Politics latest: Chinese Premier's tour details revealed

Li Qiang will kick-off his Australian visit in Adelaide before bilateral talks in Canberra, Anthony Albanese announces.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang. Picture: Johannes Simon/Getty Images

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5:38 pm June 11, 2024

PM blasts pro-Palestine attacks on electoral offices

Staff writers

Anthony Albanese says pro-Palestinian protestors encouraged and aided by The Greens who are blockading and vandalising electoral offices are doing “nothing” to advance their cause.

The comments follow recent attacks on locations including NSW Premier Chris Minns’ office and the US Consulate in North Sydney.

“In a democracy, peaceful protest has an important role for people to be able to demonstrate their views,” the Prime Minister said.

“It is important also, as I said in parliament, that how people conduct themselves will reflect on the course which they wish to pursue.

“Those people, whether it be … throwing bricks at windows, whether it be painting of offices, or the US Consulate or other buildings, do nothing to advance the cause.”

By Elizabeth Pike

5:34 pm June 11, 2024

Dutton's energy policy a 'nuclear fantasy': PM

Staff writers

Anthony Albanese has labelled Peter Dutton’s energy policy a “nuclear fantasy”.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday afternoon from Parliament House, the Prime Minister said walking away from the 2030 emissions target would see Australia join the ranks of countries like Libya and Iran, who have already abandoned the Paris Agreement.

“I’ll also make some comments … about Peter Dutton’s rather extraordinary abandonment of any pretence of having a climate policy,” he said.

“His nuclear fantasy will result in higher power prices, a more unstable energy grid and rising emissions. No 2030 target means walking out of the Paris Agreement. That is very clear. And if you walk out of the Paris Agreement, you’re left standing with Libya, Yemen, and Iran. That is not the company that Australia should want to keep.

“Peter Dutton is divisive, the Coalition are divided and there is no detail about what they would pursue. The three D’s of the Coalition – divisive, divided, detail – which gives them a big F for fail when it comes to climate policy.”

By Elizabeth Pike

4:25 pm June 11, 2024 Highlight

China Premier visit kicks off in Adelaide on Saturday

Ben Packham

Chinese Premier Li Qiang. Picture: Pedro Pardo / POOL / AFP

Chinese Premier Li Qiang will kick off his Australian trip in Adelaide on Saturday, where he is expected to announce that two pandas loaned to the city’s zoo will have their stay extended.

Premier Li will meet with winemakers in Adelaide on Sunday and be the guest of honour at a state lunch hosted by Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Trade Minister Don Farrell, before heading to Canberra.

Anthony Albanese has announced details of the June 15-18 trip, confirming he will have bilateral talks with China’s No. 2 leader at Parliament House on Monday, before travelling with Premier Li to Perth.

He will meet with business and political leaders in the Western Australian capital before visiting the Tianqi Lithium processing facility at Kwinana, and a hydrogen research and development plant operated by Fortescue Metals Group.

The Prime Minister said Premier Li’s trip would “make a valuable contribution to strengthening relationships between business leaders in China and Australia”.

“Welcoming the Chinese Premier to our shores is an opportunity for Australia to advance our interests by demonstrating our national values, our people’s qualities and our economy’s strengths,” he said.

“Australia continues to pursue a stable and direct relationship with China, with dialogue at its core.

“We will cooperate where we can, disagree where we must and engage in our national interest.”

Giant pandas Fu Ni and Wang Wang have been on loan from China since 2009 in an agreement that was due to expire in November this year.

Adelaide Zoo had been waiting to hear whether China would renew its contract to host the pair – the only giant pandas living in the southern hemisphere.

The trip will be the first by a Chinese premier to Australia in seven years. Premier Li's visit to Tianqi Lithium, which is part-owned by a Chinese company, will put the spotlight on Chinese investment in the sensitive sector.

The federal government recently ordered Chinese interests to reduce their stake in rare earth producer Northern Minerals.

Mr Albanese said his government maintained a consistent approach to foreign investment rules.

“Foreign investment has a role to play in Australia. We do it on a case-by-case basis, considering the national interest. Certainly Chinese engagement, including with the resources sector, has been important for growth in not just Australia … but other states also," he said.

“That has played an important role in what has been a remarkable uplifting of people out of poverty in China over recent decades also.”

3:11 pm June 11, 2024

Budget verdict: Cashed-up Treasurer digs deep

Judith Sloan

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick seems to be a bit confused these days. Rather than deliver a responsible budget for his state that uses the fortuitous flow of coal royalties to pay down debt, he thinks he has taken a job at the Ekka stuffing vote-grabbing show bags. They are full of unaffordable giveaways desperately designed to retain enough electoral support for the Labor government to remain in office. Read more here

2:17 pm June 11, 2024

Qld's debt dive to bankroll election promises

Lydia Lynch

Queensland Labor has used its pre-election budget to plunge the state into debt and deficit to bankroll a $11.2bn cost of living package in a last-ditch bid to win back voters ahead of the October state election. Read more here

2:04 pm June 11, 2024

Labor, Liberals won't meet Paris target, Bandt says

Staff writers

Greens leader Adam Bandt has excoriated the climate stances of the Labor and Liberal parties, insisting neither one is strong enough to meet the necessary targets.

"Neither Labor nor Liberal have targets strong enough to meet the Paris goal of limiting global warming to less than two degrees," Mr Bandt said.

"It's clear now that both Labor and Liberal have given up on meeting the Paris agreement goal.

"The Liberals don't even pretend to care about it anymore – and meanwhile, Labor overshoots the Paris agreement goal of limiting global heating by less than two degrees.

"The Paris agreement goal is critical because scientists say that if we overshoot two degrees, climate change could become runaway and nothing that our kids or grandkids do could stop it.

"Meanwhile, with the Liberals completely ignoring the Paris agreement, Anthony Albanese is out there crying Paris crocodile tears when his targets won't meet the Paris agreement either.

"Both Labor and Liberal are on track to blow the Paris agreement."

Mr Bandt also spoke of the new deal in the Middle East and called it an "important step towards peace".

– Grace Baldwin

1:59 pm June 11, 2024

Conroy: Dutton's emissions plan lacks certainty

Staff writers

Former Labor senator Stephen Conroy said Peter Dutton's announcements and interviews over the weekend showed he has "no intention of trying to win the next election".

Speaking to the reignited 'climate wars', Mr Conroy said the opposition's policy was now that they had no policy until the next federal election.

"That's quite an extraordinary omission – they don't want to try and expose the fact that their nuclear option just doesn't fly," he said on Sky.

"It doesn't fly in an economic sense, a renewables sense, a cost effective sense, or as a solution to the climate situation we currently face.

"He's out there boasting that he's the strong leader but he's so weak he can't even put a policy out there for the Australian public to consider.

"He's asking the Australian public to vote on (him) in the next election without having any 2030 or 2035 target."

Mr Conroy said Mr Dutton's lack of climate clarity or action would alienate him from the teal candidates, given many of them won seats due to their strong climate stance.

"How could they form a working coalition with Peter Dutton, who is not at any stage promising to address the problems that the country faces around climate issues?

"We need certainty."

– Grace Baldwin

1:29 pm June 11, 2024

Federal Liberal MP reveals retirement plan

Matthew Denholm

Liberal MP for Braddon, Gavin Pearce, has announced he will not re-contest the seat at the next federal election.

Mr Pearce, a popular figure in the northwest Tasmanian electorate, cited the toll of political life on his young family as the key reason for his decision.

"During my two terms in politics, I have given this role my everything," he said on Tuesday. "I can sincerely and honestly say I could not have done more, and I genuinely believe the region is in a better position than when I commenced my service.

"This combined service has taken a toll however. It has come at the expense of my family – my two little girls, aged nine and two, and my partner Megan. They are my family who I rarely see, let alone spend time with. The time has come to make them my priority."

12:44 pm June 11, 2024

Dutton won't reveal 2030 target before election

Rosie Lewis

Peter Dutton says he won’t put forward a new 2030 emissions reduction target until after the next election.

The Opposition Leader also refused to confirm if the Coalition would produce a lower 2030 target, despite vowing to go to the poll opposing the Albanese government’s goal of decreasing carbon emissions by 43 per cent.

Mr Dutton was asked multiple times on Tuesday if the Coalition under his leadership would endorse a lower 2030 target, to which he responded: “Labor has no chance of meeting their target by 2030.

“We now know that the Labor Party is talking about a 60 to 65 per cent reduction in February of next year. I suspect the Prime Minister will want to go to an election before that, because he won't want people to do the math. And what the math means is that electricity prices under Labor will go through the neck and through the roof.”

Pressed again on whether that meant the Coalition would deliver a lower 2030 target, Mr Dutton said: “It means we’re committed to net zero by 2050 and we need to make sure that we don't harm Australian families and businesses in the interim at the moment.”

Asked if he would produce a 2030 target before or after the election, Mr Dutton said: “We're not going to do things that hurt Australians.

“The Labor Party can try and please people in Paris. My job is to take care of the Australian people. And that's exactly what I would do as prime minister and we will look at the prevailing economic conditions after the next election and we'll make announcements in due course.”

Under the Paris Agreement, to which Australia is a signatory, governments can’t produce lower targets, raising speculation a future Dutton government would have to withdraw if it presented a target less than 43 per cent by 2030.

Mr Dutton’s comments indicate the Coalition won’t take any new 2030 target to the election while campaigning against the government’s "unachievable" goal.

11:53 am June 11, 2024

Business confidence negative amid price rises: NAB

Matt Bell

NAB expects that inflation will only continue to moderate gradually for the rest of the year as higher cost and price pressures saw business confidence return to negative territory in May.

NAB’s Monthly Business Survey showed that business confidence fell 4 percentage points to -3 index points, as confidence fell sharply in manufacturing, transports & utilities, and construction, as well as wholesale and recreation & personal services.

The survey from NAB showed that labour cost growth rose to 2.3 per cent in quarterly equivalent terms (from 1.5 per cent in April) and purchase cost growth also rose to 1.9 per cent (from 1.3 per cent).

Product price growth and retail price growth also substantially lifted in the month.

NAB chief economist Alan Oster said cost and price growth measures appeared to have re-accelerated in May for businesses in a sign that is likely to prevent the RBA from moving to cut interest rates for some time.

“We have been wary for some time that the path of inflation from here is likely to be gradual and uneven, and the survey results really reinforce this message,” he said.

“Overall, the message here is a mixed one for the RBA. There are warning signs on the outlook for growth but at the same time reasons to be very wary about the inflation outlook, and we expect the RBA to keep rates on hold for some time yet as they navigate through these contrasting risks.”