PM heckled at Melbourne event
Two protesters have gatecrashed a speech by Anthony Albanese.
The prime minister was addressing the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Herald Sun’s “Future Victoria” in Melbourne when a man in the crowd held up a small sign saying “No More Coal and Gas” started heckling Albanese.
Albanese carried on with his speech as if undisturbed while the man was escorted out by security.
Moments later a woman stood up on her chair and started heckling the prime minister again. She was also removed by the security.
Breaking: PM forced to evacuate over bomb threat linked to Chinese dance, music group
The prime minister was forced to evacuate The Lodge last night due to a bomb threat linked to performances in Australia by a classical Chinese dance and music group which is banned in China.
The Shen Yun group — which has been linked to the Falun Gong spiritual movement — is due to hold several concerts in Australia over the coming month.
But a newspaper linked to Falun Gong has reported that organisers have been sent threatening emails demanding that the shows be cancelled.
The ABC has now confirmed that an email was sent to a Falun Gong supporter falsely claiming that explosives had been placed around the prime minister’s residence, and that they would be detonated if the performances by Shen Yun proceeded.
“Large quantities of nitro-glycerine explosives have been placed around the Australian Prime Minister’s Lodge, located on Adelaide Avenue in the Deakin area of Canberra, Australia,” the message said.
“If you insist on proceeding with the performance, then the prime minister’s Lodge will be blown into ruins and blood will flow like a river.”
Anthony Albanese was taken to another location to several hours while the Australian Federal Police (AFP) conducted a search at the lodge, where they determined there was no threat.
The AFP responded to the “alleged security incident” at 6pm on Tuesday.
“A thorough search of a protection establishment was undertaken and nothing suspicious was located,” the AFP said in a statement.
“There is no current threat to the community or public safety.”
A spokesperson for the prime minister on Tuesday said: “We trust the AFP to do their jobs and thank them for their work.”
The Lodge is the official residence of the Australian prime minister in Canberra.
Chalmers accuses Coalition of ‘dishonestly’ conflating issues related to rise in inflation
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the opposition is “deliberately and dishonestly” trying to conflate issues related to inflation data.
Reserve Bank governor Michelle Bullock confirmed that government spending has contributed to a rise in the inflation rate which subsequently forced the central bank to raise interest rates.
Chalmers says issues of private recovery and public demand shouldn’t be conflated.
“The reason why inflation came in higher, than the reserve Bank and others expected towards the end of last year is because the private economy recovered quickly, quicker than they were anticipating,” Chalmers says.
Chalmers won’t weigh into comments made by Labor MP about Australia Day, flag
Jim Chalmers has been asked if he agrees with comments from his Labor colleague Julian Hill saying the left cannot let One Nation “hijack” Australia Day and the national flag.
The Australian has reported that Hill will use a speech today to say that progressives must embrace Australia Day and that the flag can’t be used as “propaganda for the hard right”.
Hill is reportedly expected to say that he’s concerned about misogynistic and homophobic behaviour against school students by newly arrived migrants.
The treasurer says he hasn’t seen Hill’s comments, but says the government has no plans to change the Australian national flag.
“I think the vast majority of Australians reject extremism in all its forms. and, you know, I think burning the flag, fits into that category,” Chalmers says.
“I’ve been thinking about inflation, productivity, the budget preparations, as you’d expect,” he says.
Chalmers to present move savings in next federal budget
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the federal government will present more savings in the next federal budget.
The treasurer has reportedly asked government ministers to find savings in their respective portfolios ahead of May’s budget.
“People can expect in our fifth budget in May, that there will be more savings, just like there have been savings in the first four budgets as well,” Chalmers says.
Asked if the PM has asked the treasurer and other ministers to find savings, Chalmers says finding savings is a widely held view in cabinet.
Conclusion of energy rebates behind inflation figure, Chalmers says
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has just stepped up for a press conference in Brisbane to comment on inflation figures.
Headline inflation remained steady at 3.8 per cent in January, unchanged from December.
Chalmers says the inflation rate is still higher than the federal government would like and says the end of energy rebates has contributed to rising inflation.
“A big part of the reason for that is because of those electricity rebates coming off. That was a hard decision that the government took,” Chalmers says.
Headline inflation remains steady at 3.8 per cent
Headline inflation remained at 3.8 per cent in January, unchanged from December, in seasonally adjusted terms.
Trimmed mean inflation, which is the Reserve Bank of Australia’s preferred measure of underlying inflation, climbed a little in January.
It came in at 3.4 per cent in January, which was up from 3.3 per cent in December.
January’s inflation was slightly hotter than forecast.
Economists had been expecting headline inflation to be 3.7 per cent, and trimmed mean inflation to be 3.3 per cent.
The news about January’s inflation comes three weeks after the Reserve Bank lifted interest rates, by 0.25 percentage points, on concerns that inflation was rising too quickly in Australia.
Albanese posts on social media after security threat
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has taken to Instagram after he was evacuated from The Lodge last night following a security threat.
The post show his beloved dog Toto keeping watch at the door.
“Toto on alert but all good,” he wrote.
“Thanks to AFP for your ongoing work and professionalism and to people who sent kind messages of care and support.”
He attached the song “Break My Stride” to the post.
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Taylor reached out to PM after security scare
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor says he’s reached out to the prime minister following a security threat at The Lodge in Canberra last night.
Anthony Albanese was evacuated from The Lodge last night following an “alleged security incident”.
He says he wants a united front to make sure political violence often seen overseas doesn’t permeate into Australia.
“I can understand that people have concerns about what politicians do, and that’s — it’s right and proper that they be able to voice them. But when it turns to threats of violence, it’s completely unacceptable,” Taylor says.
Taylor says federal Liberal leadership chaos has affected perception of party
Angus Taylor has been asked if he’s made life difficult for the SA Liberals ahead of the upcoming state election.
A number of opinion polls, including Newspoll, show One Nation is outpolling the Liberals on primary votes in South Australia.
The opposition leader says he’s “acutely aware” of the issues and says the Liberal party has to do better at the federal level.
“We need to restore Australians’ confidence in the Liberal Party. But most importantly, we need to be fighting for hard-working Australians every day,” Taylor says.
Taylor takes aim at Labor over govt spending, ISIS linked cohort
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has stepped up for a press conference in Adelaide to join the SA Liberal leader on the election campaign hustings.
The opposition leader, who is at a manufacturing facility in Adelaide’s south, is joined by Shadow Industry Minister Andrew Hastie.
Taylor says the federal government has “finally admitted” that the they have a “big government agenda”.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has reportedly asked government ministers to find savings ahead of this year’s federal budget.
“They say they’re going to start doing something about it now. We offered to them some time about a week ago a bipartisan way forward on doing this. They rejected that. They’re going to go their own way,” Taylor says.
On the cohort of Australians linked to ISIS in Syria, Taylor says a close political ally of Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, Dr Jamal Rifi, is assisting the cohort.
“We know they’ve been issuing passports, and we know they have been holding meetings with premiers and others for some time about the repatriation. This is a Labor party that says one thing and does another,” he says.
Change to capital gains tax discount will result in fewer houses: Hume
It’s probably no surprise that deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume isn’t too keen any potential changes to the capital gains tax discount.
The government is weighing up whether to overhaul the generous discount ahead of the May budget.
But the opposition has cast any potential changes as a handbrake on housing supply.
“I think the principles are very clear, if you tax something, you get less of it,” Hume told Sky News.
“If you tax housing more, you’ll get less housing, not more housing. We want to see more houses built, not fewer. And we want to see more people investing in residential property, not fewer people investing in residential property.”
Pressed if capital gains tax discount changes were a no-go, even if they were attached to broader tax reform, Hume took a let’s wait and see approach.
“[Jim Chalmers] has been playing very coy about what it is that he intends to do. But certainly these kites have been flown. We will be the party of lower taxes.”
Bowen celebrates drop in emissions as ‘good progress’
Energy Minister Chris Bowen is pretty excited about the latest emissions data.
The country’s greenhouse gas emissions were down 1.9 per cent over the year to September 30.
“One quarter, and indeed, one year, doesn’t make an [energy] transition, but you know, it’s a sign of good progress,” he told ABC’s AM.
For the first time outside of COVID, emissions in transport has reduced, down 0.4 per cent over the year.
Bowen said it was a sign the government’s EV policies were working.
Asked how he can claim progress when transport emissions were still 23 per cent higher compared to 2005 levels, the minister said he wasn’t getting ahead of himself.
“It’s a small reduction. You know, I’m not getting ahead of myself. But when you consider it, it has been so hard to abate and you know, people moving around more is not a bad thing … we want to see that emissions intensity come down.”
Labor MP urges Australians to protect national flag from extremists
Labor MP Julian Hill is urging Australians with mainstream political views to defend cultural symbols such as the national flag.
The Assistant Cultural Minister will give a speech in Sydney today, where he will argue the nation is under threat by extreme right and left wing ideologies.
“Why would … most Australians, ordinary Australians, centre left, centre right — why would we cede our national symbols to extremists?” Mr Hill told Sky News.
“Why would we do that? Our national flag? Our national day? These are things that should not be hijacked by the extremes of politics.”
Hill says it’s okay for Australians to hold different views about Australia Day, but argues, “if there’s no consensus to change the date, then let’s back it in and love our country”.
He says social media algorithms and political unrest are aggravating tensions.
“When you turn on your TV, when your listeners look overseas in many parts of the democratic world, we see hate, we see extremism and division, and at times violence,” he says.
“That’s the kind of division that One Nation and extremists want to import here into Australia in a chase for votes.”
Julian Hill warns ‘ordinary Australians’ to unite against extremist views
Labor MP Julian Hill says “ordinary Australians” must come together and stand against extremist ideologies on the right and left side of politics.
It comes amid favourable polling for Pauline Hanson’s populist right-wing party, One Nation.
Hill will deliver a speech today outlining his vision for a united Australia at the McKell Institute in Sydney.
The assistant cultural minister says most Australians want to live harmoniously, but argues they’re being divided by the loudest voices in fringe groups.
“We have got a very loud, extreme view on the right and an extreme view on the left, screaming and fighting, and that’s not where most Australians are, and it’s not where the government is,” he told Sky News.
Greens think ‘momentum for change’ is building on capital gains tax discount
Greens senator Nick McKim is leading the inquiry into the capital gains tax discount.
The committee just so happens to be taking place at the same time the government is weighing up whether overhaul the generous discount.
McKim told ABC News Breakfast the status quo was unfair for younger Australians.
“There are intergenerational issues that we need to resolve. So I would say the momentum for change is growing and this is a historic opportunity for this parliament to deliver a tax package that is progressive, that makes Australian society fairer and more equal and is of genuine ambition.”
McKim says the minor party is “up for a conversation” about substantial income tax cuts but only as long as it’s part of a broader overhaul of how property and assets are taxed.
People should be able to disagree without crossing the line: McKim
Greens senator Nick McKim says everyone has a role to play in making sure the line in political debate is not crossed after a security threat on the prime minister’s residence.
The prime minister was evacuated from The Lodge last night as the Australian Federal Police responded to an “alleged security incident”.
The senator said while politicians were generally “pretty safe” in Australia everyone had a role to play in keeping discourse on civil terms.
“I think what we have to be careful about is that politics is absolutely rife for disagreement — and we should be passionate about our positions, we should argue our position strongly and forcefully — but there is a line that we don’t want to cross,” he told ABC’s News Breakfast.
“It’s about finding that balance between representing the people that put us into parliament, speaking on the issues that we care about with passion and conviction but also trying to hold a basic level of respect across the political spectrum.”
McKim added he was glad the prime minister, his family, and staff were all safe.
Government looking for ‘significant savings’ ahead of budget
There are reports in the papers today that the prime minister has asked ministers to tighten their belts and find more savings ahead of the budget in May.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher says they are “certainly looking for savings” but acknowledges they’re looking for bigger savings this time around.
“That’s a big part of the work I’m doing and we have in every budget. So in that sense, we’re continuing the approach we’ve brought in other budgets,” she says.
“But we are looking for … significant savings in this budget. That’s partly … to ensure that we’re managing the budget properly. It’s also to try and find room to fund the things that we need to fund.”
She pointed to significant pressures coming from defcence, health and aged care.
You can disagree without issuing a death threat: Gallagher
Katy Gallagher has been in public life for some time now, first in the ACT (where she was chief minister) and now as a federal minister.
The finance minister says she’s noticed a change in the political environment over the years as people are now more able to make anonymous threats.
“It takes a lot of time for the AFP to work through what are threats that they are concerned about and those that they are just keeping a watching eye on and that’s unfortunate,” she told ABC’s Radio National Breakfast.
“It would be great if people could disagree without issuing a death threat or threatening someone’s life at work, that’s for sure.”
Gallagher has no reason to disbelieve Treasury advice on capital gains tax discount
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher says she has no reason not to believe advice about the potential outcomes from an overhaul of the capital gains tax discount.
The government has signalled it’s considering making the discount less generous. But in public, they’re sticking to a line about wanting to tackle “intergenerational issues around housing”.
Appearing before a Senate inquiry into the issue yesterday, Treasury wouldn’t say what options they’d modelled but did say scaling back the discount would have a minimal impact on supply and make it easier for first home buyers to get into the market.
Gallagher said:
“I work very closely with the treasurer and Treasury, and if they are providing that advice to a committee, then there’s no reason not to believe it.
“The Treasury provides the government with advice all the time on matters relating to the budget. And, you know, this issue of capital gains tax, which the Liberals and the Greens established this select committee into, is looking into all matters relating to that.”
She says the PM and treasurer have made clear the focus is on “intergenerational issues around housing”.
“We want to lift every lever available to ensure that younger people can get into the housing market and afford to buy their own homes.”
