Australia politics live: Chalmers prepares to deliver budget as economist says it won't ‘shift the dial' on interest rates
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Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog, and happy budget day! I'm Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it'll be Emily Wind with the main action.
Jim Chalmers will deliver his budget today with the message that although the debt burden has continued to grow and 'there's more to do', Labor are on the right track with lower unemployment and interest rates buoying the country's economic fortunes. We have the initial reaction from Westpac's chief economist coming up, plus loads more reaction as the news day kicks off.
We have an exclusive story this morning on how Liberal backbenchers are urging the Coalition not to cut foreign aid to pay for a potential $15bn increase in defence spending and other big-ticket election promises.
Back to Labor, and the party says it is planning to establish a federal environment protection agency if it wins the election, just weeks after the 2022 election promise was controversially shelved in what appeared to be a backing down in face of a political and industry backlash in Western Australia. The renewal of the idea looks calculated to help Labor MPs facing a strong challenge from the Greens at the upcoming federal election.
The public commitment will help placate Labor MPs anxious about the party's green credentials after the government pushed ahead with laws to protect Tasmania's salmon industry from legal challenge over its impact on the endangered Maugean skate. The bill is expected to go before parliament as early as today. Share
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To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video An aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and 12 other activists which was bound for Gaza has been intercepted by Israeli forces. Thunberg, who set sail on the Madleen boat on June 1 with 11 other activists, said she and the crew on the boat have been 'kidnapped by Israeli forces'. The group, called the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, were aiming to get to Gaza carrying flour, rice, baby formula, and other basic supplies. But Israel's foreign minister branded it a 'selfie yacht' and claimed it was carrying 'less than a single truckload of aid'. Israel said the vessel is on its way to the Israeli port of Ashdod, where activists will be shown a video of the October 7 attacks, according to Israeli media. The coalition, however, has said they have lost track of the boat and are not sure where it is. Their tracker currently shows it stationary So what happens to the crew now following their 'kidnapping'? We take a look below. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is a group of people working across the world to end Israel's blockade of Gaza. The organisation, which was founded in 2015, have been involved in several missions before. In 2015, the Freedom Flotilla III set sail from Athens and planned to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip, but was intercepted by the Israeli navy around 100 nautical miles from the coast of Gaza. A year later, a crew of 26 women set sail in 2016 to highlight the struggle of women in Gaza. It was divided into three legs: Barcelona to Ajaccio, Ajaccio to Messina, and Messina to Gaza. Each leg was crewed by thirteen volunteers with several members alternating at different legs of the voyage. But the boat was intercepted 35 nautical miles away from the Gaza coast and the women were sent back to their home countries. There are 12 activists and a journalist on board the Madleen. Thunberg is the most recognisable person on the boat, known for her climate and political activism. The activist said in a video shared on social media: 'My name is Greta Thunberg, and I am from Sweden. 'If you see this video, we are being intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces, or forces that support Israel. 'I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible.' It is believed Thunberg pre-recorded the video in anticipation of Israeli hostility. Rima Hassan is a French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament. In 2019, she founded the 'Refugee Camps Observatory', an NGO dedicated to the study and protection of refugees worldwide. She has been a member of the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA) since 2016. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies towards Palestinians. Yasemin Acar is a German-born activist, born and raised in the country to Kurdish parents from Turkey. She advocates for refugees, human rights and against Islamophobia. During Russia's invasion of Ukraine, she helped mobilise 15,000 volunteers and created Berlin Arrival Support. Baptiste Andre is a French doctor who is travelling with the group to assist those who are potentially injured in confrontation with Israeli forces. Thiago Avila is the coordinator of Freedom Flotilla Brazil and organises solidarity missions in the Global South. He's also been an activist for Palestine for the past 19 years and was in Egypt for the opening of the Rafah border. Omar Faiad is a correspondent for Al Jazeera Mubasher, reporting for the 24-hour Middle East news channel. Pascal Maurieras is a French activist and sailor. He was previously arrested by Israeli forces in 2018 during a previous voyage on board the Freedom. He said before he set sail this time: 'If we don't protest now about what's happening in Gaza, then tomorrow a similar massacre could be carried out against the people of France.' Yanis Mhamdi is another journalist on the boat who covers environmental issues at Blast. Suayb Ordu is a Turkish activist and said he would not resist Israeli intervention while on board the Madleen. He said: 'If any harm comes to me, if they kill me, and they cannot prove it with visual evidence, let it be known that I took no action. Even if they point a gun to my head and shoot, I will not raise a hand. 'I won't say a word, I won't even look them in the eye. We are moving forward peacefully, and I have the utmost respect for my friends on board and their safety.' Sergio Toribio is from Spain and is a member of Sea Shepherd, which is a marine conservation group that opposes whale hunting. Marco van Rennes from The Netherlands is an activist and a marine engineering student. He's had experience operating high-speed inflatable boats used by NGOs in civil rights missions. Reva Viard is a climate activist from France and in a pre-recorded message urged the French government to 'push for an end to the genocide'. Israel's defence minister Israel Katz ordered the military on Sunday to stop the Madleen from reaching Gaza's shores, calling it a propaganda effort in support of Hamas. But people like Francesca Albanese, the UN's special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, has supported the FFC's operation and urged other boats to challenge the blockade. She wrote: 'Madleen's journey may have ended, but the mission isn't over. Every Mediterranean port must send boats with aid & solidarity to Gaza.' Restrictions on movements and goods in Gaza were imposed by Israel in the 1990s. This intensified in 2007 when Hamas took over Gaza and led to a complete blockade on the movement of goods and people in and out. The blockade is still in place after conflicts including the Hamas assault on October 7, 2023. Israel says the blockade is essential to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas in Gaza. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition says it is urgently working to locate the crew, with Israel's foreign ministry saying at 3pm that the yacht is 'continuing its journey toward an Israeli port'. The ministry announced at 3.30am on Monday that it was under Israeli control and that all passengers were safe and unharmed. The ministry added: 'They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over.' The activists will be shown videos of atrocities committed during the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack in Israel. After this, the activists are expected to be returned to their home countries. More Trending Some governments have spoken out about the news including Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs who summoned the Israeli charge d'affaires in Madrid, Dan Poraz. Turkey has condemned Israel's actions, calling it 'a clear violation of international law'. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement: 'This heinous act by the Netanyahu government, which threatens the freedom of navigation and maritime security, once again demonstrates that Israel is acting as a terror state.' There have not yet been responses from the governments of Brazil, Germany, France or the Netherlands. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Dawn French apologises after being accused of underplaying October 7 attacks on Israel MORE: 'Israel arrested my mum, how do I know she's not dead in a ditch?' MORE: US suggests Palestinian state should be in the French Riviera
