Labor eyes Greens support in Senate for stage three tax cut changes

The Prime Minister says he's 'hopeful' Labor will get its overhauled stage three tax cuts through the Senate, and has left the door open to negotiating with the Greens.

Greens leader Adam Bandt and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Welcome to The Australian's live coverage of the day's political events and major headlines.
 

Live Updates

4:31 pm January 28, 2024

UN chief asks donor countries for ‘continuity’ in Gaza

Agency writers

UN chief Antonio Guterres has pleaded for donor states to “guarantee the continuity” of the body’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) after several halted funding over accusations of staff involvement in Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, AFP reports.

“While I understand their concerns – I was myself horrified by these accusations – I strongly appeal to the governments that have suspended their contributions to, at least, guarantee the continuity of UNRWA’s operations,” Guterres said in a statement, referring to the agency’s acronym.

Israel has alleged several UNRWA staff were involved in Hamas’s attack, leading some key donor countries to suspend their funding.

UNRWA fired several staff over Israel’s accusations, promising a thorough investigation into the claims, which were not specified, while Israel vowed to stop the agency’s work in Gaza after the war.

The row between Israel and UNRWA follows the UN’s International Court of Justice ruling on Friday that Israel must prevent possible acts of genocide in the conflict and allow more aid into Gaza.

“The abhorrent alleged acts of these staff members must have consequences,” Guterres said. “But the tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA, many in some of the most dangerous situations for humanitarian workers, should not be penalized,” he added.

“The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met.”

Guterres confirmed that 12 UNRWA employees were cited in the accusations, which the United Nations is investigating.

Nine have been fired, one is dead, and the “the identity of the two others is being clarified,” he said.

Several key donor countries to UNRWA have said they will temporarily suspend their current or future following accusations, including the United States, Britain, Canada and Switzerland.

Hamas slammed Israeli “threats” against UNRWA on Saturday, urging the UN and other international organizations not to “cave in to the threats and blackmail.”

The Islamist group’s October 7 attack resulted in about 1140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

Militants also seized about 250 hostages and Israel says around 132 of them remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 28 dead captives.

Israel’s military offensive, which began in late October, has killed at least 26,257 people, most of them women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

1:41 pm January 28, 2024

North Korea fires several cruise missiles

Agency writers

North Korea fired several cruise missiles on Sunday, Seoul’s military said, the latest in a series of tension-raising moves by the nuclear-armed state, AFP reports.

The launch comes just days after Pyongyang fired multiple cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea, which it said was a first test of a new generation of strategic cruise missiles.

Pyongyang has accelerated weapons testing in the new year, including tests of what it called an “underwater nuclear weapon system” and a solid-fuelled hypersonic ballistic missile.

“Our military detected several unidentified cruise missiles fired near waters around North Korea’s Sinpo area at 8am (10am AEDT today,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The JCS said the launch was under analysis by South Korean and US intelligence authorities, adding it was “closely monitoring North Korea’s additional movements and activities.”

Unlike their ballistic counterparts, the testing of cruise missiles is not banned under current UN sanctions against Pyongyang.

Cruise missiles tend to be jet-propelled and fly at a lower altitude than more sophisticated ballistic missiles, making them harder to detect and intercept.

1:18 pm January 28, 2024

Ukraine uncovers $40m defence embezzlement

Agency writers

Ukrainian defence officials and corporate leaders sought to steal about $40 million through a fraudulent arms procurement scheme, the country’s main intelligence and security agency says, AFP reports.

The corruption allegations were confirmed by Ukraine’s defence ministry, which has served implicated officials with notices of suspicion.

They come as Republicans in the United States resist President Joe Biden’s efforts to send more aid to Ukraine, and as former president Donald Trump, who has spoken out against US military support for Kyiv, appears to be on a glide path to the Republican nomination.

Ukraine’s SBU security service said that current and former senior officials of the defence ministry and heads of affiliated companies “attempted to steal almost UAH 1.5 billion ($40 million) from the budget by purchasing 100,000 mortar rounds for the Armed Forces.”

They allegedly signed a contract to buy the shells from the arms supplier Lviv Arsenal in August 2022, after which the defence ministry “transferred the full amount stipulated in the signed document to the company’s accounts”.

From there the funds went to a foreign commercial entity that was supposed to deliver the ammunition but “not a single artillery shell” was ever sent to Ukraine, according to the SBU.

Officials accused of participating in the scheme include the current and former heads of the defence ministry’s Department of Military and Technical Policy, Development of Armaments and Military Equipment, as well as the head of Lviv Arsenal.

One of the suspects was detained by the SBU while attempting to leave Ukraine and is currently in custody.

According to Ukraine’s prosecutor general, the stolen funds have been seized and will be returned to the defence budget.

Ukraine has weathered a series of corruption scandals in recent months, including several others within the defence ministry.

In August 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sacked all the officials in charge of military recruitment across the regions to end a system in which some people were being allowed to escape conscription.

Reining in corruption is one of the conditions the European Union has set for Ukraine as it seeks membership.

12:53 pm January 28, 2024 Highlight

US strikes Houthi target in Yemen

Agency writers

US forces struck an anti-ship missile in Houthi-held Yemen that they said was ready to fire, hours after the Iran-backed rebels caused a fire on a British tanker in the Gulf of Aden with a similar munition, AFP reports.

US and British forces have launched joint strikes aimed at reducing the Houthis’ ability to target vessels transiting the key Red Sea trade route – attacks the rebels say are in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is at war with Hamas.

Washington has also carried out a series of unilateral air raids, but the Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks.

The US military’s Central Command, CENTCOM, said it had carried out another strike early Saturday on a Houthi “anti-ship missile aimed into the Red Sea and which was prepared to launch.

“Forces subsequently struck and destroyed the missile in self-defence,” it said on social media platform X.

The Houthis’ Al-Masirah television said the United States and Britain had launched two air strikes on the port of Ras Issa in Yemen’s Hodeida province, which hosts the country’s main oil export terminal.

There was no immediate confirmation from Washington or London, and the Houthis did not provide details on the attack or the extent of the damage.

The previous evening, the Houthis’ military spokesman Yahya Saree said missiles fired by the rebels had hit the Marlin Luanda, an oil tanker operated by a British firm on behalf of trading giant Trafigura Group.

“The strike was direct, and resulted (in) the burning of the vessel,” Saree said.

11:09 am January 28, 2024

New peace plan proposed to secure release of hostages

Agency writers

International mediators are proposing a deal to secure the release of all the remaining hostages in Gaza in exchange for a roughly four-month ceasefire. The plan offered to Israel and Hamas would lead to an end to the war in Gaza, Egyptian officials said Saturday. Read more here

10:53 am January 28, 2024 Highlight

Tuvalu’s pro-Taiwan PM loses seat at election

Agency writers

Tuvalu’s pro-Taiwan prime minister has lost his parliamentary seat, election results revealed on Saturday, fuelling speculation the microstate may be poised to switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing, AFP reports.

Results showed that Kausea Natano, who has backed long-standing relations with Taipei, failed to win one of two seats up for grabs on the main atoll of Funafuti.

Tuvalu is one of just 12 states around the world, including the Holy See, that still formally recognise Taiwan.

Neighbouring Nauru abruptly severed diplomatic ties in favour of China earlier this month and rumours have swirled that Tuvalu could be next.

There are a little more than 6000 registered voters in the country of around 11,500 people, and ballots are still coming in from far-flung islands.

With no formal political parties, the process of MPs selecting a prime minister and potentially changing government policies could be slow.

But ahead of election day, Natano’s finance minister, Seve Paeniu, floated the idea of reviewing Taiwan ties.

Paeniu won his election race uncontested and is among the favourites to take the island country’s top job.

Taiwan’s ambassador to Tuvalu Andrew Lin dismissed the idea of a potential switch, recently telling AFP the two allies enjoyed a “very long-term friendship” that would endure beyond the election.

But China has been methodically poaching Taiwan’s Pacific allies, convincing Solomon Islands and Kiribati to switch recognition in 2019 before Nauru did the same.

“The drivers are economic, not ideological,” said Anna Powles, a Pacific security expert at New Zealand’s Massey University.

“Beijing offers economic and development opportunities that Pacific states find hard to refuse when there are often no alternatives.”

China claims democratic, self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has never ruled out using force to seize it one day.

Security implications

Tuvalu’s looming leadership change also throws into doubt a recent climate and security treaty with Australia.

The deal saw Canberra offer refuge to Tuvaluans threatened by climate change. It also offered Australia a say in any defence pacts Tuvalu signs with other countries – effectively blocking a future security deal with China.

Another former prime minister, Enele Sopoaga, who won re-election and is expected to seek a top job, has proposed scrapping that treaty.

Australia was shocked in 2022 when the neighbouring Solomon Islands secretly signed a defence pact with Beijing that would allow the deployment of Chinese forces on the islands.

Since the signing of that agreement, uniformed Chinese police officers have become a regular sight in the Pacific nation.

On Saturday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong congratulated Tuvalu on a “successful election”, while offering the prospect of further co-operation.

“We look forward to working with the new Government,” she said. “Australia and Tuvalu are longstanding friends, sharing an interest in building a stronger, more resilient and more peaceful Pacific.”

The United Nations says Tuvalu is “extremely vulnerable” to the effects of climate change, with most of its landmass less than five metres above sea level.

Most of it is predicted to be underwater — at least some of the time — by 2100.

Around 40 percent of the main atoll Funafuti already gets submerged during periodic “king” tides that wash away crops like taro and cassava.

Two of the atolls represented on its flag of 11 stars have already disappeared.

10:38 am January 28, 2024

Biden, Xi plan to catch up by phone

Agency writers

Washington and Beijing are working on arranging another call between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the White House said on Saturday, AFP reports.

The two sides are pursuing “additional high-level diplomacy,” the White House statement said, “including through a call between President Biden and President Xi.”

9:39 am January 28, 2024

Labor looking at way to close the gap

Anthony Albanese says he was disappointed with the voice referendum failure because he saw it as a lost opportunity to advance reconciliation but he has accepted the outcome.

Speaking to Sky News, the Prime Minister said he accepted responsibility for the result and had fronted up to the Australian people to be accountable for his decisions.

Following criticism that the government had no “plan B” after the referendum to help improve outcomes for indigenous Australians, Mr Albanese said he was continuing to look at ways the government could close the gap.

“I was disappointed with the outcome …. I saw it as a lost opportunity to advance reconciliation," Mr Albanese said.

“But I accepted the outcome from the Australian people. I fronted up. One of the differences between me and my opponent. I fronted up there, in Canberra, in Parliament House, in this office, in the Blue Room on that evening.

“I make myself accountable and I was disappointed with the outcome, I've said that. But I accepted it, I accepted responsibility as Prime Minister for it.

“But I also know that one of the things we have done before, during and after is continue to look at ways in which we can close the gap in a practical way.”

9:35 am January 28, 2024 Highlight

Israel pushes for replacement of controversial UN aid agency

Agency writers

Israel has vowed to stop the UN agency at the heart of humanitarian efforts in Gaza from operating after the war, following the sacking of staff accused of involvement in the October 7 attack, AFP reports.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said on Friday it had fired several employees over Israel’s accusations, promising a thorough investigation into the claims, which were not specified.

Donors including Germany, Britain, Italy, Australia and Finland have followed the lead of the US, which said Friday it had suspended additional funding to the agency over the accusations.

“In Gaza’s rebuilding, UNRWA must be replaced with agencies dedicated to genuine peace and development,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement, urging more donors to suspend funding.

Hamas on Saturday slammed Israeli “threats” against UNRWA, urging the United Nations and other international organisations not to “cave in to the threats and blackmail”.

Relations between Israel and UNRWA, which have been strained for years, deteriorated further in recent days, with the UN agency condemning tank shelling it said had hit a shelter for displaced people in Gaza’s main southern city of Khan Yunis.

The agency said tens of thousands of displaced people had been registered at the shelter and Wednesday’s tank shelling killed 13 people.

Asked about the incident, the Israeli army said “a thorough review of the operations of the forces in the vicinity is underway”, adding it was examining the possibility that the strike was a “result of Hamas fire”.

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini slammed Wednesday’s bombardment as a “blatant disregard of basic rules of war”, with the compound clearly marked as a UN facility and its coordinates shared with Israeli authorities.

The Israeli army is the only force known to have tanks operating in the Gaza Strip.

Before fighting broke out, UNRWA struggled to meet funding requirements. The agency’s chronic budget shortfalls worsened dramatically in 2018 when former US president Donald Trump cut support to the agency.

But US President Joe Biden’s administration has fully restored support, providing $340 million in 2022, making it the agency’s largest bilateral donor.

The US State Department said Friday it had “temporarily paused additional funding” to the agency while it reviewed the claims as well as the UN’s plan to address concerns.

Several key donor countries said Saturday they would halt their funding, prompting Lazzarini to say it was “shocking to see a suspension of funds to the agency in reaction to allegations against a small group of staff”.

– Agencies

9:25 am January 28, 2024

Albanese refuses to land on middle ground

Anthony Albanese has been unable to clearly define what salary a person may be earning in order to be considered part of “middle Australia” despite repeatedly saying his stage three tax cut overhaul will benefit them.

When asked whether a person earning $155,000 or $180,000 qualified as middle Australia, the Prime Minister said “of course they are and they’ll get a tax cut”.

Mr Albanese was then pressed on whether someone earning $220,000 was considered middle Australia, he said “you know what, they’ll all get a tax cut".

Mr Albanese was then asked to define which income brackets were considered middle Australia, and he said “they'll get a tax cut. They'll get a tax cut. So the benefit here is, Andrew, what we haven't done, unlike what happened in 2014, where there was a tax increase, a hit just on the high-income earners.”

His comments come after repeatedly defending the stage three tax cut overhaul by arguing the changes will overwhelmingly benefit middle Australia which is doing it tough in cost of living pressures.

“This is aimed fairly and squarely at middle Australia. So that, for the average family earns $130,000, instead of getting, instead of getting just $1000, they'll be getting $2600. That makes a substantial difference to them," Mr Albanese said earlier in the interview.

“So our choice very clearly, is to give every taxpayer a tax cut. We have done that. We have aimed the biggest benefit, aimed squarely at middle Australia."