Australia news live: Greens leader says threats of violence against MPs ‘must be called out’; capital gains tax discount too generous to the rich, ex-productivity chief says

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Capital gains tax discount not to blame for high house prices, former PC boss says

Michael Brennan, the CEO of the e61 Institute, says it would be “brave” to say that the introduction of the 50% capital gains tax discount in 1999 played a major role in the massive boom in house prices since the turn of the century.

Instead, the “locking in of expectations that interest rates would be permanently lower” meant buyers were prepared to pay more for a range of assets, including property. That had a “significant effect” on the housing market, Brennan told a parliamentary committee looking at the CGT.

There was also a big rise in incomes from 2003 as China’s rapid industrialisation sparked a boom in the demand for iron ore. “We had significant population growth at the time; that’s also something that contributed to the run-up in housing prices a bit in that period,” he said.

Brennan doesn’t believe that reforms to the CGT should be viewed through the lenses of housing affordability or intergenerational fairness, despite the fact that much of the talk through the three days of hearings has been on this topic. Instead, it should be about the “twin principles of horizontal and vertical equity”.

Horizontal equity argument is the idea you want to have people with similar incomes taxed similarly. And vertical equity in the sense we have a belief in progressivity: that those on higher incomes make a higher proportionate contribution to revenue than those on lower incomes.

His previous evidence was that the CGT discount in its current form fails on both these counts.

Albanese’s dog, Toto, ‘on alert’ but ‘all good’ after bomb threat at Canberra home

Toto, Anthony Albanese’s blond cavoodle, is standing guard at the prime minister’s residence in Canberra after The Lodge was evacuated for a few hours on Tuesday night over a bomb threat.

Albanese took to social media to share a photo of his pup, who also served as a ring-bearer during his wedding last year:

“Toto on alert but all good,” the prime minister wrote on Instagram. “Thanks to AFP for your ongoing work and professionalism and to people who sent kind messages of care and support.”

You can read more about yesterday’s events here:

Capital gains tax discount too generous to the rich, committee hears

The flat 50% capital gains discount on the sale of assets held for more than a year “undermines progressivity” in the tax system as it favours the very top income earners, the head of the independent e61 Institute says.

Michael Brennan, a former chair of the Productivity Commission, said returning to a pre-1999 approach that adjusted gains for inflation and allowed the profits to be averaged over a number of years (rather than taxed as if the profits all happened in a single year) was a more efficient and equitable approach.

Speaking at a parliamentary committee hearing into the operation of the CGT, Brennan said it wasn’t clear that we should tax wage income less favourably to capital income.

“There are circumstances under which you can effectively substitute what would otherwise be wage income for something that looks like capital income,” he said.

And you’re making a reasonably significant real return out of that because the discount will be pretty kind to you, because you don’t get a discount on your wage income.

He said it was not clear that we should be “artificially encouraging” capital income or business formation through tax breaks.

The broader point is it’s not obvious from an economic point of view that we get more dynamism, innovation, entrepreneurship, etc, by having people buying and selling businesses or going into business.

A lot of that will happen through an employer and employee relationship; there’s a lot of innovation and dynamism to be unlocked within an employment structure as well.

Chris Baghsarian’s family welcomes recent arrests and asks for privacy

The family of Chris Baghsarian released a statement this morning. They said:

We welcome the news of the recent arrests in relation to the kidnapping of our father and grandfather.

As we continue attempting to come to terms with this incident, we ask that media respect our privacy.

We will not be conducting any interviews and we kindly ask media refrain from filming outside our homes.

Citizen scientists discover a Great Barrier Reef coral giant ‘like a rolling meadow’

Citizen scientists have discovered what they believe is one of the largest coral colonies ever documented on the Great Barrier Reef.

The coral spans approximately 111 metres in maximum length and covers an estimated area of 3,973 sq m – about half the size of a soccer field.

The Pavona clavus coral was first found by Jan Pope in waters a few hours offshore from Cairns. It was identified as part of the Great Reef Census, a citizen science project run by Citizens of the Reef.

“It was quite glassy and I could see this very strange pattern in the water,” Pope said. “When I jumped in the water, it became obvious to me that I’d found something, that I’d never seen anything like it before.”

Read more here:

Economists predict small downturn in inflation but figures unlikely to ward off rate hikes

Looming inflation figures could change how the federal budget is prepared, but the numbers are unlikely to ward off future interest rate hikes, AAP reports.

Economists are predicting a small downturn in inflation for January as they await the first round of figures for 2026 to be released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday.

Headline inflation, which sits at 3.8%, is tipped to trend down to 3.6%. However, the trimmed mean, which removes volatile price swings, is expected to remain steady at 3.3%.

The trimmed mean is the preferred measure of inflation by the Reserve Bank, which aims for a target of between 2% and 3%.

The biggest contributor to inflation for the month will likely be energy, with electricity rebates from governments coming to an end in December.

Larissa Waters says threats of violence against MPs ‘must be called out’

Greens leader Larissa Waters has raised alarm about threats to politicians, after Anthony Albanese was forced to leave The Lodge last night due to a security threat.

“The Prime Minister being evacuated from his residence in Canberra due to a bomb threat overnight is shocking, I am glad he is safe and well,” Waters said on X, adding:

The recent escalation of threats against parliamentarians must be called out. Violence has no place in our democracy.

Albanese is expected to speak at an event in Victoria later today, which we’ll bring you as it happens.

Minns says permanent rapid response force about making sure ‘police are always ready’

NSW premier Chris Minns said the permanent rapid response unit would ensure safety remained the “number one priority” in the state, adding the body would mean the “police are always ready”.

He said in a statement:

Operation Shelter has worked. Making it permanent means we’re building on what we know delivers real results.

People want to see police where it matters, at major events, near places of worship, and in busy public spaces. This ensures that presence is consistent, because our security challenges have changed and our policing model needs to change with them.

NSW police commissioner Mal Lanyon added that it is essential police are “able to provide an enhanced rapid response with long-arm capability”.

Similar specialised police units are already operational overseas and form an important part of public safety operations in several countries in Europe.

Our priority is not only ensuring the community is safe, but that people also feel safe, while providing a deterrence to anyone who wants to do harm and support our frontline operational police.

NSW police makes heavily armed rapid response unit permanent after Bondi attack

A heavily armed rapid response unit is now a permanent fixture of policing, after it was created to counter hate-driven violence following the Bondi Beach terror attack, AAP reports.

About 250 NSW police officers will transform Operation Shelter, established in 2023 to crackdown on antisemitism and Islamophobia, into a lasting dedicated hate crime unit.

The Australian-first unit means police will be out and about with long-range firearms to patrol high-profile public buildings, places of worship and protests around Sydney with a 24/7 specialised police operations centre to back them up.

The centre will support the unit with real-time coordination and surge management, including training, logistics and intelligence to sharpen targeting and prevention.

They will also be equipped with a fleet of specially modified rapid-response vehicles.

Mother-daughter fashion duo inspired by country Queensland win Australia’s Designer award

In 2024 Grace Kelly closed her Brisbane-based brand Joaen to reassess its viability. On Tuesday night during Melbourne Fashion festival, she won the Designer award – the most prestigious award for emerging talent in Australian fashion.

“It’s such a whirlwind,” said Kelly. “I didn’t expect this so quickly.”

Kelly established Joaen at the end of 2020, a “risky” time to start a business. Her relaunch in 2025 came with a renewed clarity, where she honed in on her family’s fashion history.

The name Joaen is a combination of her maternal grandmother and great-grandmother’s names – Joan and Jean. “I felt [Joan] doing that collection,” said Kelly. “And before things go into production, I go, ‘Yep, she’d be proud of this.’”

Read more here:

Should you sanitise your strawberries?

For Prof Enzo Palombo, an expert in food microbiology and gastroenteritis viruses at Swinburne University of Technology, the key to fruit and veg hygiene is to “be cautious, but don’t be paranoid”.

He acknowledges concerns about the presence of bugs or dirt, pathogens that can cause diseases like listeria or salmonella, and the use of chemicals and pesticides. But he says: “We tend to think we need to consume 100% sterile food – you don’t. Our body is designed to deal with these things, within reason.”

Scurr says Australia has stringent regulations in place to protect consumers from pesticides and disease, “particularly if you supply a major retailer”.

Read more about ideal fruit behaviour here:

Bowen says renewables and new infrastructure key to lowering power prices

Chris Bowen, the minister for climate change and energy, said the report echoed what the government had been saying about fossil fuels: big spikes in energy prices linked to gas and coal can have an “oversized impact on general prices”.

He told RN Breakfast this morning that renewables can help bring prices down on average, but the country is still seeing difficulties with those benefits flowing through to retail prices “when you have so much ageing infrastructure influencing supply prices”.

What all that means is it’s even more important to keep on with the job of replacing that ageing infrastructure with new infrastructure, with the very well-balanced commonsense plans we have in place, to ensure as much new supply [is] coming on as quickly as possible.

He conceded that shift will “take a while”, but the government would continue to press forward with that transition.

Australia’s largest coal-fired power plant, Eraring in New South Wales, recently said it will stay open until 2029 amid concerns about the grid’s ability to satisfy demand.

Australia ‘heavily reliant’ on ageing fossil fuel infrastructure which is pushing up power prices, report finds

A new report from the Climate Council finds Australia remains “heavily reliant” on ageing coal-fired power stations and gas, which in turn is pushing power prices higher.

The report found a surge in domestic gas prices is the primary reason electricity prices are so high, adding that although gas provides only 5% of electricity in Australia’s main grid, it sets the wholesale electricity price up to 90% of the time.

The report also found millions of Australians are paying too much for electricity in a system that penalises loyalty. Those households could, the Climate Council said, save $291 on average by switching to a better offer. South Australians who stuck with their retailer paid the biggest loyalty tax of $408 annually.

The Climate Council said in a release:

This year, many of us will be paying significantly more than we have been over the past 18 months as the energy bill rebates come to an end. It’s clear that the way we power ourselves is no longer working for Australian communities and businesses.

Latest inflation data coming this morning

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the latest inflation data this morning, at 11.30am Sydney time.

Last month’s data showed inflation jumped 3.8% in the year to December, from 3.4% in the month before. The data led the Reserve Bank to raise the cash rate to 3.85%.

Reuters reports the central bank has said it is focused on the quarterly trimmed mean measure to gauge inflation trends, noting the new monthly figures are volatile and it would take some time for seasonal adjustments to catch up.

Michael Plumb, head of the economic analysis department at the Reserve Bank, said the central bank would continue to focus on the quarterly data and use the “trimmed mean measure” to assess underlying inflationary pressures.

We’ll bring you live updates from that announcement as soon as it lands.