Students in Victoria will be kept at home as a second teacher strike disrupts public schools<\/a>, leaving thousands of families to make alternative arrangements.<\/p>\n Anthony Albanese has seemingly shut down prospects of a new tax on gas exports,<\/a> saying he doesn\u2019t interpret a Labor party platform document calling for Australians to get \u201ca fair share\u201d from natural resources as a call for such a new tax.<\/p>\n The prime minister also announced a new Fair Work court<\/a>, which Albanese says will streamline workplace disputes.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s unemployment rate held at 4.4% in June<\/a> after a big jump in the number of employed Australians in the month.<\/p>\n One Nation has been quick to capitalise on <\/a>Barnaby Joyce<\/a>\u2019s viral moment<\/a> yelling at his staffy-border collie Stella to sit down on live television by, you guessed it, selling dog leads.<\/p>\n Macquarie Group\u2019s chief executive, Shemara Wikramanayake, announced she will retire <\/a>in an ASX update on Thursday.<\/p>\n The sex discrimination commissioner, Anna Cody, condemned <\/a>Pauline Hanson<\/a>\u2019s suggestion that domestic violence is a \u201ctwo-way street\u201c<\/a>, warning assigning blame to victim-survivors is \u201charmful, wrong, and dangerous\u201d.<\/p>\n The supreme court of Western Australia has dismissed in full a case<\/a> brought by Woodside Energy against three activists.<\/p>\n The ACT education minister, <\/a>Yvette Berry,<\/a> has resigned from her cabinet role<\/a> after a ACT Integrity Commission report found \u201cserious corrupt conduct by two ACT public officials\u201d.<\/p>\n The energy company Origin has confirmed customers\u2019 addresses and partial bank account data<\/a> has been accessed in a hack that was revealed yesterday.<\/p>\n Thanks for tuning in, see you again tomorrow morning!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Peak union body calls Hanson\u2019s comments on family violence leave \u2018shockingly out of touch\u2019<\/p>\n The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has condemned Pauline Hanson\u2019s comments on paid family and domestic violence leave as \u201cshockingly out of touch\u201d.<\/p>\n It comes after the One Nation leader described paid family and domestic violence leave as \u201choliday leave\u201d, questioned whether it was \u201ca scam\u201d and said police were spending too much time on domestic violence.<\/p>\n ACTU\u2019s president, Michele O\u2019Neil, described Hanson\u2019s remarks as \u201creckless and dangerous\u201d and said people who use the leave \u201care not on a holiday, far from it\u201d. O\u2019Neil said:<\/p>\n double quotation markPauline Hanson needs to be reminded that on average, a woman is killed every nine days by a current or former partner in Australia. One Nation is wrong, and unions will not allow attacks on this hard-won leave to stand.<\/p>\n Unions campaigned and won paid family and domestic violence leave because survivors told us they needed the time, so they didn\u2019t have to choose between going to work to put food on the table or being able to make the break to safety.<\/p>\n President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions Michele O\u2019Neil. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.12 EDT<\/p>\n Former spy refused visa to give evidence at royal commission into Bondi shooters An ex-Asio agent who allegedly has information on the Bondi shooting gunmen has reportedly been denied an Australian visa despite the royal commission\u2019s reported interest in his evidence.<\/p>\n The former undercover agent known as Marcus, had reportedly attempted to apply for a visitor visa in hopes of giving evidence at the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion.<\/p>\n He had previously told ABC that he had warned the spy agency about the two gunmen six years before the massacre.<\/p>\n A letter sent to his lawyers from the royal commission said they were \u201ceager\u201d to facilitate a way of receiving his submission or taking a statement from him, ABC reports.<\/p>\n But his request was reportedly rejected by the Department of Home Affairs over concerns he did not have a \u201cgenuine intention\u201d of staying in Australia temporarily, saying he did not have enough ties to the country he is currently staying in to act as a significant incentive to return.<\/p>\n Information Rights Project, which is paying for Marcus\u2019s safehouse in his current country of residence, has called on the federal government to reverse its decision, with its founder, Gabriel Shipton \u2013 who is also the half-brother of Julian Assange \u2013 telling Guardian Australia:<\/p>\n double quotation markHe\u2019s facing credible death threats from ISIS and he\u2019s trying to protect this family\u2019s lives by being in this third country.<\/p>\n He really wants to come and give testimony as a whistleblower, he\u2019s taken this big risk in revealing himself and becoming a source, and now the minister\u2019s denied him a visa.<\/p>\n It\u2019s bizarre and I hope they can reconsider.<\/p>\n Though he could give evidence to the royal commission from overseas, doing so would not offer him the same legal protections compared to giving onshore evidence, the Greens senator David Shoebridge said as he called on the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, to approve Marcus\u2019s visa during a press conference on Thursday:<\/p>\n double quotation markMinister Burke really has a choice now. He can choose to do the right thing and intervene in the public interest and ensure a visa is granted, and this evidence can be given in person to the royal commission with full protections for the witness, or refuse to act., let this refusal stand, and that will inevitably undermine the credibility of the royal commission and the credibility of the minister.<\/p>\n Burke\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment by the Guardian and the royal commission told Guardian Australia it would not comment on its engagement with particular individuals.<\/p>\n In a statement sent to Guardian Australia, Asio said:<\/p>\n double quotation markWitness appearances are a matter for the royal commission, and Asio will support its decisions.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.57 EDT<\/p>\n Ed Husic urges Labor to embrace internal party debate on Israel-Palestine<\/p>\n In the same Afternoon Briefing interview reported earlier, Ed Husic dismissed concerns that the party\u2019s proposed position on Israel and Palestine would become a point of friction at the party\u2019s conference because of \u201cthe way that debate is managed internally\u201d.<\/p>\n Husic described his party as being \u201callergic to dissent and dispute\u201d, but warned that this may not work \u201cin our long-term interests as a party\u201d. He said:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe have become so obsessed about not showing disunity, because we figure that that translates into some negative sense in the public\u2019s mind. I\u2019d actually argue the counter.<\/p>\n The public want to see politicians, particularly in our camp, stand up for something. We don\u2019t sign up for the status quo. We sign up for change. That is not always going to be an easy process.<\/p>\n And the thing is, if you can\u2019t argue your point on a conference floor or in a caucus room, how do you argue it outside?<\/p>\n Ed Husic at the ALP national conference. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.39 EDT<\/p>\n Ed Husic calls for stronger \u2018practical steps\u2019 in relation to Israel<\/p>\n Labor MP Ed Husic has called for stronger \u201cpractical steps\u201d from the federal government in relation to Israel and Palestine, on the sidelines of the first day of the party\u2019s conference in South Australia.<\/p>\n Husic said he did not think \u201cstatements are going to cut it any more with the [Benjamin] Netanyahu government\u201d.<\/p>\n Speaking to ABC\u2019s Afternoon Briefing, he said:<\/p>\n double quotation markThey basically take them up and roll them up and ignore them, chuck them over their shoulder, ignore them. We do need to take a number of steps, and we need to take those practical steps.<\/p>\n When asked about his reaction to Israel\u2019s embassy complaint ahead of Labor\u2019s national conference on the party\u2019s proposed position on Israel and Palestine, he said:<\/p>\n double quotation markI do think that it is inappropriate and I do think that it is out of their playbook \u2026 And if this type of leverage that they seek to use, it\u2019s quite frankly not right. I could never imagine an Australian government, through our embassy, our officials issuing such public commentary in that way.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.31 EDT<\/p>\n Former Liberal cabinet minister attends Labor fringe event<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a name you might not expect at the ALP National Labor conference \u2026 it\u2019s the former Liberal defence minister, Christopher Pyne.<\/p>\n The former Liberal moderate \u2013 who calls South Australia home \u2013 is appearing as the now independent chair of the Council on the Ageing (COTA).<\/p>\n COTA is hosting a fringe event (a bunch of events that take place alongside the conference) calling for aged care reforms. Pyne is on a panel with a group of other advocates and experts.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.08 EDT<\/p>\n Financial markets reckon RBA will hike by the end of the year<\/p>\n Financial markets now fully expect another Reserve Bank interest rate rise by the end of the year, with the chance of a hike as soon as next month doubling to 36% after solid jobs figures this morning.<\/p>\n The jump in oil prices after the collapse of the US-Iran ceasefire<\/a> has been accompanied by rising fears of a fresh inflationary pulse as fuel costs climb higher.<\/p>\n Bets that the RBA will have to hike for a fourth time have now firmed after ABS data showed employment rose by 76,000 in June, even as the key jobless measure stayed at 4.4%.<\/p>\n Financial markets are now fully pricing in a lift in the RBA\u2019s cash rate from 4.35% to 4.6% by December against an implied 80% chance before today\u2019s release of the official labour stats.<\/p>\n Similarly, the probability of a hike on 11 August jumped to 36%.<\/p>\n But Taylor Nugent, a senior economist at NAB, said he believed unemployment would push higher through the rest of 2026 and that the central bank would stay on hold as the economy slowed.<\/p>\n Nugent, however, recognised that next month\u2019s RBA board meeting would be \u201clive\u201d, estimating a 30% chance of a hike.<\/p>\n double quotation markWe think the RBA is most likely to stay on hold, but we certainly acknowledge these inflation risks are real and that in the near term they may feel compelled to lean against them more forcefully.<\/p>\n The RBA is tipped to raise the cash rate by the end of the year after the collapse of the US-Iran ceasefire. Photograph: Daniel Munoz\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.15 EDT<\/p>\n Labor conference closes day one sans drama<\/p>\n The first day of Labor conference is coming to an end with no major controversies or drama.<\/p>\n The second part of the afternoon began debate on the environment and energy security portfolio.<\/p>\n Anthony Albanese runs a tight ship in his caucus (ie there\u2019s no room for dissent), and it\u2019s clear a tight ship has been run at the conference too \u2013 known in the past for big fights and plenty of shouting. While we\u2019ve seen a few impassioned speeches today, there haven\u2019t been any spicy debates.<\/p>\n Tomorrow the conference will debate motions on gambling \u2013 the wording of those amendments is still being worked out but we know a few of the key issues will be around a national regulator for the sector and a ban on inducements. Those were both recommendations from the landmark, \u201cYou win some, you lose more\u201d report.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.50 EDT<\/p>\n Queensland social housing wait times blow out to 31 months<\/p>\n The average wait time for a social housing dwelling in Queensland has blown out to 31 months, parliamentary estimates has heard.<\/p>\n The state minister for housing, Sam O\u2019Connor, said the state\u2019s social housing waiting list has dropped to 41,298 people from a record 58,927 people last year, though only 5,300 households were housed, with most applications cancelled or ruled ineligible.<\/p>\n But the average wait time for high and very high social housing applicants spiked from about 21 months last year to 31.7 months, the hearing heard.<\/p>\n During the estimates hearing, Labor tabled leaked documents showing the government had quietly cut $42m from its immediate housing response program, which pays to accommodate homeless people in hotels and motels.<\/p>\n The document revealed this would lead to less funding to a string of homelessness services including the Salvation Army and the Brisbane Youth Service, causing job losses. The document dubbed these decisions as of \u201chigh political sensitivity\u201d.<\/p>\n The Department of Housing\u2019s director general, Mark Cridland, told the committee that the number of people covered by the program had dropped from 2,150 households last March to 1,237 currently. He said 3,252 households had been found a home, drastically reducing the demand on the program.<\/p>\n Labor shadow minister Meaghan Scanlon told media outside the hearing that there had been no reduction in rough sleeping and \u201cthe only reason there would be less demand on homeless services is because he changed the rules, which has reduced the number of people who can now even ask for help\u201d.<\/p>\n Read more here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.37 EDT<\/p>\n Origin confirms hackers accessed energy customers\u2019 partial bank details The energy company Origin has confirmed customers\u2019 addresses and partial bank account data has been accessed in a hack that was revealed yesterday.<\/p>\n In a statement to the ASX this afternoon, the energy company said impacted data may include: \u201cname, address, date of birth, contact phone number and account information, as well as the last four digits of a credit card, or the last three digits of a bank account.\u201d<\/p>\n Origin\u2019s statement noted that incomplete credit card or bank account information cannot be used to make purchases or access accounts.<\/p>\n It said it would advise customers once it confirmed they had been impacted but was still confirming which and how many customers had been affected.<\/p>\n Origin has 4.8m customer accounts in Australia and provides electricity, natural gas, LPG, and internet services to homes and businesses.<\/p>\n Origin\u2019s chief executive, Frank Calabria, said the company was securing its systems and ensuring there was no further unauthorised access by working with independent cyber experts and authorities. He said:<\/p>\n double quotation markI\u2019m sorry this has happened. Customers trust Origin with their information, and I apologise for the impact this may cause.<\/p>\n Origin said the Australian Cyber Security Centre, the Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner were all engaged.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.19 EDT<\/p>\n ACT education minister resigns after corruption findings for two staff in her portfolio<\/p>\n The ACT education minister, Yvette Berry, has resigned from her cabinet role after a ACT Integrity Commission report found \u201cserious corrupt conduct by two ACT public officials\u201d.<\/p>\n The commission investigated whether the process to procure a firm for the Campbell Primary School Modernisation Project was conducted with probity and whether public officials \u201cfailed to exercise their official functions honestly and or impartially\u201d.<\/p>\n In a video statement<\/a> posted to social media, Berry said she would take \u201cfull responsibility\u201d for the findings relating to her staff, despite the report making no findings of corruption against her. She said:<\/p>\n double quotation markWhen you are a minister, you have significant responsibilities. I have always held those responsibilities and myself to high standards.<\/p>\n I will take full responsibility for the findings made about my staff. You know I have never backed down from responsibility, even when it gets hard, and this is no doubt hard. I have made this decision because I don\u2019t want a parliamentary public circus to follow this report. My family don\u2019t deserve it and my colleagues don\u2019t deserve it, and I have no intention of giving the Opposition and the Greens political party that satisfaction.<\/p>\n Berry will remain in parliament as a backbencher.<\/p>\n Yvette Berry earlier in July. Photograph: Hilary Wardhaugh\/Getty Images for A-LeaguesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.28 EDT<\/p>\n Macquarie chair predicts fossil fuel funding will continue \u2018for some time\u2019<\/p>\n Macquarie\u2019s chair has predicted fossil fuel funding will continue \u201cfor some time\u201d as the company avoided a shareholder push for climate transparency.<\/p>\n At its AGM today, 17.9% of shareholders voted to force Macquarie to disclose how its fossil fuel financing aligns with its commitment to the goals of the Paris Agreement.<\/p>\n Glenn Stevens, Macquarie\u2019s chair, told the AGM this morning Macquarie remains committed to the goals of the Paris Agreement through an \u201corderly transition\u201d to green energy.<\/p>\n Ian Dunlop, a former chair of the Australian Coal Association and former executive and oil and gas company Shell, told the meeting Macquarie was backing \u201cfossil fuel expansion\u201d in practice. Stevens said in response:<\/p>\n double quotation markThe basis of Macquarie\u2019s approach is our understanding that there will need to be some fossil fuel investment for quite possibly some time yet \u2026 The [emissions] targets that we set several years ago are the same targets now.<\/p>\n Kyle Robertson, the research director at Market Forces, the advocacy group that backed the resolution, said this afternoon:<\/p>\n double quotation markInvestors from across the globe have sounded the alarm on Macquarie\u2019s fossil fuel finance, but many have let the group off the hook for enabling massive new gas projects which are hurtling us towards climate catastrophe.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.28 EDT<\/p>\n WA supreme court dismisses Woodside case against activists The supreme court of Western Australia has dismissed in full a case brought by Woodside Energy against three activists.<\/p>\n The case relates to a protest on 1 June 2023, in which Kristen Morrissey caused approximately 2,500 Woodside employees to be evacuated by a hoax \u201cgas leak\u201d using \u201cstench gas\u201d.<\/p>\n The oil and gas company alleged that other people were involved in the protest and asked the court to order Emil Davey, Joana Partyka and Kristen Morrissey to reveal the identities of any other such people.<\/p>\n The three anti-Woodside campaigners had already been charged and convicted in relation to the protest.<\/p>\n In 2025, Morrisey was charged with doing an act with intent to annoy and doing an act to create false belief. Partyka and Davey, who were not present at the protest but were arrested in WA counter-terror police raids weeks later, were charged with doing an act to create false belief.<\/p>\n All activists pleaded guilty to the charges and were convicted in the district court of Western Australia.<\/p>\n Woodside\u2019s legal action sought access to information about other people involved. But in a decision on Thursday, Justice Matthew Howard said the evidence and submissions presented by Woodside did not \u201crise above mere conjecture or speculation\u201d.<\/p>\n Joana Partyka, a ceramic artist and campaigner represented by Climate Defenders Australia, said:<\/p>\n double quotation markAfter three long years of Woodside\u2019s legal threat hanging over our heads, we stand vindicated in the eyes of history \u2013 Woodside is completely humiliated.<\/p>\n The case was the first time since the \u201cGunns 20\u201d in Tasmania in 2005 that a large resources company had sought to target an activist campaign using Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (known as a SLAPP suit).<\/p>\n Artist Joana Partyka at the Museum of Western Australia in 2023. Photograph: Joana PartykaShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.56 EDT<\/p>\n Labor environment group passes amendment paring back fuel tax credits The amendment is adopted unanimously and without any drama (none of the delegates vote against), which gets a huge round of applause from the spectator benches.<\/p>\n The room is divided by the 400 delegates on the floor and then spectator benches which includes media, lobbyists, and other observers.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a contingent of around a dozen LEAN supporters in green T-shirts sitting in the room, who erupt in cheers as the amendment is supported.<\/p>\n But as we noted a little earlier, this doesn\u2019t doesn\u2019t mean that the fuel tax credits will necessarily be wound back by the government, even though there\u2019s plenty of appetite for it within the caucus \u2013 and the rank and file.<\/p>\n A few MPs around the conference today say they\u2019re hopeful the changes will be made at some point, but don\u2019t think it\u2019ll be done very soon as the globe continues to grapple with fuel insecurity due to the war in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.42 EDT<\/p>\n New South Wales firefighters to help battle Californian wildfires<\/p>\n Two dozen New South Wales firefighters will be deployed to the United States to assist with ongoing wildfires<\/a> hitting California, the state\u2019s Royal Fire Service has confirmed.<\/p>\n The NSW contingent includes 26 incident management and specialist firefighters, part of a contingent of 74 people across Australia that were formally requested by the National Interagency Fire Centre in the US.<\/p>\n The group will help battle more than 72 large wildfires which have burnt millions of hectares across the United States.<\/p>\n The NSW contingent will head off on Friday morning.<\/p>\n Last month, three firefighters were killed and two others were hurt while responding to wildfires<\/a> along the Colorado<\/a>–Utah<\/a> border. And a fortnight ago, a pilot who was helping to fight a wildfire in Colorado<\/a> has died after the aviator\u2019s aircraft crashed into a reservoir<\/p>\n![\"Kat](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Kat_Wong.png\")
Kat Wong<\/p>\n![\"Krishani](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784815840_338_Krishani_Dhanji.png\")
Krishani Dhanji<\/p>\n![\"Patrick](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784815840_693_Patrick_Commins.png\")
Patrick Commins<\/p>\nKrishani Dhanji<\/p>\n![\"Andrew](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784815841_851_Andrew_Messenger.png\")
Andrew Messenger<\/p>\n![\"Luca](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784815841_90_Luca_Ittimani.png\")
Luca Ittimani<\/p>\nLuca Ittimani<\/p>\n![\"Petra](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784815842_204_Petra_Stock.png\")
Petra Stock<\/p>\nKrishani Dhanji<\/p>\n