As it happened: Heartbreak for Matildas after loss; PM strikes deal with state, territory leaders over housing target

Thanks for reading our live coverage today. We’ll be back with you bright and early tomorrow morning to cover day two of Labor’s national conference in Brisbane.

Until then, here’s what you need to know tonight:

• The nation’s unemployment rate jumped to 3.7 per cent with a drop in the number of people holding down a job in July, and the treasurer expects that figure to climb to about 4.5 per cent.
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is pitching his Labor administration as a long-term governing force that must lock in the trust of mainstream Australians.
• Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was one of many politicians who praised the performance of the Matildas after their heartbreaking loss to England last night. Dutton pledged $250 million to grassroots women’s sport while the government stopped short of promising more money.
• Melbourne’s Federation Square will no longer be a live viewing site for the World Cup after a crowd surge while a review launched into Sydney’s paralysed trains after a night of chaos and heartbreak yesterday.
• The family of an Indonesian man still missing after a rescue operation that saved four Australian surfers have spoken of their heartache as his father vows to keep searching in his own boat until he finds him.

Anthony Albanese heaped praise on the Matildas after their semi-final loss, for their “incredible skill, ferocity and flair”.Credit: Getty

Union leaders have urged the federal government to intensify action on climate change out of concern that existing policies will not be enough to meet Labor’s pledge to cut carbon emissions, as the peak forestry union blocked attempts to phase out native forest logging.

Labor delegates called on the government to unleash more spending on renewable energy to match mammoth subsidies in the United States and Europe worth up to 3 per cent of GDP, many times the spending promised in Australia.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen (pictured) and Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek led the debate on Australia’s energy transition.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

With Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek leading the debate, the Labor conference passed motions to do more on the energy transition, with one motion highlighting the subsidies offered overseas.

“We are in the midst of an energy transition that is, in truth, an industrial revolution,” said Electrical Trades Union national secretary Michael Wright, one of those who called for more action.

“We know that this transition will take an incomprehensible amount of work.”

Read the full story.

It might not have been the result Sydneysiders were after, but boy did keep us glued to our screens. Sydney Water has released data on the “Tilly effect” on water usage last night, showing how levels dramatically dropped during gameplay.

The graph shows a dramatic drop just before kick-off at 8pm before picking up again at the half-time and full-time breaks.

“It wasn’t to be last night for our Tillies, but as our water usage data shows, they kept us on the edge of our seats and glued to our screens,” Sydney Water said on social media.

“Sydneysiders didn’t want to miss a minute of action – whether holding on for the loo or racing to make a half-time cup of tea (we trust it wasn’t English Breakfast).”

Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather hasn’t formally indicated whether the government’s new housing funding announcements could break the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund deadlock.

But he has poured cold water on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s plan to use $3 billion in federal incentives for state and territory governments to build 1.2 million homes over five years.

Max Chandler-Mather, Greens spokesperson for housing.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Speaking to the ABC, Chandler-Mather said:

It’s important to note they still have not done anything for renters. They have locked in unlimited rent increases once a year. When we already know 62% of renters are in financial stress. Which basically means from here on in, every rent increase is the responsibility of the Labor Party because they decided not to put any cap on it at all.

Let’s be clear, the additional $3 billion [has] no conditions attached to it. As far as we can tell, the states are allowed to spend that money however they like.

The last thing we need to get more private penthouses. What we need is more investment in public and affordable housing.

Chandler-Mather said he was disappointed the $3 billion wasn’t for social and affordable housing and said the Greens would continue to negotiate with the government on the housing future fund.

Speaking to the ABC, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was sceptical the government’s new target of building 1.2 million new houses over five years would be realised.

“Last October [Albanese] announced an aspiration of a million homes, now that is not going to be realised. He’s now saying that figure should be 1.2 million, which won’t be realised either. So [we] provide support and encouragement but there needs to be a tinge of reality here to the PM.”

Melbourne’s Federation Square will no longer serve as a live World Cup viewing site after punters stormed security gates last night to watch the Matildas semi-final, while in Sydney, a review has launched into the train network paralysis that marooned thousands of fans trying to get home from Sydney Olympic Park.

The decision to shut down the Federation Square site was made in conjunction with police. A spokesperson for the Victorian government said:

During the Women’s World Cup Federation Square has hosted 140,000 people – and there have been many memorable scenes with thousands throwing their support behind the Matildas.

However as a result of disappointing behaviour by a small group of people, Federation Square management has made the decision that there will no longer be a live site at Federation Square, due to safety concerns.

It is clear that if there was a repeat of last night’s behaviour it would be unsafe for families, fans and staff.

Police and security backing away as crowds storm the Matildas fan site at Federation Square.Credit: Nine News

Meanwhile, the travel chaos that engulfed tens of thousands of Matildas fans in Sydney after a signal box was vandalised has sparked calls for more staff at stations during major events, improved communications with passengers stuck on platforms, and bolstered security.

The meltdown has again exposed the fragility of Sydney’s rail network, which has suffered repeated failures this year. A signaller calling in sick last month brought part of the network to a grinding halt for more than hour.

Premier Chris Minns, who apologised to fans for the disruptions, said the government clearly needed to look at security of the transport network, especially for critical infrastructure, and a review would be undertaken.

The Albanese government says it will “always look for more ways” to ensure funding for women’s sport is fit for purpose, but has stopped short of promising more money after the Matildas’ extraordinary World Cup run ended.

Matildas champion Sam Kerr called for an immediate funding boost for women’s football on Wednesday night after the team’s heartbreaking 3-1 semi-final loss to England, and argued the team’s run deep into the finals should be the catalyst for change in Australian soccer.

Anthony Albanese attended a number of Matildas games.Credit: Reuters

In response to questions from this masthead about whether a funding boost for the Matildas and grassroots soccer was in the works, a federal government spokesperson said:

We want funding to be fit for purpose, so more women and girls can participate and compete in sport at all levels – and we will always look for more ways to do that.

We are determined to help girls inspired by the FIFA World Cup, Netball World Cup, women’s basketball and rugby world cups to have safer facilities to enjoy sport for life. We want more opportunities for more Matildas. This tournament has been incredible and proven that women’s sport isn’t a phase, it’s here to stay.

We have spent significant money on women’s football, committing more than $84 million to support the Women’s World Cup and its legacy. We committed $44 million for the hosting of the tournament and a further $40 million for grassroots programs like MiniRoos and the first-ever home of women’s football.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has joined Sky News from Brisbane, where he’s attending the ALP national conference, to comment on the increase in the unemployment rate to 3.7 per cent. Here’s what he said:

We’ve been expecting for a little while now that the unemployment rate will tick up a bit, but still 3.7 per cent when we’ve got all of this coming at us from around the world, that’s still a pretty remarkable position that we’re in.

Certainly, the Treasury forecasts think that unemployment will get to somewhere closer to the middle fours, but the labour market’s been incredibly resilient. It’s one of the big things we’ve got going for us. The fact that unemployment has been really extraordinarily low for some time. We’ve created more jobs in the first year of the Albanese government than any new government on record.

And another number that came out today, which is very pleasing, is that on average Australians are earning about $68 a week more than they were when we came to office, and so that’s encouraging too.”

The treasurer went on to nominate cost of living pressures as the “no.1 priority of the Albanese government”.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers during the Australian Labor Party conference in Brisbane.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Government Services Minister Bill Shorten has vowed to protect the NDIS and urged state governments to play a greater role in funding disability services.

The government is reviewing the NDIS, the costs of which have ballooned dramatically.

“I’m here to declare the NDIS is here to stay for future generations of Australians,” Shorten said at the party’s national conference. “But the NDIS cannot be the only lifeboat in the ocean.”

Shorten noted that only two of the conference’s 400 delegates were disabled.

Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The conference, which sets Labor’s policy agenda, agreed on a new set of words related to the NDIS.

It states: “Labor will continue — in consultation with NDIS participants and the disability community — improving regulation and oversight of the NDIS and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) in order to prevent the exploitation, neglect, and abuse experienced by NDIS participants.”

Australia’s moribund pace of economic productivity could be boosted by improving indoor air quality and reducing the number of sick days taken by employees, according to Labor MP Michelle Ananda-Rajah.

The Higgins MP successfully made an amendment to Labor’s platform urging the party to enact policies to better regulate air quality in building design.

“It will be a race to the top much in the way of energy ratings in buildings,” Ananda-Rajah, an infectious diseases doctor, said.

Fellow Labor MP Ged Kearney, a former nurse, said “clean air is safe air”.

“This will not, as some say, create barriers to industry,” she said.

The Labor Party will stop dealing with representatives who work for the tobacco industry.

Victorian Labor member Kate Maxfield, a medical doctor, put forward a change to the party’s platform, to cut ties with the industry.

The move, which was carried at the conference, states: “Labor acknowledges the coercive nature of the tobacco industry and will not engage with representatives working for or on behalf of companies that receive revenue from the manufacturing and/or production of tobacco.”

It means Labor MPs and ministers should not meet with lobbyists and staffers advocating for tobacco firms.

Dr Kate Maxfield and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews last year.Credit: