14m agoFri 1 Aug 2025 at 1:17am
Trade minister to speak about US tariff announcement shortly
We’ve heard the trade minister, Don Farrell, will be holding a press conference in Adelaide shortly to respond to the United States’ latest tariff announcement.
Australia was spared from any increase in its baseline tariff, meaning Australian exports to the US will still be subject to a 10 per cent levy.
We’ll bring you Farrell’s comments shortly.
47m agoFri 1 Aug 2025 at 12:44am
Liberal senator doesn’t regret breaking ranks on university debt proposal
Sarah Henderson has been asked whether she regrets going it alone this week and putting forward amendments to the government’s student debt discount bill to cap indexation.
The Liberal senator has told Sky News she has no regrets, and says backbench Liberals are allowed to break ranks and propose new policies.
“This was policy largely supported by many of my colleagues, the shadow minister made that very point in his contributions, so I am really hoping it does become Coalition policy,” Henderson says.
54m agoFri 1 Aug 2025 at 12:36am
Henderson says recognition of Palestinian statehood would reward Hamas
Sarah Henderson says any Australian decision to recognise Palestinian statehood before there’s peace in the Middle East would be premature and reward Hamas, a listed terrorist organisation.
Speaking to Sky News, the Liberal senator has pointed to a Telegraph article from the UK which reportedly quotes a Hamas official as saying that the UK’s recognition of Palestine is a “victory”.
Henderson says the Coalition would not support Palestinian statehood with Hamas in control of Gaza.
“We really want to avoid something as terrible as that happening in our country,” Henderson says.
“Hamas’ mission is to annihilate Israel and so there is no possible way that the Coalition supports the recognition of Palestinian statehood when we’ve got hostages in tunnels, and, of course, this threat over Israel,” she says.
Asked if there’s any discontent behind the scenes in the Liberal Party about its position on Gaza, Henderson has sidestepped the question and says the humanitarian situation is “awful”.
She’s blamed Hamas for looting and selling off the aid.
1h agoFri 1 Aug 2025 at 12:14am
Coalition repeats calls for PM to secure tariff exemption from US
Liberal senator Sarah Henderson has repeated calls for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to secure a meeting with US President Donald Trump.
Henderson says the opposition is very concerned the PM hasn’t met with Trump yet, 270 days after he was elected.
She says it’s a “diplomatic fail” for Australian jobs in the copper, pharmaceuticals and steel industries.
“It’s very, very concerning, and again we call for urgent action from this government to get its act together because, of course, what is at risk in contrast to when we were in government … is Australian jobs,” Henderson says.
She says the opposition wants to see the federal government secure an exemption from US tariffs.
The Liberal senator says the government is doing a poor job of standing up for Australia’s trade interests.
1h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 11:44pmQuiet meeting with FBI director Kash Patel ‘really good’, Burke says
Tony Burke has shed more light on his meeting with FBI director Kash Patel, who made a quiet visit to Australia following a public visit to New Zealand.
The home affairs minister told ABC Radio National Breakfast that he had a “really good” dinner with Patel, which involved AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw.
Burke says Patel’s visit wasn’t publicised because it was a personal visit where he also engaged with a number of government authorities.
“The meeting was really good … [it] was a great discussion of the different ways in which we keep people safe,” Burke says.
“I’m really confident about the cooperation with the United States. There’s a whole range of issues we cooperate on, from things that people would think about in terms of counter-terrorism, but right through to some issues of foreign interference, [and] other issues of child protection.”
Asked if Australia gave any undertakings to Patel during his visit, Burke sidestepped the question and talked up Australia’s cooperation with the US.
2h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 11:23pmAustralia’s ‘reciprocal’ baseline tariff to remain at 10 per cent
The United States’ baseline tariffs on Australian products will remain at 10 per cent.
The White House says US President Donald Trump has signed executive orders modifying his “reciprocal” tariffs announced in April.
Australia is not listed as a country hit with a higher “reciprocal” tariff in Trump’s executive order, meaning the rate will remain the same.
Read more on the Trump Administration’s announcement over on the business blog in the link below.
2h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 11:16pm
Burke says Australians must be ‘clear-eyed’ that people want to steal national secrets
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has spoken to ABC Radio National Breakfast about the ASIO chief Mike Burgess’s annual threat assessment last night.
One of the issues Burgess raised was the number of security clearance holders who publicly declare that status online. It’s something he’s raised at previous speeches.
Burke says the number of people who publicly declare they have security clearances online has fallen by more than 80 per cent since Burgess first raised it as an issue.
He says Australians need to be “clear-eyed” that some people want to steal national secrets.
“I think one of the most important things from the speech last night is to let people know that it’s not simply for the government to provide the protection at the end,” Burke says.
“We need to be clear-eyed that there are people wanting to steal secrets, some of them governments, some of them commercial. And when you’re clear-eyed about what’s happening, you can then sensibly take the measures to make it as hard as possible for them to do that,” he says.
2h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 11:04pm
Increasing baseline tariffs on Australia ‘not based on fact’, Husic says
Labor MP Ed Husic has been asked about US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he could increase the baseline tariff rate for countries that haven’t reached a trade deal with Washington yet.
We’ll hear more about that later today and how Australia will be impacted.
Husic says any move in Washington to increase the baseline tariff rate is not the act of a friend and “not based on fact”.
He says the blanket tariffs are not a way to build stronger friendships.
“It’s not an act of a country that wants others to engage meaningfully on the issues that it’s concerned about,” Husic says.
“I understand there’ll be elements of the Trump administration that believe that they have copped a raw deal from other nations.
“They’re not copping it from Australia that stood by their side for decades in some of the toughest circumstances as well,” he says.
2h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 10:47pmHusic says he believes middle Australia thinks humanitarian crisis in Gaza is ‘awful’
Ed Husic says moving to recognise a Palestinian state with major international players like France, the UK and Canada is the best time to “amplify our voice”.
The Labor MP says Australia is not a central player in the Middle East, and doesn’t have a reputation for kicking down the door of international forums to make big announcements.
Husic says he understands why Australia has moved cautiously, but says the best time to move towards recognition is now.
“What we are recognised for is being a fair broker. We bring to the table attributes that are recognised as decent. I’m a big believer in us amplifying our voice, and to that end,” Husic says.
“While it’s absolutely been understood why our government … have said there are a number of conditions that need to be fulfilled, and then recognition will be part of the end of that process. I actually think countries need to make an assessment about when is the best point, the strongest point, at which to progress their aims,” he says.
He says he believes middle Australia thinks the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is “awful” and wants the government to act.
2h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 10:33pm
Ed Husic says Australia should join friends and move to recognise PalestineLoading…
Former Labor minister Ed Husic says Australia has an opportunity to “progress its ambitions” and recognise a Palestinian state.
The Labor MP has been vocal in calling for recognition of a Palestinian state.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, Husic has repeated calls for Australia to join its friends in France, Canada and the UK, and move to recognise Palestine.
He says their movement towards recognition signals that they do not accept Israel holding back humanitarian aid.
“I think Australia has this opportunity now to be able to progress its ambitions and objectives in this area that are founded on very solid ground and do so in tandem with a lot of people that we not only would consider friends, not only are members of the G7, but they’re nations we signed previous statements with condemning these actions,” he says.
3h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 10:22pmASIO clearance holders will be barred from advertising security clearance online: Burgess
Australia’s domestic spy chief says it’ll become a condition for individuals who hold an ASIO security clearance that they cannot post about it on social media.
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess has revealed the agency has disrupted 24 significant espionage operations in the past three years, and says foreign interference cost the country at least $12.5 billion in the 2023-24 financial year.
Burgess has called out Australian public servants who reveal details about their work online, saying about 7,000 of them “reference their work in the defence sector” and “close to 400 explicitly say they work on AUKUS”.
He’s told ABC Radio National that while numbers have fallen in recent years, it still makes “my head spin”.
“It is not naïve, it’s recklessly inviting the intention of a foreign intelligence service,” Burgess says.
“It’s OK to put what you’re doing on a CV if you’re applying for a job, you’ve got a right to do that. When you advertise it on a professional networking site or your social media profile, that’s just unwise, and you are becoming a target.
“My agency, that runs the top secret clearances, are now going to make it a condition of your service, if you have a clearance that ASIO has given to you, you can’t advertise it on your professional networking site.”
3h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 10:07pmASIO director-general’s warning shows ‘threat is rising’, Mark Butler says
Health Minister Mark Butler and Liberal senator Jane Hume have stepped up on this morning’s Channel 7 political panel.
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess has used a speech to warn that foreign espionage is costing the nation at least $12.5 billion a year.
He’s revealed that his agency disrupted 24 significant espionage and foreign interference operations in the past three years.
Butler says Australia lives in very volatile times and that ASIO’s espionage disruptions are more than the previous eight years combined.
“It shows that that threat is rising and it’s a reminder from our director-general for everyone, not just public servants, but many working in private industry in these sensitive areas as well, to be very alert to that threat,” Butler says.
Hume says rising espionage operations in Australia show the AUKUS agreement has the attention of foreign governments.
“It has so much potency, so much power, so much potential that foreign actors are now trying to access that information any way they can,” Hume says.
To read more about that story, see the details from foreign affairs correspondent Stephen Dziedzic in the link below.
3h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 9:54pm
Australian smelters operating in market with ‘significant’ unfair market practices: Ayres
ABC Radio National Breakfast host Sally Sara has asked Tim Ayres whether the idea of taxpayer-backed equity injections and long-term loans would form part of a national strategy.
Ayres says he’s brought together all smelters, state governments, and capability at the commonwealth level, to thrash out a national approach to maintaining Australia’s smelting capability.
He says Australia is operating in an environment where there are “significant” unfair market practices and industrial subsidies that are driving overcapacity in global markets.
“That’s the current state. And we have to be focused on the future state, which is Australia with a very significant competitive advantage in energy terms and critical minerals,” Ayres says.
3h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 9:50pmTim Ayres says federal government not ruling out support for copper smelter
Industry, Innovation and Science Minister Tim Ayres is doing the rounds on breakfast radio where he’s been asked about the future of the Mount Isa copper smelter.
Mining company Glencore is assessing the future of the smelter and Townsville copper refinery.
Ayres has told ABC Radio National Breakfast that the government isn’t ruling out assistance to keep it afloat.
The minister says there will be more “focused” and “deliberate” discussions over the course of the coming weeks.
“This region should be in the future, the Silicon Valley for critical minerals production and processing in Queensland,” Ayres says.
“We’re certainly not ruling anything out because we are actively engaged and have been actively engaged with Queensland. Working carefully with the Queensland government.”
In February, the state and federal government’s announced a $2.4 billion package for the Whyalla steelworks in South Australia.
Ayres says the situation in Queensland is different because the smelter has an owner, unlike the steelworks in Whyalla.
3h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 9:40pm
Welcome to our live blog 👋
Hello, and welcome to our federal politics live blog!
I’m Josh Boscaini joining you live from Parliament House in Canberra ready to bring you all of today’s politics news.
Even though it’s the final day of the sitting fortnight, there’s still plenty of news around to bring you.
Let’s strap in and get into it!
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