the US should agree to “slide out” of the Aukus submarine deal. Carr told Guardian Australia that the US won’t be able to meet its commitments, given the huge shortfall in submarine production there.
Carr said:
What’s needed now is a mutual agreement that Aukus serves neither the US interest nor the Australian one and both sides are allowed to slide out of the deal.
The Trump administration has picked a notable sceptic of Aukus to conduct the review for one reason: they know they won’t be able to supply the boats to Australia because their own shipbuilding lags so significantly.
It is best for us that we don’t linger over this because America’s got the option of increasing the cost to us and forcing us to accept the basing of a sizeable submarine fleet in our ports, every vessel being a nuclear target should there be war between the US and China.
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NSW Health urges people to book in flu shots as cases rise
NSW Health said cases of the flu are rising across the state, urging people to book in for vaccinations now with school holidays around the corner.
Latest surveillance figures show more than 3,100 people in New South Wales testing positive for influenza last week, a 10.6% increase from the previous seven-day period. Most people with the flu don’t test, so the figures are just a small proportion of all people who have had the flu recently.
The vaccine is free for:
Children aged six months to under five years
Pregnant women
Aboriginal people aged six months and over
Anyone aged 65 and over
People with serious health conditions
Dr Jeremy McAnulty, the head of Health Protection NSW, said:
Getting the flu vaccine is quick, easy and recommended for everyone aged six months and over. Vaccination is the best protection against infection and severe disease.
Influenza is a serious illness that can cause pneumonia, make chronic underlying medical conditions like diabetes, lung and heart disease much worse requiring hospital admission, and cause death.
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With all this sub talk: what could we buy for the price of one nuclear submarine?
With all the chatter about the Aukus deal, let’s take a step back and look at the money behind the nuclear submarines. Each sub could cost about $46bn. The Guardian published a breakdown in March to see what that money could buy instead:
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'We want them to come back': Queensland premier on police and paramedics sacked over vaccine mandates
Queensland’s premier says the state needs all the police and paramedics it can get, in response to a question about whether he has reappointed those sacked for violating vaccine mandates.
The Katter’s Australian party MP Shane Knuth asked the premier if “all Queensland government employees who were sacked, stood down or penalised during this shameful period have been fully reinstated with full pay?”.
Premier David Crisafulli responded by thanking Knuth “for the way he’s taken the cause forward”, and by confirming that there are no longer any mandates in effect for Covid vaccines.
He said:
A Queenslander who calls triple o in their hour of need; they’ve just gone through a horrendous time and something’s happened, someone’s broken into their home. They just want to know there’s a blue uniform to come and help them ...
What we need to do is remove every barrier to get them to come back, and it’s important that we do that, and it’s important that police, wherever they’re able to serve, are given that opportunity.
Crisafulli said it was time to “move on” from a time of “division”.
“There’s been some good people who haven’t been given the opportunity to serve, and we want them to come back.”
Nurses and other health workers are still subject to a range of vaccine mandates, as they have for decades.
Queensland’s Covid vaccine mandates were overturned by the state Supreme Court because of errors in the process of declaring them.
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More on the resignation of Monash IVF’s CEO
The Monash IVF chief executive, Michael Knaap, has resigned in the wake of the reproductive healthcare company’s second embryo transplant bungle.
Experts are now calling for national regulation of the sector, something that the health minister, Mark Butler, said would be discussed on Friday when health ministers meet in Melbourne.
Currently, IVF is regulated by state and territory laws, but a more consistent, federal approach is being urged.
Read more here:
Angus Taylor: ‘If Aukus falls over, we will all pay a heavy price’
Shadow defence minister Angus Taylor said the US review of the Aukus deal “came out of the blue”, despite claims from others – including former prime minister Scott Morrison, who said it was a standard process that should not be “over-interpreted”.
Taylor said:
If Aukus falls over, we will all pay a heavy price. The Coalition stands ready to work with the Labor to make sure Aukus is a success. It needs to be strong and effective, but bipartisanship will not be a shield for inaction.
Taylor was also asked if there should be a review of Aukus in Australia, saying:
It needs to succeed and the government needs to do … I am not into bureaucratic processes, I am into outcomes. And I want to see the outcome and this is the problem with this government, all rhetoric and no readiness.
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More from Paul Keating on Aukus
In any case, the calling of the Pentagon review should be the catalyst for the government to get on with the job of forging a relevant, distinctly Australian path for the country’s national security, rather than being dragged along on the coat tails of a fading Atlantic empire.
Paul Keating says US Aukus review could 'save Australia from itself'
Former prime minister Paul Keating says the Aukus review by the US “might very well be the moment Washington saves Australia from itself.”
In a strongly worded statement, Keating says the review should save Australia “from the most poorly conceived defence procurement program ever adopted by an Australian government”. Keating said:
The Albanese government had the chance to undertake a review in its own terms when first elected to office in May 2022, but denied itself the opportunity for fear of being seen as dodgy on the alliance. Now President Trump’s Pentagon, as it is entitled to do, is subjecting the deal to the kind of scrutiny that should have been applied to AUKUS in the first instance.
The review makes clear that America keeps its national interests uppermost. But the concomitant question is: why has Australia failed to do the same?
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Queensland to honour first female MP Irene Longman with statue
Queensland parliament is set to honour its first female MP with a statue. Meanwhile, it has sat for a condolence motion for the state’s first female cabinet minister, who passed away last year. White Queensland women have been allowed to stand for office since 1915, but Irene Longman was first to win a seat in 1929. She was the third woman to win a seat in any Australian parliament.
Speaker Pat Weir announced on Thursday that he had approved a lifesize bronze sculpture of Longman eating at a table, saying:
It will represent the fact that, being a woman, she was never allowed to use the parliamentary dining room and was required to take her meals on the veranda.
It was 37 years before Queenslanders elected the state’s second female MP, Vi Jordan, in 1966. The sixth, Yvonne Chapman, elected in 1983, became the state’s first female cabinet minister in 1986 under then premier Joh Bjelkie-Petersen. She died on 27 October last year.
MPs spoke of Chapman as a trailblazer who used her platform to protect and advocate for all Queenslanders. The state’s minister for women, Fiona Simpson, said:
Yvonne carried these responsibilities, both as a minister and as a trailblazer, with grit and grace and a sense of duty, only matched by her sharp wit and profound passion for community service.
Yvonne was enthusiastic about supporting women from all walks of life, those who pursued careers, Those who chose to take on carer roles at home and those who strove to do both.
110 women have been elected to Queensland parliament including two premiers. Six women are now serving in cabinet and 5 in the outer ministry.
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NACC finds no ‘corruption issue’ in $2.4m settlement paid to Brittany Higgins
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nacc) has found there was “no corruption issue” regarding the $2.4m settlement paid to Brittany Higgins following her alleged rape within Parliament House.
On Thursday morning, the Nacc released the findings of its preliminary investigation into the matter, concluding there was “no inappropriate intervention” by the Labor government.
In December 2022, Higgins signed a deed of settlement with the commonwealth of Australia while Mark Dreyfus was the attorney general. The former Liberal senator Linda Reynolds later accused Dreyfus of “seeking to silence” her for not allowing her to defend against Higgins’s claims.
The Nacc found there was “no material difference” in legal advice received by the former Coalition government before the May 2022 election and that of advice received by the then newly elected Albanese government.
The Nacc also concluded:
There was no inappropriate intervention in the process by or on behalf of any minister. The then-attorney general approved the settlement in accordance with the departmental advice.
The statement continued:
There is no evidence that the settlement process, including the legal advice provided, who was present at the mediation, or the amount, was subject to any improper influence by any Commonwealth public official. To the contrary, the evidence obtained reflected a process that was based on independent external legal advice, without any inappropriate intervention by any minister of either government. There is therefore no corruption issue.
The Nacc’s finding comes as the WA supreme court prepares its judgment on Reynolds’ defamation case against Higgins over a series of social media posts, published in July 2023, which she claims have damaged her reputation.
Reynolds is also separately suing the commonwealth over Higgins’ settlement for taking over her defence in the mediation, which she publicly claimed amounted to “egregious conduct”.
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Queensland expands law allowing police to detain and search people at random
Queensland parliament has voted to expand a law permitting police to detain and search people at random. Jack’s Law – which permits police to carry out wanding operations for knives – was first implemented in 2021, on a trial basis. It was only limited to specific areas like supermarkets, train stations and nightclub districts.
Police are now permitted to use the powers under the laws in any public place in the state. The law is also now permanent. The Queensland police minister, Dan Purdie, said:
The bill will improve public safety by allowing our frontline police to proactively use handheld scanners to detect knives and weapons.
It will provide a strong deterrent for those who wish to carry dangerous weapons in our community. It will provide efficiencies by streamlining the underlying framework. The bill will remove the onerous authorisation environment in prescribed relevant places within the current framework and remove the requirement to notify a manager or occupier of a premises prior to exercising Jack’s Law. The bill will also expand the framework to other public places with an authorisation from a senior officer.
Purdie said the law includes a number of safeguards including a requirement that officers must exercise the power in the least invasive way, and a requirement that the police department report the number of detentions in a year.
The legislation is named for 17-year-old murder victim Jack Beasley, who was stabbed to death on the Gold Coast in 2019. All states have now adopted a version of the Queensland-first legislation.
In a separate surprise late-night move, the Crisafulli government amended its own legislation to make it easier to modify tolls on two main roads.
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Scott Morrison says Aukus review should ‘not be over-interpreted’
Former prime minister Scott Morrison said the US review of Aukus is “well within its remit” and should “not be over-interpreted”.
In a statement, Morrison said:
As the Pentagon leads this review, the depth of US-Australia engagement, the professionalism of our collaboration, and the consistent backing from Secretary Hegseth, as reaffirmed in his discussions with Minister Marles, remain reasons for continued confidence.
Now is the time for Australia to make the case again. We have a good case to make in both our own interests and those of our AUKUS partners, especially in the US.
Morrison added the focus of the review was “not new” and centred on the “known and genuine challenge” on US submarine production rates.
The US AUKUS review is Departmental and akin to the UK’s post-election assessment by Starmer Govt. It deals with the known issue of boosting US sub production, a challenge Australia is already helping to solve under AUKUS. Full statement: https://t.co/nVvGXoAznD pic.twitter.com/Ut3yxB5hiZ
— Scott Morrison (@ScoMo30) June 12, 2025
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More on two bodies found in Sydney granny flat
New South Wales police just held a press conference on the two bodies found at a northern beaches granny flat. Det Supt John Duncan said police forcibly entered the building last night after the pair hadn’t been seen since last weekend amid concerns about the two and their pets.
The occupants have not been formally identified, but Duncan said they were believed to be known to police for “minor matters”. The bodies had lacerations, but there were no further details about the cause of death or level of injuries. Duncan said:
At this point of time all lines of inquiry are being looked at. I can’t tell you what the scene looks like, crime scenes are still processing it.
Officials appealed for any information about suspicious activity in the area over the last four days.
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Angus Taylor says Australia can’t ‘afford to be seen as a fair-weather friend’
Augus Taylor, the shadow minister for defence, said he is “deeply concerned” by the Trump administration’s Aukus review, saying it adds to a “growing list of issues in Australia’s relationship with the United States”. He said in a statement:
You don’t project strength by undermining alliances. Australia must show it’s serious, consistent, and committed.
If this review has been triggered by the Albanese Government’s refusal to commit to increased defence spending and its sanctioning of two Israeli ministers, then the government has very serious questions to answer about how it is managing our most critical allies.
Taylor went on to say the Coalition supports the Aukus deal, but any deal relies on “trust”, adding he believes the Albanese government had sent “mixed messages” to its allies.
You can’t claim to be a reliable partner abroad while picking and choosing your principles at home. Australia cannot afford to be seen as a fair-weather friend. This government has sent mixed messages to our allies, and we’re now seeing the consequences.
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CEO of Monash IVF Group resigns after second embryo mistake
Michael Knaap, the CEO and managing director of Monash IVF Group, has resigned just days after the company said it mistakenly implanted the wrong embryo in a woman in Victoria. It was the second mix-up in months – a woman in April gave birth to a stranger’s baby after another person’s embryo was implanted in her.
Monash IVF said in a statement:
The Board acknowledges and respects his decision.
Since his appointment in 2019, Michael has led the organisation through a period of significant growth and transformation, and we thank him for his years of dedicated service.
The company appointed CFO Malik Jainudeen as acting CEO.
Read more here:
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Turnbull doesn’t think Australia will get any US-made submarines from Aukus
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says he doesn’t believe Australia will receive any US-manufactured submarines, and has called for federal parliament to launch its own review of the Aukus deal.
Speaking on ABC radio after the surprise announcement of a review by the Pentagon, Turnbull says the shortfall for the US’s own submarine manufacturing means Donald Trump is unlikely to approve any vessels being transferred to Australia. Turnbull said:
There is literally a denial of reality in Canberra. I have sat with senior officials in our defence establishment and said to them: ‘What is your plan if we don’t get any Virginia class submarines from the US?’ … They have looked back at me and said: ‘We will get the submarines.’
This is like saying, ‘I’m going to have a party in the garden on Sunday’, and you say to me, ‘what will you do if it rains?’, and I look back at you and say, ‘it won’t rain.’
Turnbull says Australia’s problem is Trump can choose not to continue with the agreement, a decision which is conditional on the US having sufficient submarines for its own use.
He says the Australian government is the “least curious” of the three parties to the deal, after both the UK and US launched reviews.
If we do not get Virginia class submarines from the Americans, it is not the Americans reneging on the deal or breaking on the deal, they are complying with the deal.
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Former Labor senator says PM should launch own Aukus review, and consider leaving agreement
Former Labor senator Doug Cameron says the Albanese government should launch its own review of the Aukus program, and consider exiting the agreement with the US and UK. Cameron, part of the ALP members group opposed to the nuclear submarine deal called Labor Against War, says the deal needs more scrutiny in Canberra.
He said:
Australians spend more time and due diligence reviewing the purchase of a television or a car than the Labor frontbench spent kicking the tyres on Aukus.
With Donald Trump’s Pentagon announcing a review, it’s high time the Labor government had the courage to initiate an independent review to ensure the Australian people aren’t being taken to the cleaners while dragged into US war planning.
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Two bodies found in Sydney granny flat, police say
NSW police are investigating after two bodies were found in a granny flat behind a property in Sydney’s northern beaches overnight.
Police responded to calls for a welfare check in the suburb of Forestville around 9.30pm last night. Upon arrival, authorities found the bodies of a man believed to be in his 40s and a woman thought to be in her 50s. The bodies have not been formally identified.
A crime scene has been established, with an investigation opened alongside the homicide squad.
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Powerful US Democrat says US review of Aukus ‘will be met with cheers in Beijing’
US senator Jeanne Shaheen, a powerful Democrat, said in a statement this morning the news on Aukus “will be met with cheers in Beijing, which is already celebrating America’s global pullback and our strained ties with allies under President Trump”. She said:
Scrapping this partnership would further tarnish America’s reputation and raise more questions among our closest defense partners about our reliability. And at a moment when we face mounting threats from the PRC and Russia, we should be encouraging our partners to raise their defense spending and partnering with them on the latest technologies – not doing the opposite.
Marles says Australia needs to stick with Aukus or it will never get submarine capability
Marles said getting nuclear-powered submarine capability is something that takes decades. He told ABC radio:
If you don’t stick to a plan, actually the decision in that moment that you are making is not to have the capability. Because if you chop and change every three years, you will never in fact build a submarine.
Our focus is on sticking to this plan and on seeing it through … Because that’s the way in which we get the capability.
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Richard Marles ‘very confident’ Aukus is ‘going to happen’
The defence minister, Richard Marles, just spoke on ABC radio in Melbourne, saying Australia welcomed the US review into Aukus, calling it “perfectly natural”. He said:
I’m very confident this is going to happen.
Look, I think the review that’s been announced is not a surprise, we’ve been aware of this for some time. We welcome it, it’s something which is perfectly natural for an incoming administration to do …
I think as Aukus goes forward over many decades and governments come and go I think that what you’ll see is incoming governments, quite reasonably, look at reviewing how they can best engage what is a multi-decade arrangement.
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Former US Navy chief praises Aukus ‘statecraftery’
Following on from our earlier post:
Former US Navy secretary Richard Spencer told ABC RN Breakfast Aukus was one of the “best bits of statecraftery” in the last 50 years.
Spencer added he believes Aukus brings together the US and two of its strongest allies, Australia and the UK. He added:
I think it’s completely normal for the Trump administration to do a review. To see if it does actually fit and check all the boxes that the president wants for his national security and ‘America First’ agenda.
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Greens say Aukus deal ‘sinking’ and should be abandoned
The Greens say the Aukus submarines deal “is sinking” and Australia should abandon it – and stop sending money to the US for nuclear submarines.
The Greens’ defence spokesperson, David Shoebridge, said the Trump administration’s review of the deal was the final nail in the coffin of the $375bn agreement and it was time for action in Canberra. He called for a parliamentary inquiry to allow proper scrutiny, including from critics of the plan outside the Coalition and Labor. Shoebridge said in a statement:
Donald Trump is erratic, reckless and careless of America’s allies and alliances but he does have one fairly constant trait, he puts US interests first and allies last.
The USA reviewing AUKUS shows what the Greens have been warning about for years – this deal makes Australia a junior partner in America’s military strategy, not an equal ally.
Trump will use this review to either terminate AUKUS and pocket the money already paid or extract an even more eye-watering sum from Australia to stay in the sinking project without any hard promises for the US to deliver.
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Former US Navy secretary not worried by Aukus review: ‘I think this is business as usual’
Richard Spencer, who served as the US secretary of the Navy for two years during Trump’s first term, said he wasn’t particularly worried about the Pentagon review of Aukus. He told RN Breakfast:
I think this is business as usual. I actually welcome the review because every time something is reviewed, questioned, and answered, I believe it strengthens the actual precepts of the agreement itself. So I don’t think there’s a tremendous amount to worry about.
Might it change a bit? It might on the edges. I think the core remains the same.
Leeser says PM should urgently set Trump meeting on sidelines of G7
Coalition frontbencher Julian Leeser says Anthony Albanese needs to urgently secure a meeting with Donald Trump in Canada next week, after the announcement of the Aukus review overnight. He told ABC radio:
This is part of a growing list of issues in our relationship with the United States that took another hit.
Leeser called on Albanese to guarantee a direct meeting on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Canada. Negotiations about a possible meeting have been ongoing but could be slowed down by sanctions put in place by Labor on rightwing members of the Israeli government this week. Leeser said:
Aukus is so important to Australia’s security. It was originally Coalition policy. It has bipartisan support. But it’s very important that the prime minister actually puts the case here.
Leeser said Albanese opted not to go to the United States to lobby the White House on trade tariffs. But on the submarine pact, Leeser said the prime minister needs “to ensure that the commitments that we were promised are secured”.
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Turnbull suggests Australia should ‘wake up’ and review Aukus ourselves
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has chimed in amid the US review of the Aukus. He wrote on X:
The UK is conducting a review of AUKUS. The US DoD is conducting a review of AUKUS. But Australia, which has the most at stake, has no review. Our Parliament to date has been the least curious and least informed. Time to wake up?
The UK is conducting a review of AUKUS. The US DoD is conducting a review of AUKUS. But Australia, which has the most at stake, has no review. Our Parliament to date has been the least curious and least informed. Time to wake up?
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) June 11, 2025
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Israeli minister says sanctions imposed by Australia and other countries ‘don’t interest me’
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister and one of the pair hit with sanctions, mocked them in a speech overnight. RN Breakfast had a transcript of his remarks:
I don’t know what I’m going to do now with my assets in the UK and my bank accounts in New Zealand. Thank God, I have no assets either in Israel or abroad.
Those who acquire assets acquire worries, you see. These sanctions don’t interest me, and I have no business in these antisemitic countries.
You can read more about the sanctions here:
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Shadow attorney general says Coalition has ‘real questions’ over sanctions imposed on Israeli officials
Julian Leeser, the shadow attorney general, said the Coalition has “real questions” about the sanctions announced yesterday against two Israeli cabinet ministers. The foreign minister, Penny Wong, said at the time the ministers were “inciting violence against Palestinians” in the West Bank. Leeser told RN Breakfast the sanctions were a “very serious step”, saying they suggested Australia was lowering the threshold for applying them:
The big question here is whether this is a new standard that will be applied to the public comments of officials from other countries. Because if this is the new standard, it will have serious implications for our international relations.
Leeser said the two Israeli ministers’ far-right views don’t reflect those of the Coalition and the bipartisan support in Australia for a two-state solution.
People are right to disagree and condemn, but what the government is doing here is it’s using a sanctions regime which was designed to deal with human rights abuses and terrorist acts … But these people are being sanctioned not because of terrorist acts or human rights abuses, but because of public comments.
And if that standard is applied in other places too, this will cause serious issues in our international relations.
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Richard Marles downplays Trump review into Aukus, calling it a ‘natural’ step
The defence minister, Richard Marles, downplayed the Trump administration’s review into the Aukus program, saying it was “natural” that the US would take a look at the submarines and capabilities sharing program. Despite the review announced overnight, Marles said he had experienced “clear and consistent support” for Aukus from the United States. Marles said in a statement:
We are committed to AUKUS and we look forward to working closely with the US on the review. The United States advised Australia and the UK of the review.
It is natural that the Administration would want to examine this major undertaking including progress and delivery, just as the UK Government recently concluded an AUKUS review and reaffirmed its support including through the appointment of Sir Stephen Lovegrove as its AUKUS Adviser.
Marles travelled to the US earlier this year to meet his counterpart, Pete Hegseth, and make an $800m downpayment on the submarine project as part of an agreement to help grow the American submarine manufacturing capabilities.
Marles said Thursday the US, the United Kingdom and Australia were all “committed to ensuring AUKUS meets national and trilateral objectives”.
Importantly, AUKUS will grow both US and Australian defence industry as well as generating thousands of new manufacturing jobs. There is bipartisan support in the United States with the passage of important provisions in the National Defence Authorization Act in 2023 to enable the transfer of US Virginia class submarines to Australia, and to enable Australians to work on maintenance activities of US Virginia class submarines.
Our engagement with the Trump Administration and across the full political spectrum in the United States has shown clear and consistent support for AUKUS. We look forward to continuing our close cooperation with the Trump Administration on this historic project.
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Beach Boys visionary Brian Wilson dead at 82
Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys musician, songwriter and producer who created some of history’s most purely beautiful pop music, has died aged 82. In a post shared on Instagram on Wednesday, Wilson’s family wrote:
We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away. We are at a loss for words right now. Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving. We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world. Love & Mercy.
You can read the Guardian’s obituary of Wilson here:
Several leading Australian sunscreens don’t provide the protection they say, according to Choice
Some of Australia’s most popular sunscreens including some made by Bondi Sands, Banana Boat and the Cancer Council are falling short of the level of skin protection on the bottle, a Choice investigation has found.
The consumer advocacy group said it tested 20 popular SPF 50 or 50+ sunscreens from a range of retailers and prices in a specialised, accredited laboratory and found 16 of them did not meet their SPF claims.
Ultra Violette’s Lean Screen SPF 50+ returned the worst result of any sunscreen tested by Choice, with the testing showing the product had an SPF of just four. A spokesperson for Ultra Violette said it did not accept Choice’s results as “even remotely accurate” and accused the consumer group of releasing “misleading information” to generate news coverage.
Read more here:
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Hockey says ‘at the end of the day’ there is still strong support for Aukus in US
Joe Hockey adds that “at the end of the day, there is still strong support for Aukus” in the US, including in Congress and the White House. But he said Australia needs to leverage what it has at the bargaining table and engage “deeply” with Donald Trump. He told RN Breakfast:
It means we need to be ever vigilant. I keep suggesting to the Australian government in various ways that you can’t ignore the Trump administration. You need to deeply engage with it …
Ultimately, it is really important that the prime minister and the president, when they meet next week, have a detailed discussion about not just Aukus, but the broader trade relationship as well. President Trump is transactional. Look, every politician is transactional. The thing is that Donald Trump is overt about it.
And we have something to trade on: Aukus.
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Good morning, Nick Visser here to take over for the great Martin Farrer. I’ll be your guide through the day’s news.
Joe Hockey says Aukus sceptic leading Pentagon review
Former ambassador to the US Joe Hockey has told the ABC the Pentagon review of Aukus, announced this morning, is being led by an Aukus sceptic.
But there is still strong support for Aukus across the US legislature and in the White House, he said.
“President Trump is transactional,” Hockey said. “And we have something to trade on Aukus.”
He points out that Australia has already made a hefty downpayment to the US to boost submarine production and an Australian company is helping build US submarines.
But Australia has “no options left” if it does not receive Virginia-class submarines from the US under Aukus.
More on the Aukus review:
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In today’s Grogonomics column, Greg Jericho delivers an impassioned plea that Labor’s attempts to change superannuation tax concessions should be just the start of a concerted effort to reduce wealth inequality.
Jericho argues that the reason wealthy people have opposed the changes is because they’re worried that the rest of the population will realise that the system is rigged.
Read his full article here, plus graphs of course:
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Aged and disability care provider Annecto to close
The aged and disability care provider Annecto will close next month, taking with it the jobs of 1,000 workers and services to more than 3,000 customers.
The company said in a statement yesterday that the July closure would affect all of its support for veterans and elderly and disabled people across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT.
The provider, which had been running for more than 70 years, said the decision to close came after “careful deliberation and extensive stakeholder consultation which considered the service model shifts in the aged care and disability sectors and the financial challenges facing the organisation”.
Annecto said it was working with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the National Disability Insurance Agency and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to transition its customers and staff to other providers.
The Annecto chair, Colleen Furnaletto, said the “decision was not made lightly”.
“We deeply appreciate the support of our community over all these years and the dedication of our staff and partners to high quality of support standards.”
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Potential of AI is immense but it could cost jobs, says productivity chief
Australia’s productivity commissioner says that the opportunities of artificial intelligence are “immense” – but will deliver some job losses.
Speaking to the ABC’s 7.30 last night, Danielle Wood said the prediction by the chief executive of the US AI company Anthropic that the technology could potentially wipe out half of entry-level white-collar jobs within five years was “pretty extraordinary” and “out of whack with other reasonable projections” she had seen.
Instead, she said the more routine elements of jobs will be taken over by AI, “freeing people up to do the uniquely human parts of jobs”.
“Am I going to sit here and say, ‘No jobs are going to go?’ No, clearly not. There will be some impacts,” she said, adding that AI will also create jobs that “we can’t even imagine yet”.
“There’s a huge amount of opportunity, and I think we have to remember that … I know so many people that are now using it in their jobs and they can see the way that it is freeing up some of those less good parts of their jobs.”
Josh Butler spoke to Tim Ayres about this very issue, in a story out today, who said there would be “a lot to gain” from embracing AI, particularly highlighting potential boosts to productivity and economic growth.
Ayres, who grew up on a cattle farm near Lismore, said both white-collar and traditional blue-collar jobs could reap benefits from adopting automation and new technology – and that “the cold reality that the only thing more disruptive in the labour market is standing back and allowing Australia to become a cul-de-sac in technological terms”.
Read the full story here:
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser to take you through the day.
The new industry and science minister, Tim Ayres, warns today that Australia must “lean in hard” to the benefits of artificial intelligence or else risk ending up “on the end of somebody else’s supply chain”. His comments follow an appearance by Australia’s productivity commissioner on 7.30 last night in which she said AI could cost jobs. More coming up.
We’ll bring you news soon of a big aged care provider which is closing next month.
And parties in Tasmania will be gearing up for another election campaign today after the state’s governor said she had been left with no choice but to call a poll to resolve the Apple Isle’s political crisis. We’ll have the latest.
