Anna Funder, an Australian author, tells a press conference that today, she\u2019s \u201cstanding here before you today really as a victim of crime\u201d:<\/p>\n
double quotation markMy books that I\u2019ve lived off for 30 years, have all been hoovered up in many editions, in many countries, in many languages by big tech, broken down for parts and used for them to make money.<\/p>\n
If I look back on my career, which I\u2019m old enough to do now, I feel like I\u2019ve been building slowly and painstakingly with a massive mortgage, a block of flats. Each book is a flat and I rent it out and the money that I get is royalties. These big tech bros have moved into my flats, kicked me out and are charging rent for my work.<\/p>\n
Updated at\u00a020.41 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Independents push for amendments to NDIS bill<\/p>\n Helen Haines and Monique Ryan have put forward a raft of amendments to the government\u2019s NDIS bill, arguing that while the scheme does need reform, the current design will \u201crisk undermining the scheme\u2019s core purpose of providing necessary supports to people with disability\u201d.<\/p>\n They have concerns around access to \u201cactivities of daily living\u201d being cut, transparency over the allocation of funding and ensuring that people in regional areas aren\u2019t pushed out.<\/p>\n Haines said her amendments will \u201cprotect funding that is already approved for \u201cactivities of daily living\u201d from blanket funding reductions; strengthen transparency of decision making for participants by requiring written reasons when requested supports are not approved; and clarify the definition of \u201cappropriate treatment\u201d so that real-world barriers like regional access and affordability of treatments are accounted for.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryan said:<\/p>\n double quotation markAustralians with a disability are not asking for special treatment. They\u2019re asking that we honour the central principle of the NDIS, \u201cNothing about us, without us\u201d. That principle has been completely disregarded in the opaque drafting and rushed presentation of this legislation.<\/p>\n Independent MPs Helen Haines and Monique Ryan in 2024. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.09 EDT<\/p>\n Senate gets a little messier, Labor loses another critical vote<\/p>\n There was a further bit of mess a moment ago in the Senate, because the government again lost a vote on its pharmaceutical prescription bill.<\/p>\n The government had already lost two votes (see below<\/a>), with the Greens and Coalition teaming up to make amendments for the second reading of the bill.<\/p>\n Then on the bill itself, the two parties supported an amendment by Jacqui Lambie to allow eligible podiatrist prescribers to prescribe certain medications on the PBS.<\/p>\n It means the amended bill will go back to the house for a vote.<\/p>\n But Guardian Australia understands the government won\u2019t be supporting that amended bill, which means it\u2019ll be punted right back to the Senate, which creates a little extra drama.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.01 EDT<\/p>\n Australians to regain access to Anthropic\u2019s latest AI models<\/p>\n Australian businesses and the government are set to regain access to the latest Anthropic AI models after the Donald Trump administration lifted export controls on Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5, the company has said.<\/p>\n In early June, the company received an export control directive<\/a> from the Trump administration ordering Anthropic to suspend foreign national access to its frontier models, citing national security concerns.<\/p>\n Anthropic said at the time that its understanding of the government\u2019s concerns was that there was a method of bypassing the safeguards in the AI model. Safeguards are in place to reduce the chance of the AI being misused for things like cybersecurity.<\/p>\n As a result, Anthropic suspended all user access to the models, not just those outside the US.<\/p>\n In a post on X, Anthropic said it would begin restoring access from tomorrow US-time, after the export controls were lifted.<\/p>\n Allow content provided by a third party?<\/p>\n This article includes content hosted on platform.x.com. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Government loses votes in the Senate over pharmaceutical prescription bill<\/p>\n The Greens and Coalition have teamed up to pass amendments over the second reading of the government\u2019s bill which would enable nurse prescribers to prescribe certain pharmaceutical benefits under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.<\/p>\n What exactly does this mean? Great question.<\/p>\n When the government introduces a bill, there\u2019s then a vote to bring on a second reading of it, which is essentially the time where debate on that legislation takes place. The third reading is the passing of the bill through which ever House it\u2019s in.<\/p>\n In the Senate right now, the government is losing votes because the Greens and Coalition are teaming up to add amendments to the vote for the second reading.<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t mean that the bill won\u2019t pass, but it delays the bill, notes the displeasure of the two other parties over certain aspects of the bill and all round puts pressure on the government.<\/p>\n The Greens moved an amendment that calls on the government to \u201cas soon as practicable, allow endorsed podiatrists and podiatric surgeons to access PBS benefits when prescribing medicines\u201d, because they are currently \u201cthe only professions in Australia who can gain endorsement to prescribe medicines but are not able to access PBS benefits for those prescriptions\u201d.<\/p>\n And the Coalition amendment calls on the government to provide a comprehensive response to the 18 recommendations in the \u201cUnleashing the Potential of our Health<\/a> Workforce Scope of Practice review\u201d as a matter of priority, which was handed to the government 18 months ago. That review was about removing barriers stopping health professionals in primary healthcare working to their full scope of practice.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.48 EDT<\/p>\n Anna Funder says her work hoovered up and \u2018broken down for parts\u2019 by big tech<\/p>\n A collection of writers and creatives are in Parliament House today, lobbying the government to not change copyright laws that would allow tech to use Australian creative material to build AI models with little to no compensation.<\/p>\n While the government had previously ruled out copyright exemptions for companies to train AI models, Guardian Australia was last month told competing cabinet submissions about the plan are in train<\/a> \u2013 to establish new exemptions from copyright rules, in exchange for greater investment in Australian hosted datacentres or a possible licensing extension to cover AI model developments.<\/p>\n Anna Funder, an Australian author, tells a press conference that today, she\u2019s \u201cstanding here before you today really as a victim of crime\u201d:<\/p>\n double quotation markMy books that I\u2019ve lived off for 30 years, have all been hoovered up in many editions, in many countries, in many languages by big tech, broken down for parts and used for them to make money.<\/p>\n If I look back on my career, which I\u2019m old enough to do now, I feel like I\u2019ve been building slowly and painstakingly with a massive mortgage, a block of flats. Each book is a flat and I rent it out and the money that I get is royalties. These big tech bros have moved into my flats, kicked me out and are charging rent for my work.<\/p>\n Anna Funder in May. Photograph: Jessica Hromas\/The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.41 EDT<\/p>\n Another day, another politician with a baby photo<\/p>\n For loyal readers of the blog, you\u2019ll know I\u2019m quite the cynic when it comes to pollies taking photos with babies (and never missing an opportunity to do so).<\/p>\n Today the prime minister, Anthony Albanese and social services minister, Tanya Plibersek, are using their 1 July changes to wages and paid parental leave to get some babies in Parliament for a little photo op.<\/p>\n Baby Van looking less than impressed at being used for a photo op. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAPAlbanese with Greta and Baby Van (L) and Hayley and Baby Lucas (R) spruiking the 1 July changes. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAPBaby Van also looking pretty skeptical sitting next to Tanya Plibersek. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Job ready graduates failures \u2018squarely belongs to Labor\u2019, Faruqi says<\/p>\n Over in the Senate this morning, debate is under way on the Greens\u2019 bill to scrap the controversial job ready graduates (JRG) scheme.<\/p>\n Everyone has agreed it\u2019s a policy failure, and the Australian tertiary education commission has said that it will make recommendations to government to fix the system \u2013 but likely only in the second half of next year.<\/p>\n This bill won\u2019t go anywhere because the government won\u2019t support it, but it gives the Greens and opportunity once again to rail against it.<\/p>\n Mehreen Faruqi, the Greens\u2019 higher education spokesperson, who introduced the bill, says:<\/p>\n double quotation markIt is really difficult to overstate just how widely JRG has been condemned as a flawed and failed policy. In the Senate inquiry into this bill recently. It was called one of the worst five policy mistakes made by the commonwealth this century.<\/p>\n The present reality is that JRG belongs to Labor, squarely belongs to Labor. They should have scrapped it the minute they came into government, yet they still haven\u2019t done it.<\/p>\n The quiet tragedy of JRG is not just the students and graduates crushed by debt. It is the people who will never enrol at all.<\/p>\n Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi in March. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAP<\/p>\n Independent senator David Pocock says he doesn\u2019t support all the reforms in the bill but agrees JRG needs urgent reform. He tells the Senate:<\/p>\n double quotation markPBO [Parliamentary Budget Office] modelling I commissioned in 2025 found JRG has jacked up student debt by $10.26bn. New research from Universities Australia shows since 2021, the cost of maintaining a basic student standard of living has increased by 29%, well above economy wide inflation.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.00 EDT<\/p>\n Post-grad international student visa fees more than double in four months<\/p>\n International students wanting to study a post grad degree in Australia will now have to pay $5,750 for a visa, a rise of 25%, and the second in just four months.<\/p>\n At the beginning this year, the visa fee was just $2,300: by March, it had more than doubled to $4,600.<\/p>\n The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (Capa), the national peak body representing about 570,000 postgraduate students, warned the rises will deter the graduates Australia had already trained and weaken the skilled migration pipeline.<\/p>\n Capa\u2019s national president, Jesse Gardner-Russell, said the increases, delivered without warning, \u201c[tell] the best graduates that Australia is an unpredictable place to build a future\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markInternational students are not just another resource to be mined, their value extracted and then shipped offshore, like iron ore. They are a critical component of Australia\u2019s global soft-power and part of our multicultural community.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.28 EDT<\/p>\n Sydney council drops proposal to introduce parking meters to popular beaches Randwick council has voted to drop a controversial proposal to introduce parking metres at popular beaches such as Coogee, Clovelly and Maroubra.<\/p>\n While Sydney\u2019s northern beaches in the Waverley and Mosman LGAs charge for parking with permit schemes available for locals, parking at Randwick\u2019s beaches has remained free. The Labor-led council had proposed that parking revenue could contribute towards the $23.5m annual maintenance cost for beaches.<\/p>\n Coogee beach in 2019. Photograph: Carly Earl\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Last night, councillors voted 10 to five in favour of dropping the plan entirely, even after the council formulated a watered-down version of the plan to introduce charges of up to $5.70 an hour in summer \u2013 less than the $11.60 an hour charged at Bondi, and $10.00 at most of the northern beaches.<\/p>\n It would have reduced the number of metered spaces from 3,300 to 1,400 but campaign groups warned of \u201cmeter creep\u201d once the principle of free parking was walked back.<\/p>\n The original proposal, first flagged in February, sparked fierce community opposition with more than 12,000 people providing feedback during a six-week public consultation \u2013 the largest community engagement process ever conducted by council.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.28 EDT<\/p>\n Queensland begins trialling \u2018antisocial\u2019 laws cracking down on homeless people<\/p>\n Queensland has started a trial of new laws giving police the power to ban people from designated precincts, which advocates are concerned could be used against the homeless.<\/p>\n The bans last for up to three months, and also give the police the right to demand identification from a person who has not committed an offence.<\/p>\n The first precinct is in Maryborough, in Brisbane\u2019s north. The premier, David Crisafulli, has repeatedly talked about the need to evict a group of \u201cantisocial\u201d people from the town\u2019s CBD. The premier said yesterday:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe are going to put all of the resources necessary to return safety to a beautiful town that\u2019s been held in ransomed by a group of some of the worst in society.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve seen the images, I\u2019ve been there firsthand, and you can\u2019t have a proud community like that held to ransom by group of people who are just a revolving door going round and round and round, that\u2019s why we made the change.<\/p>\n Several homeless and human rights groups made submissions during the legislation\u2019s brief parliamentary inquiry, warning that the laws would disproportionately affect homeless people and other vulnerable groups.<\/p>\n The Q Shelter chief executive, Fiona Caniglia, told the bill\u2019s parliamentary committee that \u201chomeless people sometimes have no option but to be in public space\u201d.<\/p>\n Maryborough police said on Wednesday that the trial had got begun that morning. Officers will issue 24-hour move-on directions to \u201coffenders\u201d engaging in disorderly, offensive, threatening or violent behaviour, and repeat or serious \u201coffenders\u201d can also be issued banning notices of up to three months, they said.<\/p>\n Use of the powers does not require a person to break any law.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.07 EDT<\/p>\n NSW firearms reforms take effect<\/p>\n The second phase of the Minns government\u2019s firearm reforms take effect today, including reducing firearm licence terms from five years to two.<\/p>\n The changes are a response to the December Bondi beach terror attack in which 15 people were killed. The reforms were passed as part of the Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2025.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s changes include:<\/p>\n New firearm licences will now last two years, reduced from five;<\/p>\n Identity verification when applying for a licence is now mandatory<\/p>\n A firearm Permit to Acquire will only be issued after a person can prove they meet safety storage requirements, and only if the commissioner of police is satisfied the person has never been investigated for terrorism-related offences.<\/p>\n Decision making functions will be streamlined, including via a $42.8m investments towards additional staff and system upgrades for the NSW Gun Registry.<\/p>\n The state police and counter-terrorism minister, Yasmin Catley, said:<\/p>\n double quotation markFirst and foremost, these changes are about public safety. Owning a firearm is a privilege, not a right.<\/p>\n The Minns Labor government acted decisively after 15 people were killed at Bondi. We\u2019re increasing oversight, reducing risk and will ultimately reduce the number of firearms in the community.<\/p>\n Guns and long-arm rifles handed in as part of a NSW firearms buyback and amnesty in 2017. Photograph: Dean Lewins\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.04 EDT<\/p>\n Albanese backs Treasury modelling despite falling house prices<\/p>\n The prime minister has backed the Treasury department\u2019s modelling that house prices will continue to grow, but 2% slower, and said it\u2019s \u201cgreat news\u201d that first home buyers would have rocked up to auctions over the weekend and not been competing with a bunch of investors.<\/p>\n Just a recap: data from Cotality showed the biggest drop in prices in three years, with prices in Sydney falling 1.2% and in Melbourne 1% in the month of June.<\/p>\n Speaking to ABC News Breakfast a little earlier, Anthony Albanese said the Treasury forecasts were still accurate.<\/p>\n double quotation markTreasury forecasts aren\u2019t week by week, they\u2019re serious forecasts done based upon modelling and a range of other economic modelling, showing exactly the same thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n As a result of these changes, there\u2019ll be increases in the value of houses. It\u2019ll be slightly less [than] 2%, to be precise, than it would have been otherwise.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.42 EDT<\/p>\n Greens push for digital duty of care legislation<\/p>\n Sarah Hanson-Young says the government should be implementing the promised digital duty of care bill now, over the social media ban for under-16s which she says was a \u201cdesign failure right from the beginning\u201d.<\/p>\n The Greens senator says the ban doesn\u2019t require social media platforms to make their online spaces safer for kids and that the algorithms need to be cracked down on.<\/p>\n She says Josh Burns, who yesterday detailed the antisemitic abuse targeting him and his partner<\/a>, is right in that social media is pushing people to hate based on race, religion and bigotry, and that should be stopped.<\/p>\n double quotation markYou know what works? You know what funnels that? What makes that happen? Is these nasty algorithms. That is what churns these social media company\u2019s profits. It is their business model. So if you want to hit them where it hurts, if you want to make these places safer for everybody, you\u2019ve got to tackle them.<\/p>\n Sarah Hanson-Young in June. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.33 EDT<\/p>\n \u2018A chance for the Coalition to actually stand for something\u2019: Greens consider teaming up to push Labor on gambling reforms<\/p>\n The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the government\u2019s gambling reforms don\u2019t go nearly far enough, and confirms her party has been talking with the Coalition to potentially team up to force stronger action from Labor.<\/p>\n She tells ABC RN Breakfast the government\u2019s legislation fails to ban online gambling advertising, which is what the report led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy recommended, doesn\u2019t deliver a national regulator, and doesn\u2019t address gambling inducements.<\/p>\n double quotation markThey\u2019re [the Coalition] at least saying that this doesn\u2019t go far enough and that\u2019s better than what Labor\u2019s putting on the table. But this is a chance for the Coalition to actually stand for something.<\/p>\n The way young people are targeted through this advertising is insidious and we need to stop that. But you know what else hurts young people and children is when their mum or dad is addicted to gambling, when the whole family falls apart, when no one has any money to put food on the table or to pay for the school fees or that next school excursion. And families are being torn apart because of gambling addiction and advertising of this harmful product just needs to stop.<\/p>\n The Greens have said they\u2019ll push for the legislation to be examined by a Senate inquiry \u2013 but that doesn\u2019t necessarily stop the government being able to pass the bill before it, if it gets the support of the Coalition.<\/p>\n![\"Anna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2953.jpg\")
Anna Funder in May. Photograph: Jessica Hromas\/The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Josh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Josh_Taylor.png\")
Josh Taylor<\/p>\n![\"Penry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Penry_Buckley.png\")
Penry Buckley<\/p>\n![\"Andrew](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Andrew_Messenger.png\")
Andrew Messenger<\/p>\n![\"Jordyn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Jordyn_Beazley,_L.png\")
Jordyn Beazley<\/p>\n