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From 19m ago Albanese makes ‘no apology’ for $6m grant to Marrickville golf club Anthony Albanese has defended a grant handed to a golf club in his electorate, and said he makes “no apology” for it. The grant was part of an infrastructure program that disbursed most of its money to safe, marginal or target Labor seats. Over on ABC News Breakfast, Albanese says there were three grants in that program handed to his seat, and the funding for the golf club was to stop sewage from the course going into the local river during rain events.
He then attacks the ABC. double quotation mark The ABC were told information they chose not to publish appropriately ... because it is on a flood area by the Cooks River, when it rains and there’s flooding, raw sewerage goes into the Cooks River. That’s what it’s for – for fixing that. I make no apologies for my electorate being serviced by me as a good local member , these three grants, they’re all appropriate.
Albanese also confirms he was made an honorary member of the club some 15 years ago, but doesn’t say whether he should have declared it. double quotation mark I don’t have a card. I don’t go in there. I haven’t been in there for years.
I used to walk my dog along the path. Key events 19m ago Albanese makes ‘no apology’ for $6m grant to Marrickville golf club 1h ago Migration fuelling almost half of regional growth 2h ago Chalmers: One Nation would 'diminish or destroy' super 2h ago Victorians could pay almost $100 a year more for electricity 2h ago RBA governor: inflation is still the major problem Australia's economy Albanese wins charity tennis match against critic 6-0 6-0 6-0 You might remember earlier this year, a Sydney mortgage broker Joseph Daoud , won a charity auction at the midwinter ball to play a tennis match at the prime minister’s lodge with Anthony Albanese himself. Well yesterday that game finally happened – and it was doughnuts for Daoud.
Daoud, has spent big bucks putting up billboards and posters around the country critical of Labor’s changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax, and while in the capital yesterday, paid for some sky writing that spelled out “stop the tax”. Albanese tells ABC News Breakfast “it was what it was”. double quotation mark But for me, the main point is that it was raising funds for charity. I think it would have been good if the gentleman had have put some of the money he’s put into billboards and sky writing and all of that, given additional money to St Vincent’s, to Red Kite, a charity that provide support for the families of children who have cancer and for a good cause.
Daoud on Sunrise accused the PM of manufacturing the score and taking a 15 minute “tinkle” during the match. Asked about that on the Seven program, Albanese shrugged it off. double quotation mark We played a match. It was for charity.
Importantly, the score was six love, six love, six love. Was played in played in good spirits. Albanese admitted that he had used the word “tinkle” but that it was “about two minutes”.
I hated writing that. Albanese makes ‘no apology’ for $6m grant to Marrickville golf club Anthony Albanese has defended a grant handed to a golf club in his electorate, and said he makes “no apology” for it. The grant was part of an infrastructure program that disbursed most of its money to safe, marginal or target Labor seats.
Over on ABC News Breakfast, Albanese says there were three grants in that program handed to his seat, and the funding for the golf club was to stop sewage from the course going into the local river during rain events. He then attacks the ABC. double quotation mark The ABC were told information they chose not to publish appropriately ... because it is on a flood area by the Cooks River, when it rains and there’s flooding, raw sewerage goes into the Cooks River. That’s what it’s for – for fixing that.
I make no apologies for my electorate being serviced by me as a good local member , these three grants, they’re all appropriate. Albanese also confirms he was made an honorary member of the club some 15 years ago, but doesn’t say whether he should have declared it. double quotation mark I don’t have a card. I don’t go in there.
I haven’t been in there for years. I used to walk my dog along the path. Labor ‘not waving the white flag’ on illicit tobacco, but Albanese won’t completely rule out excise cut Anthony Albanese says the government’s priority is still to crack down on criminals, over reducing the tobacco excise to curb the exploding black market.
But asked several times whether he’ll guarantee that the government won’t cut the excise, Albanese won’t actually confirm. double quotation mark Albanese: What we want to do is to make sure that we continue to put that downward pressure on smoking rates and making vapes available everywhere isn’t going to help. Host: You’re ruling that out? Albanese: What we’re saying is the big thing that we have to do is to crack down on crime ...
Host: Are you saying you guarantee there will be no cut to the tobacco excise under a Labor government? Albanese: No, what I’m guaranteeing is we’ll take on the criminals. That’s what we’re doing ...
We’re not about to wave the white flag. Albanese dismisses concerns over powers in digital duty of care bill Anthony Albanese says the Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, is being “disingenuous” over his criticisms that the communications minister, Anika Wells, will have too much power under the new digital duty of care legislation. Speaking to the Today Show, the prime minister says the changes will be disallowable, meaning the Senate would have the power to vote against and reject rule changes.
Yesterday Wells outlined six areas that platforms would have to protect children from and ensure adults aren’t shown illegal content. Albanese says: double quotation mark The eSafety commissioner will of course provide the advice, but Matt Canavan actually knows that he’s being disingenuous because all of these things will be disallowable. That is, will be up to the whole parliament, like the other previous laws have been.
Migration fuelling almost half of regional growth Migration makes up almost half of regional Australia’s population growth, a report has revealed, as healthcare services warn of major workforce shortages if the intake is cut, AAP reports . Research from the Regional Australia Institute shows migrants made up 46.2% of growth in 2025, with the largest cohort arriving in areas outside capital cities aged between 25 and 44. The institute is calling for increased regional migration pathways to be placed at the centre of the nation’s population planning to address skills shortages, and support new economic activity.
Regional Australia had just over 17% of overseas migrants in the 2024/25 financial year, well below its 36% share of the national population. Under current policy settings, 28% of Australia’s population growth is projected to go to the regions, according to the institute. But it argues its modelling shows that figure could reach as high as 72% under a “nation-building approach” that prioritises the regions as a primary destination for population growth.
Grants program for target seats an idea ‘as old as ancient Greece’, says Clare Jason Clare has denied accusations of pork-barrelling against the government over an “invite-only” community infrastructure grants scheme that handed the majority of its money to safe, marginal or key Labor seats. Clare says it’s “democracy” that election promises – like funding for a new park or sports oval – are kept by a government. He says: double quotation mark That’s democracy ... if you’re in an election campaign and you make a promise as the local member, people expect that you’ll deliver on it.
And that’s what this fund does. Clare is asked point blank whether this is the way Labor wins elections, through these sweeteners for voters. He says this isn’t a new tactic. double quotation mark I don’t think that that is new.
This is probably as old as ancient Greece. Good politicians know that you don’t necessarily win elections by having a chat on the telly. You do it by having a chat on the front door of people’s homes and meeting people where they are.
Jason Clare earlier this month. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP Kids need a ‘digital detox’ says education minister The education minister, Jason Clare, says the results of a global study released overnight shows Australian students who are online more do worse in class, and need a digital detox. The 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results found year nines were going backwards in reading and maths, despite maintaining above-average OECD results, and that public school students are more than two years behind their independent counterparts.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, Clare says: double quotation mark The experts call this cognitive stunting, that technology can be used as a crutch in the classroom. Or it also can be a distraction. We’ve taken mobile phones, personal phones out of schools.
But you go into the average classroom today and you’ll see tablets and laptops on every desk in every classroom ... And the evidence is telling us that we probably need a good digital detox in our schools. It doesn’t mean that there’s no place for technology.
Our kids need to learn digital skills, and that includes AI. They need to know how to use it and how not to use it. But if it’s everywhere, then it’s having negative impacts on our kids.
Clare says the UK, which improved its scores since the last test three years ago, implemented phonics and other key changes to their curriculum 10 to 15 years ago which Australia is doing now. He says the next meeting of state and territory education minister will consider reforms to the maths curriculum. Student phones hang in a storage board in a French school.
A recent study shows Australian students may also need a ‘digital detox’. Photograph: Guillaume Horcajuelo/Reuters Labor’s digital duty of care bill risks ‘malicious compliance’, Greens say Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the government’s digital duty of care legislation is too vague on whether it allows users to opt-in or opt-out of algorithms, and says that risks manipulation or malicious compliance by the platforms. Speaking to RN Breakfast this morning, Hanson-Young says the fines of up to $100m also won’t be enough to deter big tech. double quotation mark It’s neither opt-in nor opt-out.
And what I’m concerned about is how the tech platforms will manipulate that. Unless the rules are tight, unless there’s no gaps, big tech is going to spend a lot of money fighting these laws in the first place and finding every which way to get around them. Malicious compliance at best.
I think the fines element is one of those areas that I think is just not good enough ... you need to hit them really where it hurts, and that’s their revenue. So it should be a percentage of global revenue. Asked about the Coalition’s claims that the laws amount to censorship of free speech, Hanson-Young says Angus Taylor is “wrong”. double quotation mark I don’t know whether this is deliberate misinformation by the opposition leader or he just doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
He hasn’t really spent much time engaging on these issues. Either way, it’s wrong. Krishani Dhanji Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you as we tick over the halfway mark of the sitting week!
There’s plenty to get to this morning so let’s get stuck in. RBA governor: inflation is still the major problem Australia's economy Adeshola Ore The Reserve Bank’s deputy governor has acknowledged Australians are “furious” about inflation while warning it is the “one big problem” the country’s economy is facing. The RBA board is due to meet at the end of the month, as fears grow that it will hit mortgage holders with a fourth rate hike this year after inflation eased in July but less than expected.
Speaking to the ABC’s 7.30 on Tuesday evening, Andrew Hauser, the RBA’s deputy governor, said while the economy was doing “quite well” on low unemployment and real household incomes, inflation remained “too high”: double quotation mark People want inflation down. People are furious about inflation and I understand why. It’s unfair...
It hits people on low incomes. It damages price signals. It makes the job of companies difficult. double quotation mark What they want us to do is our job and bring inflation down.
Hauser pointed to the ongoing Middle East conflict, the “unexpected global boom” driven by AI and the weakness of supply potential in Australia’s economy as risk factors for driving inflation. While Hauser said a rate hike was not inevitable, he said the RBA was focused on bringing inflation down. Victorians could pay almost $100 a year more for electricity Benita Kolovos Victorians could pay almost $100 a year more for electricity under a state Coalition policy to halt two key transmission projects, according to new analysis that suggests it would result in a near 40% increase in wholesale prices by 2031.
Analysis by consultancy Nexa Advisory, commissioned by non-profit group Environment Victoria , has found postponing the Western Renewables Link and the VNI West would delay other renewable energy projects. Such a move could force the state to rely on using more gas. As a result, the average wholesale electricity price could rise from $52.9 to $85.20 per megawatt hour – an increase of 37% – between 2027 and 2031.
This would flow through to households, adding $472 to the power bills of a typical household – and up to $4,719 for a small business and $11,797 for a large business - over the five-year period. By 2050, delaying the projects could add $33bn to wholesale electricity costs and produce an additional 8.6m tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions – akin to about a quarter of the state’s current annual electricity emissions. Chalmers: One Nation would 'diminish or destroy' super Patrick Commins Jim Chalmers says the Coalition and One Nation would “diminish or destroy” a compulsory super regime that this month’s intergenerational report will confirm is key to long term budget sustainability in a rapidly ageing society.
In remarks to the Super Members Council later this morning, the treasurer will condemn as “crazy” the right wing parties’ plans to give workers early access to their super savings, which he said would leave Australians poorer in retirement and weigh on the nations’ finances. New Treasury projections show the number of retirement-age Australians will nearly double to around 9 million by 2066. But the intergenerational report, to be released on 21 September, will show the share of older people on the aged pension is expected to fall from 66% to 52% in 40 years’ time.
As a result, spending on age and service pensions is projected to fall from 2.3% of GDP last year, to 1.8% in 2066, the IGR will show. This is much lower than other nations, which are struggling to meet their pension obligations: aged pension costs in the UK will account for nearly 10% of GDP by 2060, 8% in Canada, 7% in New Zealand, and 6% in the US. “Super takes serious pressure off social security outlays, and makes the budget much more sustainable as a consequence,” Chalmers will say. double quotation mark We cannot let One Nation, the Liberals and Nationals diminish or destroy one of the best things Australians and Australia have going for us now and in the decades to come.
They would put at risk the fiscal sustainability, higher living standards and stronger economy that the IGR shows will be supported by a strong and maturing super system. Welcome to Guardian Australia’s live news coverage for Wednesday. Our terrific liveblogger Krishani Dhanji will be with you shortly.
Let’s begin.
Source: The Guardian
