As it happened: Dutton proposes another new citizenship policy; Unions and business sector lock horns over workplace reforms

That’s all from me for today, as always, I hope you’ve found this helpful and have a pleasant evening. Here’s a quick recap:

- Migrants applying for Australian passports under a Coalition government will be quizzed about their attitudes towards Jewish people, as part of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s citizenship crackdown that includes a possible deportation referendum. The Prime Minister today brushed off the idea as a thought bubble that lasted as long as a “soap bubble”.

- The US’ medical giants have written to President Donald Trump suggesting he target Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme in his next round of tariffs. Nine’s newspapers broke the story this afternoon.

- There were reports that Russia attacked Ukraine only a few hours after president Vladimir Putin agreed to a mini-ceasefire proposed by Trump. Read Our US correspondent’s take here.

Russian President Vladimir Putin.Credit: AP

- For many, the hunt is on to find fresh, sensational details about the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy in 1963, after the US’ national archives released about 2200 files - 63,000 pages - worth of unredacted files today. It will take a while for people to sift through all the details, but new info is starting to trickle out.

- And the peak bodies for Australia’s unions and businesses went head-to-head at the National Press Club this afternoon, where the Australian Council of Trade Union’s Michele O’Neil pulled no punches. She said recently-gained worker’s rights would be in the firing line if the Coalition won government at the upcoming election. Her “opponent”, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry called for these same laws to be repealed during the same event.

Last year was the hottest in recorded history at 1.55 degrees above the pre-industrial period, the World Meteorological Organisation has reported.

Each of the past 10 years has set a record for heat, and greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere are at their highest in 800,000 years, the latest report from the United Nations’ lead agency on climate and weather shows.

The report reveals the world’s oceans were hotter in 2024 than during any other year on record, and that each of the past eight years set a record for ocean heat.

The rate of ocean warming is twice as fast as it was before 2005.

See the data and read the full report from national environment and climate editor Nick O’Malley.

Australia’s largest public health system is trying to get people to access care earlier in their local area to avoid calling paramedics and attending emergency departments.

Data released on Wednesday showed the number of patients overdue for elective surgery in NSW public hospitals has tripled.

NSW elective surgery waiting lists are blowing out.Credit: Kate Geraghty

Doctors warn staff shortages and budget cuts are resulting in waiting lists longer than at any point since the COVID pandemic.

There were 6842 people overdue for elective surgery at the end of last year, quarterly public hospital data released on Wednesday reveals. Eye surgeries, joint replacements and tonsillectomies topped the list of procedures with the largest backlog.

You can read the full article from our health team here.

The latest quarterly performance report from the state’s Bureau of Health Information on Wednesday also showed record demand for ambulances.

With AAP

“Pathetic” and “reprehensible” is how Deputy PM Richard Marles has reacted to the news his electorate office was vandalised earlier this morning.

Victoria Police confirmed it was investigating criminal damage to the office in central Geelong – Victoria’s second-largest city – asking witnesses to contact Crime Stoppers.

Richard MarlesCredit: Alex Ellinghausen

“Multiple windows were spray-painted on the Brougham Street premises and a further window smashed sometime between 1.30am and 7am,” a spokesperson said.

“No entry was gained and no arrests have been made.”

Marles confirmed on 3AW that windows were damaged, a canister with a smelly gas thrown in, and that the damage was related to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East.

“It’s not the first time my office has been vandalised. People think they’re having a go at me, but ultimately, these offices provide a service to the community,” he said.

“People come in with a whole range of problems which have got nothing to do with party politics. They’re just interacting with the federal government, and our offices and the staff in them are helping them out. What this does is ultimately make it less safe for our staff to do their job.”

Coalition senator Jane Hume, also on 3AW, said her office had also been targeted, and that this type of vandalism was becoming more common.

“It is a method of intimidation, isn’t it?” she said.

“Everybody’s free to express their views, but what happens to your office is not freedom of speech, it’s destruction of property. And to be honest, if you’ve had to wear a hood and a mask to express yourself, well, your views don’t deserve to be given air time. That’s a coward’s protest.”

Both Marles and Hume claimed the language of the Greens party had “enabled” this sort of vandalism.

Victorian police say they are “well-prepared to respond swiftly” to any protest activity before and during next weekend’s Australian International Airshow at Avalon Airport.

In addition to general police, water and highway patrol units, the public order response team will be deployed during the airshow, a spokesperson confirmed.

The Roulettes in full flight at Avalon in 2023.Credit: luis enrique ascui

The event between Friday March 28 and Sunday the 30th features flight demonstrations, careers promotion and a showcase of aerospace and defence technologies.

It will also feature exhibits from military technology companies such as Israel-based Elbit systems, which has been targeted by pro-Palestinian activists overseas.

“We respect the right for peaceful protest, however any unlawful behaviour will not be tolerated,” a spokesperson said.

“Highway patrol officers will be patrolling and managing traffic along the Princes Freeway and back roads to ensure everyone gets to the event and then home safely.

“In addition to maintaining public order, police are collaborating closely with event organisers and emergency services to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all attendees.”

Avalon was the site of an unrelated major incident last month, when an armed teenage boy allegedly tried to board a passenger flight.

Australian shares have broken their three-day winning streak after gloomy investor sentiment returned to Wall Street overnight.

As markets closed, the S&P/ASX200 edged 32.6 points lower, or 0.41 per cent, to 7827.8 points, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 35.2 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 8054.7.

Only health care stocks were on track to finish higher, gaining 0.6 per cent as the 10 other sectors bled lower.

Utilities led the losses, down 1.5 per cent, followed by real estate, which slipped 1.2 per cent, and IT stocks, which lost 0.9 per cent.

Investors will look to the US Federal Open Market Committee meeting overnight - where an interest rate hold is all but certain - with a laser focus on how hawkish the central bank is on the US economic outlook.

The Australian dollar lost ground against the greenback, buying 63.56 US cents, down from 63.73 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm.

AAP

Landslides, flooded roads and even sewage have tested an “exhausted” community lashed by heavy rain just weeks after recovering from a natural disaster.

Homes were inundated, roads destroyed and 30,000 properties left without power in Townsville in February after wild weather struck north Queensland.

The city on Wednesday was bracing for another recovery effort after being battered by triple-digit rainfall figures.

“We are exhausted ... it is that sense of ‘oh gosh, here we go again’ and it is emotionally draining,” Townsville acting mayor Ann-Maree Greaney said.

Further south, facilities in inner Brisbane remain closed nearly two weeks after Cyclone Alfred hit.

With AAP

American medical giants have slammed the $18 billion Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) in a plea to US President Donald Trump to impose punitive tariffs on Australia because it subsidises medicines for millions of patients.

The US industry has named Australia’s PBS as one of the “egregious and discriminatory” programs to be targeted in Trump’s imminent decision on reciprocal tariffs, blaming the Australian policy for cutting prices and blocking American exporters.

Health Minister Mark Butler and Coalition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston have vowed to keep the PBS off the table in any trade discussions with the Trump administration ahead of the president’s decisions next month on another round of US tariffs on other countries.

Read more from chief political correspondent David Crowe at the link here.

Several parts of regional Australia have become newly popular with people looking for a tree change, according to the Regional Australia Institute.

City dwellers in New South Wales and Victoria in particular are increasingly flocking to regional areas.

The East Gippsland rail trail in Victoria

The institute, an advocacy body, publishes a Regional Movers Index every three months with Commonwealth Bank.

Today’s data, covering the December 2024 quarter, shows Gympie in Queensland’s northern Sunshine Coast, Wingecarribee in southern highlands New South Wales and East Gippsland in Victoria have made their debut as tree-change hotspots.

The data also shows the number of people leaving big cities for the regions is 32 per cent higher than the opposite move.

“Sydneysiders continue to lead the charge into the regions, accounting for 59 per cent of net city outflows, down from 65 per cent in the 2023 December quarter. While Melburnians account for 40 per cent of net city outflows, up from 35 per cent a year ago,” the institute said.

Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Lake Macquarie in NSW and the Geelong and Moorabool areas of Victoria welcomed the highest number of tree changers overall for the 2024 December quarter.

Earlier today, our business reporter Colin Kruger reported that WiseTech had allowed its executive chairman to keep his job, despite misleading the board about his personal relationships.

White’s conduct has been the subject of several reports by this masthead in recent months.

He chairs a company that develops software solutions for logistics and international trade companies, among other products. It is the biggest tech stock on the ASX.

At the link here, our columnist Elizabeth Knight leaves her thoughts.