Dan Tehan hails global ‘nuclear renaissance’
Kelly Burke
The Liberal’s shadow minister for energy and emissions reduction, Dan Tehan, has put nuclear energy back on the agenda, after returning from a fact-finding trip in the US where he said he discovered a “nuclear renaissance”.
When asked by Sarah Ferguson on ABC’s 7.30 last night if he intended to replace Peter Dutton’s former nuclear policy with a new nuclear one, Tehan said he had briefed his party colleagues on Monday and a policy was still being formulated.
“Having seen this nuclear renaissance, and especially the technological advances taking place, the use of super computing to drive this technology, the use of AI to drive this technology, I have no doubt that my colleagues, like I do, see very much a future for nuclear as part of our energy mix here in Australia,” he said.
“And I have no doubt that the US government would love to, like they have with the United Kingdom, enter into some sort of agreement with us, so like we are with nuclear-powered submarines, we’ve got extensive cooperation between the US, the UK and Australia, they would like to do the same when it comes to civil nuclear energy.”
Key events
Fire bans stretch across south-east Queensland before long weekend
Queensland Fire Department has imposed a local fire ban for much of the state’s south-east going into the long weekend, with officials warning current conditions in many areas are “perfect for bushfires to ignite and spread quickly”.
Current bans apply from just south of Rockhampton to the NSW border, covering Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, and in towards Toowoomba and the Western Downs region. Separate bans apply inland from Townsville. The bans note:
Under a local fire ban all open fires are prohibited and all Permits to Light Fire which have been issued in the designated areas have been suspended for the duration of the ban.
Many of the bans are expected to remain until at least Sunday night, with some extending beyond.
Q: Can you have a campfire during a fire ban?
A: NoIf you plan on pitching a tent for the long weekend, please check fire restrictions for your destination.
Fire bans are in place for many regions across Queensland for the final days of the school holidays.
Campfires are… pic.twitter.com/dzQS8917xs
— Queensland Fire Department (@QldFireDept) October 1, 2025
Patrick Commins
Tech and streaming giants paid just $254m in tax despite earning a collective $15bn
Amazon, Google, Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram), Netflix and Disney together paid just $254m in tax in Australia last year, despite earning a collective $15bn in revenue, according to the Australian Financial Review.
“We are paying close attention and focused on tax paid in the tech industry,” Sams said.
Australia has implemented country-by-country rules that from this financial year will require international firms operating in Australia to publicly disclose a breakdown of their activities by jurisdiction – including profits, tax paid, the number of employees, and related party revenue.
The ATO report also showed the number of companies paying the petroleum resources rent tax (PRRT) jumped from 11 to 16 in 2023-24, versus the prior year, as new rules capping deductions came into effect.
Despite more firms paying the tax, total PRRT collections dropped by a fifth, from $1.9bn last year to $1.5bn this year, which the ATO said was “largely due to decreased production and lower oil prices”.
Despite the recent tweak, many economists and experts have criticised the PRRT scheme, saying it does not capture nearly enough tax from massively profitable gas companies.
NSW government raises cap on major events in Sydney’s Centennial Park
Penry Buckley
The NSW government says an increase of the cap on major events in Sydney’s Centennial Park will help the city’s night-time economy recover from “a decade of lockouts and then lockdowns”.
The changes, which will take effect ahead of the 2026 season, will mean the number of events attracting more than 20,000 people will increase from eight to 12 each year.
Large-scale cultural, sporting and music events will continue to be held on the park’s Brazilian Fields. The government says it is investigating infrastructure and transport improvements to reduce disruption for other park users.
The NSW arts minister, John Graham, says lifting the cap will help “restore Sydney back to its 2000 Olympics heyday”:
With more events occurring, we are encouraging the opportunity for events to go back to back over a single weekend.
That means they can share infrastructure and reduce costs, which should mean lower costs for event organisers and the public. It’s a very practical way of keeping costs down.
Patrick Commins
More details from ATO’s corporate tax transparency report
Big companies paid more than $100bn in tax for the second year in a row, although that was slightly down from the previous year as lower commodity prices dragged on mining and energy sector profits.
The ATO said that 28% of firms earning more than $100m paid zero tax, the lowest share in the report’s 11-year history and down from 36% in 2013-14.
The highest share of companies paying zero tax were in the mining, energy and water segment, at nearly 40%, which the ATO said was “due to factors such as volatile commodity prices and extended lead times before projects become revenue generating”.
Getting multinational companies, and particularly tech companies, to pay their fair share of tax remains a high priority for the tax office.
Sams said 70% of the ATO’s current disputes relate to “international-related party dealings and cross-border investments and structures” – disputes related to international firms shifting profits out of Australia to parent or related companies in lower taxing jurisdictions.
Shadow energy minister didn’t tour any renewables facilities during US fact-finding trip
Dan Tehan, the shadow minister for energy and emissions reduction, said he did not tour any renewable energy facilities during his fact-finding trip to the US.
Tehan was asked about his trip on RN Breakfast, during which he said he discovered a “nuclear renaissance”. Host Barbara Miller asked:
Nuclear makes up a bit less than 20% of the US is power generation there. Renewables, slightly more. Did you tour any renewables facilities?
“I didn’t,” Tehan replied.
The shadow minister said he spoke with nuclear experts and said the “clear” message was that nuclear can work “side by side with renewables”.
It just makes absolute sense for us to enable nuclear to be part of our energy equation going forward, especially given the fact that it is emissions neutral.
Krishani Dhanji
Several boats in the Gaza flotilla have been intercepted and boarded
The Global Sumud Flotilla reports that several of its boats have been intercepted and boarded by Israeli naval forces.
Their social media states their cameras are offline and communications have been intercepted. Their live tracking and livestream pages are both currently down.
We have reached out with two Australians who Guardian Australia spoke to yesterday and are waiting to hear back.
There are six Australian on board the more than 40 ship flotilla which has been trying to get humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Follow the latest updates on our Middle East live blog:
Australian aboard humanitarian flotilla describes experience as Israel begins intercepting boats
Juliet Lamont, an Australian on board a vessel in the pro-Palestinian flotilla off the coast of Gaza, described her experience as Israel began intercepting some boats.
Lamont spoke to RN Breakfast
I can feel that my heart is going like the clappers, and I should be feeling, you know, normally your body gives yourself those signals, so you should be freaking out. But I mean, I feel remarkable. Calm. I’ve never been in, I’ve never been intercepted.
Oh, they’re coming again. Sorry, I’m going to have to probably put my hands up.
Lamont said the humanitarian group had “the knowledge that we’re doing the right thing, and that’s a really fortifying and kind of a beautiful thing, really”.
The collective decision with the flotilla is we would go ahead regardless, that we are not going to bow and cower to their demands because this is not an illegal thing. To deliver humanitarian aid to a country that is suffering a genocide is not an illegal thing to do.
Good morning, and happy Thursday. Nick Visser here to take over the blog for the morning. Let’s get to it.
A third of big companies paid no tax in financial year before last
Patrick Commins
Nearly three in 10 large companies paid no tax in the financial year before last, according to the Australian Taxation Office’s latest corporate tax transparency report.
Michelle Sams, an assistant commissioner at the ATO, said “we know there are legitimate reasons why some companies pay little or no tax”.
Firms may have reported a loss for the financial year, or used tax offsets or losses from previous years to reduce their taxable incomes.
But Sams could offer little further insight into whether there were too few or too many businesses which earned more than $100m but paid no tax in 2023-24.
I don’t think that’s something you can answer in absolute terms, there is no right number.
What we can do is assure you that we have dedicated programs of work looking at these taxpayers, and we have high levels of confidence that most large businesses pay the right amount of tax.
And where we see little or no tax paid we pay particularly close attention.
Kelly Burke
Net zero isn’t working and nuclear ‘can replace gas and coal’, Tehan says
Tehan said Labor’s policy of net zero wasn’t working and the opposition faced the challenge of presenting an alternative to the Australian people – and to colleagues within his own party such as Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Andrew Hastie, who has threatened to quit cabinet if the party does not dump net zero.
“No one is saying … that renewables shouldn’t be part of the mix,” he said, when asked about Australia’s potential for solar and wind power.
But what we all know is that you need baseload power as well … and what nuclear can do is provide that [baseline] over time. It can replace gas and coal.
Tehan disagreed with his former party colleague Mathias Cormann, secretary general of the OECD, who recently said Australia was on track to meet its renewable targets, despite the recent flatlining of emissions.
That is Mathias’s view and he’s doing a very good job over in France at the OECD. What I’m dealing with is the reality here on the ground … and we’re hearing from a range of experts that that 2030 target won’t be met.
What I want to know is, when it comes to actually addressing emissions reduction, when you’ve got a proven technology, why won’t you even consider it, when it comes to nuclear.
Dan Tehan hails global ‘nuclear renaissance’
Kelly Burke
The Liberal’s shadow minister for energy and emissions reduction, Dan Tehan, has put nuclear energy back on the agenda, after returning from a fact-finding trip in the US where he said he discovered a “nuclear renaissance”.
When asked by Sarah Ferguson on ABC’s 7.30 last night if he intended to replace Peter Dutton’s former nuclear policy with a new nuclear one, Tehan said he had briefed his party colleagues on Monday and a policy was still being formulated.
“Having seen this nuclear renaissance, and especially the technological advances taking place, the use of super computing to drive this technology, the use of AI to drive this technology, I have no doubt that my colleagues, like I do, see very much a future for nuclear as part of our energy mix here in Australia,” he said.
“And I have no doubt that the US government would love to, like they have with the United Kingdom, enter into some sort of agreement with us, so like we are with nuclear-powered submarines, we’ve got extensive cooperation between the US, the UK and Australia, they would like to do the same when it comes to civil nuclear energy.”
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best overnight stories and then Nick Visser will pick up the reins.
The Liberal’s shadow minister for energy and emissions reduction, Dan Tehan, told ABC’s 7.30 last night that the Coalition could reboot the nuclear energy policy as he hailed a “nuclear renaissance” after a visit to the US. More coming up.
Nearly three in 10 large companies paid no tax in the financial year before last, according to figures released by the Australian Taxation Office this morning. Big companies paid more than $100bn in tax for the second year in a row, although that was slightly down from the previous year. The big tech firms paid tax equal to less than 2% of their revenue. More details coming up.
