Josh Butler
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government is still working on how to implement a road user charge for electric vehicles, but indicated the change could come sooner rather than later.
On the eve of the economic roundtable, which will run most of this week in Canberra, Chalmers has again downplayed the prospect of major tax changes, saying the focus will be on productivity.
You can read more about the roundtable in Guardian Australia’s interview with Chalmers:
There have been questions raised about what will actually be achieved or agreed at the roundtable, but Chalmers has hinted heavily at the idea of a road user charge, which could supplement or replace the fuel excise (with EV users not paying that charge).
Asked on Sky News this morning whether a road user charge would replace the fuel excise, Chalmers said: “we haven’t settled on a model or on the timing of implementation … we don’t have a settled view on the best timing”.
This is something I’ve been discussing with the state and territory treasurers. This is work that we’re doing together, working up options. But we don’t have a concluded view on the best model.
Chalmers and prime minister Anthony Albanese have downplayed prospects of making major tax changes in this term of government that weren’t taken to the May election. But Chalmers noted that the government had been talking about road user charges before the election – indicating that, since they were flagged for some time, he believed these could be changes made in this term without a new election mandate.
There’s a lot of complexity. There’s a lot of trade offs there. And so we’ll take the time to get it right.
Updated at 20.18 EDT
Key events
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in Perth on Sunday where he is expected to speak to reporters at 10am local time, which is noon on the east coast.
We will bring you the latest as it happens.
Nigel Farage social media adviser suggests UK better off if it had not fought in WW2
An adviser used by Nigel Farage and others in Reform UK to boost their social media popularity has suggested Britain would be better off had it stayed neutral in the second world war instead of fighting Nazi Germany.
Jack Anderton, who ran Farage’s hugely successful TikTok account before helping Luke Campbell become the Reform mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, said also that the UK should not support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.
In a post on his personal blog about Britain’s international standing, Anderton said that in a future world of “meritocracy”, the UK could “regain” former colonies such as Australia, Canada and South Africa.
For more on this story, read the full report by the Guardian’s, Peter Walker:
Updated at 21.49 EDT
Women thought lost at Catherine Hill Bay, NSW, found safe and well
Four women reported missing in New South Wales after being spotted stranded on rocks at Catherine Hill Bay have been found safe and well.
A search for the women began on Saturday afternoon but was called off after no trace of them could be found.
After public reports about the search and anappeal for information, one of the four women contacted police to say they were safe.
Police have thanked the public and media for their help.
Updated at 21.34 EDT
Protesters angry about WA Maritime Museum event sponsored by gas driller Woodside
People are expected to protest outside the WA Maritime Museum today about plans by Australian energy company Woodside to drill beneath the pristine Scott Reef as part of its gas expansion plans.
Marine scientists, film-makers and conservationists have been documenting the threats posed by Woodside’s proposal to drill under the Scott Reef, one of Australia’s most significant and biodiverse coral reefs. Photograph: Nush Freedman Photography
The rally, organised by the Conservation Council of Western Australia (CCWA), will coincide with “Woodside Open Day”, a sponsored event held at the museum as part of an ongoing research partnership for children.
For more on that story, read Guardian Australia’s Lisa Cox’s story:
Climate groups and the WA Greens have responded with fury about the partnership because of the damage to the state’s coral reef systems from climate change.
CCWA executive director Matt Roberts says Woodside’s plans to sink 50 gas wells around the reef “would be a fatal blow”.
How is it that one of the state’s biggest environmental vandals, with a terrible track record when it comes to the environment, can have the gall to invite children to come and learn about how special our oceans and marine life are, while simultaneously planning to drill 50 gas wells beneath one of the last remaining coral reefs yet to succumb to widespread bleaching?
Our oceans are dying, coral reefs are bleaching at unprecedented rates, our beloved marine life are washing up dead before our very eyes due to climate change and Woodside has the audacity to run this propaganda campaign.”
The oil and gas industry has long used strategic partnerships, particularly with educational institutions, to build goodwill among the public as part of a broader marketing strategy.
Updated at 21.25 EDT
Earthquake strikes Indonesian island of Sulawesi
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake has struck Sulawesi, Indonesia, today, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) says.
The quake struck at a depth of 10kms. There have been no reports of damage or injury.
We will bring you the latest as it develops.
Updated at 21.04 EDT
Josh Butler
Alex Hawke: Opposition wants to know what is actually on Chalmers’ productivity agenda
The opposition continues to downplay the government’s economic reform summit this week, with shadow industry minister Alex Hawke saying the Coalition “don’t have a lot of expectations”.
“[Jim Chalmers] talks about his big productivity agenda. But what is it? He says the government’s already got a big productivity agenda. Name what the government’s done on productivity,” Hawke told Sky News.
After four years in government, it’s basically saying, let’s have a roundtable, and I’ll hear all the best ideas.
Shadow treasurer Ted O’Brien has accepted an invitation to attend the roundtable. Earlier on Sky, Chalmers said O’Brien would get a chance to contribute to the meeting, but claimed his counterpart had not submitted any ideas ahead of the meeting – one of the only people who hadn’t done so, Chalmers said.
“He needs to take this seriously,” Chalmers said of O’Brien.
Hawke, on Sky, said he thought the opposition “should participate”.
“Ted’s got some good views, but he’s put down some markers,” Hawke said, noting O’Brien had urged no new taxes, a focus on addressing intergenerational equity, and a call for helpful productivity measures.
Updated at 20.46 EDT
Josh Butler
Jim Chalmers: dismisses scepticism about the value of the economic roundtable
Staying with Jim Chalmers on Sky News, the treasurer said he expected tax “will come up every day” of the economic roundtable, but “productivity, as I said a couple of times now, is the main game”.
In the interview, Chalmers again dismissed any immediate changes to income tax, company tax or moves such as the GST. He said the government was open to ideas, but that “we want to maintain that focus on productivity”.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says productivity will be the main focus for this week’s economic summit. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
We want to maintain that focus on budget sustainability and economic resilience, and we figure that’s the best way to make the conversation useful.
Asked why the government was holding the roundtable at all, considering criticisms from some business groups and experts about what it will actually achieve, Chalmers said he and PM Anthony Albanese believed the best way to work out economic challenges “is to do that together”. The treasurer dismissed the skepticism of those who have criticised the summit.
To involve people where we can, to build consensus, and to build momentum around some of these next steps, which build on the very substantial economic agenda that we’re already rolling out.
We’ve got a big productivity agenda already, but the best way to work out the next steps is to do that together.
Updated at 20.26 EDT
Timing of possible EV road user charge under discussion, Chalmers says
Josh Butler
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government is still working on how to implement a road user charge for electric vehicles, but indicated the change could come sooner rather than later.
On the eve of the economic roundtable, which will run most of this week in Canberra, Chalmers has again downplayed the prospect of major tax changes, saying the focus will be on productivity.
You can read more about the roundtable in Guardian Australia’s interview with Chalmers:
There have been questions raised about what will actually be achieved or agreed at the roundtable, but Chalmers has hinted heavily at the idea of a road user charge, which could supplement or replace the fuel excise (with EV users not paying that charge).
Asked on Sky News this morning whether a road user charge would replace the fuel excise, Chalmers said: “we haven’t settled on a model or on the timing of implementation … we don’t have a settled view on the best timing”.
This is something I’ve been discussing with the state and territory treasurers. This is work that we’re doing together, working up options. But we don’t have a concluded view on the best model.
Chalmers and prime minister Anthony Albanese have downplayed prospects of making major tax changes in this term of government that weren’t taken to the May election. But Chalmers noted that the government had been talking about road user charges before the election – indicating that, since they were flagged for some time, he believed these could be changes made in this term without a new election mandate.
There’s a lot of complexity. There’s a lot of trade offs there. And so we’ll take the time to get it right.
Updated at 20.18 EDT
Search called off for four women seen on rocks at Catherine Hill Bay
Authorities have called off a search for four women reportedly stranded on rocks south of Catherine Hill Bay beach in New South Wales on Saturday.
A search began when police were called to the area just before 2pm after reports that a group of four women were on the rocks.
Conditions in the area were calm but the rocks are known to be dangerous.
Emergency services carried out the search but the women disappeared from view and they could not be found.
The whereabouts and status of the women is unknown.
Updated at 20.02 EDT
Tim Wilson sidesteps question about whether Coalition will dump support for net zero
Finally, Wilson was asked about internal pressure within the Coalition to abandon support for any policies that might help Australia achieve net zero and to address the climate crisis.
We should make sure that we have net zero outages, net zero price increases, and net zero emissions, because you need to have things in a position of balance of policy to make sure that we can grow the future of the Australian economy, because that’s also the basis of social licence to cut emissions as well. If you don’t have net zero outages and net zero price increases, public support for net zero emissions reduction is also going to fray.
Recent power outages in Australia, such as the 2016 South Australian blackout, have been caused by extreme weather events amplified by climate change, or failures in old fossil fuel infrastructure such as the 2021 Callide C power station explosion.
At the previous election, Wilson narrowly beat a Teal-independent Zoe Daniel who had in-turn been elected because of concerns about Australia’s failure to address climate change under the previous Coalition government.
Updated at 20.00 EDT
Wilson vague about how the Coalition will improve the economy
Talking to the ABC’s David Speers, this morning, Wilson was vague about how Coalition would improve the economy.
I’m going to work with my colleagues to make sure we drive them forward as part of a policy package to take to the next election. I’m absolutely committed to making sure we have simplification, to make it easier to employ more Australians, and to raise standards of living, and improve the number of Australians [getting jobs] and well-paid jobs.
We’ve got big challenges coming ahead around [things] like artificial intelligence and making sure we make workplaces more productive, but also building out the capacity for small businesses to be successful as part of a dynamic economy.
But the most important thing is that, when we make decisions, our focus is going to be on how we improve and grow the economic pie for the country, David. It’s not going to be focused on … laws to rule things in or out, based on whether we’re paying off and clipping the ticket for our union mates – which has been the basis that this government has taken for its trade union mates.
Simplification, artificial intelligence, well paid jobs – a lot of talking points, few policy details.
Updated at 19.54 EDT
Tim Wilson: Victoria’s work-from-home policy ‘ill thought out political stunt’
Wilson would not say if the Coalition supports a legally enshrined right to work from home.
Wilson was asked repeatedly about his party’s position about this but said there are already rules in place to allow workers and bosses to negotiate.
Well, we’ve made it clear that we believe working from home works best when you have employers and employees working together. Now, there’s already pre-existing arrangements under federal legislation to give workers a pathway to do so.
Asked whether the Coalition opposes similar moves in Victoria, Wilson described the push by the Allan government as “an ill thought out political stunt, not one of substance” for its exclusion of “many different types of workers”.
Wilson was asked five times whether he opposed the Victorian legislation. His response:
It hasn’t been put forward in federal legislation, it’s something in state legislation. And … the federal legislation already provides provisions to make sure that Australians can work from home, because we support work-from-home as part of workplace flexibility arrangements.
Wilson was then asked whether he opposed four-day working weeks:
Well, if employers and employees want to come together and negotiate arrangements that suit them, that’s a very different thing from what Sally McManus is proposing, where they’re seeking to legislate these sorts of proposals, which they aren’t even adopting themselves.
Wilson also refused to explain his stance on a proposal from some Young Liberals to limit negative gearing to one property.
Updated at 19.57 EDT
Tim Wilson: Australian government has written ‘blank cheque’ to Hamas
Any resolution to Israel’s war on Gaza and the broader question about the future of a Palestinian state requires the involvement of the United States and Israel, Coalition MP Tim Wilson says.
Wilson says the government had previously said Hamas could not participate in a future government but it has not made clear how this might be achieved with the decision to recognise a Palestinian state.
What they’ve done is written a blank cheque, very clearly, to those who are sponsoring terror, and, in fact, what it’s actually doing is providing incentives where Hamas as an organisation uses civilians as part of its propaganda efforts, and it’s incentivising more of that conduct into the future. And it will be civilians that will pay the price for that.
Hamas was democratically elected to govern Gaza in elections in 2005.
Updated at 19.47 EDT
Wilson: Albanese government has thrown bipartisan position on Palestinian state into ‘turmoil’
The Albanese government stopped engaging with the Coalition before it recognised a Palestinian state, upending what was a bipartisan agreement about the conflict with Israel, Tim Wilson says.
Tim Wilson says the Albanese government should talk to the opposition about Australia’s stance on a Palestinian state. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
Wilson says there had been an agreement about what was needed to resolve the conflict and there had been preconditions agreed upon.
We’ve taken a long-term bipartisan position around a two-state solution based on a series of pre-conditions that we would expect to be met, like the lasting security in respect for the state of Israel. Like making sure Israeli hostages are returned. Like making sure there isn’t going to be Hamas running any government. We’ve set about pre-conditions and we’ve been very public about that.
Up until last Monday, that was also the position of the government. Now, what the government has done is essentially thrown that into turmoil by making a commitment to recognise a Palestinian state. But not being able to then say if those preconditions are going to be met, that they’re going to back down. There wasn’t the engagement with the opposition up until this point.
I would have thought that, actually having an engagement with the opposition for a lasting policy position from the Australian government would be a sensible way forward. They’ve chosen not to take that path.
Updated at 19.44 EDT
Coalition’s Tim Wilson: peace plans for Ukraine must involve Ukraine government
Any decision about the future of Ukraine must involve the Ukrainian government, says Coalition MP Tim Wilson.
Speaking to ABC Insiders host David Speers this morning, Wilson reaffirmed his party’s view that “any sort of arrangement needs to be deeply involved in Kyiv”, after US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Because the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia is not something that we’ve ever been prepared to tolerate, and anything going forward needs the Ukrainians on board as part of a lasting resolution towards peace.
Labor and the Coalition have long maintained a bipartisan view that any discussion about the future of Ukraine must involve the Ukrainian government.
Wilson, however, sought to criticise the government for handling its relationship with the US saying “it’s really important that we maintain an active engagement with the United States” saying Australia’s influence with the US had been “weakened this week” – reference to the decision by Australia to recognise a Palestinian state.
Asked whether Australia should not criticise Trump, Wilson said:
I’ve never said that at all. I mean, government is well within its rights to criticise another government if it disagrees. The most important thing is we are in a position to be able to influence it successfully. Sometimes publicly, sometimes privately.
Updated at 20.11 EDT
Wilson double sparks remarkable Australia comeback win to stun South Africa
Australia rallied from 22-0 down as Harry Wilson, their captain, scored two tries in a stunning 38-22 bonus-point victory over South Africa in their Rugby Championship opener on Saturday, the Wallabies’ first victory at Ellis Park in Johannesburg since 1963.
Australian captain Harry Wilson scored two tries, leading his team in a stunning turnaround against South Africa. Photograph: Wikus de Wet/AFP/Getty Images
South Africa raced into a seemingly commanding lead through tries by the wing Kurt-Lee Arendse, the centre André Esterhuizen and the No 8 Siya Kolisi, but their achilles heel has been the breakdown and it was there that Australia began to take control.
The Springboks led 22-5 at half-time but Australia came alive in the second period and were excellent in soaking up pressure and hitting the world champions with fast breaks as they won on South African soil for the first time in 14 years.
For more on this remarkable comeback, read the full report:
Updated at 19.17 EDT
Arrests made after clash between two groups of protesters in Melbourne
Four people have been arrested after a clash between two groups of protesters in Melbourne on Saturday.
A group of about 120 people attended a Women Will Speak rally in the CBD at noon yesterday which was met by a counter protest of 80 people gathering in support of transgender rights.
Police stand guard at protest in Melbourne on Saturday. Photograph: Con Chronis/AAP
Three officers were injured as they tried to separate the two protest groups.
The rally organisers said they had gathered to demand the state government “stop conflating sex and gender identity in policy and law”.
Conservative political party Family First encouraged its supporters to attend the Women Will Speak rally, saying the rights of women and girls were being “trampled” by “misguided laws” that protected the rights of transpeople.
Social media accounts belonging to activist group Trans Queer Solidarity encouraged people to attend the counter rally saying the Women Will Speak protest sought to end the existence of trans people. It said the group acted to “pipeline people to the far-right”.
Updated at 20.13 EDT
Coalition senator Tim Wilson will speak to ABC Insiders host David Speers this morning.
Earlier, Treasurer Jim Chalmers spoke to Sky News about the government’s economic roundtable. He was followed by Shadow Industry Minister Alex Hawke.
Updated at 19.18 EDT
Good Morning
And welcome to another Sunday morning Guardian live blog.
Four people have been arrested after a clash between two groups of protesters in Melbourne on Saturday. A group of about 120 people attended a Women Will Speak rally at noon yesterday which was met by a counter protest of 80 people gathering in support of transgender rights.
A search for four women reported stranded on rocks south of Catherine Hill Bay Beach, Lake Macquarie has been called off after emergency services failed to find anyone. People were called to the area on Saturday afternoon but despite their best efforts the status of the women remains unknown.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
With that, let’s get started …
Updated at 19.19 EDT