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Key events
What we learned: Wednesday 23 July
With that, we will wrap up the blog for this evening. I hope you have a great night. Here were today’s top stories:
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The 48th federal parliament began today, with commotion in the Nationals party. Senator Bridget McKenzie rubbished suggestions that the junior Coalition partner is in “disarray”. This was after the former Nationals leader, Michael McCormack, hinted at leadership ambitions and backed his colleague – and occasional foe – Barnaby Joyce in support of his bill to repeal the net zero by 2050 policy.
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The Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi was sanctioned after the upper house agreed her decision to protest during the governor general’s address to parliament by raising a Gaza protest sign was “utterly disrespectful”.
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The government confirmed Australia has made a second $800m payment to America’s shipbuilding industry, despite the Trump administration placing the Aukus agreement under review.
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Labor will make domestic spy agency Asio’s powers for compulsory questioning permanent and expand offences covered by the rules, ignoring warnings from human rights advocates.
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An independent review into an anti-racism conference at Queensland University of Technology found allegations of antisemitism were unfounded, while questioning the future purpose of the institute which presented it.
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All children tested so far for sexually transmitted infections in the case of accused childcare paedophile Joshua Dale Brown have tested negative, the Victorian deputy premier, Ben Carroll, told reporters.
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Also in Victoria, the first hearing of the parliamentary inquiry into the practices of cults and organised fringe groups was held.
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And a leading doctor told the National Press Club a “slip, slop, slap”-style preventive campaign is needed for dementia, as new research shows cases of the disease could be delayed with no added cost.
Bridget McKenzie rubbishes suggestion Nationals in ‘disarray’
Circling back to Afternoon Briefing, Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has rubbished suggestions that the junior Coalition partner is in “disarray”.
The first day of the 48th federal parliament was partially consumed by commotion within the Nationals party.
It began with a front-page story in The Australia, in which the former Nationals leader, Michael McCormack, got behind his colleague – and occasional foe – Barnaby Joyce in support of his bill to repeal the opposition’s net zero by 2050 policy.
McCormack also hinted at a potential tilt at returning to the Nationals leadership, before the backbencher sought to quell those whispers on Sky News this afternoon.
David Littleproud is the leader … David, as he said this morning, will do what the party wants as the leader, and that is his obligation and duty. And I support David.
Other Nationals stayed mum when asked about their support for net zero by 2050 in a group press conference earlier this afternoon, with Matt Canavan saying he was “still thinking about it”.
McKenzie was asked about the day’s events as she was interviewed on the ABC, saying that Joyce was “fine to bring on whatever” bill he likes.
I will be the last person to tell senators and members they cannot stand up in Australian parliament for the things they believe in.
But to make too much of it, to suggest the National party are in disarray, the Coalition has issues around energy policy, it does extend the argument a bit too far.
She was also coy when asked for her view on net zero, and whether the policy was “dead” in the Nationals party room.
Both the Liberals and the Nationals are undertaking a review on their climate and emissions reduction policies following the Coalition’s crushing election defeat.
Andrew Messenger
Queensland government says state will ‘not be writing a blank cheque’ to Glencore over copper smelter
Global demand for copper is expected to double in the next 25 years, driven by the transition to renewable energy.
The sector is facing disruption due to an expansion of processing in China. The company estimates it would lose $2.2bn at the refinery in the next 7 years.
The Queensland minister for natural resources and mines, Dale Last, said the state government would negotiate in good faith, but:
We will not be writing a blank cheque for a multinational company that returned $2.2bn USD to its shareholders just months ago, and continues to act only on its global commercial priorities rather than in the interests of the Mount Isa and Townsville communities.
The Queensland government has put a genuine and responsible offer on the table to help secure the future of the Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville refinery because the Crisafulli gGovernment backs our resources and minerals processing sectors and the hard-working families who rely on them, and we’re asking Glencore to do the same.
Our advocacy with the federal government continues because the competitiveness of smelters in Australia is a national issue, and it demands a national response.
Andrew Messenger
Glencore considering shuttering north Queensland copper smelter and refinery
Australia’s largest copper smelter is facing being mothballed, according to operator Glencore Metals.
According to Suresh Vadnagra, the head of Glencore’s global Nickel and Zinc department, the future of the Mount Isa copper smelter will be decided in the “next few weeks”.
The company met with the state resources minister, Dale Last, on Monday to discuss “potential support measures” for the smelter.
In an internal memo posted on its Facebook page, the company said:
Unfortunately, these measures fall well short of bridging the economic gap for the copper smelter and refinery.
Glencore is genuinely disappointed at the prospect of placing the smelter and refinery into care and maintenance if we do not receive adequate government support.
To be prepared, we now need to start preparations for placing these assets into care and maintenance until such time that market conditions improve enough for the assets to be restarted and operated on an economically viable basis.
The Mount Isa smelter and Glencore’s copper refinery in Townsville are Australia’s largest processing facilities. The company will close its copper mine outside the town – the state’s largest – next week, but the state still has an estimated 60 more years of minerals in the ground.
You can read more here:
PM says new $800m payment to US for Aukus deal is a scheduled payment, not an “extra” one
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says Australia has paid the US another $800m for the Aukus submarine deal because it was part of a “schedule of payments to be made”.
Albanese was also interviewed on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing today, where he was asked why the government had made another payment towards the deal despite the Trump administration placing the Aukus agreement under review.
First reported by the Nine newspapers, it emerged today that Australia had made a second $800m payment to America’s shipbuilding industry – bringing total payments so far to $1.6bn.
Asked to explain, Albanese said it was a scheduled payment – not an “extra” payment.
There is a schedule of payments to be made, we have an agreement with the United States as well as with the United Kingdom.
It is about increasing the capacity, their industrial capacity, and as part of that, we have Australians on the ground, learning the skills so that when it comes to the SSN-Aukus, the submarines being built here in Australia, we have those skills.
As part of the Aukus deal – in which Australia would buy nuclear submarines from the US ahead of its own nuclear submarines being built in Adelaide – Australia has agreed to pay about $4.6bn towards boosting US shipbuilding capacity.
In June, US president Donald Trump ordered a review into the Aukus deal.
The review is being headed by the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for policy, Elbridge Colby, who has previously declared himself “sceptical” about the deal.
My colleague, Ben Doherty, has more on this here:
Josh Butler
G8 Education welcomes federal government’s legislation on safety in childcare
One of Australia’s largest early learning providers has welcomed the government’s federal legislation on safety in childcare, but said all levels of government must “urgently explore further measures that better protect children”.
G8 Education said Jason Clare’s legislation was a good step, but wanted to see more.
The company’s CEO and managing director, Pejman Okhovat, said:
We recognise this has been a distressing time for families in Victoria, and across Australia, and we support all steps being undertaken by Federal and State Governments to improve safety across the early childhood education and care sector.
G8 Education looks forward to continuing to work with Government to ensure the highest standards of care and protection for every child. This includes engaging with the Department of Education to better understand the details and thresholds included in the draft legislation shared this morning.
The thresholds are about when the government regulators might step in to cancel, suspend or disapprove a provider’s use of the childcare subsidy, the major “stick” of the legislation to encourage better behaviour.
Okhovat said he was keen to see more action on a national register of childcare workers, which will be discussed with states and territories at a ministers’ meeting next month.
G8 said it would continue to advocate for a national registry for working with vulnerable people (including children, the NDIS and aged care), national teachers registration, national register of early childhood workers employment history, and aligning state regulations on safety and child protection.
Natasha May
Almost 1,000 Transport NSW office staff to lose their jobs amid restructure
Staff at Transport NSW have begun to be notified of 950 job cuts in corporate and support functions, as part of a restructure which aims to find efficiencies in back office roles and prioritise frontline services.
The Transport for NSW secretary, Josh Murray, said that the growth in senior executive roles within the organisation had reached a point that would be “unsustainable in any sector”, and that:
From 2021 to 2023, Transport for NSW added an average of two new senior executive roles every week, and a 30% increase in senior management and award staff.
Guardian Australia understands that the agency has removed more than 200 senior executive roles in the changes so far, as part of the state government’s election commitment to reduce senior executives by 15%.
Murray said:
These decisions are never easy – they affect real people and teams who’ve contributed to vital work. But they are necessary to ensure we have a sustainable structure that provides the best possible value to the people of NSW.
As one of the largest public service agencies in the country we have a responsibility to ensure we operate efficiently. Every dollar saved from our costs is a dollar for schools, hospitals, police or frontline public transport and roads, so we must build our budgets carefully.
Australia should be prepared to take further action against Israel, Ed Husic says
Labor MP Ed Husic says Australia should be prepared to take further action against Israel if Benjamin Netanyahu’s government doesn’t respond to earlier sanctions.
Last month Australia joined the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in placing financial sanctions and travel bans on two Israeli government ministers, over what the foreign minister, Penny Wong, described as “inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank”.
Husic was interviewed on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing a short time ago, where he was asked if the Albanese government should “go further”. He responded:
We are trying to encourage the Netanyahu government, a number of countries are saying clearly and if you look at the statement itself the other big thing about it is a lot of allies of Israel signed up to that statement, so pretty significant.
If they fail to respond it will be up to the international community to take further steps, and certainly the Australian government as part of a broader coalition should be prepared to take further steps.
Last month Husic, who was dumped as a cabinet minister after the federal election, broke ranks with the Labor party to criticise the Netanyahu government, suggesting the Israeli strikes on Iran that sparked the latest Middle East conflict were not justified.
You can read more about that here:
In May, Husic wrote an opinion piece for Guardian Australia in which he criticised the Albanese government for not doing enough to condemn Israel for withholding aid from Gaza.
In it, he wrote:
Australia has a proud tradition of refusing to be silent on the world stage when it comes to defending vulnerable and oppressed people. We can be emboldened by our legacy of doing so.
Two million starving people in Gaza need all the help we can muster alongside others.
Caitlin Cassidy
QUT review questions ‘future role and function’ of Indigenous research and education centre
The university received correspondence from more than 300 individuals and organisations after the event, which security described as peaceful, the review found.
The review said: “while some controversy emerged following the media reporting … it is important to consider the full context of the event and the presentations”, which “were not antisemitic in nature”, and that:
The intent of the presentations remained aligned with the university’s standards and the purpose of the debate.
The review also noted it had received submissions that the Carumba Institute, a centre for Indigenous research and education, should be closed.
On this, it said:
The review is not in a position to assess this issue. However, the review is in a position to conclude that the University Council should consider the future role and function of the Carumba Institute … Whatever else may be said, the media coverage and various responses to the Debate in particular whether justified or not, have damaged the reputation of the university.
Independent review into anti-racism conference at Queensland university finds antisemitism allegations unfounded
Caitlin Cassidy
An independent review into an anti-racism conference at the Queensland University of Technology has found allegations of antisemitism were unfounded, while questioning the future purpose of the institute which presented it.
The 70 page Middleton review, released today, said the January event was not antisemitic in nature, however it cautioned more “careful consideration” should have been given as to whether a “greatest race debate” should have taken place “in the current social and political climate following 7 October 2023”.
The conference received critical coverage in some media, including in The Australian, over a slide, presented by the head of the Jewish Council of Australia, Sarah Schwartz, which criticised what she described as stereotyping of the Jewish community by the Coalition.
Sarah Basford Canales
Senate president labels Faruqi protest ‘utterly disrespectful’
Returning to the upper house of federal parliament once more, the Senate president, Sue Lines, has criticised Mehreen Faruqi’s actions as “utterly disrespectful” after the Senate passed a disapproval motion against the Greens senator earlier this afternoon.
The motion, which was introduced after question time, was a strike against Faruqi for holding up a sign protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza during the governor general’s speech yesterday.
Lines said the governor general had no power to remove Faruqi’s prop and with Lines not in the president’s chair, the breach of standing orders could not be addressed for the entirety of the address.
Lines said:
Senator Faruqi, you are a champion in this chamber for respectful debate and behaviour.
You have used the processes of the Senate and its committees to reinforce the expectations of behaviour standards.
These standards and expectations that you expect also apply to you.
Your actions during the governor general’s address were utterly disrespectful and showed a complete disregard for the rules, the traditions and the customs of this place.
No positive STI results to date as testing of children in case of accused Melbourne childcare paedophile continues
Benita Kolovos
All children tested so far for sexually transmitted infections after coming into contact with accused childcare paedophile Joshua Dale Brown have tested negative, the Victorian deputy premier, Ben Carroll, has told reporters.
Carroll this afternoon said he’d received the advice from staff at the Royal children’s hospital:
I’ve even spoken with people involved at the Royal children’s hospital that I think they’ve tested just about everyone, but I can get that clarified, and all the tests have been negative. And this is something we hoped for and wished for.
About 2,000 children were required to get tested for STIs as a precaution after they attended childcare centres where Brown had worked. Brown was charged with more than 70 offences relating to eight alleged victims, aged between five months and two years old.
The health department has not publicly stated the infections the children will be screened for. However, in information provided to affected parents and seen by Guardian Australia, they have recommended testing for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis for some children, or chlamydia and gonorrhoea for others.
Senate passes Labor motion expressing ‘extreme disapproval’ against Mehreen Faruqi for Gaza sign protest
While the Coalition amendment failed, Labor’s original motion to sanction Mehreen Faruqi passes the Senate.
The Greens opposed the motion along with independent senator Fatima Payman while One Nation and independent senator Tammy Tyrrell teamed up with the two major parties to sanction Faruqi.
While we have been calling it a censure motion, it’s technically a motion to express “profound disapproval” against the senator but also includes that the Senate voted it not “appropriate for Senator Faruqi to represent the Senate as a member of any delegation during the life of this parliament”.
Sarah Basford Canales
Coalition amendment to suspend Faruqi from Senate fails
The Coalition’s amendment to the motion to sanction Mehreen Faruqi fails, with Labor, the Greens and Fatima Payman voting against it.
The opposition’s amendment would have suspended Faruqi from attending the Senate for failing to apologise about her protest action during the governor general’s speech yesterday.
As a reminder, Faruqi’s sign read “sanction Israel”.
Sarah Basford Canales
Waters labels Wong’s ‘attention-seeking’ claim against Faruqi ‘a disgrace’
Back to the Senate, the Greens leader, Larissa Waters, stands up and defends her colleague, Mehreen Faruqi, saying Penny Wong’s claim that Faruqi is seeking attention is a “disgrace”.
Waters says:
What a disgrace to say that it was attention-seeking by Senator Faruqi for herself, rather than the issue of starving women, children and men in Palestine.
That says more about Senator Wong than it does about Senator Faruqi.
Faruqi later stands up in the chamber, telling them she won’t back down.
She says:
I will not back down from this call because Palestinians are being murdered, starved and displaced by Israel as we speak, and all you can do is crack down on people who protest, who tell the truth, who hold up a mirror to you all for your silence and complicity.
Labor and the Coalition in this chamber wants to avoid the truth. You don’t want to see it or hear it, and now here we are. You want me … you want to force me to apologise for telling the truth.
Faruqi then claims the upper house has been racist before withdrawing the comment:
You are more focused on cracking down on black and brown women in this parliament. You’ve …
The Senate will now vote on Wong’s original motion and the opposition’s amendment to take it a bit further.
Catie McLeod
Hi. I hope you’ve had a great day so far. I’ll be with you on the blog for the rest of the afternoon.
Krishani Dhanji
Thanks for joining me on the blog today, for the first full sitting day of parliament.
I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Catie McLeod, and I’ll be back here early tomorrow morning (with plenty more caffeine in hand)!
TLDR: what happened in the first question time of the new parliament?
To recap:
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The Coalition focused heavily on the government’s superannuation tax today, with questions on the impact of taxing unrealised gains on farmers, small businesses and whether Labor would go further to tax unrealised gains on the family home.
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Having given their first speeches last night, new MPs Ali France (who toppled Peter Dutton) and Sarah Witty (who toppled Adam Bandt) were given the first dixers today.
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Teal independent MP Kate Chaney asked communications minister Anika Wells whether the government would finally accept the recommendations of the now two-year-old inquiry into gambling. Wells said she’s still working on gambling reform and has been meeting with broadcasters, sports groups and harm reduction organisations.
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Tinder gained a reference in Hansard, prompted by a somewhat graphic quote from Nationals MP Michael McCormack to Sky News today, that was jumped on by Chris Bowen to attack the minor Coalition party.
Sarah Basford Canales
Protester removed from gallery as Cash moves amendment to suspend Faruqi
The Senate opposition leader, Michaelia Cash, stands and urges the motion to go further – the Coalition wants to suspend Faruqi.
We believe that the ultimate punishment fails to meet the gravity of what occurred during yesterday’s joint sitting of parliament. It falls short of what Australians rightly expect of their elected representatives. What we witnessed yesterday was not simply a breach of standing orders. It was a breach of respect for the institution of the Senate. It was a breach of our rules, for our history, but most importantly, the people that we serve.”
While Cash speaks on the opposition’s amendments to the motion, a protester from the public gallery wearing a Palestine shirt begins shouting a series of chants against Israel and its administration.
The protester can be heard saying, “Israel is murdering children” and “Netanyahu is a war criminal”. The Senate president, Sue Lines, requests broadcasting turn off the audio so it can’t be heard.
The protester is removed by security guards from the public gallery and Liberal senator James Paterson can be heard saying “on ya bike” as the man is escorted out.
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Key events
What we learned: Wednesday 23 July
With that, we will wrap up the blog for this evening. I hope you have a great night. Here were today’s top stories:
-
The 48th federal parliament began today, with commotion in the Nationals party. Senator Bridget McKenzie rubbished suggestions that the junior Coalition partner is in “disarray”. This was after the former Nationals leader, Michael McCormack, hinted at leadership ambitions and backed his colleague – and occasional foe – Barnaby Joyce in support of his bill to repeal the net zero by 2050 policy.
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The Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi was sanctioned after the upper house agreed her decision to protest during the governor general’s address to parliament by raising a Gaza protest sign was “utterly disrespectful”.
-
The government confirmed Australia has made a second $800m payment to America’s shipbuilding industry, despite the Trump administration placing the Aukus agreement under review.
-
Labor will make domestic spy agency Asio’s powers for compulsory questioning permanent and expand offences covered by the rules, ignoring warnings from human rights advocates.
-
An independent review into an anti-racism conference at Queensland University of Technology found allegations of antisemitism were unfounded, while questioning the future purpose of the institute which presented it.
-
All children tested so far for sexually transmitted infections in the case of accused childcare paedophile Joshua Dale Brown have tested negative, the Victorian deputy premier, Ben Carroll, told reporters.
-
Also in Victoria, the first hearing of the parliamentary inquiry into the practices of cults and organised fringe groups was held.
-
And a leading doctor told the National Press Club a “slip, slop, slap”-style preventive campaign is needed for dementia, as new research shows cases of the disease could be delayed with no added cost.
Bridget McKenzie rubbishes suggestion Nationals in ‘disarray’
Circling back to Afternoon Briefing, Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has rubbished suggestions that the junior Coalition partner is in “disarray”.
The first day of the 48th federal parliament was partially consumed by commotion within the Nationals party.
It began with a front-page story in The Australia, in which the former Nationals leader, Michael McCormack, got behind his colleague – and occasional foe – Barnaby Joyce in support of his bill to repeal the opposition’s net zero by 2050 policy.
McCormack also hinted at a potential tilt at returning to the Nationals leadership, before the backbencher sought to quell those whispers on Sky News this afternoon.
David Littleproud is the leader … David, as he said this morning, will do what the party wants as the leader, and that is his obligation and duty. And I support David.
Other Nationals stayed mum when asked about their support for net zero by 2050 in a group press conference earlier this afternoon, with Matt Canavan saying he was “still thinking about it”.
McKenzie was asked about the day’s events as she was interviewed on the ABC, saying that Joyce was “fine to bring on whatever” bill he likes.
I will be the last person to tell senators and members they cannot stand up in Australian parliament for the things they believe in.
But to make too much of it, to suggest the National party are in disarray, the Coalition has issues around energy policy, it does extend the argument a bit too far.
She was also coy when asked for her view on net zero, and whether the policy was “dead” in the Nationals party room.
Both the Liberals and the Nationals are undertaking a review on their climate and emissions reduction policies following the Coalition’s crushing election defeat.
Andrew Messenger
Queensland government says state will ‘not be writing a blank cheque’ to Glencore over copper smelter
Global demand for copper is expected to double in the next 25 years, driven by the transition to renewable energy.
The sector is facing disruption due to an expansion of processing in China. The company estimates it would lose $2.2bn at the refinery in the next 7 years.
The Queensland minister for natural resources and mines, Dale Last, said the state government would negotiate in good faith, but:
We will not be writing a blank cheque for a multinational company that returned $2.2bn USD to its shareholders just months ago, and continues to act only on its global commercial priorities rather than in the interests of the Mount Isa and Townsville communities.
The Queensland government has put a genuine and responsible offer on the table to help secure the future of the Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville refinery because the Crisafulli gGovernment backs our resources and minerals processing sectors and the hard-working families who rely on them, and we’re asking Glencore to do the same.
Our advocacy with the federal government continues because the competitiveness of smelters in Australia is a national issue, and it demands a national response.
Andrew Messenger
Glencore considering shuttering north Queensland copper smelter and refinery
Australia’s largest copper smelter is facing being mothballed, according to operator Glencore Metals.
According to Suresh Vadnagra, the head of Glencore’s global Nickel and Zinc department, the future of the Mount Isa copper smelter will be decided in the “next few weeks”.
The company met with the state resources minister, Dale Last, on Monday to discuss “potential support measures” for the smelter.
In an internal memo posted on its Facebook page, the company said:
Unfortunately, these measures fall well short of bridging the economic gap for the copper smelter and refinery.
Glencore is genuinely disappointed at the prospect of placing the smelter and refinery into care and maintenance if we do not receive adequate government support.
To be prepared, we now need to start preparations for placing these assets into care and maintenance until such time that market conditions improve enough for the assets to be restarted and operated on an economically viable basis.
The Mount Isa smelter and Glencore’s copper refinery in Townsville are Australia’s largest processing facilities. The company will close its copper mine outside the town – the state’s largest – next week, but the state still has an estimated 60 more years of minerals in the ground.
You can read more here:
PM says new $800m payment to US for Aukus deal is a scheduled payment, not an “extra” one
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says Australia has paid the US another $800m for the Aukus submarine deal because it was part of a “schedule of payments to be made”.
Albanese was also interviewed on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing today, where he was asked why the government had made another payment towards the deal despite the Trump administration placing the Aukus agreement under review.
First reported by the Nine newspapers, it emerged today that Australia had made a second $800m payment to America’s shipbuilding industry – bringing total payments so far to $1.6bn.
Asked to explain, Albanese said it was a scheduled payment – not an “extra” payment.
There is a schedule of payments to be made, we have an agreement with the United States as well as with the United Kingdom.
It is about increasing the capacity, their industrial capacity, and as part of that, we have Australians on the ground, learning the skills so that when it comes to the SSN-Aukus, the submarines being built here in Australia, we have those skills.
As part of the Aukus deal – in which Australia would buy nuclear submarines from the US ahead of its own nuclear submarines being built in Adelaide – Australia has agreed to pay about $4.6bn towards boosting US shipbuilding capacity.
In June, US president Donald Trump ordered a review into the Aukus deal.
The review is being headed by the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for policy, Elbridge Colby, who has previously declared himself “sceptical” about the deal.
My colleague, Ben Doherty, has more on this here:
Josh Butler
G8 Education welcomes federal government’s legislation on safety in childcare
One of Australia’s largest early learning providers has welcomed the government’s federal legislation on safety in childcare, but said all levels of government must “urgently explore further measures that better protect children”.
G8 Education said Jason Clare’s legislation was a good step, but wanted to see more.
The company’s CEO and managing director, Pejman Okhovat, said:
We recognise this has been a distressing time for families in Victoria, and across Australia, and we support all steps being undertaken by Federal and State Governments to improve safety across the early childhood education and care sector.
G8 Education looks forward to continuing to work with Government to ensure the highest standards of care and protection for every child. This includes engaging with the Department of Education to better understand the details and thresholds included in the draft legislation shared this morning.
The thresholds are about when the government regulators might step in to cancel, suspend or disapprove a provider’s use of the childcare subsidy, the major “stick” of the legislation to encourage better behaviour.
Okhovat said he was keen to see more action on a national register of childcare workers, which will be discussed with states and territories at a ministers’ meeting next month.
G8 said it would continue to advocate for a national registry for working with vulnerable people (including children, the NDIS and aged care), national teachers registration, national register of early childhood workers employment history, and aligning state regulations on safety and child protection.
Natasha May
Almost 1,000 Transport NSW office staff to lose their jobs amid restructure
Staff at Transport NSW have begun to be notified of 950 job cuts in corporate and support functions, as part of a restructure which aims to find efficiencies in back office roles and prioritise frontline services.
The Transport for NSW secretary, Josh Murray, said that the growth in senior executive roles within the organisation had reached a point that would be “unsustainable in any sector”, and that:
From 2021 to 2023, Transport for NSW added an average of two new senior executive roles every week, and a 30% increase in senior management and award staff.
Guardian Australia understands that the agency has removed more than 200 senior executive roles in the changes so far, as part of the state government’s election commitment to reduce senior executives by 15%.
Murray said:
These decisions are never easy – they affect real people and teams who’ve contributed to vital work. But they are necessary to ensure we have a sustainable structure that provides the best possible value to the people of NSW.
As one of the largest public service agencies in the country we have a responsibility to ensure we operate efficiently. Every dollar saved from our costs is a dollar for schools, hospitals, police or frontline public transport and roads, so we must build our budgets carefully.
Australia should be prepared to take further action against Israel, Ed Husic says
Labor MP Ed Husic says Australia should be prepared to take further action against Israel if Benjamin Netanyahu’s government doesn’t respond to earlier sanctions.
Last month Australia joined the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in placing financial sanctions and travel bans on two Israeli government ministers, over what the foreign minister, Penny Wong, described as “inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank”.
Husic was interviewed on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing a short time ago, where he was asked if the Albanese government should “go further”. He responded:
We are trying to encourage the Netanyahu government, a number of countries are saying clearly and if you look at the statement itself the other big thing about it is a lot of allies of Israel signed up to that statement, so pretty significant.
If they fail to respond it will be up to the international community to take further steps, and certainly the Australian government as part of a broader coalition should be prepared to take further steps.
Last month Husic, who was dumped as a cabinet minister after the federal election, broke ranks with the Labor party to criticise the Netanyahu government, suggesting the Israeli strikes on Iran that sparked the latest Middle East conflict were not justified.
You can read more about that here:
In May, Husic wrote an opinion piece for Guardian Australia in which he criticised the Albanese government for not doing enough to condemn Israel for withholding aid from Gaza.
In it, he wrote:
Australia has a proud tradition of refusing to be silent on the world stage when it comes to defending vulnerable and oppressed people. We can be emboldened by our legacy of doing so.
Two million starving people in Gaza need all the help we can muster alongside others.
Caitlin Cassidy
QUT review questions ‘future role and function’ of Indigenous research and education centre
The university received correspondence from more than 300 individuals and organisations after the event, which security described as peaceful, the review found.
The review said: “while some controversy emerged following the media reporting … it is important to consider the full context of the event and the presentations”, which “were not antisemitic in nature”, and that:
The intent of the presentations remained aligned with the university’s standards and the purpose of the debate.
The review also noted it had received submissions that the Carumba Institute, a centre for Indigenous research and education, should be closed.
On this, it said:
The review is not in a position to assess this issue. However, the review is in a position to conclude that the University Council should consider the future role and function of the Carumba Institute … Whatever else may be said, the media coverage and various responses to the Debate in particular whether justified or not, have damaged the reputation of the university.
Independent review into anti-racism conference at Queensland university finds antisemitism allegations unfounded
Caitlin Cassidy
An independent review into an anti-racism conference at the Queensland University of Technology has found allegations of antisemitism were unfounded, while questioning the future purpose of the institute which presented it.
The 70 page Middleton review, released today, said the January event was not antisemitic in nature, however it cautioned more “careful consideration” should have been given as to whether a “greatest race debate” should have taken place “in the current social and political climate following 7 October 2023”.
The conference received critical coverage in some media, including in The Australian, over a slide, presented by the head of the Jewish Council of Australia, Sarah Schwartz, which criticised what she described as stereotyping of the Jewish community by the Coalition.
Sarah Basford Canales
Senate president labels Faruqi protest ‘utterly disrespectful’
Returning to the upper house of federal parliament once more, the Senate president, Sue Lines, has criticised Mehreen Faruqi’s actions as “utterly disrespectful” after the Senate passed a disapproval motion against the Greens senator earlier this afternoon.
The motion, which was introduced after question time, was a strike against Faruqi for holding up a sign protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza during the governor general’s speech yesterday.
Lines said the governor general had no power to remove Faruqi’s prop and with Lines not in the president’s chair, the breach of standing orders could not be addressed for the entirety of the address.
Lines said:
Senator Faruqi, you are a champion in this chamber for respectful debate and behaviour.
You have used the processes of the Senate and its committees to reinforce the expectations of behaviour standards.
These standards and expectations that you expect also apply to you.
Your actions during the governor general’s address were utterly disrespectful and showed a complete disregard for the rules, the traditions and the customs of this place.
No positive STI results to date as testing of children in case of accused Melbourne childcare paedophile continues
Benita Kolovos
All children tested so far for sexually transmitted infections after coming into contact with accused childcare paedophile Joshua Dale Brown have tested negative, the Victorian deputy premier, Ben Carroll, has told reporters.
Carroll this afternoon said he’d received the advice from staff at the Royal children’s hospital:
I’ve even spoken with people involved at the Royal children’s hospital that I think they’ve tested just about everyone, but I can get that clarified, and all the tests have been negative. And this is something we hoped for and wished for.
About 2,000 children were required to get tested for STIs as a precaution after they attended childcare centres where Brown had worked. Brown was charged with more than 70 offences relating to eight alleged victims, aged between five months and two years old.
The health department has not publicly stated the infections the children will be screened for. However, in information provided to affected parents and seen by Guardian Australia, they have recommended testing for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis for some children, or chlamydia and gonorrhoea for others.
Senate passes Labor motion expressing ‘extreme disapproval’ against Mehreen Faruqi for Gaza sign protest
While the Coalition amendment failed, Labor’s original motion to sanction Mehreen Faruqi passes the Senate.
The Greens opposed the motion along with independent senator Fatima Payman while One Nation and independent senator Tammy Tyrrell teamed up with the two major parties to sanction Faruqi.
While we have been calling it a censure motion, it’s technically a motion to express “profound disapproval” against the senator but also includes that the Senate voted it not “appropriate for Senator Faruqi to represent the Senate as a member of any delegation during the life of this parliament”.
Sarah Basford Canales
Coalition amendment to suspend Faruqi from Senate fails
The Coalition’s amendment to the motion to sanction Mehreen Faruqi fails, with Labor, the Greens and Fatima Payman voting against it.
The opposition’s amendment would have suspended Faruqi from attending the Senate for failing to apologise about her protest action during the governor general’s speech yesterday.
As a reminder, Faruqi’s sign read “sanction Israel”.
Sarah Basford Canales
Waters labels Wong’s ‘attention-seeking’ claim against Faruqi ‘a disgrace’
Back to the Senate, the Greens leader, Larissa Waters, stands up and defends her colleague, Mehreen Faruqi, saying Penny Wong’s claim that Faruqi is seeking attention is a “disgrace”.
Waters says:
What a disgrace to say that it was attention-seeking by Senator Faruqi for herself, rather than the issue of starving women, children and men in Palestine.
That says more about Senator Wong than it does about Senator Faruqi.
Faruqi later stands up in the chamber, telling them she won’t back down.
She says:
I will not back down from this call because Palestinians are being murdered, starved and displaced by Israel as we speak, and all you can do is crack down on people who protest, who tell the truth, who hold up a mirror to you all for your silence and complicity.
Labor and the Coalition in this chamber wants to avoid the truth. You don’t want to see it or hear it, and now here we are. You want me … you want to force me to apologise for telling the truth.
Faruqi then claims the upper house has been racist before withdrawing the comment:
You are more focused on cracking down on black and brown women in this parliament. You’ve …
The Senate will now vote on Wong’s original motion and the opposition’s amendment to take it a bit further.
Catie McLeod
Hi. I hope you’ve had a great day so far. I’ll be with you on the blog for the rest of the afternoon.
Krishani Dhanji
Thanks for joining me on the blog today, for the first full sitting day of parliament.
I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Catie McLeod, and I’ll be back here early tomorrow morning (with plenty more caffeine in hand)!
TLDR: what happened in the first question time of the new parliament?
To recap:
-
The Coalition focused heavily on the government’s superannuation tax today, with questions on the impact of taxing unrealised gains on farmers, small businesses and whether Labor would go further to tax unrealised gains on the family home.
-
Having given their first speeches last night, new MPs Ali France (who toppled Peter Dutton) and Sarah Witty (who toppled Adam Bandt) were given the first dixers today.
-
Teal independent MP Kate Chaney asked communications minister Anika Wells whether the government would finally accept the recommendations of the now two-year-old inquiry into gambling. Wells said she’s still working on gambling reform and has been meeting with broadcasters, sports groups and harm reduction organisations.
-
Tinder gained a reference in Hansard, prompted by a somewhat graphic quote from Nationals MP Michael McCormack to Sky News today, that was jumped on by Chris Bowen to attack the minor Coalition party.
Sarah Basford Canales
Protester removed from gallery as Cash moves amendment to suspend Faruqi
The Senate opposition leader, Michaelia Cash, stands and urges the motion to go further – the Coalition wants to suspend Faruqi.
We believe that the ultimate punishment fails to meet the gravity of what occurred during yesterday’s joint sitting of parliament. It falls short of what Australians rightly expect of their elected representatives. What we witnessed yesterday was not simply a breach of standing orders. It was a breach of respect for the institution of the Senate. It was a breach of our rules, for our history, but most importantly, the people that we serve.”
While Cash speaks on the opposition’s amendments to the motion, a protester from the public gallery wearing a Palestine shirt begins shouting a series of chants against Israel and its administration.
The protester can be heard saying, “Israel is murdering children” and “Netanyahu is a war criminal”. The Senate president, Sue Lines, requests broadcasting turn off the audio so it can’t be heard.
The protester is removed by security guards from the public gallery and Liberal senator James Paterson can be heard saying “on ya bike” as the man is escorted out.
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Narrative Flow: Structure the body with a clear narrative arc. Introduce the core events, develop the story with context and data, and build toward a powerful final insight.
Body & Subheadings: Use H2 and H3 subheadings to organize the story into logical, easy-to-digest sections. Keep paragraphs short (2-4 sentences) to maintain reader momentum.
3. Execution Standards & Style
Authoritative Voice: Write with a warm, confident, and authoritative tone befitting a seasoned US news editor. The language must be polished, clear, and accessible.
Original Analysis: Do not merely summarize. Paraphrase all information completely and add your own expert commentary. Focus on the implications and the “so what?” factor behind the facts to provide unique value.
Engagement: Use vivid storytelling and dynamic phrasing. Bold key terms on their first appearance. Employ bullet points or lists for clarity where appropriate.
AP Style: Adhere strictly to AP Style for all numbers, capitalization, punctuation, and formatting.
What to Avoid: All clichés, robotic phrasing, and rhetorical questions.
4. Journalistic Integrity & Nuance
Trust & Accuracy (E-E-A-T): Your output must be factually impeccable, based only on
Key events
What we learned: Wednesday 23 July
With that, we will wrap up the blog for this evening. I hope you have a great night. Here were today’s top stories:
-
The 48th federal parliament began today, with commotion in the Nationals party. Senator Bridget McKenzie rubbished suggestions that the junior Coalition partner is in “disarray”. This was after the former Nationals leader, Michael McCormack, hinted at leadership ambitions and backed his colleague – and occasional foe – Barnaby Joyce in support of his bill to repeal the net zero by 2050 policy.
-
The Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi was sanctioned after the upper house agreed her decision to protest during the governor general’s address to parliament by raising a Gaza protest sign was “utterly disrespectful”.
-
The government confirmed Australia has made a second $800m payment to America’s shipbuilding industry, despite the Trump administration placing the Aukus agreement under review.
-
Labor will make domestic spy agency Asio’s powers for compulsory questioning permanent and expand offences covered by the rules, ignoring warnings from human rights advocates.
-
An independent review into an anti-racism conference at Queensland University of Technology found allegations of antisemitism were unfounded, while questioning the future purpose of the institute which presented it.
-
All children tested so far for sexually transmitted infections in the case of accused childcare paedophile Joshua Dale Brown have tested negative, the Victorian deputy premier, Ben Carroll, told reporters.
-
Also in Victoria, the first hearing of the parliamentary inquiry into the practices of cults and organised fringe groups was held.
-
And a leading doctor told the National Press Club a “slip, slop, slap”-style preventive campaign is needed for dementia, as new research shows cases of the disease could be delayed with no added cost.
Bridget McKenzie rubbishes suggestion Nationals in ‘disarray’
Circling back to Afternoon Briefing, Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has rubbished suggestions that the junior Coalition partner is in “disarray”.
The first day of the 48th federal parliament was partially consumed by commotion within the Nationals party.
It began with a front-page story in The Australia, in which the former Nationals leader, Michael McCormack, got behind his colleague – and occasional foe – Barnaby Joyce in support of his bill to repeal the opposition’s net zero by 2050 policy.
McCormack also hinted at a potential tilt at returning to the Nationals leadership, before the backbencher sought to quell those whispers on Sky News this afternoon.
David Littleproud is the leader … David, as he said this morning, will do what the party wants as the leader, and that is his obligation and duty. And I support David.
Other Nationals stayed mum when asked about their support for net zero by 2050 in a group press conference earlier this afternoon, with Matt Canavan saying he was “still thinking about it”.
McKenzie was asked about the day’s events as she was interviewed on the ABC, saying that Joyce was “fine to bring on whatever” bill he likes.
I will be the last person to tell senators and members they cannot stand up in Australian parliament for the things they believe in.
But to make too much of it, to suggest the National party are in disarray, the Coalition has issues around energy policy, it does extend the argument a bit too far.
She was also coy when asked for her view on net zero, and whether the policy was “dead” in the Nationals party room.
Both the Liberals and the Nationals are undertaking a review on their climate and emissions reduction policies following the Coalition’s crushing election defeat.
Andrew Messenger
Queensland government says state will ‘not be writing a blank cheque’ to Glencore over copper smelter
Global demand for copper is expected to double in the next 25 years, driven by the transition to renewable energy.
The sector is facing disruption due to an expansion of processing in China. The company estimates it would lose $2.2bn at the refinery in the next 7 years.
The Queensland minister for natural resources and mines, Dale Last, said the state government would negotiate in good faith, but:
We will not be writing a blank cheque for a multinational company that returned $2.2bn USD to its shareholders just months ago, and continues to act only on its global commercial priorities rather than in the interests of the Mount Isa and Townsville communities.
The Queensland government has put a genuine and responsible offer on the table to help secure the future of the Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville refinery because the Crisafulli gGovernment backs our resources and minerals processing sectors and the hard-working families who rely on them, and we’re asking Glencore to do the same.
Our advocacy with the federal government continues because the competitiveness of smelters in Australia is a national issue, and it demands a national response.
Andrew Messenger
Glencore considering shuttering north Queensland copper smelter and refinery
Australia’s largest copper smelter is facing being mothballed, according to operator Glencore Metals.
According to Suresh Vadnagra, the head of Glencore’s global Nickel and Zinc department, the future of the Mount Isa copper smelter will be decided in the “next few weeks”.
The company met with the state resources minister, Dale Last, on Monday to discuss “potential support measures” for the smelter.
In an internal memo posted on its Facebook page, the company said:
Unfortunately, these measures fall well short of bridging the economic gap for the copper smelter and refinery.
Glencore is genuinely disappointed at the prospect of placing the smelter and refinery into care and maintenance if we do not receive adequate government support.
To be prepared, we now need to start preparations for placing these assets into care and maintenance until such time that market conditions improve enough for the assets to be restarted and operated on an economically viable basis.
The Mount Isa smelter and Glencore’s copper refinery in Townsville are Australia’s largest processing facilities. The company will close its copper mine outside the town – the state’s largest – next week, but the state still has an estimated 60 more years of minerals in the ground.
You can read more here:
PM says new $800m payment to US for Aukus deal is a scheduled payment, not an “extra” one
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says Australia has paid the US another $800m for the Aukus submarine deal because it was part of a “schedule of payments to be made”.
Albanese was also interviewed on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing today, where he was asked why the government had made another payment towards the deal despite the Trump administration placing the Aukus agreement under review.
First reported by the Nine newspapers, it emerged today that Australia had made a second $800m payment to America’s shipbuilding industry – bringing total payments so far to $1.6bn.
Asked to explain, Albanese said it was a scheduled payment – not an “extra” payment.
There is a schedule of payments to be made, we have an agreement with the United States as well as with the United Kingdom.
It is about increasing the capacity, their industrial capacity, and as part of that, we have Australians on the ground, learning the skills so that when it comes to the SSN-Aukus, the submarines being built here in Australia, we have those skills.
As part of the Aukus deal – in which Australia would buy nuclear submarines from the US ahead of its own nuclear submarines being built in Adelaide – Australia has agreed to pay about $4.6bn towards boosting US shipbuilding capacity.
In June, US president Donald Trump ordered a review into the Aukus deal.
The review is being headed by the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for policy, Elbridge Colby, who has previously declared himself “sceptical” about the deal.
My colleague, Ben Doherty, has more on this here:
Josh Butler
G8 Education welcomes federal government’s legislation on safety in childcare
One of Australia’s largest early learning providers has welcomed the government’s federal legislation on safety in childcare, but said all levels of government must “urgently explore further measures that better protect children”.
G8 Education said Jason Clare’s legislation was a good step, but wanted to see more.
The company’s CEO and managing director, Pejman Okhovat, said:
We recognise this has been a distressing time for families in Victoria, and across Australia, and we support all steps being undertaken by Federal and State Governments to improve safety across the early childhood education and care sector.
G8 Education looks forward to continuing to work with Government to ensure the highest standards of care and protection for every child. This includes engaging with the Department of Education to better understand the details and thresholds included in the draft legislation shared this morning.
The thresholds are about when the government regulators might step in to cancel, suspend or disapprove a provider’s use of the childcare subsidy, the major “stick” of the legislation to encourage better behaviour.
Okhovat said he was keen to see more action on a national register of childcare workers, which will be discussed with states and territories at a ministers’ meeting next month.
G8 said it would continue to advocate for a national registry for working with vulnerable people (including children, the NDIS and aged care), national teachers registration, national register of early childhood workers employment history, and aligning state regulations on safety and child protection.
Natasha May
Almost 1,000 Transport NSW office staff to lose their jobs amid restructure
Staff at Transport NSW have begun to be notified of 950 job cuts in corporate and support functions, as part of a restructure which aims to find efficiencies in back office roles and prioritise frontline services.
The Transport for NSW secretary, Josh Murray, said that the growth in senior executive roles within the organisation had reached a point that would be “unsustainable in any sector”, and that:
From 2021 to 2023, Transport for NSW added an average of two new senior executive roles every week, and a 30% increase in senior management and award staff.
Guardian Australia understands that the agency has removed more than 200 senior executive roles in the changes so far, as part of the state government’s election commitment to reduce senior executives by 15%.
Murray said:
These decisions are never easy – they affect real people and teams who’ve contributed to vital work. But they are necessary to ensure we have a sustainable structure that provides the best possible value to the people of NSW.
As one of the largest public service agencies in the country we have a responsibility to ensure we operate efficiently. Every dollar saved from our costs is a dollar for schools, hospitals, police or frontline public transport and roads, so we must build our budgets carefully.
Australia should be prepared to take further action against Israel, Ed Husic says
Labor MP Ed Husic says Australia should be prepared to take further action against Israel if Benjamin Netanyahu’s government doesn’t respond to earlier sanctions.
Last month Australia joined the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in placing financial sanctions and travel bans on two Israeli government ministers, over what the foreign minister, Penny Wong, described as “inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank”.
Husic was interviewed on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing a short time ago, where he was asked if the Albanese government should “go further”. He responded:
We are trying to encourage the Netanyahu government, a number of countries are saying clearly and if you look at the statement itself the other big thing about it is a lot of allies of Israel signed up to that statement, so pretty significant.
If they fail to respond it will be up to the international community to take further steps, and certainly the Australian government as part of a broader coalition should be prepared to take further steps.
Last month Husic, who was dumped as a cabinet minister after the federal election, broke ranks with the Labor party to criticise the Netanyahu government, suggesting the Israeli strikes on Iran that sparked the latest Middle East conflict were not justified.
You can read more about that here:
In May, Husic wrote an opinion piece for Guardian Australia in which he criticised the Albanese government for not doing enough to condemn Israel for withholding aid from Gaza.
In it, he wrote:
Australia has a proud tradition of refusing to be silent on the world stage when it comes to defending vulnerable and oppressed people. We can be emboldened by our legacy of doing so.
Two million starving people in Gaza need all the help we can muster alongside others.
Caitlin Cassidy
QUT review questions ‘future role and function’ of Indigenous research and education centre
The university received correspondence from more than 300 individuals and organisations after the event, which security described as peaceful, the review found.
The review said: “while some controversy emerged following the media reporting … it is important to consider the full context of the event and the presentations”, which “were not antisemitic in nature”, and that:
The intent of the presentations remained aligned with the university’s standards and the purpose of the debate.
The review also noted it had received submissions that the Carumba Institute, a centre for Indigenous research and education, should be closed.
On this, it said:
The review is not in a position to assess this issue. However, the review is in a position to conclude that the University Council should consider the future role and function of the Carumba Institute … Whatever else may be said, the media coverage and various responses to the Debate in particular whether justified or not, have damaged the reputation of the university.
Independent review into anti-racism conference at Queensland university finds antisemitism allegations unfounded
Caitlin Cassidy
An independent review into an anti-racism conference at the Queensland University of Technology has found allegations of antisemitism were unfounded, while questioning the future purpose of the institute which presented it.
The 70 page Middleton review, released today, said the January event was not antisemitic in nature, however it cautioned more “careful consideration” should have been given as to whether a “greatest race debate” should have taken place “in the current social and political climate following 7 October 2023”.
The conference received critical coverage in some media, including in The Australian, over a slide, presented by the head of the Jewish Council of Australia, Sarah Schwartz, which criticised what she described as stereotyping of the Jewish community by the Coalition.
Sarah Basford Canales
Senate president labels Faruqi protest ‘utterly disrespectful’
Returning to the upper house of federal parliament once more, the Senate president, Sue Lines, has criticised Mehreen Faruqi’s actions as “utterly disrespectful” after the Senate passed a disapproval motion against the Greens senator earlier this afternoon.
The motion, which was introduced after question time, was a strike against Faruqi for holding up a sign protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza during the governor general’s speech yesterday.
Lines said the governor general had no power to remove Faruqi’s prop and with Lines not in the president’s chair, the breach of standing orders could not be addressed for the entirety of the address.
Lines said:
Senator Faruqi, you are a champion in this chamber for respectful debate and behaviour.
You have used the processes of the Senate and its committees to reinforce the expectations of behaviour standards.
These standards and expectations that you expect also apply to you.
Your actions during the governor general’s address were utterly disrespectful and showed a complete disregard for the rules, the traditions and the customs of this place.
No positive STI results to date as testing of children in case of accused Melbourne childcare paedophile continues
Benita Kolovos
All children tested so far for sexually transmitted infections after coming into contact with accused childcare paedophile Joshua Dale Brown have tested negative, the Victorian deputy premier, Ben Carroll, has told reporters.
Carroll this afternoon said he’d received the advice from staff at the Royal children’s hospital:
I’ve even spoken with people involved at the Royal children’s hospital that I think they’ve tested just about everyone, but I can get that clarified, and all the tests have been negative. And this is something we hoped for and wished for.
About 2,000 children were required to get tested for STIs as a precaution after they attended childcare centres where Brown had worked. Brown was charged with more than 70 offences relating to eight alleged victims, aged between five months and two years old.
The health department has not publicly stated the infections the children will be screened for. However, in information provided to affected parents and seen by Guardian Australia, they have recommended testing for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis for some children, or chlamydia and gonorrhoea for others.
Senate passes Labor motion expressing ‘extreme disapproval’ against Mehreen Faruqi for Gaza sign protest
While the Coalition amendment failed, Labor’s original motion to sanction Mehreen Faruqi passes the Senate.
The Greens opposed the motion along with independent senator Fatima Payman while One Nation and independent senator Tammy Tyrrell teamed up with the two major parties to sanction Faruqi.
While we have been calling it a censure motion, it’s technically a motion to express “profound disapproval” against the senator but also includes that the Senate voted it not “appropriate for Senator Faruqi to represent the Senate as a member of any delegation during the life of this parliament”.
Sarah Basford Canales
Coalition amendment to suspend Faruqi from Senate fails
The Coalition’s amendment to the motion to sanction Mehreen Faruqi fails, with Labor, the Greens and Fatima Payman voting against it.
The opposition’s amendment would have suspended Faruqi from attending the Senate for failing to apologise about her protest action during the governor general’s speech yesterday.
As a reminder, Faruqi’s sign read “sanction Israel”.
Sarah Basford Canales
Waters labels Wong’s ‘attention-seeking’ claim against Faruqi ‘a disgrace’
Back to the Senate, the Greens leader, Larissa Waters, stands up and defends her colleague, Mehreen Faruqi, saying Penny Wong’s claim that Faruqi is seeking attention is a “disgrace”.
Waters says:
What a disgrace to say that it was attention-seeking by Senator Faruqi for herself, rather than the issue of starving women, children and men in Palestine.
That says more about Senator Wong than it does about Senator Faruqi.
Faruqi later stands up in the chamber, telling them she won’t back down.
She says:
I will not back down from this call because Palestinians are being murdered, starved and displaced by Israel as we speak, and all you can do is crack down on people who protest, who tell the truth, who hold up a mirror to you all for your silence and complicity.
Labor and the Coalition in this chamber wants to avoid the truth. You don’t want to see it or hear it, and now here we are. You want me … you want to force me to apologise for telling the truth.
Faruqi then claims the upper house has been racist before withdrawing the comment:
You are more focused on cracking down on black and brown women in this parliament. You’ve …
The Senate will now vote on Wong’s original motion and the opposition’s amendment to take it a bit further.
Catie McLeod
Hi. I hope you’ve had a great day so far. I’ll be with you on the blog for the rest of the afternoon.
Krishani Dhanji
Thanks for joining me on the blog today, for the first full sitting day of parliament.
I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Catie McLeod, and I’ll be back here early tomorrow morning (with plenty more caffeine in hand)!
TLDR: what happened in the first question time of the new parliament?
To recap:
-
The Coalition focused heavily on the government’s superannuation tax today, with questions on the impact of taxing unrealised gains on farmers, small businesses and whether Labor would go further to tax unrealised gains on the family home.
-
Having given their first speeches last night, new MPs Ali France (who toppled Peter Dutton) and Sarah Witty (who toppled Adam Bandt) were given the first dixers today.
-
Teal independent MP Kate Chaney asked communications minister Anika Wells whether the government would finally accept the recommendations of the now two-year-old inquiry into gambling. Wells said she’s still working on gambling reform and has been meeting with broadcasters, sports groups and harm reduction organisations.
-
Tinder gained a reference in Hansard, prompted by a somewhat graphic quote from Nationals MP Michael McCormack to Sky News today, that was jumped on by Chris Bowen to attack the minor Coalition party.
Sarah Basford Canales
Protester removed from gallery as Cash moves amendment to suspend Faruqi
The Senate opposition leader, Michaelia Cash, stands and urges the motion to go further – the Coalition wants to suspend Faruqi.
We believe that the ultimate punishment fails to meet the gravity of what occurred during yesterday’s joint sitting of parliament. It falls short of what Australians rightly expect of their elected representatives. What we witnessed yesterday was not simply a breach of standing orders. It was a breach of respect for the institution of the Senate. It was a breach of our rules, for our history, but most importantly, the people that we serve.”
While Cash speaks on the opposition’s amendments to the motion, a protester from the public gallery wearing a Palestine shirt begins shouting a series of chants against Israel and its administration.
The protester can be heard saying, “Israel is murdering children” and “Netanyahu is a war criminal”. The Senate president, Sue Lines, requests broadcasting turn off the audio so it can’t be heard.
The protester is removed by security guards from the public gallery and Liberal senator James Paterson can be heard saying “on ya bike” as the man is escorted out.
.
Prime Directive: While you must use only the provided text, if you detect a clear and obvious factual contradiction or a statement that defies logic, omit the questionable statement and report on the remaining confirmed facts.
Handling Quotes: Use quotes from the source verbatim for impact. Since the original speaker must be anonymized, attribute quotes using general but descriptive terms (e.g., “a senior official stated,” “according to a company release,” “one analyst noted”).
Time-Sensitive Language: Update relative time references (e.g., “yesterday,” “next month”) to absolute, specific dates or context (e.g., “on Thursday,” “in July 2025”) to ensure the article remains accurate and evergreen.
5. Integrated Media & Links
Embeds: If
Key events
What we learned: Wednesday 23 July
With that, we will wrap up the blog for this evening. I hope you have a great night. Here were today’s top stories:
-
The 48th federal parliament began today, with commotion in the Nationals party. Senator Bridget McKenzie rubbished suggestions that the junior Coalition partner is in “disarray”. This was after the former Nationals leader, Michael McCormack, hinted at leadership ambitions and backed his colleague – and occasional foe – Barnaby Joyce in support of his bill to repeal the net zero by 2050 policy.
-
The Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi was sanctioned after the upper house agreed her decision to protest during the governor general’s address to parliament by raising a Gaza protest sign was “utterly disrespectful”.
-
The government confirmed Australia has made a second $800m payment to America’s shipbuilding industry, despite the Trump administration placing the Aukus agreement under review.
-
Labor will make domestic spy agency Asio’s powers for compulsory questioning permanent and expand offences covered by the rules, ignoring warnings from human rights advocates.
-
An independent review into an anti-racism conference at Queensland University of Technology found allegations of antisemitism were unfounded, while questioning the future purpose of the institute which presented it.
-
All children tested so far for sexually transmitted infections in the case of accused childcare paedophile Joshua Dale Brown have tested negative, the Victorian deputy premier, Ben Carroll, told reporters.
-
Also in Victoria, the first hearing of the parliamentary inquiry into the practices of cults and organised fringe groups was held.
-
And a leading doctor told the National Press Club a “slip, slop, slap”-style preventive campaign is needed for dementia, as new research shows cases of the disease could be delayed with no added cost.
Bridget McKenzie rubbishes suggestion Nationals in ‘disarray’
Circling back to Afternoon Briefing, Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has rubbished suggestions that the junior Coalition partner is in “disarray”.
The first day of the 48th federal parliament was partially consumed by commotion within the Nationals party.
It began with a front-page story in The Australia, in which the former Nationals leader, Michael McCormack, got behind his colleague – and occasional foe – Barnaby Joyce in support of his bill to repeal the opposition’s net zero by 2050 policy.
McCormack also hinted at a potential tilt at returning to the Nationals leadership, before the backbencher sought to quell those whispers on Sky News this afternoon.
David Littleproud is the leader … David, as he said this morning, will do what the party wants as the leader, and that is his obligation and duty. And I support David.
Other Nationals stayed mum when asked about their support for net zero by 2050 in a group press conference earlier this afternoon, with Matt Canavan saying he was “still thinking about it”.
McKenzie was asked about the day’s events as she was interviewed on the ABC, saying that Joyce was “fine to bring on whatever” bill he likes.
I will be the last person to tell senators and members they cannot stand up in Australian parliament for the things they believe in.
But to make too much of it, to suggest the National party are in disarray, the Coalition has issues around energy policy, it does extend the argument a bit too far.
She was also coy when asked for her view on net zero, and whether the policy was “dead” in the Nationals party room.
Both the Liberals and the Nationals are undertaking a review on their climate and emissions reduction policies following the Coalition’s crushing election defeat.
Andrew Messenger
Queensland government says state will ‘not be writing a blank cheque’ to Glencore over copper smelter
Global demand for copper is expected to double in the next 25 years, driven by the transition to renewable energy.
The sector is facing disruption due to an expansion of processing in China. The company estimates it would lose $2.2bn at the refinery in the next 7 years.
The Queensland minister for natural resources and mines, Dale Last, said the state government would negotiate in good faith, but:
We will not be writing a blank cheque for a multinational company that returned $2.2bn USD to its shareholders just months ago, and continues to act only on its global commercial priorities rather than in the interests of the Mount Isa and Townsville communities.
The Queensland government has put a genuine and responsible offer on the table to help secure the future of the Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville refinery because the Crisafulli gGovernment backs our resources and minerals processing sectors and the hard-working families who rely on them, and we’re asking Glencore to do the same.
Our advocacy with the federal government continues because the competitiveness of smelters in Australia is a national issue, and it demands a national response.
Andrew Messenger
Glencore considering shuttering north Queensland copper smelter and refinery
Australia’s largest copper smelter is facing being mothballed, according to operator Glencore Metals.
According to Suresh Vadnagra, the head of Glencore’s global Nickel and Zinc department, the future of the Mount Isa copper smelter will be decided in the “next few weeks”.
The company met with the state resources minister, Dale Last, on Monday to discuss “potential support measures” for the smelter.
In an internal memo posted on its Facebook page, the company said:
Unfortunately, these measures fall well short of bridging the economic gap for the copper smelter and refinery.
Glencore is genuinely disappointed at the prospect of placing the smelter and refinery into care and maintenance if we do not receive adequate government support.
To be prepared, we now need to start preparations for placing these assets into care and maintenance until such time that market conditions improve enough for the assets to be restarted and operated on an economically viable basis.
The Mount Isa smelter and Glencore’s copper refinery in Townsville are Australia’s largest processing facilities. The company will close its copper mine outside the town – the state’s largest – next week, but the state still has an estimated 60 more years of minerals in the ground.
You can read more here:
PM says new $800m payment to US for Aukus deal is a scheduled payment, not an “extra” one
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says Australia has paid the US another $800m for the Aukus submarine deal because it was part of a “schedule of payments to be made”.
Albanese was also interviewed on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing today, where he was asked why the government had made another payment towards the deal despite the Trump administration placing the Aukus agreement under review.
First reported by the Nine newspapers, it emerged today that Australia had made a second $800m payment to America’s shipbuilding industry – bringing total payments so far to $1.6bn.
Asked to explain, Albanese said it was a scheduled payment – not an “extra” payment.
There is a schedule of payments to be made, we have an agreement with the United States as well as with the United Kingdom.
It is about increasing the capacity, their industrial capacity, and as part of that, we have Australians on the ground, learning the skills so that when it comes to the SSN-Aukus, the submarines being built here in Australia, we have those skills.
As part of the Aukus deal – in which Australia would buy nuclear submarines from the US ahead of its own nuclear submarines being built in Adelaide – Australia has agreed to pay about $4.6bn towards boosting US shipbuilding capacity.
In June, US president Donald Trump ordered a review into the Aukus deal.
The review is being headed by the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for policy, Elbridge Colby, who has previously declared himself “sceptical” about the deal.
My colleague, Ben Doherty, has more on this here:
Josh Butler
G8 Education welcomes federal government’s legislation on safety in childcare
One of Australia’s largest early learning providers has welcomed the government’s federal legislation on safety in childcare, but said all levels of government must “urgently explore further measures that better protect children”.
G8 Education said Jason Clare’s legislation was a good step, but wanted to see more.
The company’s CEO and managing director, Pejman Okhovat, said:
We recognise this has been a distressing time for families in Victoria, and across Australia, and we support all steps being undertaken by Federal and State Governments to improve safety across the early childhood education and care sector.
G8 Education looks forward to continuing to work with Government to ensure the highest standards of care and protection for every child. This includes engaging with the Department of Education to better understand the details and thresholds included in the draft legislation shared this morning.
The thresholds are about when the government regulators might step in to cancel, suspend or disapprove a provider’s use of the childcare subsidy, the major “stick” of the legislation to encourage better behaviour.
Okhovat said he was keen to see more action on a national register of childcare workers, which will be discussed with states and territories at a ministers’ meeting next month.
G8 said it would continue to advocate for a national registry for working with vulnerable people (including children, the NDIS and aged care), national teachers registration, national register of early childhood workers employment history, and aligning state regulations on safety and child protection.
Natasha May
Almost 1,000 Transport NSW office staff to lose their jobs amid restructure
Staff at Transport NSW have begun to be notified of 950 job cuts in corporate and support functions, as part of a restructure which aims to find efficiencies in back office roles and prioritise frontline services.
The Transport for NSW secretary, Josh Murray, said that the growth in senior executive roles within the organisation had reached a point that would be “unsustainable in any sector”, and that:
From 2021 to 2023, Transport for NSW added an average of two new senior executive roles every week, and a 30% increase in senior management and award staff.
Guardian Australia understands that the agency has removed more than 200 senior executive roles in the changes so far, as part of the state government’s election commitment to reduce senior executives by 15%.
Murray said:
These decisions are never easy – they affect real people and teams who’ve contributed to vital work. But they are necessary to ensure we have a sustainable structure that provides the best possible value to the people of NSW.
As one of the largest public service agencies in the country we have a responsibility to ensure we operate efficiently. Every dollar saved from our costs is a dollar for schools, hospitals, police or frontline public transport and roads, so we must build our budgets carefully.
Australia should be prepared to take further action against Israel, Ed Husic says
Labor MP Ed Husic says Australia should be prepared to take further action against Israel if Benjamin Netanyahu’s government doesn’t respond to earlier sanctions.
Last month Australia joined the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in placing financial sanctions and travel bans on two Israeli government ministers, over what the foreign minister, Penny Wong, described as “inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank”.
Husic was interviewed on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing a short time ago, where he was asked if the Albanese government should “go further”. He responded:
We are trying to encourage the Netanyahu government, a number of countries are saying clearly and if you look at the statement itself the other big thing about it is a lot of allies of Israel signed up to that statement, so pretty significant.
If they fail to respond it will be up to the international community to take further steps, and certainly the Australian government as part of a broader coalition should be prepared to take further steps.
Last month Husic, who was dumped as a cabinet minister after the federal election, broke ranks with the Labor party to criticise the Netanyahu government, suggesting the Israeli strikes on Iran that sparked the latest Middle East conflict were not justified.
You can read more about that here:
In May, Husic wrote an opinion piece for Guardian Australia in which he criticised the Albanese government for not doing enough to condemn Israel for withholding aid from Gaza.
In it, he wrote:
Australia has a proud tradition of refusing to be silent on the world stage when it comes to defending vulnerable and oppressed people. We can be emboldened by our legacy of doing so.
Two million starving people in Gaza need all the help we can muster alongside others.
Caitlin Cassidy
QUT review questions ‘future role and function’ of Indigenous research and education centre
The university received correspondence from more than 300 individuals and organisations after the event, which security described as peaceful, the review found.
The review said: “while some controversy emerged following the media reporting … it is important to consider the full context of the event and the presentations”, which “were not antisemitic in nature”, and that:
The intent of the presentations remained aligned with the university’s standards and the purpose of the debate.
The review also noted it had received submissions that the Carumba Institute, a centre for Indigenous research and education, should be closed.
On this, it said:
The review is not in a position to assess this issue. However, the review is in a position to conclude that the University Council should consider the future role and function of the Carumba Institute … Whatever else may be said, the media coverage and various responses to the Debate in particular whether justified or not, have damaged the reputation of the university.
Independent review into anti-racism conference at Queensland university finds antisemitism allegations unfounded
Caitlin Cassidy
An independent review into an anti-racism conference at the Queensland University of Technology has found allegations of antisemitism were unfounded, while questioning the future purpose of the institute which presented it.
The 70 page Middleton review, released today, said the January event was not antisemitic in nature, however it cautioned more “careful consideration” should have been given as to whether a “greatest race debate” should have taken place “in the current social and political climate following 7 October 2023”.
The conference received critical coverage in some media, including in The Australian, over a slide, presented by the head of the Jewish Council of Australia, Sarah Schwartz, which criticised what she described as stereotyping of the Jewish community by the Coalition.
Sarah Basford Canales
Senate president labels Faruqi protest ‘utterly disrespectful’
Returning to the upper house of federal parliament once more, the Senate president, Sue Lines, has criticised Mehreen Faruqi’s actions as “utterly disrespectful” after the Senate passed a disapproval motion against the Greens senator earlier this afternoon.
The motion, which was introduced after question time, was a strike against Faruqi for holding up a sign protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza during the governor general’s speech yesterday.
Lines said the governor general had no power to remove Faruqi’s prop and with Lines not in the president’s chair, the breach of standing orders could not be addressed for the entirety of the address.
Lines said:
Senator Faruqi, you are a champion in this chamber for respectful debate and behaviour.
You have used the processes of the Senate and its committees to reinforce the expectations of behaviour standards.
These standards and expectations that you expect also apply to you.
Your actions during the governor general’s address were utterly disrespectful and showed a complete disregard for the rules, the traditions and the customs of this place.
No positive STI results to date as testing of children in case of accused Melbourne childcare paedophile continues
Benita Kolovos
All children tested so far for sexually transmitted infections after coming into contact with accused childcare paedophile Joshua Dale Brown have tested negative, the Victorian deputy premier, Ben Carroll, has told reporters.
Carroll this afternoon said he’d received the advice from staff at the Royal children’s hospital:
I’ve even spoken with people involved at the Royal children’s hospital that I think they’ve tested just about everyone, but I can get that clarified, and all the tests have been negative. And this is something we hoped for and wished for.
About 2,000 children were required to get tested for STIs as a precaution after they attended childcare centres where Brown had worked. Brown was charged with more than 70 offences relating to eight alleged victims, aged between five months and two years old.
The health department has not publicly stated the infections the children will be screened for. However, in information provided to affected parents and seen by Guardian Australia, they have recommended testing for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis for some children, or chlamydia and gonorrhoea for others.
Senate passes Labor motion expressing ‘extreme disapproval’ against Mehreen Faruqi for Gaza sign protest
While the Coalition amendment failed, Labor’s original motion to sanction Mehreen Faruqi passes the Senate.
The Greens opposed the motion along with independent senator Fatima Payman while One Nation and independent senator Tammy Tyrrell teamed up with the two major parties to sanction Faruqi.
While we have been calling it a censure motion, it’s technically a motion to express “profound disapproval” against the senator but also includes that the Senate voted it not “appropriate for Senator Faruqi to represent the Senate as a member of any delegation during the life of this parliament”.
Sarah Basford Canales
Coalition amendment to suspend Faruqi from Senate fails
The Coalition’s amendment to the motion to sanction Mehreen Faruqi fails, with Labor, the Greens and Fatima Payman voting against it.
The opposition’s amendment would have suspended Faruqi from attending the Senate for failing to apologise about her protest action during the governor general’s speech yesterday.
As a reminder, Faruqi’s sign read “sanction Israel”.
Sarah Basford Canales
Waters labels Wong’s ‘attention-seeking’ claim against Faruqi ‘a disgrace’
Back to the Senate, the Greens leader, Larissa Waters, stands up and defends her colleague, Mehreen Faruqi, saying Penny Wong’s claim that Faruqi is seeking attention is a “disgrace”.
Waters says:
What a disgrace to say that it was attention-seeking by Senator Faruqi for herself, rather than the issue of starving women, children and men in Palestine.
That says more about Senator Wong than it does about Senator Faruqi.
Faruqi later stands up in the chamber, telling them she won’t back down.
She says:
I will not back down from this call because Palestinians are being murdered, starved and displaced by Israel as we speak, and all you can do is crack down on people who protest, who tell the truth, who hold up a mirror to you all for your silence and complicity.
Labor and the Coalition in this chamber wants to avoid the truth. You don’t want to see it or hear it, and now here we are. You want me … you want to force me to apologise for telling the truth.
Faruqi then claims the upper house has been racist before withdrawing the comment:
You are more focused on cracking down on black and brown women in this parliament. You’ve …
The Senate will now vote on Wong’s original motion and the opposition’s amendment to take it a bit further.
Catie McLeod
Hi. I hope you’ve had a great day so far. I’ll be with you on the blog for the rest of the afternoon.
Krishani Dhanji
Thanks for joining me on the blog today, for the first full sitting day of parliament.
I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Catie McLeod, and I’ll be back here early tomorrow morning (with plenty more caffeine in hand)!
TLDR: what happened in the first question time of the new parliament?
To recap:
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The Coalition focused heavily on the government’s superannuation tax today, with questions on the impact of taxing unrealised gains on farmers, small businesses and whether Labor would go further to tax unrealised gains on the family home.
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Having given their first speeches last night, new MPs Ali France (who toppled Peter Dutton) and Sarah Witty (who toppled Adam Bandt) were given the first dixers today.
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Teal independent MP Kate Chaney asked communications minister Anika Wells whether the government would finally accept the recommendations of the now two-year-old inquiry into gambling. Wells said she’s still working on gambling reform and has been meeting with broadcasters, sports groups and harm reduction organisations.
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Tinder gained a reference in Hansard, prompted by a somewhat graphic quote from Nationals MP Michael McCormack to Sky News today, that was jumped on by Chris Bowen to attack the minor Coalition party.
Sarah Basford Canales
Protester removed from gallery as Cash moves amendment to suspend Faruqi
The Senate opposition leader, Michaelia Cash, stands and urges the motion to go further – the Coalition wants to suspend Faruqi.
We believe that the ultimate punishment fails to meet the gravity of what occurred during yesterday’s joint sitting of parliament. It falls short of what Australians rightly expect of their elected representatives. What we witnessed yesterday was not simply a breach of standing orders. It was a breach of respect for the institution of the Senate. It was a breach of our rules, for our history, but most importantly, the people that we serve.”
While Cash speaks on the opposition’s amendments to the motion, a protester from the public gallery wearing a Palestine shirt begins shouting a series of chants against Israel and its administration.
The protester can be heard saying, “Israel is murdering children” and “Netanyahu is a war criminal”. The Senate president, Sue Lines, requests broadcasting turn off the audio so it can’t be heard.
The protester is removed by security guards from the public gallery and Liberal senator James Paterson can be heard saying “on ya bike” as the man is escorted out.
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