Key events
Everything is ‘on camera’ says Albanese
The prime minister has weighed into the story that’s taken the globe by storm… I’m of course talking about the Coldplay couple caught on a kiss cam.
“You can’t get away from it!” said the PM, dialling into KIIS fm this morning, but he said it just shows how everything can be recorded.
It’s just a reminder that everything you do these days is on camera, no matter who you are, whether you’re a public figure or just this couple, obviously, [a] couple that weren’t supposed to be a couple at a Coldplay concert, and they ended up, the whole world knows who they are now, so I think [it’s] a wake up call.
Childcare safety legislation ‘one part’ of reforms says minister
Education minister Jason Clare says he’s working with states and territories to look at developing a national educator register for childcare workers, and regulations for CCTV in centres.
Today the government will introduce legislation to strip childcare subsidy funding for centres that repeatedly fail their safety requirements.
Clare tells ABC News Breakfast the threshold could be “as simple as one” strike for a centre for its subsidy funding to be striped.
It could be as simple as one [strike]. It is important to make a point that regulators can shut a centre right now if they think there is a serious threat to children’s safety but this will give us the power to issue a… notice to a centre and say we will shut it within 28 days unless they meet that minimum standard, or to set conditions on them as well.
Clare says this is just “one part” of the work that needs to be done.
We’ll be talking at that [state and territory ministers] meeting about a national educator register so we contract workers from centre to centre, as well from state to state, I think that what is happening in Victoria shows the weakness in that area, but also the role that CCTV can play in deterring people doing bad things and police investigations but most important of all, mandatory child safety training.
Ley won’t weigh into Nationals leadership
The net zero debate is still alive and kicking within the Coalition with some Nationals agitating loudly for the policy to be abandoned.
Sussan Ley is on the Today Show this morning and says her energy minister Dan Tehan is looking at all energy policies.
But the debate also puts a question mark over the leadership of David Littleproud – a supporter of net zero. Among those arcing up is Barnaby Joyce, who wants to introduce a bill to abandon net zero, and the former leader Michael McCormack.
Ley says she has a good relationship with all the Nats, and will let them “speak up for themselves”.
The leader of the Nationals is a matter for their party room and I’ll leave that to them. And as I said at the beginning, Karl [Stefanovic], these three blokes speak up pretty well for themselves. And I’m sure they’ll do that.
Jonathan Barrett
Australians lodge more than 100,000 financial complaints
Australians have filed more than 100,000 complaints against their financial institutions for the second year in a row, with insurance and financial advice issues surging, according to the financial ombudsman.
Fiscal year data from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) shows that the three most complained about financial products were personal transaction accounts, motor vehicle insurance and credit cards.
Consumers also regularly raised complaints over misleading product or service information, delays in insurance claim handling, and service quality.
The chief ombudsman at AFCA, David Locke, said the number of complaints was “unacceptably high”.
We’ve now had three years of high complaints… Firms have more work to do to ensure fair responses to complaints are delivered earlier, without people having to take the extra step of coming to us.
AFCA is an independent external dispute resolution scheme consumers go to if a problem can’t be resolved with their financial institution.
The 100,745 complaints lodged in 2024-25 represent a slight decline from last year’s record of 104,861, although the number remains elevated.
Locke said that while scam-related complaints fell, the number of cases was “far too high and behind every case is a consumer who has been traumatised and often suffered life changing impacts”.
This evil trade causes so much human harm, and the law and regulatory framework we currently have is not sufficient to address this. Industry should not wait to take action; every day we see the impact of more people affected.
While the parliament passed a scams prevention framework earlier this year, industry codes of practice are still being developed.
Josh Butler
Childcare safety bill due to be introduced today
The federal government will introduce its childcare safety bill to parliament today. It was previously expected to arrive on Thursday, but the timeline has moved up.
We don’t have specifics on what the bill will set out yet – but there will a press conference from education minister Jason Clare and early education minister Jess Walsh this morning, and we’ll bring you more from that shortly.
O’Neil says she is ‘desperate’ to get on top of childcare safety reforms
There are a few reforms on the table to help fix the childcare sector, with the first being legislation to strip childcare subsidy funding for centres that repeatedly fail their safety requirements.
Next month there will also be a meeting of state and territory education ministers, as well as a meeting of state and territory attorneys general, where there will be discussion of further reform.
Why wait until next month for those meetings? The government was asked that this morning, but frontbencher Clare O’Neil says the work is already being undertaken. O’Neil told Sunrise she’s “desperate” to see the reforms pass:
The working with children checks are of course a part of this and the attorneys general across the country are working together … to make sure that we fast-track this. So that meeting next month will be to finalise some of that work. It is already under way. It’s really critical that we get on top of this.
Good morning from Krishani
Krishani Dhanji here with you to take you through all things politics today, and a big thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.
Parliamentary business kicks into full swing today, after a largely ceremonial opening of the 48th parliament yesterday.
Childcare reforms and Hecs debt cuts will be top of the agenda, and we’ll see our first question time, with Sussan Ley taking the chair opposite Anthony Albanese.
Stick with us, it’s going to be a busy day!
Experts say reforms needed as Queensland begins child protection inquiry
Brave reforms are needed to protect the most neglected, abused and disadvantaged kids from a “harmful” child protection system, advocates say.
Calls for transformational change have been made before a Queensland government-backed child safety system inquiry that begins in Brisbane today, AAP reports.
The inquiry, which is expected to last 17 months and cost $20m, will investigate the system’s failures and the damage it has caused, and will recommend changes to better protect vulnerable children.
Queensland had more than 3,000 children living in out-of-home care in 2024, many with traumatic backgrounds and needs not being met by the child safety system.
Elements of the state’s child protection system were not fit for purpose and harmful to children and families, Queensland’s family and children commissioner, Luke Twyford said.
“This inquiry can produce the bold and transformational reform needed to deliver better outcomes for Queensland children and families,” he said.
The inquiry must listen to children, young people and families with experience of the system and take action on what they said, Twyford said.
“They know best how the system performs and the changes needed to deliver on the promise the system makes to keep children safe,” he said.
The Youth Advocacy Centre’s chief executive, Katherine Hayes, said significant system change was urgently needed to improve the lives of vulnerable children facing the “most awful circumstances” every day without the proper assistance of child safety.
One dead and one hospitalised after Sydney jet ski crash
Breaking out of politics for a moment: A teenage boy has died and another is in hospital in a critical condition after a jet ski crash in Sydney, AAP reports.
Emergency crews were called to Tom Uglys Bridge in Sylvania, in Sydney’s south, just after 6pm last night after reports of people floating in the water.
A 15-year-old boy was found deceased in the water and was unable to be revived, police said.
A 14-year-old boy was treated at the scene for a severed arm and taken to Sydney Children’s hospital by paramedics. He was in a critical condition last night.
A crime scene has been established and investigations into the crash have begun.
It was a rather more gentle introduction for Ali France, the new Labor MP who defeated Peter Dutton at the last election, who gave a very moving, personal maiden speech about the obstacles she has overcome on her way to becoming an MP.
We have a story right here:
And some video of that speech:
It’s been a baptism of fire for the Australian Greens leader, Larissa Waters, who has begun her first parliamentary session in the top job with an internal crisis over the expulsion of co-founder Drew Hutton.
When asked last night on ABC’s 7.30 about the exact reasons for Hutton’s defenestration from the party, Waters said that she had not read the relevant documentation and that it had been dealt with “by the party”.
Full story here:
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Krishani Dhanji will take the controls.
Larissa Waters is likely to face more questions today about the Greens’ handling of the expulsion of co-founder Drew Hutton. She told the ABC’s 7.30 last night that she had not read the relevant documentation on the case and had left the process “to the party”. More coming up.
An inquiry into Queensland’s child safety system begins in Brisbane today with calls for transformational change to better protect vulnerable children. The inquiry, which is expected to last 17 months and cost an estimated $20m, will investigate the system’s failures and the damage it has caused and will recommend changes. We have more coming up and we’ll bring you updates when it gets under way later this morning.
Parliament will resume as Labor takes the first steps to implement its second term agenda. The education minister, Jason Clare, is due to deliver on Labor’s election promise by introducing legislation to the lower house to slash university debt for three million Australians by 20%.
Plus the national parliament’s first question time in more than 100 days! What a treat.
