What we learned today, Tuesday 18 August
What a jam-packed day for news from our nation’s capital!
Before we go, let’s recap the day’s top headlines:
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The government and Coalition have reached deals on gambling reforms and the NDIS bill.
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Labor’s Andrew Charlton advised Australia should adopt AI “everywhere we can”, in a speech to the Australian National University this morning.
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Charlton also dismissed media reports of NAB warning that rents in Sydney and Melbourne could rise by up to 30% due to budget changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount.
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The Australian federal police told the shadow defence minister, James Paterson, that it will review the leak of a memo sent by Japanese diplomats to the Australian government over melon-gate.
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Barnaby Joyce says increasing the tobacco excise, which makes legal cigarettes more expensive is just leading to “more mafia” around the country, as he argues that the excise should be cut.
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The Northern Territory Wagering Commission, which regulates almost all online gambling operators in Australia, is yet to contact any bookmaker in response to Luke Bateman’s allegations before a Senate inquiry earlier this month.
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The Australian cricketer David Warner was convicted and fined $1,500 for mid-range drink-driving after he tried to switch seats with a passenger when approaching a random breath-testing site on Easter Sunday.
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For those who missed it, here’s what happened in question time.
Thanks for sticking around, we’ll see you tomorrow morning.
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Severe weather warnings in place for northern Victoria
Flood warnings are in place in northern Victoria, with heavy rainfall predicted to extend across the state and into South Australia and New South Wales on Wednesday.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Bureau of Meteorology flood warnings were in place for Barham, Quambatook, McCoys Bridge, Bandiana and Appin South in northern Victoria.
David Crock, a senior meteorologist with the bureau, said to expect rain across northern Victoria and north-eastern Victoria: “we’re expecting a further 15 to 25 millimetres of rain … with a few spots probably getting to 30 or 40 millimetres”.
Crock said people near the Goulburn, Avoca and Loddon rivers should keep an eye on the water level. He said:
The rivers are wet. They will respond really quickly to further rainfall. So we may see some more flood warnings over the next few days across northern Victoria, depending on how much rainfall.
The weather system is expected to extend down to northern Tasmania, where there is also expected to be a flood risk.
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Gambling changes ‘complex’ and ‘unnecessary’, wagering industry warns
The peak body for online wagering companies has criticised the amendments on Labor’s gambling bill, claiming the changes would “further drive those at risk of gambling harm into the hands of criminal cartels running illegal offshore gambling sites”.
Responsible Wagering Australia – which represents Sportsbet and other major betting companies – claimed that cracking down on inducements would see punters go to overseas companies, which would offer bonus bets and other promotions. RWA said:
The deal done between the government and the opposition disregards that risk, and undermines the positive measures aimed at addressing the offshore market.
The bills will already significantly reduce visibility of Australian licensed brands, and by adding administratively complex, broadly drafted measures to further reduce advertising and customer promotions, offshore providers are expected to swoop on vulnerable punters.
CEO Kai Cantwell claimed the changes would “significantly curtail our ability to advertise a legal product safely to adults”. He also called out the “complexities” of the new one-stop opt-out register, questioning how it would work.
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David Pocock to vote against gambling legislation in Senate
The independent senator David Pocock has criticised amendments to the government’s gambling reform bill, saying the legislation and its amendments fail on gambling ads.
Speaking on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, he called the bill “a betrayal of all Australians”.
We’ve got vested interests exerting pressure on the major parties, and the major parties doing a deal to put the gambling industry, free-to-air television and the major sporting codes ahead of Australians and our children.
We will still see three ads an hour on free-to-air television, and kids will still see gambling ads.
Pocock, who played a key role in the recent Senate inquiry into the government’s gambling legislation, said he planned to vote against the bill.
We have this opportunity as a parliament to implement evidence-based policy and actually treat gambling as the public health issue it is. We have a prime minister who tries to tell us that somehow getting the balance right is more important than doing the right thing.
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David Warner fined $1,500 after being convicted of drink-driving
The Australian cricketer David Warner was convicted and fined $1,500 on Tuesday for mid-range drink-driving after he tried to switch seats with a passenger when approaching a random breath-testing site on Easter Sunday, AAP reports.
The 39-year-old’s barrister argued he should be spared conviction for the offence – when he blew more than twice the legal limit – because he had suffered extra punishment as a result of media coverage.
Awais Ahmad told Waverley local court his client’s indiscretion had been covered in global outlets including ESPN, Al Jazeera and the Indian Express.
Countries including India and Bangladesh, where Warner might be seeking to play in T20 franchise leagues, have an acceptance of a “non-drinking culture”, Ahmad said.
The consequences of his offending are profound.
Commercial opportunities [are] being affected.
Warner was arrested while he was on an Easter trip home from the subcontinent, where he captained the Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League.
When Warner saw the breath-testing site, he stopped short and attempted to swap seats with a female passenger, the agreed facts read out in court state.
Once police identified him as the driver, he cooperated with the testing, Judge Clare Farnan noted.
Ahmad questioned the decision of NSW police to issue a press release about Warner’s arrest given the unremarkable nature of the offence.
“The media onslaught thereafter has been quite profound,” the lawyer said.
Farnan said there was evidence of cruel social media commentary directed at Warner and his wife, Candice Warner.
His position as captain of the Sydney Thunder in the domestic Big Bash League was also under threat, the cricketer’s lawyer said.
The Thunder, along with rival Sydney Sixers and Sheffield Shield team the NSW Blues, are part of a state government campaign to deter drink-driving.
Despite the star batter’s pleas, Farnan said the need to deter the public from drink-driving was paramount in her decision to convict him.
The offence was aggravated because children were in the car at the time, the judge said.
Warner will be able to drive after he applies for an interlock licence and has the device fitted to his car.
The interlock will prevent the car from starting if it detects alcohol in his system.
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Two people charged with murder after human remains allegedly found on suburban property
Two people have been charged with murder after a missing person’s remains were allegedly found on a suburban property, AAP reports.
Courtenay Williams, 52, and Carlie Rochelle Mordue, 45, have been accused of murdering Chad Steven Bishop, more than four years after he went missing.
The duo were also charged with interfering with a corpse after human remains were allegedly found during a police search of a Bethania property south of Brisbane on Monday.
Williams, a chippy, and Mordue, who works in sales, were not required to appear in Brisbane magistrates court on Tuesday when their cases were briefly mentioned for the first time.
Police allege they murdered Bishop in a Beenleigh townhouse on or about 2 March 2022, according to court documents.
A three-week adjournment was sought by Williams’s solicitor on Tuesday.
Mordue’s solicitor also sought an adjournment for her client.
Magistrate Belinda Merrin adjourned both cases to 7 September at Brisbane magistrates court.
Williams and Mordue were both remanded in custody.
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Gambling regulator hasn’t contacted bookmakers after Luke Bateman’s allegations
The Northern Territory Wagering Commission, which regulates almost all online gambling operators in Australia, is yet to contact any bookmaker in response to Luke Bateman’s allegations before a Senate inquiry earlier this month.
The former rugby league star alleged gambling company promoters supplied him with cocaine and alcohol, telling a parliamentary inquiry the betting industry exercised no duty of care. He also told the inquiry he attended a private Gold Coast event hosted by a gambling company at which senior figures allegedly took illicit drugs with clients.
Bateman did not name any specific companies, but betting giants Sportsbet and Tabcorp told the inquiry there was no evidence its account managers sourced drugs and sex workers to incentivise vulnerable people to bet more.
A commission spokesperson said it was reviewing the Senate inquiry’s report, tabled on Monday, and was considering “whether any of the matters raised warrant further regulatory consideration”. They said Bateman’s allegations were “untested”:
The Commission would treat very seriously any allegation that a NT licensed operator was involved in the provision of illegal drugs to customers or failed to comply with the requirement in the Code to prevent intoxicated customers from gambling.
The Commission notes that there have been no specific allegations by Mr Bateman concerning NT licensed operators. No contact has been made with NT licensed operators at this stage.
The Commission will consider the reporting in the context of its regulatory responsibilities before determining whether any further action is appropriate.
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Coalition says news bargaining code won’t help enough journalists
The Coalition says the news bargaining incentive (NBI) isn’t strong enough to support Australian media, with the shadow minister, Sarah Henderson, worried it could take journalists “backwards” from current arrangements.
The NBI is levelled at online giants like Google, Meta and TikTok, and designed to compensate mainstream news outlets for the value of their content and support public interest journalism. The legislation is yet to pass parliament, but those companies will have to pay 2.5% of their Australian digital advertising revenue.
The Coalition has agreed to back the NBI, but Henderson said she still had concerns. She said:
We’re not convinced that it’s at the right place … we are concerned that under the government’s proposal, that potentially takes media companies and, of course, the journalists that media companies support backwards. We don’t want to see those deals go backwards, and so we want to see more in the pot for Australian journalism, which is so important for our democracy.
We want to see the digital platforms being held to account, and that’s why we will be looking very closely at that bill and agitating for some further changes.
Asked if that 2.5% figure should be higher, Henderson said: “we will be prosecuting the need for more money to go into the pot rather than less.”
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Labor loses Senate vote, motion condemns ‘flawed’ aged care tool
Labor continues to come under intense scrutiny over its new aged care assessment tool, with the government losing a vote in the Senate as the entire non-Labor cohort of senators backed a Greens motion slamming the new tool.
The Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne moved a motion a short time ago, which stated that the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT) “is untested, structurally flawed and systematically under-assessing the care needs of older Australians, especially those living with mental health conditions, cognitive issues and frailty”.
The motion called on the government to “take immediate action to abolish the IAT” and replace it with a new tool “designed with clinical experts”. The Greens motion also demanded the government ensures the system guarantees “the rights of older people as its first priority and restore the role of clinical professionals in the assessment process and reinstate the ability for human override”.
Labor opposed the motion. But the Greens, Liberals and crossbench all backed it. It passed 34 votes to 23, with only Labor senators voting against it. It is essentially only a symbolic motion, and does not require the government to take any action, but shows the depth of anger in the parliament at the controversial change.
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‘Will pass the Senate tonight’: Labor confident on NDIS bill
The federal health minister, Mark Butler, says the government is confident its NDIS bill will pass parliament by the end of today.
Speaking at a press conference, Butler said the government had reached an amendments agreement with the Coalition to secure the bill’s passage through the Senate.
I’m confident [the bill] will pass the Senate tonight. The bill will be substantially amended, with 33 amendments in the Senate, following the 30 amendments that we supported in the House of Representatives.
Some are relatively technical, but some are relatively substantial as well. They will ensure that this bill is the best version it can be.
Speaking beside him, the NDIS minister, Jenny McAllister, said the bill’s passage would be the product of “listening to people across parliament”.
I acknowledge colleagues in the Coalition, in particular the shadow minister. They have taken a constructive approach to these negotiations. So today, we do have an agreement to pass these reforms and I believe that they will deliver an NDIS which is strong, safe, sustainable and has a strong social licence.
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Thank you all for joining me on the live blog today!
I’ll leave you with the lovely Achol Arok and see you here bright and early tomorrow.
One-stop shop for gambling ad opt-out was the Coalition’s idea, Henderson says
The shadow communications minister, Sarah Henderson, says despite criticism from her own side that the gambling bill is still “weak” the Coalition are “really pleased that our amendments have significantly strengthened this bill”.
She also says that she was “disappointed” to see Anika Wells claim the one-stop shop to opt-out from gambling ads.
We’re very disappointed that the communications minister went into the House yesterday and claimed that as her own. That was very much a proposal of the Coalition.
Speaking to the media after question time, Henderson says the bill removes predatory inducements against people who are “red flagged” by gambling companies, and is happy about the three-year review.
Asked if that review means she sees this legislation as unfinished business, Henderson answers:
The statutory review is an important part of this process. We want to see accountability, we want to see transparency, and that’s what the statutory review does deliver.
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Tl;dr here’s what happened in question time
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The Coalition attacked the government on housing, after NAB reportedly warned rents could increase up to 30% (the PM said the bank had later clarified and confirmed it wasn’t a forecast).
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The veterans’ affairs minister, Matt Keogh, apologised for initially refusing an invitation to meet with veterans in Canberra, before bowing to political pressure. Keogh continued to feel the heat with an additional question on whether the government would scrap a cap on allied health service support for veterans.
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The independent MP Rebekha Sharkie asked if the government would force gambling companies to fund regional community sports infrastructure.
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Independent Allegra Spender pushed the aged care minister on Labor’s controversial algorithm-based aged care assessment tool.
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And Tim Wilson, with just minutes to spare on question time, was booted out of the chamber for interjecting too much.
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After a final dixer to the agriculture minister, Julie Collins, the PM calls time on QT.
Anthony Albanese and the deputy Nationals leader, Darren Chester, thank Collins for her work to combat bird flu before MPs leave the chamber.
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Allegra Spender pushes Labor on controversial aged care algorithm tool
The independent MP Allegra Spender is next, challenging the aged care minister, Sam Rae, about the controversial aged care assessment tool, an algorithm-based tool with no human override function that determines how much funding an aged care support recipient receives.
She asks if the government will establish a mandatory automated decision-making framework, including human oversight, as recommended by the robodebt royal commission.
Rae says the integrated assessment tool (the algorithm) is part of a “single assessment system” was a recommendation of the royal commission and is “efficient, accurate and fair”.
He says the government has already moved to adjust the system to allow some human override function:
Last month I announced our government’s plan to establish a new legislated escalation pathway so that outcomes can be changed in extenuating circumstances. In the small number of cases where a person’s complex circumstances are not fully captured by the assessment tool, under the new pathway, it can be escalated to the system governor and adjusted if necessary to get appropriate care.
Read more:
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Tim Wilson booted from the chamber
During a dixer to Tanya Plibersek, Milton Dick has just booted the shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, for interjecting too much.
Dick tells Wilson not to “look surprised”.
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Keogh in the spotlight over allied health services for veterans
The Liberal MP Phil Thompson, who is a veteran, asks Matt Keogh if he will scrap a cap on allied health services for veterans, and says the veterans’ affairs minister was “dragged kicking and screaming” to a meeting with advocates yesterday.
Keogh says the government, as part of these changes, has increased the level of payment for allied health professionals treating veterans, and is making access for veterans easier.
At the moment, we have a situation where people accessing allied health care have to continually go back for further and further referrals and we want to make that easier for veterans and make sure that there continues to be practitioners across the allied health environment that will service our veterans, because we’ve continually had the complaint that the fees we’re paying to them have not been sufficient for them to keep servicing our veteran community.
Thompson makes a point of order on relevance, saying Keogh isn’t talking about the cap, but Milton Dick shuts him down.
Keogh then says the “overwhelming majority of our veteran community go nowhere near” the $5,000 cap.
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Independent calls for gambling companies to fund regional sports infrastructure
Back to the crossbench, Rebekha Sharkie asks if the government will ask gambling companies to fund regional community sports infrastructure, with current community infrastructure “outdated and not fit for purpose”.
Anika Wells makes no commitment and says the government delivers just over $500m of funding for sports programs from the grassroots to high performance.
The Nationals MP Alison Penfold shouts out: “there’s not much of that left”.
Wells hints that there could be more sports funding to come.
I will always continue to advocate for more funding to do great things in sport from grassroots through to high performance. So stay tuned because this will always be under consideration.
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‘I got it wrong’: Keogh apologises after refusing to meet with veterans
The veterans’ affairs minister, Matt Keogh, had yesterday refused to meet with a group of veterans concerned about a cap on allied health services.
After political pressure, he caved.
The shadow minister, Michael McCormack, says former air force fighter jet pilot Dr Tim Nelson today described the meeting like this: “He walked into the room, refused to shake our hand, sat down with his arms crossed and rolled his eyes.” He asks Keogh if he will “apologise for disrespecting veterans by rolling his eyes at Australian heroes?”
Keogh admits that he made the wrong decision to initially reject the meeting, but says the description of the meeting is wrong.
I acknowledge that I got it wrong in not agreeing to meet with them last week when that initial request came in. I own that. I met with them and I heard them last night. When I came into the room, I said to them, relax, I want to hear what you want to tell me. I don’t agree with the characterisation you have outlined and I shook the hands of the people as we finished the meeting, to be clear.
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O’Neil says there will be ‘a lot of politics’ on renting
The shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, is up at the despatch box next and asks the government why, on their watch, “median capital city rents have soared from $470 per week to $690 per week”.
From a quick Google, according to Domain’s March 2022 quarter report, the median unit price for combined capital cities was $460 per week, which rose to $680 per by the June 2026 quarter.
The housing minister, Clare O’Neil, like the PM, says that anyone who owned a property on budget night can still negatively gear it, and that the changes should mean more renters become buyers.
75,000 renters will get that opportunity and more renters, we’re building more homes for renters. There’s going to be a lot of politics about this debate. The fact that the Liberal party of Australia is expecting us to believe they care about renters is telling us about the politics here.
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Helps to have a ‘leg to stand on’, Clare O’Neil says, as Coalition targets housing minister
Is the housing minister “damn proud” of rising rents, asks the Liberal frontbencher Angie Bell, after Clare O’Neil yesterday said she was “damn proud” of the budget changes to get more young people into housing.
O’Neil thanks her for the broad question and says she’ll go back to “basics”, that the housing crisis has been brewing in this country for 40 years.
After a couple of minutes, Dan Tehan calls it and concedes that yes, the question was kinda broad but O’Neil hasn’t once mentioned rents in her answer. Tehan says he’s just trying to be helpful, which gets a good laugh from the benches.
Milton Dick says the question was really broad and that O’Neil is being relevant.
O’Neil continues and takes a jab at the opposition:
I’d just say to those opposite it helps when you come to the despatch box on questions like this to have a leg to stand on and I just remind those opposite that they had nine years in office. They did not raise commonwealth rent assistance once in the time that they were in office. They didn’t do anything about rental standards.
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Albanese tested on reports of rising rents
Angus Taylor is back and asks the prime minister to guarantee that rents won’t go up by 30%, after media reports quoting NAB, which warned the tax changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount could see rents soar.
Anthony Albanese says NAB has since clarified its position, stating that “this was not a forecast and it’s important to note that we do not forecast rental yields”.
He adds that anyone who already owned a property up until budget night could still negatively gear that property now.
Taylor stands up to make a point of order on relevance because he wants the PM to provide a guarantee that rents won’t go up 30%, but Milton Dick says so far Albanese has been relevant.
Albanese continues and says that The Australian newspaper, which published the report, might issue a clarification tomorrow on their story. He then ends, saying:
I haven’t heard one person – perhaps the leader of the opposition might be the one – who thinks that the housing system is working. None. None. It is a broken housing system that we inherited and we’re fixing it, to give young people a fair time.
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Question time begins
It’s question time!
Angus Taylor starts on the widow tax, asking why it took the government 98 days after the budget to come to its senses and “do the right thing” to scrap the tax.
Anthony Albanese argues that the draft legislation has been out for consultation for a couple of weeks already.
We had, in that context, made it very clear that we would introduce legislation to deal with this issue. And during the debate about tax, Mr Speaker, those opposite have complained about a lack of consultation up to this point. They’ve said that what we should have done is to flag taxes before the budget, which would have, of course … meant there was a potential for windfall gains.
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Marles hints at talks for Japan to use Australia’s missile ranges for tests
The Defence minister, Richard Marles, and his Japanese counterpart, Shinjirō Koizumi, have met in Canberra today and held a short press conference afterward.
Marles says that talks are progressing between the two nations which could see Japan use Australia’s missile ranges over the next decade.
We have agreed to progress a better and enhanced arrangement between Australia and Japan for Japan’s use of our missile ranges over the next decade across a range of missile capabilities, including Japan’s hypersonic missile program.
Marles also says the first Mogami-class frigate being acquired by Australia from Japan is expected to be in service this decade.
Read more:
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‘We’ve lost the plot’ on gambling in Australia: Wallace
The Liberal MP Andrew Wallace has, for the first time, crossed the floor to vote against the gambling reforms agreed to by the Coalition and Labor.
He has already crossed the floor on the amendments, and says he’ll cross the floor to vote against the entire bill.
He tells News24 he wanted to see more block-out periods for gambling ads on broadcast television and stronger action on inducements.
I think that we have this unholy alliance between sport and gambling, where young kids are being preyed upon. I wanted to see much greater time frames, where there were bans on gambling ads, I wanted to see an hour before, no ads during, an hour afterwards, and not just on live sport but on replayed sport as well. I wanted to see an opt-in approach for inducements.
And in all good conscience, these reforms don’t go anywhere near enough to correcting those bad elements. We’re putting too much faith in the hands of the gambling companies. And quite frankly, they have not demonstrated that they deserve that faith.
We’ve lost the plot, $36bn a year we’re losing.
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In pics: The House votes on gambling reforms
Crossbenchers and experts slam gambling changes: ‘You can’t opt-out of the internet’
Crossbenchers and gambling harm advocates have slammed the deal to pass the wagering legislation. The Greens called it “cowardly and careless”, while David Pocock has also said it doesn’t go nearly far enough.
“This major party stitch-up will see Australians continue to be bombarded by gambling ads online and hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people exposed to devastating gambling harm,” the Greens said. Party leader Larissa Waters:
Anthony Albanese and the entire Labor party should hang their heads in shame today. Our prime minister has handed Australian screens over to predatory gambling companies.
The independent MP Andrew Wilkie said it was a “national day of shame”, rubbishing the Liberal-Labor amendments as “minor tweaks and piecemeal”.
It won’t protect children. It won’t break the nexus between gambling and sport. It won’t stop the suicides.
The evidence on gambling harm has been overwhelming for years. We know what works. We know what the community wants. We know the recommendations that need to be implemented. What has been lacking is political courage.
Kate Seselja, co-chair of the Gambling Harm Lived Experience Experts, said in a statement that the government should instead follow the recommendations of Peta Murphy’s landmark report which called for a full ban on online gambling advertisements.
“The only way to effectively block gambling ads is to ban them in Australia. This proposal is completely unworkable,” Seselja said of the government’s new proposal for a universal “opt-out” register for ads.
You can’t ‘opt out’ of the internet. The prime minister’s duty of care is to the people of Australia, not to the gambling, media, or sports industries.
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Pat Conaghan and Andrew Wallace cross the floor on gambling bill
Two Coalition MPs have crossed the floor to protest against the gambling bill and the amendments agreed to by the government and Coalition.
Nationals MP Pat Conaghan is surrounded by independents including Andrew Wilkie, Helen Haines, Monique Ryan and Allegra Spender.
Andrew Wallace has also crossed the floor but is sitting alone.
Earlier, Zali Steggall criticised the government for not releasing the full details of the amendment earlier, asking how the crossbench were supposed to vote on them with just a few minutes’ notice. She, like the other independents, is voting against the bill’s amendments.
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McLachlan, Scarr and Conaghan reserve the right to cross the floor on gambling
Two Liberal senators and one Nationals MP have reserved the right to cross the floor on the gambling legislation – that is, go against the Coalition’s vote for the changes – arguing the reforms don’t go far enough.
They are senators Andrew McLachlan, Paul Scarr and Pat Conaghan.
Conaghan has made his frustrations over the bill well known in recent days, telling reporters this morning he thought the changes were too “weak”. He was the deputy chair of the parliamentary inquiry led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy that released the “you win some, you lose more” report.
The House of Representatives is about to begin voting on the amendments agreed to between the Coalition and Labor.
Before the vote, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese speaks:
I want to thank the parliament for coming together to deal with this issue and get a result that will work … this legislation concentrates on those who need our help the most, people at most risk of harm.
He says the changes will ban gambling ads being broadcast 15 minutes before sporting games, as well as stop gambling ads on jerseys.
It will allow people who want to opt-out of gambling ads to do so more easily, through a simple gambling ad register. Ad-stop to back up the previous bet-stop.
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What is the ‘widow tax’ loophole the government and Coalition are teaming up to scrap?
The so-called “widow tax” is an unintended consequence of the government’s changes to negative gearing, which the government and Coalition are now working to scrap.
Under the reforms announced in the May budget, negative gearing on established homes bought after budget night was restricted, while properties bought before 12 May were protected under grandfathering arrangements.
However, the new laws would apply to a person who inherited their partner’s share of a property after their death or as part of a divorce settlement – that is, they would lose the grandfathered negative gearing arrangements – leading to the loophole being dubbed a “widow tax”.
As a result, Labor has proposed amendments to prevent a partner whose spouse has died, or someone who has inherited a property, from being on the hook for the new tax treatment.
The government had already agreed to close the loophole in future legislation. But the opposition demanded it act more quickly in return for support on other bills.
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If you’re sitting in Parliament House right now I hope you like the sound of bells …
Because there are about 50 million amendments to the government’s NDIS legislation.
Before we can even get to the substantive amendments to the bill, there are a bunch of amendments to the motion for the “second reading” of the bill.
The second reading is where the bill as a whole is debated, and second reading amendments basically allow other parties to protest parts of the legislation or criticise the government before the formal debate begins.
For example, the opposition has put forward a second reading amendment, noting that the government was previously “unable to achieve” the target NDIS growth rate of 8% and subsequently “failed” to achieve a second growth rate target of 5-6%.
Senator Lidia Thorpe’s amendment to the second reading states that there was inadequate consultation on the bill with First Nations people and that the bill “will disproportionately and severely harm and breach the human rights of First People with disability”.
After that there are so far 23 amendments to the bill itself listed from the Greens and David Pocock – and more could well be added later.
Government pushes for Senate to vote on NDIS today
Over in the Senate, the government is moving to guillotine debate on four key bills to get them through this week.
Labor is proposing to debate and vote on the NDIS reforms tonight then bring on the widow tax legislation first thing tomorrow morning. The government agreed to the Coalition’s demand to immediately bring on the “widow tax” debate in exchange for support on the NDIS bill.
Labor is proposing for the gambling bill to also be debated and voted on tomorrow, after it passes the House of Representatives tonight.
On Thursday, the Senate will debate and then vote on the news bargaining incentive bill which also has been negotiated with the Coalition.
All of this means is that there’ll be a hard out time on all debate for the Senate to then vote on each of those bills and all the amendments.
The Greens, David Pocock and One Nation are voting against the guillotine motion.
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Clive Palmer changing party name, once again
Clive Palmer wants to change the name of his political party, again.
Documents published by the Australian Electoral Commission reveal an application to change the name of the United Australia Party to Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party. The party logo is also mooted for a change.
It currently features a map of Australia inside a circle, with the words “United Australia Party” at the top and “save Australia” underneath; the new proposal is to change that to read “Clive Palmer’s” at the top and “United Australia Party” below.
The AEC, as part of normal processes, is notifying of the change and taking feedback until mid-September.
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Opposition pushes for Bondi royal commission extension over ‘unfinished business’
Liberal MPs are seeking to suspend standing orders in federal parliament to call on the government to extend the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion.
Launched in the wake of the Bondi beach shootings in December, the royal commission has entered its final block of hearings with its final report due to be presented to the government by 14 December.
Julian Leeser, one of the highest-profile Jewish members of parliament, has told the House of Representatives the commission’s 12-month timetable has imposed “severe constraints” on its capacity to investigate the causes, perpetrators and enablers of antisemitism in Australia.
He believes many significant voices will be left unheard on the current timeline, including leaders of arts and cultural institutions, public service chiefs, university bosses, protest organisations and the Australian Human Rights Commission.
“The royal commission is, for many Australians, the only chance we will have as a nation to properly expose and address the antisemitism that has become so prevalent in this country and which diminishes us all,” Leeser said.
But it is a royal commission that finishes in a matter of days, and as it stands, it is a royal commission with unfinished business.
The window to debate the issue is closing. These issues deserve to be heard, and urgently.
The government is expected to vote it down.
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Renters least likely to expect falling home prices
People who own their own home outright are twice as likely to believe property prices will continue to fall than renters, according to Westpac’s latest consumer confidence survey.
The monthly survey showed the Reserve Bank’s decision to hold its cash rate steady last week gave household confidence a bit of a bump, but that overall we still remain gloomy about the economy and our finances.
Westpac’s consumer sentiment index managed to lift by 6% to just shy of 90 points – where a score below 100 represents more pessimistic responses than optimistic ones.
Luci Ellis, the chief economist at Westpac, said “this is still a weak result and noticeably lower than the readings recorded last year”, pointing to “pervasive uncertainty” about the future.
Renters are the most sceptical that house prices will continue to fall, with 21% expecting lower property values, versus 44% of mortgage-free homeowners. For people with mortgages, the share was 27%, the survey showed. Ellis said:
These less negative views about future housing price moves are likely contributing to renters’ more downbeat views of whether now is a good time to buy a home, and more broadly, their chances of achieving home ownership in future.
Nearly six in 10 respondents said they expected another RBA rate hike after the central bank held its cash rate at 4.35% last week – similar to the previous month.
But the share of people expecting rates to stay steady or fall lifted to 28%, from 21% (the balance weren’t sure either way).
Updated
‘Widow tax’ negative gearing loophole to be closed immediately amid rush of legislation
MPs in Canberra are expected to sit late this week, as the government rushes through legislation on the NDIS, gambling reforms and the news bargaining incentive package.
Debate on the gambling bills and associated legislation is going to take place this afternoon, with a pause for question time at 2pm. Debate and voting could continue as late as 10pm.
Before the end of tonight, we expect the lower house to have voted on the gambling bills and a series of amendments from the Coalition and the Greens, as well as the so-called “widow tax” fix – changes to cover an unintended consequence from the budget reforms on capital gains tax and negative gearing.
The legislation had been expected to take months but the Coalition said it would not progress the NDIS budget cuts without the widow tax fix being sorted. As a result, Labor is rushing ahead to prevent a partner whose spouse has died, or someone who has inherited a property, from being on the hook for new tax liabilities.
Tomorrow, the gambling laws will go to the Senate, and at some stage the upper house is expected to send the NDIS legislation to the lower house.
Thursday could be a big day for voting. We’ll keep you posted.
Updated
Labor caucus signs off on gambling reform deal with Coalition
The Labor party has green lit the gambling reform deal made with the Coalition, and will sit late tonight to pass the reforms through the House of Representatives.
Government MPs have agreed to more than a dozen amendments made with the Coalition, and could sit until 10pm tonight. We can expect there will be plenty of MPs across the parliament wanting to debate the legislation.
The changes include the creation of a national opt-out register for gambling advertising, making the start time for the three-ad per hour cap 5am rather than the previous proposal of 6am and implements a review after three years.
Updated
Carroll calls for Victoria to receive ‘fair share’ of GST distribution
Victorian premier Ben Carroll has responded to the Western Australia premier, Roger Cook, who labelled the authors of an explosive report into a GST distribution deal as “east coast clowns”.
The Productivity Commission interim report found WA received more GST revenue than it needed in 2024-25, and the deal has cost the federal government $23bn.
Asked whether Cook’s clown comments were an overreach, Carroll said “yes”. He went on:
The Productivity Commission has laid bare what every economist around the nation, every public policy expert has known for years. That WA does have a sweetheart deal when it comes to the GST, on top of all the mining royalties. What the Productivity Commission have shown is that this has been occurring since the GST agreement back in 2018.
Victoria’s always just wanted its fair share for our taxpayers and when I meet with the prime minister and when I meet with other ministers, every Victorian can know that I’ll be in their corner advocating for our fair share, we deliver so much for our nation from services, from education. We are a powerhouse by our people. It’s our people that deserve a fair share when it comes to the GST.
He said there needed to be a rethink – though it shouldn’t be increased. Carroll said:
Everyone knows that the GST is inequitable the way it is distributed. Everyone knows that to get the lasting reform, not just for Victoria’s future, but for Australia’s future, redoing the GST to make it more equitable in its distribution is critically needed, particularly for states like Victoria, that are fastest growing and have such big, strong population growth.
We know, as a state government, we’ve been doing the heavy lifting for so long, and we’ll continue to advocate for every single Victorian to make sure the GST carve out is equitable and sustainable for the whole of Australia, not just one particular state.
Updated
NDIS denies plans to use Palantir in fraud detection, despite meetings
Controversial data analytics company Palantir sought to sell its software to the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) in 2023, documents reveal, but the agency has denied it has plans to use Palantir in National Disability Insurance Scheme fraud investigations.
The documents were published on the freedom of information website Right to Know last week.
Palantir has insisted it is “just a software company” in the face of calls for bans on government contracts following the publication of a manifesto earlier this year described by one UK MP as the “ramblings of a supervillain”.
Members of the fraud taskforce in the NDIA and the agency’s chief operating officer met with a number of Palantir staff, including the company’s Australian president, former Labor minister Dr Mike Kelly, in 2023, according to the documents.
In one email from May 2023, Kelly said:
Over the past six months my team has had the pleasure of working with different folks from your department on how our software might enable workflows for the Fraud Fusion Taskforce and insider threat.
The meetings did not result in a contract, however, and a spokesperson for the NDIA said the agency had not used Palantir technology and has “no plans to do so”.
The Greens justice spokesperson, Senator David Shoebridge, said Palantir “should not have access to the records of disabled people” in Australia.
We know the budget allocated millions to the NDIA for fraud detection and a new digital enrolment and payment system, we need a guarantee from this government that not a cent of this will go to Palantir.
Updated
More than 100 workers leave BHP after sexually harassing colleagues
BHP has disclosed in its annual report that 109 workers lost their jobs, or resigned, after sexually harassing colleagues last financial year.
Many of the incidents involved indecent touching and sexualised jokes.
A further 22 workers had their jobs terminated or otherwise left the company after being found responsible for racial harassment.
The wider mining sector has faced increased scrutiny in recent years over allegations of systemic sexual harassment, violence and retaliation, especially at isolated mines.
There are at least three class actions currently in the courts against BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue, alleging widespread sexual harassment, sexual violence and sex discrimination at work sites.
BHP said 113 reports of sexual harassment “were established” following investigations across the company’s global operations. The figure represents an increase on the 102 established reports a year earlier.
BHP has 44,254 employees and contractors in Australia, and 30,892 workers in Chile, representing the bulk of its global workforce.
Updated
Nationals MP says Labor wasted six months on ‘weak’ gambling reforms
Nationals MP Pat Conaghan, who was the deputy chair of Peta Murphy’s “You win some, you lose more” parliamentary inquiry is furious, to say the least, by the deal cooked up between the Coalition and Labor.
Speaking to journalists as he entered parliament this morning, Conaghan asked “what’s the point” in even doing the inquiry if the government won’t listen to the findings.
The report made 31 recommendations including a comprehensive ban on online gambling advertised phased in over three years.
Conaghan said:
I won’t make any friends in the Coalition by saying, I think we’re being weak by not implementing those reports and I think we’d be supported by the majority of the public out there.
So I’m really disappointed that we’ve wasted six months … What’s the point of an inquiry? What’s the point of listening to those family members and doing nothing about it?
Updated
Liberal MPs consider crossing the floor on gambling reforms
The Coalition party room meeting is taking place now and the shadow communications minister, Sarah Henderson, is laying out the deal between the opposition and Labor.
But we have spoken to at least one Liberal member who is considering crossing the floor because the reforms don’t go far enough.
The amendments include implementing a review of the legislation after three years, creating a single opt-out register for gambling ads, and moving the start time of broadcast restrictions from 6am to 5am.
There has been a push from some inside the Liberal tent for an opt-in system rather than opt-out system for gambling advertising but we understand that hasn’t been agreed to by either Angus Taylor or Anthony Albanese.
Speaking to reporters at the entrance of parliament this morning, Liberal MP Scott Buchholz said there might be a few dissenters.
Do we have all of the Coalition’s support? I think we might see a couple of people cross the floor on it who want to see it go further.
Updated
Victorian government still working on terms of reference for construction royal commission, premier says
The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, is holding a press conference to mark new graduate paramedics beginning their induction today.
But questions quickly turned to the royal commission into the construction sector Carroll promised to call when he became premier. Three weeks on, he is yet to release its terms of reference or announce the commissioner and special prosecutor appointments.
He told reporters:
We are working very hard in terms of [drafting a] broad terms of reference to shine a light on what occurred, getting the best candidate to be commissioner, and also making sure we have the lasting change, establishing an office for a special prosecutor, and also the work the special minister of state continues to do – not just on the royal commission but giving our integrity agency, in particular Ibac, the powers it needs and deserves.
Carroll also confirmed it was his intention to introduce legislation to strengthen Ibac prior to when the government enters caretaker mode in November.
His special minister of state, Ingrid Stitt, said:
My department has been working incredibly hard to bring forward a number of the key recommendations from the Integrity and Oversight Committee’s report, which the government had already agreed to in principle, and they go specifically to the follow-the-money powers and the definition of corrupt conduct.
Now, they’re not simple legislative changes, despite what others may suggest. It’s quite a complex and interconnected integrity agency system that we have here in Victoria, and we want to be careful not to have any unintended consequences with any legislation that we bring forward, but the premier has been very clear that he wants these powers to be in the parliament and hopefully passed in this term of government, and that is what I’m pulling out all stops to bring to cabinet very soon.
Updated
Albanese declares ‘launch edition’ wine from News 24 on parliamentary register of interests
Sky News recently changed its name to News 24 with a flashy rebrand, and it seems the TV channel was in the mood for celebrating, if Anthony Albanese’s latest update to the parliamentary register of interests is anything to go by.
The prime minister, in a new disclosure, has declared receiving a “Bottle of News24 Launch Edition McLaren Vale Shiraz – Vintage 2020”. No doubt going straight to the wine cellar.
Despite the protestations of Pauline Hanson last week, Albanese hasn’t declared the crown melons from the Japanese prime minister on his register – perhaps as they may fall below the disclosure threshold of $750 from official sources – but he has noted a number of other gifts from world leaders and well-wishers.
Alongside the News 24 plonk, Albanese has disclosed receiving an “ironwood carving”, woven mats from the PM of Fiji, a wood carving from Solomon Islands, and “framed traditional double pig tusks, coffee and independence book” from the PM of Papua New Guinea, among other gifts – most listed as having been “surrendered” or “donated” to his department or national collections.
Albanese also declared hospitality from the Canberra Raiders NRL team at a recent football match against his South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Updated
Hanson doing what ‘big tobacco have been lobbying her to do’, Greens leader says
Larissa Waters says Pauline Hanson’s call to cut the tobacco excise by 75% is at the behest of the tobacco lobby who she says are “haunting the halls of parliament”.
Speaking to the Today show earlier this morning, the Greens leader said by all means fight organised crime behind illicit tobacco but don’t do it to line the coffers of big tobacco:
Pauline Hanson is doing precisely what big tobacco have been lobbying her to do. We see them haunting the halls of parliament here … if you want to, fight crime, but don’t dress up fighting crime as just a premise to boost the profits of big tobacco.
Anything that Philip Morris wants to do primarily revolves around them boosting their own profits off the pain of humans and the cancer and the devastation that they will wreak. So I don’t have a lot of sympathy for big tobacco and I don’t think they should be influencing our politics.
The government has said it doesn’t want to change the tax settings, while some in the opposition have left the door open to an excise cut.
Updated
‘I’m up for that discussion’: Chalmers open to speeding up widow tax reforms
Jim Chalmers says he’s open to talking to the Coalition about speeding up legislation that would close the so-called widow tax loophole on Labor’s negative gearing and capital gains tax changes.
Speaking to reporters in the press gallery corridor this morning, the treasurer said the government had made it “abundantly clear” that it is addressing the issue, and has released draft legislation that’s currently still open for consultation.
Chalmers said:
Now, if the opposition’s main ask is that we pass the government’s legislation quicker, then obviously I’m up for that discussion.
For a recap on what the widow tax is: the government is grandfathering changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax meaning existing owners of a property using the tax incentives can still access them, but as soon as that property is sold or changes hands they’re no longer available. For anyone buying a property that isn’t a new-build, those concessions will no longer be available.
But it means that in the event of a divorce or death where a property goes from joint ownership to the single ownership of one spouse, the current rules say they no longer get the benefit. So the government is promising to change that.
Updated
Labor pledges $14.8bn to boost fuel security and increase domestic reserves
Labor has pledged to established a government-owned strategic reserve of one billion litres of diesel and jet fuel, and will consult on low carbon fuels.
The government has released two consultation papers and is pledging $14.8bn to boost fuel security following major international shocks from the war in Iran.
As part of this package, Labor has also committed to “increasing mandatory industry fuel stockholding requirements by an additional 10 days for diesel, petrol and jet fuel by 2030.”
The energy and climate change minister, Chris Bowen and the infrastructure minister, Catherine King, are holding a press conference on the announcement.
Bowen says:
We’ve been pleased with the updates I’ve been able to give the Australian people every week about how many days we have, but strengthening it, not for this crisis, but for future geopolitical crises, which are inevitable at various points in coming decades, is very important for our fuel security.
Updated
Wilson leaves door open to tobacco excise cut
Tim Wilson says the Coalition wants to cut out the tobacco black market in Australia and that Anthony Albanese’s “pride” has led him to ruling out measures to do that.
The shadow treasurer is talking about the calls to cut the tobacco excise.
One Nation has said it would do so, as the illegal cigarette market has soared and the budget take from the excise has tanked in recent years.
Wilson, speaking to journalists this morning is asked about whether the Coalition would support One Nation’s plan to cut the excise by 75%. He says the party will “review this policy”:
In principle, we want to cut out the black market and the organised crime that the Albanese government has let fester. What we know is, through pride, the Albanese government is ruling out any measure that would stomp down on organised crime, which is literally handing over the trade to criminals that’s then going on to do things like finance terrorism and hurt the Australian community.
It’s time the Albanese government got past its pride, acknowledged, just like in their budget, that adding more taxes doesn’t always deliver, or definitely doesn’t deliver, better outcomes for the Australian people.
Others in his party, including MP Mary Aldred who is part of a parliamentary committee reviewing the excise, has argued for the levy to be cut.
Updated
Gambling amendments coming today
Further to what Krishani has already told you on the gambling bill, we will be expecting more news later today on the specifics but it’s understood another tweak will be moving the start time of the television ad restrictions from 6am to 5am.
That provision of the laws was originally going to limit TV ads to three per hour between 6am and 8.30pm. It may now be moved back to 5am, we understand, but we’ll wait for the final tick-off once it goes through the Labor and Liberal party rooms today.
We reported last week that this small shift in TV ad times, which will not be nearly enough to win over critics of the changes, was part of the negotiations.
We’re told there will be more than a dozen amendments. We already know a few of them, with Labor proposing to create a single opt-out register for gambling ads and taking action on inducements, but we’re still awaiting specific details about how those would work.
Unsurprisingly, key advocates for more action on gambling ads have branded the government and Liberal amendments as inadequate. Independent MP Sophie Scamps, responding to discussion about the deal, slammed the changes as “weak, piecemeal, pathetic.”
Australians are the biggest losers to gambling in the world and over 400 die by suicide each year linked to gambling addiction. Yet the major parties will crow about doing a deal that will be ineffective and which prioritises the profits of Gambling corporations over the wellbeing of Australians.
Updated
Rent increase reports ‘don’t seem realistic’ says Charlton
The assistant minister for science, Andrew Charlton, has dismissed media reports of NAB warning that rents in Sydney and Melbourne could rise by up to 30% due to budget changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax.
Speaking to RN Breakfast earlier, Charlton says 99% of properties that people are in at the moment are grandfathered. Under the budget changes, anyone who currently negatively gears their property will still be able to do so, but only someone who buys newly built property from now will be able to negatively gear it.
Charlton says:
I’ve seen those reports on rental increases today, and they just don’t seem realistic to me … So the idea that you would have big changes to the properties that people are currently renting, when the overwhelming majority of them are in grandfathered arrangements, just doesn’t seem to make sense.
In the budget, the Treasury department modelled the impact of the changes and said rents would increase about $2 per week.
Charlton says he reckons that Treasury modelling is right and “that there’ll be negligible impacts of our changes on rents”.
Updated
Chalmers resists call for excise cut with focus on police crack down on tobacco black market
Jumping back to Jim Chalmers’ interview on ABC News Breakfast, the treasurer hosed down proposals to drop the tobacco excise, and said the government is focused on the law and order side of cracking down on illegal cigarettes.
The government has been under some pressure to reconsider the excise, as NSW premier Chris Minns has called for a review of the policy while others in the state Labor party have argued for a cut.
Chalmers says:
Our primary focus has been on providing hundreds of millions of dollars in extra resources for the police and other authorities to crack down on this big problem in our society and in local communities as well. Now, we’ve had some recent successes when it comes to that crackdown. We’ve seen some raids and some busts when it comes to some of this illegal supply. That’s a good thing. We want to see more of that.
Updated
Tobacco excise increases lead to ‘more mafia’, Joyce says in call for cut
Barnaby Joyce says increasing the tobacco excise, which makes legal cigarettes more expensive is just leading to “more mafia” around the country, as he argues that the excise should be cut.
Speaking to RN Breakfast this morning, the One Nation MP points to the surge of Australians buying illegal cigarettes which has led to the government revenue from the excise tanking.
Annual excise revenue has more than halved over the past five years to $7.8bn.
Joyce says:
This is just absurd economics: that if you keep on putting up the price of cigarettes, you’re going to get more excise. Now, if you keep on putting up the price of cigarettes, you’re going to get more mafia. That’s what you’re getting, more mafia. And that’s precisely what’s happening. And the only way we can deal with the criminality, the mafia that also underwrites some of the other drugs, is to bring back the price of legal cigarettes into the same realm as where the illegal ones are.
But, and there’s a big but here for you, some research by the e61 institute released late last year showed slashing the tobacco excise might not actually be enough to lure smokers back to legal cigarettes and could even widen the multibillion-dollar hole blown in the budget.
Updated
Federal police to investigate leaked melon-gate memo
The Australian federal police has told Liberal shadow defence minister, James Paterson that it will review the leak of a memo sent by Japanese diplomats to the Australian government over melon-gate.
Just when you thought that story was all over …
Last week it was reported that a memo from Japan had downplayed the PM’s appearance on the Bush Deep podcast, and said they didn’t believe Anthony Albanese’s comments or hand gestures were done with “ill will”.
Paterson and shadow foreign minister, Ted O’Brien, then referred that leak to the AFP.
The AFP has responded in a letter, seen by Guardian Australia, which says it takes allegations of unauthorised disclosures of correspondence seriously. It has been referred to the Special Investigations Command.
You can read more about the incident here from Malcolm Farr:
Updated
Coalition offers ultimatum on widow tax and NDIS
Angus Taylor has said the opposition will only support the government’s NDIS bill if it first removes the so-called widow tax in the government’s budget changes.
This morning, Jim Chalmers told ABC News Breakfast that the government is working through those changes, and has released draft legislation (which we knew).
Last week, the opposition tried to suspend standing orders in the parliament to get Labor to bring the bill on immediately.
Chalmers says he’ll engage in good faith:
On the NDIS – this is all about saving the NDIS from itself, making it sustainable so it can continue to deliver a decent standard of care for Australians who need and deserve that. That’s our motivation here. And it should be supported, our changes should be supported in the Senate in that light and on its merits.
The government made it clear we were addressing [the widow tax]. We already released draft legislation. We have consulted on that. We made it abundantly clear that this is a change that we’ll be making. Now, if the opposition wants to do that quicker, of course we’ll engage with them in good faith.
Updated
Chalmers calls gambling amendments ‘very substantial changes’
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the opt-out register on gambling advertising will be revenue neutral, because the gambling industry will have to cover the costs.
He also says there will be changes to curb some inducements – but not an all out ban on inducements like many have pushed for, and was recommended in the landmark “you win some, you lose more” parliamentary report that was handed down more than three years ago.
Chalmers tells ABC News Breakfast:
These changes that we’re proposing are very substantial changes. And they will make it much easier for people to opt out of this advertising. At the same time, as we make it easier for the regulator to enforce the rules around inducements.
I understand people’s concern about inducements. And the minister and the government does as well. I think primarily there’s an important role for the regulator to crack down on and enforce these inducements.
Updated
Ruston raises ‘serious concerns’ over automation in proposed NDIS changes
Anne Ruston says the changes the government has made to the aged care system, by automating parts of the assessment process has made the system worse.
Critics, experts and those in the system say that the algorithm tool has no human override function once a funding decision for an aged care package has been determined.
Ruston tells RN Breakfast:
There’s absolutely no doubt that the implementation of the reforms has made everything worse for older Australians … the government’s got a lot to do to fix the implementation of these once-in-a-generation reforms that should have and could have and still can be what they were intended to be, but they just aren’t being rolled out like that.
She says she’s very concerned about what automation might look like under the proposed changes to the national disability insurance scheme.
If the automation that we’re seeing in aged care is transferred over into the NDIS, yes I have very serious concerns about that. We saw 250,000 older Australians reassessed under aged care.
Are we talking over 750,000 Australians who live with disability who possibly need to be reassessed? If they’ve got an algorithm that’s as botched as the one we’ve got in aged care, well we would have very serious concerns and certainly we’ll be raising those matters.
Updated
‘Sensible, considered’ gambling package on the table, Ruston says
Anne Ruston says the deal on gambling reforms that will be considered by the Coalition party room today is sensible and considered, though not everyone gets what they want.
She tells RN Breakfast the shadow communications minister, Sarah Henderson, walks the line between protecting vulnerable people and allowing people to have “a bit of a flutter”.
There’s a wide range of views that sit within our party room, and I think what Sarah sought to do is to try and walk a line down the middle so that not everybody gets everything that they want. Certainly the package that I’ve seen so far looks like a very sensible package, a very considered package … I’m hopeful that the party room will accept that, but I’m not going to get ahead of my party room.
Asked whether she shares concerns that the opt-out model will be difficult to implement, she says these things are “never easy”.
Instead of actually talking about what the problems are, let’s all put our collective heads together and work out how we can actually put things in place that protect vulnerable Australians.
Updated
Coalition and Labor expected to sign off on gambling reform deal
It’s all coming to a head today on gambling with members of the Coalition meeting late yesterday evening to discuss a range of amendments to the government’s bill to tackle online wagering advertising.
Guardian Australia understands there are 15 negotiated reforms that have been agreed to, including for a three-year review of the legislation. But they need final sign off by each party which should happen later this morning when both the Coalition and government party rooms meet.
Yesterday the government announced it would create a new single-service opt-out register for gambling ads – an idea similar to the Do Not Call register for spam calls.
Updated
Australia should adopt AI ‘everywhere we can’, Labor minister says
Labor minister Andrew Charlton says Australia should adopt AI “everywhere we can”, arguing the country should be doing more to produce new artificial intelligence models – not just build more datacentres or import foreign models.
In a speech to the Australian National University this morning, Charlton – the assistant minister for science, technology and the digital economy – estimates up to 20% of Australians are already paying for an AI subscription, as well as one in three businesses, for a “reasonable estimate” of $5-8bn a year and rising by up to 40% each quarter.
According to advance speech notes shared by his office, Charlton’s speech laments that “the overwhelming majority of those payments [are] flowing offshore. In effect, we are creating a new import bill.”
He estimates that number could reach $20-40bn annually within a decade, and discussed whether Australia should “try to reduce this dependence on foreign AI”.
“Simply building data centres in Australia does not necessarily mean that Australia captures the economics of AI. We can supply the land. We can supply the electricity. We can host the machines. And still find that much of the value – and many of the economic rents – flow offshore,” he will tell ANU.
Instead, Charlton argues Australia should do more in all parts pf the AI supply chain, not just datacentres and electricity but developing the models themselves – which capture most of the AI dollar.
Australia faces two tasks in the age of AI. First, use it. Adopt AI everywhere we can, to lift the productivity of Australian workers and Australian businesses.
Second, build around it. Create the companies, the capabilities, the intellectual property and the complementary assets that ensure Australians capture a meaningful share of the value AI creates.
Charlton argues that AI would not “automatically” lift living standards for all Australians unless there was a sustained effort to properly harness both the technology itself and its associated industrial boom.
Updated
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you, thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.
It’s going to be a gambling reform-heavy day today, with a deal on the verge of being inked between the Coalition and government. We’ll have some more details shortly.
Let’s get stuck in!
The study also found that Peter Dutton was the least curious of opposition leaders covered by the study, asking just 15% of his party’s allotment of questions.
The paper opens with a contrasting case:
At 2pm on 4 July 2019, as the Speaker called on questions without notice, the then Australian Opposition Leader, Anthony Albanese, rose to ask the first question. He then asked the second, and the third. By the end of Question Time that day, he had asked all 11 questions from the opposition; 10 of them directed at the then Prime Minister, Scott Morrison.
So why this trend towards focusing on the PM in question time? The paper explains:
The growing focus on political leaders reflects a long-term process of increasing personalisation of politics – the idea that individual politicians’ behaviour and characteristics have become more important relative to the parties to which they belong.
However, it warns:
A more leader-centred Question Time may increase media visibility and sharpen political responsibility by clarifying who is being held accountable. At the same time, sustained concentration on party leaders (especially the Prime Minister) may crowd out effective parliamentary oversight of policy implementation and administrative performance.
Updated
Julia Gillard subjected to greater level of question time attack than other prime ministers
Julia Gillard is the most put-upon prime minister in question time in recent times, according to a new academic study reported by Australian Associated Press.
More than 21,000 question time questions from the opposition were tracked from 1981 to 2025, taking in the tenures of 10 prime ministers.
The study found prime ministers were asked just 26% of questions back in the early 1980s, but have fielded roughly half of all opposition queries in the past decade.
“It’s part of an overall pattern over time of politics becoming more personalised or centralised around party leaders,” the study’s lead author, Australian Catholic University political scientist Daniel Casey, told AAP.
Question time is increasingly becoming a heavyweight title fight … while ministers are being let off the hook.
Top of the pops – receiving 62% of all questions from the then Tony Abbott-led opposition – was Gillard.
Casey said a wealth of research showed female leaders were subjected to higher levels of attack than their male counterparts.
It was the period with the lowest [level of the] leader of the opposition asking questions, and instead they used their deputy leader, Julie Bishop … the opposition really went out of their way to get their women to ask questions.
Updated
Labor gambling opt-outs show they 'don't know how the internet works’, Greens say
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has claimed Labor’s proposal to let Australians opt-out of all gambling ads online doesn’t account for how the internet works.
The government has promised a “one-stop shop” to opt-out of the ads online, in its latest gambling reform bill introduced on Monday. It has not explained how an opt-out register could work and government sources have conceded it would be a complex measure.
Hanson-Young told the ABC’s 7.30 on Monday the Greens would not support the “smokescreen” bill. She said the government had told her it wouldn’t pursue a stronger alternative measure, a system requiring Australians to opt in to seeing gambling ads, because such a system would effectively ban the ads.
On the opt-out proposal, she said:
The idea that you can opt-out of all corners of the internet – I mean, it just beggars belief that any serious policy brain has put this forward. I don’t know whose idea it was. Maybe it was Angus Taylor’s, maybe it was the prime minister’s, but it’s certainly come from someone who doesn’t know how the internet actually works.
Labor hopes to pass the bill with Coalition support this week. Hanson-Young said there were “good people in the Liberal party who want this law to go further”, adding:
But they are being ignored … I think what’s happened is that Angus Taylor is not up to the job. He is a weak leader. And I think he’s been spooked by Pauline Hanson and One Nation.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has claimed Labor’s proposal to let Australians opt-out of all gambling ads online doesn’t account for how the internet works. More details in a moment.
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