Australia politics live: Albanese says Trump call ‘very constructive’ as Dutton says US president-elect ‘not somebody to be scared of’

Key events

Show key events only

Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature

Aukus is about advanced manufacturing as well as defence, Albanese says, because of the new submarines being developed. He says:

It has a massive spin-offs as well that we’re seeing through education with many Australians engaging already in the United States and in the UK. So this is about Australia’s national interest. I’ll always stand up for Australia’s national interest.

Greens leader Adam Bandt asks about Donald Trump’s election. He says the win is “bad for women, bad for people of colour, bad for the climate, and bad for democracy”.:

Many people are terrified about what having this dangerous demagogue in charge will mean for the world, including here in Australia. To help keep Australia safe, will you now cancel the Aukus nuclear submarine agreement so that we’re not tied at the hip to Donald Trump?

Prime minister Anthony Albanese says the submarines are in Australia’s national interest, because there’s no ore effective way for a country to defence itself is with submarines:

Because of stealth, because of the amount of time that they can stay under the water, because of undetectability, because of the depths they can dive and how long they can stay under for, in terms of Australia’s national interest, I was convinced - and I was convinced through proper briefings with the defence department - and with defence officials - that this is the correct way to go.

He says “oh, seriously” and then deputy leader of the opposition, Sussan Ley is booted from the chamber for interjecting

LNP MP Llew O’Brien asks if any of those released into the community have been charged with sexual assault. Burke says that would mostly be up to state and territory authorities. He says:

The concept of people on visas who have committed crimes previously being in the community with no restrictions is what used to happen.

And that’s why I give the example - you refer to those particular crimes - 102 convicted sex offenders were released with no conditions into the community from detention by the leader of the opposition.

s MP Pat Conaghan is asking the prime minister to confirm whether those released into the community are getting welfare and housing benefits. Home affairs minister Tony Burke says:

The most expensive option is when they are in detention. The next most expensive is when they are in the community, and the cheapest option is to get them out of the country.

The arrangements when they are in the community and the expenses involved there are using procedures that were put in place and that existed for the entirety of the previous government.

Incumbent Melbourne lord mayor Nicholas Reece has been re-elected, with councillor Roshena Campbell to become his deputy.

Reece became lord mayor in July after Sally Capp stepped down.

His ticket received the most number of votes followed by the Liberals, the Greens and the former AFL footballer Anthony Koutoufides.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers was up answering a Dorothy dixer on inflation, when shadow treasury spokesman Angus Taylor interjected, so Chalmers started talking about headline inflation – please see Peter Hannam’s post earlier for an explanation.

Then there’s a barney about emotion as a motive for questions, and health minister Mark Butler gets involved and… now we’re back to inflation.

Nup, we’ve moved on, shadow immigration spokesman Dan Tehan’s up on the high court’s decision on ankle bracelets and curfews for former immigration detainees – see Paul Karp’s extensive work below for catch ups.

Home affairs minister Tony Burke explains the new regulations he brought in this morning and says they’re now being applied by the department. Legislation will also be introduced. He says:

First of all the decision from the high court that has been referred to is not the decision the government wanted, but it is a decision we prepared for so this morning I was with the governor-general, signing in new regulations and those … allowed what was cut out by the high court yesterday to now go through reconsideration on a new test which is viewed as being legal, and for that new test to be applied to the full caseload.

The government’s preference is for the people not to be here at all, he says:

And that is why we introduced powers today in the legislation to improve the government’s capacity to remove people from this country in that situation.

Independent MP Allegra Spender is asking about scam losses. She says:

94% of scam losses are borne by individuals and only 6% by banks. This is despite banks having far greater tools at their disposal to stop scams. Does the minister think that consumers are responsible for and have the ability to prevent 94% of scam losses? And if not, will you take action to make banks and other companies pay for losses in proportion to their ability to prevent them?

Stephen Jones, the assistant treasurer, says he introduced anti-scam legislation today. You can read all about that here:

Spender says she specifically asked about who bears the losses. Jones says:

The focus of our legislation and the focus of the question is around how we prevent scams occurring in the first place. And when they do occur, how we ensure the victims are compensated.

And he says most scams originate on social media, so they need to be kept to account as well.

Choice CEO stares down criticism from retailers

Returning to the first day of public hearings in the ACCC’s supermarkets inquiry, the head of consumer advocacy group Choice has stared down criticism from retailers.

In September, Choice released the results of the second quarterly, government-funded report on supermarket prices across Australia.

At the ACCC hearing today, Choice chief executive officer Ashley de Silva was asked about criticism by the Australian Retailers Association that Choice was not “comparing like for like” across brands and different stores.

De Silva disputed this, saying Choice made an effort to look at comparable items rather than the “exact same product” in different stores.

He said:

There seems to be sometimes an underlying sentiment that we’re not showing the best possible value or the cheapest possible products in any store.

We’re not looking to find the cheapest possible price. We’re looking to understand general pricing practices at the stores and what value in a comparable basket looks like across stores.

So it’s true that we may be buying a national brand from, say, a Coles or Woolworths, but because of Aldi’s model, be buying one of their house brands there.

We look at country of origin, we look at ingredients, nutritional information.

Giles ‘baffled’ that opposition wants to criticise fee-free Tafe program

Deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley tries to ask skills and training minister Andrew Giles a question but also mentions his previous portfolio – immigration.

She can’t refer to a former portfolio. So she restarts, addressing it to him just as the member for skills and training …

And it’s about fee-free Tafe places anyway. She wants to know how many people have dropped out of courses.

(Yes, we have been through this many times this week.)

Giles says 580,000 people have enrolled, then repeats his explanation that the data isn’t there yet for graduations.

Ley says:

The question addressed the number of dropouts of completions, the only thing the minister is addressing is commencements.

Giles says he’s “frankly baffled” the opposition wants to talk the program down.

Australian ambassador to China visited Tibet recently to raise human rights concerns, Senate estimates told

The Australian ambassador to China, Scott Dewar, made a hushed visit to Tibet last month to raise concerns over human rights violations, Senate estimates has revealed.

Daniel Sloper, a senior official in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, told senators the ambassador visited the autonomous region from 20 to 24 October and met with executive vice chairman, Chen Yongqi, the region’s third-most senior official.

Sloper said Dewar’s visit was to “examine the local situation and also to raise Australia’s concerns over the human rights there directly with senior officials”.

The Liberal senator, Simon Birmingham, asked whether it was officially announced by the ambassador.

Sloper said he’d have to check but “it was certainly public knowledge in China. It was reported in domestic media”.

Last month, James Larsen, Australia’s ambassador to the United Nations, delivered a joint statement from 15 countries, including Australia, the US and the UK, on the “ongoing concerns about serious human rights violations” in Xinjiang and Tibet.

China’s foreign ministry shot back, claiming Australia is plagued by “systemic racism” and “hate crimes” and that the statement was “political manipulation under the pretext of human rights”.

‘We’re determined to get this right’: Rowland on gambling ads

Rowland says they’ll satisfy three key areas: Protecting children, breaking the nexus between sport and online wagering, and addressing “that particular cohort that is at risk which is young men who are being targeted with that advertising to a saturation level”.

“We’re determined to get this right,” she says, adding it will add to previous efforts including BetStop.

Communications minister says ‘we are making good progress’ on gambling ad reforms

Communications minister Michelle Rowland is responding to a question about when the government plans to bring in gambling advertising reforms. She says they’re carefully considering the late Peta Murphy’s report. She says:

I’m sure everyone in this place has constituents, everyone in this place knows someone who has been personally impacted by the scourge of what happens when people have addictive problems with gambling and the fact that this is costing our economy some $25bn a year.

It’s important to note that there are issues in this report that go not only to issues of federal responsibility, but also to states and territories, that is why we are doing this in a coordinated way and we are making good progress.

Dutton says Trump is ‘not somebody to be scared of’

Peter Dutton is congratulating president Trump and the Republican party. The opposition leader says his party will ensure “president Trump is not somebody to be scared of, but somebody that we can work very closely with”. He says it’s a “historic outcome:

We want the United States to continue to be the great democracy that it is.

We have worked together closely with our friends through the Anzus alliance, through the Aukus arrangement, which the Coalition signed with the Americans and the Brits during our term in government.

Albanese says he will ensure Australia always has a say in decisions that ‘shape our world’

Albanese goes on to say:

As an ally, as an economic partner, as a stable democracy, as a leader in the region, and a power in our own right, my government will always make sure that Australia has a seat at the table and a say in the decisions that shape our region and that shape the world.

We’re investing in our defence capability, we are promoting security across our region, we are seizing economic opportunities so we reap the benefits for the Australian people. In all of these endeavours over decades, we have worked together with the United States.

Both sides of politics here in Australia, but both sides of politics in the United States as well. This has been to the enduring and mutual benefit of both of our nations and I look forward to working with president Trump in the future in the interests of both of our nations.

Albanese speaks of 'very constructive' chat with Trump as question time begins

It was a rowdy question time yesterday, leading speaker Milton Dick to look like he wanted to roll his eyes, walk away, and shout at someone all at once.

So we’ll see how today goes.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese is leading with his conversation with president-elect Donald Trump:

Just after 10am this morning, I spoke with president Trump and I congratulated him on his election victory. It was a very constructive discussion.

We affirmed the strong relationship between our two nations and committed to working together for the benefit of our people, including through Aukus. Our government’s approach has always been about investing in our capabilities and investing in our relationships.

That’s true at a national level and it’s also true at a personal one. As prime minister, I have made it a priority to invest in relationship with world leaders to build trust and respect in Australia’s best interests. I built that with president Biden and I will do so with president Trump.

Indigenous communities often struggle to access fresh food or eat three meals a day, hearing told

Consumer advocates have been giving evidence this morning at the first of a series of public hearings in the consumer watchdog’s inquiry into the supermarket sector.

Martina Kingi, from the Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network, told the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that people in remote communities often struggled to access fresh food or eat three meals a day.

Kingi said:

If you can get two meals a day you’re doing pretty well.

It’s very rare to eat a salad when you’re in community, or even have any kind of fresh salad available.

There’s been a few times where I’ve ... been in community for work and forgotten a tomato for my ham and cheese tomato sandwich or something, and gone to this store ... and there’s no tomatoes. So, it’s a lot of packaged food.

Kingi said remote Indigenous communities had to deal with significantly inflated grocery prices and that:

There are some stores that don’t even advertise the prices on their goods.

I was recently back home in Derby [in the Kimberly region of Western Australia] and there were plenty of products that did not have prices on them.

Kingi said privately-owned stores operating in remote communities needed to be more transparent about why they charged higher prices, beyond simply blaming freight costs, as some of them were just “there to make a buck”.

Guardian Australia recently reported on an investigation by consumer advocacy body Choice that found remote communities were paying more than double the capital city prices for everyday groceries.

Choice representatives have also been giving evidence at the ACCC hearing today.

Read more:

‘A ban isn’t the answer’: Tammy Tyrrell says social media ban won’t address problems young people face

Independent senator Tammy Tyrrell has raised major questions over the government’s proposal to ban kids under 16 from using social media, saying Australians have “no idea” how the idea will even be enforced.

“The policy behind the proposed social media ban is as deep as a kiddy pool. We have no idea what technology the government wants to use to enforce this. They want to rush this bill through before the tech trial has even begun and hope that it still checks all the boxes in 12 months time,” she said.

The Tasmanian senator said she had kids of her own, and that she had “set them up with social media accounts when they were younger.”

“I had the same concerns about online content that parents have today,” Tyrrell said.

“A ban isn’t the answer. It’s not going to stop kids accessing social platforms and it doesn’t actually address the problems young people are facing online. It’s a feel-good moment for the older generations without asking the people affected what’s best for them.”

Private hospital sector in focus in Senate estimates

Shadow health minister Anne Ruston is asking the Senate estimates about health minister Mark Butler’s comments about releasing the government’s Private Hospital Sector Financial Health Check, a review of the sector’s viability, on Friday.

Ruston raises concern about Butler’s statement that “there will be no silver bullet from Canberra or funding solution from taxpayers to deal with what are essentially private pressures in this system”.

Blair Comley, the department secretary, says, the financial health check led to a better fact base and the government is actively considering its issues:

One of the things that came out of that private financial health check is that this is by no means a uniform sector. There’s a lot of variation, which was reported in the public document that was put out.

It also indicated that variation includes variation across different types of services, particularly called out obstetrics and mental health as being particular areas of challenge and a high level value.

So the government said there’s no magic bullet. The minister made it clear that we would continue - we established in that process a CEO forum, which I chair, that has both private hospitals, private health insurers, a representative of the AMA and a representative of the states.”

Read more about the Health Check here:

Mining company pushes for judicial review of Plibersek’s order to protect sacred site from Blayney gold project

The mining company behind the proposed McPhillamys gold project near Blayney in central western New South Wales has begun proceedings for a judicial review of the Aboriginal heritage protection order made by environment minister Tanya Plibersek.

In a statement to the ASX on Thursday, Perth-based Regis Resources said it had commenced formal legal proceedings in the federal court in respect of the decision, which was made under section 10 of the federal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984.

It is seeking a declaration that the s.10 is “legally invalid” and that it be redetermined by a different minister. It’s also seeking costs.

Plibersek made the partial s.10 declaration in August in response to an application by Wiradyuri elder Aunty Nyree Reynolds, a member of the Wiradyuri Traditional Owners Central West Aboriginal Corporation (WTOCWAC). The order blocked the construction of a proposed tailings dam, which Regis said “made the project in its current form unviable”.

In a statement of reasons released last month, Plibersek said the proposed tailings dam, which would have been built in the headwaters of the Belubula River and involved concreting over natural springs, would cause “irreversible damage and permanent loss” to Aboriginal cultural heritage sites, particularly related to the Blue Banded Bee dreaming.

The Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council, supported by NSW Aboriginal Land Councils, said it was neutral on the mine but opposed the s.10 application, arguing that the responsibility for heritage protection should fall with Local Aboriginal Land Councils and branding WTOCWAC a “rebel” group. The federal laws allow for any traditional owner to make an application.