Chalmers rejects Hanson’s call for more super access saying One Nation ‘wants to destroy’ scheme – as it happened
What we learned, Sunday 16 August
Disability advocacy organisations say NDIS reforms should not pass parliament
Chalmers rejects Hanson's calls on superannuation
Erin Patterson's appeal to begin in Melbourne on Wednesday
Albanese says states 'have a willing partner' in commonwealth as NSW gun buyback announced
Hanson says Australians should be able to use super for cost-of-living pressures
Defence minister headed to PNG and Solomon Islands
Hanson opposes gun buyback
Welcome
And with that, we are going to close the blog. Before we go, let’s recap the big headlines:
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An agreement was struck on a major federal-state gun buyback in response to the Bondi terror attack.
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Triple murderer Erin Patterson’s appeal following her conviction for killing three relatives with poisoned beef wellingtons will begin in a Victorian court this week. Patterson was sentenced in September to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 33 years for the murders of her estranged husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt, Heather Wilkinson.
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NDIS minister Jenny McAllister said a deal between the government and the Coalition to pass the reform was getting close.
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Pauline Hanson said compulsory superannuation rules are too rigid in Australia and called for people under financial pressure or trying to buy their first home to get access to their retirement savings.
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The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said Hanson was a threat to Australians’ retirement savings, warning her calls to loosen the rules for compulsory superannuation would hurt the system.
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The Thai prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, will visit Australia this week. Anutin will meet Anthony Albanese in Canberra on Wednesday to discuss deepening economic cooperation.
Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We will be back tomorrow with the blog.
A bit more from the NDIS minister, Jenny McAllister, who earlier said a deal between the government and the Coalition to pass the changes was getting close.
“We’re really hopeful and I’d go as far as saying confident that we can reach an agreement,” she told ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.
The opposition health spokesperson, Anne Ruston, called for a strengthened fraud and corruption response within the disability insurance agency in the inquiry report.
McAllister said the government was still considering evidence brought forward during the inquiry process and flagged fraud as an area to work through with the Coalition.
But concerns about the changes remain among advocates – and from at least one state.
In a joint statement, 12 disability advocacy organisations said the reforms should not pass parliament in their current form.
The statement read:
Reform must be genuine and well-sequenced.
It must guarantee that people are not diverted from, or lose, NDIS supports unless alternative supports are funded, operational, accessible and available in practice.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says One Nation leader Pauline Hanson is a threat to Australian’s retirement savings, warning her calls to loosen the rules for compulsory superannuation would hurt the system.
Chalmers used a post on social media to pushback on Hanson’s comments this morning on News24, formerly Sky.
“One Nation wants to destroy the compulsory superannuation system, just like the Liberals and the Nationals,” Chalmers wrote.
They are all a threat to the retirement incomes and economic security of Australian workers.
Chalmers said Labor would defend the $4.5tn system.
Victoria Liberals to promise $50 a week road toll cap
Victorians would pay just $50 a week under a plan announced by Jess Wilson’s Liberal and Nationals team for two years from 1 July 2027.
The toll cap will apply to cars, light commercial vehicles and small business fleets of up to five vehicles.
Opposition leader and shadow treasurer, Jess Wilson, said:
Our toll cap will cut costs for families, tradies and small businesses and boost our economy.
By capping tolls for two years, a Liberal and Nationals Government will boost our economy and ensure families have more money to put towards the things that really matter.
Our $50 a week toll cap is part of my team’s Ten Year Economic Plan to lower costs, grow our economy and make Victoria the best place in the nation to do business.”
Triple murderer Erin Patterson’s appeal against her conviction for killing three relatives with poisoned beef wellingtons will begin in a Victorian court this week.
Patterson was sentenced in September to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 33 years for the murders of her estranged husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and his aunt, Heather Wilkinson.
She was also convicted of attempting to murder Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, who survived the lunch after spending weeks in hospital.
Patterson was convicted in July after an 11-week trial in Morwell in regional Victoria.
She maintained her innocence during the trial, claiming that she had not meant to serve beef wellingtons laced with death cap mushrooms to her lunch guests in July 2023.
Patterson is not appealing against her sentence, but prosecutors will argue she should never receive parole, and that her sentence was “manifestly inadequate”.
The state’s appeal against Patterson’s sentence argues the sentencing judge “erred in finding that there was a ‘substantial chance’ the respondent would be held in solitary confinement”.
They say this assessment “infected” the judge’s assessment of Patterson’s future conditions in custody and his decision to fix a non-parole period.
The Victorian court of appeal will hear the case on Wednesday and Thursday.
NSW opposition leader says gun buyback scheme ‘rushed’
The NSW opposition leader, Kellie Sloane, has accused the state government of rushing the buyback scheme and has called on Labor to answer seven questions.
In a statement, Sloane said the Minns government must urgently explain the total anticipated cost of the buyback and how much will be paid by NSW; how the compensation amounts were determined; whether compensation would also apply to ammunition and other accessories; how many firearms are expected to be surrendered; why NSW is proceeding ahead of a national agreement; what safeguards will protect businesses and licence holders from financial loss; and whether NSW police are adequately resourced to administer the scheme.
Sloane said:
The NSW Liberals have consistently supported practical reforms that improve public safety. We will also continue to hold Labor accountable and ensure its laws are workable, properly funded and do not unfairly punish law-abiding citizens.
The Government must correct course, engage genuinely with affected stakeholders and resolve these concerns before the buyback begins.
Anthony Albanese has just been speaking alongside the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, about the state’s gun buyback scheme agreed in response to the Bondi terror attack.
The prime minister said:
Australians are quite rightly proud of our gun laws but the fact is there are more guns in Australia today than there were at the time of dealing with the Port Arthur gun buyback that occurred under the Howard government.
These arrangements are available to every state and territory, and this reform comes on top of previous reforms that have been undertaken by my government in partnership with states and territories in particular the first ever development of a national firearms register.
That’s absolutely critical. I’ll continue to work constructively with states and territories.
They will make their own decisions under our federation system. They are responsible. But what I would say and reiterate is that in the commonwealth they have a willing partner. We know this is universally supported in some quarters.
This is controversial and it will be opposed. But we’ve made a decision.
The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, says compulsory superannuation rules are too rigid in Australia and called for people under financial pressure or trying to buy their first home to get access to their retirement savings.
“A lot of Australians are doing it tough now and struggling to pay off their mortgages,” Hanson told News24.
In some ways, I feel that you should give them their money now, and let them help them with the cost of living.
It is their money; they’ve they’ve sacrificed it in lieu of pay. So, in a lot of cases, people want it.
She called for the rules to be “lightened up a bit” so workers can use their money in times of crisis.
“It is their money,” Hanson said.
‘Additional arrangements’ being worked on for children removed from NDIS, minister says
Asked what happens to a nine-year-old who is removed from the NDIS, McAllister said:
We will need to work through the additional Foundational Supports.
There’s $10bn that premiers and the prime minister have agreed ought to be applied to standing up Foundational Supports.
We started with children, but we know that we’ll need to stand up … and make additional arrangements.
NDIS minister says Thriving Kids scheme on track to commence from 1 October
The minister for disability and the NDIS, Jenny McAllister, has been on Insiders, where she was asked about Thriving Kids, which states and territories will start rolling out on 1 October.
She said:
We are, in every other state, seeing the states getting moving, and I’m really confident – having met with state and territory counterparts on Friday – that we will see these states ready to move.
Richard Marles is visiting Port Moresby and Honiara this weekend, meeting with Papua New Guinea’s prime minister, James Marape, and defence minister, Elias Kapavore, today.
Discussions will focus on strengthening defence cooperation and advancing implementation of the historic Pukpuk treaty.
Marles will then head to Solomon Islands and meet with the country’s prime minister, Matthew Wale, and join government ministers at the opening of the Western Border Outpost in the Shortland Islands.
The facility will bring together police, customs, immigration and biosecurity officials in one location, and support Solomon Islands’ Guardian-class patrol boats.
“Pacific security is most effective when it is led by Pacific nations,” Marles said.
Australia is proud to work alongside our Pacific partners to support their priorities and contribute to a secure, stable and resilient region.
‘I don’t like the gay Mardi Gras’: Hanson
Pauline Hanson has renewed her criticism of the Sydney gay and lesbian Mardi Gras, saying she doesn’t like the annual event.
Back in her first stint in federal politics, Hanson told journalist Tracey Curro that she believed the event promoted something that is “unnatural”.
On Sunday, she said gay marriage was legal in Australia, describing it as “acceptable”.
“I still don’t like the gay Mardi Gras, but that’s my opinion,” she said.
I think your own personal sexuality should be kept in closed doors, behind closed doors. It’s no one’s business to do it out there with the gay Mardi Gras anywhere.
I know it brings a lot of tourists to the country. I know it brings a lot of money. I know all this, but that’s my personal opinion. But anyway, good luck to them that they want to do that.
The comments come after One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce claimed the party was one of “the gayest” in federal politics last week.
Sydney’s Mardi Gras has been going since 1978. Starting as a gay rights protest, marking the anniversary of New York’s Stonewall uprising, the parade was a protest against homophobia and police brutality.
Some history here:
Thai prime minister to visit Canberra
Anthony Albanese says his Thai counterpart, Anutin Charnvirakul, will visit Australia this week.
The two leaders will meet in Canberra on Wednesday to discuss deepening economic cooperation.
The visit will be Prime Minister Anutin’s first to Australia since taking office. Albanese said:
Australia and Thailand enjoy a warm relationship, built on trust and a shared commitment to a prosperous Indo-Pacific.
Many Australians have experienced Thailand’s warmth and hospitality through travel, while the Thai-Australian community continues to enrich our nation and strengthen the enduring ties between our countries through business and culture.
Hanson wants to slash international student numbers
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says she wants dramatic cuts to the number of international students allowed to come into the country.
Hanson is refusing to say how much overseas migration should be cut, but agrees with News24 host Andrew Clennell that she wants to slash overseas student numbers.
“I think the international student industry that’s been set up by the universities is a farce,” she said.
People are using it to come to the country. Then after they get in the country, they’re only here for a few months. Then they change the courses.
Then they apply for residence here in Australia. So they’re using [it] as a back door to get into the country.
Pauline Hanson says she is opposed to a major gun buyback being announced by Anthony Albanese and the NSW premier, Chris Minns, in Sydney shortly.
Legislation for the plan passed parliament earlier this year, part of the response to the Bondi beach terror attack. It will be run in two phases, with the cost split 50:50 between the federal and NSW governments.
Under the first phase of the scheme, $1,000 will be paid for revolvers and $850 for semi-automatic handguns. Compensation of $850 will be paid for double-barrel shotguns and $650 for those with a single barrel.
Between $650 and $1,000 will be paid for rifles, while air rifles have a fixed compensation of $450.
Hanson told News24 taxpayers should not pay for the scheme.
She suggested the buyback would impact “law-abiding Australians who are trying to go about their business, like farmers that need their guns,” she said.
A different gun is for a different purpose, and you have to understand guns. I’ve got my own gun licence, so I understand these people.
Good morning.
There is a bit of news around today. An agreement has been struck on a major federal-state gun buyback in response to the Bondi terror attack.
The commonwealth and NSW governments will evenly share the cost of the scheme.
National cabinet agreed to fight antisemitism and strengthen firearms restrictions across the nation after the deadly December 2025 shooting.
We’re expecting to hear from the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and NSW premier, Chris Minns, soon.
And in other news, a little penguin has died from bird flu before a vaccination program begins, amid new positive detections of the deadly virus in wild birds across two states.
Victorian authorities confirmed the death of a penguin from Phillip Island on Saturday afternoon, the first detection in a penguin in the state.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.