Albanese and Dutton make final 1-minute pitches to voters
, the two men vying for the job have made their final pitches to voters.
prepare to vote to decide the next leader
Speaking to Nine's political editor Charles Croucher, both leaders were given one minute to make their case.
Speaking to Nine's political editor Charles Croucher, both leaders were given one minute to make their case.
In his final pitch to voters, Anthony Albanese says a returned Labor government would deliver tax cuts and strengthen Medicare.
In his final pitch to voters, Anthony Albanese says a returned Labor government would deliver tax cuts and strengthen Medicare.
The election promises Labor and the Coalition have made to win your vote
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Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
'Ridiculous excuse': Hillel Fuld speaks out after Labor cancels visa for Israeli influencer, citing risk of importing 'hatred'
Israeli influencer Hillel Fuld has broken his silence after having his visa cancelled by the Albanese government, hitting out at the "ridiculous excuse" Labor used to deny him entry to Australia. Mr Fuld's visa was quietly cancelled by the Department of Home Affairs last week, shortly before he was due to arrive in the country to take part in fundraising events hosted by Magen David Adom Australia - an offshoot of Israel's national emergency medical and blood service. In a letter outlining it's reasoning for the decision, the department noted multiple posts made by the Israeli influencer denying "documented atrocities in Gaza", as well as his repeated use of "Islamophobia rhetoric". Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke later confirmed the government had cancelled Mr Fuld's visa because: "Australians have a strong view that we don't want hatred from overseas brought here". However, in an exclusive interview with Sky News' Sharri Markson, the Israeli influencer, who also holds United States citizenship, hit back at the government's reasoning, describing the decision as "a whole different level of crazy". "Anybody who follows me online knows that my tweets are never violent or discriminatory," he said. "In fact, the tweet that they quoted first in this document was me denying that there was a massacre in Gaza last week, which we now know there wasn't. So again, it was accurate and something that I'm very, very careful about in terms of my reporting is to be accurate. "There's no Islamophobia in my tweets, there's not incitement, there is no racism of any kind. It really is just a ridiculous excuse to ban someone who has pro-Israel views." One of the posts cited by the department in its decision came after widespread reports emerged in March of Israeli soldiers in Gaza opening fire on starving Palestinians looking to access aid, leading to the deaths of more than 100 people. Mr Fuld dismissed the reports as "propaganda". "There was no massacre of Palestinians in Gaza today. Palestinians trampled each other as they fought for the aid that the IDF sent in," he said in a video posted to social media. Israel has denied accusations of a massacre and has claimed some troops fired shots into the air in order to control and disperse a crowd advancing toward them. Critics of the decision to ban Mr Fuld have argued his stance on the war in Gaza is irrelevant, highlighting his trip to Australia was to support a humanitarian cause. Warning the decision to ban anyone with pro-Israel views was a "dangerous, slippery slope", Mr Fuld defended his planned visit by explaining he had only planned to discuss Israeli technological innovation. "The topic of my of my talk wasn't even politics or anything to do with Gaza or anything like that," he said. "I was there to talk about how Israel and Israeli innovation is changing the world and making the world a better place. What's inflammatory about that?" Mr Fuld also noted his visa application was made using his US passport, which he suggested made the decision to deny him entry to the country even stranger. "This is an important point that not many people reported on, which is that I applied for my visa on my American passport. It's really absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I'm Israeli," he said. "So what they're doing is banning an American citizen from entering Australia, which is a whole different level of crazy." The Israeli influencer went on to say he had wanted to keep the incident private so it could be resolved behind the scenes, adding he did not want to "throw anyone under the bus as long as it's solved". However, he revealed discussions with the government had taken a shock turn, with an unnamed official demanding he limit his speech in Australia should the decision be overturned. "Now is the time to let the world know that this is pure anti-Semitism," he said. "If you need evidence to that effect, I'll just mention that, again, not something that many people have reported, but I did receive through a channel, not directly from an official in Australia who said to me: 'If we can reverse this, and I can't promise that we can, but if we can reverse this I need you to commit to not discussing your dead brother'. "Literally, that's what they told me: 'You could come, but you can't mention your brother who was murdered by an Arab kid', and I was like, are you kidding me right now?" Mr Fuld claimed the exchange was further evidence Australia was "jumping on the bandwagon of all the Jew hatred across the world", before warning the government it's reputation in Israel had been all but destroyed.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Labor MP Jerome Laxale pushes to force climate considerations into environment laws
The Albanese government is facing pressure from its backbench to move quickly on sweeping changes to environmental laws after a contentious gas project was granted provisional approval. Labor MP Jerome Laxale has said he will lobby the government to ensure that Australia's climate targets are considered when future coal or gas projects seek approval. Almost a fortnight ago Labor provisionally approved Woodside's bid to extend the life of its North West Shelf gas plant through to 2070. The approval is critical for the company's greater aim of developing the Browse gas field, Australia's largest untapped gas resource. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has made clear the approval was the only decision available under current environmental laws. "The environment minister had to deal with the North West Shelf project under the existing EPBC Act, that we did try to change in the last election," he said. "It was before the parliament for almost two years." During the last term of parliament, the government shelved plans for a rewrite of environmental laws but did try to establish a new environmental protection agency. An early blueprint outlining the aims of the new laws, the "Nature Positive Plan", indicated that emissions would be a factor in future environmental approvals. The stand-alone EPA legislation didn't pass the Senate after WA Premier Roger Cook lobbied the prime minister against doing a deal with the Greens. The prime minister has made clear the stalled reforms will be a priority in the government's second term. Environment Minister Murray Watt has been tasked with reworking the policy, which he says will seek to both protect the environment and serve the needs of businesses. Mr Laxale, who is a patron of Labor's Environment Action Network, said the new laws must consider Australia's climate ambitions. "We need to make sure that our big emitting projects don't jeopardise our ability to meet our emissions reductions target," he said. "That's the fundamental that I want to try and get into the law." One major project on the approvals horizon is Woodside's Browse project. Applications for both the project itself, and a carbon-capture and storage project alongside it, are both going through the state and federal approvals process. It's unclear if new environmental laws could be passed in time to affect Browse, and if the project would be subject to them should they be implemented. Heavily-emitting projects are already required to comply with Australia's climate targets through the safeguard mechanism. Under the safeguard rules, the North West Shelf project is subject to ever-lowering emissions caps towards net zero by 2050. But if the Browse gas project goes ahead, it would be subject to even tighter rules — needing to be net zero from the day it begins operating. The mechanism only tracks a project's direct emissions created in the process of extracting and processing fuel, meaning emissions from the gas produced and sold by a project like Browse are the responsibility of whoever buys and uses the gas. Woodside's plan to meet that net-zero test for Browse is at least partly through carbon capture and storage. After initially suggesting carbon capture and storage would be unfeasible for Browse, the company is now planning a floating system operated at sea. The Browse gas fields have a relatively high carbon content — as much as 12 per cent of the gas field is carbon dioxide. Woodside suggests the majority of that can be captured and buried, reducing Browse's direct (or "scope one") emissions by 53 million tonnes, or 47 per cent. But carbon capture and storage has a patchy track record in Australia, including some high-profile struggles. Chevron's Gorgon gas project is attempting carbon capture and storage, but as of late last year had captured about a third of the emissions it had promised. A different project, Santos' Moomba plant, has had more success. Greg Bourne, a former oil and gas industry executive who now works with the Climate Council, said he doubts Woodside can make its carbon capture plan work. "One only has to witness how difficult Chevron's Gorgon CCS project has been on land. To do it offshore is not only doubly difficult, it is multiply difficult to do," he said. But others argue carbon capture needs to work for Australia to meet its net zero ambitions. Alex Zapantis from the Global CCS Institute said drawing comparisons between the Gorgon and Browse carbon capture projects was unfair. "There is nothing technologically, fundamentally that prohibits you from re-injecting liquids of any sort, including carbon dioxide, into geological structures deep beneath the seabed," he said. "This is a well-established practice by the oil and gas industry. "And comparing Browse to Gorgon, it's not a valid comparison because the geological structures are completely different. They are different structures, they will have different characteristics." The Albanese government has made clear its desire to see more gas projects approved, and has adopted a "Future Gas Strategy" that sees a role for gas well beyond 2050. Mr Laxale agrees there is an important role for gas in the energy transition — but that role might not last forever. "I'd say we need gas, until we don't," he said.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Albanese to lay out political vision for second term
Anthony Albanese is set to lay out his second-term agenda in a key speech, as he prepares for potential talks with Donald Trump. In his first major address since an emphatic election win in May, the prime minister will speak at the National Press Club about his priorities for when parliament resumes in July. After securing an expanded mandate among voters at the election in which Labor increased its parliamentary majority, Mr Albanese will say delivering on promises will be his priority. "Delivering these commitments matters for every Australian, regardless of who they voted for. It matters for our economy, for the jobs, skills, technology, infrastructure and energy we need to grow and thrive in the years ahead," he will say in the speech. "It also matters for our democracy. We are living in a time of significant global uncertainty - and that reaches beyond just economic instability." May's federal poll was the first time since 1966 an incumbent government retained all the seats it held at an election. Mr Albanese will say promises of expanding urgent care clinics, cheaper childcare and an increase in affordable housing will remain central to his government's priorities. "Our government's vision and ambition for Australia's future was never dependent on the size of our majority. But you can only build for that future vision if you build confidence that you can deliver on urgent necessities," he will say. Labor will have a responsibility in its second term to disprove voter cynicism with governments, the prime minister will say. "To recognise that some of this frustration is drawn from people's real experience with government - be it failures of service delivery, or falling through the cracks of a particular system," he will say. "And to counter this, we have to offer the practical and positive alternative." The speech comes days before Mr Albanese flies to Canada for the G7 summit, where a one-on-one meeting with US President Donald Trump is on the cards. Tariffs imposed by Mr Trump on other countries are set to dominate discussions at the international forum, with Australia trying to carve out an exemption to the economic measure. Australia had been slapped with a 10 per cent tariff on all exports to the US, with steel and aluminium products having a 50 per cent tariff. Mr Albanese will say Australia will still be able to play a critical role in global affairs amid the instability. "Our vision is for a society that is a microcosm for the world, where all are respected and valued and our diversity is recognised as a strength," he will say. "Our international relationships in the fastest growing region of the world in human history benefit us, but also provide a platform for us to play a positive a stabilising global role in uncertain times."
