Australia politics live: Albanese mimics Coalition line to declare Labor ‘the party of lower taxes’ during question time

Spender questions what Labor is doing to fix budget’s structural defecit Independent MP Allegra Spender gets the next question from the crossbench, who asks what the government is doing to fix the structural deficit. Chalmers says the government is focused on “broad and ambitious tax reform agenda” and mentions the tax cut top up. Spender makes a point of order on relevance, saying she asked about structural deficit, not the tax cut. Chalmers says the government has improved the budget bottom line through changes to the PRRT (Petroleum Resource Rent Tax), as well as tightening spending growth on the NDIS. If the honourable member’s question is, is there ongoing, more work to do in terms of the structural position of the budget – of course there is. But we shouldn’t dismiss or diminish the very, very substantial progress that this government has made cleaning up the mess that we inherited from those opposite. Row over small business legislation The deputy opposition leader, Sussan Ley, is up next and asks about the instant asset write-off for small businesses. She says Labor was “dragged kicking and screaming” to extend the write-off to the end of this financial year, but asks if the government will extend it to next financial year and increase it from $20,000 to $30,000. Yesterday the government was blaming the Coalition for holding up the legislation in the Senate. Today, the minister for small business, Julie Collins, says: I was pleased to finally see their support for the instant asset write-off to get through the parliament last night. After eight months, they finally got there. This is the third time in a row they’ve tried to delay this legislation getting through the parliament. A point of order here from Ley – who says Collins didn’t answer the question because she won’t say whether the government will extend it to next year. Collins finishes her answer (but still won’t say if the write-off would be extended). Tehan launches attack over immigration numberss The shadow immigration minister, Dan Tehan, is now up, asking about the migration figures. He asks whether the government will guarantee that net migration won’t go over two million people over the next five years. The immigration minister, Tony Burke, puts the blame directly onto the opposition. To get immigration back to sustainable level, we had to first make sure that we were restoring integrity to the system. Because let’s not forget, let’s not forget the way integrity had been taken from the system under those opposite. That prompts a point of order (that the question was specifically about migration numbers and not about alternative policies). Speaker Milton Dick says while the opposition wants a yes or no answer, he can’t direct the minister to do that, and says “it would be a lot easier for me if I could, trust me”. Dick says Burke’s been relevant so far. Burke goes through the lines he said during QT yesterday that the opposition didn’t support Labor’s caps on international student numbers. Taylor attacks Labor over delay on ‘cents-a-day’ tax cut The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, is back with a question on why the government is delaying their tax cuts to next year. What was the logic in delaying by 15 months the prime minister’s 70 cents a day tax cut? (This is the policy that the Coalition have said they would repeal if they won government, a point the PM is happy to highlight). Albanese says: Why haven’t you done what we opposed sooner, he’s actually asked – why haven’t you done what we’re going to repeal and reverse sooner? Albanese and Dutton close ranks to defend Aukus The first question from the crossbench comes from Goldstein’s MP, Zoe Daniel, who asks about Aukus and whether it’s “sensible” to be spending billions on the deal when the US congressional budget office has said the submarines may never be delivered. Albanese says Aukus is in the national interest, and goes into why nuclear subs are important. But Daniel makes a point of order, saying she asked specifically about the capacity of the US to deliver the subs. Albanese says everyone’s on board with the Aukus plan and he’s spent heaps of time talking to his counterparts in the US and UK. In a slight deviation to the normal combative approach to QT, Peter Dutton stands up to say: I think that was a pretty good answer and I wanted to support the prime minister. (QT can still bring us surprises!) Jason Clare drops some zingers It’s getting a bit personal today (and rowdy!) Jason Clare gets the next dixer on the support the government is providing on education and their pledge to cut Hecs debts by 20%. At the end of his answer we get a little reference to a few big stories that have happened this year. The Liberal party are opposed to all of that. In fact, when we announced this policy [to cut Hecs debt], the shadow treasurer said: “There are no free lunches in economics”. Remember that? Turns out now they’re going to jack up your taxes to pay for free lunches for bosses. You’ve got to think for yourself – how ordinary is that? I know the opposition leader spent a lot of time checking out the All Ordinaries in the GFC [Global Financial Crisis]. If he wants to check out the All Ords right now is just check behind him. They’re all ordinary. (For those playing at home, we get a reference to this story about Peter Dutton buying shares during the GFC, and of course another reference to the tax-free lunch policy) Chalmers says Angus Taylor ‘first shadow treasurer in living memory’ to take a policy to increase income taxes to an election The next question comes from shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, who also asks whether Labor will back the fuel excise cut. Treasurer Jim Chalmers takes the question. If the shadow treasurer cared about the cost of living, he wouldn’t be the first shadow treasurer in living memory to take to an election a policy to increase income taxes on every single Australian taxpayer. Chalmers then goes into how petrol prices are now lower than they were at the last election and attacks the Coalition for saying they would repeal the tax cut top ups that were just legislated late last night. (Taylor said that in a couple of interviews this morning – confirming Labor’s tax policy would be repealed under a Liberal government.) QT is certainly a lot more animated today. Anthony Albanese looks like he’s having the time of his life saying “Labor is the party of lower taxes” during a dixer on what Labor is doing on the cost of living. And the Coalition goes wild every time it’s said. Alright, QT has begun, and the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, is starting, asking the PM if he’ll commit to the Coalition’s fuel excise. Anthony Albanese says: The leader of the opposition, I wonder if he gave that speech or that question when he was sitting in the Cabinet room when indexation of petrol was reintroduced in the 2014 budget? That gets an absolute uproar from the Coalition benches, and prompts a point of order from the manager of opposition business, Michael Sukkar. The speaker, Milton Dick, tells everyone to take a deep breath (sage advise) and be relevant and the PM continues. The Morrison leftovers have adopted the policy of the Morrison government … And the reason why [the fuel excise] is at the level it is today is because of the legislation that they brought in 2014. That is why. Albanese brings up the tax cut top ups his government announced on Wednesday, and gives a shoutout to the tax-free lunches that the Coalition announced earlier this year. Treasurer Jim Chalmers earlier confirmed Labor wouldn’t be matching the Coalition’s pledge to halve the fuel excise. Chalmers told Sky News the Coalition didn’t have a plan to lower the cost of living in an “enduring way”. The Coalition doesn’t have any plans to help people with the cost of living in an enduring way and what it means is the economic policy that they will take to the election is higher taxes for every taxpayer, secret cuts to pay for nuclear reactors and no ongoing help with the cost of living. Good afternoon. We’re on the downhill slide to question time now, what will be (almost certainly) the last one for this parliamentary term. Get excited! Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, I’ll hand over to Krishani Dhanji who will bring you all the latest from question time, Peter Dutton’s budget reply, and everything else happening in Canberra. Take care. Local market slips as car tariffs fuel trade war fears The Australian share market is on track to break a five-day winning streak, following US and European equities lower amid fresh jitters over White House trade policies. AAP reports that the S&P/ASX200 had lost 40.1 points, or 0.5%, at lunchtime today, to 7958.9, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 47.5 points, or 0.6%, to 8177.6. Building trade war tensions have already been dampening investor sentiment and the US president, Donald Trump, locking in a 25% tariff on imported (to the US) cars and light trucks from 2 April is set to deepen concerns. In the domestic market, technology stocks were leading the march lower, down 1.9% at midday in line with losses across US heavyweights. Six of the ASX200’s 11 sectors were down, with consumer discretionaries slipping 0.9% and financials sinking 0.8% after a better day of trade from the big banks. Energy and mining sectors were bright spots, with BHP up 0.3% and Rio Tinto lifting a modest 0.1%. Fortescue had sunk 0.5%. Discount store chain the The Reject Shop had more than doubled today as Canadian retail giant Dollarama moved to snap up the business for $259m. Bandt says PM should not be inviting Trump to Australia Yesterday, Anthony Albanese said he had extended an invitation to US president Donald Trump to visit Australia. The PM told the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing he would also plan to visit the US if re-elected: I have discussed with the president going to the US and I expect that certainly will be very early on in the term. In a post to X this afternoon, the Greens leader Adam Bandt argued that the invitation should not have been extended: The prime minister should not be inviting Trump to Australia. Trump is a danger to peace and a danger to democracy. He emboldens hate and hard-right ideology. We should be rethinking our relationship with Trump’s US, not sucking up to him. NBN spent $5m in advertising at cricket, despite being wholesale provider with no direct consumers The company responsible for the national broadband network, NBN, has spent $5m in advertising at the cricket, despite NBN itself being a wholesale provider with no direct consumers buying services from it. The company revealed it spent $5m on a cricket partnership with Seven and Cricket Australia in response to an estimates question on notice from Greens senator Sarah Hanson Young. The partnership includes access to Cricket Australia’s IP, including access to players, in-stadium signage and advertising on Channel 7. Senators raised questions during Senate estimates hearings in February about the value of a wholesale company advertising to consumers, given that retail internet services providers on-sell NBN services to customers, rather than NBN itself. NBN officials said it was the first campaign of its kind and argued it was more about raising awareness of the service amid upgrades being rolled out across the country. NBN’s total advertising and media budget for 2024-2025 is $25.6m, with the majority of the expenditure going towards mailouts and other awareness campaigns informing customers if an upgrade or a service is available at their home. Hanson-Young has buried dead fish from Senate stunt in her backyard Sarah Hanson-Young, the Greens senator, has revealed the final resting place of the fish she used as part of her Senate stunt yesterday. In case you missed it: the senator produced an apparently headless dead fish during question time after directing a question at Labor’s Jenny McAllister over legislation to protect the Tasmanian salmon industry. Hanson Young said, “On the eve of an election, have you sold out your environmental credentials for a rotten, stinking extinction salmon?” before being asked to remove the fish from the chamber. Hanson-Young told ABC Radio Adelaide: It’s been buried in the backyard here in our place in Canberra. Hopefully it’ll give the lemon tree a good boost. Greens warn Dutton would be ‘disaster’ for public education amid flagged cuts The Greens have warned a Peter Dutton government would be a “disaster” for public education and result in cuts to public schools, after media reports that the Coalition is planning to cut 40,000 public servant roles across education, health and other departments. The Greens spokesperson for primary and secondary education, Senator Penny Allman-Payne, said: A Dutton government would be a disaster for public education. The Liberals are fundamentally opposed to public schools – they’d prefer all schools to be fee-charging private schools. They don’t get that education is a right. I think parents want fully funded public schools in their local area, with highly skilled teachers leading classrooms. The last thing you want to see is Peter Dutton standing at the whiteboard telling your kid what they can and can’t learn. Make no mistake, a Dutton government would see public schools suffer. The shadow education minister, Senator Sarah Henderson, has indicated the Coalition would match Labor’s school funding agreements for public schools “dollar for dollar” but has raised concerns they contain “little in the way of specific reforms” to raise academic standards. In the rural and regional affairs and transport estimates things have gotten heated over car emissions, with National party senator Bridget McKenzie accusing the head of the transport department of being an “inner-city lefty”. McKenzie has been questioning if Labor’s proposed carbon emissions standard for carmakers will make them more expensive to buy. The automotive industry will soon become the biggest carbon polluter in the country. The secretary of the department of infrastructure and transport, Jim Betts, said: Only if there is absolutely no adaptation by the market in response to the new vehicle-efficiency standard, the whole purpose of which is to engender adaptation in the market, so Australians are no longer forced to have highly fuel-consumptive cars ... Of course, the automobile industry don’t want to change, they’re happy dumping fuel-guzzling cars on Australians. McKenzie: Oh, Mr Betts, you have completely unmasked yourselves as an inner-city lefty today… Who will pay more, is everyday Australians, not for fuel-guzzling cars, the cars they need to drive because of the type of country we live in. I know the difference between a Hilux and an F-150. Betts: The reason why fuel-efficiency standards have been implemented in every OECD country, apart from Russia, without an impact on headline average car prices is because it’s consumer capitalism. Automotives are very good at adapting to regulation, and they operate in a highly competitive market, and that will keep prices down, enable Australians to save money at the bowser and reduce emissions. If you missed it earlier, LiSTNR podcasters Lucy Jackson and Nikki Westcott have claimed the prime minister’s “delulu with no solulu” quip made in parliament towards the opposition yesterday. The cutting critique was first made on their podcast, Happy Hour with Lucy & Nikki, in relation to Peter Dutton and his nuclear power costs. “I dare you to drop that in a speech,” Jackson said, to which Albanese replied: We’ve got budget next week, listen up … it’ll be a little in joke between the three of us and … the punters. Now, the pair have released another video of the jovial interview, showing Albanese doing a strange sort of double wave over the backing track of the Grinch’s “what is up, my guy”. This is politics in 2025 and I love it! Threatening letters sent to Hong Kong rebels in Australia being investigated by AFP and Asio taskforce Government officials have confirmed anonymous letters sent to two exiled dissidents from Hong Kong are being investigated by the counter foreign interference taskforce, which is led by the domestic spy agency Asio and the federal police. The letters, which were first reported by Guardian Australia, have targeted Melbourne based Kevin Yam and Adelaide based Ted Hui. Both are pro-democracy campaigners who have been accused of violating Hong Kong’s controversial national security laws by colluding with foreign powers to discuss sanctions. The deputy secretary of the home affairs department, Nathan Smyth, said the letters were being taken very seriously. Those matters are certainly the subject of the counter foreign interference taskforce’s activities. Smyth told Senate estimates that Australia’s consul-general in Hong Kong has discussed the letters with government officials. He said he believed discussions were also had in Canberra. We are deeply concerned. They are deeply worrying. If it is actual actions by a foreign state that would be clearly unacceptable to us and in breach of Australian laws. If it was a foreign government or a proxy of a foreign government, it would clearly be a breach of Australia’s foreign interference laws. Employers will soon have to commit to achieve or make progress on gender equality targets in their workplaces after the federal parliament passed law changes. As AAP reports, the changes apply to employers with more than 500 workers, meaning nearly 2,000 workplaces will need to meet the new standards – and 3.9m employees set to benefit. Employers will be required to choose three gender equality targets such as intentional action to cover the gender pay gap, workforce and board composition, support for carers and parents, consultation and sexual harassment prevention. They will then have three years to achieve or make progress on their selected targets. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency will publish each employer’s selected targets on its website, as well as their outcomes. Employers that do not select, make progress on or achieve the targets will fail to comply with the new laws and may not be eligible to tender for certain commonwealth contracts. If they do not have a reasonable excuse they could also be publicly named. Private sector employers will select their targets between 1 April and 31 May 2026, while commonwealth public sector employers will follow in September. This will give employers 12 months to understand the changes and choose their targets. The secretary of the home affairs department has admitted to using disappearing messages on Signal in her work, but says the department has strong record keeping rules surrounding the use of encrypted apps. In response to questions about department use of Signal from the Greens senator David Shoebridge, home affairs officials in Senate estimates said there were robust policies in place around the use of Signal by staff in the department. In addition to “general record keeping guidance” there was a specific policy for Signal, but the department’s chief operating officer, Charlotte Tressler, said there was no “prohibition” on disappearing messages in Signal but staff are told they must be “conscious of your record-keeping obligations, your FoI obligations, all of those things that are associated”. The department secretary, Stefanie Foster, said it is up to each individual’s obligation to ensure they are keeping records. Then admitted she herself uses disappearing messages. Shoebridge: “Do you use Signal?” Foster: “I do, senator.” Shoebridge: “Do you have disappearing messages?” Foster: “I do in some cases, senator.” Foster said she would need to check if she had disappearing messages turned on in her interactions with ministers. She said the circumstances she has disappearing messages on is for “purposes of that one might typically use a phone call for” such as setting up a meeting, but said she knows her record keeping obligations. Foster also said she uses WhatsApp but could not say if those messages were set to disappearing. Sussan Ley gives reply to Labor’s women’s budget statement The deputy opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has been giving a reply to the government’s women’s budget statement in the House of Representatives. She argued that women are worse off under Labor because “sadly it is women who face economic hardship at greater rates.” I urge Labor to show me the women who are better off after three years of this government … We’ve seen violence against women increase and we’ve seen slow delivery of critical policies like the promised 500 domestic violence frontline workers … Women have been the collateral damage to this government’s incompetence, because it is inevitably women who face the consequences most acutely of economic deterioration, and it is women who bear the horrific cost of violence in our communities. Ley outlined a number of measures the Coalition would take if elected, including restoring the number of Medicare subsidised mental health sessions from 10 back to 20 and providing $4m to Ovarian Cancer Australia for specialist cancer nurses. The early mail from economists is that the average household won’t save anywhere near the claimed $14 a week from the Coalition’s plan to half fuel excise for 12 months. Peter Dutton reckons his big cost of living measure – to rival Labor’s surprise tax cuts – will deliver twice that weekly benefit for a two-car family. But AMP chief economist, Shane Oliver’s, somewhat more dispassionate calculations suggest the 25-cent fuel discount will save the average household about $8.75 a week. Dutton this morning said their estimates were based on a household using 55 litres per week per car. Oliver, however, says ABS household expenditure data show the average household uses only about 35 litres of fuel a week. That data is a few years old now, which means average fuel usage may be a little lower now given the increased popularity of EVs. Oliver said: I would say $8.75 a week at most. But it will vary widely with those with no car or an EV getting no benefit and those with a RAM (ute) getting a big benefit. Another simple calculation also suggests the Coalition’s claimed savings are overblown. Spreading the $6bn across the roughly 10m households points to an average benefit of $600 a year. That’s about $11.50 a week. For comparison, Labor’s recently passed tax cuts will give the average taxpayer an extra $4.60 a week from the middle of next year, and $9.20 a week from mid-2027. NRMA raises concerns about road funding under Coalition plan to fuel fuel tax The NRMA has raised concerns about how the Coalition’s plan to reduce the fuel excise will impact funding for roads across the country. The NRMA’s Peter Khoury welcomed the push to make fuel cheaper, but said he was looking forward to seeing more detail in Peter Dutton’s speech tonight: There are some challenges that come with cutting the excise that I think we need to be realistic about addressing. The excise isn’t really meant to be a lever that can be pulled for cost of living relief, even though we hope that is what will happen if [this change is introduced]. The excise is intended to fund road infrastructure. The federal government announced its budget this week. Not enough of that [excise revenue] is going into roads. We believe there is a small increase. About 78% of the excise has been committed to roads. It needs to be higher. King on gender pay gap, rates of violence against women Catherine King said that while it is narrowing, the gender pay gap “exists and it is persisting”. [This is] a reflection of challenges related to care and flexibility, industry gender segregation and women’s under representation in senior roles … Women continue to carry the larger share of unpaid work, impacting on their long term financial security, including into our retirements. King also said that rates of violence against women “remain unacceptably high”, outlining a number of investments the government has made to address this. We haven’t just left it to one portfolio to address these issues, we are all in on this. She said Australia has “one of the highest rates of workforce gender segregation amongst advanced economies”. We know we need to address this to ensure the success of our future made in Australia agenda and the massive investments we are making in infrastructure across the country. King speaks on women’s budget statement in parliament In the House of Representatives, Catherine King has been making a ministerial statement on the women’s budget statement. Representing the minister for women and finance, Katy Gallagher, King said a women’s budget statement had been tabled as a budget document as part of every budget delivered by the Albanese government. Gender responsive budgeting creates better and fairer outcomes and ensures that all Australians have equal access to the opportunities and resources, and I particularly pay tribute to the minister for finance and the treasurer for actually embedding that within our budget development processes, it makes a substantial difference … I invite those opposite to commit to supporting and continuing to embed gender responsive budgeting because it makes a difference … They provide vital analysis and outline the key measures in each and every budget which provide important supports for women. Portraits of British monarchy removed in home affairs department office It’s been a bit of a lacklustre morning in the legal and constitutional affairs committee of Senate estimates this morning but there was one brief moment of reprieve. The Liberal senator James Paterson asked home affairs department officials whether portraits of the British monarchy within the office had been taken down. The department secretary, Stephanie Foster, said they had been removed and there were now other notable people gracing the offices’ walls. “The portraits we have in our buildings now are of our ministers,” Foster revealed, adding she asked for the portraits to be up. Foster said she would have to check whether they were meant to be a like-for-like replacement. The Greens senator David Shoebridge chimed in: When one monarch passes, they cease to be the monarch. Israeli politicians sign letter urging Australian MPs to dump two-state policy A handful of Israeli politicians, including one within Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party, have urged Coalition MPs to dump Australia’s longstanding two-state policy on Israel and Palestine ahead of the upcoming federal election. You can read the full story from Sarah Basford Canales below: The Northern Territory government has scrapped its target of 50% renewables by 2030, which was implemented by the former Labor government. The minister for mining and energy, Gerard Maley, said in a statement the target was “unachievable” and argued that meeting the target would put an “unacceptable financial burden on Territorians”. He claimed meeting the target would cost up to $5bn, and said: If we don’t make these changes, Territorians would be paying the highest power prices in the country. The government has capped retail electricity prices to 3%, and outlined a number of other measures, including: Strategic investment in energy infrastructure “to address forecasted energy supply shortfalls” Expansion of large-scale solar and battery storage to “reduce the cost of supply whilst maintaining grid stability” Development of the Beetaloo Sub-basin to “provide an abundant and reliable source of gas” Albanese answers more questions on ‘delulu with no solulu’ quip On ABC Radio Sydney, Anthony Albanese was again asked about his “delulu with no solulu” quip at the Coalition yesterday, and whether he knew what it meant before he said it? The prime minister said he did, continuing: I do think that Peter Dutton is delusional if he speaks about fiscal policy and deficits given that he left deficits of $78bn that we turned into a surplus. Another deficit of above $50bn that we turned into a second surplus of $15bn and then we’ve halved the deficit that we inherited this year. But this morning Angus Taylor’s made the rather extraordinary statement, declaration, that they will repeal our tax cuts. That is, they will introduce legislation for higher taxes. So, under Peter Dutton people will earn less and they’ll be taxed more. As we reported earlier, it seems podcasters gave the PM the idea for the “delulu” comment. Anthony Albanese says the upcoming federal election will be called “pretty imminently.” Speaking on Triple M radio this morning, the prime minister said the election would be in May: And it’ll be called pretty imminently, I can assure you of that as well … I can confirm that I’m not calling it today, but I will call it soon. I think that Australians want to get on with it. Certainly my caucus colleagues do … Albanese also spoke with ABC Radio Sydney this morning and was asked the same question, answering “it’ll be soon”. The last day the election can be held is 17 May, which Albanese has ruled out. If the election was to be held on 10 May, it would need to be called by 6 April to allow for the 33-day window. National Justice Project responds to ‘damning’ report showing high rates of Indigenous children in out of home care in WA Law firm National Justice Project says the Human Rights Watch report released this morning, which examines the very high rates of Indigenous children in out of home care in Western Australia, is “damning” and that families aren’t getting the necessary support to ensure they stay together. Aboriginal children make up nearly 60% of the Western Australia’s out-of-home care system despite Aboriginal children representing only 7% of the child population. The report, All I Know Is I Want Them Home, details the disproportionate removal of Aboriginal children from families in WA, with authorities removing children from mothers fleeing domestic violence or experiencing homelessness. The report found the most common reason for a child protection notification was because of exposure to domestic and family violence. Other triggers include homelessness, incarceration, food insecurity or allegations the parent had been physically abusive to the child. Some Aboriginal mothers had children removed after they sought treatment for injuries caused by a violent partner. Many said they were scared to seek help for fear their children would be taken away. National Justice Project senior solicitor Karina Hawtrey contributed to the report and told Human Rights Watch that WA was one of the few jurisdictions to allow ‘unborn child safety investigations’ which can act as a deterrent for pregnant women accessing prenatal healthcare. The ideal situation is that any investigation occurring during pregnancy is being used to identify supports that can be provided to the mother before the child is born to prevent the risk of future removal. However, in practice, these investigations can lead to a higher level of scrutiny of expecting mothers and higher rates of early removal. Read the full report here. The practice of shooting wild horses from helicopters has been halted after approximately 6,000 were culled from the Kosciuszko national park, but some argue those remaining still present too great an environmental threat. AAP reports that a petition with more than 10,000 signatures spearheaded by the Invasive Species Council calls for the repeal of the Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act, passed in 2018 by the Coalition government. It mandated the feral horse population be culled to 3,000 by mid-2027 over nearly one-third of the park for heritage reasons. But the law has been savaged by scientific experts and environment groups as catastrophic for conservation efforts. Richard Swain, an Indigenous river guide and council ambassador, described the law as “ridiculous” in how it “still protects a feral animal over our native plants and animals”. Between 3,000 and 4,000 wild horses are believed to remain in the KNP after a population count in October, but the release of an official number has been delayed while the figures are peer-reviewed. Aerial shooting resumed in NSW under the state Labor government in November 2023, reversing policies in place under the former Coalition government. The agenda for Senate estimates today Here’s a look at the agenda for Senate estimates today, which kicked off at 9am AEDT. In the finance and public administration committee, the department of prime minister and cabinet is expected to face questions from the Coalition over Australia’s relationship with Israel, as well as Ukraine. In the legal and constitutional affairs committee, foreign interference incidents are expected to be raised. In the environment and communications committee, the new salmon legislation and the North West Shelf gas extension are on the agenda. And in the rural and regional affairs transport committee, Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop is also expected to be discussed. Albanese says Dutton copying former Liberal government’s 2022 fuel excise cut The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has accused Peter Dutton of copying the former Liberal government’s 2022 fuel excise cut. As AAP reports, he told ABC radio: This is what Scott Morrison did in the 2022 budget but then it disappeared because it was time-limited. This is time-limited as well – just for one year, no ongoing cost-of-living help. Greens senator weighs in on Coalition’s fuel excise plan Sarah Hanson-Young was also asked about the Coalition’s plan to halve the fuel excise, and scrap the government’s tax cuts. She argued: This is rank hypocrisy from the Coalition. This is a 12-month sugar hit that is not going to touch the sides of the permanent cost-of-living relief that Australians really need. The Greens senator said Peter Dutton had been claiming a permanent tax cut is a bribe, but argued the real bribe is “pretending to offer people cheaper petrol which, 12 months later, is going to soar again”. Cutting petrol excise for 12 months might get Peter Dutton a headline but sure as hell won’t get him a budget for the long-term that helps people. Hanson-Young says legislation regarding Tasmanian salmon will be ‘an election issue’ Circling back to the legislation that passed overnight, protecting Tasmania’s salmon industry amid extinction concerns for the Maugean skate: The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young was up on ABC News Breakfast earlier, where she said the environment is “a major concern to Australians and we’re going to take this fight all the way to the ballot box”. It’s going to be an election issue. Asked about the jobs that rely on the industry, Hanson-Young said “there’s not as many jobs as you would think”. That’s one of the crazy things about this, is that the impact on the environment and the clean, green image of Tasmanian food and the environment is all at risk because of this … This is all happening while there has been a die-off of salmon in some of these pens that has meant rotten fish and guts washing up on the beaches in Tasmania … Tasmanians are grossed out by this. They’re sick of this pollution and want their state kept clean. Hanson-Young also spoke with ABC RN about the issue earlier, which you can read more on here. Two podcasters are taking credit for Anthony Albanese’s “delulu with no solulu” quip at the Coalition yesterday, after daring him to use the expression in parliament. On the LiSTNR podcast Happy Hour with Lucy & Nikki, the exchange went as follows: Lucy Jackson: “I must be delulu but I feel like he was giving me the eyes.” Albanese: “Delusional.” Nikki Westcott: “Boom, perfect.” Albanese: “Like Peter Dutton on nuclear power costs. Delulu!” Jackson: “I dare you to drop that in a speech.” Westcott: “Delulu with no solulu.” Albanese: “We’ve got budget week next week, listen up.” The episode featuring this exchange is due to be released later today. In case you’ve just joined us and are wondering what this is all about, you can have a read below: Taylor says Coalition would release costings ‘before the election’ The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, was also up on ABC News Breakfast earlier to discuss the Coalition’s move to halve the fuel excise for 12 months if elected, and scrap the tax cuts. He was asked why not just let Australian have the extra $5 a week, if people are struggling? Taylor said you have “got to get the balance right between relief which is targeted, but being responsible as well.” The host also noted that the Coalition has matched a lot of the government’s spending initiatives, and this particular fuel excise policy would cost $6bn for a year – how are you going to pay for it? He pointed it back on Labor and said: Labor’s policy is go going to cost $17bn. This is substantially more responsible. But the important point is that it can be because it’s very, very targeted and it’s temporary. Also immediate … More broadly, we have opposed $100bn of Labor spend that we think is inappropriate at this time and I can assure you we’ll put our costings out before the election. Independent senator David Pocock says the “major party bidding war to buy votes has to stop”. Speaking on ABC RN earlier, and asked about the Coalition’s move to scrap tax cuts in favour of halving the fuel excise, Pocock said: Yes, people need targeted cost-of-living relief, [but] we’ve actually got to start dealing with the root causes of cost of living in this country, not Band-Aid solutions come budget time. Pocock said the government could have raised the rate of jobseeker in the budget, and “lifted thousands and thousands of children out of poverty, changed their futures”. I think really, from what I hear from people, that would have been more in line with the kind of country we want to be, one that is actually working to close [the] widening gap between the haves and the have nots. On the Coalition’s announcement this morning, Pocock added it was “very strange from an opposition that keeps talking about lower taxes”. Peter Dutton was also asked about Anthony Albanese’s quip yesterday, that the opposition leader was “delulu with no solulu.” So, does he have a solulu? Dutton told the program: Yeah, it’s coming up. The solution to this problem is going to come up in about five weeks. Get rid of this bad prime minister. He’s so far out of his depth, it’s embarrassing. And let’s get our country back on track. Dutton confirms Coalition will scrap tax cuts for halving fuel excise: ‘We haven’t got endless amounts of money’ The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, was up on the Today show earlier to tout the Coalition’s move to halve the fuel excise for 12 months if elected. He said the plan starts “straight away” with a 25 cent reduction in the price of petrol and diesel. Labor’s plan comes in in 15 months’ time and it’s about 70 cents a day by way of tax cuts. And I just think Australians need support now. Aren’t rate cuts the ultimate cost of living relief? Dutton argued the “opposite is the case”. The fact is that it has a downward pressure on CPI for the period in which the fuel excise cut applies. So it has that downward pressure. It’s not inflationary or we wouldn’t support it. Dutton also confirmed the Coalition would scrap the government’s tax cuts in favour of the fuel excise move, saying we “can’t pretend that we’ve got endless amounts of money.” People will be, in net terms, better off under us because overall in their family budgets, they’ll be paying less tax … And to be honest, I don’t know that you’ll ever see that tax cut from a re-elected Albanese government because I’d be surprised if they continue with it themselves. (The tax cuts passed parliament last night, so Labor would need to repeal its own law for this to happen.) Calls for all political parties to expand social and affordable housing The Community Housing Industry Association has called on all political parties to commit to addressing Australia’s escalating housing crisis through significant expansion of social and affordable housing. The election charter calls for four key commitments: A 10-year, evidence-based plan enshrined in legislation to ensure enduring national leadership beyond electoral cycles. Aim for 10% of homes to be social and affordable within 20 years, up from less than 4% currently. Address poor energy performance in social housing to reduce emissions and tenant energy costs. Overhaul the national regulatory system and expand support for not-for-profit housing providers. Analysis from Swinburne University of Technology demonstrates that quadrupling the Housing Australia Future Fund (Haff) from 30,000 to 120,000 homes would deliver $12.79bn in social and economic benefits over 25 years. The association’s CEO, Wendy Hayhurst, said: We are asking for a commitment that puts a significant dent in the current rates of housing stress and homelessness. Australia needs one in 10 homes for social and affordable housing, and quadrupling the [Haff]. A different future for Australian housing is achievable with the right action. Mark Butler has responded to the Coalition’s intention to repeal the government’s tax cuts to instead halve the fuel excise – as Angus Taylor confirmed just earlier. Giving a doorstop press conference in Canberra, the health minister said this was “the most extraordinary statement from the man who wants to be the treasurer of this country, that he will lift the tax rates of every single taxpayer in this country.” This is the most extraordinary statement leading into the election from a Liberal shadow treasurer I have ever heard … This used to be the party that presented itself as the party of lower taxes – well, that has gone. That is well and truly gone under Peter Dutton. Lower pokie limits would mostly affect high-risk gamblers, research shows Continuing from our last post: Each state and territory has its own load-up limit on poker machines, with South Australia ($99.99) and Western Australia ($100) the lowest. Queensland has a $100 load-up limit in clubs and hotels only, while Victoria’s load-up limit in pubs and clubs will reduce to $100 in December 2025 (except at Crown Casino). Nancy Greer said this shows “lower load-up limits of $20 or $50 would mostly affect people at high risk of gambling harm, while causing minimal impact on those who are not experiencing negative effects from their gambling”. Given the purpose of load-up limits is to prompt a moment of reflection before someone chooses to continue gambling, making this decision after every $100 or $500 is probably too late and too infrequent for a measure like this to have a meaningful impact. A large majority (87%) of regular poker machine gamblers surveyed are experiencing harm, according to new research by the Australian Gambling Research Centre (AGRC). Of the 2,565 regular pokies gamblers surveyed, 87% reported experiencing gambling harms – such as feeling guilty and stressed about gambling, borrowing money or selling things to fund gambling, or going back another day to win back lost money. Other key findings included: Of pokies gamblers experiencing high levels of harm, 15% reported their most recent pokies session was between 12am and 4am – compared to 5% of those who didn’t experience harms. For those regular pokies gamblers at high risk of gambling harm, the median duration of their most recent pokies session was 2 hours, and 1 hour for those at moderate risk. It was 45 minutes for those at low or no risk of gambling harm. About 58% of high-risk gamblers “loaded up” more than $50, compared to 22% of low-risk gamblers and 14% of non-risk gamblers. Research fellow at the AGRC, Nancy Greer, said: This research reveals there is a ‘sweet spot’ for some measures – where they can focus on behaviours that are more common among those who are experiencing harms, while doing little to disrupt the activities of those who are not experiencing negative effects from their gambling. A major clean energy group will unleash a $1m election ad blitz targeting the Coalition’s nuclear plans. Ahead of the opposition leader’s budget reply speech tonight, the Smart Energy Council is launching a “Double under Dutton” campaign, warning of the potential hit to household power bills if Australia adopts Peter Dutton’s nuclear ambitions. The campaign is based on analysis suggesting nuclear power would cause power bills for homes with solar panels to increase by more than $1,100 per year. The campaign will target 12 federal electorates with social media ads and letterbox drops, including the seat of Fairfax, held by the shadow climate change and energy minister, Ted O’Brien. The Smart Energy Council chief executive, John Grimes, said. Peter Dutton has been hiding the true cost of his nuclear energy policy, and now we know why. Solar is so popular that one-in-three homes have it installed – that’s a big constituency. We are shocked that Peter Dutton would do this in a cost of living crisis. We will be reminding people of this each and every day up until the election and beyond. Hanson-Young lashes ‘shameful move’ by major parties to ‘ram through’ salmon industry legislation Sarah Hanson-Young was asked about the passage of legislation overnight to protect the Tasmanian salmon industry, and her move to bring a dead salmon into the chamber in protest. Hanson-Young said it was a “shameful move by the Labor and the Liberal parties to gang up to ram this piece of legislation through that [was only introduced] into the Senate less than two days earlier.” Only on Tuesday morning [it] was introduced into the house and rammed through the Senate last night. It guts Australia’s environment laws. It actually makes Australia’s environment laws now weaker than they were when the Labor party came to power. And that says everything. The Greens senator said people in Tasmania were “ropable” over this, because they’re “sick and tired of this polluting, toxic industry.” Asked if her concerns are “premature”, with the Coalition arguing conditions in Macquarie harbour are better than they’ve been in a decade, Hanson-Young rejected this and said there were lots of “disputed facts.” $30m is being spent by the federal government, of taxpayers’ money, pumping oxygen into Macquarie harbour and to try and deal with the level of pollution because of the salmon farming. $30m, that’s how bad it is. Hanson-Young says Coalition’s move to halve fuel excise a ‘sugar hit for very short term gain’ Greens senator and spokesperson for the environment, Sarah Hanson-Young, is speaking with ABC RN. She was asked about the Coalition’s intention to halve the fuel excise for 12 months if elected, and labelled this “a sugar hit for a very short term gain”. What we need is permanent support for people who are struggling with cost of living, and this doesn’t do that. In fact, it does the opposite in many ways, because it fails to deal with the structural issues. How’s Peter Dutton going to pay for this? Well, we know he’s going to cut the public service … He won’t tell us exactly which jobs, [or] when they will go … ‘Appeasement will not work’: former defence minister urges Australia not to abandon Ukraine Australia must continue to support Ukraine and ensure Russia is not appeased as the world enters a more precarious period, a former defence minister has said. AAP reports that Liberal senator Linda Reynolds used her valedictory speech to warn more needed to be done to help Ukraine defeat Russia’s invasion. Europe is scrambling to respond to concerns faltering US support for Kyiv will give Russia the upper hand as the White House and the Kremlin negotiate a peace deal. Reynolds told the chamber yesterday: Their war is our war. I know there’s a lot of discussions going on globally at the moment but … appeasement of Russia will not work. The United States appeased Russia 10 years ago and gave them Crimea – ‘they won’t take anything more’, until they did. Alongside Russia, Reynolds also warned of China, North Korea and Iran forming a four-way “axis of dictatorship and authoritarianism” that targeted democracy. This axis is rapidly expanding its political and military spheres of influence, all of these regimes have nuclear capabilities. They exert brutal control over their domestic over their citizens, they have no regard for human life and they have a shared hatred of democratic values. Salmon farming laws a ‘rock-bottom moment’ for Labor, Greenpeace says Greenpeace is calling on Labor to take a strong climate agenda into its federal election campaign, after the passage of the EPBC amendment legislation. Glenn Walker, the head of nature at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said passage of this legislation “gives special treatment to the polluting salmon industry and sets a dangerous precedent of allowing corporations to avoid scrutiny”. [This] is a rock-bottom moment for a party that once promised ‘no new extinctions’. This ill-conceived decision by the prime minister to rush through this legislation, which comes weeks after Labor broke its promise to deliver strong nature law reforms in this term of government, has dealt a massive blow to Labor’s credibility on the environment. Walker said that “at a bare minimum”, Labor should establish an independent EPA within the first 12 months if re-elected. We also want to see strong ocean protection commitments, including a promise to ratify the Global Oceans Treaty within the first 100 days of government, and championing ocean sanctuaries in nearby international waters, including as a priority the Tasman Sea. Butler says it ‘takes too long’ for medicines to be approved by TGA and listed on PBS for patients Sticking with health, Mark Butler is also speaking with ABC RN this morning, asked about potential tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry from the US. One of the concerns raised by the US is the time it takes for new medicines to get to the market in Australia – is there room to improve that process? He said there was – but not because the US was asking for it: It’s an issue [that] the industry and, more importantly, patient groups raised with me. And we put in place the first comprehensive review of our system, our assessment system for new medicines, in 30 years. I’ve got that report. I’ve commissioned a group from industry and patient representatives to work on how we would implement that. But as a general proposition, yes, I want to see those times reduced. It takes too long, in my view, to get medicines from being approved by our Therapeutic Goods Administration, on the one hand, to being listed on the PBS so that patients can access them at affordable Australian PBS prices. I want to see those times come down. Butler translates Albanese’s ‘delulu with no solulu’ quip The health minister was also asked to “translate” Anthony Albanese’s quip in the House yesterday, that the opposition was “delulu with no solulu.” Mark Butler said he had to go to his younger colleague Annika Wells to “explain the modern world to me”: The prime minister is much more in touch with how young people communicate than I am … I think it’s ‘the opposition is deluded about solutions for the myriad of challenges and opportunities our country faces.’ And if that is what he means, then obviously, I agree. Well, that’s certainly more of a mouthful than what the PM said. We have our own handy explainer below, for all the non-gen Z’ers: Labor will ‘never negotiate’ on PBS, Butler says, amid US tariff push Mark Butler was also asked about potential US tariffs on Australia’s pharmaceutical industry, and if there are measures in the budget to protect against this. He said the Labor government, including the PM, has sent “a very clear message to the American industry that our PBS is never going to be up for negotiation”. Never, ever, ever will we negotiate on one of the best medicine systems in the world, that gives Australians access to the best treatments available on the planet at affordable Australian PBS prices. We will never negotiate on that. Butler responds to Coalition’s fuel excise proposal The health minister, Mark Butler, was up on the Today show earlier, asked about the Coalition’s intention to halve the fuel excise for 12 months if elected. Asked whether voters would be choosing between “a cup of coffee a week or a few litres of fuel”, Butler said, “you’ve got to [see] the whole package.” The only thing voters do know is that Peter Dutton wants to spend $600bn of taxpayer funds to build a fleet of nuclear power stations and introduce new tax breaks for bosses to have long lunches on the taxpayer’s dime. But he hasn’t told us what he’s going to cut to pay for them. He’s admitted he has to cut services like health and education, but he pretends he can tell voters after the election what those cuts will be. Taylor on reports Dutton had to tell colleagues to stop leaking It’s been reported that Peter Dutton has had to read the riot act to the Coalition party room to tell MPs to stop leaking and undermining their colleagues. Asked about this, Angus Taylor said he had a “very large number of colleagues who are massively supportive of what Peter and I are doing”. We will continue to fight hard for those hard-working Australians who deserve relief at the bowser, who are paying too much for everything right now and who can get a better deal. Taylor questioned on Coalition’s stance on public service jobs Angus Taylor was also asked about the number of public service jobs sent to consultants under the last Coalition government, costing $20bn in the last year of the Morrison government. The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, has said the public service was eroded to the point where it came up with robodebt, and Australians were “hunted down by their own government, threatened with jail times for debts they never owed”. Asked about this, Taylor said Gallagher had not established how “growing the size of the public service somehow reduces the cost of running government.” The idea from Katy Gallagher that somehow she has magically reduced spending by doing this kind of switch is just nonsense. The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has previously suggested the scale of the Coalition’s planned spending cuts won’t be revealed before the federal election. The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, is speaking with ABC RN to tout the Coalition’s intention to halve the fuel excise for 12 months if elected. He described the move as “temporary, targeted, but immediate relief for some of the hardest working Australians who are under the most pressure in our community”. As for how much this would equate to each week, Taylor said: Over the course of a year it’ll be, if it’s a one-tank family, it’d be $750. If it’s two tanks, it’s $1,500 … [Or] $14 a week, [and] $28 a week for a two-tank family. Taylor confirmed the Coalition would repeal the government’s tax cuts, as outlined in the budget, to instead halve the fuel excise. Yes, this will replace what Labor is doing, which we think is inappropriate under the circumstances, as we’ve laid out in the last 24 hours. Emily Wind here, signing on for blogging duties. I’ll be taking you through all the latest politics news from Canberra – and across the country – throughout the day. If you see something that needs attention, you can get in touch via email: emily.wind@theguardian.com. Let’s get started. The glaring omissions in the 2025 federal budget I mentioned budget fallout in the intro and we have a number of articles poring over the details of Jim Chalmers’ measures. First, we’re looking at the most glaring omissions from the budget in terms of who and what missed out on new funding. So from university students, renters and welfare claimants, to the arts sector and preventive health measures, these are the areas that were overlooked in the budget: Labor’s surprise budget tax cuts passed the Senate late last night, after a push by the government for a vote that would force the Coalition’s hand. In a late-night sitting, the “More cost of living relief” bill (as it was officially called) was put to the vote with debate guillotined. The Greens tried to add an amendment to the motion to read the bill saying the cuts would “barely scratch the surface for people struggling to pay for food or rent, will not come into effect for 15 months, and will save low-income workers only 73 cents a day, which would not even cover one cup of coffee per week”. That didn’t get through. The tax cuts were then put to a vote and passed with the support of Labor, the Greens and the independents, with the Coalition voting against them. About 9,000 court files, including sensitive documents such as apprehended violence orders and affidavits, have been leaked in a data breach of the New South Wales court system’s online registry. Police were alerted to a breach of the NSW Online Registry website on Tuesday and the state’s cybercrime squad commenced an investigation, NSW police said in statement on Wednesday night. The registry is an online platform that provides secure access to information in both civil and criminal cases across the NSW court system. Investigators were working on containing the “major data breach” and establishing the extent of the breach in collaboration with the Department of Communities and Justice, police said. Grogonomics: Labor’s budget tax cuts have backed Dutton into a political corner Greg Jericho is writing about the budget today and he argues that Labor’s tax cuts have left the opposition leader and shadow treasurer with limited options. He applauds Jim Chalmers’ decision to pass more of the pie to lower earners but says that more could have been done to help people on jobseeker, which remains well below the poverty line. He concludes: Tax is now a major part of both the ALP’s and LNP’s election campaigns. And many of the other choices that would help the unemployed or reduce tax breaks to the rich will be likely left for someone else to worry about. Read his full column here: Peter Dutton is expected to promise tonight that the Coalition will halve the fuel excise for 12 months if elected, AAP reports. The policy would lower the rate on petrol and diesel from about 50 cents to 25 cents a litre. The Coalition voted against the tax cuts that passed parliament yesterday, saying they were too little, too late for struggling Australians. Taxpayers will save up to $268 on their tax bills in 2026-27 and up to $536 every year after under Labor’s proposal. Dutton said: What’s obvious here is that a 70-cent-a-day tax cut in 15 months’ time is just not going to help families today who are really suffering. We do want to help families address the cost-of-living crisis, we do want to address the energy crisis. The opposition voted against Labor’s tax cuts, with the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, chastising Labor for producing a budget “for the next five weeks, not the next five years,” referring to the imminent election campaign. But he was attacked by the treasurer for voting against tax relief. Taylor didn’t rule out larger tax cuts being offered by the Coalition. Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer, bringing the best of the early stories before Emily Wind guides you through the morning. The setpiece of the day will be Peter Dutton’s budget reply at 7.30 this evening in which he is expected to try to outflank Anthony Albanese on cost-of-living relief. The Coalition voted against Labor’s income tax cuts yesterday and the opposition leader is preparing what has been called a “very significant announcement” in tonight’s speech. It appears that it’s going to be a promise to halve the fuel excise for 12 months, which would see about 25c come off the price of a litre of petrol. We will have full coverage of the buildup to his address and the rest of the budget fallout. Despite Sarah Hanson-Young’s best efforts yesterday when she waved a dead salmon in the Senate, the legislation to protect the Tasmanian salmon industry was passed through parliament last night. Coalition senators joined Labor to vote in favour of the bill after the government speeded the process by guillotining the debate to bring on a vote. More coming up. Specialist cybercrime detectives are investigating how 9,000 documents from New South Wales’s online court system were leaked into the public domain. NSW police’s cybercrime squad was alerted on Tuesday to the breach of the state’s Online Registry website, which provides access to civil and criminal court cases. Police said the documents include sensitive material such as apprehended violence orders and affidavits. More to follow.