![\"Patrick](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787721011_927_Patrick_Commins.png\")
Patrick Commins<\/p>\nPatrick Commins<\/p>\n
Allegra Spender says WA premier\u2019s insults aimed at Productivity Commission were \u2018unacceptable\u2019<\/p>\n
Independent MP Allegra Spender has thrown her support behind the Productivity Commission, agreeing that the WA premier\u2019s name-calling was \u201csimply unacceptable from major public figures\u201d.<\/p>\n
Roger Cook branded the PC \u201ceast coast clowns\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Angela Jackson, a PC commissioner and co-author of the report, this morning said the premier\u2019s attacks had \u201ccrossed a line\u201d.<\/p>\n
Spender, whose electorate is in Sydney\u2019s eastern suburbs, in a statement said it was \u201cfrustrating\u201d that Anthony Albanese, the prime minister, had effectively ruled out any changes to WA\u2019s GST deal before the independent inquiry had even run its course. Spender said:<\/p>\n
double quotation markWhen Roger Cook calls highly qualified and capable public servants \u2018clowns\u2019 he is seeking to disparage people tasked with giving government frank advice.<\/p>\n
You may disagree with their views, but this kind of language directed at public servants is simply unacceptable from major public figures.<\/p>\n
She said it was also \u201cdisappointing to hear the federal resources minister [Madeleine King] describe these comments as \u2018fair enough\u2019 on radio yesterday\u201d.<\/p>\n
double quotation markThey drag public debate down.<\/p>\n
Updated at\u00a023.30 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Major childcare provider Edge Early Learning goes into voluntary administration<\/p>\n Edge Early Learning, a major childcare provider with centres in Queensland, South Australia and the ACT, has gone into voluntary administration.<\/p>\n The company will continue to operate all centres on a \u201cbusiness-as-usual basis\u2019 with no change to care arrangements or opening hours and staffing.<\/p>\n The company said<\/a> on its website:<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Hi there, I\u2019ll now be with you for the next little while.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> That\u2019s all for me. Jordyn Beazley will take things from here. Take care.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Jess Wilson says secret levy to help fund Suburban Rail Loop is \u2018the final nail in the coffin\u2019 for Victorian government<\/p>\n 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 \u201cthe final nail in the coffin for this government\u201d.<\/p>\n An auditor general report into the first stage of the SRL \u2013 from Cheltenham to Box Hill \u2013 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.<\/p>\n The auditor general said 60% of the revenue earned will go to SRL East.<\/p>\n The premier, Ben Carroll, was public transport minister when the levy was approved in 2021.<\/p>\n Speaking outside parliament this afternoon, Wilson said:<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n She said Carroll has \u201clied to Victorians\u201d \u2013 and questioned \u201cHow many more secret taxes are there?\u201d<\/p>\n Wilson went on:<\/p>\n double quotation markThis is just the final nail in the coffin for this government. I think we\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n The Victorian opposition leader, Jess Wilson. Photograph: Joel Carrett\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.53 EDT<\/p>\n Chalmers defends \u2018good people\u2019 of the PC from WA premier\u2019s sledges<\/p>\n Jim Chalmers has said the WA premier\u2019s insults directed at the independent Productivity Commission were inappropriate, as he defended the \u201cpublic-minded, public-spirited people\u201d at the government\u2019s top economic advisory body.<\/p>\n Roger Cook previously labeled the PC as \u201ceast coast clowns\u201d after the PC released a scathing interim report into the Morrison government\u2019s 2018 sweetheart GST deal, which has delivered tens of billions of extra taxpayer dollars to the country\u2019s richest state.<\/p>\n The attacks have sparked a spirited defence from leading PC officials over the past 24 hours.<\/p>\n When asked about Cook\u2019s sledge, Chalmers told journalists this afternoon: \u201cI don\u2019t believe that is appropriate.<\/p>\n double quotation markI think you can disagree with the conclusions of the Productivity Commission without denigrating them. I think it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Jim Chalmers. Photograph: AAP<\/p>\n The treasurer also defended Anthony Albanese, who has already pre-empted the PC\u2019s final report by ruling out any changes for as long as he is prime minister.<\/p>\n Albanese yesterday dismissed the PC officials as \u201ceconomic rationalists\u201d but Chalmers denied this was meant as an insult.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t consider what the PM said to be inappropriate but I think some of the other commentary around it [the PC report] has been unfortunate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.28 EDT<\/p>\n Red fox found with suspected bird flu in South Australia<\/p>\n A red fox has been found with suspected H5 bird flu in metropolitan Adelaide.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The state reported four other suspected bird flu events, including a case in a little penguin at Southend on the Limestone Coast.<\/p>\n Deakin University\u2019s Prof Euan Ritchie said foxes \u2013 a feral pest species \u2013 were \u201chighly opportunistic\u201d scavengers and it was not surprising to see them come into contact with bird flu.<\/p>\n 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:<\/p>\n double quotation markThis can bring them into contact with our pets, such as cats, dogs and chickens, and it\u2019s therefore another timely reminder to keep our much-loved companion animals safely contained to avoid any potential risk of disease transmission.<\/p>\n Jack Gough of the Invasive Species Council said the suspected case highlighted the risk of exposure for \u201cscavenging Australian mammals like Tasmanian devils and quolls that are already under huge extinction pressure\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.03 EDT<\/p>\n NSW police investigating after alleged theft of $350,000 in oysters<\/p>\n NSW police are investigating after 400,000 juvenile oysters, worth an estimated $350,000, were stolen near Taree on the state\u2019s mid north coast earlier this year.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n A crime scene has been established and police have appealed for anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage of the alleged theft to come forward.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.10 EDT<\/p>\n Allegra Spender says WA premier\u2019s insults aimed at Productivity Commission were \u2018unacceptable\u2019<\/p>\n Independent MP Allegra Spender has thrown her support behind the Productivity Commission, agreeing that the WA premier\u2019s name-calling was \u201csimply unacceptable from major public figures\u201d.<\/p>\n Roger Cook branded the PC \u201ceast coast clowns\u201d 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.<\/p>\n Angela Jackson, a PC commissioner and co-author of the report, this morning said the premier\u2019s attacks had \u201ccrossed a line\u201d.<\/p>\n Spender, whose electorate is in Sydney\u2019s eastern suburbs, in a statement said it was \u201cfrustrating\u201d that Anthony Albanese, the prime minister, had effectively ruled out any changes to WA\u2019s GST deal before the independent inquiry had even run its course. Spender said:<\/p>\n double quotation markWhen Roger Cook calls highly qualified and capable public servants \u2018clowns\u2019 he is seeking to disparage people tasked with giving government frank advice.<\/p>\n You may disagree with their views, but this kind of language directed at public servants is simply unacceptable from major public figures.<\/p>\n She said it was also \u201cdisappointing to hear the federal resources minister [Madeleine King] describe these comments as \u2018fair enough\u2019 on radio yesterday\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markThey drag public debate down.<\/p>\n Allegra Spender. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.30 EDT<\/p>\n Victorian treasurer defends public transport levy<\/p>\n The Victorian treasurer, Colin Brooks, held a press conference earlier this morning \u2013 just minutes after a report by the state\u2019s auditor general revealed the government has been secretly charging public transport users extra to help pay for the Suburban Rail Loop.<\/p>\n The report into the first stage of the SRL \u2013 from Cheltenham to Box Hill \u2013 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s value capture methods for the project.<\/p>\n Brooks told reporters that\u2019s because \u201cit\u2019s not part of the value capture framework that we\u2019re using for SRL\u201d. He went on:<\/p>\n double quotation markSuburban Rail Loop East has a very clear funding model \u2013 three components: value capture, state government and the federal government. In terms of the value capture framework, the charge that you\u2019re talking about is not part of that framework.<\/p>\n He said revenue from the levy was \u201cgoing back into public transport infrastructure, and services across the state\u201d not just SRL East.<\/p>\n Brooks however admitted the government \u201ccould have been more transparent about how we\u2019re investing that money\u201d:<\/p>\n double quotation markI say this genuinely, the auditor general plays a really important function in terms of providing government with advice, and so they\u2019ve highlighted the fact that this charge we\u2019re not we haven\u2019t been really transparent around where this is being spent.<\/p>\n He said he didn\u2019t know when it was approved and first learned about it \u2013 despite being treasurer for four weeks \u2013 when he read the report.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.07 EDT<\/p>\n Moment of silence in Porepunkah for slain officers<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s remote home in Victoria\u2019s high country.<\/p>\n After attempting to serve a warrant to Freeman at the Porepunkah property, 310km north-east of Melbourne<\/a>, the two officers were shot dead and a third officer was left seriously injured, sparking a huge manhunt for the killer.<\/p>\n Dianne Thompson, third from left, and Lois Kirk, centre, during a service marking the deaths of the two officers. Photograph: James Ross\/AAP<\/p>\n On Wednesday morning, a minute\u2019s silence was held at Bright police station, where more than 400 police officers and family members filled the crowd.<\/p>\n Heartfelt tributes punctuated the hour-long service, with tributes delivered and officers reflecting on their time working alongside the pair.<\/p>\n Lois Kirk and Dianne Thompson, the sisters of Thompson, said the past year had been very difficult.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.15 EDT<\/p>\n Melons from Japanese PM valued at $200 each, government documents reveal<\/p>\n Anthony Albanese\u2019s department confirmed the Japanese crown melons he received from Japan\u2019s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, were valued at $200 each, explaining why they weren\u2019t declared on the prime minister\u2019s register of interests.<\/p>\n Documents provided to the Senate by Albanese\u2019s assistant minister, Patrick Gorman, reveal official government gift records cataloguing the receipt of four Japanese melons \u2013 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.<\/p>\n Each of the four melons was valued at $200, according to the gift documents shared with the Senate.<\/p>\n They later, of course, were at the centre of the so-called \u201cmelongate\u201d controversy after Albanese\u2019s description of the gift on the Bush Deep podcast.<\/p>\n Japan\u2019s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, and Australia\u2019s prime minister, Anthony Albanese. Photograph: Saeed Khan\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The PM, in the podcast, described the melon gift as \u201cpretty strange but ended up being quite good\u201d \u2013 and he must have enjoyed them in the end, because all four were \u201cretained by recipient\u201d, the documents state.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The documents were obtained after a request from One Nation senator Sean Bell, with the documents later uploaded on to the parliament\u2019s website.<\/p>\n The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, had questioned why the melons weren\u2019t declared on Albanese\u2019s 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 \u2013 below the threshold for declaring gifts, which is $750.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.32 EDT<\/p>\n 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:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>NT Labor MP Luke Gosling stands aside as special envoy Northern Territory Labor MP Luke Gosling has stood aside as Anthony Albanese\u2019s special envoy for veterans and northern Australia, a day after police charged him with one count of breaching bail conditions.<\/p>\n He is fighting charges from July, when he was arrested over the alleged assault of the territory\u2019s administrator, David Connolly.<\/p>\n Gosling was charged with two counts of assault<\/a> over an incident that allegedly occurred at a cultural festival in Darwin last month.<\/p>\n Albanese and Gosling had resisted pressure for him to stand aside from the envoy role, which is not part of the federal ministry.<\/p>\n He said in a statement on Wednesday:<\/p>\n 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\u2019 affairs and Northern Australia, until these matters have been heard.<\/p>\n![\"Allegra](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4333.jpg\")
Allegra Spender. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Jordyn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Jordyn_Beazley,_L.png\")
Jordyn Beazley<\/p>\n![\"Nick](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787721013_170_Nick_Visser.png\")
Nick Visser<\/p>\n![\"Benita](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787721014_643_Benita_Kolovos.png\")
Benita Kolovos<\/p>\nPatrick Commins<\/p>\n![\"Lisa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787721014_215_Lisa_Cox.png\")
Lisa Cox<\/p>\nPatrick Commins<\/p>\nBenita Kolovos<\/p>\n![\"Josh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787721015_553_Josh_Butler.png\")
Josh Butler<\/p>\n![\"Tom](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787721015_720_Tom_McIlroy.png\")
Tom McIlroy<\/p>\n
![\"What](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787721016_648_1920.jpg\")
What is inflation and how does it affect you? | News glossary \u2013 video