Ryan outlines her focus for the next parliament
Ryan said she will spend the next three years focusing on housing affordability, tax reform and the climate:
So far since the election, what we’ve seen is both the Liberals and the Nationals kind of turn on each other, and they’re obviously engaged in leadership battles this week. They’ve got some significant issues, I think, to deal with, and one of them is the fact that they didn’t take adequate policy to the federal election.
We need an effective opposition in the House of Representatives. That’s extremely important. And we need the government to be held to account on the things that communities like Kooyong care about, which are tax reform, housing affordability, climate, and the cost-of-living crisis, and so that will be my job, to hold the government to account on those things.
Key events
Josh Taylor
Australia has recorded the highest number of data breach reports in six years of reporting in 2024, with an increase of 25% in notifications to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner compared to 2023.
According to the latest notifiable data breaches report covering 1 July to 31 December 2024, there were 595 data breaches in the latter half of the year, taking the total number of breaches reported that year to 1,113, up 25% from 893 in 2023.
In the half year, the highest number of reports came from health providers (121) followed by government (100), finance (54), legal and accounting (36), and retail (34).
The report found 69% of the data breaches occurred due to malicious or criminal attack, with phishing – that is using compromised credentials to access data – being the most common at 34% of such incidents. It was followed by ransomware at 24%.
The majority of reported breaches affected less than 5,000 people each, but two were reported to affect between 500,000 and 1m people. Most personal information in the breaches comprised of contact information, ID information or financial or health information.
The privacy commissioner, Carly Kind, said:
The trends we are observing suggest the threat of data breaches, especially through the efforts of malicious actors, is unlikely to diminish, and the risks to Australians are only likely to increase.
Businesses and government agencies need to step up privacy and security measures to keep pace.
Murray-Darling Conservation Alliance welcomes appointment of Murray Watt as environment minister
The Murray-Darling Conservation Alliance has welcomed and congratulated Senator Murray Watt on his appointment as the new minister for environment and water while urging him to continue the reform agenda for the Murray-Darling basin begun by his predecessor.
Craig Wilkins, the national director of the Murray-Darling Conservation Alliance, said:
During the next term of government, the future of Australia’s greatest river system will be decided as the current Murray-Darling basin plan comes to an end and a new one is created.
This is a pivotal appointment at a pivotal time.
Decisions made in the next three years will determine whether the river gets a fighting chance to build resilience in the face of worsening climate impacts, or continue to face a cycle of fish kills, blue green algae outbreaks and deterioration in water quality and volume.
Minister [Tanya] Plibersek brought common sense, conviction and practicality to resolving challenges in the basin. We look forward to Minister Watt continuing the strong reform agenda begun under his predecessor.
The Restoring our Rivers Act was a major step towards a healthy basin following years of poor progress, stalled negotiations and undermining of the basin plan.
Victorian government adds $700m in prison funding in next state budget
From AAP: The Victorian government will set $700m aside in next week’s state budget to open more prison beds to get ready for the increased demand after the introduction of tougher bail laws.
Almost 1,000 additional adult prison beds will open across the system and an additional 88 beds will open at youth justice centres at Cherry Creek and Parkville. The announcement also includes amendments to the Corrections Act to crack down on prisoners who assault and injure custodial staff.
In a statement, a state government spokesperson said community safety came first in Victoria and there were consequences for breaking the law:
Our tough new bail laws mean more people charged with serious offenders are going to jail. That’s why we need to open more prison beds now.
We have zero tolerance for prisoners who assault our staff. Our new laws make the consequences clear.
Ryan says she will push for more action on electrification and net zero transition
Asked what real action on climate change looks like, Ryan said the government needs to move more quickly:
Well, they need to move more quickly with the net zero transition and we need to have greater clarity for the regions about how electrification will proceed. Rewiring Australia has been held up, and that’s costing us all.
We need to have greater clarity around how electrification can work in the suburbs and how homes and businesses can be assisted to get off fossil fuels and to electrify in a way that’s quick and effective, which brings down their energy costs quickly but also takes pressure off the grid.
They’re all big-picture issues where government policy will make a big difference, and they are things that I’ll be pushing for in the next three years.
Ryan outlines her focus for the next parliament
Ryan said she will spend the next three years focusing on housing affordability, tax reform and the climate:
So far since the election, what we’ve seen is both the Liberals and the Nationals kind of turn on each other, and they’re obviously engaged in leadership battles this week. They’ve got some significant issues, I think, to deal with, and one of them is the fact that they didn’t take adequate policy to the federal election.
We need an effective opposition in the House of Representatives. That’s extremely important. And we need the government to be held to account on the things that communities like Kooyong care about, which are tax reform, housing affordability, climate, and the cost-of-living crisis, and so that will be my job, to hold the government to account on those things.
Ryan speaks after winning re-election in Kooyong
The freshly re-elected teal independent Monique Ryan has just been speaking on RN. She said she won because of her on-the-ground approach in her electorate:
Over the last three years, since I was elected to represent Kooyong I’ve worked very hard to fulfil the contract that I made with my community, which is that I will listen to them and try to represent them as effectively as I can on the things that matter to them.
I have a great team who’ve responded to issues within the electorate really quickly and effectively, and I heard many times when people how grateful they were for help with the sorts of things that they reach out to the team for.
Penny Wong calls on Russia to ‘face up to its responsibility’ on the 2014 downing of flight MH17
Penny Wong has also issued a statement in relation to the MH17 decision. She said:
This is a historic moment in the pursuit of truth, justice and accountability for the victims of the downing of flight MH17, and their families and loved ones.
The ICAO council found that Russia breached the prohibition under international law on the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight and is responsible for the loss of 298 innocent lives, including 38 who called Australia home.
The Australian government welcomes the ICAO council’s decision and urges it to move swiftly to determine remedies for this violation. We call upon Russia to finally face up to its responsibility for this horrific act of violence and make reparations for its egregious conduct, as required under international law.
Our thoughts remain with those who lost their lives as a result of Russia’s actions, their families and loved ones.
UN rules Russia responsible for 2014 Malaysia Airlines crash over Ukraine
The UN aviation council on Monday ruled that Russia was responsible for the downing of the Malaysian Airlines plane MH17 over Ukraine in 2014 resulting in the deaths of 298 passengers and crew, including 38 Australian citizens, Reuters reports.
In a statement, it said the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation would consider what form of reparation was in order in the coming weeks. It is understood Australia will be asking for an order that Russia negotiate over reparations.
The flight departed from Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur on 17 July 2014, and was shot down over eastern Ukraine as fighting raged between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces.
In November 2022, Dutch judges convicted two Russian men and a Ukrainian man in absentia of murder for their role in the attack. Moscow called the ruling “scandalous” and said it would not extradite its citizens.
The ICAO, which is based in Montreal, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. The case was launched in 2022 by Australia and the Netherlands.
– With Reuters
Australia’s housing market has surged in the immediate aftermath of Labor’s emphatic election victory, preliminary data shows, while analysts say an anticipated string of rate cuts may see the trend continue.
Auction clearance rates rose to 70% in the week following the election, according to preliminary Cotality data, from 60% in the middle of last month. An auction clearance rate of 70% or above typically indicates sellers are in control of the market.
Read the whole story from Luca Ittimani here:
What does Albanese’s cabinet picks tell us about his next steps?
Anthony Albanese’s reshuffle contains four important elements, according to our chief political correspondent, Tom McIlroy.
First, the big six portfolios remained unchanged, while the major changes come in the second rank – with Michelle Rowland, for example, moving from communications to attorney general.
There’s the introduction of new blood – such as the Yale-educated economist Daniel Mulino appointed as assistant treasurer – and then there’s bigger political shifts, including Tanya Plibersek making way for Murray Watt in the tricky role of environment minister. All of which, Tom argues, shows it’s still safety first for Albanese.
Read his piece here:
Liberals expect to confirm hold on Monash
Catie McLeod
The Liberals are expected to have fended off a strong challenge from Labor to retain the Victorian seat of Monash, according to the ABC’s projections.
The ABC called Monash for the Liberal party last night, more than a week after the federal election was held.
As of 8pm last night, and with 88.7% of the vote counted, the Liberal candidate, Mary Aldred, was leading Labor’s Tully Fletcher by 8,397 votes.
The seat, which covers part of Victoria’s Gippsland region, had been held by Russell Broadbent for the Liberal party since 2004. Broadbent, who resigned from the Liberal party in 2023 after losing preselection to Aldred, contested the seat as an independent but secured only 10.3% primary votes compared with Aldred’s 32.1%.
Patrick Commins
Chalmers says ‘managing global uncertainty is the necessary precondition’ for economic management
As economists and business leaders call for a bolder reform agenda to lift the country’s flagging productivity, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, also flagged the Albanese government will also have to navigate the reshaping of the global economic order as a result of Trump’s protectionist trade policies and general disregard for longstanding international norms and institutions.
“Managing global uncertainty is the necessary precondition for everything else we want to do to strengthen our economy and make it more productive, competitive and dynamic over time,” he said.
After every election each department prepares two “incoming government briefs”, commonly referred to as the red book (for a Labor government) and the blue book (for a Coalition government).
The International Monetary Fund recently slashed its growth forecasts for the Australian economy in 2025 from 2.1% to 1.6%, citing the impact of Trump’s trade war.
Treasury’s forecasts have not as yet factored in such a large hit to growth – and todays’ news of Trump backing down on his trade war with China adds another twist.
Brace for global dislocation, Chalmers warns
Patrick Commins
The start of the 148th federal parliament coincides with the world “entering a period of global dislocation not seen” since the second world war, Jim Chalmers has warned.
The offshore threats to Australia’s economy over the coming three years loomed large in treasury’s post-election briefing to Chalmers, which he said warned of the “damaging” effects of Donald Trump’s trade war.
Chalmers met with the treasury secretary, Steven Kennedy, early on the Sunday morning directly after the Saturday 2 May election which handed an unexpectedly big win to the incumbent Albanese government.
“We know the job isn’t finished and we know we will be faced with more global economic volatility and unpredictability over the next three years, not less,” Chalmers said in a statement last night. “It’s one of the reasons why Australians voted so emphatically for stability in uncertain times.”
Truck driver ambushed and shot in Sydney overnight
A truck driver was ambushed and shot in Sydney’s south west overnight.
About 11.20pm yesterday, emergency services were called to Yennora after reports of a shooting, police said in a statement.
Officers were told a 29-year-old man had been driving a truck on Donald Street when a vehicle stopped in front of him. A man allegedly exited the vehicle and fired several shots at the truck before getting back into the vehicle and leaving the scene.
The truck driver was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics for gunshot wounds to his wrist and abdomen and taken to Liverpool hospital in a stable condition.
Police were investigating a link to two subsequent car fires: a black Lexus sedan alight in South Granville, and a second vehicle alight in Chester Hill.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with some of the top overnight stories and then Cait Kelly will take the controls.
All eyes will be on the Liberal party room in Canberra today as Sussan Ley and Angus Taylor vie for the leadership. We’ll bring you the latest from Canberra as it happens. Whoever wins, it’s going to be a tough task to mount an opposition to Anthony Albanese with a diminished crop of MPs and an electoral mountain to climb in three years.
Our latest polling shows a surge in support for Albanese’s leadership – combined with calls for him to get on with reforms on housing, health and energy. Housing is not getting any easier, though, with new figures showing Labor’s election win has already given a boost to the property market. More coming up.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has warned Australians to brace for economic turbulence as Donald Trump’s trade tariffs threaten to endanger the nation’s “soft landing” from high inflation. Although the US president offered hope to markets overnight with the prospect of a “total reset” on trade with China, Chalmers said Australia was entering “a period of global dislocation” not seen since the second world war. More on that, too, soon
