Shoebridge does not rule Greens leadership nomination ‘in or out’ ahead of party vote
Tom McIlroy
The Greens are expected to select a new leader as soon as tomorrow, with party members set to attend a two-day retreat in Sydney starting on Wednesday.
Larissa Waters shocked colleagues on Monday by announcing her resignation as leader, due to a chronic kidney condition. The retreat was already scheduled and is now likely to include negotiations over the leadership and other party positions.
The party’s defence spokesperson, David Shoebridge, is considered a possible frontrunner, along with Sarah Hanson-Young and the deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi.
“I’m not here to rule anything in or anything out in terms of leadership,” Shoebridge said. “That will be a matter … that the party room makes a decision on.”
A spokesperson for Faruqi said the NSW senator was considering her options.
All positions within the party room will be spilled, and negotiations to avoid a leadership ballot could be considered.
Updated at 23.36 EDT
Key events
RBA decision coming at 2.30pm eastern
We’re just under half an hour from the RBA interest rate decision. We’ll bring you live updates from our business reporters as soon as we know more.
Sydney police investigating after man found with gunshot wound
NSW police are investigating after a man was shot in Sydney’s south west around lunchtime today.
Officials said officers arrived to an address in Liverpool around 12.40pm, where they found a man, 32, suffering a gunshot wound to his leg. He was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics and taken to the hospital for further treatment.
A crime scene has been established and an investigation into the matter is under way.
Anyone with CCTV or information about the incident is urged to contact the police.
Driver pleads guilty after man killed by vehicle at Melbourne comic convention
A driver who ploughed through a group outside a popular comic convention has pleaded guilty to killing a pedestrian, AAP reports.
Awer Dau, 34, appeared in Melbourne magistrates court on Tuesday on a video link from prison as he entered pleas over the Supanova incident. Dau was behind the wheel of the Toyota sedan that mounted the kerb outside the Melbourne Showgrounds event in Ascot Vale about 5pm on 18 April.
A 20-year-old man died at the scene while another man the same age was seriously injured after being struck by the car.
Dau was charged with offences including culpable driving causing death, negligently causing serious injury, possessing methamphetamine and failing to render assistance after an accident. He only spoke during Tuesday’s brief hearing to confirm his pleas of guilty to the charges.
He did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody to face a plea hearing at the Victorian county court in February.
Updated at 23.48 EDT
Video: crowds of onlookers gather after dead whale washes up on a Perth beach
Surf lifesavers found the dead animal at Perth’s City beach at about 7.30am on Monday and raised the alarm. Local authorities closed the beach for several kilometres in each direction of the carcass, which appeared to be about six metres long. Multiple sharks have been spotted in the area.
Local officials have been trying to arrange for the whale’s removal.
“I’ve been warned by people that were involved in [another] incident … that it is going to be expensive,” Gary Mack, the mayor of the town of Cambridge, told ABC radio Perth this morning.
double quotation markBut one thing we do know is that we can’t wait, we’ve got to get that carcass removed as soon as possible and that’s our intent.
Whale carcass washes up on popular Perth beach, drawing hundreds of onlookers – video
Read more here:
Updated at 23.44 EDT
Ima Caldwell
When does daylight saving start again in Australia?
In one word: Sunday.
Daylight saving returns on the first Sunday of October every year and ends on the first Sunday in April.
In 2026, daylight saving time will recommence on Sunday 4 October at 2am Australian eastern standard time (AEST).
Clocks will move forward one hour to 3am, giving an extra hour of afternoon daylight.
Updated at 23.17 EDT
Shoebridge does not rule Greens leadership nomination ‘in or out’ ahead of party voteTom McIlroy
The Greens are expected to select a new leader as soon as tomorrow, with party members set to attend a two-day retreat in Sydney starting on Wednesday.
Larissa Waters shocked colleagues on Monday by announcing her resignation as leader, due to a chronic kidney condition. The retreat was already scheduled and is now likely to include negotiations over the leadership and other party positions.
The party’s defence spokesperson, David Shoebridge, is considered a possible frontrunner, along with Sarah Hanson-Young and the deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi.
“I’m not here to rule anything in or anything out in terms of leadership,” Shoebridge said. “That will be a matter … that the party room makes a decision on.”
A spokesperson for Faruqi said the NSW senator was considering her options.
All positions within the party room will be spilled, and negotiations to avoid a leadership ballot could be considered.
Updated at 23.36 EDT
Have a question about politics? Ask our Canberra team anything!
It’s already been a busy week in politics.
The RBA is set to raise the cash rate today, with many analysts tipping a further rate rise later in the year.
OpenAI has apologised for a rogue AI agent that breached Medicare.
And the Greens leader, Larissa Waters, has announced she will step down due to ill health prompting questions about who will be the next leader of the party.
Do you have a question about how this will affect the political landscape?
Send us a question and political editor Tom McIlroy may answer it in our brand new newsletter, Politics, really.
Email your question to Politicsreally@theguardian.com, and don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter here.
Illustration: Guardian DesignShare
Updated at 23.19 EDT
Luca Ittimani
First home buyer numbers recover to May levels, broker reports
First home buyer applications have recovered to their May levels as house prices slide around the country, brokers’ group Loan Market has reported.
Applications for first home loans in the second week of September were back at highs not seen since the May budget, the company said. Applications had dropped off in June and July, then started picking up in August.
The recovery will likely be short-lived, with applications slumping each time the Reserve Bank lifts interest rates. Another rate increase is expected this afternoon.
Applications to refinance existing home loans have surged to hit their highest level since March, Loan Market said. That means even more people have looked for a better deal on the mortgage this month than they did in the same period in May.
Property investor applications, meanwhile, are still running lower than they were before the budget, which tweaked their tax breaks. Some landlords will likely be better off under the reforms but investors have been scared off by the market slowdown.
Updated at 22.14 EDT
Achol Arok
Albanese wishes Larissa Waters well as Greens leader steps down over ill health
Anthony Albanese says he has wished outgoing Greens leader Larissa Waters well after she announced she would step down to manage pre-existing kidney disease that has “declined significantly”.
Albanese said he had spoken with Waters and wished her “all the very best for the health issues that she’s dealing with”.
double quotation markWhen I spoke to her, you know, she was going off to see further health checks today. And I wish her well.
This is a job, and a leadership position for a minor party means a lot of travel and a lot of pressure … she wasn’t in a position to be able to do that job going forward. But she intends to stay in the Senate.
Albanese said that, despite their political differences, he wished Waters “all the very best on a personal level”.
double quotation markI obviously have differences with the Greens political party, but this is a human issue. I can also have compassion and I have a good relationship with Larissa …
I thank her for the constructive engagement that I’ve had with her. I work with people across the parliament. We have to do that in order to secure any legislation through our Senate. We haven’t always agreed and we won’t always agree going forward. But I wish her all the very best.
Updated at 23.12 EDT
Albanese says OpenAI talks after the Medicare hack were ‘very constructive’
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking in Adelaide.
He was just asked about any future cut to the fuel excise, but said the government would resist any measure that could increase inflation.
Albanese was also asked again about OpenAI, echoing his remarks yesterday that he spoke to the company’s Sam Altman and had a “constructive discussion”.
double quotation markOpenAI have been very constructive and open in engaging in that process. And I welcome that. … [AI] can provide revolutionary breakthroughs in health and research and science and innovation. But there are risks. And we’ve seen those risks exposed.
So we need to work this through. We see this as an opportunity, but we want to seize the benefit while mitigating the risks.
Updated at 22.23 EDT