Australia news live: Angus Taylor mentioned at Icac again as text messages about Reformers funding read out

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‘Angus Taylor hates Rob’: federal opposition leader referenced at Icac again

Penry Buckley

Returning to the NSW Icac, federal opposition leader Angus Taylor’s name has been mentioned again during hearings, raising the question of if he ever has donated to the Reformers.

Taylor, who is not named in Icac’s allegations, has previously denied ever making payments to the group.

Jean-Claude Perrottet has been read text messages sent by Reformer Christian Ellis to him in September 2021, in which Ellis says the group has “zero dollars at the moment”. Asked why by Jean Claude-Perrottet, Ellis writes:

“Because Michael O’Hara hates the vax campaign, and Angus Taylor hates Rob”.

The inquiry has previously heard evidence, including from Reformer Robert Assaf, that hotelier Michael O’Hara threatened to end an arrangement in which he paid lobbying company Beckington for Reformers factional work, after the group adopted an anti-vaccination stance.

Counsel assisting, Juliet Curtin, asks: “That seems to be suggesting that Mr Taylor had paid some money for the Reformers too, doesn’t it, or was refusing to?”

Jean-Claude Perrottet: “It sounds like that’s the suggestion.”

Curtin: “Do you know anything about that?”

Jean-Claude Perrottet: “Look, I’ve I’ve heard it come up [at the inquiry], but until that came up, I hadn’t recalled that at all.”

Locals have been urged to evacuate immediately after a fire in Port Adelaide at an industrial shed used to store sulphur began producing large volumes of toxic smoke.

South Australia’s Metropolitan Fire Service has said anyone within 1km of Moonta Road in Port Adelaide should leave immediately and others should not enter the area.

A warning from the fire service said:

\n It is extremely dangerous.\n Emergency services are on the scene, the smoke is considered toxic.\n

The fire is contained to the shed, and heavy smoke is blowing in a south-easterly direction, according to the latest update.

However, the wind direction could change and anyone in the vicinity has been advised to close their windows and doors and be cautious of smoke.

The SA Ambulance Service said two people have been taken to the Royal Adelaide hospital.

Returning to the NSW Icac, federal opposition leader Angus Taylor’s name has been mentioned again during hearings, raising the question of if he ever has donated to the Reformers.

Taylor, who is not named in Icac’s allegations, has previously denied ever making payments to the group.

Jean-Claude Perrottet has been read text messages sent by Reformer Christian Ellis to him in September 2021, in which Ellis says the group has “zero dollars at the moment”. Asked why by Jean Claude-Perrottet, Ellis writes:

“Because Michael O’Hara hates the vax campaign, and Angus Taylor hates Rob”.

The inquiry has previously heard evidence, including from Reformer Robert Assaf, that hotelier Michael O’Hara threatened to end an arrangement in which he paid lobbying company Beckington for Reformers factional work, after the group adopted an anti-vaccination stance.

Counsel assisting, Juliet Curtin, asks: “That seems to be suggesting that Mr Taylor had paid some money for the Reformers too, doesn’t it, or was refusing to?”

Jean-Claude Perrottet: “It sounds like that’s the suggestion.”

Curtin: “Do you know anything about that?”

Jean-Claude Perrottet: “Look, I’ve I’ve heard it come up [at the inquiry], but until that came up, I hadn’t recalled that at all.”

Federal parliament is returning from winter break next week.

Do you have a question you’d like to ask Guardian Australia’s team of political reporters in Canberra? Political editor Tom McIlroy and the team will be answering readers’ questions on the Australian Politics podcast.

Please send us your questions to australianpolitics@theguardian.com.

We’d love to hear from you.

The federal parliamentary inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has been told that One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s rhetoric is fuelling racism.

The inquiry is continuing its public hearings this week in Melbourne, focusing on racism in sport and media.

Tanya Hosch, former inclusion and social manager at the AFL and senior consultation with Kind Enterprises, was asked by the independent senator Lidia Thorpe if Hanson’s “rise was increasing racism”.

Hosch replied that she believed the senator was enabling racism through her political rhetoric.

\n I believe many of the things that she says have racist intent and express racism. I do believe that it does encourage people to use similar behaviour and words and actions and I think that is pretty well documented.\n

A case of H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed in an Australian land-based bird for the first time.

A magpie found on Victoria’s south-west coast tested positive for the deadly virus, the CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness confirmed today. All other cases in Australia to date have been in seabirds.

The case was one of 16 confirmed detections in Victoria on Thursday, in addition to six new cases confirmed in South Australia. There have now been 123 confirmed or presumed positive detections across the country.

Turning to WA, authorities this morning said the state – where bird flu was first detected in Australia – remained “free of any detected local transmission” and that it was establishing a bird flu wildlife advisory group to support disease preparedness and response.

It comes after the federal government on Tuesday revealed that almost 400 species of native birds and mammals are at a high risk or worse from the disease.

The ABC has apologised to Gina Rinehart for a short film that appeared on its Race Around the World program.

Rinehart threatened the ABC with legal action last week over crude remarks in the film, titled A Very Relaxing Video, that included offensive comments about the billionaire, including a line about “mixing her guts up nice and smooth to make one big sausage roll”.

The ABC managing director, Hugh Marks, said the broadcaster’s ombudsman found the film did not breach editorial policies but had “fallen short of community expectations”. He wrote:

\n The ABC apologises to Mrs Rinehart and to anyone else affected or upset by the publication of the film.\n As part of our review of this matter, we have considered whether the guidance in the ABC Editorial Policies adequately reflects current community expectations.\n We have also considered whether the relevant guidance sufficiently distinguishes between news and non-news content.\n

The ABC said it will amend its guidance as it applies to violence. It has edited the film to remove the relevant material.

Returning to the NSW Icac’s Operation Rosny, Jean-Claude Perrottet has been questioned about his time after his departure from the ministerial office of Damien Tudehope.

Jean-Claude Perrottet has frequently answered “I don’t know” to questioning from counsel assisting Juliet Curtin today.

In 2021, Jean-Claude Perrottet was working a day job at Medallion Finance, which he says gave him a base salary of $55,000.

Curtin shows him invoices for four monthly payments of $5,000, and one payment of $5,500 to registered lobbying company Beckington, set up by Reformer Christian Ellis. Asked about the “substantial injections of cash into your account”, Jean-Claude Perrottet said:

\n I’m honestly trying to do my best here. I honestly don’t recall why I might have done some work for them.\n I don’t know. I mean, it could have been for work. I mean, maybe, maybe Christian owed me money. I don’t know.\n

The federal parliamentary inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is continuing this week, with hearings held in Melbourne.

The inquiry has heard harrowing evidence from sportspeople, including community-controlled sporting groups and Olympian boxer Marissa Williamson Pohlman, the first Indigenous female boxer to represent Australia and competed in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Williamson Pohlman, a Ngarrindjeri woman, told the inquiry there was widespread racism, sexism and violence in the sport, saying there was a lack of support, and made allegations of inappropriate behaviour and assaults – urging an inquiry into Boxing Australia.

“I think there needs to be an independent investigation on that organisation and there’s something terrible going on there.” Williamson Pohlman told the inquiry.

“All these athletes come from the school of hard knocks. So the racism, the sexism, the misogyny, the homophobia, and just the violence is rife in those places. It’s in the organisation too.”

Gina Rinehart has lost an estimated $283m on paper as Elon Musk’s SpaceX company slumps in value.

SpaceX shares fell overnight to US$108.27, 19.8% below its price of US$135 when it listed on share markets. It is now valued at US$1.4tn. Musk, its founder, was briefly the world’s first trillionaire but is now worth US$693.7bn, according to Forbes.

The company had released financial results showing strong revenue growth but capital spending on AI development was particularly high. Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG, said the report had unsettled investors.

Rinehart’s company, Hancock Prospecting, took a stake in SpaceX at its share market debut. It has republished articles on its website reporting it bought over US$1bn worth. Wednesday’s price fall implies the company has lost about US$200m (A$283m) on paper.

A Hancock Prospecting spokesperson said the company was still invested in SpaceX but did not directly answer when asked whether it had sold or bought more shares since its initial investment. A spokesperson said Hancock was a “long-term investor” with a diverse portfolio and a particular focus on companies with “outstanding leadership”. They added:

\n Our investment in SpaceX reflects our confidence in Elon Musk, an exceptional and brilliant person, and SpaceX’s execution under his leadership, as well as in Elon Musk’s proven ability to use science for the betterment of mankind.\n

SpaceX’s share price is at risk of falling further tonight. Early investors and company insiders may rush to cash out when they gain permission to sell their shares in the company, after a lockup period expires on Thursday, US time.

A 60-year-old man has died after an alleged assault in Melbourne, where he was allegedly set upon by a group of youths.

Victoria police said the man sustained critical injuries on 1 August after the group of young people allegedly attempted to steal items from a nearby store in the suburb of Sunshine. The victim allegedly came to the aid of a shop employee before he was attacked himself.

The man was transported to hospital, but died yesterday, 5 August.

Two boys, aged 12 and 15 and two girls, both 14, have been charged with affray, violent disorder and intentionally causing serious injury and injury. They have been remanded to appear before a children’s court.

Earlier charges against a boy, 13, were dropped after investigations exonerated him.

Detectives will consider upgrading the charges already laid after the man’s death.

A New South Wales man has been charged for allegedly threatening violence towards a female MP in social media posts earlier this week.

Officials said the man allegedly made a number of posts towards the parliamentarian, making alleged threats of violence, threats to damage property and statements that they intended to find the victim in public and cause her harm.

After an investigation, police arrested the man, 43, in Tascott on the NSW Central Coast on Wednesday.

He was charged with the use of a carriage service to threaten serious harm. He was refused bail and will appear before court today.

News Corp has delivered a strong rise in revenue across its global business, despite weakness in its news division, marked by a slide in digital subscribers at its Australian mastheads.

The Rupert Murdoch family-backed business reported a 7% lift in full-year revenue to $US9bn, according to financials released this morning, driven by strong results in its business news-focused Dow Jones unit, book publishing and digital real estate assets.

Its well known news media division, however, weighed on results, with advertising revenue falling 2% during the financial year to 30 June. The company’s global newspaper stable includes the Sun and the Times in London, the New York Post and The Australian, and many other mastheads.

Digital subscribers at News Corp Australia slid from 1,166,000 to 1,162,000 during the year, according to the company’s internal data.

News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson used the results to hit out at AI models that “pilfer and profit from our work” without compensation.

“We will pursue those pilferers, and companies that are clients of these crass kleptomaniacs should know they are patently in possession of stolen goods,” Thomson said.

News Corp already has commercial agreements in place with OpenAI and Meta.

Thomson claimed that “without our journalists, our authors, our data, our brands and our professional expertise, users would be drowning in a slimy sea of AI slop”.

The government has asked the consumer watchdog to draw up some national safety standards to crack down on the sale of unsafe ebikes in Australia.

Ebike incidents have escalated in recent years (as their use has also skyrocketed). NSW recorded 226 injuries related to ebikes in 2024. In the first seven months of 2025, that had already to surged to 233 injuries plus four deaths.

The government says new rules will ensure the standards are the same across all states and territories and will apply to the sale of ebikes, e-scooters and e-skateboards. High-powered and high-speed devices linked to serious injuries and deaths won’t be allowed to be sold.

The transport minister, Catherine King, says:

\n This standard will give Australians the confidence that the products being sold are legal and fit for purpose, and will help keep Australians safe.\n

Almost 600 childcare services were shut down in the latest quarter, a twentyfold increase on the same quarter last year, as federal, state and territory governments crack down on dodgy and underperforming providers.

State and territory regulators took action against 589 services and cancelled their approval to operate – meaning they lost access to childcare subsidy funding and cannot legally run. Though, not all of those services were currently operating.

The government says state and territory regulators also took 1,538 compliance actions in the March quarter – which puts providers on notice if they are not meeting standards. It was double the number of notices compared with the same time last year.

Governments have been under significant pressure to lift safety and standards across the childcare sector following allegations of child sexual abuse and safety breaches.

The education minister, Jason Clare, says the proportion of childcare services meeting the national quality standards has lifted from 88% in 2022 to 92%.

\n Enforcement action is at record highs. The percentage of services meeting the national quality and safety standards is at the highest level ever as well.\n We have also introduced legislation to cut funding to centres that aren’t up to scratch … This is a good sign. But there is more to do.\n

Good morning, Nick Visser here to guide you through the day’s news. Here’s what’s on deck:

A New South Wales man was charged after allegedly threatening violence against a female MP via social media. Officials allege the man threatened to find the victim in public and cause her harm. He will appear before court today.

States and territories shut down almost 600 childcare services in the last quarter for substandard care, part of a broader crackdown on dodgy or underperforming providers.

The government has asked the consumer watchdog to draw up national safety standards for ebikes amid a rise in incidents in recent years. NSW recorded 226 injuries related to ebikes in 2024, but that figure surged to 233 in just the first half of 2025.

Stick with us.

Key events

• 19m agoEvacuation declared after industrial shed fire creates toxic smoke in Port Adelaide
• 1h ago‘Angus Taylor hates Rob’: federal opposition leader referenced at Icac again
• 2h agoHave a question for our politics team?
• 2h agoParliamentary inquiry hears Pauline Hanson’s rhetoric has ‘racist intent’
• 3h agoBird flu confirmed in first Australian land-based bird
• 3h agoABC apologises to Gina Rinehart and partially takes down Race Around the World film
• 3h agoJean-Claude Perrottet uncertain on why he was receiving $5,000 monthly sums, inquiry hears
• 5h agoFederal parliamentary inquiry focusing on racism in sports and media
• 6h agoSpaceX share slump leaves Gina Rinehart with $283m loss on paper
• 7h agoMan, 60, dies after alleged assault by group of youths in Melbourne
• 9h agoNew South Wales man charged on allegations of threatening MP on social media
• 9h agoNews Corp’s Australian division weighs on robust results
• 9h agoEbikes to face new safety standards
• 9h agoStates and territories shut down hundreds of substandard childcare services
• 9h agoWelcome to Thursday

Penry Buckley

Icac witness asked about ‘filthy schools money’ messages

Returning to the NSW Icac’s Operation Rosny, Jean Claude Perrottet has been asked about messages read out on the first day of the inquiry.

On 12 January 2023, Reformer Jeremy Greenwood allegedly wrote to him:

double quotation mark“Hey, so you know how I’m good to you and help you and give you all your filthy schools’ money … and put up with your fucking whining?”

Jean-Claude Perrottet wrote back: “Don’t put that in writing.”

Greenwood replied: “It deletes.”

Counsel assisting Juliet Curtin asks if the messages are “because it wasn’t money that you or he were being paid for any work that you were doing for Catholic Schools NSW?”

double quotation markJean-Claude Perrottet: “No, I think Jeremy was doing work for Catholic Schools.” Curtin: “Why is he, why is he calling it filthy schools money?” Jean-Claude Perrottet: “I can’t speak to his thoughts, but he’s having a crack at me.” Curtin: “Okay, well then, if it was just a joke and he’s having a crack, why do you then respond quickly: ‘Don’t put that in writing’? Jean-Claude Perrottet: “Why would I want that in writing?” Curtin: “Why wouldn’t you?” Jean-Claude Perrottet: “Because it’s not true.’

Evacuation declared after industrial shed fire creates toxic smoke in Port Adelaide

Locals have been urged to evacuate immediately after a fire in Port Adelaide at an industrial shed used to store sulphur began producing large volumes of toxic smoke.

South Australia’s Metropolitan Fire Service has said anyone within 1km of Moonta Road in Port Adelaide should leave immediately and others should not enter the area.

A warning from the fire service said:

double quotation markIt is extremely dangerous. Emergency services are on the scene, the smoke is considered toxic.

The industrial fire at Port Adelaide. Photograph: 10 News

The fire is contained to the shed, and heavy smoke is blowing in a south-easterly direction, according to the latest update.

However, the wind direction could change and anyone in the vicinity has been advised to close their windows and doors and be cautious of smoke.

The SA Ambulance Service said two people have been taken to the Royal Adelaide hospital.

Albanese to welcome president of Vietnam next week

Prime minister Anthony Albanese will welcome the general secretary and president of Vietnam, To Lam, to Australia next week.

The leaders will meet in Canberra on Tuesday, 11 August to “discuss opportunities to deepen cooperation” as part of the Vietnamese leader’s first visit to Australia.

The prime minister said in a statement:

double quotation markI look forward to welcoming General Secretary and President To Lam to Australia and discussing how we can strengthen cooperation between our two nations. The Vietnam-Australia relationship is grounded in deep strategic trust, mutual interests, and a shared ambition for the future of our region. Our two nations share deep cultural ties and around 350,000 Australians have Vietnamese heritage.

Penry Buckley

The inquiry has previously heard evidence that Beckington, set up by Reformers Christian Ellis and Jeremy Greenwood in 2019, received payments from prohibited donor, hotelier Michael O’Hara, for factional work, after issuing fake invoices for consulting advice.

O’Hara admitted to the arrangement last week, but disputed whether the payments counted as political donations.

Curtin says Ellis wrote to Jean-Claude Perrottet: “O’Hara pays GST, but it’s included in the five”. She puts it to him that the money O’Hara was paying to Beckington was being used to pay him. “I honestly don’t recall whether that’s the case,” he says.

Penry Buckley

‘You sneaky man’: messages suggest Reformers quibbled over GST on $5,000 payments, inquiry hears

The NSW Icac’s Operation Rosny has resumed after lunch. Questions have returned to $5,000 payments received by Reformer Jean-Claude Perrottet from lobbying company Beckington, controlled by fellow Reformer Christian Ellis.

Earlier the inquiry heard he received an initial monthly payment of $5,500, followed by four monthly payments of $5,000, between April and August 2021, but he said he could not recall doing any work for Beckington.

This afternoon, he has been read messages between him and Ellis, in which he wrote to Ellis: “Any chance you can send the money today?”, to which Ellis responds, “What money?”. After Jean-Claude Perrottet writes “please”, Ellis responds: “All right. But it’s 5k, not five and a half, you sneaky man”.

Counsel assisting, Juliet Curtin suggests that this indicates confusion between Ellis and Jean-Claude Perrottet about how to manage the GST in invoices. She reads further messages discussing GST in which Ellis calls Jean-Claude Perrottet a “slippery man”. Jean-Claude writes: “Yeah, I’m easy, I just thought I had to include it.” Ellis calls him a “slippery man” again, to which Perrottet writes back: “Haha, get out”.

‘Angus Taylor hates Rob’: federal opposition leader referenced at Icac again

Penry Buckley

Returning to the NSW Icac, federal opposition leader Angus Taylor’s name has been mentioned again during hearings, raising the question of if he ever has donated to the Reformers.

Taylor, who is not named in Icac’s allegations, has previously denied ever making payments to the group.

Jean-Claude Perrottet has been read text messages sent by Reformer Christian Ellis to him in September 2021, in which Ellis says the group has “zero dollars at the moment”. Asked why by Jean Claude-Perrottet, Ellis writes:

“Because Michael O’Hara hates the vax campaign, and Angus Taylor hates Rob”.

The inquiry has previously heard evidence, including from Reformer Robert Assaf, that hotelier Michael O’Hara threatened to end an arrangement in which he paid lobbying company Beckington for Reformers factional work, after the group adopted an anti-vaccination stance.

Counsel assisting, Juliet Curtin, asks: “That seems to be suggesting that Mr Taylor had paid some money for the Reformers too, doesn’t it, or was refusing to?”

Jean-Claude Perrottet: “It sounds like that’s the suggestion.”

Curtin: “Do you know anything about that?”

Jean-Claude Perrottet: “Look, I’ve I’ve heard it come up [at the inquiry], but until that came up, I hadn’t recalled that at all.”

Nick Visser

That’s all from me. Achol Arok will take the lead from here. Enjoy your Thursday.

Have a question for our politics team?

Federal parliament is returning from winter break next week.

Do you have a question you’d like to ask Guardian Australia’s team of political reporters in Canberra? Political editor Tom McIlroy and the team will be answering readers’ questions on the Australian Politics podcast.

Please send us your questions to australianpolitics@theguardian.com.

We’d love to hear from you.

Photograph: Kokkai Ng/Getty Images

Parliamentary inquiry hears Pauline Hanson’s rhetoric has ‘racist intent’

Sarah Collard

The federal parliamentary inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has been told that One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s rhetoric is fuelling racism.

The inquiry is continuing its public hearings this week in Melbourne, focusing on racism in sport and media.

Tanya Hosch, former inclusion and social manager at the AFL and senior consultation with Kind Enterprises, was asked by the independent senator Lidia Thorpe if Hanson’s “rise was increasing racism”.

Hosch replied that she believed the senator was enabling racism through her political rhetoric.

double quotation markI believe many of the things that she says have racist intent and express racism. I do believe that it does encourage people to use similar behaviour and words and actions and I think that is pretty well documented.

Introducing the Alan Jones on Trial podcast

For decades, Alan Jones was one of Australia’s most powerful radio shock jocks. Now the veteran broadcaster is on trial facing 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching. Jones has denied any wrongdoing and is defending the charges.

Join host Nour Haydar and Guardian Australia’s media correspondent, Amanda Meade, every Friday for weekly courtroom updates and a breakdown of the evidence in Alan Jones on Trial.

Bird flu confirmed in first Australian land-based bird

Donna Lu

A case of H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed in an Australian land-based bird for the first time.

A magpie found on Victoria’s south-west coast tested positive for the deadly virus, the CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness confirmed today. All other cases in Australia to date have been in seabirds.

The case was one of 16 confirmed detections in Victoria on Thursday, in addition to six new cases confirmed in South Australia. There have now been 123 confirmed or presumed positive detections across the country.

A magpie has tested positive for H5N1 bird flu.

Turning to WA, authorities this morning said the state – where bird flu was first detected in Australia – remained “free of any detected local transmission” and that it was establishing a bird flu wildlife advisory group to support disease preparedness and response.

It comes after the federal government on Tuesday revealed that almost 400 species of native birds and mammals are at a high risk or worse from the disease.

ABC apologises to Gina Rinehart and partially takes down Race Around the World film

The ABC has apologised to Gina Rinehart for a short film that appeared on its Race Around the World program.

Rinehart threatened the ABC with legal action last week over crude remarks in the film, titled A Very Relaxing Video, that included offensive comments about the billionaire, including a line about “mixing her guts up nice and smooth to make one big sausage roll”.

The ABC managing director, Hugh Marks, said the broadcaster’s ombudsman found the film did not breach editorial policies but had “fallen short of community expectations”. He wrote:

double quotation markThe ABC apologises to Mrs Rinehart and to anyone else affected or upset by the publication of the film. As part of our review of this matter, we have considered whether the guidance in the ABC Editorial Policies adequately reflects current community expectations. We have also considered whether the relevant guidance sufficiently distinguishes between news and non-news content.

The ABC said it will amend its guidance as it applies to violence. It has edited the film to remove the relevant material.

Gina Rinehart, seen in 2023. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/AAP

Jean-Claude Perrottet uncertain on why he was receiving $5,000 monthly sums, inquiry hears

Penry Buckley

Returning to the NSW Icac’s Operation Rosny, Jean-Claude Perrottet has been questioned about his time after his departure from the ministerial office of Damien Tudehope.

Jean-Claude Perrottet has frequently answered “I don’t know” to questioning from counsel assisting Juliet Curtin today.

In 2021, Jean-Claude Perrottet was working a day job at Medallion Finance, which he says gave him a base salary of $55,000.

Curtin shows him invoices for four monthly payments of $5,000, and one payment of $5,500 to registered lobbying company Beckington, set up by Reformer Christian Ellis. Asked about the “substantial injections of cash into your account”, Jean-Claude Perrottet said:

double quotation markI’m honestly trying to do my best here. I honestly don’t recall why I might have done some work for them. I don’t know. I mean, it could have been for work. I mean, maybe, maybe Christian owed me money. I don’t know.

Cait Kelly

Disability advocates warn billions of NDIS funding is flowing overseas

A Senate inquiry examining the NDIS reforms has been told the NDIS funding model has seen billions of taxpayer dollars flow into the profit of overseas companies, while leaving disabled Australians under-resourced.

People with Disability’s Sam Connor, who got a $1 NDIS plan a few weeks ago, said:

double quotation markThe waste that goes towards occupational therapists is ridiculous. I was born disabled. When I was told by the NDIA I had to hire a wheelchair, that means you have to have a lease agreement; there are only two places here that do that.

She said huge companies, many based overseas, have “hoovered” up smaller players in the disability market and now dominate – sending profits overseas.

double quotation markThey’ve aggressively rolled up NDIS care and equipment providers …. $5bn is being siphoned offshore as profit rather than being reinvested in care.

Analysis from Spinal Life has previously revealed $20bn of NDIS funding is flowing to providers owned by overseas private equity firms, delivering a 25% profit margin, or $5bn.

Benita Kolovos

Victorian cult inquiry refers itself to information commissioner after it accidentally shares email address of anonymous survivors

A Victorian parliamentary committee investigating “cults and organised fringe groups” has referred itself to the state information commissioner after accidentally sending the email addresses of anonymous survivors who made submissions to current members of those groups and to journalists.

Last week the committee tabled its final report in parliament and emailed hundreds of recipients shortly after to inform them it had been published. However, they erroneously left the recipients’ email addresses visible.

Recipients included whistleblowers who trusted their anonymity would be maintained even as they spoke out about their experiences.

In an email this afternoon, the committee chair, Labor MP Ella George, said the clerk of the legislative assembly voluntarily reported the disclosure of private information to the office of the Victorian information commissioner on behalf of the committee. She said:

double quotation markThe committee continues to take this matter very seriously. Work is ongoing to review the circumstances of the incident and to strengthen processes to reduce the risk of a similar incident occurring in the future.

George said the committee has also arranged a free counselling support service for those affected until Sunday.

Read more:

Records smashed as Australian share market pushes higher

Australia’s share market has soared to record heights for a second straight day, shrugging off a weak US session as gold stocks shine, AAP reports.

The S&P/ASX200 gained 50.2 points by midday, up 0.56%, to 9.279.5, as the broader All Ordinaries advanced 53.9 points, or 0.57%, to 9.459.3.

The top-200 hit a fresh intraday record of 9,296.7 in early trade and was on track to top Wednesday’s record close.

The exchange shrugged off a weak Wall Street session and dips across indices in Japan and South Korea as chip stocks sold off, while Australian mining stocks continued to rally on hopes of an imminent US-Iran peace deal.

The Australian dollar is buying US70.57 cents, up from US70.49 cents on Wednesday.

Cait Kelly

Greens question return of some welfare payment cancellations

In response to some payment cancellations being turned back on, the Greens’ spokesperson on social services, senator Penny Allman-Payne, has said there is nothing in the secretary’s statement that gives confidence to the system now running lawfully.

She said:

double quotation markThere was nothing about improving DEWR’s capacity to monitor providers’ misconduct. They told the ombudsman that they had an ‘app’ for that, which turned out to be a new dashboard on their existing system. There is no mention of any improved capacities in this regard anywhere.

Providers use threats of payment suspensions and cancellations to force people to comply, in some cases to bolster the provider’s incentive payment.

double quotation markIf these sanctions are resumed, the providers will be administering them. How can Minister Rishworth or her department trust these providers to do the right thing when they are financially incentivised to do otherwise? The TCF appears fundamentally at odds with lawful and fair decision-making. The minister and the department’s failure to communicate these matters in a timely, effective or comprehensible fashion is characteristic of all the worst Robodebt-style governance.

Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Cait Kelly

Welfare cancellations back on, but some question legality of system

There is big news for jobseekers this week, with the government announcing it will be slowly turning back on payment cancellations.

Many of you will remember that payment cancellations are currently switched off because the Targeted Compliance Framework – the automated system that runs mutual obligations – has been paused since January last year after the government found it was working illegally.

On Tuesday, Simon Duggan PSM, secretary of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, announced that from 26 October the system will start suspending and cancelling payments for a refusal or failure to accept an offer of suitable work and a failure to “reconnect” with a provider within four weeks.

He said:

double quotation markResuming these decisions on 26 October 2026 is contingent on successful completion of assurance activity and system testing to ensure the necessary IT changes, improved guidance for decision-makers and additional safeguards to ensure decision-making under these provisions align with the law. The department has a responsibility to ensure the systems we administer are operating within the law as enacted by the Australian parliament, and this is an important step in returning the TCF system to lawful operation.

Two other types of cancellations, those relating to persistent MO failures and work refusal failures, will still be turned off as the government works to ensure they are overseen by a human who can make a legal decision.

It’s unclear exactly how many people had their payments illegally cancelled but, speaking at Senate estimates earlier this year, representatives for DEWR said the number of illegal cancellations, where people were not given enough time to reconnect to a job provider after missing a compulsory activity as part of their mutual obligations, was in “the vicinity” of 300,000.