New One Nation MP asks about water security

One Nation MP David Farley from Farrer just asked a relatively practical question about Australia’s irrigated water capacity, asking if it’s “strong enough to secure Australia’s food supply” for both humans and stock operations in the event of the next prolonged drought.

The question was directed to the minister for emergency management, Kristy McBain, but she passed the baton to Tony Burke.

Burke pointed to the Murray–Darling Basin plan, saying Farley would be “more aware than most people in the chamber” that different regions had different water security concerns.

For example, in the southern areas of his electorate, there are areas which have very low water security. Whereas the licences in a place like Griffith on the Murrumbidgee tend to have very high water security.

PM grilled by Nationals MP on ‘Greens’ demand’ on tax

There’s lots of ruling in and ruling out questions from the Coalition today, but there’s no ruling in or ruling out answers from Labor.

Nationals MP Jamie Chaffey is next and asks Anthony Albanese if he will rule out “agreeing to the Greens’ demand to impose a tax on the family home?”

This time Albanese goes straight to the attack lines against Taylor’s answers on monoculturalism (how many times can I write monocultural in one day?).

The PM says:

I suspect that there might have been a change of mind from those opposite. Because earlier on, when the leader of the opposition gave a press conference and was asked at least six occasions about monoculturalism and whether he supported it or not, he was saying that he was opposed and they were going to reverse the legislation that’s before the Senate.

But what they’ve done is come into question time and they don’t seem to oppose anything that is going through the Senate, because what they’re doing is talking about everything but.

Chaffey tries to make a point of order on relevance because Albanese isn’t ruling in or ruling out a tax on the family home.

The speaker, Milton Dick, says the PM doesn’t have to give a yes or no answer.

Albanese spends the remainder of his time spruiking Labor’s housing policies.

‘One Nation tail wagging the Liberal and National party dog,’ says Albanese

The claws are well and truly out today; the government is not holding back on its attacks against the Coalition and Angus Taylor’s comments (or lack thereof) on multiculturalism.

Now before Liberal MP Melissa McIntosh can even start her question, Alison Penfold, the Nationals MP for Lyne, gets kicked out for interjecting too much.

McIntosh is asking a question now about Labor’s deal with the Greens, asking if the prime minister will rule out a demand from the party to “remove grandfathering on negative gearing”.

Albanese responds with criticism for the Coalition, pointing to the Liberal party’s pledges to repeal any tax changes should they be elected to leadership. The prime minister said:

What they chose to do was do what they consistently do, which was to just say no before they’ve seen any detail, before they’ve seen the legislation. And then now they’ve promised to repeal it.

He then goes hard on Taylor:

Unlike this leader of the opposition, who allows the One Nation tail to wag the Liberal and National party dog, what we do is we stand up for our values, and our values is to make sure, make sure that grandfathering is there in negative gearing and in the changes that we’ve made.

Wilson and Chalmers clash over super funds

Tim Wilson takes to the despatch box next, asking whether Australians can ever trust the treasurer again, because he previously said that Labor had no intention of stopping self-managed super funds from being able to borrow money to buy residential properties.

Here’s what Jim Chalmers said on 20 May 2025 when asked whether Labor would support banning those limited recourse borrowing arrangements by SMSFs as part of its negotiations with the Greens.

That’s not something that we’ve been considering … no doubt there’ll be discussions in the Senate about the superannuation changes but those discussions haven’t begun.

Chalmers says the changes will be grandfathered, and then takes a swipe at Wilson:

We know the member for Goldstein doesn’t want to make it easier for first–home buyers. We know he doesn’t support our efforts to cut taxes for workers, he doesn’t support our efforts to make the tax system fairer.

David Murray was appointed by those opposite to look at these arrangements, and he said that direct borrowing by super funds is inconsistent with the objectives of superannuation to be a savings vehicle for retirement income. The Murray inquiry said a prohibition would preserve the strengths and benefits of the super system.

The opposition tries to make a point of order on relevance, saying the question was very specific (it wasn’t) which Milton Dick swats away.

Chalmers somehow ends his answer talking about petrol prices.

Taylor says he can’t define multiculturalism

Angus Taylor is asked about Pauline Hanson’s comments that multiculturalism has failed and that Australia should be “monocultural”, but he says that they’re all “vague words”.

The opposition leader is tested several times by reporters at his press conference on whether the Coalition still supports multiculturalism, and whether he agrees with Hanson’s claims.

He gives a somewhat vague answer himself.

You explain to me what you mean by these – so there’s all these vague words running around, but I tell you what, the one thing I want all of us to share is those core Australian values …

We can have people from all over the world, of all races and religions in this country, but they must share those core values. I don’t know how much simpler it can be than that.

He’s not exactly separating himself from Hanson’s words. Taylor’s immigration policy includes enforcing Australia’s values statement that visa holders sign.

In pictures: a look at Canberra’s corridors and courtyards of power

Following on from previous post …

The scandal began on 24 March when senator Deborah O’Neill, under parliamentary privilege, shared a whistleblower’s testimony that the consulting firm had repeatedly leaked client information internally to win lucrative contracts for audits.

Top KPMG partners Eileen Hoggett and Paul Rogers, whose resignations have been announced today, were named in parliament as having allegedly shared confidential information from a long-term audit client, Lendlease.

The whistleblower also alleged inappropriate handling of documents from Macquarie Group, Westpac and Dexus dating back to 2023, O’Neill said

KPMG initially said the allegations had not been substantiated, but in subsequent weeks determined partners had leaked Lendlease’s confidential information and another partner had made an inappropriate remark suggesting colleagues look at Dexus’ confidential information.

You can read more here:

KPMG’s interim CEO promises ‘necessary and immediate’ governance changes amid alleged leaks scandal

Back to KPMG’s alleged leaks scandal, here’s some more on the changes the consultancy firm has promised.

Today, KPMG Australia’s interim chief executive, Stan Stavros, announced the firm would undergo:

- A major governance restructure, including the appointment of its first independent chair, and additional independent directors.

- An immediate external “lessons-learned review” into the whistleblower matter and related failings

- A comprehensive action plan focused on governance, culture and ethics, and controls

He said these measures were in addition to the independent review previously announced by the commonwealth finance department, which KPMG welcomed and would cooperate with fully.

Stavros said:

The decisions announced today are necessary and immediate. We did not meet the standards expected of us, and we recognise the impact this has had on the whistleblower, our people, our clients and the community.

While these issues are serious and require decisive action, they do not define the vast majority of our Partners and people. Every day, our people act with integrity, do the right thing and deliver high-quality work for clients, communities and the public interest.

Our responsibility now is to ensure stronger systems, clearer accountability and better leadership. We will keep clients, people and stakeholders updated on our progress and hold ourselves accountable as we drive meaningful, lasting change.

NSW treasurer addresses parliament as budget handed down

The NSW treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, is speaking to parliament as he hands down this year’s state budget.

Mookhey says this year’s budget has been “driven by our people’s concerns”:

The concerns of our families who today pay more for their mortgages; more for their groceries; more for their fuel; and more every time a bill arrives.

The cares of our workers and businesses, who have seen a war on the other side of the world push up the price of oil; and the price of oil push up the price of nearly everything else”.

As part of this year’s budget, which will see the state deliver a deficit of $2.3bn in 2026-27, amid the global oil shock and rising interest rates, the government has introduced modest cost-of-living measures, including a freeze on public transport fares over 12 months.

You can read the full story here:

Over in the Senate, standing orders were suspended earlier to move a motion to delay the response to the NDIS inquiry.

As part of negotiations with Labor to support the negative gearing and capital gains tax changes, the Greens secured an eight-week extension to a Senate inquiry into the NDIS changes and several amendments.

Greens senator Jordon Steele-John moved the motion to push back the inquiry’s due date to 14 August.

Fuel excise extension and NDIS delays will cost budget ‘a few hundred million dollars’

Before the press conference wraps up, the treasurer is asked how much money the fuel excise cut extension (announced last week) and the delay to the NDIS reforms will cost the budget.

The answer: the fuel excise extension will cost around $400m – which Jim Chalmers says the states and territories will chip in for.

On the NDIS changes, Chalmers doesn’t have an exact number, but it’s certainly not chump change.

The NDIS minister, Mark Butler, has indicated the NDIS cost is in the order of a few hundred million dollars.

Commonwealth working constructively with states on gun buybacks

The government’s promise for a national gun buyback has received a colder response from the states than Labor might have initially anticipated.

But Anthony Albanese says he’s been in direct contact with the NSW police minister and that he’s “confident” the commonwealth will work constructively with states and territories.

I’ve had direct contact with the police minister, Yasmin Catley, and I’m confident that we will work through those issues constructively. The gun buyback is important. It is important that as many states as possible participate.

We have been flexible in the framework that has been put forward by Tony Burke in dealing with states and territories, and we’ll work constructively with states and territories, as we always do, we had a very constructive meeting of the national cabinet yesterday.

Albanese calls Hanson’s monoculture push a ‘nonsense argument’

Jumping back into the prime minister’s press conference, Anthony Albanese is asked about Pauline Hanson’s comments that Australia should be “monocultural” not multicultural.

The PM calls it a “nonsense argument” and says that from the first fleet to our Socceroos team (who we will all be watching at 12pm AEST on Friday), Australia has always been multicultural.

We had from the arrival of the first fleet, not everyone was one [culture].

When we look at the Socceroos, we see examples of that rich culture, people who are proud of their ethnicity, of who they are, but also who are proud Australians in representing our great nation and the whole country will be cheering them on on Friday at 12 o’clock, and I hope that the country stops for a little bit during that time.

It’s who we are, so it’s really a nonsense argument to go back to something that was actually never there.

Is a $1m home affordable for young people?

Reporter Evelyn Manfield asks the prime minister whether he believes that $1m, the typical price for an apartment in the suburb of Marrickville, in the PM’s electorate of Grayndler, is “affordable” for young people.

As a former Sydneysider myself, for those unfamiliar with that particular terrain, Marrickville is what I would describe as an industrial-chic suburb with lots of bars, micro-brewries, cafes and lots of young people who really want to live there (many of them rent).

The PM can’t really answer the question:

Well, it depends on what their income is. It depends on all of their status, which is there. So people are, you know, we want to give young people a fair crack at owning their own home, that is what these are aimed at doing.

Jim Chalmers then gets a follow-up question on whether older people looking to sell their homes should be concerned that prices in some areas are falling.

He says that prices were falling before the budget was released.

Whether you’re talking about house prices or about auction clearance rates, we were seeing some of them begin to soften even before the budget, and that’s because there are a number of factors at play when it comes to auctions and when it comes to house prices, including movements in interest rates, global and domestic economic conditions, and also tax settings.

Butler ‘utterly convinced’ his NDIS reforms are the right package

My colleague, Josh Butler, follows up and asks Mark Butler – the health and NDIS minister – whether the eight-week extension will see any further changes to the package, or if the government will spend the entire time trying to sell those changes to the public and people with a disability.

Butler doubles down and says he still believes these reforms are the right way to go.

He says he gets it’s a hard change but the government’s job is to “clarify exactly what that impact will be”.

I’m convinced is the right package of reforms. I mean, there are some minor changes at the edges that we’ve already announced over the course of this morning to particularly clarify our intention and to provide reassurance to people about what is going to change and what is not going to change, but I’m utterly convinced that the package of reform that we worked on for months, frankly … is the right package of changes.

Asked about concerns over automated decision-making included in the NDIS reforms, Butler says the government is “treading very carefully”.

We are treading very carefully into any use of automated decision-making … obviously, we’re taking advice from a range of bodies like the one that you’ve mentioned. I’ve made it very clear that any use of ADM would be simply about administrative processes, certainly not about anything more substantive than that.

PM and Butler stand firm against changes to NDIS reforms

Anthony Albanese is asked whether, after the longer inquiry process, Labor would be open to more changes to the NDIS reforms.

The prime minister says that when Labor was first elected into office, the disability insurance scheme was growing at 22% per year which was unsustainable, and that the reforms need to be made.

What we want to make sure is that reform occurs, so that everyone who needs the support at the NDIS with a disability receives the support that they need, but so that we get rid of and deal with some of the waste and anomalies, which are there, which don’t assist people with disabilities.

Neither he nor Mark Butler indicate that they will make other changes. Butler says that the extra time will help the government communicate the changes better to the disability community.

I, and many members of government are obviously engaging with people with disability to help to explain the government’s reasoning behind this package and to dispel some of the misapprehensions about what it’s going to mean for participants, and the extra eight weeks of the hearing will provide us with more opportunity to do that.

Butler adds the government is working with the states, who need to be on board for the changes to actually work.

Six-month delay on NDIS bill would have cost billions, Butler says

The health and NDIS minister, Mark Butler, who was also sitting at the negotiating table to land a deal with the Greens, confirms that there will be an eight-week extension to the NDIS inquiry process.

But Butler says he still believes that the changes are “absolutely the right package for the NDIS”.

He says the extension will allow the government to provide more assurances around the bill, as opposed to a six-month delay which was proposed by the Coalition which would have cost billions.

A six-month extension would cost the budget billions of dollars, but would also delay our ability to get those cost blowouts under control, to clear up eligibility rules, and to crack down on the fraud and the integrity issues that the community knows are there with the NDIS, and that is why we have agreed to an extension of this inquiry …

This is another opportunity for us to provide ongoing reassurances about our intentions around this package, and the degree to which this is an important reform to secure the long-term future of this important social program.

NDIS changes still ‘clear and present danger to the life and liberties of disabled people’, Steele-John says

Jordon Steele-John, the Greens NDIS spokesperson, says no matter what his party will not pass the NDIS bill, but they have secured some changes to it.

He says under the original reforms, the government could force people to undergo medical interventions before accessing the NDIS.

The protections that the Greens have secured ensure that these interventions cannot be restrictive practices, such as forced medication, and that they must be available through the public health system.

I am confident that these amendments will provide and have secured additional protections from what is in the legislation currently. Let me be clear, however, this legislation, while improved by these protections, still represents a clear and present danger to the life and liberties of disabled people.

Tax reform amendments will ‘take some demand out of the housing market’, McKim says

The Greens treasury spokesperson, Nick McKim, also piles on the criticism saying that the government met the once in a political generation opportunity in “classic Labor style with an abject lack of ambition.”

He explains a little more what the Greens have actually amended.

The Greens have wound back ministerial powers which McKim says would have allowed treasurer Chalmers, or any future treasurer, to make changes to the laws, including eligibility for carve outs.

On the other change, McKim says there will now be a ban on people using their self-managed super funds to purchase residential properties:

This has been a recommendation that’s consistently been made by financial stability reviews … This will take some demand out of the housing market, and it will mean that there is less opportunity for people in self-managed super funds to show up to auctions and use their tax advantages to outbid renters and prospective first home buyers.

Tax changes ‘small step in the right direction’, say Greens

The Greens have made a deal with the government on negative gearing and capital gains tax changes, but they’re letting you know they’re still not happy with all the settings.

Speaking to reporters in parliament, Greens leader Larissa Waters says the government has left $33bn on the table by allowing existing negative gearing arrangements to continue (according to their modelling).

Despite some ongoing disappointment, Waters says the Greens will still support the government to pass the bill this sitting fortnight.

What a missed opportunity to actually step up and fix the housing crisis.

On balance, this package is a small step in the right direction. It is a small step. It could have been so much better, but it is a small step in the right direction, and the Greens will vote to see it pass the parliament this fortnight.

On the NDIS changes, Waters repeats that the Greens have secured an extension to the inquiry of eight weeks, but the aim is still to see the bill withdrawn entirely.

She says:

This government has proposed the biggest cut to a social support program in the history of the parliament. They are punching down on people with a disability because they didn’t have the guts to raise revenue with a gas export tax, or by cancelling Aukus, or buying just one less second-hand submarine from Donald Trump, and nor did they have the guts to properly tackle the superwealthy property investors that have pushed up house prices.

Greens expecting extra hearings, extended submissions deadline for NDIS inquiry

The Greens will demand that the extended inquiry into Labor’s NDIS changes includes new public hearings and an extension to the period for public submissions, in a bid to keep pressuring the government to drop or radically rework their planned reforms.

While it doesn’t sound like the minor party got an ironclad deal for new hearings, we understand that the Greens will seek to lock in those details this week in parliament as part of normal Senate machinery processes – and could change their mind on supporting Labor’s tax reforms if that doesn’t happen.

Interestingly, Anthony Albanese’s press release welcoming the Greens’ tax support doesn’t mention changes to the NDIS inquiry – only that “the Government will also support amendments to the NDIS legislation to clarify the implementation of the reforms”.

The Greens say they will help support the passage of Labor’s tax legislation this week, likely on Thursday.

They are intractably opposed to the NDIS bill, and party room sources said they’d made it very clear to the government that they wouldn’t vote for it in any form. It’s understood that the Greens will also keep pushing to delay the NDIS changes after the 14 August deadline for the inquiry extension, with this eight-week window characterised as a minimum delay from the Greens’ point of view.

The NDIS inquiry is expected to release an interim report today. This report was previously expected to be a final report, but that’s now obviously changed with the legislation negotiations.

We’ll be hearing from the Greens in a moment on their deal with Labor. After that we’ll be getting a press conference from the prime minister, Anthony Albanese.

It’s all happening!

Government confirms tax reform bill will pass this sitting fortnight

The government have now also confirmed the deal with the Greens on amendments to the CGT and negative gearing changes as well as the NDIS overhaul.

A statement by prime minister Anthony Albanese, treasurer Jim Chalmers, and finance minister Katy Gallagher says the government will support a Greens amendment banning future limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs) for residential property by superannuation funds.

The government says superannuation funds are largely prohibited from borrowing money to invest, with the exception of LRBAs that are used by self-managed super funds.

These arrangements constitute less than 1% of total residential property borrowing and less than half a per cent of new residential borrowing each year.

The statement reads:

Passage of this important legislation this fortnight will provide workers, businesses and investors certainty about the core tax settings that will apply from 1 July 2027.

The government will continue to develop further tranches of legislation to implement the budget tax reform package, consistent with the process for legislating other large tax reform packages in the past.

Greens say they have negotiated key concessions on Labor’s tax reforms

We have some more details on the deal the Greens have made with Labor.

The Greens say they have negotiated some key concessions on the changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax.

The party says it has secured an amendment to “prevent wealthy property investors from exploiting a loophole to use self-managed super funds to buy up tax-advantaged investment properties” and wind back ministerial discretionary powers.

They’re still not happy about the grandfathering of negative gearing arrangements for existing property owners.

On the NDIS inquiry, the Greens have secured an eight-week extension, meaning it will now report back on 14 August.

The Greens say that will build pressure on the two major parties to withdraw the bill entirely.

They also say “as a precaution” they’ve negotiated amendments to the NDIS bill to limit ministerial powers and ensure greater transparency on automated decision-making.

Greens leader Larissa Waters said:

The inquiry hearings have only confirmed what we knew – this is an appalling and dangerously irresponsible bill.

There are some pretty crucial party room meetings taking place today, with the government trying desperately to make a deal on its CGT and negative gearing legislation and NDIS reforms.

The party rooms of Labor, the Greens and Coalition each meet on Tuesday mornings ahead of a noon sitting, and we can expect some discussion on negotiations of the two critical changes.

We’ll keep our eyes peeled and ears on the ground for any movement, and bring it to you as soon as it comes.

‘Students are skipping meals’ to study, says Haines

Independent MP Helen Haines and senator David Pocock will table a petition in Parliament today with 43,000 signatures, pushing for the government to pay for practical placements for allied health professionals – like physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, psychologists.

A student survey from Charles Sturt University found 45% of polled students say financial stress could force them to withdraw before completing their degree.

At La Trobe University, 65% of respondents said cost‑of‑living pressures are impacting their study, and 23% were considering a study break.

Many of the degrees offered at those universities require compulsory prac placements that are unpaid.

At the same time, there are shortages around the country of allied health workers, which are driving increased wait times for disability supports, according to National Disability Services.

Haines said:

Students are skipping meals, running down their savings and working multiple jobs just to stay in their degrees. When essential placements are unpaid, it becomes significantly harder for students to complete the qualifications our workforce relies on.

Pocock calls for plan on migration, as poll shows declining support for multiculturalism

Australia is undergoing a historic decline in support for multiculturalism, according to the Lowy Institute’s annual poll, amid a groundswell of fear rooted in mounting economic pessimism and an increasingly illiberal and chaotic world order.

The Lowy poll is the latest edition of the country’s longest-running survey of Australians’ opinions of the world and their place in it, and revealed a record low 31% of the more than 2,000 people surveyed had faith in the United States to act responsibly on the world stage, and just one in five trust the president, Donald Trump, to do the right thing.

David Pocock was asked about the polling on RN Breakfast earlier this morning and he said he was “really not surprised when you see the pressures on housing and cost of living”.

He criticised the lack of planning for migration and infrastructure:

We should have a plan when it comes to migration and population. We should be looking at the impacts on infrastructure, the impacts on housing, the impacts on the environment. Currently, there’s none of that.

Come up with the plan for this: How big do we want to be as a country? What are the trade-offs? What are the skills that we need? And let’s move forward. And I think that takes away some of the opportunism and some of the really terrible politics that scapegoats migrants when it comes to housing.

Pauline Hanson on paid parental leave – what’s changed?

The One Nation leader has walked back comments on paid parental leave, clarifying that taxpayer-funded leave should continue, but that small businesses shouldn’t have to pay the entitlement.

Here’s what she said on Wednesday at the National Press Club:

If women take time off and they are not paid their wages because they’re not working, fair enough. Why should business pay? But they’re not at work. That’s the difference. That’s why the pay gap is there.

Economists had raised concerns over those comments, warning that kind of policy could wind back the clock by decades for working mothers, damage productivity and worsen gender inequality.

So, to get to the point, what’s changed?

Today Hanson said her comments had been “taken out of context” and that she definitely still supports taxpayer-funded parental leave.

But the difference is that instead of questioning why any business should pay an employee while they’re off work caring for a newborn, she said it’s just tough for small businesses, and that they should get a pass. She said:

It’s up to companies if they want to have it in their policy to give it to their workers. So there’s no way, shape or form that I am actually saying to get rid of it … There are businesses that cannot afford it. It’s OK for government, taxpayers pay for it. You put another pressure on the small businesses, pay for maternity leave, they’ll actually fold.

To note here – it is not compulsory for employers to offer paid parental leave, but all employees are entitled to 12 months of unpaid leave. A national paid parental leave scheme coming into effect from 1 July will offer parents 26 weeks at the national minimum wage, funded by the government.

Matt Canavan doesn’t plan to meet Roberts-Smith tonight, but doesn’t want to be ‘judge or jury or executioner’ as case moves ahead

The Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, says he has no plans to speak to Ben Roberts-Smith at the event at the Australian War Memorial, but said he doesn’t want to be “judge or jury or executioner” and would rather let the courts move forward.

Canavan told reporters he would consider meeting with the former soldier if asked, but said he believes it’s “extremely important that we protect the principle that people are innocent until proven guilty, and Ben Roberts-Smith has not been proven guilty of any crime in the criminal issue”.

He went on:

I would say regardless of the case here … the conduct for which Ben Roberts-Smith was awarded a Victoria Cross for [will] live on … I try not to put myself in as a judge or jury or executioner for people who do put themselves at that kind of risk because I have never myself done it.

Starmer failed on energy, immigration and social cohesion, says Hastie

Liberal MP Andrew Hastie says it was a “tough watch” seeing Keir Starmer resign from Downing Street, but that the former UK prime minister failed to address issues around energy, immigration and social cohesion.

He told Sky News:

It was tough to watch a UK prime minister torn down by his own party, so soon after a massive landslide victory back in 2024 but I do think that Keir Starmer failed to address some of the big issues facing the United Kingdom, immigration, energy, and also the challenge of social cohesion, which is a big issue for a lot of people in the UK, so a tough day for him.

Asked whether the Australian Labor government is facing same issues here, Hastie rails off against the net zero emissions policy (something he’s been crusading against for a while), and says immigration remains a “red hot issue”.

Labor and the Liberal party both have now been eclipsed in the polls by One Nation, which has a higher primary vote.

People looking for ‘easy answers’ to cost of living crisis, says Labor minister

The minister for aged care, Sam Rae, has also sought to distance Australia from the political turmoil in the UK, but has acknowledged some similarities between the rise of Reform UK and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.

Rae says that people are looking for “easy answers” to the cost of living crisis both in Australia and around the world. But he says that the focus should be on delivering solutions, not “driving division within our communities”.

We’ve seen inflation pressures across communities all around the world, and those cost-of-living pressures come to bite and people have been looking for some easy answers, and we see that at home … We have seen a rise in support for these populist rightwing parties around the world.

Rae also pays tribute to Keir Starmer, following his resignation as the UK prime minister, and says he made an “extraordinary public contribution”.

David Pocock won’t be joining a teal party

David Pocock, the independent ACT senator, says joining a party is not for him, after chatter resurfaced yesterday that some of the so-called teal MPs could form an alliance.

A few like Monique Ryan have already ruled themselves out, and we know the Warringah MP Zali Steggall is leading the charge.

Pocock tells RN Breakfast there’s a lot of frustration and anger among the public and people are “looking for alternatives”.

At this stage, I just don’t think it’s for me. I’m an independent senator for the ACT, and anything I do would come from the community here. There’s plenty of people who’ve asked me to do something bigger, but at this stage, I just don’t think it’s for me. And I’m really interested to see how it goes for the independents that are working on that.

Albanese pays tribute to ‘friend’ Keir Starmer

Anthony Albanese has paid tribute his “friend” Keir Starmer after the British prime minister announced he would step down from the top job under pressure from his own Labour party MPs.

Albanese said Starmer, who has struggled to impose his authority despite winning power with a huge majority in 2024, should be proud of the contribution he had made to Britain and expressed gratitude for Starmer’s support on the Aukus talks.

Albanese said:

I consider Keir Starmer a friend and I’m thinking of him on what must be a very tough day.

Serving in public life is a tremendous privilege but politics can also be a harsh business.

When the time comes for Keir to leave Downing Street, he can be proud of the contribution he has made to the country he loves and to the Labour Party that he led back to government in 2024.

I’m grateful for the opportunities we had to work together to strengthen our AUKUS defence and security partnership, support the brave people of Ukraine and keep children safe from the damage that social media can do.

I wish Keir, Victoria and their children well with everything the future holds.

As we just reported, Ben Roberts-Smith is set to attend the official opening of the centrepiece of the revamped Australian War Memorial.

New arguments to further vary his bail are expected before court this morning after Roberts-Smith also applied to move his home address in south-east Queensland, in part because he wanted to be closer to family.

The federal parliament will adjourn early on tonight to allow MPs to attend the Anzac Hall opening.

In a speech to the event, Albanese will describe the galleries as a “sublime and powerful” addition to the war memorial.

It amounts to an act of profound respect from the nation to all who have served in our name, and all who serve now. The fighters for peace, the keepers of peace. It honours all who went and all who fell. It honours those who came home, including the many whose hearts never knew peace again. It is an act of remembrance that also acknowledges that not every conflict has been supported – and that, too, is part of our hard-won freedom.

Ben Roberts-Smith invitation to war memorial event ‘appropriate’, says Marles

Richard Marles says it’s appropriate that the accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith will attend the official opening for the centrepiece of the revamped Australian War Memorial.

Roberts-Smith has been invited as a Victoria Cross recipient.

The deputy PM and defence minister is on ABC News Breakfast and says all Victoria Cross recipients have been invited. He won’t comment on the charges against Roberts-Smith, saying there’s a legal process and “a presumption of innocence in this country”:

It’s appropriate that Ben Roberts-Smith be given an invite to this, as a Victoria Cross recipient.

The Victoria Cross recipients have been invited to this, which is appropriate, I’m comfortable about that. What will be opened – the Australian War Memorial, it’s an utterly fantastic extension to what is, I think, the most sacred building in our country. And we are very much looking forward to that. The prime minister will be there. It’s a very significant moment for the nation.

Marles says house prices will ‘obviously’ continue to grow

Labor is facing more questions today on reports house prices in Sydney and Melbourne could fall $100,000 over the next year as the property market cools.

Richard Marles says house prices will continue to grow in the long term, but a slow down of that growth will help younger people catch up.

Treasury modelling in the budget found that house growth would slow by about 2% in the short term compared to the previous tax settings without capital gains tax and negative gearing changes.

Marles tells the Today show:

If we look over the longer term, and people buy houses over the longer term, we will see housing prices continue to grow. What this is about, though, is trying to see a greater alignment in the growth of housing prices with the growth of wages. We do want to see housing become more affordable, see more Australians get into the housing market, see more first-time buyers, but we’ll obviously see house prices continue to grow.

‘Different circumstances’: Marles shrugs off comparison to UK turmoil

Richard Marles says that there are different circumstances between Australia and the UK, as both countries see a surge in popularity of rightwing populist parties (Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation).

Speaking to the Today show, Marles also calls Keir Starmer, who resigned overnight, a “great friend of Australia”, but doesn’t want to link the political turmoil over there to here.

Starmer also won in a landslide in 2024, but his popularity has rapidly tanked.

Marles says:

I think there are different circumstances here … Having lived through [leadership changes] in the earlier part of my career, the way politics plays out is very specific to particular parts of the world. And what we’re seeing happen with what’s playing out in Britain is obviously a matter for them.

I think one of the things that we see with events playing out overnight is how difficult public life is and all of us feel, I think for Keir Starmer, in that sense, it is.

Marles says that in Australia, One Nation and the Coalition will need each other, and that “neither of them can govern without the other.”

Janetzki says budget will ‘build Queensland’s future’

Janetzki said on Monday that he had budgeted “a record” $119.2bn for infrastructure over the next four years, including $55.9bn for roads and transport upgrades, while announcing a bus would replace a light rail project on the Gold Coast planned under Labor.

“Our first budget laid the foundation for a fresh start, and tomorrow’s budget will strengthen them because we need to build Queensland’s future,” Janetzki said yesterday.

One reason for fiscal caution: the state government’s finances have been teetering on the edge of a credit rating downgrade for more than a year.

Rating agency S&P Global last October forecast the state will owe 150% of its revenue by 2028, up from 100% in 2023, due to a historically large infrastructure spend, partly thanks to the 2032 Olympics. Janetzki responded at the time that a downgrade was “inevitable”.

He will hand down the budget this afternoon at 2pm.