Australia news as it happened: Tasmania’s AFL dreams up in the air as premier loses vote; Trump plays down Russia-Ukraine peace talks; Greens call on defector to do ‘honourable thing’ and resign

Thanks for following our live blog – that’s it for today. We’ll be back tomorrow with more live news coverage.

Here’s a recap of today’s key headlines:

• Tasmania’s Premier Jeremy Rockliff lost a motion of no confidence by a single vote, casting doubt on the future of the AFL’s newest team.
• Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley rejected former Victorian treasurer Alan Stockdale’s comments on gender quotas, which were also criticised by PM Anthony Albanese.

Alan Stockdale raised eyebrows at the NSW Liberal Women’s Council meeting with his comments about “assertive” women.Credit: AAPIMAGE

• Greens MP Sarah Hanson-Young said Senator Dorinda Cox should have resigned after defecting to Labor. In a past Greens application, Cox criticised Labor as patronising to women and people of colour, and donor-focused.

• A Victorian government inquiry heard that a banned CFMEU official allegedly still influences public construction projects.
• US President Donald Trump announced new travel bans on 12 countries and downplayed peace prospects in Ukraine after talks with Vladimir Putin.
• A Play School producer is suing the ABC, claiming misuse of fixed-term contracts under the Fair Work Act.
• A housemate of missing Queensland teen Pheobe Bishop was released without charge after assisting police.
• With global trade tensions rising, Australian trade officials are heading to Brussels to revive stalled EU trade negotiations.

Anthony Albanese called for “buying Australian” as tariffs are set to come into effect.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

• New teal MP Nicolette Boele said sexualised comments towards a hairdresser – which she has apologised for – did not affect her narrow election win.
• Australian Climate Change Authority chair Matt Kean warned that the government might miss its 82 per cent renewable energy target by 2030.
• The US vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and full humanitarian access.
• Treasurer Jim Chalmers acknowledged slow growth but said the economy remains “well-placed.”

Thanks again for joining us — see you tomorrow.

New Zealand’s parliament agreed on historically lengthy suspensions for three Indigenous lawmakers who last year performed a haka, disrupting the reading of a controversial bill.

In May a parliamentary privileges committee recommended the suspension of the three Te Pati Maori parliamentarians for acting in “a manner that could have the effect of intimidating a member of the House”.

The three performed the haka last November ahead of a vote on a controversial bill that would have reinterpreted a 185-year-old treaty between the British and Maori that still guides the country’s policy and legislation.

The government voted through the suspensions, which will see Te Pati Maori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi stood down from parliament for 21 days, and representative Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke for seven days.

While the members are suspended, they will not be paid or be able to vote on legislation.

Suspending lawmakers is rare in New Zealand’s parliament, with only three members suspended in the past 10 years, according to the New Zealand Parliamentary Service. Before Thursday, the longest suspension was for three days, New Zealand representatives who spoke earlier in the day said.

Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke (right) and her colleagues from Te Pati Maori talk to reporters after the protest inside parliament last November.Credit: AP

Maipi-Clarke told parliament ahead of the vote that the suspension was an effort to stop Maori from making themselves heard in parliament.

“Are our voices too loud for this House? Is that the reason why we are being silenced? Are our voices shaking the core foundation of this House, the House we had no voice in building … We will never be silenced and we will never be lost,” she said.

Judith Collins, who heads the privileges committee and serves as attorney-general, had previously told parliament that the haka forced the House speaker to suspend proceedings for 30 minutes and that no permission had been sought to perform it.

“It’s not about the haka ... it is about following the rules of parliament that we are all obliged to follow and that we all pledged to follow,” Collins said.

Reuters

The adage “You do the crime you do the time” springs to mind when listening to Star Entertainment’s protestations that if stung with a fine of $400 million for money laundering, it will go broke.

And its no idle threat from the casino operator, which narrowly escaped bankruptcy two months ago after a US-based white knight (Bally’s) agreed to lead a rescue mission that involved injecting $300 million into the business.

Will Star be fined out of existence?Credit: Sam Mooy

Star has so far only received $100 million, just enough to keep the doors open for a few months, with the rest to come later.

So, Star simply doesn’t have a lazy $400 million lying around even as the financial transaction regulator, AUSTRAC, asks a Federal Court judge to throw the book at the casino operator. According to AUSTRAC, $400 million is the appropriate penalty for Star’s alleged serious and systemic non-compliance with Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.

While Star argues a fine of that size is oppressive and AUSTRAC brands it appropriate, both parties might be correct.

Read more on this opinion piece from Elizabeth Knight here.

A Victorian government inquiry has heard allegations that a CFMEU official banned from construction sites after making threats to kill a labour hire company owner continues to wield influence on taxpayer-funded projects.

The Fair Work Commission found union official Joel Shackleton failed the “fit and proper person” test required for a right of entry permit last year, after The Age published a video of him threatening to kill the owner of an Indigenous labour hire firm.

CFMEU official Joel Shackleton.Credit: Facebook

In a hearing of the public accounts and estimates committee on Thursday afternoon, opposition MP Jade Benham asked Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams if Shackleton “might still be influencing and dictating” which firms were hired on state construction sites.

Williams said there had been “recent correspondence received” about Shackleton, which had been referred to the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority’s integrity unit.

“It also appears that the matter may have been brought to the attention of the Fair Work Ombudsman,” Williams said.

“It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment on those other than to say I’m aware that there have been allegations made and that they’ve been appropriately referred.”

Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority director-general Kevin Devlin also told the hearing that a separate CFMEU-linked “ghost shift” scam had been referred to the state’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.

The Age revealed in March that two CFMEU delegates had been sacked, and an investigation launched into the scam, involving fake invoices being issued by workers on the $15 billion Metro Tunnel project.

Devlin said the Metro Tunnel’s builders, the CPY consortium, investigated the scam and found “a small number of individuals” had claimed fraudulent allowances, mostly related to bad-weather penalties.

Those allegations had been referred to “appropriate regulators, including IBAC and investigators”, he said.

Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has backed calls for an independent investigation following the death of 24-year-old Kumanjayi White, who died in police custody last week after an altercation with a security guard.

“They [the federal government] need to take very seriously what the family and community are calling for and that is an independent investigation – rather than cops investigating cops,” Thorpe said.

“It is very clear that we have had so many deaths in custody, almost 600 deaths, and nobody ever is held accountable for any of those deaths.”

Thorpe said all the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody from 1991 needed to be implemented.

Trade Minister Don Farrell has told the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing program that Australia will press the argument strongly for the removal of US tariffs.

“The trade relationship between Australia and the United States is overwhelmingly in the United States’ benefit,” he said.

“I think the best position that we can adopt is simply that we don’t accept that we should be subject to reciprocal tariffs when the trade relationship is so overwhelmingly in favour of the United States.”

Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Farrell said Australia wanted the US to honour the free trade agreement that has been in place for 20 years.

“What the Americans have done is tear up 80 postwar years of trade agreements, and said that they want to rewrite those trade agreements in the space of 90 days. We are already 60 days into those 90 – and only one of those agreements has been reached,” he said.

Toys ‘R’ Us Australia and New Zealand has been suspended from the Australian stock exchange after handing itself over to administrators for the second time as buyers are sought for the business.

The toy retailer, which switched to an online-only model after appointing administrators in 2018, had been trying to restructure its balance sheet but could not find a viable way forward.

Credit: Shutterstock

“The company is no longer in a position to pursue a solvent recapitalisation plan. In light of these events, the board has determined that the company is, or is likely to become, insolvent,” Toys ‘R’ Us said in an ASX statement on Thursday.

BDO restructuring partners Luke Andrews and Duncan Clubb have been appointed administrators and have taken control of the business, which will continue operating as usual “where possible” while they look to restructure or sell the business.

Read the full story here.

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff was the subject of a lengthy no-confidence debate on Wednesday. Labor Opposition Leader Dean Winter moved the no-confidence motion on Tuesday, with debate continuing into Thursday, as all 35 MPs spoke given the gravity of the motion.

After the House speaker cast the deciding vote to break a 17-17 tie, Rockliff said he would now call a state election.

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff outside state parliament on Thursday morning.Credit: AAP

“Make no mistake this will be an election that Tasmanians don’t want, and Tasmania cannot afford,” he said.

“But be that on Mr Winter’s and the Labor Party’s head. This has been a selfish grab for power, which we will fight, and we’ll do our darnedest to win.

“I’m not going to let the Labor Party chose the leader of the Liberal Party, and I’m going to fight this all the way.”

A motion of no confidence has been passed against Tasmania’s Premier Jeremy Rockliff by one vote, as the state’s political chaos leaves the future of the AFL’s newest club in peril.

The vote, taken about 3.30pm, resulted in a 17-17 tie, leaving Speaker Michelle O’Byrne – a member of the Labor Party, who has held the speaker’s position since May last year – to cast the deciding vote in favour of the motion.

O’Byrne, in explaining her decision, referenced her loyalty to the party, the instability in the state, and the future of the Tasmania Football Club.

“I am also very mindful of the future of the AFL team,” she said.

“I support the team ... To say the path to the team has been poorly handled is an understatement.”

A tie has been reached in a no-confidence vote against Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff.

After two days of debate in the state’s parliament, Labor member and House Speaker Michelle O’Byrne will make the casting vote.

More to come on this.