Another Australian found safe after Nepal-Tibet floods – as it happened

Key events

• 4h ago

  What we learned today, Tuesday 8 September

• 4h ago

  Australian found safe following Nepal-Tibet flood disaster

• 5h ago

  Arts Centre Melbourne workers call 24-hour strike

• 5h ago

  ‘They have let down Zomi’: protesters call for justice for slain aid worker

• 6h ago

  Tributes for father and daughter killed in plane crash

• 6h ago

  Guardian Australia and ABC denied access to One Nation press conference

• 6h ago

  Two-thirds of households predict another RBA rate hike

• 7h ago

  Chalmers to release latest intergenerational report with AI a major feature

• 7h ago

  Opposition playing ‘follow the leader’ on tobacco excise, Butler says

• 8h ago

  Wilson claims Labor taxes delivered ‘trifecta of housing failures’

• 9h ago

  Six serious harms banned for kids under Labor’s digital duty of care bill

• 10h ago

  Labor says ‘global reckoning’ coming for big tech

• 10h ago

  Albanese pans One Nation plan to allow early access to superannuation

• 10h ago

  Neo-Nazi trial begins in the high court

• 11h ago

  Hastie promises to fight One Nation after WA byelection win

• 13h ago

  Ben Carroll announces laws to tackle corruption

• 13h ago

  Liberal party photocopying One Nation policy, Chalmers says

• 14h ago

  ‘We shouldn’t have to model’ super changes, Joyce says

• 14h ago

  Matt Canavan ‘deeply sceptical’ over social media changes

• 15h ago

  Chaney furious over ‘invite-only’ grants program

• 15h ago

  Joyce says super plan has 'minute' inflationary effect

• 15h ago

  Howard: blocking immigration from countries won't stop terrorism

What we learned today, Tuesday 8 September

That’s a wrap on our live coverage for today.

Before we say goodnight, let’s look at what made the top headlines:

• Former prime minister John Howard has warned political parties against banning migration from certain countries as the debate over Australia’s immigration settings continues.

• Barnaby Joyce has defended One Nation’s super policy, saying it would have a “minute” impact on inflation. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has savaged the plan, saying it was a threat to the compulsory super rules.

• The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, has announced two key pieces of legislation will be introduced to parliament this week to tackle corruption in the state.

• Lawyers for an outlawed neo-Nazi political party have argued anti-hate laws passed after the Bondi terror attack rely on the opinion of a politician and are “authoritarian in nature”.

• Australia will allow social media account holders to opt out of the powerful algorithms pushing dangerous and divisive content into users’ feeds, part of new laws designed to boost online safety.

• Jim Chalmers will release the latest intergenerational report on 21 September, which the treasurer described as “a snapshot of all of the changes we expect to see in our economy and in our society over the next 40 years”.

• Rising fuel prices, fears of further interest rate hikes and falling house prices have taken household confidence back towards the “deeply pessimistic” levels of last year, according to Westpac’s latest monthly survey.

• Guardian Australia and the ABC were once again refused entry to a One Nation press conference in Victoria.

• A dairy company founder and his daughter have been identified as the two people killed in a light plane crash, prompting heartfelt tributes and condolences.

• About 80 protesters gathered to demand an independent investigation into the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom.

• Workers at the Arts Centre Melbourne have voted to go on strike for a full 24 hours this Friday, disrupting a one-night-only performance by US singer Macy Gray and the opening night of an international dance act.

• Another Australian citizen, who was in Nepal and uncontactable, has today been confirmed safe and well and not requiring consular assistance. There are still 35 Australians missing.

Thanks for sticking around, see you tomorrow morning!

Australian found safe following Nepal-Tibet flood disaster

An Australian citizen, who was in Nepal and uncontactable, has today been confirmed safe and well and not requiring consular assistance.

There are still 35 Australians who remain unaccounted for in the region.

Read more:

Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom accuse One Nation of ‘practising censorship’ after shunning reporters from press conference

Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom have criticised One Nation’s Victorian leader, Warren Pickering, for barring reporters from a press conference.

Reporters from Guardian Australia and the ABC were escorted to the press conference at Crown Melbourne by hotel staff before they were asked which media outlet they were from and told to leave.

AJF’s executive director, Peter Greste, said:

Australia’s strong democracy means journalists have the ability to interrogate politicians on the behalf of the people who hire them – the voters. It isn’t always comfortable, but that freedom is one of the reasons our political system is one of the world’s most stable and effective.

No individual politicians or political party should have the right to choose whether a media outlet can scrutinise them. This is democracy 101, when transparency and accountability are lost, citizens are deprived of their right and ability to know what is going on.

Any politician deciding who gets to scrutinise them is practising censorship, and in a democracy, that’s something we should never accept.

Following the latest updates in the Alan Jones trial?

Nour Haydar and Amanda Meade will be answering reader questions in an upcoming podcast episode of Alan Jones on Trial.

If there’s a piece of evidence, legal process, or courtroom exchange you would like them to explain, submit your question via email to australia.fullstory@theguardian.com.

Arts Centre Melbourne workers call 24-hour strike

Stephanie Convery

Workers at the Arts Centre Melbourne have voted to go on strike for a full 24 hours this Friday, disrupting a one-night-only performance of US singer Macy Gray and the opening night of international dance act, Burn the Floor: Luminous.

Striking workers – including ushers, food and beverage attendants, stage managers, ticketing staff and more – will establish a picket line from 3.30pm and hold a rally from 6pm outside Hamer Hall, where Gray is scheduled to perform, on Friday.

The state government-run Arts Centre is Australia’s largest performing arts venue, employing around 900 workers, some 600 of whom are casuals. Hundreds are expected to join the strike.

The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) Victoria, and the Electrical Trades Union have been bargaining with the Arts Centre on a new enterprise agreement since March.

Pay remains the sticking point. The expired enterprise agreement saw wages increase by 1% every six months, and many of the lowest (Band 1) wages in the expired agreement are now well below the national minimum wage. More than a third of employees are classified as Band 1.

A spokesperson for the Arts Centre said all workers were paid at least the national minimum wage and that they had immediately adjusted the pay of workers whose wages had fallen below national baselines after the Fair Work Commission’s 2026 annual wage review.

The Arts Centre has offered workers a pay rise of 3% annually, the equivalent of the Victorian government wages cap. But workers say they need a 7% annual pay rise to make up for wage stagnation since 2022.

A union petition in support of the workers calling on the state government to increase funding to the arts and arts workers had nearly 3000 signatures at the time of writing.

CPSU Vic Secretary, Jiselle Hanna, said:

The decision to interrupt Macy Gray’s show has not been made lightly – but we are left with no choice until the government funds the Arts Centre properly.

Vicki Ward (Minister for Creative Industries) has the opportunity to sweep in and stop this industrial action by committing to paying workers fairly.

MEAA deputy chief executive, Adam Portelli, said:

Workers are at a point where they simply can’t afford to accept another agreement that leaves them falling behind.

This is about protecting the future of a major cultural institution as much as it is about workers’ pay.

‘They have let down Zomi’: protesters call for justice for slain aid worker

Outside the gates of Israel’s Canberra embassy, a lonely saxophone played as about 80 protesters gathered on Tuesday to demand an independent investigation into the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom.

Frankcom was killed by the Israel Defense Forces in April 2024 alongside other humanitarians while driving to deliver basic aid to the Gaza Strip.

The findings of an Israeli investigation last month suggested there was no suspicion of criminal misconduct surrounding her death despite a previous finding there had been failures in how the attack was carried out. No charges were laid.

A group, dressed in red to symbolise blood, passed between them a white, tightly bound cloth, designed to look like the dead body of a baby, AAP reports.

Mourning the life of his wife’s oldest friend, Karuna Ratna Bajracharya told the crowd:

I’m losing my faith in humanity when there is no justice.

I can see that when our leaders fail us, when justice fails, when international law fails.

The protesters called for the Israeli ambassador, Hillel Newman, to be expelled from Australia. At the time Newman said he felt deep sorrow for Frankcom’s family but refused to apologise for the strikes on aid vehicles.

Protesters say the response did not go far enough. Bajracharya, a lifelong Labor voter, said he was disheartened by the government’s sustained ties with Israel. He said:

They have let me down dramatically. They have let down Zomi Frankcom.

A letter to the minister in late August, understood to have been written by Australians previously onboard a Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, demanded an independent investigation into the IDF’s actions.

The group had not yet heard back, Jewish pro-Palestinian activist Anny Mokotow told the crowd. Before reading out the letter, Mokotow said:

We have to fight against this as much as possible. We do it for Zomi Frankcom and those who have died senselessly with her – for their bravery, generosity and selflessness.

Stephanie Convery

Federal eSafety commissioner failed to participate in Victorian inquiry into LGBTQ+ hate crimes, report reveals

Despite the centrality of apps and social media-type platforms to the incidents that triggered the Victorian government inquiry into anti‑LGBTQ+ hate crimes, the federal eSafety commissioner did not participate in it.

Finding 37 of the report said:

The Committee is disappointed that the federal eSafety Commissioner declined to participate in this Inquiry.

The committee found that the community felt social media platforms should take greater responsibility for the “harmful targeting” of LGBTQ+ people on their platforms.

It also recommended the state government advocate to the federal government for “a dedicated inquiry into best practice safety features of dating apps utilised by Australian users”, and to ensure that all apps operated under “an enforceable and strengthened Australian Online Dating Code”.

Grindr and Match Group participated in the inquiry, but other apps did not.

Stephanie Convery

Victorian inquiry into LGBTQ+ hate crimes hands down findings

Hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community are under-reported, often not recognised as hate crimes by police, and frequently committed by “thrillseekers” enabled by “the relative permissibility of homophobic acts in society”, a Victorian government inquiry has found.

A legislative council inquiry into anti‑LGBTQ+ hate crimes in Victoria handed down its final report to parliament this afternoon. It included 41 findings and 35 recommendations to the state government to strengthen prevention and policing of hate crime related to gender or sexuality, and to fund LGBTQ+ health and community organisations and legal centres to better support victims and the wider community.

The inquiry found that there was significant mistrust of law enforcement among the LGBTQ+ community, which led to under-reporting of crimes against them.

It also found police often did not recognise or record the prejudicial element of the hate crime when it was reported. The committee recommended practical tools be developed to stop hate crime falling through administrative cracks in law enforcement, and an independent evaluation of Victoria police’s LGBTQ+ awareness training.

The inquiry was established after Guardian Australia reported in 2024 on a spate of more than a dozen, separate cases of gay men being allegedly attacked by people they met through dating apps.

Tributes for father and daughter killed in plane crash

A dairy company founder and his daughter have been identified as the two people killed in a light plane crash, prompting heartfelt tributes and condolences, AAP reports.

Ian Campbell, 56, and his daughter Hannah, 23, died on Monday morning when the aircraft crashed south of Brisbane, sparking a large grass fire.

Tributes to the father and daughter highlighted the family’s support for their local community and Campbell’s contributions to the agricultural sector.

The fourth-generation dairy farmer founded the Barambah Organics dairy farming company in Queensland and also ran Manana Pastoral in the Goondiwindi region, producing olive oil, lamb and beef.

Goondiwindi mayor Lawrence Springborg said the family had the support, prayers and goodwill of the community, and the pair would be greatly missed. Campbell founded the Barambah Organics dairy farming company with his wife, Jane.

Springborg told the ABC:

We feel their grief deeply and what makes it also so hard is that the Campbell family were so generous in their support of the local community.

The Campbell family had raised more than $70,000 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and invested in agriculture, Springborg noted.

National Farmers’ Federation president Hamish McIntyre said the loss of the father and daughter was an “absolutely heartbreaking tragedy”.

Campbell was a highly respected figure in Australian agriculture and a longtime friend, he said.

Hannah was a bright young woman with her whole life in front of her.

McIntyre said his thoughts were with the family, their many friends and everyone touched by “this devastating loss’’.

Guardian Australia and ABC denied access to One Nation press conference

Benita Kolovos

Guardian Australia and the ABC have again been refused entry to a One Nation press conference in Victoria.

One Nation’s Victorian leader, Warren Pickering, is due to address the media over allegations made against him by an ex-partner about alleged drug use.

Reporters from Guardian Australia and the ABC were escorted to the press conference at Crown Melbourne by hotel staff before they were asked which media outlet they were from and told to leave.

Pickering has rejected his ex-partner’s claims as “false”. According to The Australian, he said in a statement:

They are extremely hurtful and I just hope the public can see through them.

Reporters from The Australian, who broke the story, were not barred from attending the press conference.

Krishani Dhanji

Tl;dr here’s what happened in question time

• The opposition started on housing, trying to pressure the government over its building targets, and the impact of its housing tax policies.

• They then pivoted to the tobacco excise and tried to wedge the government over some comments from NSW Labor premier Chris Minns questioning the current excise level.

• The health minister, Mark Butler, accused Angus Taylor of playing “follow the leader” with Pauline Hanson – the Coalition has pledged to cut the excise by 80% (a week after One Nation promised a 75% cut).

• Independent Dai Le asked the government to review her outer western Sydney electorate’s health priority status to bring in more doctors, but Butler said it was “complicated”.

I’ll be honest, it felt like a pretty long and dry question time to me.

And on that note, I’ll leave you with the fabulous Achol Arok for the rest of the afternoon. See you back here bright and early tomorrow!

Two-thirds of households predict another RBA rate hike

Patrick Commins

Rising fuel prices, fears of further interest rate hikes and falling house prices have taken household confidence back towards the “deeply pessimistic” levels of last year, according to Westpac’s latest monthly survey.

Two-thirds of respondents now expect mortgage rates to rise, the survey showed, reflecting a near consensus among economists that the Reserve Bank will hike again this year and potentially as early as later this month.

Matthew Hassan, Westpac’s head of forecasting, said fears of higher rates were weighing particularly heavily on the mood of mortgaged homeowners.

As petrol prices push back towards $2.10 a litre, Hassan said “the mortgage belt is tightening up on spending plans”.

Westpac’s gauge of house price expectations dipped but showed more respondents expected prices to be higher over the next 12 months than lower. A little over 32% expect property values to decline over the coming year, with 20% expecting no change and 42% anticipating an increase (6% weren’t sure).

Westpac also today has joined the other major banks in predicting the RBA will hike again, picking the November meeting as the most likely time.

Luci Ellis, Westpac’s chief economist, said, the main reasons for changing the call “are the growing evidence of a more resilient household sector, and a larger-than-expected impetus from a datacentre focused investment boom”.

While the housing sector is playing out weaker than earlier forecast, the outlook for overall growth is now firmer and the tech sector is adding new cost pressures not evident previously.

Chalmers to release latest intergenerational report with AI a major feature

Patrick Commins

Jim Chalmers will release the latest intergenerational report on 21 September, which the treasurer described as “a snapshot of all of the changes we expect to see in our economy and in our society over the next 40 years”.

The government is required to release an IGR at least every five years under the charter of budget honesty, but can be more frequent (the most recent was in 2023).

In the words of Treasury officials, the reports “examine the long-term sustainability of current policies and how demographic, technological and other structural trends may affect the economy and the budget”.

Artificial intelligence is likely to be a major feature of this year’s report, given its potential to transform the way we work and live over coming years and decades.

That said, Treasury officials have already advised they expect AI will only help productivity growth return to historical levels, rather than unleash a new wave of prosperity.

The IGR will also look at the effects of an ageing population on the economy and the country’s finances. The last IGR highlighted how compulsory super had lightened the burden of paying for aged pensions.

The first IGR was delivered in 2002 under then treasurer Peter Costello, and this year’s report will be the seventh.

After a final dixer to Mark Butler, the PM calls time on QT. Kate Chaney stands up looking annoyed – she was probably due to get the next question.

Liberal MP Garth Hamilton asks Anthony Albanese if he will scrap a $5,000 cap on allied health services for veterans, instead of spending $150m on an “overseas climate talk fest” (the COP climate summit). It’s an issue the opposition pushed heavily last sitting fortnight – and called for the minister responsible to be sacked.

Albanese says the government has increased the fees for allied health workers to stop disincentivising treatment for veterans.

Now the review is after $5,000, that will be more than 12 visits. And then, if further care is required, if there’s a clinical need, then they’ll receive it. Importantly, changes will not impact veterans on the special rate disability pension, on the totally and permanently incapacitated pension, or determined to be catastrophic injured. These changes come into effect on July 27, and the government continues to consult.

Butler refutes claim tobacco policies have ‘led to more Australians smoking illicit cigarettes’

Take three: Liberal MP Mary Aldred, who was on a Coalition-led parliamentary inquiry that recommended cutting the tobacco excise, has a go now to corner the government over the policy.

She again quotes NSW premier Chris Minns warning on the impact of the excise policy, and asks if the health minister will “admit Labor’s failed tobacco policies have led to more Australians smoking illicit cigarettes?”

The health minister, Mark Butler, says he begs to differ and that smoking rates have been going down despite the hiked up excise.

I don’t agree with that. The Institute of Health and Welfare, which has been the statutory authority under governments of both political persuasions for many, many years, says otherwise as well.

I think we should all be glad the authoritative body set up under statute, supported at least until today, by both major political parties, have said that smoking rates over the last three years have declined by about half a million on daily adult smoking rates.

Labor fumes over Coalition question on tobacco excise

Nationals frontbencher Anne Webster asks the assistant treasurer, Daniel Mulino, why he is “refusing to protect his own constituents” by supporting an excise cut, after a tobacco store in his electorate was firebombed overnight. Mulino was asked about the firebombing in an interview this morning but wouldn’t provide any details on it.

There’s a bunch of back and forth over whether the question is within standing orders or not. Milton Dick calls part of the question a slur, and the government argues that it doesn’t go to Mulino’s portfolio at all.

Webster has another crack and asks why Mulino is “refusing to protect Australians …” which gets some more groans and Dick once again tells Webster to remove that part of the question completely.

Finally we get to the answer.

Mulino defends himself, saying he did answer the question about the firebombing responsibly, because, “what would’ve been irresponsible is for me to speculate on live TV about what actually happened this morning and what might have driven it.”

Can I quote the illicit tobacco and e-cigarette commissioner: ‘Lowering tax on its own is not likely to resolve the criminal side of the market. It does not remove demand, eliminate supply, or the underlying profit opportunities, they, as the organised criminals, can undercut prices no matter where we see the excise.’ We have said repeatedly a responsible approach is to continue our policy on enforcement.

Opposition playing ‘follow the leader’ on tobacco excise, Butler says

Angus Taylor gets on to the wedge train and tries to pressure the government over comments from NSW Labor premier Chris Minns again, this time on the tobacco excise.

This morning Minns (who has publicly questioned the efficacy of the excise remaining high) said: “It’s perversely driving a situation where you’re seeing more people, not less people, smoking because they’ve got access to readily available cheap [black market] cigarettes.

The health minister, Mark Butler, says the government is “not interested in joining the Coalition, in following the leader, that he pathetically appears committed to be playing with the One Nation party”.

We’re not interested in joining the Coalition in a price discounting war with organised crime.

We won’t be joining in a policy plucked out of thin air, with one apparent objective, to go a little bit further than One Nation … And the member for New England [Barnaby Joyce] is pumping his fist. He knows what’s going on here. They know this follow the leader game that he’s playing.

In the middle of his answer, Labor MP Matt Burnell gets kicked out for shouting too much.