Australia news live: Gallagher says Dutton still has ‘questions to answer’ about share holdings as opposition leader shrugs off ‘ancient history’

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Dutton refused to say much more about his stock activity at his own press conference earlier today, saying the questions were “ancient history” and declining to say any more about when exactly he bought the shares, how many he bought, or what profit he may have made.

When she addressed reporters after Dutton’s own press conference, Gallagher said the opposition leader was asking people to “just take his word for it”.

Gallagher said:

I think that he needs to... provide a bit more significant advice around that than just taking his word for it.

The questions we would ask of Mr Dutton is, ‘What was the value of those shares? Why were those shares purchased the day before a very substantial bank bailout?

These are entirely reasonable questions to ask of someone who wants to be an alternate prime minister of this country.

Dutton has maintained that he declared everything he is required to declare.

The rules of the parliamentary register do not require MPs to say how many shares they bought or what value they came to - but Labor says Dutton should volunteer that information.

However, Gallagher declined to say, in response to multiple questions, whether Labor would agree to upgrade the requirements of the register to demand more information in future.

Several journalists (including this one) put to her that boosting the transparency around politicians’ interests, including requiring more information about property and stock investments, would help such inquiries and accountability in future - but Gallagher wouldn’t say whether Labor would make such changes in future.

Gallagher says Dutton has ‘questions to answer’ over bank share buys

Sticking with Gallagher’s press conference from earlier, the Labor frontbencher also said Peter Dutton still has “questions to answer” about his share holdings in 2009.

Labor is continuing to probe the now-opposition leader’s stock market dealings around the time of the GFC.

Dutton has strongly denied any wrongdoing, saying he has always acted with integrity and that he had no access to sensitive information before buying shares in the big banks shortly before the then Rudd government proposed a major bank bailout during the financial crisis.

You can read more here:

The minister for women, Katy Gallagher, has been asked about comments made about the Matildas by a Triple M host and criticised “derisory commentary” about women’s sport.

At a press conference earlier, Gallagher, who is also the finance minister, weighed in on the controversy about the much-criticised comments and how the public talks about women’s sport.

Gallagher said she thought the situation was “improving, but there are obvious examples where women get let down by social commentary, for sure”. She said:

And it’s not just in sport, it’s in a whole range of areas. I think a lot has changed in my time in public office to raise professionalism and commentary around women’s sport, and that being … the excellence and skill and professionalism of those women involved, they deserve respect.

I think that for the large part the Australian community does respect them and I think negative commentary or derisory commentary should be responded to in the harshest possible way.

Greens call for Creative Australia CEO’s resignation over Venice Biennale dismissal

At a press conference today, Hanson-Young said the impact of Creative Australia’s decision to withdraw the commission had ramifications throughout Australia’s arts community that would take many years to rectify.

She said:

The only way to break this crisis is for the CEO to hand his resignation and for the minister to spill the board.

It doesn’t matter which way you look at it, this has been managed poorly. It’s a shamozzle and it has trashed Australia’s reputation in the arts world, right across the globe.

The senator also called on Burke and Creative Australia to reveal the full costings to the taxpayer that have been incurred through the commissioning, and then decommissioning, of Sabsabi and Dagostino, including how much money had been lost through withdrawn philanthropy.

Within hours of Creative Australia’s decision to rescind the commission on 13 February, investment banker Simon Mordant, one of Australia’s most generous arts philanthropists, announced he was resigning as a biennale ambassador and withdrawing his pledge of a “significant sum”, on the grounds of “poor process by the government’s arts body”.

At Tuesday’s hearing Collette acknowledged additional costs to the taxpayer would be incurred due to the decision to withdraw the commission.

“We will discuss that with Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino and arrive at an agreement, but we absolutely acknowledge we have financial obligations to the artist and the curator,” he said.

Neither Collette or Morton responded to Wednesday’s calls for their resignation, having both testified the night before that they planned to remain in their positions.

A Creative Australia spokesperson said the chair and chief executive’s positions “remain as stated during last night’s hearing” and declined to comment on the ZFA’s call to broaden the impending inquiry into the biennale controversy.

The Guardian has sought comment from Burke’s office.

Zionist Federation calls for review into Creative Australia arts grants

A day after a bruising ordeal in Senate estimates over the dismissal of Australia’s artistic team for the 2026 Venice Biennale, Creative Australia is facing condemnation on both sides of the divide.

On Wednesday, the Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young – who accused Creative Australia’s chief executive, Adrian Collette, and board chair, Robert Morton, of a failure in due diligence, governance and fulfilling the agency’s role as a protecter of free artistic expression – called on the government to sack the Creative Australia board and demand Collette’s resignation.

At the same time, the Zionist Federation of Australia said it had asked the arts minister, Tony Burke, for a “broad and independent” review into the allocation of Creative Australia’s taxpayer-funded arts grants.

Creative Australia has already announced it will do an independent review into the selection process for the Venice Biennale.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Collette suggested that inquiry would also investigate artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino’s rescinded invitation.

But in a statement, the ZFA’s president, Jeremy Leibler, and its chief executive, Alon Cassuto, said the review should cover all grant programs and processes to ensure taxpayer funds were not being used to promote hate, antisemitism, terrorism, or extremist ideologies.

They said:

An independent review with a broad remit is necessary to restore confidence in Australia’s arts funding system, as well as ensure antisemitism and the promotion of extremism isn’t allowed to further fester within the arts community.

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations apologises over IT defencts

In Senate estimates, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations has apologised for not having “full confidence” in the system that administers mutual obligations after it said it had to repay over $1,233,527 to 1,280 jobseekers after IT defects affected the system.

As first reported by The Saturday Paper, there were 10 deaths during the time the payments were cancelled.

Under questioning from Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne, the department secretary, Natalie James, said she apologised to the individuals affected. James said:

I absolutely and unreservedly apologise on behalf of the department that we cannot have full confidence in the system delivering what it’s intended to deliver.

It’s not acceptable, and it is my responsibility … legislatively and administratively for overseeing this process.

As you can see from the dates there are some issues that go back some way, and as I said in my statement, am very concerned and making it a top priority to ensure that we address these issues.

I do apologise for the impact that this has had on people.

Hi, I hope you’ve had a good day so far. I’ll be with you on the blog until this evening.

Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, I’ll hand the reins over to Catie McLeod to take you through the rest of today’s news. Take care.

All the details on Labor’s $7bn promise for Melbourne’s airport train

Well, that was a very busy afternoon! For all the details on the prime minister’s pledge for Melbourne’s long-awaited airport train, Benita Kolovos has you covered – you can read more below:

Department says it has repaid more than $1.2m to jobseekers after IT defects affected mutual obligations

The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations has said it had to repay over $1,233,527 to 1280 jobseekers after IT defects affected the mutual obligation system.

The IT system was incorrectly extending the period of time a participant remained in the penalty zone, not exiting jobseekers from the penalty zone or putting them into the penalty zone when they shouldn’t be. When a jobseeker enters the penalty zone, they face financial consequences.

There are two separate reviews being conducted into the legality of the systems that monitor mutual obligations and have the power to cancel Centrelink payments.

Speaking on the review of the legality of the system at Senate estimates, the department secretary, Natalie James, said:

Cancellations were paused on 4 July 2024 and will remain paused until we can be sure the system is operating correctly. I made a subsequent decision to review all payment cancellation decisions that may not have been validly made during this timeframe.

The commonwealth ombudsman, Iain Anderson, also announced on 4 February that he is examining the framework. James said:

I want to reassure the committee that, if following the completion of these processes I remain concerned about the application of the framework, I will take the necessary actions to ensure my department’s compliance with legislation.

Employment and workplace relations department says it gets one complaint a day in relation to payslips

The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations has said it is investigating four providers for payslip compliance, and is getting an average of one complaint a day in relation to payslips.

Last year Guardian Australia revealed employment services had been coercing jobseekers to hand over payslip details. In some cases, jobseekers are having their payment suspended if they do not hand them over.

Taking a question on notice from Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne during Senate estimates, the department said four providers remain under investigation:

It is not appropriate to identify providers where investigations are ongoing, or where allegations of a breach of the deed are not substantiated.

Between 12 June and 30 September 2024, the national customer service line received 102 complaints in relation to payslips from Workforce Australia, ParentsNext, Transition to Work and Disability Employment Services participants.

The department said it reviewed all 102 complaints and found no instances of inappropriate demerits or payment suspensions relating to the request of payslips.

Allan says work at Sunshine Station the ‘most complex part’ of project

Jacinta Allan said the work at Sunshine Station is the “most complex part” of the project.

It’s a big part of the project in terms of the huge amounts of track and rail realignment and construction of the platform and the installation of new technology, this is the most complex bit of the project, which is why we’re getting on and doing it now.

Allan said she anticipates the work at the station will be finished by 2030 but did not say when the entire train line would be complete. Asked about the timeline of the rail line, she said:

As we know through some of the challenges we’ve had with the airport rail project ... particularly with some issues with the airport itself that had caused delays. What this does mean [is that] we now have to go through a process of resetting the timeline for delivery of the overall project. But what this investment of the additional $2bn, making a $4bn investment, in and around Sunshine means is that we can get this part of the project moving.

Victorian government to also bring forward $2bn for Sunshine station

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, is holding a press conference after the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced a $2bn commitment for works at Sunshine station – which is planned to link Melbourne airport, the CBD and regional Victoria – in addition to the $5bn previously pledged to help build the line.

Allan says the state government would also bring forward its own $2bn for the station as a result.

Victorians know that the airport rail project is a project we’ve been waiting for for decades, and it’s fantastic to see that with a partner in the Albanese Labor government, we can get this project moving again. The $2bn that’s been announced today by federal Labor, we’re going to match with bringing forward our investment in airport rail. We want to get this project moving.

Shadow health minister says Coalition has never promised Australians will access free GP services without exception

The shadow health minister Anne Ruston has told Senate estimates the Coalition has never said Australians will access free GP services without exception.

Ruston asked the government representative Malarndirri McCarthy about whether the prime minister and health minister statements in recent days could be “misleading,” referring to the government’s latest bulk billing announcement they have said Australians will only need their “Medicare card, not your credit card” to see their doctor.

Ruston said the claims contradict the department’s website shows bulk billing data showing out of pocket costs still exist. McCarthy responded, highlighting the Coalition had pledged to match Labor’s election commitment.

Clearly, your own policy statement in terms of Medicare bulk billing is also following the health minister and the prime minister, and there is certainly no misleading statements by the minister or the prime minister.

Ruston replied:

Can I make it quite clear for the record in response to the comments that were just made by the minister. At no time have I, or anybody from the Coalition, ever suggested that the only card you needed to take to the doctor going forward was your Medicare card. We have never said that Australians will get access to free GP services without exception.

NSW police provide update on female nurse charged over anti-Israeli video

The NSW police commissioner Karen Webb has given an update on the female nurse who allegedly threatened to kill Israeli patients in a viral video.

Strike Force Pearl investigators arrested and charged Sarah Abu Lebdeh late yesterday, but no charges have been laid against her former colleague Ahmed Rashid Nadir. In an edited video posted by the Israeli influencer Max Veifer, the pair allegedly claimed they would not treat Israelis and boasted of sending them to hell.

Providing an update, Webb said:

A 26-year-old female has been bailed to appear at court on the 19th of March for three very, very serious charges.

There are three commonwealth criminal code charges relating to the use of a carriage service to menace, harass and intimidate individuals, as well as [an] additional charge to threaten a group.

She’s on very, very strict bail conditions – namely prohibiting her from going to a point of departure from Australia, but more importantly, banned from using social media.

Webb said she was charged with commonwealth offences rather than NSW offences as “whilst ...we allege that [they] were in New South Wales, it’s been widely reported that the person that they engage[d] with was overseas and the commonwealth law best applies to those situations.”

Webb said the charge, 13 days on from the investigation, was made in an “incredibl[y] short time” given the complexities of the police work which crossed international borders.

Webb said the influencer’s statement had to be translated from Hebrew into English. She praised the police work done in such a short time and said:

I don’t think I would have ever imagined that an investigation of that complexity across the other side of the world would be done in such a short time.

Richard White retakes control of $32b WiseTech

Billionaire tech entrepreneur Richard White has taken control of WiseTech Global, the logistics company he founded three decades ago, after the resignation of two-thirds of its board earlier this week.

AAP reports that White has been appointed WiseTech’s executive chairman while the ASX’s biggest tech company searches for a permanent chief executive, WiseTech said in a statement.

WiseTech directors Lisa Brock, Richard Dammery, Michael Malone and Fiona Pak-Poy resigned on Monday, citing “intractable differences” about the role of White, causing WiseTech shares to plunge 20%.

More from Senate estimates exchange

Continuing from our last post: Deb O’Neill also claimed submissions to that inquiry found Godwin Grech had been sending emails to senior Liberal party figures.

The Treasury submission to the committee of privileges included emails from Mr Grech to senior Liberal party figures and this ran across the period from September 2008 roughly around collapse of the Lehrmann brothers, through to the period ending June 2009.

O’Neill claimed the emails from Grech’s Treasury account to senior Liberal figures were “highly personal” in nature.

There was another major argument over those emails, which were part of submissions to a privileges committee (which has some pretty strict rules on what can and can’t be heard in public, though O’Neill said the submissions are public, and you could find them in the parliamentary library).

The committee went into a private meeting for a solid 40 minutes determining O’Neill’s questions were in order. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that meeting.

Dutton’s purchase of bank shares during GFC subject of discussion during estimates

Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s purchase of bank shares during the GFC has been going off in Senate estimates today.

Labor senator Deb O’Neill has asked whether the bank stimulus package increased the share prices of those banks, and then whether Dutton would have been privy to information or briefings on the package before it was made public. The opposition was not happy with that line of questioning, and fought tooth and nail to stop it.

Senator James McGrath at one stage said “Chair, I have a point of order” more than 20 times, trying to talk over O’Neill and the chair, Jess Walsh – it was pretty messy – while Labor members accused the opposition of “running cover” for Dutton. Dutton was asked about the share purchases earlier today and said he’s conducted himself with “integrity” (see earlier post for his full comments).

O’Neill then referred to evidence from a previous privileges committee inquiry, that well-known former public servant Godwin Grech – who is no longer employed at Treasury, and is not at estimates – was “heavily involved in the package”:

The committee of privileges page 84, Mr Grech was heavily involved in the development of the Australian Business Investment Partnership, ABIP, including attending meetings and negotiations with the major banks.

More to come on this exchange in a moment.

PM asked about prospect of bold taxation reform in Australia

Back at the Herald Sun’s Future Victoria event, where the prime minister is still taking questions.

Anthony Albanese was asked if Australia needs a bold approach and reform of its taxation system across both federal and state governments.

He said the “truth is that tax reform is really hard.” On the decision to scrap the stage-three tax cuts, he said he “can’t find anyone who says that we did the wrong thing there”.

And yet, this time last year, the opposition were demanding we go to an election – at the beginning of last year – because it was so horrific, doing something that was pretty bloody sensible, frankly, and added to workforce participation and had productivity benefits.

Should there be more non-confrontational debate about [reform]? Yeah, of course there should. But I live in the real world, and that’s the one that we have to deal with.

After a few more questions, the PM wrapped up his appearance at the event.