Greens MP invokes Whitlam in public housing push – as it happened | Australian politics

That’s a wrap on the blog for today, but first let’s revisit the big events of the day:

• Australia is expected to add 7GW of renewable capacity this year.

• Victoria police renewed the search for the remains of missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy.

• Anthony Albanese said “we need to do more” to alleviate cost-of-living pressures.

• Amanda Rishworth said there was no plan to change negative gearing in housing policy after reports Labor requested modelling on options to scale back negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions.

• A bronze tribute to the Matildas was unveiled outside Suncorp stadium in Brisbane.

• Penny Wong called on China to play a “constructive role” at the UN.

• Jason Clare says a deal has been reached to fully fund Tasmanian public schools.

• Twelve Singaporean soldiers were injured during a training accident in Australia.

• The PM did not rule out negative gearing changes.

• The annual inflation rate fell to the lowest since 2021, at 2.7%.

• Macquarie took “full responsibility” after receiving a fine for ignoring suspicious trading.

• The BoM app tested a tsunami warning in Australia.

• Vanguard was hit with a record ‘greenwashing’ fine.

• A teenager lost his motorcycle licence 24 hours after receiving it.

• Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright will face a trial three years after a helicopter crash.

• Penny Wong warned Lebanon “cannot become the next Gaza”.

• Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather challenged Labor to “think about what Gough Whitlam was able to do”.

• A Sydney man was charged for allegedly stranding his wife in Pakistan.

The live news blog will be back tomorrow morning.

Israeli-Australian group backs government’s move to protect aid workers, calls for ceasefire

The New Israel Fund Australia, which supports a two-state solution and opposes the occupation of Palestine, says it is “deeply concerned at the continued exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah, and urges restraint from both sides to avoid further death and destruction”.

Their statement released today goes on:

Since Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on 8 October, life has been incredibly challenging for residents in Israel’s north who were forced to evacuate and are still living in temporary accommodation.

Israel has the right to defend itself from continued rocket fire and the international community must condemn such attacks as have prior United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Yet, as this war continues, innocent civilian lives are being lost. Since Israel’s bombing of Lebanon began on Monday, at least 50 children have been killed. The violence in the region has already claimed too many lives and these ongoing exchanges will only incur further bloodshed.

As seen over the past year, hostages have been returned en masse only as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. So too in this latest escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, diplomacy to forge a political solution is the best path to safety and security for all.

… NIF welcomes the Australian government’s efforts to protect aid workers internationally and to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza. But more must be done to ensure that no further civilian lives are lost.

We call on all parties to the conflict in the region to exercise maximum restraint to bring about a ceasefire and hostage deal that saves lives.

‘I am not the treasurer,’ says prime minister

Anthony Albanese has unsurprisingly been quizzed on negative gearing in his media appearances this afternoon.

Appearing on ABC Radio Sydney, the PM confirmed he had not asked Treasury to examine potential changes.

He went on:

The department, like all departments, look at various things at various times. Is this government policy or government request to examine potential policy announcement? No it’s not.

Asked about the fact he’d answered the question over requesting the study on his own behalf but not about whether the treasurer had, Albanese replied:

I am not the treasurer.

Coalition weighs in on negative gearing rumours

The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, also weighed in on negative gearing rumours on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing this afternoon.

Taylor says he is not aware of any statement by Jim Chalmers or Anthony Albanese which has ruled out for ever any examination of negative gearing deductions on investment properties.

Taylor says the government “have a vision of housing which is very different from ours” – because he is claiming a potential tax on housing would decrease supply:

They don’t like the idea that a plumber or a carpenter should be able to buy a couple of houses and do them up and rent them out and eventually sell them to someone who wants to own the home. That is not their picture, the picture has always been for the big investment funds to own thousands of houses and that is clearly where Labor is heading right now, not just with these policies but with a range of other policies.

Taylor says “you tax more of something, you get less of it”.

AFP Det Acting Insp Emmanuel Tsardoulias said exit trafficking was an insidious and often underreported criminal offence.

Exit trafficking can involve a person using coercion, deception or a threat, to organise or facilitate another to leave Australia.

No one has the right to force or deceive anyone to leave Australia, or to prevent them from returning against their will.

We want victims to know the AFP is here to help them and that their safety and wellbeing is our primary concern when we are investigating these matters. Each case is handled with compassion and great care, and the victim’s needs are always paramount.

A western Sydney man has been charged for allegedly exit trafficking his wife to Pakistan using deception.

A woman came to the Australian federal police (AFP) alleging her husband had left her in Pakistan without documentation after the family travelled overseas together from Australia.

The 29-year-old man allegedly deceived the woman about the purpose of travel, telling her they were going to go to Pakistan to see her family. The AFP said in a statement:

The woman agreed to the trip, and the man, she and their two children flew to Afghanistan in July, 2023 for a holiday, then continued to Pakistan.

While travelling, it will be alleged the man retained control of the family’s tickets, passports, visas and other travel documents.

The AFP will allege, after the family arrived in Pakistan, the man told the woman he was going back to Afghanistan to visit friends. However, in September 2023, the victim found out he had returned to Australia alone.

The AFP worked with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) to ensure the woman and her children were able to safely return to Australia.

During the Human Trafficking Team’s Operation Kisurra, officers executed a search warrant at the man’s Auburn home.

The AFP then arrested the man today and charged him with one count of exit trafficking of a person from Australia by using deception for which the maximum penalty is 12 years’ imprisonment.

The man was expected to appear before Burwood local court today.

Tax system says ‘you are a mug’ if you don’t have an investment property, Eslake says

One in five taxpaying Australians have an investment property, because the tax system tells us “you are a mug if you do not”, the economist Saul Eslake says.

Eslake has told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing:

Yes, there are in the sense that almost 20% of taxpaying Australians have an investment property. That is an extraordinarily high proportion by international standards – and one of the reasons why they have an investment property is Australia’s tax system, almost uniquely among developed countries, says you are a mug if you do not. If you have enough cashflow to absorb interest costs being higher than your net rental income, our tax system allows you both to defer and permanently reduce the amount of tax you would otherwise have to pay on your wage and salary or other income, and so almost a fifth of taxpaying Australians do it, which means there are a lot of votes in keeping it and there are potentially a lot of votes to be lost in arguing it should be abolished, except that opinion polls suggest a growing proportion of Australians – one suggested a majority of Australians – now see that abolishing or curtailing negative gearing might be one way, not the sole solution, but one way of addressing Australia’s growing housing crisis.

Max Chandler-Mather has urged the government to “think about what Gough Whitlam was able to do” and be more ambitious in attempting “real reforms”.

The Greens’ housing spokesperson has told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing:

We need public housing and what better way to fund it than giving slightly less money to property speculators and investors and a bit more to public housing?

The other element of fixing the housing crisis is the government needs to start to build public housing the way it used to, making it available to lower- and middle-income people, that’s a crucial component.

We are willing to negotiate. We think that is the best outcome by phasing out this tax handouts for property investors. I’d be surprised if Labor would not want to spend that extra revenue but it has been a real struggle to get Labor to spend any money on public housing.

I think that is what has left a lot of people disappointed with this Labor government. Think about what Gough Whitlam was able do – hundreds of thousands of public homes, free university education, real reforms that changed people’s lives. They should remember the values that they say they represent, and start performing in a way that Labor governments used to in the past.

Chandler-Mather says the Greens want to “sit down” with the government again after the “good sign” on negative gearing:

We have said we are willing to negotiate and one of those areas is movement on phasing out these tax handouts. In the space of the week the government has gone from refusing to negotiate with the Greens to cracking under pressure and are requesting Treasury modelling on phasing out negative gearing and capital gains discount, which is a good improvement from last week when they decided they would try to ram through two housing bills that would make the crisis worse.

This is a good sign. Let’s sit down, be adults, look at different proposals. We have said we have a model that we took to the 2022 election. We understand Labor may not come to that model but we need some movement on those tax handouts because there are millions of people losing hope they will ever be able to buy a home, millions, not 0.2%, and they need help as well.

Greens hope negative gearing reports signal ‘a government concession’

As Treasury reportedly studies a housing tax, Max Chandler-Mather says the government is “cracking under pressure from the Greens”.

The Greens’ housing spokesperson has told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing:

Hopefully this is a government concession the current position of tinkering around the edges and proposing two housing bills, that will drive up rents and house prices and potentially help no one, is not a tenable position and they are cracking under pressure from the Greens, who are pushing for a phase-out of negative gearing and capital gains tax discount.

Read more here:

Weak consumer sentiment hits sales at Kathmandu and Rip Curl owner

A “challenging sales environment” has left Kathmandu and Rip Curl owner KMD Brands with an 11% drop in sales in the 2023-24 financial year, AAP reports.

Group sales by the outdoor equipment and surf clothing brand owner fell to NZ$979m (A$901m), with the group attributing the downturn to weak consumer confidence.

On Wednesday, the KMD Brands CEO, Michael Daly, said despite Rip Curl and Oboz Footwear hitting record sales last year, all brands under the umbrella were facing headwinds due to the economic landscape.

We continued to experience the effects of weakness in consumer sentiment. Sales were 11.2% below last year’s record result and decreased for all three of our brands.

The New Zealand-based company reported a NZ$48m (A$44m) slump in its net profit after tax, with Kathmandu being the biggest loss contributor with a 14.5% decrease in sales.

KMD Brands passed on paying shareholders a dividend this cycle and shares in the company fell 2.1% on Wednesday. Year to date, its shares have fallen 35%.

Primary school students taken to hospital after accident at end of term performance

Three primary school students have been taken to hospital after a piece of equipment fell during an end of term performance at a south-west Sydney public school. Guardian Australia understands the students were hit by falling lights.

A spokesperson for the NSW Department of Education said:

Earlier today, a piece of equipment fell during an end of term performance and injured 8 Barramurra Public School students, as well as two members of the audience.

The school immediately contacted emergency services and provided first aid to those injured.

Three students have been transported to hospital with minor injuries, while the remaining students and audience members were treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics on-site.

A spokesperson for NSW ambulance said they were called at midday with 10 people requiring ambulance assistance or assessment, including one adult and nine children.

The spokesperson said the injuries of all 10 people were minor, but three children required transportation to hospital. Two were taken to Westmead hospital and one to Campbelltown.

SafeWork is investigating the incident and the school is providing support to students, staff and families, the Department of Education spokesperson said.

If you want to read more about exactly what happened earlier today when the Bureau of Meteorology’s app tested tsunami warnings, Daisy Dumas has the full story for you:

Number of Victorians waiting for alcohol or drug treatment surges

The number of Victorians waiting for some form of alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment has nearly doubled since 2020, a new survey shows.

The Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association’s (VAADA) seventh sector demand survey found 4,615 people were waiting for treatment on any given day, based on asking 38 service providers across the state between June and July 2024.

This number is 93% higher than the September 2020 result of 2,385 people on the daily waitlist.

Chris Christoforou, the chief executive of VAADA, says the increasing backlog means many are denied service at a “critical point of their help-seeking journey”.

Demand for support from alcohol and other drug issues continues to rise across Victoria. Our members regularly express concerns regarding unmanageable demand for treatment in a constrained environment. The 2024 waitlist numbers demonstrate that many Victorians are denied service when they are at a critical point of their help-seeking journey, which is unsatisfactory.

Christoforou said VAADA’s figures align with those released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, with this demand likely driven not only by stressors emanating from the pandemic but more broadly anxiety related to the cost of living, the lack of readily available AOD supports and the ease of access to alcohol.

It is always best to invest early to reduce long-term demand and costs. This includes keeping people out of more expensive acute health and justice-related interventions. An increase in AOD capacity will result in a significant saving to the government through reducing demand at the tertiary end of the service system.

Peter Hannam

Best inflation result in years but Chalmers may not get much thanks

Normally a big drop in inflation would be a signal that interest rate cuts aren’t far behind.

The Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock, though, has already told us she (and the RBA board) will look through any “temporary” price falls. By this point, Bullock is thinking government handouts take the sting out of various costs.

In the case of electricity, $300 from the federal government will be spread over four instalments for every household. Queenslanders collected a neat $1,000 from 1 July, while those in Tasmania received $250 and those out west in WA got $200 (with another $200 due after 1 January.)

Those rebates helped lower electricity bills by a record 17.9%, the ABS said.

“Excluding the rebates, electricity prices would have risen 0.1% in August and 0.9% in July,” said Michelle Marquardt, the ABS’s head of prices statistics.

As we queried in our RBA rates analysis yesterday, though, is the RBA correct that the rebates are so “temporary”?

Probably yes for the states (at least in Queensland and Western Australia, which have elections soon) but what about the commonwealth? It’s hard to believe the major parties won’t offer some repeat of the rebates for the coming year at least.

One other point about those lower power bills. Given the scale of the rebates, some households really will be $275 better off by 2025, as Labor promised before the May 2022.

It has kept rather quiet about that promise after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent global energy markets haywire. Perhaps they might be able to say, “well, they did fall $275 after all”, at least compared with last year.

Amanda Meade

Saturday Paper amends robodebt article

The Saturday Paper has amended an article four days after it was condemned by its own senior reporter as an “unethical” and “misleading” defence of one of the robodebt bureaucrats.

Robodebt reporter Rick Morton lambasted his editors for publishing a defence of one of the robodebt bureaucrats by columnist Christine Wallace, who had been friends with Renée Leon for 40 years.

Wallace wrote that she and many public service officials believed the robodebt findings against the “widely admired former secretary of the Department of Human Services, Renée Leon” were “unjust”.

Morton posted on social media that Wallace’s analysis was “garbage revisionism” and its publication a “betrayal” of the Saturday Paper’s reporting.

Editor Erik Jensen has not commented on the furore.

On Wednesday the website substantially amended the copy and added an editor’s note which said: “This piece was modified on September 25, 2024, to clarify the taskforce’s finding that Renée Leon misled the ombudsman.”

Penny Wong warns Lebanon ‘cannot become the next Gaza’

Daniel Hurst

In a strengthening of its language, the Australian government has warned that “Lebanon cannot become the next Gaza” and says “civilians are being killed by Israeli strikes”.

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, also called on Australian citizens in Lebanon to “leave now” and to not wait for a preferred flight route but to “take the first opportunity” to depart the country.

Wong said:

Civilians are being killed by Israeli strikes and it is women and children who are paying the highest price.

The global community is clear, this destructive cycle must stop. All parties must show restraint and de-escalate.

What has happened in recent days only makes an immediate ceasefire in Gaza even more urgent.

Lebanon cannot become the next Gaza. And the violence in Gaza must end. Hostages must be released and aid must flow.

Wong said she knew there were “so many people in Australia who have relatives, friends and family in Lebanon, and this is obviously a very stressful situation for them”.

She said there were flight cancellations and disruptions and “there is a risk Beirut airport may close for an extended period”.

Wong said:

Australians in Lebanon must leave now.

The AEU Tasmania president, David Genford, says unless 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) is spent on schools, governments cannot truthfully say they have funded schools according to need.

The failure to deliver even the bare minimum funding required to educate most Tasmanian kids to the minimum standard is not a winning announcement.

It is an abject failure of the government. This is a cloak-and-dagger deal that will rob this generation of Tasmanian children of the education funding they need.