Australia news live: PM calls for ‘investigation and action’ on childcare neglect reports; trade minister pleads tariffs case with US counterpart
Albanese says Four Corners allegations about childcare sector ‘of deep concern’
Responding to last night’s Four Corners episode on the ABC, Anthony Albanese said every child who attends an early learning centre should “be treated properly, with respect.”
Last night’s revelations on Four Corners are, of course, of deep concern. There needs to be certainly an investigation and action taken wherever they standards are not met.
He said state governments look after the regulation, and he is confident they would “look at what has been revealed last night”.
The Greens have called for a royal commission in response to the revelations but the PM said “you do not need a royal commission to show that what was shown on TV last night was wrong”.
Key events
Albanese says Australia the envy of other countries when it comes to renewables resources
Taking a final question, Anthony Albanese said Australia needs to be “ambitious” and “optimistic” when it comes to renewables.
Australia is in a unique position of having the best solar resources in the world, amongst the best wind resources in the world … We are the envy of countries like Japan and South Korea who simply are not in a position to have the space to be able to have this investment …
Australia needs to be ambitious. We must be optimistic. We can create more jobs here. We can be a renewable energy superpower for the world and working with the private sector is what we’re doing.
Albanese labels Dutton’s calls for referendum ‘thought bubble’
On Peter Dutton’s calls for a referendum to cancel the citizenship of dual citizens convicted of serious crimes – which were shortly afterwards downplayed by the shadow attorney general – Anthony Albanese labelled this “another thought bubble” of Dutton’s.
This morning you had Peter Dutton on one TV channel calling for a referendum and Michaelia Cash on another TV channel ruling it out. This has not been thought through. It is not clear where this has come from.
Albanese accused Dutton of wanting to “talk about anything but cost of living”, and argued this “thought bubble” was “aimed at dividing people”.
It is a second referendum he has called for … Well, if you want to referendum, parliament is sitting this week, he can float it into the parliament, but I suspect it would be like other things like zonal taxation. Remember that in Queensland? … All these thought bubbles are an excuse to not come up with policies … When are they going to come up with serious policy alternatives?
Albanese says Four Corners allegations about childcare sector ‘of deep concern’
Responding to last night’s Four Corners episode on the ABC, Anthony Albanese said every child who attends an early learning centre should “be treated properly, with respect.”
Last night’s revelations on Four Corners are, of course, of deep concern. There needs to be certainly an investigation and action taken wherever they standards are not met.
He said state governments look after the regulation, and he is confident they would “look at what has been revealed last night”.
The Greens have called for a royal commission in response to the revelations but the PM said “you do not need a royal commission to show that what was shown on TV last night was wrong”.
Albanese says Labor ‘campaigning really hard’ in lead-up to May election
Anthony Albanese said Labor will be “campaigning really hard” in the “lead-up to the election in May”, taking aim at the opposition:
The contrast cannot be starker between my government that stands up for Australian interests, and Peter Dutton, who last week had an opportunity to actually stand up for Australia and instead chose to back in the Trump administration with their tariffs, rather than standing up for Australian jobs.
PM addressing media in Queensland
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking to reporters from Gladstone in Queensland.
He is visiting a Rio Tinto facility, saying it plays an “important role” in the aluminium industry, and is touting Labor’s Future Made in Australia policy.
We are going to make Australian steel and aluminium the best in the world and we are doing that by working with companies like Rio Tinto and BlueScope to make sure they can decarbonise, so they are in a competitive position which means there are goods and products will be in demand right throughout the world.
He said next week’s budget would have “a bit more to say about buying Australian.”
Krishani Dhanji
Trade minister expresses disappointment to counterpart about Australia not receiving tariff exemption
The trade minister, Don Farrell, has held another conversation with his US counterpart Jamieson Greer, as the government tries to get out of tariffs placed on Australian steel and aluminium, and braces for more tariffs next month.
Guardian Australia understands Farrell expressed disappointment in Australia not receiving an exemption, and discussed the America first trade policy.
The government’s made the point that this time around it’s been much harder to negotiate on tariff exemptions, and that none of the countries who previously got a carve-out have been able to get one again.
The US has its eyes on the agriculture industry as well as pharmaceuticals in its next round of tariffs, both which Australia exports.
Farrell says the US has enjoyed a “healthy trade surplus” in their favour for decades, and he’ll continue pushing the case.
The Albanese government will always stand up for Australia – we don’t take the easy road, we won’t sell out and we don’t back down.
Greens call for royal commission into childcare sector after Four Corners episode
The Greens are calling on the federal government to establish a royal commission in response to last night’s ABC Four Corner’s program, which highlighted a number of allegations regarding putting profit over care in the childcare sector.
The Greens’ early childhood education spokesperson, Steph Hodgins-May, said it was time for a “serious overhaul” of the sector.
The Greens are urging the government to initiate a royal commission, like was done with the crisis in the aged care system, to make sure that every childcare centre in the country is operating safely for both the kids in care as well as the staff.
The reports we know about are likely just the tip of the iceberg. A royal commission into privatised early childhood education would bring to light the extent of the problem, and help pave the way for reform.
The Victorian senator argued the current system is “riddled with problems after years of neglect and marketisation of policy – it is too expensive, inaccessible and, at times, even harmful”.
Labor’s childcare subsidy encourages for-profit providers to minimise costs, increase fees and make greater returns often at the expense of our kids. It’s a broken system.
Ad airs on commercial radio critical of Minns amid caravan plot revations
Jordyn Beazley
An ad has been playing on commercial radio station 2GB this morning critical of the New South Wales premier after revelations the caravan plot was not a terror threat by saying “the people of NSW deserve a government that tells the truth”.
The ad was sponsored by the NSW Council for Civil Liberties who, with backing from the Greens, is calling for a legislative inquiry into whether the NSW premier, Chris Minns, and his police minister, Yasmin Catley, misled MPs and the public before controversial hate speech and religious worship bills were rushed through state parliament.
Last week, police alleged that the caravan found laden with explosives – which Minns and others had previously labelled terrorism – was not a terror event but a “con job” by organised crime to distract police and influence prosecutions. A wave of antisemitic vandalism and arson attacks were also alleged by police to be part of the same hoax.
The ad, which has already played twice this morning, says:
The people of NSW deserve a government that tells the truth. We have Chris Minns. He banned protests and limited free speech, telling the public these undemocratic laws were needed to combat terrorism, but the police say there was no real terrorist threat. Instead, it was a criminal hoax. Did the Minns government mislead the public to take away your rights? Call your MP and demand a full independent legislative inquiry.
The ad has been aired as the NSW parliament enters its first sitting day today since the revelation, with calls for Minns and Catley to reveal when they knew the caravan plot was not a terror event likely to heat up.
Minns’ office has been contacted for comment.
In case you missed it, there’s more on the fallout here:
Tributes flow amid reports surf icon Shane Herring has died
Tributes are pouring in amid reports that Australian surf icon Shane Herring has died, aged 53.
Beach Grit reports that Herring had fallen down the stairs of his West Tweed apartment early Sunday morning, had some food, went to sleep and never woke up.
Kelly Slater, who Herring famously beat in the Coke Classic final in Sydney in 1992, shared a tribute to Instagram:
He best blended the old school power and pure lines with the new school mentality and speed in the 90’s. In the years we spent traveling and surfing together, I always found Shane to be a kindhearted guy and an extremely talented surfer, but he had his demons that limited his time of greatness.
He loved the purity in surfing and was uncomfortable with the limelight and notoriety and scrutiny it brought him. He made a bigger mark than he might be known for these days and it hurts to know we won’t get to catch up again.
I was really looking forward to seeing and maybe even surfing again in the coming months with Shane, whom I haven’t seen in probably 20+ years. This clip is the first final we each ever made on tour and he won in front of his hometown. Ride on, Shane. We’re thinking of ya.
Herring was born in Manly in 1971, turning pro in 1991 and becoming the world No 4 the following year. By 1994 he had retired from the WCT, aged 23, and battled with alcohol and drug addiction.
Shadow attorney-general downplays prospect of referendum, despite Dutton’s comments
Josh Butler
The plot is thickening on Peter Dutton’s proposal for a referendum to cancel the citizenship of dual citizens convicted of serious crimes, with the Coalition’s legal spokesperson, Michaelia Cash, now saying they had “no plans to hold a referendum at this stage”.
Barely hours after the story first broke in the Nine papers, and shortly after Dutton himself talked up the need for such a change in TV interviews this morning, Cash – the shadow attorney-general – has now downplayed the prospect of that coming any time soon. Her spokesperson said in a statement:
The Coalition is prepared to keep all options on the table when it comes to protecting our country and keeping Australians safe. We have no plans to hold a referendum at this stage, and would only look to that option as a last resort.
However, if [it] gets to the point where it is necessary to amend our constitution to keep Australians safe, then we believe that’s a debate our country is mature enough to have.
This is at least the second referendum Dutton has proposed, after earlier calling – then dramatically walking back his pledge – for a referendum on symbolic Indigenous constitutional recognition. After the voice referendum, Dutton claimed in October 2023 that “the Australian public is probably over the referendum process for some time”.
