What we learned: Monday, 25 August
With that, we will wrap the blog for the evening. Thanks for reading, and we’ll be back first thing tomorrow with all the latest in the world of AusPol.
Until then, here’s a recap on today’s news:
The Labor party has brought forward its 5% deposit scheme for first home buyers to 1 October. The policy, committed to in the election, means first home buyers can use a smaller deposit guaranteed by the government.
The minister for energy and climate change, Chris Bowen, said it was “very legitimate” for Labor to allow time for Barnaby Joyce’s private bill to dump Australia’s net zero target to be debated during today’s question time if there was a side of politics against climate action.
Liberal senator Jane Hume labelled finance minister Katy Gallagher a “mean girl” after debate over superannuation policy kicked off in the Senate.
The independent senator for Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie, said the crossbench was “not important” any more after Labor’s landslide victory in May.
The education minister, Jason Clare, moved to legislate a code for tertiary education institutions to better respond to, and prevent, gender based violence.
Brisbane city council “unlawfully discriminated” against protest group Extinction Rebellion, a court has found.
And a UNSW Sydney study has found 90% of Australian teachers are experiencing severe stress, and nearly 70% say their workload is unmanageable.
Updated
National code to protect university students from sexual violence becomes law
A national code to protect students and staff from sexual violence in higher education has just passed into legislation.
In a joint media release, the minister for education, Jason Clare, and the social services minister, Tanya Plibersek, said not enough had been done in Australia’s universities to address sexual assault and harassment.
Students haven’t been heard. For the first time, the National Code will set standards and requirements that all higher education providers must meet to make students and staff safer, including in student accommodation.
Under the code, universities will be required to educate students and staff on preventing gender based violence and publicly disclose annual reports, with serious penalties for non-compliance ranging up to regulatory intervention.
Clare said every student deserved to feel safe on campus, and the national code “makes that non-negotiable”.
Plibersek said one in six students had reported sexual harassment and one in 20 reported being sexually assaulted on campus in the most recent survey by Universities Australia in 2021.
How a survivor of violence is supported by their university has lifelong consequences. Victim-survivors must be heard and supported, and universities must make every effort to stop violence in the first place.
Updated
Western Sydney University to accept 251 voluntary redundancies in restructure to reduce $75m deficit
Western Sydney University will accept 251 voluntary redundancies as part of ongoing restructuring to reduce a $75m deficit at the institution.
In a statement on Monday, a spokesperson confirmed the vice-chancellor, Prof George Williams, had revised initial estimates to reduce the university’s workforce by up to 400 positions down to 238 in light of strong uptake in the voluntary redundancy program.
The spokesperson said that all academic positions proposed for cuts were in response to applications for voluntary redundancies.
The number is higher than the proposed job losses because we are proposing to accept more voluntary redundancies for academic staff than needed with a view to recruiting replacements. This will help us to provide jobs for academics currently in insecure forms of employment.
The reduced net number of positions proposed to be disestablished has been possible because of the hard work across the university to find $23m in non-salary savings to help make up our $74.5m forecast operating deficit in 2026. Reducing senior staff numbers saved a further $7m.
The spokesperson attributed the financial challenges to international student caps, increased competition for students from western Sydney, declining revenue per student because of the job-ready graduates package, cost-of-living pressures and changing student behaviours.
Updated
Government’s housing changes to lead to ‘some improvements’, expects housing advisory chair
Staying on housing: the Chair of the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, attended the economic reform roundtable and contributed to discussions on housing reforms.
Appearing on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, she said she expected the federal government’s announcement to pause changes to the National Construction Code and reduce times for environmental approvals for housing would lead to “some improvements” in the property market.
Housing council modelling suggests under current settings we would create about 938,000 new homes compared to that 1.2m [federal government] target. While it will not fix all of the problems in the housing market, pausing changes to the … code is positive.
Asked if Labor would be able to reach its target, Lloyd-Hurwitz said “more consistent action” was needed across the whole system. She added that Treasury advice on 5% deposits for first-time buyers would “clearly have some impact upwards on prices”.
Hopefully it doesn’t affect prices too much and helps people get into the market, because we know for the average household it’s more than 10 years for the medium deposit. That’s a long time, and if this helps people get into the market sooner without putting too much upward pressure on prices, then that is a good trade-off.
Updated
Video: PM says Sussan Ley ‘bold’ to claim credit for new housing policies
In question time earlier, we reported on the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, accusing Labor of requiring a “three-day talk fest to acknowledge Coalition policies work”, in an attempt to claim credit for Labor’s announcement to pause the construction code and expand the 5% deposit scheme.
The prime minister replied that it was “very bold” to say the Coalition’s policies worked when it came to housing.
You can watch the full exchange here:
Updated
Study finds 90% of Australian teachers under severe stress
A UNSW Sydney study has found 90% of Australian teachers are experiencing severe stress, and nearly 70% say their workload is unmanageable.
The study, which surveyed about 5,000 primary and secondary educators, was the first to examine the rates of depression, anxiety and stress in Australian teachers.
It found they experienced mental health issues at three times the national norm.
About 90% of teachers reported moderate to extremely severe levels of stress, while more than two-thirds experienced moderate to extremely severe symptoms of depression and anxiety – more than double the national averages.
Lead researcher Dr Helena Ganziera said it was not just a wellbeing issue, but a workforce issue.
Our findings show that teachers are experiencing mental health symptoms at rates far above the general population, and that these symptoms are closely linked to their workload and intentions to leave the profession.
The research also found that workload manageability was a key factor influencing teachers’ mental health, which in turn was strongly associated with their intentions to leave the profession.
Ganziera said teachers were telling them they were “overwhelmed”, not by teaching itself, but by the growing burden of non-core tasks.
Updated
Jacqui Lambie says crossbench 'not important' after Labor landslide, expects party to hold power for the next decade
The independent senator for Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie, says the crossbench is “not important” any more after Labor’s landslide victory in May.
The government’s strong showing in the Senate means it now only requires the support of the Greens to pass legislation. When asked on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing how that was functioning two weeks into parliament sitting, she replied:
No idea, because we don’t have the balance of power any more. We are not important. We are not getting the calls … I can tell you they are not chasing us. I guess we are now chasing them.
There may not be a hung parliament, but Lambie assured she “will not be any quieter” in the future, especially on defence and veterans affairs.
On the debate over Barnaby Joyce’s net zero private member’s bill, Lambie said the Liberal and National parties had failed to reflect on the election results and why they were “so depleted”.
This is a big problem. You don’t want to recognise anything. You don’t want to recognise the sea is rising, have some other excuse for that … their votes will continue to decrease … It would be very unexpected if Labor doesn’t win the next two elections. That’s how much clean up I think Liberal party has to do.
Updated
Video: NSW planning minister calls objections to new housing in wealthy suburbs ‘un-Sydney-like’
Turning to state politics for a moment: the NSW planning minister, Paul Scully, hit back at criticism of a policy that aims to increase housing supply across Sydney at an estimates hearing today. About 10,000 new homes are slated for development around Woollahra and Edgecliff in Sydney’s wealthy eastern suburbs.
Scully called objections to those plans “un-Sydney-like”, saying the residents who complained were ignoring their “collective responsibility”.
Watch the exchange here:
Updated
Tehan accuses government of wanting to ‘play games’ by debating Joyce’s bill to dump net zero
Dan Tehan, the shadow minister for energy and emissions reduction, says the Coalition wants “transparency always” after feisty debate over Barnaby Joyce’s private member’s bill to dump net zero on the parliament floor.
Appearing on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing after his counterpart, Tehan was asked if he wanted Joyce’s bill to be debated publicly:
We want transparency always. What I’d say to the government is that if you’re happy to have this debate, let’s see the data and let’s see the figures and let’s see the modelling on what your approach is based on.
Asked how the Coalition would vote on the bill, Tehan said that would be a “decision that we’ll take” and Labor’s strategy was “not working”.
There are private members’ bills that go into the parliament all the time … If they [the government] want to play games on this, they can play games. We’ve got a serious policy approach that we’re going through …
We’re meeting with the gas industry this week. And we’re taking that incredibly seriously because energy is just so important to the future of our nation. If we don’t get it right, people are going to suffer when it comes to their household budgets and industries are going to suffer as a result.
Updated
Bowen defends debate on Joyce’s bill to dump net zero as ‘very legitimate’ to secure climate action
The minister for energy and climate change, Chris Bowen, is appearing on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing after Labor allowed time for Barnaby Joyce’s private bill to dump Australia’s net zero target to be debated, putting the Coalition’s internal struggle over the climate crisis on full display.
Asked why something with no chance of getting up was given time to be discussed, Bowen said it was a “very legitimate debate” for parliament if there was a side of politics against climate action.
It is yet again another indication that they refused to get the memo from the Australian people, including from regional builders. I shared with the house today the take-up of our cheaper home batteries policy in New South Wales, Gilmore number one, Richmond number two, Page number three … the National party is so far out of touch with their builders.
It’s Parliament House; we are meant to debate things, and this is one of the broader questions facing the country so why not? We didn’t seek the debates; we didn’t have the bill.
When pointed to the fact there were 70 private members’ bills that didn’t see the light of day, Bowen replied: “We don’t mind having a debate.”
Updated
Video: Liberal senator Jane Hume calls Katy Gallagher a ‘mean girl’
Circling back for a moment: Liberal senator Jane Hume labelled finance minister Katy Gallagher a “mean girl” as debate over superannuation policy kicked off in the Senate.
Hume asked what assurances Labor could offer voters amid mooted changes to superannuation policy. During Gallagher’s response, Hume could be heard saying, “Why is it always that the mean girls go personal?” before having to withdraw the comment.
Updated
That’s it from me today. Thanks so much for following along on the blog.
I’ll leave you with the fabulous Caitlin Cassidy for the rest of the afternoon, and will catch you back here early tomorrow morning.
Updated
Tl;dr: what happened in question time today?
The energy was pretty low in question time today, normally there’s a heap of shouting (either in support or in opposition) from the Labor and Coalition benches, but there wasn’t much today. And I counted barely a handful of points of order, which usually add a bit of drama.
The Coalition pushed the government on its housing policy, accusing it of “copying” Liberal policy, and trying to get Labor to admit its own policies weren’t working (Labor wouldn’t bite on that point).
There was a lot of housing talk today – not only did the opposition press Labor on it, at least three-quarters of Labor’s dixers were housing policy-based as well.
Independent MP Zali Steggall asked the government if it would increase spending on climate resilience – we didn’t get a clear answer.
Anthony Albanese accused the opposition of being “unworthy” after Alex Hawke asked whether Australia’s recognition of Palestinian statehood would increase or decrease the PM’s chance of meeting with Donald Trump.
There was one MP booted from QT today: Labor backbencher Tim Watts.
Updated
Gallagher calls opposition ‘disrespectful’ after her response to Greens draws raucous laughter
Continuing from the last post …
Allman-Payne asked why the federal government had enough money for Aukus submarines but not for struggling Australians. Gallagher said that was “simply not true”, drawing raucous laughter from the opposition benches.
Gallagher responded:
I know those over there [on the opposition benches] find it hilarious. The government, the party of robodebt, find this question hilarious. That is how disrespectful you are about people on income support payments. We saw it when you were in government. We saw it when you threatened people with jail for debts they didn’t earn, Senator [Michaelia] Cash.
Updated
Gallagher says decision over $1bn owed to welfare recipients to come ‘shortly’ after Greens press minister in Sentate
Katy Gallagher says the Albanese government will make a decision “shortly” about more than $1bn in debt owed by welfare recipients, stretching back to the late 1970s.
In Senate QT this afternoon, Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne asked the finance minister whether the government would implement a robodebt royal commission to place a six-year limit on debts, in a move that would wipe a number of those calculated under income apportionment.
To recap, in July, the federal court ruled the social services department could estimate a welfare recipient’s income using its preferred method, meaning thousands of recipients could now be liable for debts totalling more than $1bn and dating back decades.
Gallagher said she and the social services minister, Tanya Plibersek, had been in discussions about the government’s response, including considerations about debt length and debt size, and “will resolve them shortly”.
Gallagher was keen to point out that income apportionment was distinct from robodebt – a similarity some commentators have made.
Robodebt was designed to raise revenue by clawing back debt from people who never owed that money. Income apportionment was about reducing a reporting burden to try and make it easier for people. And actually, about a third of people benefited from income apportionment over time, whereas, as we know, robodebt indiscriminately made people worse off.
Updated
QT is over
After a final dixer to the education minister, Jason Clare, on measures to improve safety for children in childcare, question time is over for the day.
Updated
Nationals ask government to concede smelters in crisis due to high cost of energy as Conroy blames opposition
Energy is back on the agenda, with Nationals MP Andrew Willcox asking whether the government will concede that smelters in Whyalla, Mount Isa and Tasmania are under administration or in crisis talks because of the high cost of energy.
Pat Conroy, representing the minister for industry, takes the call and promptly blames the opposition for its lack of a cohesive energy policy over its three terms in government.
The Coalition had a chance to fix these issues, but they left us with a graveyard of discarded energy policies; by my last count, 23.
Willcox tries a point of order, saying Conroy isn’t answering the question. Dick disagrees and says Conroy is being relevant, so he continues and says the government will “back Aussie manufacturing”.
Updated
Steggall asks PM to increase climate resilience spending to save on disaster recovery costs
Independent Zali Steggall asks the prime minister whether he’ll put more money into climate resilience.
She says for every $1 spent on disaster preparation, up to $11 is saved in disaster recovery costs, but less than 30% of the National Emergency Management Agency’s budget is spent on preparation and resilience.
Albanese says:
I think the member is quite right to point towards investing upfront. That is something my government is looking at in a range of areas as well, as well as providing for local infrastructure programs.
The minister for emergency management, Kristy McBain, enters the chat, listing through a few projects that the government is investing in through its $1bn disaster response fund.
Updated
Albanese calls opposition ‘unworthy’ after questioned if Palestine recognition could hinder PM landing Trump meeting
The manager of opposition business, Alex Hawke, is up and asks if Albanese will table the “5,324” times he’s answered a question on when the PM will meet Donald Trump.
It’s a reference to the PM’s press conference this morning, when Albanese told a journalist to refer to his previous answers when he was asked: “What is your confidence in securing a meeting with president Trump?”
Hawke has a double-barreled question, also asking whether Australia’s recognition of Palestinian statehood is likely to help or hinder Australia getting a meeting with Trump.
Albanese starts saying he supports Palestinian statehood because it will “give heart to the ordinary people of the West Bank and Gaza”.
The fact that the manager of opposition business asked such a flippant question about the relationship between Australia and the US or about Middle East peace; it shows how unworthy they are, those opposite.
Albanese says the government has been engaging “constructively” with the US.
Updated
Independent MP asks if government has ‘reneged’ on transparency commitment after public sector board review kept private
Why has the government “reneged on [its] self-declared commitment to transparency”?
That’s the question from independent MP Sophie Scamps, who says the government commissioned a review of public sector board appointments in February 2023 but hasn’t released the final report handed to the government more than 18 months ago.
She says the government opposed a motion in the Senate at the last sitting fortnight to make the documents public.
Chalmers says Labor has been fixing the public sector, making it more transparent and increasing its capability. He says the review in question was about increasing diversity of board membership:
We’ve improved public sector board diversity since coming to office. The most recent data showed us much more than half of government board positions are now held by women.
But Scamps makes a point of order, saying the treasurer hasn’t said if and when that report will be made public.
Chalmers says it will be made public “in due course”. Clear as mud!
Updated
Nationals leader asks whether government will review foreign investment thresholds. Chalmers says: ‘system is robust’
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, has the next opposition question, asking Jim Chalmers whether the government will review the thresholds of the foreign investment review board for individuals or entities from overseas trying to buy Australian land.
Littleproud says:
A single US private company owned by a US church was able to purchase almost $500m worth of Australian prime agricultural land in around six months without the requirement of oversight from the treasurer or the foreign investment review board.
Chalmers says there is a “robust” foreign investment screening regime, and Australia welcomes foreign investment, but it must be in “our national economic interest”.
There are strict rules and thresholds that apply to people purchasing agricultural or commercial land in Australia …
Obviously we see these sorts of cases pop up from time to time. We spend time analysing those cases and work out whether a change is necessary. The system is robust overall. We’ve made recent changes.
Updated
Monique Ryan questions health minister over medical research funding
Back to the house: Monique Ryan gets the next cross-bench question, asking the health minister, Mark Butler:
The Medical Research Future Fund was set up to be a $20bn fund, which was to disperse a billion dollars a year. It’s now worth $24bn, but you’re spending only $650m a year, while our researchers are struggling with cost pressures and geopolitical uncertainties. Will you release this funding?
Butler discusses the benefits of the funding for Australian medical research, but he won’t say whether more of the funding will be unlocked.
It’s a point that Ryan notices too, making a point of order to ask the minister to answer the actual question. But speaker Milton Dick says Butler is being relevant.
Butler says the spending cap of $650m was put in place under the previous government, but that figure can be reviewed under the upcoming national strategy for health and medical research.
A draft of that strategy is due to be published very shortly, and I’m sure there will be a discussion about the maximum allocation.
Updated
Senate debate kicks off with ‘mean girls’ scuffle
Meanwhile, over in the lesser-known, lesser-watched question time in the Senate, debate has kicked off with a scuffle.
The Liberal senator Jane Hume asks the government what assurances Labor can offer elderly Australians that there won’t be changes this term that will affect their superannuation balances.
The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, begins delivering her answer, but as usual, the art of political performance takes hold and the interjections begin.
Hume says, “Why is it always that the mean girls go personal?” before having to withdraw the comment.
Gallagher begins but pauses to say she is “kind of struck” by the “mean girls” comment.
I always expect better from you but there you go.
Updated
O’Brien pushes Albanese to stop Chalmers’ spending spree, PM ducks question before treasurer responds with zinger
Ted O’Brien is back and asks the prime minister whether he will “insist” that the government introduce quantifiable fiscal rules to stop Jim Chalmers’ spending spree. O’Brien says:
I refer to the Treasurer’s claim in his previous answer he has a fiscal rule to control spend is to bank most of the upward revision in revenue. According to his own pre-election budget, the upward revision in revenue was $8bn. He plans to blow the lot. Plus, another $26bn.
Albanese says he “insists” Chalmers keeps doing “great work”.
We have our first point of order for the day: O’Brien says the question was whether Albanese will “insist that his Treasurer introduces fiscal rules”. Milton Dick tells the PM to stay relevant.
Albanese says some similar lines, and then Jim Chalmers takes the mic, ending with this zinger:
We will stack up our record on responsible economic management against those opposite any day. And I hope that these questions continue. Because when I was told that the member for Fairfax gave a speech about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I confess that the word Wonka was almost the word that came to mind.
Updated
A brief interjection here: this is possibly the most tame I have ever seen question time.
While one Labor backbencher was booted out, the opposition hasn’t made a single point of order.
It’s also meant minimal interjection or judgment from the usually very sassy speaker, Milton Dick.
Updated
O’Brien and Chalmers exchange barbs on fiscal rules
Ted O’Brien changes the subject to the budget, and asks Jim Chalmers a short and sharp question:
Will the treasurer introduce quantifiable fiscal rules to contain his spending spree?
Chalmers says he’s “delighted” that O’Brien has asked this question and uses it to take a shot at him. Chalmers claims the three fiscal rules the opposition took to the election were:
Number one, higher taxes, number two, bigger deficits, number three, more debt.
We consider our fiscal rules before every budget, Mr Speaker. Those rules are important but what matters more than that are the outcomes.
Updated
Melbourne backbencher booted as opposition again accuses Labor of copying
Back to the opposition benches, the new Grey MP, Tom Venning, says again that the government is copying the opposition’s housing policy. He says the opposition welcomes the vote in confidence of Coalition policy, but asks whether the PM will admit that Labor’s policies aren’t working.
Before Albanese can answer, we have our first booting of QT!
Tim Watts, a Melbourne backbencher gets thrown out of the chamber. Watts chuckles, and Milton Dick says: “You might be laughing, but it’s not funny.”
Albanese argues again that the Coalition seems split on the issue because Andrew Bragg, the shadow housing minister, has called Labor’s announcements “crazy ideas”.
The member suggests that maybe his shadow housing minister was wrong or this was ambiguous, but it doesn’t sound ambiguous to me as a result of our announcement. Andrew Bragg said ‘we will work to try and stop these crazy ideas coming in to existence’ – that was actually his response.
Bragg has criticised the 5% deposit scheme for being not being income capped, and has said it means the children of billionaires will have access to the scheme.
Updated
Wilkie asks government about ‘failing’ insurance industry
Andrew Wilkie gets the first question from the cross-bench this afternoon. He asks what the government is doing about the “failing” insurance industry:
Health insurance premiums are sky high but returns to policyholders are at rock bottom. While payments to private hospitals are in fact still so bad that many are in financial distress or closing. Meanwhile, for property insurance, premiums are going through the roof and vast areas are being declared uninsurable.
So what’s the government doing about this?
Daniel Mulino, the assistant treasurer, takes the call. He starts with property insurance, which he says was the subject of a parliamentary inquiry last term, resulting in 86 recommendations, many of which he claims are being acted on.
The general insurance code of conduct is now going to be approved by Asic … In addition, the general insurance code of conduct will be enforceable going forward once it is redesigned by the industry in consultation with other stakeholders. They are measures which … will make a real difference to consumers.
Updated
Albanese bites back after Leys calls economic roundtable a ‘three-day talk fest’ that failed to offer relief
Sussan Ley is back at the mic and again calls the economic roundtable a “three-day talk fest”. She says it didn’t offer any real relief for Australians, and accuses the government of chasing hard-working Australians for their money by leaving the door open to increasing taxes.
Anthony Albanese lists through the government’s cost of living relief, including energy bill subsidies, increasing government-paid parental leave, pushing the Fair Work Commission to raise the minimum wage and cutting Hecs debts by 20%.
I find it extraordinary that we get asked a question in this place about cost of living and what assistance my government is giving. Because on the issue of tax, [which] was also raised … the stage 3 changes that we put in place to make sure all 14 million Australians got tax cuts, those opposite, including the leader of the opposition, said they should wind it back.
Then on March 25, this treasurer introduced tax cuts … [for] the year after. Those opposite not only voted against it, they said that they would introduce legislation into this parliament to increase the taxes for all 14 million Australians.
Updated
It’s going to be a housing dominated QT today, because the first dixer from Josh Burns, the special envoy for homelessness, asks Albanese what the government is doing to support home ownership.
Cue the rehearsed talking points.
Updated
Albanese says Ley ‘bold’ to claim credit for new housing policies as question time begins
It’s question time!
Sussan Ley starts it off, asking about the government’s housing policies announced over the weekend to pause the construction code and expand the 5% deposit scheme.
The opposition leader asks why it took a three-day “talk fest” to come up with two policies the Coalition had already come up with.*
*a note here: the policies are similar, but slightly different (the PM also had to explain this on morning media).
Albanese stands up and says Ley is “bold” to call the policies Coalition ideas. He then accuses the Coalition of working to oppose and abolish Labor’s housing programs, such as the Housing Australia Future Fund.
Right around the country, people are benefitting from the Housing Australia Future Fund, which will build social and affordable homes. They opposed it, like they opposed the Help to Buy program, which is about shared equity schemes. Now, on the increased home ownership with the 5% deposit, this is what Andrew Bragg, the shadow minister for housing, has had to say: ‘We will work to try and stop these crazy ideas coming into existence.’ That is what they’ve had to say.
Updated
Education minister moves to legislate national code to address gender based violence on university campuses
The education minister, Jason Clare, is moving to legislate a code for tertiary education institutions to better respond to, and prevent, gender based violence.
The legislation follows multiple student surveys in recent years, finding that an alarming number of students experienced sexual assault on campus.
The national higher education code was a recommendation from an action plan addressing gender-based violence in higher education, released last year. It will set rules for higher education and student accommodation providers to embed a whole-of-organisation approach to prevent and respond to gender based violence.
The latest Universities Australia national student safety survey, undertaken in 2021, found one in 6 students experienced sexual harassment since starting university, and one in 20 experienced sexual assault.
Last week, the peak higher education body confirmed it would hold another survey, to be released in 2026.
A report into consent laws, released in 2023, found the process of making complaints to universities and the tertiary regulator, TEQSA, and how complaints were subsequently dealt with, caused great trauma to victim-survivors of sexual violence.
Updated
NSW planning minister: ‘collective responsibility’ to support housing development
Returning to NSW budget estimates, the planning minister, Paul Scully, has responded to a question about comments he made describing those who have objected to the government’s housing changes in their suburbs as “un-Sydney-like” and accused them of ignoring their “collective responsibility”:
I think collective responsibility is something we’ve got. We’ve got a situation where we’ve got geographic divides, social divides, and social exclusion … as a result of a sustained lack of building of homes in NSW, particularly in Sydney.
We haven’t faced a situation where every day thousands of people are being asked to travel from the west to the east largely, and provide services in the city, and in suburbs where they’ve largely got no chance of living in, unless we expand supply.
Every part of our community, whether it’s in and around Woollahra, in Wollongong, in West Wyalong or anywhere else … has a part of that responsibility.
The NSW government has not yet specified what proportion of the 10,000 homes slated for development around Woollahra and Edgecliff will be affordable.
Updated
Housing Australia website back up after earlier crash
Earlier, we reported that Housing Australia’s website had crashed after the government announced an October start date for its 5% deposit scheme.
The website now appears to be working normally, touch wood.
Updated
Labor and Coalition clash over net zero repeal bill – video
You can have a watch of some of that debate on the repeal net zero bill here:
Updated
‘This is not Barnaby’s bill’ says Joyce on net zero repeal bill
Barnaby Joyce can’t get enough of the media, as he tries to undermine Australia’s climate targets.
He’s back on Sky News today, after the house briefly debated his bill to repeal the 2050 target this morning.
He says he’s happy to keep debating the bill during the time sectioned off in parliament to debate private members’ bills, if Labor also keeps putting its own MPs up to criticise it.
But he says the bill isn’t about him (despite commentary that the legislation will damage the leadership of both the Nationals’ David Littleproud and the Liberals’ Sussan Ley.)
It’s not about me, this is not Barnaby’s bill, this is a bill that I just happened to be the author [of].
Updated
Housing Australia website crashes as Albanese announces October start for deposit scheme
Housing Australia is working to fix a website outage, says minister Clare O’Neil.
In a post on X, the minister said:
Please hold on while they resolve the issue ASAP.
The ABC has reported that the website had crashed, and O’Neil says she’s delighted to see there’s “so much interest” in the site, after the government’s announcement about an October start date for its 5% deposit scheme.
It’s fantastic that Australians are so interested in getting a home of their own under Labor’s 5% Deposit Program.
— Clare O'Neil MP (@ClareONeilMP) August 25, 2025
In fact there’s so much interest that it’s slowing down the Housing Australia website!
Please hold on while they resolve the issue ASAP. pic.twitter.com/HjBolv0jHJ
Updated
Nimbys, yimbys and the fight over who gets a back yard
There’s been plenty of pollies weighing in to the debate about development in NSW this morning, as the commonwealth government made its announcement of bringing forward the expansion of the 5% deposit scheme.
So what is going on in NSW – who are the nimbys and who are the yimbys?
My colleagues at the Guardian have had a very in-depth look for you, which you can read here:
And while you’re at it – here’s some photos of Anthony Albanese and housing minister Clare O’Neil at a housing estate in Canberra this morning. (Toto might be feeling a bit jealous right about now …)
Updated
Brisbane city council ‘unlawfully discriminated’ against Extinction Rebellion, court finds
Brisbane city council “unlawfully discriminated” against protest group Extinction Rebellion, a court has found.
Councillors voted in October 2019 to ban the group from booking meeting rooms in council libraries, on party lines. The decision followed a series of protests in which members glued themselves to Brisbane roads during peak hour, deliberately causing congestion. About 129 people were arrested, the court heard.
The decision was challenged in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal in 2020. The council was represented by barrister Douglas Quale and instructed by law firm Wotton Kearney. Extinction Rebellion member Miree le Roy represented herself.
Qcat member Peter Roney determined that the council had “unlawfully discriminated against the applicant” on the basis of her “political belief and activity” and ordered it cease enforcing its resolution. He ruled:
The right to peaceful protest, including in ways that disrupt traffic in peak hour and cause inconvenience, even mayhem during peak-hour traffic … does not lose the protections against discrimination on the basis of political belief or activity.
Updated
NSW planning minister quizzed on ‘plan B’ housing options
Turning to state politics for a moment, the NSW planning minister, Paul Scully, is fronting budget estimates today, where he has been quizzed about “plan B” options after members of the Australian Turf Club voted against selling the Rosehill racecourse site to make way for 25,000 new homes in May.
Following yesterday’s announcement, questions have unsurprisingly focused on Woollahra. Scully couldn’t say when or where in government the plan to revive the suburbs train station and open up Woollahra and neighbouring Edgecliff for thousands more homes began.
In 2023, the NSW government said advice about water infrastructure constraints at Edgecliff prevented it from being part of the government’s transport-oriented development (Tod) plans. Scully says a new study by Sydney Water overturned the earlier advice: “They had a reexamination of it, and there was capacity.”
Although a metro station at Rosehill has now been ruled out, Scully says a draft rezoning plan for more density there and in neighbouring Camellia will be ready by the end of this year. In response to a question about higher density in Glebe Island and Bays Precinct, and the potential loss of marine infrastructure in Sydney Harbour, Scully does not rule out potential changes.
At the moment there’s no decision of government on any change to port operations, so the work continues on Bays West as it would ordinarily. If there is a decision of government, one way or another, that will influence any further outcomes.
But Scully rules out any current plans to relocate Long Bay jail to allow for new developments at the site. “It’s housing at the moment,” he says, referencing the prison’s 1,200 inmates.
Updated
Climate change ‘a challenge and an opportunity’, PM says
Asked further about whether the government would be “ambitious” on that 2035 goal, Albanese pointed out the contrast between the positions of his Labor government and the divided approach of Coalition opposition.
What we’ll always do is to support action on climate change, and there are two vast different positions when it comes to climate change. You have a government that understands that climate change is a challenge, but it’s also an opportunity.
If you get rid of Net Zero, you are saying climate change is not real, and you do not need to do anything about it. You have Barnaby Joyce, whose private member’s bill will be debated in the parliament this morning, openly saying that climate change is not real. That’s effectively what they are saying.
Albanese noted the resolutions of Liberal and National conferences calling for an end to net zero.
My government will act on climate change. We, of course, have serious policies, but we also recognise that it’s not just about the environment. There’s an economic opportunity to acting as well, growing new industries, growing new jobs and expanding our economy as well.
Updated
Albanese says Labor will announce 2035 emissions target ‘when there’s an announcement’
Anthony Albanese has taken a shot at the Coalition on climate change, saying that to scrap net zero policies is akin to “saying climate change is not real”.
The Labor government again allowed debate on Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce’s bill to junk the net zero by 2050 plan, a policy pledge the Coalition is still signed up to. Albanese said the government would announce its 2035 emissions target at some stage in future, and wouldn’t countenance what that number would look like.
We’ll announce this when there’s an announcement, and we’ll put out that statement after cabinet makes a decision, and we’ll announce it.
Updated
Albanese was asked further, “what is your confidence in securing a meeting with President Trump?”
The prime minister responded:
I refer to my previous 5,324 answers to that same question.
Albanese has said he will travel to the United States in September for the UN general assembly, and also has further international trips in his calendar before the end of the year, where he will likely cross paths with Trump one or more times.
Updated
Anthony Albanese says he will meet with Donald Trump “over coming months”, as questions still linger over when their long-awaited face-to-face will occur.
The prime minister held a press conference in Canberra this morning. Asked about when he would meet US president Trump, Albanese responded:
We’ll have meetings with President Trump.
A number of events over the coming months – we’re about to enter summit season, and I look forward to discussions continuing face to face, as they have been constructive when I’ve had discussions with President Trump up to now.
It’s a good thing. There are a range of ministers meeting with their counterparts. That’s a good thing.
Updated
Over in the Senate they’ve moved on from the net zero debate to other issues with One Nation’s Malcolm Roberts currently talking about sick leave in the armed forces as part of the Defence Housing Amendment Bill.
Dai Le presents bill to reduce university fees for humanities subjects
There are a few private members’ bills being put forward this morning.
A moment ago, Zali Steggall presented her bill to establish regular and independent national climate risk assessments – which you can read a bit more about here.
And just before that, as Sarah Basford Canales brought you, independents including Andrew Wilkie and Helen Haines, along with the Greens, presented a bill in response to the robodebt royal commission that would reinstate six-year limits for the recovery of government debt and place a duty of care on the department to prioritise the needs of social security recipients.
Now Dai Le, the independent MP for Fowler in western Sydney, is presenting her bill to change the Job Ready Graduates (JRG) program. Le introduced this bill in the last term – which wasn’t supported by the government, and is trying to get it up again. The bill would reduce fees for humanities subjects. She says:
This policy [JRG] hasn’t worked the way it was intended, students are not abandoning arts degrees en masse. They continue to pursue their passion, but they’re now saddled with debts that are much heavier and burdensome than before.
And who feels this impact the most, it’s students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, Indigenous students, women and those from non-English speaking backgrounds.
Updated
Santos takeover deal delayed again as profits slump
The Australian oil and gas giant Santos has announced a profits slump and further delays in its proposed takeover by the investment arm of an Abu Dhabi state-owned entity.
The company extracted more oil from its Western Australian and Papua New Guinea projects in the first half of 2025 than the same period in 2024, more than offsetting a production slip in the Cooper Basin. Oil prices fell though, dragging net profit in the half year down by a third to $439m.
Santos is facing a $30bn takeover bid that would see Australian gas assets owned by a consortium led by a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company if successful.
It today agreed to the consortium’s request for more time to negotiate the deal, including protection for Santos shareholders in case the transaction takes even longer to go through, with agreement now required by 19 September.
Santos had already accepted a previous extension request earlier in August, which expired on Friday. The consortium told Santos it had confirmed again on Sunday it had not found reason to withdraw its proposal.
Even if the bid was agreed on by then, it would need the signoff of Australia’s treasurer, Jim Chalmers, whose “captain’s call” would be the final hurdle, analysts say. Read more from Jonathan Barrett here:
Updated
Private member’s bill implementing outstanding robodebt royal commission recommendations to be introduced
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie and the Greens will introduce a private member’s bill today to implement the outstanding recommendations of the robodebt royal commission released more than two years ago.
The private member’s bill, which will be seconded by Helen Haines in the lower house, is unlikely to get off the ground without government and opposition support but would reinstate six-year limits for the recovery of government debt and place a duty of care on the department to prioritise the needs of social security recipients.
It would also restrict the type of decisions which can be made or automated without human oversight and better protection for those on welfare experiencing hardship from receiving debt notices.
Penny Allman-Payne, the Greens’ social services spokesperson, said:
This legislation is ready to go, the Greens are urging Labor to walk the walk on robodebt and end the cruelty in the welfare system for good.
In July, the federal court ruled the social services department could estimate a welfare recipient’s income using its preferred method, meaning thousands of recipients could now be liable for debts totalling more than $1bn and dating back decades.
The federal government is still considering its options, including whether it will set aside some of these debts or pursue them.
Updated
Labor MP accuses LNP of ‘saying the quiet part out loud’ as net zero repeal bill debate kicks off
Llew O’Brien, a Queensland LNP MP, speaks on the repeal net zero bill first, and starts by saying that climate change “is real”, but that net zero is “economic sabotage”. O’Brien supported a Queensland LNP motion calling on the federal Coalition to abandon net zero at the party’s state convention over the weekend.
He says again that not supporting the “blind obsession” with net zero doesn’t mean you don’t believe in climate change.
What is real is the lives of business people who are trying to survive in this country, who are going insolvent … it is crippling our productivity, it’s seeing our manufacturing go offshore because we’re not competitive.
In response Susan Templeman – a Labor MP – says O’Brien is “saying the quiet part out loud”.
The Nationals want to party like it’s 1999. To be fair the Howard government in 1999 was in theory supporting action on climate change but then changed its mind on supporting the Kyoto protocol.
Updated
The bells are ringing!
Parliament is back in action, and as we know, first up on the agenda in the House is debate on Barnaby Joyce’s repeal net zero bill.
I’ll just remind you that this debate is an entirely cynical and political move by Labor to wedge the Coalition, as it figures out its energy policy.
From first observation, the Coalition benches look pretty thin this morning ahead of the debate.
You can read a bit more background on that from my colleague Sarah Basford Canales here:
Updated
Australia’s greenhouse emissions down 28% over past 20 years, new figures show
Australia’s emissions are trending down, having dropped 1.4% in the year to March 2025, according to the government’s latest figures.
The Quarterly Update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory shows emissions in the year to March were 28.1% below emissions for the year to June 2005.
Interestingly, emissions per capita are 47.2% lower than in the year to June 2005.
The report, which looks at how Australia is tracking against its emissions targets, said that carbon emissions from electricity generation decreased by 0.8% in this quarter compared with the last quarter.
Why’s that? Data from the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) says that it’s due to increases in wind and rooftop solar generation and “a modest increase in hydro generation”.
Updated
Australia’s gun lobby says it’s ‘winning’ as firearm numbers surge
The gun lobby in Australia is mobilising.
The lobby claims it is “winning” the fight against Australia’s longstanding crackdown on firearms, as experts say current laws are “losing control”.
There are now more than 4m guns in the community – almost double the number recorded in the years after the Port Arthur massacre that prompted a national crackdown
You can read more of my brilliant colleague Sarah Martin’s reporting here:
Updated
Marles headed to US to discuss Aukus with Pete Hegseth
The defence minister, Richard Marles, is headed to the United States this week, and is set to talk about the Aukus nuclear agreement with his counterpart, Pete Hegseth.
Marles said in a statement he would hold talks with the defence secretary, other senior Trump administration officials and defence industry figures during the visit.
Marles said Washington and Canberra wanted to promote collaboration and work for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo Pacific region.
I was pleased to speak with Secretary Hegseth at the Shangri-La Dialogue in May, and welcome the opportunity in Washington to build on our valuable discussions of shared defence and security matters.
Given the shared challenges we face in our region, I look forward to reaffirming our commitment to the Alliance and advancing our strong partnership.
Updated
Joyce’s bill to end net zero ‘defying the science’, PM says
There’ll be plenty of drama in the house this morning when Barnaby Joyce’s end net zero bill is debated.
The government voted to debate it at the end of the last sitting fortnight, to wedge the Coalition. When voting on whether to put it on the agenda, only Joyce voted with Labor to debate it, where the rest of the Coalition opposed it.
At his press conference a bit earlier, Anthony Albanese stuck the boot in to the Coalition and Joyce.
If you get rid of net zero, you are saying climate change is not real, and you do not need to do anything about it … It is defying what we see happening around us and defying the science.
But Labor’s not coming out of this debate unscathed, and is still under enormous pressure to announce an ambitious 2035 target. Albanese won’t say yet when that target will be made public.
We’ll announce it when there’s an announcement … What we’ll always do is to support action on climate change.
Updated
Lambie says nimbys should ‘get stuffed’
Jacqui Lambie says negative gearing needs to be on the agenda when we talk about housing.
Speaking to Sky News, Lambie says she doesn’t understand why the PM isn’t talking about the generous tax incentive.
Saying those people that are on it ‘you can grandfather what you have’, but any new people coming into this market, ‘[the] maximum you can have is two negative geared properties’. I don’t understand why [Albanese’s] not discussing this, apart from his lack of courage.
Asked whether it should be on Labor’s policy platform for the next election, Lambie says Albanese needs to pull more levers to temper house prices and get more houses built.
She also tells nimbys to “get stuffed”, and says that the government needs to build more public housing.
Updated
Bill for federal climate risk assessment to enter parliament today
This morning, independent Zali Steggall introduce her national framework for adaptation bill. It will require the government to undertake independent national climate change risks assessments every five years, develop a national adaptation plan, provide an annual progress report and release a report into the security threats of climate change by the Office of National Intelligence.
Be prepared for a bit of whiplash because that introduction will come soon after debate on Barnaby Joyce’s end net zero bill.
The government has been working on a climate risk assessment – but Steggall wants a more regular one.
Australia’s approach to climate risks is piecemeal and left to the whims of whichever party is in power. While we wait for the government to release its ‘one-off’ National Climate Risk Assessment, this bill ensures future climate risks assessments are independent of government and released in a timely and transparent manner.
The Greens will be pushing for that risk assessment, which is being worked on by assistant minister for climate change and energy, Josh Wilson, to be released through the Senate this morning. Greens senator Barbara Pocock told a doorstop a bit earlier:
We’ve been waiting for nine months for this detail to be released, and we hear it’s bad news. News of more frequent floods, more frequent droughts, and an end to our coral reefs.
Updated
PM to seek meeting with Trump as ‘summit season’ approaches
Anthony Albanese and Clare O’Neil have taken a venture out to the Canberra ‘burbs this morning, to spruik the 5% deposit scheme.
But the question on everybody’s lips (and by everybody I mean journalists, the parliament and people interested in international affairs) is when Anthony Albanese is going to meet face-to-face with Donald Trump.
The Coalition has been critical of Albanese for not having secured a meeting – particularly when the Aukus pact and tariffs are on the line.
Albanese tells the press conference that summit season is coming, and there will be opportunities for a sit-down.
[There are] a number of events over the coming months, we’re about to enter summit season, and I look forward to discussions continuing face to face, as they have been constructive when I’ve had discussions with President Trump up to now.
Updated
Bragg says Labor underwriting 'extremely wealthy' with first home buyer scheme
The Coalition isn’t a fan of the government’s 5% deposit scheme, and Andrew Bragg, the opposition housing spokesperson, says it’s going to turn the government into a major property developer.
Speaking to RN Breakfast, Bragg says the scheme shouldn’t be a free-for-all:
This is an uncapped scheme which is available to billionaires or the children of billionaires if they want to use a government program. I think we’re getting to a point where Australia is becoming a ridiculous nation where the taxpayer is underwriting mortgage insurance schemes for extremely wealthy people.
On pausing changes to the construction code, and streamlining environmental approvals for housing, Bragg says both were Coalition policies.
He says the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act has been “very anti housing development”
Just because a bird flew over a housing lot in 1971 shouldn’t mean we can’t have houses built today. And that’s frankly what’s happening now.
Updated
Pacific nations will ‘make their own decisions’ on recognising Palestinian statehood, PM says
Albanese says the government will continue pushing for a two-state solution, as Israel pushes ahead with its military campaign in Gaza.
Sara asks whether there’s more the government can do to help stop the conflict. Albanese says Labor has advocated “directly to the Israeli government, but also through our vote in international forums” to get aid into Gaza, advocate for a ceasefire, and get the hostages released.
But what about other nations across the Pacific region?
We know New Zealand and several other Pacific nations have so far not joined Australia and other nations including France and the UK in recognising Palestinian statehood.
Albanese won’t bite when asked whether Australia has raised Palestinian recognition to those other nations.
They’re sovereign states, and I welcome their sovereignty … and they’ll make their own decisions. Australia will make our decisions without concern for anything other than our national interest and for doing the right thing.
Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Sharren Haskel, who has been a vocal critic of Australia, will soon be visiting the Pacific region – which you can read more about here:
Updated
Roundtable about ‘future issues’ while government focused on delivering election promises, Albanese says
Moving on to the productivity roundtable from last week, the question goes to how much appetite Labor has for reform that it didn’t take to the last election.
It’s a big question in the political sphere at the moment – whether a party’s mandate is just for what it promises at an election, or goes much further.
Labor has seemed pretty unwilling to introduce tax policy above the changes to superannuation tax concessions. Albanese says:
Well, the economic roundtable wasn’t about just this year or this term, it was about future issues, enabling them to be raised in a way that wasn’t playing the old rule-in, rule-out game. What we are focused on, in the immediate sense, is the reforms that we took to the election.
Sara asks the PM about a warning from the Grattan Institute CEO – who was at the roundtable – saying Australians will have to expect lower service delivery from the government if taxes aren’t raised. Albanese accuses her of “academic” speak.
Academics talk in the academic world. What I do is live in the real world, and in the real world my government’s focused on delivering for people.
Updated
RN Breakfast’s Sally Sara points out that the Coalition had its own policy to pause the national construction code, which it announced during the election, and which Labor had criticised.
So what’s different now?
Albanese says Labor’s plan is to pause changes to the code until mid-2029, rather than the Coalition’s plan which would have been a pause for up to 10 years.
They had a plan that was for longer, but at the same time, they were slashing support for housing.
Updated
Bringing forward expanded first home buyer deposit scheme will make an 'enormous difference', Albanese says
Anthony Albanese says bringing the 5% deposit expansion forward by three months will make an “enormous” difference.
To quickly recap – the expansion removes the income caps, and means any first home buyer can access the scheme. It also increases the house price cap across the country (because we know how quickly those house price are rising).
On ABC’s RN Breakfast, Albanese’s running through the numbers, and the talking points. He says those using the scheme should avoid about $1.5bn in potential mortgage insurance costs over the next year.
I think this will make an enormous difference, together with the announcements that we’ve made on the weekend of pausing the National Construction Code for four years, more prefabricated housing, and the fast tracking of some 26,000 homes that have been stuck in the approvals process.
Updated
Nimby v Yimby debate over Woollahra station development
In the leafy suburbs of Woollahra in Sydney’s east (one of the most expensive suburbs in the country) – the housing debate is in full force.
The NSW government is looking at reviving the old unfinished Woollahra train station, which would open up higher density housing around it. Everyone’s weighing in this morning.
Clare O’Neil credits the premier, Chris Minns, for “stepping up” and showing some “mettle” against the nimbys (“not in my back yard” advocates).
Politicians in this country have to show some mettle on this one. This [Woollahra] is 8km from the city, it’s fantastically connected through public transport, it’s a place where lots of young people are going to want to live, and this is going to give them that opportunity.
Asked whether the community should just “suck it up”, O’Neil says she wouldn’t be quite so rude as to say it in that way, but essentially … yes they do.
Over on Sunrise, frontbencher Tanya Plibersek and Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce were tussling on the issue. Plibersek also welcomed the move by the Minns government.
You have to make sure that every part of a capital city is contributing to those housing targets. There is no free pass for some suburbs like Woollahra.
Joyce isn’t quite so enthusiastic, and accuses Plibersek of supporting the apartment constituents with all “the new shade they’re about to get”.
Read more on Sydney’s density battle in Daisy Dumas and Anne Davies’ story from the weekend:
Updated
Pausing national construction code will not mean increase in building defects, housing minister says
Clare O’Neil, the housing minister, is doing the media rounds this morning – touching down at ABC News Breakfast to promote the 5% deposit scheme.
But affordability is also linked to supply – another issue the government has to deal with.
The government has promised to build 1.2m homes over five years to June 2029, a target they’re currently behind on. They’re hoping announcements over the weekend to pause changes to the national construction code – cutting red tape – and reducing times for environmental approvals for housing will improve the trajectory. O’Neil said:
We committed to roll out 5% deposits to every single first home buyer in the country, we would do that on 1 January, but we can help people faster than that, so we’re bringing it forward to 1 October. This will help tens of thousands of more young people in the market every year.
Asked whether pausing the code will see an increase in building defects, O’Neil says the government would “never allow that to happen”.
What we’ve done on the construction code is say safety defects or issues that will cost consumers will be fixed. We’re freezing the code just for non-essential changes. If we find a safety problem in our building approach, we would not hesitate to fix that.
Updated
Labor brings forward 5% deposit scheme for first home buyers to 1 October
The 5% deposit scheme, where first home buyers can access a home with a smaller deposit guaranteed by the government, was a Labor election promise.
Currently, only a limited number of people are able to access the scheme, which is income tested. From 1 October, it’ll be accessible for all first home buyers – but only up to certain house price caps (so you can’t bid for a $2m Sydney house under the scheme).
In Sydney, that price cap is $1.5m, in Melbourne it’s $950,000 while in Brisbane it’s $1m.
The expanded access was due to come into effect on 1 January next year – but it’s been brought forward slightly.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese will be spruiking it to the media a bit later this morning.
Updated
Good morning
Krishani Dhanji here with you for the busy sitting week ahead.
After a week of the government’s economic roundtable, I’m sure politicians will be at their most productive today … but then again, perhaps not.
First up on the agenda in the House of Representatives today will be debating Barnaby Joyce’s bill to end net zero – which we know won’t get anywhere, but which Labor is using to split the Coalition (you can read a bit more on that here).
But in the wake of that roundtable, Labor has made a few housing announcements over the weekend, including a pause to the national construction code, and a start date for the expanded access to 5% deposits for first home buyers from 1 October (more details on that shortly).
I’ve got a large coffee, I hope you’ve got some caffeine too – let’s get this ball rolling.
