Sarah Henderson circumspect on Sussan Ley’s future as Liberal leader
Liberal MP Sarah Henderson seemed to express concern with opposition leader Sussan Ley’s hold on the Coalition in an interview with Sky News this morning. Henderson spoke to Peter Stefanovic amid questions about Ley’s leadership. There was the following exchange:
Henderson: I do believe that we can turn things around.
Stefanovic: With a new leader or with Sussan Ley?
Henderson paused for a long moment, then:
Henderson: Well, Pete, I am just going to say at the moment that I cannot support the way things are.
Stefanovic: With Sussan Ley as leader? It sounds like you’re not supporting her position as leader.
Henderson paused again, before saying:
Well I can’t back in the way things are, Pete, and I’ve got to be authentic and I’ve got to be honest about that.
Sarah Henderson. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare
Updated at 16.11 EST
Key events
Show key events only
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
Banking insider accused of being part of multimillion dollar fraud syndicate
A NAB insider accused of using his position at the bank to deliver around $10m worth of dodgy business loans is accused of being part of a major fraud syndicate, AAP reports.
The Sydney man’s arrest is the latest in a string of busts targeting a group that allegedly used stolen personal information to apply for loans to buy non-existent luxury “ghost cars”.
The 36-year-old was hit with 19 charges after he was arrested in the city’s southwest on Thursday.
NAB, who worked with NSW police on the matter, confirmed the man’s employment had been terminated. No customers had been impacted by the alleged fraud, it confirmed.
The man was the 15th person charged by a NSW Police strike force targeting the same syndicate, while the NSW Crime Commission has seized $60 million in assets.
He was charged with nine counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, among other offences. He will appear in Fairfield Local Court on Friday.
Share
Jonathan Barrett
More from News Corp’s quarterly financial results
The media conglomerate recorded a sharp drop in advertising revenue at its global stable of newspapers, down 4% from a year ago, driven by lower levels of print and digital advertising.
This was mainly attributed to weakness at its Australian mastheads, which include the Australian, the Daily Telegraph and the Herald Sun.
News Corp has been trying to increase subscription revenue from Australia by increasing cover prices. It recorded a lift in digital subscribers in Australia.
Updated at 17.58 EST
Jonathan Barrett
News Corp chief says AI needs intellectual property so it is not ‘empty, ignorant infrastructure’
The News Corp chief executive, Robert Thomson, says he expects to announce further partnerships with technology companies after describing artificial intelligence as “empty, ignorant infrastructure” without the intellectual property that informs it.
The comments, made at News Corp’s quarterly results in the US, come amid a broader tussle between publishers and the tech sector over access to content.
Publishers around the world have been vocal critics of AI models that access news content without paying for it.
Robert Thomson. Photograph: Mark Lennihan/AP
There’s also a debate in Australia over whether technology firms should be exempt from copyright rules that stop companies mining text and data to train their models.
Thomson said:
Our wooing has gained increasing traction and we expect to announce further partnerships in the near future, which we expect to have a positive impact on our results.
Information and sophisticated data are the essence of AI and, without these essential ingredients, AI is but empty, ignorant infrastructure.
The media conglomerate reported a 2% lift in its quarterly revenue to $US2.14bn ($3.3bn). The result was helped by strong earnings at News Corp’s majority owned REA Group, the owner of realestate.com.au.
News Corp, a US-headquartered company that is also listed on the ASX, owns mastheads in the US, the UK and Australia.
Updated at 17.45 EST
Sarah Basford Canales
Illegal tobacco burns $3.3bn hole in Australia’s tax revenue, crime agency says
The illegal tobacco market has left a $3.3bn hole in the federal government’s finances, with Australia’s national criminal intelligence agency warning organised crime’s dominance of the market is continuing to grow.
Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP
The Australian Taxation Office believes the illegal trade now accounts for one in five tobacco sales, which has led to reduced tax revenues despite the government’s excise on legal cigarettes reaching almost $30 for a pack of 20 in September. The excise has increased almost eightfold since 2006, when it was $4.65.
The excise increase – designed to reduce rates of smoking – has drawn critics, including the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, who has called on the federal government to undertake a review.
Read more here:
Updated at 17.22 EST
Sixty-four students will compete today in the NSW premier’s Spelling Bee
Nearly 200,000 students from across 1,000 public schools participated in the spelling bee this year, a new record, with the 64 junior and senior finalists from years 2 to 6 travelling to Penrith’s Q theatre this morning.
Half of the finalists are from regional, rural and remote NSW, and more than a third speak a language other than English at home. The premier, Chris Minns, said:
It’s fantastic to see students from every corner of NSW coming together to put their skills to the test in one of our state’s great public school traditions.
This year’s record participation shows how much young people across the state value literacy and education.
My colleague Caitlin Cassidy will bring you updates from the bee later today.
Updated at 17.01 EST
Tom McIlroy
‘I am desperate for us to do better,’ Henderson says
Sarah Henderson is stoking leadership tensions within the Coalition this morning, further criticising the state of play for the opposition under Sussan Ley.
After stopping short of endorsing her leader on Sky, Henderson has told journalists in the Canberra press gallery something has to change.
“All I can say to you, authentically and honestly, is I don’t support the way things are at the moment,” she said.
She conceded the comments were not an endorsement of Ley.
At the end of the day, we need to do better and I’m very hopeful that we can turn this ship around.
I think a lot of my colleagues are very concerned about the way things are going.
Sussan Ley, left, and Sarah Henderson, second from right. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Asked if Ley could turn the situation around, Henderson said: “I don’t know.”
I don’t support the way things are, and I am desperate for us to do better.
I think there’s increasing concern in our party as to the way we are going but there’s also a great deal of conviction that, if we get our policy act together, if we start focusing on the Australian people, not on ourselves … the infighting has been terrible.
I think, at the end of the day, Australians are depending on us to be the best opposition we can be to be effective, to fight hard and that’s my determination.
She refused to answer if conservative leadership hopefuls Andrew Hastie or Angus Taylor could do a better job.
Updated at 16.46 EST
Man dies after workplace accident in northern NSW
A man died after a workplace incident in northern NSW overnight.
NSW police said emergency services were called to a construction site on the New England Highway just before midnight on Thursday night. The worker, 45, was reportedly standing behind a parked truck when he was allegedly hit by a materials transfer vehicle that was travelling towards the truck.
The man died at the scene.
Police said the driver of the transfer vehicle was taken to a local hospital for mandatory testing. A crime scene has been established and an investigation is ongoing.
Updated at 17.02 EST
Henderson tells Sky that the Coalition ‘can turn things around’
Henderson adds that while she thinks Ley is losing support, things could change again in her favour. She told Sky News earlier:
Things are not travelling well. I do have to say, really honestly, I do think Sussan is losing support, but I do believe in miracles.
We can turn things around.
Updated at 17.03 EST
Sarah Henderson circumspect on Sussan Ley’s future as Liberal leader
Liberal MP Sarah Henderson seemed to express concern with opposition leader Sussan Ley’s hold on the Coalition in an interview with Sky News this morning. Henderson spoke to Peter Stefanovic amid questions about Ley’s leadership. There was the following exchange:
Henderson: I do believe that we can turn things around.
Stefanovic: With a new leader or with Sussan Ley?
Henderson paused for a long moment, then:
Henderson: Well, Pete, I am just going to say at the moment that I cannot support the way things are.
Stefanovic: With Sussan Ley as leader? It sounds like you’re not supporting her position as leader.
Henderson paused again, before saying:
Well I can’t back in the way things are, Pete, and I’ve got to be authentic and I’ve got to be honest about that.
Sarah Henderson. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare
Updated at 16.11 EST
Sarah Basford Canales
Nacc watchdog still considering two complaints about possible conflicts of interest
Two complaints about a potential conflict of interest between the national anti-corruption commissioner and his ties to defence, his former employer, are under consideration.
Gail Furness, the Nacc inspector, a watchdog for the federal anti-corruption watchdog, has revealed in her latest annual report she is still considering at least two complaints received in 2024-25 relating to commissioner Paul Brereton.
Paul Brereton. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
Brereton, a former army major general who became the Nacc’s inaugural chief in 2023, has come under fire for maintaining his connections to defence after taking on the role. Brereton has admitted to remaining in the army reserves and has assisted the inspector general of the Australian Defence Force, another position Brereton held, on a number of occasions.
The Nacc inspector’s report said one matter had been dismissed, one had been resolved satisfactorily, one was still under consideration and the other “concerned an ongoing matter which is not appropriate for the inspector to report”.
Updated at 17.18 EST
HSC exams come to a close in NSW
Caitlin Cassidy
Year 12 students in NSW will breathe a sigh of relief today as this year’s HSC exams come to a close. About 4,300 students are set to file out of the final exam, food technology, later this afternoon, bringing an end to more than 400,000 exam sessions across 123 subjects.
Last year’s food technology exam included questions such as “Which sector of the Australian food industry has responsibility for the growth of seaweed?” and “Explain the potential health implications for an adolescent who consumes 500 mL of bubble milk tea every day”.
Overall, about 75,000 students will have sat an HSC exam, including the new syllabuses in geography, software engineering, and computing.
Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The Guardian
Marking is already under way but anxious students, teachers and parents will have to wait until Thursday 18 December for Atar results.
The acting minister for education and early learning, Courtney Houssos, congratulated the class of 2025 on reaching the milestone.
Exams are now behind you and you can look with confidence to the future knowing you have put your best foot forward. Thank you to everyone who has supported our students in the lead-up to and during exams – parents, families, teachers and school staff who have been there every step of the way.
Updated at 15.32 EST
Good morning, and happy Friday. Nick Visser here to pick up the blog. Let’s get to it.
ShareUniversities to add an extra 9,500 placesTom McIlroy
As many as 9,500 extra Australian students will be able to enrol at university in 2026, after a decision by the Australian Tertiary Education Commission allocating extra places.
Figures released last night by the federal education minister, Jason Clare, show the extra places represent a 4.1% increase on 2025 levels.
Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP
Clare said the number of Australians starting university will be at record levels next year.
We’re creating more places at uni so more Australians get a crack at uni.
More and more jobs require more and more skills.
The federal government’s Universities Accord includes a target for 80% of the workforce to have a tertiary qualification by 2050, up from about 60% today.
Labor has also announced an extra $66.9m to more than double the number of university study hubs in suburbs and towns across the country, to help outer suburban and country students access higher education.
An extra seven hubs will be opened in Fairfield and Liverpool in New South Wales, Northam in Western Australia, Beenleigh in Queensland, Kangaroo Island in South Australia, Sorrell in Tasmania and on Norfolk Island.
Updated at 15.28 EST
And for more on the Coalition crisis, look no further than this analysis this morning by Dan Jervis-Bardy about how the net zero emissions issue became so toxic.
Hewson criticises Andrew Hastie’s agenda
Hewson was also highly critical of Western Australian MP Andrew Hastie, who is widely considered a potential leadership contender.
“He’s been sold a bit of a dump by the right of the party,” the former Liberal leader said, arguing Hastie’s criticism of Australia’s immigration program was unlikely to be popular in the broader electorate.
Hastie is a vocal critic of Australia’s climate targets, an issue the Liberals appear to be a step closer to resolving their differences over.
After weeks of internal brawling, a party room meeting has been called for next week to finalise the Coalition’s energy and emissions reduction policies.
Liberal members will discuss their energy and emissions-reduction policy on Wednesday. Shadow ministers will meet to formalise their position the following day.
But even if the Liberals land a cohesive plan amid fierce internal divisions, they will still need to strike an agreement with the Nationals.
A six-person committee – three Liberals and three Nationals – will attempt to reach a compromise on the issue before an online hook-up of both party rooms on 16 November.
Western Australian MP Andrew Hastie. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShare
Updated at 15.06 EST
John Hewson unleashes on Sussan Ley’s ‘lack of leadership’
Sussan Ley has been savaged by a former Liberal leader for lacking strategy and leadership, as the party grapples with infighting and demoralising polling, Australian Associated Press reports.
The opposition leader has been accused of failing to articulate a way forward for the Liberals, who are edging closer to a final position on their energy and climate change policy.
After a fortnight of damaging infighting and wild leadership speculation, Ley has called a series of party room meetings to bed down a new approach to energy and emissions reduction.
As the party prepares to negotiate its final policy, former Liberal leader John Hewson has delivered a withering assessment of Ley and the party she leads.
“She hasn’t shown any clear strategy, or any strong capacity in terms of leadership,” he told AAP.
Hewson, who let his membership lapse in 2019 because of concerns about the party’s record on climate change, said the opposition was devoid of serious policies because its members had little experience outside politics.
“They haven’t got people with significant business experience … I don’t think that they’ve got people who are policy wonks in economic policy,” he said.
“You can’t just keep being negative and hoping to win on criticism, as [Tony] Abbott did.”
As opposition leader, Hewson took a highly detailed promise of economic reform to the 1993 federal election, which the Coalition lost to Paul Keating’s Labor government.
“I’d really like to see Sussan be given a fair run with everyone pitching in and doing a proper policy job,” he said.
Updated at 14.54 EST
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser to get you through to the end of the week.
Sussan Ley’s leadership of the Liberal party has been has been savaged by one of her predecessors, John Hewson, for lacking clear strategy as the party grapples with infighting and demoralising polling. More coming up.
The Albanese government has announced the creation of up to 9,500 extra places at Australian universities after a decision by the Australian Tertiary Education Commission allocating additional spots. More in a moment.