Hundreds attend vigil for man who died in police custody in Alice Springs last month
Hundreds of people attended a candle-lit vigil in Darwin last night in support of a desert community which has lost a second young man in a death-in-custody incident, AAP reports.
24-year-old Kumanjayi White died on 27 May shortly after he was forcibly restrained by two plainclothes police officers in a supermarket in Alice Springs.
At Wednesday’s vigil a large banner stating “We stand with Yuendumu” was displayed in front of Darwin parliament’s entrance while another banner laid on the ground read “Justice for White”.
Key events
Sussan Ley says there’s ‘nothing wrong with being an assertive woman’
Federal opposition leader Sussan Ley took aim at Stockdale’s comments during a recent meeting of the NSW Liberal Women’s Council. Ley said in a statement:
There is nothing wrong with being an assertive woman, in fact I encourage assertive women to join the Liberal Party.
The Liberal Party must reflect, respect and represent modern Australia and that means recognising the strength, merit and leadership of the women in our ranks.
If an election is called, it would be Tasmania’s fourth state election in 7 years.
Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff says he will move to call election if no-confidence motion passes
The Tasmanian premier, Jeremy Rockliff, says he will move to call an election if a motion of no-confidence tabled by the Labor opposition leader, Dean Winter, passes later today. Rockliff said during a press conference:
This will be advice that I will provide to the governor that an election is needed unless Mr Winter forms government with the Greens. This will be an election that Tasmanians don’t want, and Tasmania cannot afford.
Be that on Mr Winters’ head. This has been a selfish grab for power of which Tasmanians will look upon very poorly.
Bridget McKenzie responds: ‘Read the room’
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie had a terse reply to Stockdale’s remarks this morning, telling Nine’s Today:
Honestly, Alan, read the room. I hope women are assertive as they represent their communities, they fight for the future of their countries.
It was a shocking comment. I think it’s time for Alan to head back to the Melbourne club, have a stiff whisky and chat with the old boys about what went wrong.
Former Liberal Party president sparks ire after saying party women are ‘so assertive now’
Senior female political leaders have condemned remarks made by a Liberal party elder about the assertiveness of women in the organisation, AAP reports.
Former federal president Alan Stockdale, 80, reportedly claimed women had become “so assertive” the party might need to consider support for men.
“The women in this party are so assertive now that we may needs some special rules for men to get them preselected,” he told a meeting of the NSW Liberal Womens’ Council, the Daily Telegraph reported on Thursday.
Stockdale later told the Telegraph he made “a lighthearted but poorly chosen remark”.
Hundreds attend vigil for man who died in police custody in Alice Springs last month
Hundreds of people attended a candle-lit vigil in Darwin last night in support of a desert community which has lost a second young man in a death-in-custody incident, AAP reports.
24-year-old Kumanjayi White died on 27 May shortly after he was forcibly restrained by two plainclothes police officers in a supermarket in Alice Springs.
At Wednesday’s vigil a large banner stating “We stand with Yuendumu” was displayed in front of Darwin parliament’s entrance while another banner laid on the ground read “Justice for White”.
Natasha May
More Australians can’t afford specialist fees. Experts say it’s ‘not in the spirit of Medicare’
The cost of an initial dermatology appointment is now up to nearly $300 on average, new data shows. It reflects a broader problem: Medicare rebates are not keeping up with the pace specialist fees are rising.
Online healthcare directory Cleanbill, which has tracked bulk-billing rates among GPs, is expanding to provide data on out-of-pocket costs to see other health professionals, starting with dermatology.
The report, released on Thursday, found the Medicare rebate in March 2017 for an initial appointment with a dermatologist was $72.75, while the out-of-pocket cost was $148.73.
By March 2025, the rebate had risen by $11.40, to $84.15, while the average out-of-pocket costs, at $210.18, were $61.45 more expensive.
Read more from here:
Chalmers: Australia ‘won’t be immune’ from Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs
Earlier this morning, the treasurer Jim Chalmers spoke about the impact US president Donald Trump’s doubling of tariffs on foreign steel and aluminium would have on Australia. He had this to say on RN Breakfast:
We’ve made it really clear we don’t want to see an escalation of tariffs. They are an act of economic self-harm. They are very damaging to the global economy. And we won’t be immune from that, even though we’re better-placed and better-prepared than most countries to deal with it.
Chalmers said the tariffs would have an impact on Australian steel manufacturers, but called those businesses “among the best in the world”.
We’re confident that they can find good markets, good, reliable markets for wonderful Australian steel and aluminium.
Adam Morton
More from Climate Change Authority chief Matt Kean yesterday
In his speech at the Australian Museum, Matt Kean also briefly referred to the Climate Change Authority’s work advising the Albanese government on a 2035 emissions reduction target.
The advice was delayed before last month’s federal election. The advice and a government announcement is now expected by September, before the Cop30 summit in Brazil in November.
Kean said he wanted a target that was “ambitious, informed by the science, but also achievable”. He has previously said the authority was consulting with stakeholders on a target range – a 65% to 75% cut below 2005 levels.
He said part of the authority’s work was to understand what Donald Trump’s attempts to dismantle the Biden administration’s decarbonisation funding would mean for Australia – whether it would hamper or help a rapid shift to cleaner practice.
Some political or business leaders have suggested if a target appears beyond reach, we should throw in the towel.
In fact, there are many ways we can do more, mostly by going with the electron flow. The pace of electrification will determine whether we succeed.
He said giving households more help to take up solar and batteries was “not only good politics. It could pick up some of the slack if the larger grid overhaul takes longer than expected”.
Queensland nurses to launch their first industrial action in 23 years today
Andrew Messenger
The secretary of the Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union, Sarah Beaman, said tens of thousands of nurses would take part in the action on Thursday morning. It is the first action since 2002.
Union members will wear pins, pink shirts and distribute union material but the action is expected to escalate over time if their terms are not met.
The union is locked in negotiations with the state government over a new enterprise bargaining agreement. The main sticking points are wages and conditions; the union says the state government has failed to meet an election promise for nation-leading pay for nurses. Beaman said:
Make no mistake we have a nursing and midwifery workforce crisis in Queensland. If the government allows Queenland to fall behind Victoria for the first time in 15 years, we will see less nurses and midwives state-wide.
The government promised us nation-leading wages and conditions, and we are taking action to make them deliver their promise.
Boele says she will be ‘very bold’ from the crossbench
Boele said she will focus on climate change and affordable housing, among other issues, in her new role on the crossbench. She told RN Breakfast that Labor’s strong majority in parliament demanded independents and others to hold the Albanese government to account.
She pointed to the recent decision to extend the North West Shelf gas project until 2070:
Even Labor, before we’ve even started the next parliament, has approved an extension to the North West Shelf, for example. That’s a climate bomb. And this is a party that says they understand climate science.
So there is always going to be a need for people who courageously talk.
Nicolette Boele ‘very confident’ with outcome of Bradfield recount
Independent Nicolette Boele called the weeks-long effort to count and recount ballots in the seat of Bradfield one of the “most impressive and comprehensive” processes, saying she was “very confident” with the outcome that saw her triumph over the Liberal’s Gisele Kapterian. She told RN Breakfast:
I think I’m very confident with the process that’s been run by the AEC and the outcome that we have here. So I’m keen to get on with the job, but I can understand you might need to ask that question to Giselle Kapterian.
Boele called her competitor a “formidable candidate”.
Chalmers doesn’t rule out concessions to get super tax across the line
Jim Chalmers addressed the need to work with the crossbench to get Labor’s superannuation tax plan passed. The ABC’s Sally Sara asked if the government was offering a “take-it-or-leave-it” deal and had ruled out making concessions with the Greens on the matter. Chalmers told RN Breakfast:
We don’t have the numbers in the Senate to pass our legislation on our own. We need to engage with the crossbench, in particular, in this instance. And I intend to do that.
… But our intention, our preference, is to legislate the plan that we announced almost two-and-a-half years ago now.
The treasurer said he would engage “respectfully” with the crossbench, noting there was also a lot of “disunity” in the Coalition over the tax increase.
Chalmers says Australian economy performing ‘relatively well’ despite GDP numbers
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said this morning Australia’s economy remained in a good place, citing lower inflation, an increase in real wages and the lowering of interest rates, despite yesterday’s news that the country’s GDP grew just 0.2% in the first three months of 2025. He told RN Breakfast:
The Australian economic story is a very compelling one. The economy continues to grow, we’ve got inflation lower, real wages and incomes are growing, interest rates have started to come down, we’ve got the debt down in the budget. And so, overwhelmingly, Australia’s economy is performing relatively well compared with the rest of the world.
Even modest growth in these global circumstances is welcome. We do have a global economy which is characterised by uncertainty and volatility and unpredictability.
You can read more about the GDP and Greg Jericho’s take here:
Nicolette Boele relishes victory in Bradfield after long recount
Natasha May
Newly elected independent MP Nicolette Boele says the recount has given her “absolute confidence, even more confidence than before, in our democracy and in the Australian electoral commission.”
After being declared winner of the Sydney seat of Bradfield on a wafer-thin margin of 26 votes yesterday over a month after polls closed, Boele appeared on ABC’s 7.30 program yesterday evening.
Boele said the win was the fruits of years of campaigning and 1,450 volunteers, including 222 people scrutineering over the last four and a half weeks, and 12 people doing all the catering for those scrutineers.
Boele said she realised she had won when she held a press conference immediately after the announcement:
I was standing in front of the cameras, and the words ‘Nicolette MP for Bradfield’ came up. And it was that moment that I thought, ‘wow, not just a candidate, but someone who has been elected’, and it is genuinely starting to sink in as one of the biggest honours that I’ve ever had in my life.
The Liberal candidate, Gisele Kapterian, hasn’t yet conceded – she said in a statement she will “carefully review” the original count and the recount. Whether she tries to find grounds to take the result to the court of disputed returns Boele said was a “question for her”.
Shadow treasurer says Labor’s super tax plan centred on ‘egregious idea’
The shadow treasurer, Ted O’Brien, said Labor’s plan to increase taxes on large superannuation balances over $3m will be “an absolute disaster”. O’Brien spoke to Radio National Breakfast this morning amid the political tussle over the proposal, saying any tax on unrealised gains was an “egregious idea”:
We believe in lower taxes. We believe in simpler taxes. We believe in fairer taxes. …
This crosses a red line in Australian tax law. It will be an absolute disaster. … Where does that then go? Will Labor start taxing unrealised capital gains on your primary residence? We don’t want a bar of that. This is not good at all.
O’Brien, the deputy Liberal leader, went on to say that he would prefer to see “this entire bill scrapped”, but that’s “probably not going to happen”.
Adam Morton
Matt Kean tells fossil fuel-friendly MPs to stop ‘holding our country back’
Matt Kean made an assertive case for why climate action makes economic sense while giving the Talbot oration at the Australian Museum in Sydney on Wednesday night.
In comments that were a less-than-subtle swipe at Coalition MPs, and possibly some others, the Climate Change Authority chair and former NSW Liberal energy minister said “opponents of climate action don’t give up even when their political parties cop an electoral hammering”, but urged Australians to ignore “doubters whose main mission seems to be to prolong the life of fossil fuel industries”:
To those politicians who are still providing a cover for vested interests, I say get out of the way. Stop holding our country back and stop holding your political parties back. Try acting in the national interest – or take the low road to political oblivion.
Kean quoted André Corrêa do Lago, the Brazilian diplomat who will head this year’s Cop30 UN climate summit in the Amazon, and who last week told the Guardian that opposition to ambitious steps to address the climate crisis was now largely “not scientific denial”, but “economic denial”.
On this, Kean said “it helps that the economics are also aligning with the science”.
As US energy innovator Hal Harvey put it, ‘it’s now cheaper to save the Earth than to ruin it’. Investors are lining up trillions of investment dollars to decarbonise economies. Even so, we must be realistic about the scale of the task ahead.
Good morning
Good morning, and welcome to Thursday. Nick Visser here to take you through today’s breaking news. Here’s what’s on deck:
-
Matt Kean, chair of the Climate Change Authority, told politicians who are providing cover for action on fossil fuels to “get out of the way.” Kean spoke in Sydney last night, saying MPs standing against climate action were “holding our country back” and “holding your political parties back”.
-
Independent Nicolette Boele is relishing her win in the seat of Bradfield after a long, seesawing recount. Boele spoke to the ABC last night, calling the moment she was declared victorious “one of the biggest honours that I’ve ever had in my life.” Liberal Gisele Kapterian has not yet conceded the race.
-
Stick with us as we dig into the political crisis in Tasmania later today with the debate on a no-confidence motion against the state’s premier set to continue. Jim Chalmers will also speak about Australia’s less-than-robust GDP numbers later this morning.
Onwards.
