Politics latest: Leave now or risk being stuck: PM's warning to 'thousands' of Australians in Lebanon

Anthony Albanese issued a stern warning to Australian citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately as tensions escalate, adding that Beirut airport could close at any time, making extraction far more difficult. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

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6:24 pm August 1, 2024 Highlight

Greens want O'Neil to negotiate 'ambitious' housing crisis action

Joe Kelly

Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather. Picture: Martin Ollman/NewsWire

Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather has written to new portfolio minister Clare O’Neil asking for the government to negotiate with the minor party to “pass an ambitious response to the housing crisis".

Labor has two key housing bills before the parliament including its Help to Buy legislation establishing a shared equity program to assist Australians into the market and its Build to Rent bill aimed at increasing the supply of rental housing.

Mr Chandler-Mather said the Greens would not vote for the Help to Buy shake-up “without additional action to put downward pressure on house prices” and expressed major concerns about the Built to Rent legislation.

“On Build to Rent, the Greens are concerned that tax breaks for developers to build unaffordable apartments will do nothing to put downward pressure on rents, which is why we moved in the Senate for a longer inquiry on this legislation,” he said. “We have requested a government guarantee that 100 per cent of the apartments built under this scheme will be actually affordable for people on low and middle incomes – hardly a radical proposal.”

Mr Chandler-Mather reaffirmed a series of Greens demands on the government including a phase out of negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, a two-year freeze on rent increases coordinated through the national cabinet as well as an ongoing cap on rent increases, and the construction by government of 710,000 homes over the decade to be “rented and sold for cheap”.

In addition, Mr Chandler-Mather said the Greens wanted the government to double national social housing and homelessness funding to the states to $18.9bn over the next five years.

"Minister, your appointment in the middle of this crisis represents a historic opportunity to take bold action," he said. "There is broad popular support for phasing out tax handouts for investors, rent caps, and mass investment in public housing.

"I urge you to seize this opportunity to reopen negotiations with the Greens and work towards solutions that will give some hope to the millions doing it tough."

2:03 pm August 1, 2024

Education reform has sparked 'funding war': Henderson

Noah Yim

Opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson. Picture: Martin Ollman/NewsWire

Opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson says the government’s education reform agreement does not go far enough and has only kicked off a “funding war”.

“There are some good and important reforms in this document but the most important issue is that it’s unsigned,” Senator Henderson told Sky News. “What Jason Clare has delivered are no national reforms and the school funding war with five states and the ACT refusing to sign this agreement.

“He went to the election promising full and fair funding and now we’ve ended up with a funding fiasco and of course the people who are paying the price are Australian students and their families, and teachers and principals.

“We haven’t had evidence-based teaching in every Australian classroom. We have called consistently for the mandating of explicit instruction and other proven teaching methods that we know make a marked difference in the classroom, and for those schools and school systems which have introduced best practice teaching methods and given teachers the support they deserve, they’ve seen a massive acceleration in their results.

“So we want to see this in every Australian classroom, and while this document – this unsigned document – has some of those reforms, it needs to go further.”

1:34 pm August 1, 2024

Albanese backs ‘devastating’ reply to $600m report

Staff writers

Anthony Albanese has pushed back against criticism of his government’s long-awaited response to the disability royal commission, after some in the disability community said they were “devastated”, NewsWire reports.

He said his government had agreed “in principle” to 130 recommendations, but was quick to shift responsibility when probed further.

“Many of the recommendations don’t go to Commonwealth government action,” he said, adding that a lot of them fell on the private sector.

“We are working through the recommendations of the royal commission in an organised, consistent way, which is what you would expect the government to do.”

Of the 222 recommendations made in the commission’s report, which cost taxpayers a hefty $600m to produce, the Albanese government agreed to just 13 in full and accepted 117 in principle.

The head of Australia’s disability rights peak body on Wednesday slammed the government’s “completely disproportionate” response.

Marayke Jonkers, president of People with Disability Australia, said the government had failed to give a time frame for much-needed “meaningful change”.

“Today, us and our members are devastated, disappointed and completely caught off guard with the response to us sharing our stories over 7000 submissions,” Ms Jonkers said.

In its response on Wednesday, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth, NDIS Minister Bill Shorten and Health Minister Mark Butler announced an extra $370m for the sector on top of the $3bn allotted in the past three budgets.

Of the new funding, $227.6m would be spent to implement a new specialist disability program.

But it had not committed to a Disability Rights Act or a government minister for disability inclusion.

States and territories also released their responses on Wednesday.

– Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer

12:16 pm August 1, 2024

PM 'continues to run Qantas protection racket'

Noah Yim

Opposition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie says the Albanese government suggested Rex does not have “the right, the expertise, or the skill” to compete against Qantas and repeated her assertion that the Prime Minister was running a “protection racket” for Qantas.

“For the Prime Minister to stand up and say that Rex doesn’t have the right, the expertise, or the skill to actually compete against his favourite customer, Qantas, I think says a lot about this Prime Minister’s view of Qantas, he’s run a protection racket for that particular airline since coming to power, and it continues,” she told Sky News.

“The government has to have a plan and longer term has to do something to improve competition for airlines in this country because we’ve seen two airlines who sought to bring competition to the table go into administration in under four months under his leadership.

“And he could have changed the slots, there’s been a report sitting on his desk for two years.

“Albo and [Transport Minister] Catherine King are trying to run this spin that somehow access into Sydney isn’t part of having a sustainable airline in this country which isn’t the case. She put out a press release, she’s done actually nothing to change the situation to make it easier for other competitors against Qantas.”

11:44 am August 1, 2024

Turnbull's criticism of ASIO move 'wrong', says Albanese

Noah Yim

Anthony Albanese has again defended his government’s decision to move the domestic intelligence agency from the Home Affairs portfolio to the Attorney-General’s.

It comes after former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said it was “awkward” for the Attorney-General to be responsible for both administering and holding to account security agencies like ASIO.

“Malcolm Turnbull is wrong,” the Prime Minister said. “Every expert in national security says he is wrong.

“This was a move that was made by Malcolm Turnbull, in partnership of course with the former secretary of this big Department of Home Affairs, and with the support, of course, of Peter Dutton.

“I know people like not just [ASIO director-general] Mike Burgess who I consulted very directly about this, but people like Dennis Richardson and others have been very clear about the appropriateness of the ASIO organisation and other domestic agencies – ASIO and the AFP – being accountable to the Attorney-General.

“That is why we have done this. It has been welcomed by everyone in the national security framework. Malcolm Turnbull got many things right. On this, he got it wrong.”

11:40 am August 1, 2024 Highlight

'Thousands' of Aussies in Lebanon should come home now: PM

Noah Yim

Anthony Albanese says there are “thousands” of Australian citizens still in Lebanon amid continued warnings for them to return as regional tension remains high.

“We have a very clear statement that has been issued through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and for those Australians that are overseas, they should take the opportunity to come home to Australia,” the Prime Minister said.

“There is a risk that the Beirut airport might not be open for commercial flights and given the numbers of people that are there, there is no guarantee that people will be able to come home through other means if that airport is shut.

“We say to people, listen to the warnings which are there and please, over recent months we have seen people continue to go and travel to the region and we have made very clear our warnings about that.”

11:06 am August 1, 2024

Treasurer heads to Pacific Islands economic forum in Fiji

Noah Yim

Jim Chalmers is heading to Fiji to attend the Pacific Islands Forum Economic Ministers Meeting. He says it will be the first Australian Treasurer to attend the forum in almost two decades.

“Over the next day and a half, I will take part in a range of discussions including on economic resilience, climate change, climate financing, economic development, the global outlook, sustainable finance and Pacific banking,” the Treasurer said in a statement.

“Volatility in the global economy, the shifting geostrategic environment and the impacts of climate change, particularly in our region, are complex and confronting.

“The government is committed to supporting a peaceful, prosperous and resilient Pacific, which is also critical for our prosperity here at home.

“This is an important opportunity to confer with our Pacific partners on the big challenges and opportunities for our region in the defining decade ahead.”

10:09 am August 1, 2024 Highlight

'Innovative thinker': Noel Pearson appointed to Fortescue board

Nick Evans

Lawyer and Indigenous activist Noel Pearson. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue has appointed lawyer and Indigenous activist Noel Pearson to the company’s board as a non-executive director.

Dr Forrest said he had “known and worked alongside” Mr Pearson for almost 20 years and was a long term admirer of the Cape York Partnership founder.

“I have known and worked alongside Noel for nearly 20 years and admire and respect him greatly. Noel is an innovative thinker and passionate and formidable Australian who will bring enormous benefit and insight to our Board,” Dr Forrest said.

Mr Pearson has a long relationship with Dr Forrest, publicly supporting the Fortescue founder in calls for the establishment of cashless welfare cards to reduce alcohol dependency in remote indigenous communities.

Mr Pearson said in a statement he was honoured to be invited to join the board of the company.

“Fortescue is a proud Australian company that is led by its values from mine site to the boardroom – something I have great respect for,” he said.

9:45 am August 1, 2024 Highlight

PM urges Australians to flee Lebanon amid fears of escalation

Noah Yim

Anthony Albanese has again urged Australians in Lebanon to leave the country urgently as tensions continue to rise in the region.

“For Australians thinking of going to Lebanon, please reconsider,” the Prime Minister told 2Day FM.

“In particular, and for people with relatives in Lebanon, we've issued a statement again saying come home because it is possible that the airport at Beirut won't allow people to leave, that it’ll be shut.

“There is a possibility of an escalation here, where again, I issued a statement on Friday with the prime ministers of Canada and New Zealand again calling for a de-escalation of the conflict there. It is a real concern.

“Hezbollah have a serious military force. If there is a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, that will really add to the catastrophe that we're seeing in the Middle East. And we remain very concerned, as do, of course, our friends in the United States have certainly been issuing these warnings as well.”

8:40 am August 1, 2024 Highlight

Regional routes first but Labor not 'down' on Rex's city ambitions: Chalmers

Noah Yim

Jim Chalmers has rejected suggestions that the Albanese government is “down” on ailing regional airline Rex’s ambitions to operate major intercity routes.

“I don't know that we are,” the Treasurer told ABC’s RN when asked.

“I mean, I think we're just drawing a distinction in, you know, we've all been asked in different ways, the PM, myself, [Transport Minister] Catherine [King] and others have been asked in the last couple of days about what's going on here.

“And I think we've just made it clear that our highest priority are those regional services. You know, some of those provincial cities and towns in Australia that wouldn't be serviced were it not for Rex. Those are our highest priority because of the way that those communities and local economies rely on those services. But I don't think that we've been down on the airline.”

Dr Chalmers also defended the government’s economic management.

“I think the strategy that we have deployed here, which is to get the budget in much better nick and to roll out all of this cost of living help in the most responsible way that we can, that has helped ensure that inflation, which had a six in front of it a couple of years ago, now has a three in front of it,” he said.

“But we do know, and we're upfront about this, we acknowledge this, we know that people are still under pressure. We know that this inflation is more persistent, stickier, more stubborn than any of us would like to see.

“What we've seen around the world earlier in the year in North America and last night, in fact, in the new data from the Euro area, is that even when inflation comes down considerably as it has in Australia, it doesn't come down in a straight line. It zigs and zags on the way down. Inflation went up in Europe in the most recent data. Earlier in the year, we saw that in the US and Canada. So it's not unusual to see this.

“There's a combination of international factors and domestic factors. Some of them are temporary, including things like fruit and veg and some of the issues we saw in that June quarter. But overall, acknowledging that inflation's more persistent than we want it to be, there were some welcome developments in the figures as well.”