News and politics live updates: Pauline Hanson blasts ‘scared’ Labor, vows to crack down on immigration ‘scam’

Labor’s May Budget is still causing political headaches almost three months on with the Federal Government yet to fully resolve the problem of an unintended “widow’s tax”.

Draft legislation released this week fixes a problem where grandfathering for negative gearing tax breaks and the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount on an investment property wasn’t carried through when ownership was transferred in the event of a death or divorce.

But the Government is yet to release draft legislation to fix another unintended problem where assets like a house being rented out or shares would incur a capital gains tax on notional gains, before an asset is sold, in the event a spouse was widowed or a relationship broke down.

Estate planning lawyer Rachael Rofe, the principal solicitor with Rofe + Co, said any asset that went up in value would be subject to a tax on unrealised gains from July 2027 unless new legislation fixed this problem.

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A baby seal has died as bird flu cases mount, sparking fears of an escalation in the deadly strain’s spread.

The pup was recovered after washing up in Warrnambool, on Victoria’s south-west coast, and had been identified as a potential bird flu case.

Authorities said they received a report of a baby seal found with possible H5 symptoms, confirming on Thursday that it had died.

It is potentially the first seal to be infected with the deadly virus on the Australian mainland.

The seal was cordoned off with traffic cones on a beach to discourage anyone from approaching it.

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The communications minister has played down speculation the government could ditch its gambling reforms instead of collaborating on changes.

Labor’s proposed legislation has been condemned by the Coalition and Greens, removing any chance the bill could pass the Senate unamended.

Communications Minister Anika Wells said the reforms are “some ways off” being abandoned altogether, saying it was normal for there to be pushback to the changes.

“This is rolling along exactly as any other piece of legislation normally does,” Ms Wells said.

The minister confirmed she was having “constructive discussions”with the coalition and the Greens but hasn’t seen any amendments from either party.

“We’d love to see this passed,” she said.

with AAP

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The Australian Broadcast Corporation has apologised for its Race Around the World episode that featured a fictional scenario involving a violent attack on businesswoman Gina Rinehart.

In a statement issued on Thursday, ABC’s managing director Hugh Marks apologised to Gina Rinehart.

The material subject to the complaint has been removed from ABC platforms.

“The ABC refers to the film in a recent episode of Race Around the World referencing Mrs Gina Rinehart AO,” Mr Marks said in a statement.

“While the Ombudsman has found that the film did not breach the ABC’s editorial policies, the ABC acknowledges the episode has fallen short of community expectations.

“The ABC apologises to Mrs Rinehart and to anyone else affected or upset by the publication of the film.

“As part of our review of this matter, we have considered whether the guidance in the ABC Editorial Policies adequately reflects current community expectations.

“We have also considered whether the relevant guidance sufficiently distinguishes between news and non-news content.

“As a result, the ABC will amend its guidance as it applies to violence.

“The film has been edited on the ABC’s platforms to remove the relevant material.”

Read more here.

Australia’s stock market has set a fresh intraday record high, soaring to just shy of 9300 points in the first 30 minutes of the opening bell on Thursday.

The S&P/ASX200 peaked at 9293.4 before losing steam and dropping back to 9270.3 by 9am.

The initial charge was led by banks and miners as they followed the lead of Wall Street overnight where the Dow Jones closed at a record high on signs of progress for a US peace deal with Iran.

But the Nasdaq registered its first decline in five sessions as SpaceX and AMD stumbled following their quarterly earnings.

Only six of the Aussie market’s 11 sectors remained in the green after the first hour, with miners rocketing more than 2 per cent and banks up 0.6 per cent as the rally faded.

Healthcare, telcos and consumers discretionaries and staples also held their gain.

IT stocks dropped one per cent and energy was off 0.9 per cent.

Among the heavyweight miners, BHP was up one per cent, Riot Tinto jumped 0.6 per cent and Fortescue leapt 1.2 per cent.

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The brother of a former premier demanded thousands of dollars from the coffers of a right-wing faction he was doing recruitment work for.

Jean-Claude Perrottet - brother of former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet - helped recruit conservative-minded members to the Liberal Party to exert control over certain branches.

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption is investigating alleged illicit political donations and branch-stacking spearheaded by the Reformers - a conservative Christian faction among state Liberals.

The now 29-year-old Jean-Claude Perrottet was approached by Reformers co-founders Christian Ellis and Robert Assaf in 2018 and asked if he wanted to join them, the commission heard.

The ex-premier’s younger brother admitted he wanted pay for his time, at one stage arguing to be paid $12,000 for several months work.

Read the full story here.

Communications Minister Anika Wells has reiterated her thoughts on a controversial, fictional skit aired on ABC’s Race Around the World which included a violent attack on Gina Rinehart.

Ms Wells said that although she thought the episode aired on the national broadcaster on July 12 was “unacceptable”, she will not call for an apology until the ombudsman releases their findings.

“It is my job first and foremost to respect the editorial independence of the ABC,” she said.

“Last week when News24 first asked me about this I said I thought it was a good thing for this to be referred to the ABC ombudsman; that’s what has happened and we’re waiting for that process to play out.

“My personal view is that it was unacceptable, but it’s not for me to make that determination, it’s for the ombudsman … If the ombudsman finds that it was unacceptable it would be appropriate for the ABC to make an apology.”

The ACT Opposition leader has refused to say what interactions he has had with sex workers but has denied claims he messaged one during a parliamentary hearing to say “f..k my job is boring”.

The Canberra Times reports an anonymous complaint was sent to the ACT Assembly Speaker alleging that Mark Parton “engaged in a text message exchange with a sex worker” during an estimates hearing last Friday.

Mr Parton has denied the allegation, but admitted to sending a message to an undisclosed person saying “f..k my job is boring. Wanna swap.”

Asked repeatedly whether he had ever engaged with a sex worker, the Liberal leader refused to comment.

“Look, I think I think I’ve made it clear that the things that are not actually in the public interest, I’m not interested in talking about,” he told reporters.

Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles has denied that he and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke had a disagreement about migration at their latest Cabinet meeting.

Mr Burke had been set to unveil a plan for a greater say over who could come and stay in Australia in a major speech at the National Press Club today but scrapped the appearance.

His now in limbo measures included drastically cut net migration, including tougher family visa rules and a cap on backpackers.

Mr Marles, who is in charge while Anthony Albanese is on annual leave, was asked on Thursday what influence he had in the abrupt cancellation of the major address.

“No” he responded when asked by a reporter “did you have a personal disagreement with him during Monday’s cabinet meeting on this policy?”.

Mr Marles insisted that it would be rescheduled “at the next available opportunity”.

“Tony Burke will be speaking at the National Press Club at the earliest opportunity,” he said.

He claimed Labor had reduced the migration numbers by 45 per cent from the peak recorded after the COVID pandemic, when people started to move abroad again as border restrictions were lifted.

“We’ve made a number of reforms in respect to our migration system,” he said.

“Since then, we’ve reduced migration rates by 45 per cent.

“So, it’s a significant reduction in migration that has occurred as a result of the policies that we put in place, and that has been important.

“Migration obviously plays a really significant part in our economy but it needs to have another sustainable rate, and that’s why we put in place the policies that we’ve done.”

Spruiking One Nation’s proposed 130,000 cap on permanent migration, Pauline Hanson has rejected claims Australia needs higher migration levels to address workforce shortages, arguing too many arrivals were filling jobs outside critical sectors.

She described the government’s current approach as an “absolute scam”, saying too few migrants were entering construction and other industries facing legitimate shortages.

“We don’t need any more Uber drivers, nail technicians, dog walkers. These people – gone. Stop all that,” she said.

“Why do we need people coming in with foreign students? Why do they need their families? You’re here to study if you want to be. You don’t want to be away from your partner or family, do an online course.”