Updated at\u00a021.06 EDT<\/p>\n
Key events<\/p>\n
![\"Krishani](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782608894_505_Krishani_Dhanji.png\")
Krishani Dhanji<\/p>\n
Murray Watt hopeful negative press on CGT changes will die down<\/p>\n
Now that the government\u2019s capital gains tax and negative gearing changes have passed, Murray Watt is asked if he\u2019s hopeful that all the heat will die down.<\/p>\n
Watt says he believes some of the negative media could \u201csubside\u201d a little, and argues that not all of it was accurate.<\/p>\n
He says he believes \u201cwhat we\u2019ll now see is people focus on the benefits of these reforms\u201d.<\/p>\n
double quotation markI think it\u2019s likely that some of the pretty over-the-top media articles and complaints \u2013 with all due respect to our friends in the media \u2013 might subside a little bit now that the legislation has got through.<\/p>\n
Not every story that was being run in the media over the last few weeks has been accurate.<\/p>\n
Watt again defends the changes and asked about some comments from the NSW Labor premier, Chris Minns (who said he \u201chopes\u201d the reforms won\u2019t impact innovation), the environment minister says the government doesn\u2019t expect it to have a negative effect.<\/p>\n
Minister for the environment, Murray Watt. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.13 EDT<\/p>\n Big tech not cooperating \u2018as much as we\u2019d like them to\u2019: Watt<\/p>\n Federal cabinet minister Murray Watt, says the government knows it\u2019s needed to take more action to ensure social media giants are complying with a ban for under 16s that came into effect in December.<\/p>\n This morning Labor has announced it would double the penalty for breaches of the ban to $99 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n Watt told Sky News this morning that big tech has not been cooperating with the new regulations \u201cas much as we\u2019d like them to\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markThese laws were brand new, never developed anywhere in the world. And what we\u2019ve learned is that the powers that the safety commissioner has do need to be beefed up, also to give her powers across things like age assurance tools. So things that sit outside the social media platforms themselves, but compelling them to provide information so that she can do her job even better.<\/p>\n Asked if he reckons the ban is working – Watt says, \u201cI think it is\u201d, and that the laws have already seen the deactivation of more than five million accounts.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s a difficult time around the world to be an incumbent government,\u2019 Chalmers says<\/p>\n Finally, Chalmers was asked about the downfall of Keir Starmer in the United Kingdom, coinciding with a surge in support for Nigel Farage\u2019s Reform party.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s Labor party<\/a> is not immune from a shift to the right, with recent polls showing Pauline Hanson has overtaken Anthony Albanese as preferred prime minister.<\/p>\n Asked what lessons Australia could take from the UK, Chalmers said: \u201cI think what we\u2019re seeing in the UK is a bit like what we\u2019re seeing right around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n double quotation markThe pace of change is accelerating, the global and generational pressures are intensifying, and people have got legitimate concerns about where they fit in that, and then we\u2019ve got the anger industry, and parties of the populist right trying to make that worse rather than trying to make that better.<\/p>\n It is a difficult time around the world to be an incumbent government, from our point of view. We are using the power of incumbency to take real action, to deliver cost-of-living help, to deliver real change. The best antidote to anger is action \u2026 The Albanese Labour government has chosen to address those concerns rather than dismiss them.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.43 EDT<\/p>\n Tech giants \u2018aren\u2019t doing enough\u2019 to adhere to Australia\u2019s social media ban, treasurer says<\/p>\n Chalmers was also asked about the federal government\u2019s announcement today to pass legislation this week doubling fines for breaches of the social media ban. The eSafety commissioner will also have additional powers to compel information from tech giants.<\/p>\n Asked if this was \u201can acknowledgment that the current system hasn\u2019t been doing the job\u201d, the treasurer said \u201cbig tech companies aren\u2019t doing enough\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markWe\u2019re leading the world when it comes to protecting our kids online, and we\u2019re making really important progress, but we will do more because the big tech companies aren\u2019t doing enough.<\/p>\n We will strengthen the penalties. We will strengthen the powers of the eSafety commissioner, and that\u2019s because we recognise that the future of our kids, the safety of our kids, is too important to let the big tech companies wriggle off the hook or avoid their responsibilities.<\/p>\n So we will do more because the tech companies aren\u2019t doing enough, and we\u2019ll see that reflected in the parliament before long.<\/p>\n Read more about the announcement here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.41 EDT<\/p>\n Headline inflation forecast to peak lower than anticipated at 4.25%, treasurer says<\/p>\n On to inflation. The budget forecast that headline inflation would peak at 5% this year. As the war in the Middle East drags on, is that still the federal government\u2019s assumption?<\/p>\n Chalmers says with additional progress than expected, it is now expected that inflation around the middle of the year will peak \u201cmore like four and a quarter rather than five\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markThat is very, very welcome progress. It does show, I think, it does illustrate the progress that we\u2019re making together in this fight against inflation. Now there\u2019s still a lot of uncertainty in the Middle East and elsewhere. There\u2019s still more inflation than we would like in our economy as a consequence, but we are making more progress than we anticipated.<\/p>\n Key to that, Chalmers concedes, is that ships will be able to pass through the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n double quotation markWe desperately need the ceasefire to stick. You know, we can\u2019t have another false dawn when it comes to the Middle East, and particularly the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n There\u2019ve been some really welcome developments on this front, and we\u2019ve seen the oil price come down quite substantially as a consequence. It wasn\u2019t that long ago that a barrel of oil was in the 120s. This morning when I looked, it was in the low 70s. So that\u2019s welcome progress.<\/p>\n There\u2019s inflationary pressures elsewhere in the economy still as well. But if you look at the progress we made on inflation during the week, the welcome developments in the Middle East, and a number of other factors. What we actually saw through the course of the last week is that the market expectations for an interest rate hike actually went substantially down.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.35 EDT<\/p>\n Chalmers grilled on \u2018widow\u2019s tax\u2019<\/p>\n Chalmers has also been pressed on what has been dubbed a \u201cwidow\u2019s tax\u201d and was removed by Labor\u2019s budget after questioning from the independent senator David Pocock.<\/p>\n David Speers:<\/p>\n double quotation markYou talk about certainty, but with that haste comes the risk of unintended consequences, and one of those was this issue of negatively geared properties that are jointly held, when a couple divorce or a partner dies. It\u2019s been dubbed the widow tax. What is gonna happen there?<\/p>\n Chalmers says that will be addressed in \u201csubsequent pieces of legislation\u201d and the federal government had been \u201cworking through it\u201d to address it in the interim.<\/p>\n double quotation markWhen the amendments were put before the Senate, we had to make clear that we were working through that issue, and we intend to address it in subsequent pieces of legislation, and that\u2019s the case \u2026<\/p>\n Asked what would happen in the next week if someone lost their partner and had to rearrange their affairs, Chalmers again said \u201cwe intend to address that issue\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markI don\u2019t want to pre-empt the outcome, but in saying that we\u2019re going to address it, I think we\u2019re making it incredibly clear, that we understand that this is an issue that has been raised with us, we intend to address it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.25 EDT<\/p>\n Jim Chalmers defends speed of tax reforms on Insiders<\/p>\n The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is appearing on ABC\u2019s Insiders this morning after securing passage of tax reforms with the support of the Greens.<\/p>\n Asked \u201cwhy the rush\u201d when the Howard government spent more than 10 months announcing tax reforms and taking it to parliament, Chalmers says:<\/p>\n double quotation markThis is how we deliver cost-of-living relief and deliver real change in the tax system.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not unusual for the core elements, so big tax reforms to be legislated first, and then for there to be subsequent consultation and other pieces of legislation \u2026 We\u2019ve seen in those other episodes of tax reform in this country, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re seeing now.<\/p>\n Pressed again on the timing, Chalmers says the federal government\u2019s objective was to \u201cprovide certainty\u201d for investors.<\/p>\n double quotation markWhenever tax reform is undertaken in this country, it\u2019s hotly contested, it\u2019s contentious. There are all kinds of predictions that the sky will fall in, and all other kinds of predictions, which turn out to be wrong.<\/p>\n We expect that to be the case again. But we\u2019ve legislated the core elements quickly, because we want to provide that level of certainty.<\/p>\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.23 EDT<\/p>\n Labor has to get into an \u2018arm wrestle\u2019 with One Nation, Chris Minns<\/a> says<\/p>\n Chris Minns was also asked about how Labor should respond to the surging poll numbers of One Nation<\/a>. The NSW premier told Sky \u201cwe\u2019ve got to get into the arm wrestle\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markPeople have got every right to vote for One Nation if they want to. And if they feel that they\u2019re the best antidote or the best medicine for what\u2019s ailing the state or the country, that\u2019s exactly what they\u2019ll do. Our job is to convince them otherwise and to say, well, this is our plan for the future.<\/p>\n Minns said Australians were \u201cgoing through an incredibly tough time\u201d and there were \u201cconcerns\u201d about the level of immigration after the pandemic lockdowns. But he pushed back on her unexplained calls for a \u201cmonoculture\u201d<\/a> in place of multiculturalism.<\/p>\n double quotation markThe populist right or far-right movement has swept through Brazil, Argentina, the United States, Hungary, Italy, perhaps France, maybe the UK. So we\u2019d be pretty naive not to think that it could affect us here too.<\/p>\n One of my biggest gripes with what Hanson has been saying \u2026 is that she seems to be saying, if you support multiculturalism, then you\u2019re also for sharia law, multiple marriages \u2026 that\u2019s utter garbage. That\u2019s not the view or the lived experience of people that live in Sydney, who grew up in Sydney \u2026 I wouldn\u2019t support sharia law or any of these insane ideologies in a place like Australia, but I do believe multiculturalism\u2019s worked.<\/p>\n NSW premier Chris Minns. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.14 EDT<\/p>\n Drone technology won\u2019t be \u2018foolproof\u2019 but should \u2018mitigate the risk\u2019, NSW premier says<\/p>\n The New South Wales<\/a> premier, Chris Minns, says the state government\u2019s expansion of shark surveillance came in response to a reduction in the number of people visiting beaches amid a spate of shark attacks.<\/p>\n Appearing on Sky News on Sunday, he said people had been rattled by the recent attacks.<\/p>\n double quotation markWe now are in a situation where \u2026 we seen a reduction in the number of people who are enjoying our beaches and enjoying the Pacific Ocean, even in the winter period. So we know we want to take action \u2026 It\u2019s not going to be foolproof. We can\u2019t promise it won\u2019t lead to further shark attacks in the future, but we think it\u2019ll mitigate the risk.<\/p>\n Minns also reiterated his opposition to culling great white sharks to prevent future incidents, which some sectors of the community had called for following the attack on Leah Stewart<\/a> at Coogee.<\/p>\n double quotation markThey\u2019re a protected species. They\u2019ve been a protected species since the 90s, and I\u2019m not convinced it would work. I mean, the distances these sharks travel are massive. It\u2019s not like we can knock a few off and send a message to the rest of them \u2026<\/p>\n I think it\u2019s a different situation for bull sharks. Generally they\u2019re in our estuaries \u2026 We\u2019re looking particularly at an audit of the number of sharks in Sydney Harbour. We want to keep people safe, particularly when there\u2019s a higher number of people in the water.<\/p>\n A sign notifying the public of shark-drone surveillance operating in the area at Coogee beach in Sydney on 16 June. Photograph: Hollie Adams\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.11 EDT<\/p>\n Chris Minns announces shark-spotting drone technology to patrol NSW beaches year-round<\/p>\n Shark-spotting drone technology will be deployed in New South Wales<\/a> year-round under a state government investment that it says will be the largest expansion of aerial shark surveillance in the world.<\/p>\n On Sunday, the state government announced an additional $34m in drones, including using artificial intelligence, to scale up coverage across beaches in Sydney and along the state\u2019s coast.<\/p>\n Around 70 beaches will be monitored 365 days of the year, prioritising areas with high numbers of users and where shark incidents have become more common.<\/p>\n A unmanned aerial vehicle pilot flies a Surf Life Saving shark-spotting drone at Coogee beach in Sydney on 16 June. Photograph: Hollie Adams\/Reuters<\/p>\n This expanded monitoring will start 1 July and include year-round coverage across all Sydney beaches expanding from 26 to 38. There will also be two SharkSmart listening stations in Sydney harbour to alert swimmers to the presence of tagged sharks.<\/p>\n The premier, Chris Minns, said people should \u201cfeel confident\u201d visiting the state\u2019s beaches.<\/p>\n double quotation markWhile no one can ever promise no shark interactions, this investment is about putting more eyes in the sky so we can spot sharks earlier and give people a clear heads-up when they\u2019re in the water. More drones in the air means we\u2019re getting a better picture of what\u2019s happening offshore and it means we\u2019ll get better at seeing them.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.44 EDT<\/p>\n Welcome to Sunday 28 June<\/p>\n Good morning, readers.<\/p>\n It\u2019s Caitlin Cassidy here with you this Sunday morning, and we\u2019re kicking things off with a major New South Wales state government scale-up in shark-spotting drone technology after mounting concern over rising shark bites<\/a> in Australia.<\/p>\n The state\u2019s premier, Chris Minns, just appeared on Sky News where he spruiked the program, which follows a shock shark attack<\/a> at Sydney\u2019s popular Coogee beach.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s get started.<\/p>\nKrishani Dhanji<\/p>\n