Australia election 2025 live: AEC breakthrough in anti-Spender pamphlet investigation; Labor unveils plan for $1.2bn critical minerals reserve

April 23, 2025

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AEC identifies person behind Wentworth pamphlets

The Australian Electoral Commission says it has identified the person who sent thousands of unauthorised campaign pamphlets threatening to “expose” the independent MP Allegra Spender, the Australian Associated Press reports.

The commission set up an investigation after more than 47,000 flyers without authorisation were distributed in the eastern Sydney electorate of Wentworth.

The pamphlets claim to be “produced by the people of Wentworth, for the people of Wentworth”, but a lack of official authorisation means voters do not know where its information is sourced from – putting the pamphlets in breach of Australia’s main election law.

Following the investigation, the electoral commission said it had identified the person behind the campaign, who has no link to political parties or candidates contesting the seat of Wentworth.

“To date, our investigation has only identified evidence that this individual has acted alone, and the individual concerned has confirmed this is the case,” the commission said last night.

The commission said the person behind the campaign had pledged to not distribute the flyers or any other unauthorised material.

“The AEC will not be providing the name of this person at this time,” it said.

“Voters are reminded to stop and consider the source of all messages relating to the 2025 federal election.”

Once considered a blue-ribbon Liberal seat, Wentworth was taken off the Coalition at the 2022 election by Spender, making it a tightly contested electorate at the May 3 poll.

The pamphlets claimed Spender had “misled the electorate on her positions”.

The independent MP said its contents were “false, misleading and offensive”.

Key events

Following Madeleine King, Dan Tehan appears on RN Breakfast to talk migration.

The Coalition has promised to cut net migration by 100,000 people in one year, by cutting permanent migration by 25%, and reducing international student numbers.

Tehan says the Coalition will also review the temporary graduate visa and tighten visa rules to stop “visa hopping” to reduce net migration.

We think this will reduce the net overseas migration rate now first year by 100,000.

Host Sally Sara asks how the Coalition will ensure that there are enough tradies and aged care workers who are needed from overseas if these numbers are being cut.

Tehan says:

We’re going to make sure that we prioritise those areas. So even though we brought in nearly a million migrants in those first two years, we then asked and did the research as to how many of those 1 million were actually in the trades area, and it was less than 10,000, now we’ve said we want to prioritise those trades areas.

Which minerals will be in the strategic reserve? King says government has not yet decided

The resources minister, Madeleine King, says the strategic reserve is in Australia’s national interest, but the government hasn’t yet decided which critical minerals will be included in it.

King tells ABC RN Breakfast there are two mechanisms to develop the stockpile:

A national offtake agreement … the government will enter into agreements to acquire volumes of critical minerals from commercial projects, and that is entirely voluntary.

And there’s also an element of selective stockpiling … the government assesses and does extensive consultation around what particular minerals would be best to stockpile, we will pursue that and purchase it through an extension of the critical minerals facility.

The government has said that Australia would deal with close allies for the critical minerals reserve, including the US. Australia previously – after round one of the US tariffs came into effect – tried to negotiate with the US on critical minerals, to no avail.

But King says she believes the stockpile will be “helpful” for discussions with Trump.

There is no doubt it could come in helpful for negotiations with the US administration, but equally with other partners who have already participated really actively and very reliably in our critical minerals industry.

Coalition says Labor pulling a ‘cruel hoax’ over Medicare by ‘trying to pretend’ families aren’t struggling to see a doctor

The shadow health minister, Anne Ruston, has followed her Labor counterpart on ABC News Breakfast, and is also challenged on bulk billing rates.

The Coalition has matched Labor’s $8.5bn bulk billing commitment dollar-for-dollar, but says that Labor are “trying to pretend” that families aren’t struggling to see a doctor right now.

She calls it a “cruel hoax”.

The host, Bridget Brennan, pushes her, asking how the Coalition would turn it around it their commitment is the same as Labor’s. Her answer:

The really cruel hoax going on at the moment with the Labor party about this important announcement is, you know, trying to pretend that it isn’t harder or more expensive to see a doctor than it is right now.

We’ve done it before and we believe that we can do it again but there’s no point lying to Australians that everything is fine at the moment. It’s not.

OzHarvest survey finds 50,000 people turned away from food banks each month

Cait Kelly

Around 50,000 people turned away from food banks each month, as charities struggle to keep up with demand, a new report from OzHarvest has found.

The survey of frontline charities reveals 77% have witnessed a surge in people seeking food in the past year, with an estimated 50,000 people unable to be supported every month by responding charities as services simply cannot keep up.

The survey found:

77% of charities have seen an increase in the number of people seeking food support in the last year.
Nearly one-third (31%) of people seeking food relief are doing so for the first time.
72% of charities need more food to meet.
Charities reported a 54% increase in the number of people they are unable to support demand.
Families (48%) and single parents (31%) represent the largest groups seeking support.
55% say providing food increased a sense of dignity and self-worth in the people they support.

OzHarvest’s founder, Ronni Kahn, said:

This is a national emergency hiding in plain sight … Every day we’re out in communities across Australia supporting 1,550 charities that are stretched beyond their limits, as the gap between demand and resources keeps widening. In addition, we have 1,200 charities on the waitlist to receive food.

We are in the midst of a national food security crisis. Driven by the rising cost of living, stagnant wages, and spiralling housing costs and energy bills, Australians are sacrificing food just to get by.

Butler defends bulk-billing pledge against criticism from GPs

Butler is also challenged on bulk billing rates – according to the ABC, 90% of GPs they spoke to said they wouldn’t move to full bulk billing under the $8.5bn investment promised by the government.

Butler tells News Breakfast the policy was carefully calculated and three-quarters of practices would be better off under the changes.

We know exactly what doctors are charging right now and we know three-quarters of practices financially will be better off if they take up this investment that we have announced.

What I have done with these investments is lift the salary of a fully bulk billing GP from $280,000 two years ago to $400,000 after these investments take effect. That is a $125,000 salary increase, after they pay their practice fees, if they bulk bill.

Butler is then asked about the investment in men’s mental health he’s announcing today. He says he’s announcing a range of funding deals to partner with organisations that deliver mental health support for men.

[We’re] partnering with organisations that have a great track record in this area, Movember, the Men’s Shed association, the Black Dog Institute, to lift the willingness of Australian men to seek help…

We [men] are damn hopeless at it and what it means is we have poorer health outcomes than the general population as well.

Butler says critical minerals reserve would be ‘reliable supplier’ for Japan, South Korea and possibly the US

The critical mineral strategic reserve was already announced by the government, after the Trump administration announced its second round of tariffs on all countries.

Cabinet minister Mark Butler is doing the media rounds this morning (also to promote the men’s health announcement), and is asked on News Breakfast if the reserve would be a “bargaining chip” for Trump?

Butler says it’s a “broader” strategy to become a supplier of critical minerals.

More broadly, we want to be an important supplier of these critical minerals and rare earths that are going to be so important for the 21st century global economy.

Nations we do business with like Japan and South Korea want a reliable supplier but I am sure the US administration will be interested in this as well.

Butler adds that the reserve sits alongside production tax credits that are already in place for critical minerals, to help incentivise companies to contribute to the reserve.

Mark Butler on Wednesday. Photograph: Dominic Giannini/AAP

Labor pledges to establish critical minerals strategic reserve

Labor will establish a critical minerals strategic reserve, which it says will help Australia stand up for its national interest in a complex and changing geostrategic environment.

The government would stockpile large amounts of mining products and rare earth materials and would generate money through the sale of minerals on global markets to allies. Stockpiles of the minerals would be set aside from commercial projects through contracts.

Labor would make an initial $1.2bn investment into the reserve.

The announcement is being made in WA, a critical mining state, and one which helped Labor win government in 2022.

Albanese will speak on the announcement in Perth later today, but said in a statement, the reserve will be critical in a time of “global uncertainty”.

In a time of global uncertainty, Australia will be stronger and safer by developing our critical national assets to create economic opportunity and resilience.

It will mean we can deal with trade and market disruptions from a position of strength, because Australia will be able to call on an internationally significant quantity of resources in global demand.

Krishani Dhanji

Good morning from Krishani

Krishani Dhanji here with you, thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started this morning.

We’re into single digits in the election countdown – there are just nine days to go until 3 May.

The prime minister is in WA this morning, with the government announcing more details on its critical mineral strategic reserve, which Labor first brought up in response to Trump’s second round of tariffs. Labor has also this morning announced funding for men’s health.

The opposition leader is in Tasmania, and is making announcements to combat domestic violence.

We’ll bring all of that to you as it comes.

Emily Wind

Crossbench urges next government to increase income support

More than 70 independent and minor party candidates have signed an open letter calling on the next government to substantially increase income support.

The joint statement, signed with the Australian Council of Social Service, says the current rate of jobseeker ($56 a day) and youth allowance ($48 a day) sit “well below all measures of adequacy”.

It noted that the current rate of jobseeker is just 43.5% of the minimum wage and “well below the poverty line”, and that people on jobseeker are 14 times more likely to go without a substantial meal a day.

The joint letter also pointed to research showing there are no affordable rentals for someone receiving either of the payments, and that many people skip medication and healthcare “just to keep a roof over their head.”

74 independent and minor party candidates have signed the letter, including Zali Steggall, Monique Ryan, Andrew Wilkie, David Pocock, Jacqui Lambie, Allegra Spender, Kate Chaney, Lidia Thorpe, Fatima Payman, and Greens representatives and candidates.

Wilkie said in a statement it was time the major parties “acknowledge the mountains of evidence, report after report, and the lived experience of anyone struggling to get by on an income support payment.”

The next federal government must raise the rate. To do anything else in the face of all this evidence is just a deliberate act of cruelty.

Ryan said that increasing the rate would help people rejoin the workforce, students complete their studies, and single parents raise the next generation. Pocock said raising the rate above the poverty line and increasing the rate of commonwealth rent assistance was “the most powerful thing we can do to end chronic intergenerational disadvantage in our community”.

Labor targets safe Liberal seats after poll swing – report

A swing against the Coalition in the opinion polls has encouraged Anthony Albanese to target Liberal-held seats previously considered out of reach, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

These include the usually rock-solid Coalition seats of Menzies and Deakin in Melbourne where the prime minister has visited during the campaign.

The paper also notes that Peter Dutton has been avoiding teal-held inner-city such as Wentworth (once a reliably Liberal hold) and has not even even been to Labor-held marginals such as such as Bennelong in Sydney or Chisholm in Melbourne, suggesting he doesn’t think he can win.

Instead he has concentrated on outer suburbs where, the piece notes, Labor strategists recognise that the party could still be vulnerable over concerns about the cost of living.

Labor flags $32m investment in men’s health

Natasha May

A $32m investment from Labor would see more support for men’s health and help to break down the barriers that often prevent men getting the healthcare they need.

A re-elected Labor government would invest $11.3m in the men’s health charity Movember to provide training to over 60,000 doctors and nurses, as well as to develop a campaign to encourage men to visit the doctor.

The training would be based on Movember’s existing Men in Mind program currently offered to mental health workers. The evidence-based program provides an examination of men’s gender socialisation, as the internalisation of masculine ideals often sees them avoid being open about health problems.

The health minister, Mark Butler, said “this investment by Labor into Movember’s training will mean doctors and nurses have the right tools to support men”.

Labor would also provide $20.7m for grassroots initiatives that support men’s mental health and wellbeing in community settings, including $8.3m to support two years of Men’s Shed Initiatives grants in the community and for the organisation to deliver new health promotion and prevention programs.

The government would also invest $7.4m to Movember to expand the Ahead of the Game program, delivered in partnership with the AFL, which teaches young men in sporting environments to seek help when they need it, as well as $3m for the Plus Paternal Initiative, which helps men prepare for fatherhood.

The Black Dog Institute would also receive $2m to research men’s mental health and suicide prevention.

Michelle Terry, the chief executive officer of Movember, said “Australian boys and men are slipping through the cracks of our healthcare system at an alarming rate, and without targeted support, too many are missing out on the care they need”.

Movember welcomes this groundbreaking investment, including the overall lift in funding for our partners in health and the momentum this announcement will build for even greater focus on the health, mental health and wellbeing of Australia’s boys and men.