What we learned today, Friday 27 June
We will wrap up the live blog for the night right here. This is what made the news today:
Australian superannuation funds have been spared a multibillion-dollar hit after the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, announced they would drop a so-called “revenge tax” on foreign investors.
Far-right white supremacist group Terrorgram has been listed as a terrorist organisation.
The shadow defence minister, Angus Taylor, said he does not support quotas to bring women into the Liberal party because “I don’t believe in subverting democratic processes”.
The judge in Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial said jurors can use her alleged lies to assess her credibility but warned them not to equate lying with guilt. The trial enters its 10th week next week, with the jury expected to soon go into deliberations.
The media regulator has refused to change the rules to allow more alcohol ads to be shown during children’s television viewing hours.
The Australian online safety regulator has urged schools to report deepfakes to police, as the number of reports of deepfake nude images of people under 18 more than doubled in the past 18 months.
Woolworths Group is closing its MyDeal shopping site just three years after paying more than $200m for a controlling stake in the online business.
Staffers for the NSW premier, Chris Minns, were queried at an inquiry on the premier’s focus on calling the caravan “fake” terrorism plot terrorism in a press conference earlier this year.
Police confirmed a woman was injured as she and four others were arrested by police during a protest outside a business in Sydney’s west on Friday morning.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, is expected to join a meeting of her Quad counterparts in Washington DC next week.
Ten passengers and eight crew members from a luxury cruise have been rescued from a remote uninhabited island off the northern coast of Australia.
Thanks for following along. Until next time, enjoy your evening.
Updated
Surgeon remains highest paid occupation in the country
Continuing on this report, while delayed by nearly two years, the annual taxation statistics provide an insight into who pays tax and how much they pay, alongside a range of other insights.
For example, the report revealed the country’s more than 4,200 surgeons were once again in the highest paid occupation, with an average reportable income of $472,475.
They were followed by anaesthetists, with an average taxable income of $447,193, and financial dealers, who reported average earnings of $355,233 in 2022-23.
The well-known wealthiest suburbs in Sydney’s eastern suburbs had the highest average taxable incomes.
Those living in postcode 2027, which includes Darling Point, Edgecliff and Point Piper, earned on average just shy of $280,000 a year.
Or at least that’s what was reported as taxable.
There was also evidence in the ATO stats of how even very high earners are escaping paying any income tax.
There were 91 individuals who earned over $1m in 2022-23 and paid no income tax, according to analysis by The Australia Institute.
They claimed a total of $390m in deductions to reduce their income below the tax-free threshold of $18,200 a year to avoid paying the taxman.
These individuals claimed $62.8m in deductions for paying accountants and lawyers to manage their tax affairs, at an average of $690,815 each, according to the analysis.
Updated
Half of all landlords claimed rental losses against tax in 2022-23
Half of all landlords claimed rental losses against their tax in 2022-23, after a 20% jump on the number of negatively geared property investors from the previous financial year, according to the Australian Taxation Office.
The jump in the number of Australians taking advantage of negative gearing to reduce their taxable income comes amid a growing debate over how to reform the taxation system to make it fairer and more efficient.
Analysis by Treasury shows that in 2021-22, nearly 40% of tax breaks to landlords went to the top 10% of earners, including as a result of the $6.3bn in claimed rental losses.
A total of 2.26 million individuals reported owning at least one rental property, the ATO figures showed, while about 640,000 owned more than one – roughly equivalent to the previous year.
There were nearly 85,000 individuals with four more investment properties, against the more than 1.6 million landlords with one rental property.
But there was a jump in Australians reporting losses on their investment properties, from 950,000 to 1.1 million individuals. That took the share of landlords claiming rental losses from 42% of the total to 49%.
Updated
Police confirm protester injured during arrest in Sydney
Following up our earlier post on the Greens alleging a protester at SEC Plating in Belmore, in Sydney’s west, were assaulted by NSW police, the police confirmed a woman was injured during her arrest. Four others were also arrested.
Police said officers issued move on directions to about 60 protesters allegedly blocking pedestrian access to the business on Friday morning.
A 29-year-old woman who police will allege did not comply with that direction was arrested.
After a second move on direction was issued, a 26-year-old man and 35-year-old woman were arrested for allegedly failing to comply with that direction.
Police confirmed that during her arrest, the woman sustained facial injuries and was taken to Bankstown hospital for treatment.
Police said a 41-year-old man then allegedly used obscene language towards police, and was arrested after allegedly running from officers.
Police said a “scuffle ensued” when police attempted to arrest protesters who were allegedly not complying with the directions, with a police body worn camera allegedly taken by an unknown protester.
Police alleged the device was found to be in the possession of a 24-year-old man who was arrested.
The 29-year-old woman was charged with refuse/fail to comply with a direction. The 24-year-old man was charged with larceny and goods in personal custody suspected of being stolen. The 41-year-old man was charged with using offensive language near a public place or school. The 26-year-old man was charged with refuse/fail to comply with a direction and hindering or resisting a police officer.
They were granted conditional bail to appear before Bankstown local court on 15 July. Inquiries remain ongoing.
The protest was targeting SEC Plating due to claims the company provides parts for Israel’s F-35 jets. The company has denied involvement in “business servicing F-35 components”.
Updated
Australians and New Zealanders world’s biggest consumers of cocaine: UN
A UN office of drugs and crime report for the past year noted that while Australia and New Zealand remains the highest worldwide for use of cocaine, consumption of cocaine – based on wastewater analysis – is lower than other parts of the world, suggesting that most users of cocaine are occasional users.
The data showed that for 2022-2023, 4.9% of the Australian population said they had used cocaine, with 1.3% in New Zealand.
Ecstasy use also remains the highest worldwide in Australia and New Zealand.
Cannabis use is also significantly higher than the global average, with prevalence of use exceeding 12% in Australia and New Zealand.
The report can be found here.
Updated
Australian economy tipped to strengthen
The next few years should see economic growth in Australia, despite the uncertain global backdrop, but may stagnate without serious tax reforms.
While Australia’s economic growth hit speed bumps early in of 2025 from Cyclone Alfred, other severe weather events and a dip in government spending, Deloitte Access Economics is optimistic the pace of economic growth will accelerate over the coming quarters.
“Conditions are improving,” the economic services company said in a report released on Friday.
Real wages are grinding higher (even if it will be around 2030 before pre-pandemic purchasing power is restored), interest rates are declining, and inflation is no longer preying on consumers’ wallets or their psyche.
That suggests consumer spending will pick up, despite the jarring effects of Donald Trump’s second US presidency and other global concerns weighing on confidence, the report states.
Construction activity will also be a source of economic strength, with a significant lift in dwelling activity expected across 2026 as the industry works through a backlog of projects and reforms to regulations and zoning take effect.
The quarterly report forecast Australia’s gross domestic product would grow by 2.1% in 2025/26 and 2.4% the following year, up from the 1.4% GDP growth in the year to March 2025.
The forecast is roughly in line with estimates from the Reserve Bank, which predicted in May that Australia’s GDP would grow by 2.2% in 2025/26 and 2.2% the next year.
The Deloitte report forecasts the central bank will cut interest rates by a total of half a percentage point over the rest of 2025, and again in 2026.
It predicts 2025 will be the nadir for the Aussie dollar, buying just an average of 63.60 US cents, from 66 US cents in 2024.
But it forecasts the Aussie will buy an average of 64.70 US cents in 2026, 67.4 US cents in 2027 and 68.70 US cents in 2028.
– Australian Associated Press
Updated
Amanda Meade’s weekly round up of media news is here.
Thank you for joining us on the blog today. Handing over now to Josh Taylor who will keep you posted this afternoon.
Battin questioned on legal challenge to Pesutto loan
Liberal leader was also asked about a legal bid to stop the Victorian Liberal party from providing a $1.5m loan to its former leader, John Pesutto. The loan was given to Pesutto to help pay the $2.3m in legal costs he owes fellow MP Moira Deeming, after she won a defamation case against him.
Lawyers representing Colleen Harkin, a member of the party’s administrative wing, filed an urgent application in the supreme court yesterday, seeking to block the transfer of the funds to Pesutto. However, the application was made after the money had already been sent.
A supreme court judge criticised the “half baked” legal action, saying it wouldn’t “get off the runway” until all 19 members of the administrative committee had been officially served as defendants in proceedings.
One of those defendants is Battin. When asked if he had received legal notice yet, he said:
Anything that’s before the courts, I can’t comment on, but everything has on that case [Deeming v Pesutto] has been said. I’m moving on.
When pressed by Herald Sun reporter, Shannon Deery, who said Battin was the “second leader in a row now to be dragged to court by a party member”, he replied that it was a “hypothetical”.
Deery replied: “It’s not a hypothetical. Lawyers in court … told a supreme court judge … we’re going to serve the other members of admin. You are one of them. You will be served this week, and there’ll be a court hearing next week …
Battin: “As a former police officer, I was told I was going to be served many things, and never got it served. It is a hypothetical, and what’s been said about it so far has already been said.
Asked whether he wanted the party’s administrative committee to be “cleared out”, Battin said it was “totally a decision for the party”.
Updated
Victorian opposition leader welcomes Bush’s appointment
Brad Battin says the new commissioner is stepping into one of the toughest jobs in the country:
This is a job that is going to be almost impossible to do if he doesn’t get the resources from the government. And the first thing he can call out is the fact that the Allan Labor government cut his budget in their first budget for him earlier this year.
The Victorian Liberal leader was asked whether he supported his federal leader, Sussan Ley’s call to improve female representation within the party’s ranks. While Ley left the door open to gender quotas, Battin’s comments suggest he is less inclined. He said:
I’ll be proactively out there over the next few months, looking for our candidates. And I know that we need to have a stronger women presence here in the Victorian Liberal party and I’m very proud of the fact that we’ve met with many people who are looking at putting their hands up … some of our target seats across Victoria.
And we know that if we can work with these people coming in, representing our community, who are strong, active in their community, that we will actually have a fantastic representation come to the election next year.
Pressed on if he specifically supported quotas, Battin said:
We haven’t gone through the process of quotas here in Victoria at all. But what I will say is I’m very proactive on it.
I’ve been speaking to some amazing people who want to put their hand up for preselection across Victoria and I look forward to waking up on the 29th of November 2026 with a fantastic team, which will have many women out in the safe seats, or the seats that we’ve been targeting for a long period of time … I’ll say openly, yes, we definitely need to increase the number of women here in the Victorian Liberal party.
Updated
New Victoria police commissioner sworn in
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, is holding a press conference with the state’s new chief commissioner of police, Mike Bush, who was sworn in an hour ago at a ceremony at the police academy in Glen Waverley. He was announced as Shane Patton’s replacement last month.
Allan says Bush comes to the role with significant experience, having led New Zealand police for six years and overseeing “some of the nation’s most difficult and challenging of times”, including the Christchurch terror attack and the White Island volcano eruption.
She says he also “transformed” NZ police, increased public trust and saw the crime rate go down. It’s hoped he will do the same in Victoria, where the latest crime statistics released last week showed a 15% increase in offending, driven in part by a surge in youth crime.
Bush told reporters “there’s too much crime, there’s too much youth crime”. He says he will seek to instil more trust in police, introduce more technology, information and intelligence and bring a crime prevention mindset to the role. Bush says:
Whenever you go into any scenario, any situation, it might be family home, it might be a burglary – whatever – where there’s a victim, we’ve got to start thinking, ‘I’m not just here to respond and identify who might be the [offender]’. That’s important, but you’ve got to start thinking about, how do we never come back here? How do we make sure this person is never victimised again? And that’s a mindset. So they’re not just thinking response and investigation, resolved. They’re thinking of preventing harm for this person again. The best thing that can happen for a victim is that they never become one in the first place.
Updated
Claims woman’s face seriously injured amid NSW Police arrests at pro-Palestine picket
A statement from the offices of Greens MP Sue Higginson and senator David Shoebridge has claimed NSW police “violently attacked and assaulted protesters” and that a woman sustained serious injuries to the face during multiple arrests at a picket in Belmore, Sydney.
A protest at electroplating supplier SEC Plating – against its reported involvement in the production of parts used by Israel’s F-35 jets – “descended into violence,” according to the statement. SEC Plating deny involvement in “business servicing F-35 components,” they told Guardian Australia.
Higginson shared footage of the alleged incident on social media on Friday afternoon.
The statement continues:
The [alleged] victim of the assault is undergoing medical tests this morning, and the extent of the injuries may require facial reconstruction surgery.
“The State of NSW, and Premier Chris Minns, cannot arrest their way through community who are engaging in legitimate political expression against genocide,” a Rising Tide Organiser Zack Schofield, who was among those arrested according to the statement, said.
NSW police have not yet responded to the Guardian’s request for comment. Legal Observers NSW said five people were arrested at the protest.
The solicitors representing the woman who was allegedly assaulted, Peter O’Brien Solicitors, were also contacted for comment.
Earlier this year an international campaign urged F-35 fighter jet producing nations to stop supplying Israel.
SEC Plating told Guardian Australia: “we have no involvement in providing plating services for various parts used in the F-35 Jet program”.
“We do not have any business servicing F-35 components,” they added. “We do have business servicing some Australian defence manufactures however F-35 components are not part of this.”
Updated
Treasurer’s roundtable invitees announced
Jim Chalmers has released an early guest list for his economic roundtable in August, featuring the usual suspects from business lobby groups and unions, alongside the heads of the Australian Council of Social Services and the Productivity Commission.
The eight invitees are below (plus two union alternates).
There will be many more seats at the table, which Chalmers says will be in the government’s cabinet room and can accommodate up to 25 people (with a diverse cast coming and going over the three days).
The treasurer says the roundtable will focus on coming up with ideas to boost the country’s flagging productivity, and to help deliver as broad as possible a consensus for reform.
So far, Chalmers has highlighted tax as a major area of inquiry.
The public consultation process leading up to the roundtable opens tonight.
More invitations will be issued “in tranches” to experts, stakeholders and other lobby groups, Chalmers said in a statement.
“We know there’s broad interest and engagement in the roundtable, including from the states and crossbench, and we will have more to say about their involvement,” he said.
Somebody like independent MP, Allegra Spender, would hope to get an invite based on her advocacy and work on tax reform ideas.
The shadow treasurer, Ted O’Brien, has already been offered and accepted an invitation.
Here are the initial invitees:
Danielle Wood, chair, Productivity Commission
Sally McManus, secretary, Australian Council of Trade Unions
Michele O’Neil, president, ACTU
Bran Black, chief executive officer, Business Council of Australia
Andrew McKellar, CEO, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Innes Willox, CEO, Australian Industry Group
Matthew Addison, chair, Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia
Cassandra Goldie, Australian Council of Social Service
Two ACTU assistant secretaries, Liam O’Brien and Joseph Mitchell, have also been invited as alternates for McManus and O’Neil.
Updated
Judge instructs Erin Patterson jury on alleged incriminating conduct
The judge in Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial has told jurors “there are all sorts of reasons” why an innocent person may behave in a way that makes them appear guilty.
Justice Christopher Beale says jurors can only treat alleged incriminating conduct in the case as an implied admission of guilt if they find the “only reasonable explanation of that conduct” is that Patterson believes she committed the offences.
He says if the jury reaches this position, it still needs to determine whether the prosecution has proved her guilt of the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
“There are all sorts of reasons why a person might behave in a way that makes the person look guilty and yet not be guilty,” he says.
Even if you think the conduct makes the accused look guilty, that does not necessarily mean the accused is guilty.
Beale previously outlined Patterson’s alleged incriminating conduct, which the prosecution is relying on, including discharging herself from Leongtha hospital against medical advice, dumping the dehydrator in the days after the fateful lunch and lies in her formal police interview.
Regarding discharging herself from hospital against medical advice, Beale says there is evidence about two previous occasions where Patterson did this.
Regarding the dumping of the dehydrator, Beale tells jurors to consider whether Patterson might have panicked due to fear of being blamed for the deaths of the lunch guests.
Beale says he will conclude his instructions to the jury on Monday. We’ll bring you live updates then.
Updated
Judge says murdered Indigenous boy was a natural-born leader with great promise
A murdered Indigenous teenager who was chased into bushland and beaten to death was robbed of his life and promise in an act of brutality, a judge says.
Cassius Turvey, a Noongar Yamatji boy, died in hospital 10 days after he was deliberately struck to the head in Perth’s eastern suburbs on 13 October 2022.
Jack Steven James Brearley, 24, and Brodie Lee Palmer, 30, were convicted in May of murdering the 15-year-old after a 12-week trial.
Mitchell Colin Forth, 27, who was also on trial in the Western Australian supreme court for Cassius’s murder, was found guilty of manslaughter.
Chief Justice Peter Quinlan said the teenage victim showed great promise from a young age and was a natural-born leader with a sense of community that pointed to a bright future.
“Cassius Turvey was robbed of his life and of his promise ... all because you killed him, Mr Brearley,” he said on Friday as he delivered his sentencing remarks.
You cut short Cassius Turvey’s life in an act of aggression, violence and brutality, which – regardless of the sentences I impose today – can never be made right.
You too are responsible for his death, Mr Palmer and Mr Forth, in different ways.
The judge also addressed claims the attack on Cassius was racially motivated, saying the killers used racial slurs to refer to him and other children he was with.
It was no surprise that an attack by a group of non-Indigenous adult men on a group of predominantly Aboriginal children using racial slurs that resulted in a boy’s death would have been interpreted as racially driven, Quinlan said.
That fear is real and it is legitimate.
Sentences are expected to be delivered later today.
– Australian Associated Press
Updated
Minns’ team asked why premier focused on possibility of ‘terrorism’ in announcement
More on the inquiry into the New South Wales government’s handling of information about the caravan “fake” terrorism plot, where five staffers from the offices of the NSW premier are appearing.
The committee has continued to press the premier’s chief of staff, James Cullen, on why Minns told reporters shortly after news of the caravan broke that it could only be characterised as a terrorism event, while the deputy police commissioner said during the same press conference said there were alternative lines of inquiry and did not use the word terrorism.
Cullen, under questioning from independent MP Rod Roberts, told the committee:
The language potential mass casualty event was not a line dreamt up by the premier. It was in briefings from New South Wales police provided to the government, provided to the premier.
Cullen then reminded the inquiry that the deputy police commissioner, David Hudson, had made it clear there were alternative lines of inquiry.
Roberts responded to this by asking why then the premier did not tell the public there were alternatives to terrorism. He also pointed out that Hudson, nor the then police commissioner Karen Webb, ever used the word terrorism when describing the event.
Roberts, in his questioning, continued:
Now I watched that news, and I believed what the premier told me. I believed it right. He says there’s no alternative to terrorism at that stage. I have no reason to doubt it … The police end up sharing [there were alternative lines of inquiry] but the premier didn’t. So how does that provide calm? I’d in fact think that he would inflame fears that the community would have if the premier stood up there and said this is a mass potential mass casualty event and no other way of calling it other than terrorism.
Cullen responded:
I would just come back to, Mr Chair, that the premier’s comments on the 29th of January were based on the latest advice from police, and which was ... there was a JCTT investigation looking at a potential mass casualty event, and there was lines of inquiry in relation to that.
Roberts then Cullen asked what the police briefed the premier about the alternative lines of inquiry.
Cullen said:
Look, I think I do need to be careful in terms of the progress of these particular briefings over a period of time, they do involve a delicate investigation regarding other agencies and sources.
Roberts continued to ask the same question multiple times. Cullen later responded:
Put it this way, there were … alternative lines of investigation that were clearly being explored, early on, and really didn’t – for want of a better term – get shaken out until the 21st of February.
Updated
Judge instructs jury on Erin Patterson’s alleged lies
The judge in Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial says jurors can use her alleged lies to assess her credibility but warned them not to equate lying with guilt.
Justice Christopher Beale is instructing jurors in Patterson’s triple murder trial before they begin their deliberations next week.
Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in Leongatha, in regional Victoria, on 29 July 2023. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The prosecution is relying on alleged incriminating conduct by Patterson which includes lies. Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC has told the court Patterson lied about feeding her children leftovers of the beef wellington the day after the lunch.
Beale says if the jury finds Patterson has lied, the law says they can use this to “assess her credibility”.
“If you find the accused lied about something, you can use the fact to help you find whether or not you believe the other things the accused has said.”
Beale says if the jury finds Patterson has lied, they can use it to determine “the truthfulness of other things she has said”.
It’s for you to decide what significance to give those suggested lies.
The judge acknowledges that Patterson has admitted some lies. But he warns jurors to “not reason that just because a person has shown to have told a lie about something that she must be guilty”.
Beale says there is another way the jury can use Patterson’s alleged lies.
He says if they find she lied, they can only use it as an implied admission of guilt in one scenario. He says this involves determining Patterson told a “deliberate untruth and that the only reasonable explanation for doing so is that she believed she had committed the charged offences”.
But he says if the jury reaches this position, they must still consider all the evidence to determine if the prosecution has proved Patterson’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Updated
Small businesses flock to new restructuring scheme
Struggling small businesses have swarmed a new process allowing their directors to keep control of a company while it fights to stay afloat, with annual restructure appointments estimated to have doubled in the past 12 months.
Small businesses have faced growing pressure as customer spending declined and production costs soared, sending 11,000 businesses insolvent in the year to June 2024 and another 13,000 already in the 11 months since then, up from 11,000 in 2023-24 and nearly 8,000 in 2022-23.
But restructuring is rising at a much faster clip, from 448 appointments in 2022-23 to 1,425 the following year and about 3,000 expected for 2024-25, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has revealed.
The construction and hospitality industries have accounted for about a quarter each of the appointments made in recent years, a new Asic report released today showed.
Reforms to the restructuring scheme had aimed at simplifying the processes followed by businesses struggling with insolvency while allowing directors to keep control of their company, Asic commissioner Kate O’Rourke said. She said:
After a slow start, the [scheme is] … reducing the complexity and costs involved in insolvency processes for small businesses and ultimately helping them to survive.
Updated
Woolworths shuts shopping website MyDeal
Woolworths Group is closing its MyDeal shopping site just three years after paying more than $200m for a controlling stake in the online business.
The retailer, which operates Australia’s biggest supermarket chain and discount store network Big W, told shareholders today the website would close by 30 September.
The Woolworths chief executive, Amanda Bardwell, said:
In February we said that we would assess the shape of the group portfolio to address areas where there was not a clear path to profitability or the prospect of a reasonable return on capital.
The closure will cost Woolworths up to $100m to cover various costs including redundancies.
Woolworths paid about $220m for an 80% stake in MyDeal in 2022 at a time many retailers were trying to increase their investment in e-commerce platforms.
The platforms typically sell the owners’ products as well as general merchandise from third-party providers.
The Wesfarmers-owned Catch platform was also shut down earlier this year after years of falling revenue.
Updated
Key event
NSW premier’s team pushed for detail on media lines
More on the inquiry into the New South Wales government’s handling of information about the caravan “fake” terrorism plot, where five staffers from the offices of the NSW premier are appearing.
Chris Minns’ chief of staff, James Cullen, has said Minns used the words “terrorism” in a press conference shortly after news of the caravan broke because “it was exactly the language and the briefing the police provided the premier”.
Cullen has also told the inquiry that deputy NSW police commissioner David Hudson had made it clear during the same press conference, and reiterated the following day, that “there were alternate lines of inquiry”.
Greens MP Sue Higginson asked Cullen: “Who provided the premier with the media lines ‘there is only one way of calling it out, and that is terrorism’. Do you recall?”
Cullen responded:
The premier is very much capable of coming up with his own lines … I can understand the interest in the word terrorism, particularly at the press conference on 29 January. I think it’s the evidence before you, with respect, that the reason that language was being used in that press conference was because it was exactly the language and the briefing the police provided the premier.
Higginson also asked when Cullen became aware the caravan was not an act of terrorism but “more of a” criminal enterprise opportunity.
He responded:
I think to be clear, early on, and it was flagged in the deputy commissioner’s public comments at the press conference with the premier on 29 January. It was covered in, certainly in print media the following day, and reiterated again, if you like, by the deputy commissioner the next day on 2GB.
There was a finalised view from police when I think the AFP source was discredited on the 21st of February.
Cullen also reminded the hearing of the stress faced by the Jewish community at the time after a rolling series of attacks during the summer.
Updated
Deepfakes toolkit released for schools as nude image reports surge
The Australian online safety regulator has urged schools to report deepfakes to police, as the number of reports of deepfake nude images of people under 18 more than doubled in the past 18 months.
The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has written to the education ministers in each state and territory urging them to ensure schools are adhering to state and territory child protection laws and mandatory reporting obligations.
The commissioner has also released a toolkit for schools on how to deal with deepfake incidents.
Inman Grant said:
I’m calling on schools to report allegations of a criminal nature, including deepfake abuse of under-aged students, to police and to make sure their communities are aware that eSafety is on standby to remove this material quickly.
eSafety has also issued an online safety advisory to alert parents and schools about the proliferation of open-source AI “nudify” apps.
Creating an intimate image of someone under the age of 18 is illegal. This includes the use of AI tools. Parents and carers can help educate their children that this behaviour can lead to criminal charges.
The data shows the number of reports under eSafety’s image-based abuse scheme about digitally altered images from people under 18 has more than doubled in the past 18 months, with four of five reports involving the targeting of females.
Updated
Ex-detective loses appeal after sexually touching teenager
A jailed sex crimes investigator has lost an appeal against his convictions for sexually touching a 19-year-old woman who came forward to report a crime.
Former New South Wales police detective Glen Coleman was jailed for at least two years after he was found guilty of twice sexually touching the teenager without her consent in 2022.
The 58-year-old met the teenager when she attended a police station to report her cousin had threatened to distribute naked images of her online.
The jury was persuaded the married detective asked to see the woman’s breasts, and touched them in a police station interview room and at a local park.
He also asked for sexual favours in exchange for money, attended a strip club to see her dance, and on one occasion placed $70 on the interview room table before they had sex.
Coleman was convicted, and jailed for three years and seven months, with a non-parole period of two years and two months. His appeal against the convictions was heard in May.
But his bid for freedom was dismissed by the NSW court of criminal appeal on Friday in a judgment by Chief Justice Andrew Bell, Justice Anthony Payne and Justice Natalie Adams. His convictions were upheld and he will remain behind bars until at least mid-2026.
– Australian Associated Press
Updated
Media regulator rejects bid to allow more TV alcohol ads in child viewing times
In a significant blow to commercial television broadcasters, the media regulator has refused to change the rules to allow more alcohol ads to be shown during children’s television viewing hours.
Free-to-air broadcasters had lobbied the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) to change classification rules as part of a new code of practice.
Free TV wanted to allow an additional 800 hours of alcohol ads every year despite one in three children already being exposed to liquor commercials on television.
Despite laws banning alcohol marketing during children’s viewing hours, broadcasters have a “sports loophole” in their code of practice, which permits the airing of alcohol ads during televised sporting events.
Acma said today it had refused to register the new code because it didn’t provide enough community safeguards.
Based on evidence obtained during the code review process the Acma is not satisfied that the revised code would provide appropriate community safeguards.
Of particular concern to the Acma was the proposal to extend the times when M-rated content would be permitted, allowing more M content, including advertising for products such as alcohol, to be shown on commercial TV at times when children are more likely to be watching.
Updated
‘Absolutely no formal direction’ for staffers not to attend caravan plot inquiry, Minns’ chief of staff tells hearing
More on the inquiry into the New South Wales government’s handling of information about the caravan “fake” terrorism plot.
Five staffers from the offices of the NSW premier, Chris Minns, and the police minister, Yasmin Catley, are being grilled on why they did not show up to the inquiry last week.
The hearing has heard that the staffers sought legal advice from Minter Ellison on whether they had just cause and reasonable excuse to not attend, leading the staffers to submit a letter to the chair of the inquiry, independent MP Rod Roberts, outlining why they believed they had just cause and reasonable excuse not to.
Minns’ chief of staff, James Cullen, has told the hearing there was “no formal or informal” instruction from the premier for the staffers not to attend, despite Minns telling reporters in the lead-up to the hearing last week that the staffers would not attend.
Responding to questions from Greens MP Sue Higginson, Cullen said:
There was absolutely no formal informal direction from the premier. I must be really clear about that.
The matters of our attendance for this committee were matters for us.
Cullen said of public comments made by Minns:
He’s a public figure and these questions were getting raised publicly, and he’s put his view on the record. But I’ve got to say, while that was happening, we were going through our own processes and having our own conversations about what we were prepared to do and how we were prepared to respond to the invitations and then the summons from this committee.
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Inquiry into NSW caravan ‘fake terrorism plot’ begins
The inquiry into the NSW government’s handling of information about the caravan “fake terrorism plot” has begun, with the chair saying he is disappointed in the “government’s effort to avoid accountability and transparency over the course of the inquiry”.
Five staffers from the offices of the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, and the police minister, Yasmin Catley, agreed to appear today after they were threatened with arrest for failing to attend last week.
The inquiry – launched with the support of the Coalition, the Greens and crossbench MLCs – is examining the handling of information about the caravan plot amid concerns parliament may have been “misled” before controversial laws aimed at curbing antisemitism were rushed through parliament.
The chair of the inquiry, independent MP Rod Roberts, began this morning’s hearing by saying he welcomed the ministerial staff reconsidering their position to appear. The president of the legislative council, Ben Franklin, had intended to go to the supreme court to request a warrant for their arrest for not responding to a summons to appear before the inquiry last week.
Roberts said:
I welcome the decision of these staff. However, it is extremely disappointing that the committee had to take the steps that it did, to hear from witnesses who can shed light on the inquiry’s terms of reference. I reiterate my disappointment in the government’s effort to avoid accountability and transparency over the course of the inquiry. This inquiry has clearly illustrated the reach of the legislative council’s powers to call for persons and to compel the attendance of witnesses when necessary.
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Police conference on western Sydney fatal stabbing
NSW police are speaking after a man died from stabbing wounds in Sydney overnight.
Police were called to Pemulwuy in Sydney’s west at about 10.45pm last night, they said in a statement, after reports a man believed to be in his 20s was found wounded in a house driveway.
He was treated by paramedics but was unable to be revived and died at the scene, police said.
“He was stabbed a number of times,” police told press a short while ago.
“There were two males in dark clothing who were last seen heading south on foot.”
Police are unsure if there are any organised crime links at this stage.
This is serious high-level violence, which we can’t tolerate. Our detectives are working on this with the assistance of the State Crime Command and we’re throwing everything at it today.
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Super funds spared multi-billion dollar US ‘revenge tax’
Australian superannuation funds have been spared a multi-billion dollar hit after the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, announced they would drop a so-called “revenge tax” on foreign investors.
Section 899 of Donald Trump’s proposed bill would have raised taxes by up to 15 percentage points on foreign entities in retaliation to “unfair taxes” other countries had imposed on US companies.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, raised Australia’s concerns about the tax during a phone call with Bessent on Wednesday, when he told reporters he was hopeful of positive development in the coming days.
Today, Bessent revealed the section would be removed from the bill in a social media post after a deal was reached with G7 nations allowing the US to back out of a global minimum tax rate. He wrote on X:
OECD pillar 2 taxes will not apply to U.S. companies, and we will work cooperatively to implement this agreement across the OECD-G20 inclusive framework in coming weeks and months.
Based on this progress and understanding, I have asked the Senate and House to remove the Section 899 protective measure from consideration in the one, big, beautiful bill.
The announcement was met with a sigh of relief from the $4.2tn Australian superannuation industry, which would have been particularly exposed to the tax, given it holds more than $600bn worth of US assets.
Modelling conducted for the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia by consulting firm Mandala found it could have cut $3.5bn from returns over the first four years.
- Australian Associated Press
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The risks for Australia in backing US military action
Anthony Albanese and the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, have endorsed the US bombings of three Iranian nuclear facilities, arguing the targeted strikes were necessary to prevent the regime developing a nuclear weapon.
But international law experts have condemned the attacks as unlawful under the UN charter.
Host Nour Haydar is joined by our editor, Lenore Taylor, and deputy editor Patrick Keneally to discuss Australia’s entangled relationship with the United States.
Listen here (or wherever you get your podcasts):
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Constable shot dead delivering warrant to be farewelled
An experienced Tasmanian police officer shot dead at work will be farewelled by loved ones at a private funeral and with a guard of honour.
Keith Anthony Smith, a 57-year-old Tasmania police constable, died on 16 June when he approached a property in rural Tasmania to deliver a court-ordered home repossession warrant. His death marked the first fatal shooting of an officer in the island state in more than a century.
A 46-year-old North Motton man has been charged with murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault.
Family, friends, colleagues and other invited guests will mourn Const Smith at a private funeral in Devonport today.
It will be followed by a guard of honour and funeral procession through Devonport and Ulverstone, with members of the public who wish to pay tribute to him encouraged to attend.
“Keith was a proud member of Tasmania Police who was deeply respected by his colleagues and his community,” the Tasmanian police force said. “His service and spirit will not be forgotten.”
- Australian Associated Press
Read more from Caitlin Cassidy here:
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Cruise passengers and crew rescued from uninhabited island 100km north of WA
Ten passengers and eight crew members from a luxury cruise have been rescued from a remote uninhabited island off the northern coast of Australia.
Earlier, about 60 other passengers made it to safety after they were forced to abandon zodiac boats grounded off Adele island about 100km north of the West Australian mainland.
The passengers and guides from Silversea’s Silver Cloud ship were taking part in an expedition tour near the island yesterday afternoon when a fast-moving tide caught the group by surprise.
They were stranded in knee-deep water about four nautical miles from the ship.
About 70 passengers and 10 guides were forced to wade 500 metres through a coral reef to deeper water where they were met by a flotilla of zodiac vessels sent from the ship to rescue them.
By sunset, most had been rescued and returned to the Silver Cloud where some were treated for minor cuts and abrasions.
The remaining passengers and crew were stranded in darkness for more than four hours while their zodiac vessels were unable to cross an exposed reef until the tide turned about 10pm (AWST).
The Silver Cloud has set sail for Talbot Bay to continue its 12-day cruise of the Kimberley region.
- Australian Associated Press
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Albanese says Australia will drive its own defence spending despite US tariffs pressure on Spain
Albanese was repeatedly asked whether he is worried Australia will be threatened with tariffs by the US – which was Spain’s fate after prime minister Pedro Sánchez opted-out of the Nato defence spending pledge.
“I’m not going to comment on things between Spain and the United States,” Albanese said. “What my job is to look after Australia’s national interest, that includes our defence and security interests and that’s precisely what we are doing.”
After being pushed a number more times, Albanese continued:
There’s a big focus on Spain … here today. We’ll invest in whatever capability we need.
When it comes to economic issues, I met with the treasury secretary of the United States just a week ago as well as with their trade representative.
Sánchez rejected Nato’s proposal for member states to increase their defence spending to 5% of their GDP, saying the idea would “not only be unreasonable but also counterproductive”.
The proposal – advanced by the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, in response to Donald Trump’s demands for a 5% target – suggests member states agree to raise defence spending to 3.5% of their GDP and commit a further 1.5% to wider security spending.
Trump criticised Spain after the summit, saying they would “pay twice as much”.
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Prime minister deflects questions over defence spending after Nato pledges
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, was asked if he is sticking to lifting defence spending to 2.4% of GDP, after Nato states pledged to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. Albanese said:
What we’re doing is making sure that Australia has the capability that we need. That’s what we’re investing in. We’ll continue to do that – invest in our capability and invest in our relationships.
In addition to that, we’re making major announcements like this one here on 1 July – next week – the increase in the superannuation guarantee, the increase in paid parental leave, paying superannuation on paid parental leave, the increase in the minimum wage.
It’s all about the agenda that we took to the election that received the overwhelming endorsement of the electorate.
You can read more about Albanese pushing back on US demands for Australia to increase defence spending to 3.5% of GDP here:
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Verdict due in trial over death of WA Indigenous teen Cassius Turvey in 2022
A murdered Indigenous teenager who was chased into bushland and beaten to death was a peacemaker hoping to stop a fight, his shattered mother says.
Cassius Turvey, a Noongar Yamatji boy, died in hospital 10 days after he was deliberately struck to the head in Perth’s eastern suburbs on 13 October 2022.
Jack Steven James Brearley, 24, and Brodie Lee Palmer, 30, were convicted in May of murdering the 15-year-old after a 12-week trial. Mitchell Colin Forth, 27, who was also on trial in the West Australian supreme court for Cassius’ murder, was found guilty of manslaughter.
They are expected to be sentenced today.
- Australian Associated Press
Read more here:
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Leigh warns of need to counter technology-assisted scams, greenwashing and dark patterns
In his speech, Leigh will hail the passing of the Australian Consumer Law in 2011 – which covers all states and territories – as a great national achievement.
But he is expected to say more needs to be done to protect consumers and new reforms are needed – for example, to combat advancements in technology used by scammers. Leigh is expected to say:
AI and automation are reshaping the products we use and the services we rely on. With that comes the risk of opaque decisions, embedded bias, and new forms of exploitation.
Scams are growing more sophisticated, with deepfakes, spoofed numbers, and social engineering becoming commonplace.
Greenwashing threatens to erode public support for genuine sustainability efforts, as vague claims replace verifiable credentials.
Digital dark patterns are proliferating … the online equivalent of a salesperson who won’t let you leave the store.
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Andrew Leigh to outline Albanese government’s consumer protection agenda in Melbourne
Australians would be better protected from online scams involving digital manipulation and have the right to repair faulty products at competitive prices under a series of consumer reforms being investigated by the Albanese government.
The assistant minister for productivity, Andrew Leigh, will outline the government’s plans to strengthen consumer protections in a speech to the 2025 Consumer Congress in Melbourne this morning,
Organised by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the conference brings together representatives from consumer groups, community organisations and the government.
According to a copy of the speech distributed to Guardian Australia before the conference, Leigh will point to a series of reforms – some of which are under way and some which still need to be legislated – which include:
Civil penalties for breaches of consumer guarantees
New obligations on banks, telcos and platforms to prevent scams
Strengthening regulation of AI-enabled products and services
Action on “digital dark patterns”, or online manipulation designed to frustrate consumer choice
Tougher product safety and support for the right to repair
A review of how AI-enabled products and services are regulated
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Penny Wong to join Quad counterparts in US next week
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, is expected to join a meeting of her Quad counterparts in Washington DC next week.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said on Friday he would host foreign ministers from Australia, India and Japan on 1 July, with the meeting set to discuss geopolitical issues and China’s treatment of Indo-Pacific nations.
A US state department spokesperson said the meeting would build on “momentum to advance a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific”.
The meeting comes after recent summits of G7 and Nato leaders. Quad foreign ministers last gathered in the US capital at the inauguration of Donald Trump in January.
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On gender quotas
Labor introduced quotas for women in 1994, requiring women to be preselected for 35% of winnable seats. In the outgoing parliament, 47% of Labor MPs, 70% of Labor senators and 53% of overall representatives were women.
In 2022, the Liberal party recorded the lowest number of women in its parliamentary ranks in 30 years, with just nine women among its 42 MPs, and 10 women out of 26 senators. This is despite the parliament then having a record number of women.
You can read more on this from Kate Lyons, who wrote about the recent federal election defeat for the Liberal party as it continues to lose female voters:
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Taylor repeats claim gender quotas ‘subvert democracy’
Angus Taylor says the Labor party “subvert democracy”, when asked again about gender quotas.
The shadow defence minister was pushed on ABC RN this morning on his stance against introducing quotas to the Liberal party.
“We’re in a democratic country, and I want to see a democratic organisation in the Liberal party,” she shadow minister said.
Host Sally Sara cut in: “the Labor party can be democratic and have women come in.”
Taylor responded:
You know what, the Labor party will do things their own way, and they do subvert democracy, and that’s a matter for them.
At the end of the day, if you’re going to have quotas, it means you are going to subvert democratic processes.
Sara cuts in again to say, “those women are elected”. Taylor continues:
Well, you know, within the Labor Party or the Liberal Party, we have pre-selection processes, and I want those to be democratic processes.
I’ve long been a crusader on this, as I have long been a crusader on attracting and retaining and mentoring talented people, including, of course, women in our party.
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Terrorgram listed as terrorist organisation
Tony Burke says the listing of Terrorgram as a terrorist organisation “won’t be the last thing we have to do against far-right white supremacist groups”.
The home affairs minister is speaking on ABC RN:
This is very different to a lot of the other listings that we’ve done. When people normally think about a terrorist organisation, you think small groups of people, meeting in private rooms, finding people to recruit and working as a cell.
Describing Terrorgram, Burke continues:
If people imagine a big chat group dedicated to hatred and violence, it’s a situation where the members won’t necessarily know each other. They won’t necessarily know the people who they’re recruiting, but the concept of what they are trying to do is a direct threat to the safety of Australians, and there have been specific instances where this is being used in order to threaten Australians.
The sort of hatred we’re talking about here, it’s sometimes loosely referred to as extreme rightwing terrorism. You’re talking about things like white supremacism. Those sorts of views. And they encourage not just the sharing of the hatred, but the sharing of acts of violence, and how to guides for people to be able to commit these sorts of acts of violence.
Asked how to government can stop members from regrouping elsewhere, Burke says “you never stop chasing these characters down”:
You never stop this listing won’t be the last thing we have to do against far-right white supremacist groups. There’ll be more. And you know, there were some groups that were that have previously been listed. Terrorgram is the first one of this particular form.
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Angus Taylor says he opposes gender quotas as ‘I don’t believe in subverting democratic processes’
Taylor says he does not support quotas to bring women into the Liberal party because “I don’t believe in subverting democratic processes”.
The shadow defence minister tells ABC TV:
We absolutely need more women in the party at every level, whether it’s members of our branches, whether it’s on our executives, whether, indeed, it is as members of parliament. And I think there’s a huge job for us to make sure we are representative of our communities in every way possible, and that means attracting the most talented people from across our communities as we can, including women …
I have never been a supporter of quotas, because I don’t believe in subverting democratic processes. The Labor party does. We traditionally haven’t in the Liberal party. I think there’s better ways of achieving this.
Taylor lists mentoring, recruitment and retention processes as alternate options.
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Taylor says defence spending needed to guard against authoritarian regimes
Angus Taylor says Australia needs to increase spending on defence as “we’re seeing authoritarian regimes around the world flexing their muscles”.
The shadow defence minister said on ABC TV:
It’s absolutely appropriate that we increase defence expenditure up to at least 3% of GDP …
Ultimately, if you step back from this, we’re seeing authoritarian regimes around the world flexing their muscles. We’re seeing it, of course, with Russia, we have seen it with Iran and their proxies. We’re seeing it with the military buildup of the Chinese Communist Party. And all of this means we are in a more uncertain world than at any time since the second world war. So it’s essential Australia be in a position to stand on its own two feet alongside our allies like the United States and the UK, and that does mean we have to spend more on defence.
Nato states pledged to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 – including 3.5% in core military spending and the rest in infrastructure, intelligence, cybersecurity and other spending – earlier this month. You can read more about that here:
Updated
Tony Burke is due to speak shortly on the ABC about Terrorgram’s listing as a terrorist organisation.
The online network for neo-Nazis promotes militant accelerationism, which calls for violent acts to destabilise society.
As Dan Jervis-Bardy reported earlier in the year, the group was hit with counter-terrorism sanctions in February, making it a criminal offence to use or deal with the online entity.
Read more here:
Updated
Thank you Martin Farrer for getting the blog rolling this morning. I’ll be updating you from here – let’s go.
Updated
Sydney man dies from stab wounds in driveway
NSW police are investigating after a man died from stabbing wounds in Sydney overnight.
Police were called to Pemulwuy in Sydney’s west at around 10.45pm on Thursday, they said in a statement, after reports a man “believed to be aged in his 20s” was found wounded in a house driveway.
He was treated by paramedics but was unable to be revived and died at the scene, police said.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the overnight stories before Rafqa Touma takes you through the day.
The Albanese government has reportedly listed white supremacist network Terrorgram as a terrorist organisation. Penny Wong announced sanctions on the group earlier this year. The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, will have more to say on that soon.
The big domestic political event of the day comes in Canberra with a joint Coalition party room meeting to discuss reforms and the federal election review. Our report this morning tells us that Sussan Ley will be seeking a more inclusive policymaking process in order to avoid the mistakes of the Dutton era. We’ll have more coming up.
And as we reported earlier in the week, staffers from the offices of the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, and the police minister, Yasmin Catley, have agreed to appear before a parliamentary inquiry into the Dural caravan “fake terrorism plot” today – we’ll have more on that.
