Patrick Commins
Allegra Spender says WA premier’s insults aimed at Productivity Commission were ‘unacceptable’
Independent MP Allegra Spender has thrown her support behind the Productivity Commission, agreeing that the WA premier’s name-calling was “simply unacceptable from major public figures”.
Roger Cook branded the PC “east coast clowns” after the release of an interim report that found the sweetheart GST deal struck with Western Australia in 2018 was a costly mistake that should be reversed.
Angela Jackson, a PC commissioner and co-author of the report, this morning said the premier’s attacks had “crossed a line”.
Spender, whose electorate is in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, in a statement said it was “frustrating” that Anthony Albanese, the prime minister, had effectively ruled out any changes to WA’s GST deal before the independent inquiry had even run its course. Spender said:
double quotation markWhen Roger Cook calls highly qualified and capable public servants ‘clowns’ he is seeking to disparage people tasked with giving government frank advice.
You may disagree with their views, but this kind of language directed at public servants is simply unacceptable from major public figures.
She said it was also “disappointing to hear the federal resources minister [Madeleine King] describe these comments as ‘fair enough’ on radio yesterday”.
double quotation markThey drag public debate down.
Allegra Spender. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShare
Updated at 23.30 EDT
Key events
Major childcare provider Edge Early Learning goes into voluntary administration
Edge Early Learning, a major childcare provider with centres in Queensland, South Australia and the ACT, has gone into voluntary administration.
The company will continue to operate all centres on a “business-as-usual basis’ with no change to care arrangements or opening hours and staffing.
The company said on its website:
double quotation markWe understand that this may be a confusing and stressful development for families who rely upon Edge Early Learning to provide care for their children.
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Jordyn Beazley
Hi there, I’ll now be with you for the next little while.
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Nick Visser
That’s all for me. Jordyn Beazley will take things from here. Take care.
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Benita Kolovos
Jess Wilson says secret levy to help fund Suburban Rail Loop is ‘the final nail in the coffin’ for Victorian government
The Victorian opposition leader, Jess Wilson, has described the revelation public transport users have been paying a secret levy to help fund the Suburban Rail Loop as “the final nail in the coffin for this government”.
An auditor general report into the first stage of the SRL – from Cheltenham to Box Hill – tabled in parliament this morning, revealed the government added a 1% levy on public transport fares on 1 January 2025 but did not inform Victorians.
The auditor general said 60% of the revenue earned will go to SRL East.
The premier, Ben Carroll, was public transport minister when the levy was approved in 2021.
Speaking outside parliament this afternoon, Wilson said:
double quotation markWhen VAGO handed down this report today, I expected to see cost blowouts. I expected to see delays to this project, but never in my wildest dreams did I think that there would be secret taxes levied on Victorians.
She said Carroll has “lied to Victorians” – and questioned “How many more secret taxes are there?”
Wilson went on:
double quotation markThis is just the final nail in the coffin for this government. I think we’ve seen a government that will lie to Victorians time and time and time again but hiding this, and for the auditor general to expose it, for the premier to fail to be upfront with Victorians at any point in time when he signed off on this, when he went to the 2022 election, when he became the premier of this state, it just demonstrates Ben Carroll has no integrity.
The Victorian opposition leader, Jess Wilson. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAPShare
Updated at 00.53 EDT
Patrick Commins
Chalmers defends ‘good people’ of the PC from WA premier’s sledges
Jim Chalmers has said the WA premier’s insults directed at the independent Productivity Commission were inappropriate, as he defended the “public-minded, public-spirited people” at the government’s top economic advisory body.
Roger Cook previously labeled the PC as “east coast clowns” after the PC released a scathing interim report into the Morrison government’s 2018 sweetheart GST deal, which has delivered tens of billions of extra taxpayer dollars to the country’s richest state.
The attacks have sparked a spirited defence from leading PC officials over the past 24 hours.
When asked about Cook’s sledge, Chalmers told journalists this afternoon: “I don’t believe that is appropriate.
double quotation markI think you can disagree with the conclusions of the Productivity Commission without denigrating them. I think it’s important that, even when those conclusions are contested, as they often will be, that we continue to respect the people of the PC and the really important work that they do.
Jim Chalmers. Photograph: AAP
The treasurer also defended Anthony Albanese, who has already pre-empted the PC’s final report by ruling out any changes for as long as he is prime minister.
Albanese yesterday dismissed the PC officials as “economic rationalists” but Chalmers denied this was meant as an insult.
“I don’t consider what the PM said to be inappropriate but I think some of the other commentary around it [the PC report] has been unfortunate,” he said.
Updated at 00.28 EDT
Lisa Cox
Red fox found with suspected bird flu in South Australia
A red fox has been found with suspected H5 bird flu in metropolitan Adelaide.
The South Australian government said a wildlife worker reported the fox after finding it displaying unusual neurological symptoms in sand dunes in Osborne near Port Adelaide. The animal has since been euthanised.
The state reported four other suspected bird flu events, including a case in a little penguin at Southend on the Limestone Coast.
Deakin University’s Prof Euan Ritchie said foxes – a feral pest species – were “highly opportunistic” scavengers and it was not surprising to see them come into contact with bird flu.
Ritchie said foxes were no more mobile than birds affected by the virus but they did move regularly through urban areas, including back yards and under houses:
double quotation markThis can bring them into contact with our pets, such as cats, dogs and chickens, and it’s therefore another timely reminder to keep our much-loved companion animals safely contained to avoid any potential risk of disease transmission.
Jack Gough of the Invasive Species Council said the suspected case highlighted the risk of exposure for “scavenging Australian mammals like Tasmanian devils and quolls that are already under huge extinction pressure”.
Updated at 00.03 EDT
NSW police investigating after alleged theft of $350,000 in oysters
NSW police are investigating after 400,000 juvenile oysters, worth an estimated $350,000, were stolen near Taree on the state’s mid north coast earlier this year.
Officials said they received the report of an alleged theft at an oyster farm in Scotts Creek on Oxley Island, where they were told about 320 aquaculture oyster bags containing the juveniles had been taken.
A crime scene has been established and police have appealed for anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage of the alleged theft to come forward.
Updated at 00.10 EDT
Patrick Commins
Allegra Spender says WA premier’s insults aimed at Productivity Commission were ‘unacceptable’
Independent MP Allegra Spender has thrown her support behind the Productivity Commission, agreeing that the WA premier’s name-calling was “simply unacceptable from major public figures”.
Roger Cook branded the PC “east coast clowns” after the release of an interim report that found the sweetheart GST deal struck with Western Australia in 2018 was a costly mistake that should be reversed.
Angela Jackson, a PC commissioner and co-author of the report, this morning said the premier’s attacks had “crossed a line”.
Spender, whose electorate is in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, in a statement said it was “frustrating” that Anthony Albanese, the prime minister, had effectively ruled out any changes to WA’s GST deal before the independent inquiry had even run its course. Spender said:
double quotation markWhen Roger Cook calls highly qualified and capable public servants ‘clowns’ he is seeking to disparage people tasked with giving government frank advice.
You may disagree with their views, but this kind of language directed at public servants is simply unacceptable from major public figures.
She said it was also “disappointing to hear the federal resources minister [Madeleine King] describe these comments as ‘fair enough’ on radio yesterday”.
double quotation markThey drag public debate down.
Allegra Spender. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShare
Updated at 23.30 EDT
Benita Kolovos
Victorian treasurer defends public transport levy
The Victorian treasurer, Colin Brooks, held a press conference earlier this morning – just minutes after a report by the state’s auditor general revealed the government has been secretly charging public transport users extra to help pay for the Suburban Rail Loop.
The report into the first stage of the SRL – from Cheltenham to Box Hill – revealed the government added a 1% levy on public transport fares on top of existing adjustments in line with inflation on 1 January 2025 but did not inform Victorians.
The auditor general said 60% of the revenue earned will go to SRL East but the levy has not been named as one of the government’s value capture methods for the project.
Brooks told reporters that’s because “it’s not part of the value capture framework that we’re using for SRL”. He went on:
double quotation markSuburban Rail Loop East has a very clear funding model – three components: value capture, state government and the federal government. In terms of the value capture framework, the charge that you’re talking about is not part of that framework.
He said revenue from the levy was “going back into public transport infrastructure, and services across the state” not just SRL East.
Brooks however admitted the government “could have been more transparent about how we’re investing that money”:
double quotation markI say this genuinely, the auditor general plays a really important function in terms of providing government with advice, and so they’ve highlighted the fact that this charge we’re not we haven’t been really transparent around where this is being spent.
He said he didn’t know when it was approved and first learned about it – despite being treasurer for four weeks – when he read the report.
Updated at 23.07 EDT
Moment of silence in Porepunkah for slain officers
Silence has hung over a picturesque police station as hundreds stood in respect to mark one year since two officers were gunned down by Dezi Freeman, AAP reports.
It was on 26 August 2025 when detective leading senior constable Neal Thompson and senior constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart and eight other officers went to Freeman’s remote home in Victoria’s high country.
After attempting to serve a warrant to Freeman at the Porepunkah property, 310km north-east of Melbourne, the two officers were shot dead and a third officer was left seriously injured, sparking a huge manhunt for the killer.
Dianne Thompson, third from left, and Lois Kirk, centre, during a service marking the deaths of the two officers. Photograph: James Ross/AAP
On Wednesday morning, a minute’s silence was held at Bright police station, where more than 400 police officers and family members filled the crowd.
Heartfelt tributes punctuated the hour-long service, with tributes delivered and officers reflecting on their time working alongside the pair.
Lois Kirk and Dianne Thompson, the sisters of Thompson, said the past year had been very difficult.
double quotation markWe miss our big brother every single day. Neal was fiercely loyal, a natural leader and just as tough as he was soft. It’s what made him such a good police officer. He followed in the footsteps of our grandfather and never wanted to be anything else. He truly loved his job.
Updated at 23.15 EDT
Josh Butler
Melons from Japanese PM valued at $200 each, government documents reveal
Anthony Albanese’s department confirmed the Japanese crown melons he received from Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, were valued at $200 each, explaining why they weren’t declared on the prime minister’s register of interests.
Documents provided to the Senate by Albanese’s assistant minister, Patrick Gorman, reveal official government gift records cataloguing the receipt of four Japanese melons – two handed over directly from Takaichi to Albanese on her visit to Canberra in May, and then another two apparently delivered to The Lodge via the Japanese embassy in June.
Each of the four melons was valued at $200, according to the gift documents shared with the Senate.
They later, of course, were at the centre of the so-called “melongate” controversy after Albanese’s description of the gift on the Bush Deep podcast.
Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, and Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images
The PM, in the podcast, described the melon gift as “pretty strange but ended up being quite good” – and he must have enjoyed them in the end, because all four were “retained by recipient”, the documents state.
The first two were given directly by Takaichi during the dinner, according to the documents, with another two handed to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet from the Japanese embassy, then later dropped off at The Lodge.
The documents were obtained after a request from One Nation senator Sean Bell, with the documents later uploaded on to the parliament’s website.
The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, had questioned why the melons weren’t declared on Albanese’s parliamentary register of interests, alongside other gifts he received from Takaichi. But the departmental records show each gift of two melons, valued at $200 for each individual fruit, came to $400 all up – below the threshold for declaring gifts, which is $750.
Updated at 23.32 EDT
Further to the news just now that federal Labor MP Luke Gosling has stepped aside from his special envoy role, you can read more on the background to that, and the charges laid against him, here:
ShareNT Labor MP Luke Gosling stands aside as special envoy
Tom McIlroy
Northern Territory Labor MP Luke Gosling has stood aside as Anthony Albanese’s special envoy for veterans and northern Australia, a day after police charged him with one count of breaching bail conditions.
He is fighting charges from July, when he was arrested over the alleged assault of the territory’s administrator, David Connolly.
Gosling was charged with two counts of assault over an incident that allegedly occurred at a cultural festival in Darwin last month.
Albanese and Gosling had resisted pressure for him to stand aside from the envoy role, which is not part of the federal ministry.
He said in a statement on Wednesday:
double quotation markDue to the ongoing media attention and the distraction that this is causing to the business of government, I have decided to temporarily stand aside as special envoy for defence, veterans’ affairs and Northern Australia, until these matters have been heard.
Labor MP Luke Gosling. Photograph: AAPShare
Updated at 22.26 EDT
Inflation eases less than expected to 3.5%Patrick Commins
Inflation has dropped to 3.5% in the year to July, from 3.8%, as fuel prices rebounded in the month and building costs jumped.
The headline rate was down but came in substantially stronger than economists had predicted, with the consensus forecast for inflation to drop to 3.2%.
The ABS data also showed the Reserve Bank’s preferred measure of underlying inflation also holding at 3.6%, rather than moderating to 3.5% as had been expected.
The cost of home building was the largest contributor to the annual headline inflation rate, climbing by 5% in the year, while grocery prices climbed by 3.2%.
Financial markets ahead of the latest consumer price data were pricing in a roughly 60% chance of an RBA interest rate hike by December, and this morning’s figures make another rate increase more likely.
What is inflation and how does it affect you? | News glossary – videoShare
Updated at 21.46 EDT