That’s where we’ll leave our political live coverage for today. Before we go, let’s recap the day’s top headlines:
Australia’s headline inflation rate has accelerated to 4. 3%, which the treasurer has blamed on the war in the Middle East. The RBA’s chief economist has ruled out any suggestion that the country is heading into a recession.
The independent senator Fatima Payman says she has offered a personal apology to Helen Haines and her office following comments about the MP’s alleged attack.
The Australian federal police responded to a bomb threat at parliament shortly before lunch today, but are continuing inquiries into who may have called it in.
The ABC has doubled down on its call in Senate estimates for depictions of Bluey to be removed from a One Nation cartoon in which the beloved character repeatedly runs over politicians with an SUV.
The Greens leader, David Shoebridge, addressed the National Press Club in Canberra, where he promised to help Australians struggling with cost-of-living.
A Climate Council report has found Australia has paid more than twice as much as any other nation in additional diesel import costs during the global fuel crisis.
The outgoing Australia Post CEO, Paul Graham, was paid a $1. 2m bonus on top of his $1. 64m base salary in the last financial year.
For those who missed it, here’s a tl;dr on what happened in question time.
Thanks for sticking around, see you tomorrow!
‘Good’: Andrew Wilkie reacts to Star’s $260m fine
The independent MP Andrew Wilkie has reacted to Australia’s biggest listed casino company being slapped with a $260m fine after being found to have been in breach of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
The Star Entertainment Group was penalised in the federal court on Wednesday.
In a post to social media, the MP shared his one-worded reaction.
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Grocery price controls need to be considered, Husic says
Ed Husic, the former industry minister, says supermarkets are profiteering on sales of household essentials and the government should consider implementing price controls.
He says prices for fruit, eggs, milk and bread should be considered, amid strong inflation and sustained cost-of-living pressures.
Speaking on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, he said:
double quotation markHaving price interventions or price caps on those basic groceries are some of the things I seriously think need to be entertained, because we cannot have Australians … having to make a choice between how do we pay the rent, how do we pay groceries, do I feed myself or do I feed my child going to school.
We just can’t have this profiteering in the system and not have any sort of action. So if we need to take action like price caps or price controls in terms of those basic groceries, then we should.
Husic conceded the idea was radical and said he expected to be widely criticised for the comments.
Prison officers union condemns NSW opposition plan to close jail for housing
The Public Service Association (PSA), the union which represents prison officers in NSW, has condemned an election promise by the Coalition to close the century-old Long Bay jail to build 12,000 homes as “irresponsible, if not reckless”.
This morning, the NSW opposition leader, Kellie Sloane, announced that if elected in March 2027 she would establish the Long Bay Delivery Authority to oversee the plan. The Coalition has proposed moving facilities for about 1,200 prisoners to existing regional and metropolitan centres, including Goulburn jail, parts of which closed this year.
In a statement, the PSA assistant secretary, Troy Wright, said it was “irresponsible, if not reckless, to propose closing a major metropolitan jail without an identified alternative”.
double quotation markPrison officers are dealing with the consequences of an increasingly crowded system every day. The Liberals need to explain exactly where these inmates will go and who will safely supervise them. Pointing to Goulburn and other correctional centres is no substitute for a funded plan that spells out the additional capacity, staffing and facilities required.
The Minns government does not support the Coalition’s proposal. The government, which is behind on its target to build 377,000 homes by 2029 under the National Housing Accord, has committed to rezoning to deliver up to 9,400 homes alongside a new heavy rail station in Woollahra, which is in Sloane’s electorate.
The Long Bay site in Sydney’s eastern suburbs comprises multiple correctional facilities, including the Metropolitan Special Programs Centre (MSPC), where a 19-year-old man died earlier this year after a watchdog warning MSPC “simply cannot provide a safe environment”. There have been record numbers of prisoners in remand in NSW this year – about 6,400 as of September – driven in part by changes to domestic bail laws.
Richard Marles meets with US counterpart Pete Hegseth
The defence minister, Richard Marles, has met with his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus.
The two discussed investment at Australian air force bases, ways to better coordinate on US and Australian approaches to regional deterrence and advancing the Aukus security partnership.
The Australian federal police responded to a bomb threat at parliament shortly before lunch today, but are continuing inquiries into who may have called it in.
After midday, a team of federal police officers, parliament security officers and sniffer dogs inspected the Senate wing to locate anything out of the ordinary. Nothing was found.
Despite the heightened focus on safety amid rising political violence around the country, Capital Hill quickly returned to business as usual with most of the press gallery appearing unfazed and question time carrying on as usual.
An AFP spokesperson told Guardian Australia a “comprehensive search was conducted and no issues were identified”.
double quotation markAPH has since returned to usual business. Inquiries into the source of the threat are underway.
Good afternoon, thanks for sticking around! I’ll guide you through the arvo’s news updates.
Thanks for following along today! My colleague Achol Arok will take the reins from here.
Imprisoned democracy campaigner Tran Hiep told Australian officials during a consular visit that he was abducted from Cambodia and taken to Vietnam against his will, a parliamentary hearing has heard.
Vietnamese authorities claim the 51-year-old dual citizen was arrested while crossing the border from Cambodia with two other activists.
He is being held at a notorious detention centre in Ho Chi Minh City after disappearing on 18 September.
Elizabeth McGregor, from Dfat’s crisis management division, told Senate estimates on Wednesday that Australian officials visited Hiep on 15 October.
She told the hearing Australia remains “deeply concerned” by the campaigner’s report that he was abducted in Cambodia, and officials had sought clarification from both governments about the circumstances of his entry into Vietnam.
double quotation markWe’re seeking an expeditious resolution … and his return to Australia to be reunited with family.
We’re continuing to raise his case at senior levels with Vietnamese authorities, we’re pressing for regular consular access under the terms of our bilateral consular agreement with Vietnam, humane treatment, access to legal representation, and a quick process.
The independent senator Fatima Payman says she has offered a personal apology to Helen Haines and her office following comments about the MP’s alleged attack.
The initial statements were made during a late-night committee hearing, where Payman accused Anthony Albanese of being “petty” by not granting her additional staff members after she defected from Labor in 2024.
She questioned whether the prime minister was “waiting for something like what happened to Dr Helen Haines to occur to my office, to me, for him to take our request seriously?”
In a statement, Payman said her comments were made in “frustration” and she wishes Haines a “full and speedy recovery”.
double quotation markIn Senate estimates, I was frustrated and exhausted after almost two years of asking for the staffing my office needs.
While my intention was not to diminish the attack on Helen, I understand that it could be seen that way, and I apologise if this has caused any distress to Helen or her family.
Payman said her office had seen an uptick of abusive messages from the public over the past day in response to the controversy. She said while her comments were “poorly worded, the issue I was trying to raise is real”.
Shoebridge says his focus is peace with justice for Gaza
David Shoebridge declines to reveal whether he supports a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel, saying his core focus is achieving peace with justice for Gaza.
The question is asked because the UK Greens this month voted to adopt a policy that equates Zionism with racism and calls for Israel to be replaced by a single Palestinian state.
Shoebridge avoids the question initially by saying he’s “not focused on abstract philosophical discussions” but “engaged in the reality of politics”.
double quotation markDo you know what I see in front of me when it comes to Israel and Palestine? I see a genocide … I see a state with an incredible amount of military power, de-housing and killing hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza and leaving two-and-a-half million people without the basic sustenance for life.
I see an ongoing illegal occupation in the West Bank, and I’m not interested in putting a label on that. But I tell you what I am 100% interested in, and I think I share this interest with millions of Australians, is stopping the brutality against the people of Palestine. It’s about ensuring peace with justice, and in my experience, you don’t do that through labels. You do it through hard work, through principle and through policy, and connecting with the millions of Australians who share those goals …
Our policy position is clear: the world needs to assist in coming to a solution driven by the people of Palestine, by the Israeli people, that provides all peoples peace and security. If that is a two-state solution and it’s achievable, and that’s what the people of Palestine and Israel want, well, absolutely. But we would not be limiting it. The core issue here is peace with justice.
Shoebridge to stay mum while Steele-John inquiry under way
Returning to the Greens leader’s press club address, David Shoebridge is staying mum on any questions relating to allegations made against the Greens senator Jordon Steele-John, saying the independent inquiry into them should not be impeded by ongoing commentary and social media posts.
The Greens leader said politics needed to be safe for women and that is shown through ensuring the inquiry is independent and fair. He continued:
double quotation markAnd in terms of social media posts or media discussions, that is obviously not the way to resolve an issue like this. It is not the way. This needs to be dealt with with the respect and the dignity and the care that it’s entitled to, and that is that independent inquiry. So I’d say, absolutely, women and all of us deserve a safe space, and I’m doing everything I can to ensure that they have that assurance by this independent inquiry.
Steele-John denies the allegations.
Asked whether the investigation’s scope should include reference to Steele-John’s claims that the complaints against him were motivated by state factional issues amid the state’s preselection process, Shoebridge said:
double quotation mark… Well, I don’t see any connection between the two. I’ll be entirely clear. But more fundamentally, it’s not for me to determine the timeline for an independent inquiry … that would undermine the very independence, but as I understand it, there is a commitment to have it as timely as possible, consistent with those other core issues about procedural fairness and justice. And everybody involved in this is entitled to not be prejudged and to allow that independent inquiry to work its way through.
The latest inflation figures, released hours earlier, provided ample fodder for a combative question time, with the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and his shadow counterpart, Tim Wilson, trading barbs over the cost of living.
A $6m grant for the Marrickville golf club returned to the spotlight, a day after the prime minister admitted he got it wrong, when he told parliament its purpose was to stop “raw sewage” going into the nearby river.
Labor’s social media reforms, which passed the chamber earlier today, got good airtime as the government urged other parties to unite behind it.
The typical question time argy-bargy has made a thunderous return, with two ejections and a slew of admonishments from the speaker.
