New Victorian premier Ben Carroll to call a royal commission into the construction sector
Ben Carroll is speaking now, alongside his new deputy premier, Gabrielle Williams.
He said his first action as premier will be to call a royal commission into the construction sector. Carroll said he would also establish a special prosecutor to work in parallel with the royal commission.
He added:
double quotation markLet me make one thing very clear: I am not Daniel Andrews. I am not Jacinta Allan.
I will do things differently, because different times require a new approach.
Updated at 23.35 EDT
Key events
Lisa Cox
Deadly bird flu confirmed in seven local South Australian birds
CSIRO testing has confirmed deadly H5 bird flu in seven greater crested terns found at South Australian beaches.
But the federal government said analysis was still under way to establish whether the disease was spreading between local birds.
One of the terns was found at Port MacDonnell, one at Cape Jaffa and five were found around Southend Jetty near Beachport.
There have now been 27 confirmed cases nationally, 10 in greater crested terns – a common local seabird – in South Australia.
Before the cases in terns found in South Australia, all detections of the disease in Australia had been in migratory birds.
A spokesperson for the agriculture department said:
double quotation markAll of these have been wild seabirds found in coastal locations. Further laboratory analysis will be undertaken to help determine if there is evidence of local transmission.
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Jack Larkin
Australian Bureau of Statistics reports 4.1% increase in divorces in 2025
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released its annual report on the marriages and divorces for 2025, showing a 4.1% increase on divorces from the previous year, with more than 49,000 granted.
The median age of divorce also rose to 47.3 years for men and 44.4 years for women, with the average duration of a marriage also increasing to 13.4 years.
There were over 118,000 registered marriages in 2025, a 1.7% decrease from 2024. Victoria had the largest decrease with 5.5%; Queensland, Western Australia and the ACT also registered fewer marriages.
The most popular date to get married was 25 October, with over 2,000 marriages taking place on that day, followed by the 22 November with 1,527.
Saturday remained as the most popular day to get married, with over 52,000 marriages taking place, followed by Friday with 22,000.
Updated at 00.30 EDT
Jordyn Beazley
New process being developed for Jewish patients and staff to raise complaints
A new process is being developed for Jewish patients and staff to raise complaints if they experience antisemitism in the health system, the royal commission has heard.
Rabbi Mendel Kastel, the chief executive of Jewish House and a chaplain at a number of hospitals, is the first to give evidence today in the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.
Kastel said of the new system he is helping to design:
double quotation markAt the moment, it’s looking like that it’ll be a separate protocol where people will initially raise it … with a more senior staff member.
There’ll be a form that people will fill out, which will then go to the leadership of the hospital and the [local health district], and be overseen by the ministry.
He said an antisemitic video that allegedly featured two nurses from Bankstown hospital had raised fears in the community. But beyond this incident, he said there is largely “a very good culture within New South Wales health”.
double quotation markAfter the Bankstown nurses, I must say that I was nervous to go there myself. I didn’t know what to expect.
But I went to Bankstown hospital, and the warmth and the kindness was just fantastic across the board. [It] didn’t matter what religion, which culture, everybody was welcoming.
Rabbi Mendel Kastel speaks to media outside the Sydney hearings to the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion on Tuesday. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAPShare
Updated at 00.35 EDT
Catholic Schools NSW chief executive allegedly planned to ‘shake down Angus for 10k’, corruption inquiry hears
Penry Buckley
The chief executive of Catholic Schools NSW, Dallas McInerney, planned to solicit a $10,000 donation from Angus Taylor to support the efforts of a conservative Liberal group being investigated by the state corruption watchdog, an inquiry has heard.
Dylan Whitelaw, a former Liberal staffer described as an associate of the Reformers, who have been accused of soliciting or accepting illegal donations to support moves to shift the party to the right, is under questioning from by counsel assisting the commission, Juliet Curtin.
Whitelaw has been shown a screenshot from a message from McInerney, sent to a group chat including Whitelaw and members of the Reformers. In the message, McInerney allegedly says:
double quotation markI have breakfast club with ministers this Thursday morning, who can I get an update from? Re SCD [state council delegate] progress in the last six to 12 months. I want to shake down Angus for 10k.
Asked if “Angus” refers to Angus Taylor, Whitelaw says: “I would assume it’s Angus Taylor”.
Whitelaw is shown another message in which he allegedly wrote that “Dallas has told me he got the commitment from Angus, the 15k injection plus a 3k monthly donation!”.
Whitelaw says he does not recall sending the message, nor does he recall Taylor making a financial contribution to the Reformers. Taylor is not accused of any wrongdoing. In a statement reported by the Sydney Morning Herald on 2 July, McInerney said he had offered to stand aside “to allow the work of Catholic Schools NSW to continue its important mission”.
Updated at 00.04 EDT
Luca Ittimani
Less than 1% of homeowners in negative equity, says RBA
The Reserve Bank governor has said the housing slowdown is still “modest” and confined to small pockets of the market.
Michele Bullock has told an economists’ lunch in Sydney the RBA was surprised by the size of the slump in house prices, which she attributed to lower confidence and policy change in the budget.
But Bullock said the price declines were concentrated in Sydney and Melbourne. Even in those cities, prices were still back where they were in early 2025.
On top of that, most borrowers are not in negative equity, meaning they still have homes worth more than their loans, she said. Bullock said:
double quotation markNotwithstanding the price falls, negative equity remains very limited, affecting less than 1% of borrowers.
Negative equity was much more common in 2019, RBA data shows. Of the small group in negative equity, an even smaller share have insufficient income to cover their loan repayments and essential expenses, Bullock said.
double quotation markThis is not to downplay that this would be stressful for those affected. But it does indicate that financial stability risks are contained, and borrowers, in aggregate, have built up considerable savings buffers over recent years.
Michele Bullock in May. Photograph: Dean Lewins/EPAShare
Updated at 00.00 EDT
Luca Ittimani
RBA ready to lift interest rates again, says governor
The Reserve Bank governor has warned she is ready to lift interest rates “further if needed” as fuel prices surge again.
Michele Bullock has said inflation is “still too high” as high fuel costs this year are forcing up more prices, with construction and new home costs on the rise.
But spending in the economy is still holding up, putting pressure on the RBA to consider hiking rates again, Bullock has told an Anika Foundation lunch in Sydney. She said:
double quotation markThe Board is prepared to act as required to achieve its mandate, including by increasing the cash rate further if needed.
Household spending is slowing but hasn’t been hit by high fuel prices, in part because of the fuel excise cut. Business investment is stronger than expected, thanks to datacentres, and the jobs market is still tight, she said. That means:
double quotation markSome further easing in the growth of demand is likely to be required if we’re to bring inflation back down sustainably to target. A key question in the period ahead is whether the tightening in monetary policy earlier in the year is sufficient to achieve this.
Before the speech, markets were betting on a 30% chance of another rate hike on 11 August, judging it was more likely the RBA would wait and see if this year’s hikes have done the job.
Change ‘starts today’, Carroll says
Carroll is casting his leadership as a new era for Labor politics in the state.
“It is clear that Victorians want change,” he said. “That change starts today.”
He said he will focus on supporting the Victorian business community, working in concert with the police commissioner to fight crime and to address cost-of-living concerns.
When pressed about his shift in support for Allan, Carroll said “circumstances changed”.
double quotation markI was approached by a delegation who asked me to stand for leader. This delegation had already visited the premier and informed her that they wanted change. I’m going to be that change. …
The circumstances changed … a delegation came to see me and asked me to be leader.
Updated at 23.39 EDT
New Victorian premier Ben Carroll to call a royal commission into the construction sector
Ben Carroll is speaking now, alongside his new deputy premier, Gabrielle Williams.
He said his first action as premier will be to call a royal commission into the construction sector. Carroll said he would also establish a special prosecutor to work in parallel with the royal commission.
He added:
double quotation markLet me make one thing very clear: I am not Daniel Andrews. I am not Jacinta Allan.
I will do things differently, because different times require a new approach.
Updated at 23.35 EDT
We’re expecting a press conference from newly minted Victorian premier Ben Carroll any moment. Stick with us for updates.
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Josh Taylor
Microsoft sought to exclude Bing and LinkedIn from paying for news
Documents released by the treasury department under freedom of information law reveal that Microsoft had argued last year to exclude its Bing search service and LinkedIn platform from being included in the Albanese government’s news bargaining initiative.
The federal government announced in April that platforms including Google, Meta and TikTok will be required to make commercial deals with Australian media outlets or they will be forced to pay a dedicated 2.25% levy on local revenues.
It followed an extensive consultation process with tech companies and media.
According to the documents published yesterday, in March 2025, Microsoft argued against including its search platform Bing on the grounds that it is just 4.7% of the Australian search market and “applying the incentive to small search engines like Bing will harm their ability to compete with Google as the dominant search engine”.
For LinkedIn, although the company has gone to great lengths to woo journalists to post on the platform – including training 507 journalists in Australia and offering them free yearly LinkedIn subscriptions – the company argued because most people in Australia access LinkedIn on desktop computers, it shows that “members primarily access it for professional purposes rather than casual browsing or social interaction”.
The company said that its “significantly smaller active userbase” compared to sites like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and “low time spent on the LinkedIn mobile app would suggest that LinkedIn has a minimal use in news”.
Microsoft described news consumption on LinkedIn as an “ancillary activity”.
Nine newspapers reported in April that LinkedIn was expected to be excluded from the news bargaining initiative scheme when it goes ahead.
Microsoft has argued its LinkedIn social network has ‘minimal use in news’. Photograph: M4OS Photos/AlamyShare
Updated at 23.18 EDT
Penry Buckley
Kellie Sloane backs in shadow cabinet member named during Icac hearing
Returning to Kellie Sloane: the NSW opposition leader has called for “procedural fairness” to be observed after a member of her frontbench – the shadow finance minister, Eleni Petinos – was named during Icac corruption hearings.
The inquiry heard a phone call featuring fugitive property developer and prohibited donor Jean Nassif, in October 2021, in which he allegedly claimed he had paid for the removal of the building commissioner, David Chandler.
He also allegedly claimed that “the fair trading minister is gonna to be one of my girls”.
The inquiry heard that two months after the call, the then Liberal premier Dominic Perrottet appointed Petinos as state minister of fair trading in a cabinet reshuffle.
In July 2022, Chandler handed in his resignation after an investigation into his conduct that had been requested by Petinos, which later cleared him of any wrongdoing.
Sloane, who says she checked in with Petinos yesterday, says:
double quotation markThe allegations were made, and [counsel assisting] herself said that it is yet to be determined whether this was serendipitous, whether it was just wishful thinking by Nassif, and these were opening statements.
It’s going to be impossible for me to make a running commentary of the matters of Icac and there is procedural fairness that should be accorded to all.
Perrottet and Petinos – who is currently on maternity leave – are not accused of any wrongdoing.
The inquiry continues today, with Michael O’Hara – a hotelier and Tudehope’s former business partner – finishing his evidence, followed by former Liberal staffer Dylan Whitelaw.
Updated at 23.05 EDT
Ben Carroll has been sworn in as Victorian premier
Ben Carroll was just sworn in as the next premier of Victoria at the state’s government house. He took the oath of office, saying he would at all times discharge the duties of his office.
SharePenry Buckley
NSW Liberal leader says Icac hearing ‘intensely uncomfortable listening’
The NSW Liberal leader, Kellie Sloane, described the first day of watchdog hearings into historic allegations of corruption in her party as “uncomfortable listening” and backed in members of her shadow cabinet named during hearings.
Yesterday, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) began the first of eight weeks of hearings as part of Operation Rosny. In her opening statement, counsel assisting, Peggy Dwyer SC, said evidence would show how a group of young Liberal power brokers known as the “Reformers” allegedly solicited illegal donations to support branch stacking efforts to move the party to the conservative right.
Sloane, who was not an MP at the time of the allegations, has told 2GB the hearing was “intensely uncomfortable listening”.
double quotation markYeah, look, the whole thing was intensely uncomfortable listening. I wish Icac the very best in rooting out any corruption. At the moment, these are allegations and opening statements. We’ve got 8 weeks. So we just have to listen to this. But, you know … my job is not to be distracted by this.
Two current members of Sloane’s shadow cabinet were mentioned yesterday, including the shadow attorney general and Liberal leader in the upper house, Damien Tudehope.
The inquiry heard that multiple people named in allegations had connections with Tudehope, including some who had worked as staffers in his office. His son, James Tudehope, is not named in allegations but has declined a request to give evidence having moved to New Zealand.
Sloane tells 2GB she stands by her comments that Tudehope, who is not accused of any wrongdoing and has stood aside from shadow cabinet during the inquiry after being called as a witness, is “a man of integrity”.
Updated at 22.53 EDT
Moira Deeming quits the Liberal party
Benita Kolovos
And in some other news down at Spring Street, the Victorian opposition leader, Jess Wilson, has issued a short statement confirming Moira Deeming has quit the Liberal party:
double quotation markThis morning I received the resignation from the Parliamentary Liberal Party from Moira Deeming.
Deeming was spotted on the crossbench in upper house question time.
She was disendorsed as a candidate for the party by the Liberal state executive earlier this month after she had accused fellow Liberal MP Matthew Guy of grabbing her “violently” in a headlock. She later claimed she misunderstood the meaning of headlock.
Police investigated the reported incident and concluded there was “no offence detected”.
She had taken legal action against the party president, Brian Loughnane, which initially sought to prevent the party from disendorsing her, but withdrew the action just hours before the meeting.
Moira Deeming in December 2024. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAPShare
Updated at 22.43 EDT