Albanese

Prime minister says the middle of a global fuel crisis is ‘the worst possible time to jeopardise’ Australia’s partnerships with Asian trading partnersThe prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has confirmed next month’s federal budget will not include a new tax on existing gas export contracts as he criticised the “populist” campaign calling for a levy on producers.As reported last week, Albanese was poised to reject pressure to introduce a 25% tax on gas exports amid concerns the intervention could alienate the same Asian trading partners Australia is relying on for supplies of diesel and petrol. Continue reading...

One Nation outperforms the Coalition for the first time, while the rightwing populist party’s leader has a positive rating among all age groupsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA majority of surveyed Australians approve of Pauline Hanson’s leadership of One Nation, giving her a higher job approval rating than Anthony Albanese and Angus Taylor, as the Guardian Essential poll finds the rightwing populist party is outperforming the Coalition for the first time.The results come as Australians are becoming more pessimistic about the country and the economy, with the majority of respondents saying they expected things to get worse in coming months. Continue reading...

Government’s draft news bargaining incentive scheme includes 2.25% levy on local revenues of digital giantsAnthony Albanese has urged Google, Meta and TikTok to make deals with Australian media outlets to avoid a dedicated 2.25% levy on local revenues, warning digital giants should not be able to exploit the work of journalists to boost profits.Releasing an exposure draft for the government’s news bargaining incentive (NBI) scheme on Tuesday, the prime minister said platforms who sign new deals with publishers to pay for news content would receive offsets of between 150% to 170% from the new levy. Continue reading...

David Pocock says prime minister – who is trying to shore up fuel supplies – is parroting industry talking pointsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor is poised to reject a growing push for a new 25% tax on gas exports in next month’s budget, prompting David Pocock to accuse the government of “caving in” to the gas industry.It’s understood the government has elected not to pursue a new tax on gas exports in the budget, prompted in part by the global oil crisis and Anthony Albanese’s diplomatic efforts in shoring up fuel supply from Asian allies by pledging reliable access to liquefied natural gas. Continue reading...

NSW housing and homelessness minister says Bikram Lama’s death shows the ‘gaps’ that people without residency can fall throughGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFederal and state housing ministers have described the death of a young homeless man in Sydney’s Hyde Park as “beyond tragic” and say it reinforces the need to stop vulnerable rough sleepers from falling through the cracks.Bikram Lama, 32, was found dead on 7 December last year near the entrance to St James tunnel where he had been sleeping rough. Continue reading...

PM to update state and territory leaders and is weighing options to increase oil refining in Australia. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories. Nick Visser will take the reins shortly.Anthony Albanese will convene the national cabinet again in coming days to discuss the fuel crisis, he told the ABC’s 7.30 program last night, as the government considers options to boost domestic fuel refining capacity. Continue reading...

The prime minister has weathered the crises – for now – and there is a growing recognition that Australia is too vulnerable to world eventsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese’s fuel diplomacy tour of Asia has already started paying dividends, but the real test could still be to come.After last week’s rush to Singapore and pulling forward a planned visit, the prime minister dashed back to Australia from Malaysia on Thursday, to survey the damage at one of the nation’s only remaining fuel refineries. The hastily arranged trips, were to show a leader on the job; to demonstrate Albanese’s attention to the fuel crisis. Continue reading...

Prime minister says Corio refinery fire will not push Australia into stage 3 restrictions, despite reduced production of petrol, diesel and aviation fuelFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese says petrol production has fallen 40% at one of Australia’s two remaining oil refineries but the damage caused by the fire at the Geelong facility will not lead to fuel restrictions.The prime minister spoke outside the Viva Energy refinery – which had been supplying about half of Victoria’s fuel before a massive fire burned for 13 hours until noon Thursday – on Friday morning, and said the facility was also producing less diesel and aviation fuel. Continue reading...