Australia politics live: neo-Nazi crashes Victorian premier’s press conference

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Ex-defence chief urges ‘courageous and bold’ 2035 target

Former defence force chief Chris Barrie wants the Albanese government to be “courageous and bold” as it prepares for an imminent decision on its 2035 emissions reduction target.

Barrie was in Parliament House on Tuesday morning to launch the Australia Security Leaders Climate Group’s latest report, which called for climate action to be positioned at the centre of Australia’s foreign policy strategy.

The report argues that as Australia doubles down on the alliance with the United States, principally through the Aukus submarines deal, it has failed to invest in the “diplomatic, economic and humanitarian” policies needed to respond to its greatest security threat – climate change. Barrie said:

It [focus on climate policy] will not only be good for us here in Australia, it will be good for our region too, where a lot of people expect countries like ours to step up when there’s a need. And looking at the tea leaves right now, that need is very apparent to me. We’re entering a very dangerous period where the United States simply does not care about all of us.

The report proposes a raft of measures to reorientate Australia’s approach around foreign policy, including leading a global push to phase out fossil-fuel subsidies.

Speaking alongside several crossbench MPs, Barrie said the Albanese government’s forthcoming decision on a 2035 emissions reduction target – expected later this month – presented an opportunity to “make an example for the rest of the world”.

The Climate Change Authority, whose advice will inform cabinet’s decision, has suggested a target of between 65% and 75% below 2005 levels could be ambitious but achievable. Barrie said:

I think the government, which has got a huge mandate now, ought to be courageous and bold and take these steps. By 2028, that is the [scheduled date of] the next federal election, it’ll be too late to make the difference that we need to make.

It’s a party room meeting morning …

Those FoI changes are no doubt being discussed in the various party room meetings taking place around parliament this morning.

We’ll get a briefing on what goes down in the Labor and Greens party rooms, and we’ll wait to see if we get a briefing or a press conference from the opposition.

It all means we won’t hear those bells ringing for a little bit longer – the houses will begin sitting from midday.

Transparency advocates raise alarm over plans to charge for FoI requests

Transparency advocates are alarmed at the government’s plans to impose application fees on freedom of information requests. Kieran Pender, associate legal director at the Human Rights Law Centre, said the current FoI system is “not working”.

“Any steps to limit access to the FoI regime must be carefully scrutinised,” he said.

The Albanese government should prioritise fixing whistleblowing laws and winding back draconian secrecy offences, rather than making government information less accessible and more expensive.

Allan convenes anti-hate taskforce over attack on Camp Sovereignty

Before Sewell crashed the premier’s press conference, Jacinta Allan was asked what she made of the scenes at Sunday’s rally and the attack at Camp Sovereignty. She told reporters:

I ... absolutely condemn those people who engaged in those despicable acts of violence and racism. There is absolutely no place for that, and that is why, over the course of this week, alongside Victoria police, I will be convening the anti-hate taskforce to both look at the incidents over the weekend, but also understand too, that this goes beyond just being a law and order issue.

Allan told reporters there was “something deeper going on” with the rally. She went on:

People’s sense of economic security is being exploited by a small number of people, who are wanting to use cracks in our society and exploit them to drive division in our society. There is no doubt that over the past few years, Australians have endured a lot. It’s been a tough time.

But the solution to those tough times is not in a quest to divide us… That is not the solution ... it makes us weaker, it makes us poorer, it makes us less resilient.

She said she saw the pathway to social cohesion through “building a stronger society”:

A place where people have jobs, people have rights and are respected. And that’s certainly the pathway my government is building here in Victoria, building literally for the future, making sure there is that sense of economic certainty and security, but also seeing Victoria as a place where everyone has the right to be who they are and do so safely, protected by the law.

Age assurance report a ‘sales pitch’ for biometrics industry, digital rights group says

The chair of Electronic Frontiers Australia, John Pane, has said the release of the age assurance technology trial report on tech to keep under 16s from social media vindicated his concerns raised last month about the project.

Pane, who was on the stakeholder advisory board overseeing the trial prior to quitting last month, said the social media ban is “bad policy, bad law, and a gap-ridden technological solution that is easily circumvented by technical means or third-party collusion”.

It does not solve the problem of algorithmic manipulation that steals users’ attention and engagement, nor does it fix the inherent shortcomings in our privacy and online safety laws through a mandated digital duty of care.

He said the report reads “like a sales pitch or marketing material for the age authentication, identity verification and biometrics industry”. The “inevitable” errors in tech such as facial age estimation would bolster the case for the government to deploy ID verification technologies, Pane said.

Shadow attorney general says Labor talked ‘big game’ on transparency but has not lived up to promises

Labor talked a “big game” on transparency but has delivered anything but, says the shadow attorney general, Julian Leeser, attacking the government’s move to charge for freedom of information requests.

Speaking to reporters in Canberra, Leeser says that under Labor’s watch, transparency has decreased, the number of FoI refusals has increased and the government has deliberately avoided Senate orders to release documents:

We’ve seen increases in refusals of FoI [requests] since they came to office. We’ve seen stakeholders being forced to sign agreements in relation to non-disclosure agreements in relation to legislation as diverse as workplace relations and religious discrimination, we’ve seen the government deliberately flouting Senate orders for production of documents.

We’re now seeing changes to the standing orders to make the government less accountable, and we’ve seen the staff of members of parliament, whose job it is to hold the government to account, slashed.

Leeser says he’ll get a briefing from the government on the changes later today, and is open to reforms for the FoI system, to tackle issues identified by the government around bots and ‘nefarious actors’. But he says he’s “very concerned about a transparency tax”.

Thomas Sewell crashed Victorian premier’s press conference

Self-proclaimed neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell has crashed a press conference held by Victoria’s premier, Jacinta Allan, and the state treasurer, Jaclyn Symes.

As Allan was asked about Sewell’s involvement in Sunday’s March for Australia rally in Melbourne, he approached the premier and began yelling at her.

He was separated from her by the premier’s security detail and she and Symes quickly left, with the press conference abandoned.

Australia assisting UN and partners to examine damage and establish relief efforts aftter earthquake in Afghanistan

The impacts of the earthquake in Afghanistan are “devastating”, says the foreign minister, Penny Wong, as the international community helps to establish the extent of damage in the region.

At least 800 people have been killed by a magnitude 6 earthquake that struck close to the Pakistan border on Sunday.

In a statement, Wong said Australian officials are in contact with the UN and international partners.

The impacts of the earthquake in Afghanistan and the loss of life are devastating. Our thoughts are with the Afghan people, as well as the Afghan community in Australia.

Australian officials are in contact with the United Nations and other international partners to establish the extent of damage and status of relief efforts.

ABC apologises for airing claim Nine reporter was warned not to ask about Katter's Lebanese heritage

The ABC has apologised for airing an incorrect claim by news.com.au political editor Samantha Maiden on Insiders that a Nine reporter was warned not to ask Bob Katter about his Lebanese heritage before a Brisbane press conference.

The independent MP called Nine’s Queensland reporter Josh Bavas a racist and threatened to punch him at a press conference on Friday when he asked him “You’ve got Lebanese heritage yourself … ” before being cut off.

The member for Kennedy walked up to the Channel Nine reporter and shook his fist at him.

Maiden made the remarks when the incident was discussed by a panel of journalists on the Insiders episode on Sunday. The comments have been edited out of the program on iview.

On the Insiders episode broadcast on 31 August the panel discussed Independent MP Bob Katter’s threatening behaviour towards Nine journalist Josh Bavas at a press conference in Brisbane,” the correction said.

During the discussion news.com.au journalist Samantha Maiden said the two had a conversation before the press conference about what was going to be asked and suggested Mr Bavas was warned not to ask about Mr Katter’s Lebanese heritage. The ABC wishes to clarify that no conversation took place. Insiders apologises for the error. The comment has been removed from the on-demand versions of the program.

FoI charges a ‘truth tax’, opposition says

Tim Wilson is calling the government’s plan to put a fee on FOI requests a “truth tax”, and says Labor needs to provide hard evidence that the system is being overrun by bots or nefarious actors.

Speaking to Sky News, Wilson says Labor is putting a “veil of secrecy” over the government.

As Josh Butler just brought you a little earlier, the federal government will start charging for freedom of information requests, an accountability and transparency tool used widely by politicians and journalists.

Wilson doesn’t hold back in his criticism of the idea.

The claim they put out there is that there are bots out there doing things, now that may be happening, but… this is dealt with by software platforms every day. If there’s other information that’s being accessed by nefarious actors, provide evidence where this is a problem, but again, provide an alternative solution.

Instead, they’re just imposing a veil of secrecy over the entire government. It seems sort of like what you get when you have a government with a 94 seat majority and doesn’t want scrutiny.

Butler suggests FoI system overrun by AI bots possibly linked to ‘foreign actors’ or ‘criminal gangs’

Cabinet minister Mark Butler has defended planned changes to the FOI system to make journalists and politicians pay for seeking government information, claiming departments were “being inundated by anonymous requests” – suggesting some may be coming from overseas adversaries or criminals.

Butler stood behind the government’s plan to put what he called a “modest charge” on the system, which currently permits free applications. He said that someone had to pay for requests:

“Either taxpayers pay for them, or people seeking access to that information, whether it’s to populate the media that they earn money from, or whether it’s a business group,” he said at a doorstop this morning.

Asked why it was needed, Butler claimed the system was being overrun.

Many of them, we’re sure are AI bot-generated requests. They may be linked to foreign actors, foreign powers, criminal gangs... we don’t know where those requests come from.

We’ve taken the view, as state governments have, that a modest charging environment is consistent with usual cost recovery principles.

Butler noted, as had attorney general Michelle Rowland, that people seeking their own personal information which was held by the government would remain able to do so free of charge.

Government to charge for Freedom of Information requests

The federal government will start charging for freedom of information requests, in a major change to the fundamental accountability and transparency tool used widely by politicians and journalists.

It is likely to face a fierce backlash in the parliament and from accountability advocates. The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, tomorrow will introduce legislation the government says will “improve Australia’s broken FoI system”, claiming the changes would prioritise “genuine” requests and prevent taxpayer money being used on “frivolous and automated requests”.

Currently anyone can make a request for government information, from the prime minister’s diary and emails with foreign leaders down to personal information held about oneself.

Making a request is free, but departments can level charges for the time to process a request – from searching for documents and redacting them to ensure they don’t contain sensitive information.

Rowland said the government would ban anonymous requests, “strengthen” application requirements to “deter vexatious and frivolous requests” and add a “new fee-structure”.

Her office said there would be fee exemptions for personal information, which accounted for 72% of requests in 2023-24.

But for journalists, politicians and other experts seeking access to government information, a fee will apply. The government has not said exactly how much, but it is likely to reflect modest charges at the state level – around $50 per request.

Rowland’s office claimed the FoI system was under strain from websites or artificial intelligence in “enabling large volumes of vague, anonymous, vexatious, abusive and frivolous requests – tying up resources, costing taxpayers money and delaying genuine requests”.

Evidence to aged care inquiry ‘traumatic and shocking’: Greens senator

The Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne says the Senate is willing to act if the government isn’t to force Labor’s to release more home care packages immediately.

The party’s aged care spokesperson said the inquiry last Friday found that more than 200,000 people are on a waitlist for a home care package and heard from witnesses who had family members die whilst waiting for care.

Senator David Pocock has said 20,000 extra packages are needed right now. Allman-Payne says that would be the “bare minimum”.

Every day that the government delays is another day that somebody … [is] not getting the care that they need. So we have legislation before the parliament. The government could actually fix this today. They budgeted to release home care packages on the 1st of July. [Providers have] told us they are ready to go. There is no reason for this delay.

As one of the other witnesses at the inquiry said, eight weeks is a long time for an older person. Six months to two years is catastrophic.

No clarity on tariffs for pharmaceuticals: Butler

Mark Butler says the Trump administration is focused on trying to get their drug prices down and has not given Australia any more clarity on whether our pharmaceuticals are going to get hit with tariffs.

The US president flagged a possible 200% tariff on pharmaceuticals earlier this year.

Butler says, as the prime minister has, that the government won’t negotiate on the PBS.

The honest answer to that is no … the patients in America pay some of the highest prices for medicines, as your listeners probably know in the world. But quite how they’re going to do that, what the impact for the rest of the world would be, is something we’re still, as every other country is trying to do, trying to understand a little bit better.

Butler defends aged care delay as ‘relatively short’ as calls for early funding intensify

The aged care legislation delay is “relatively short” says Mark Butler, facing questions on RN Breakfast over why the government won’t bring more home care packages online now.

Speaking to RN Breakfast, Butler is asked how many senior Australians will die waiting for assessments and packages between now and November. Butler says he can’t predict that figure, but is working to get the waitlist figure down.

[This is] a relatively short delay. Really, four months … we’ve pushed the new system down the road from the 1st of July to the 1st of November, as you say. The sector wanted it. They didn’t think they were ready to do this.

We’ve now got to get this last part of the legislation through the parliament this week, because if we don’t, we will not be able to introduce the new system on the 1st of November.

The Coalition and crossbench will work together to force the government to bring forward funding for more home care packages, with an amendment to the bill currently being debated in the Senate.

Shadow energy minister: Coalition will ‘take our time’ in determining party’s energy policy

Dan Tehan is a man under pressure. While members of the party including Barnaby Joyce push for a more immediate position on net zero and nuclear, the shadow energy minister has been charged with reviewing the Coalition’s energy policy, which he says will take nine to 12 months.

Speaking to ABC RN Breakfast, Tehan says he won’t be rushed in setting the Coalition’s energy policy.

Asked whether the Coalition can come to an agreed position when s like Joyce and senior Liberals like Andrew Hastie are pushing for net zero to be scrapped. Tehan doesn’t give us an ironclad promise that they’ll come together:

That’s what we’ve got to work through over the next nine to 12 months. And we’ve got to make sure that we land this in the best interests of the Australian people. And that’s what I’m seeking to do. And that’s why we’ll work methodically through it. Take our time to make sure that we get it right.

Sally Sara puts former Liberal frontbencher and now OECD secretary general Mathias Cormann’s plea to the Coalition to focus on how to meet net zero.

Tehan says “everyone’s comments are always helpful” in this debate, but that Cormann is concerned about where the Australian economy is going (completely steering clear of Cormann’s call to the Coalition).