Australia news live: ABC boss says Pickering did not violate code with Tame comments: Hanson claims ‘no wonder’ Victorian premier called ‘witch’ | Australia news
Marks: Pickering comments ‘not a breach’ of code
Hugh Marks was just asked about Grace Tame’s four-part podcast for the ABC about autism, which has sparked some criticism due to her comments about Israel and Gaza in an ABC interview.
Marks said the podcast was engaged “some time ago”, adding:
I think if you look at the programme itself, it’s a great podcast that she’s done a great job on a topic that I’m sure will be of real interest and real importance to many Australians who suffer from those conditions, and particularly young Australians and young Australian women.
So there’s a balance in all these things … for the ABC to be ensuring that we bring great content to air and also acknowledging that, you know, with some of the people that we work with, sometimes there will be controversy.
Marks went on to speak about Charlie Pickering, who told a right-wing livestreamer in off-the-cuff remarks he believed Tame’s role was “problematic” as a matter of “personal opinion”. Marks said:
Obviously we’ve looked at Charlie’s comments. I think he did express that they were his own view. They weren’t represented at the ABC. It was a little bit on the hop and a little bit not. So I think we felt comfortable that we were able to accept that his comments weren’t a breach of the ABC code of conduct.
Key events
Minister says US’ proposed 12.5% tariffs on Australian goods ‘completely unjustified’
Matt Thistlethwaite, the assistant foreign affairs minister, said Donald Trump’s proposed 12.5% tariffs on Australia would “obviously” have an effect on Australian goods sold in the US.
The White House said this month the tariffs could affect dozens of countries amid allegations the nations have failed to prevent imports of goods made by slave labour.
Thistlethwaite spoke to ABC News Breakfast this morning, saying:
We reiterate our call that these tariffs are completely unjustified and unwarranted. They’ve been put in place because of the US’s perception around anti-slavery and forced labour provisions.
Australia has some of the most stringent and strongest anti-forced labour and modern slavery laws in the world and they require the largest corporations in Australia to check their supply chains and ensure that they’re not using forced labour or slavery-based practices in their production of their goods and services.
He added Australia would continue to negotiate “and work with the United States to have them removed as quickly as possible”.
‘If Australian datacentres are going to power the AI revolution, we deserve a fair return’ – David Pocock
Independent senator David Pocock has published an opinion piece about the growth of AI datacentres in Australia and how the gold rush should benefit Australians. He writes:
Huge investment in this space is pouring into Australia. In the past year, Microsoft has announced $25bn will go into Australian datacentres and Amazon Web Services has committed another $20bn.
The prime minister has posed for photos with the CEOs of both companies, welcoming the investment with open arms despite a growing backlash by communities against AI and datacentre construction. At a time when economic growth is sluggish, the government sees billions of dollars in investment as making for a good headline.
But we need to ask a bigger question:
What is this all for and how do the Australian people benefit from it?
Take a read here:
Marks: Pickering comments ‘not a breach’ of code
Hugh Marks was just asked about Grace Tame’s four-part podcast for the ABC about autism, which has sparked some criticism due to her comments about Israel and Gaza in an ABC interview.
Marks said the podcast was engaged “some time ago”, adding:
I think if you look at the programme itself, it’s a great podcast that she’s done a great job on a topic that I’m sure will be of real interest and real importance to many Australians who suffer from those conditions, and particularly young Australians and young Australian women.
So there’s a balance in all these things … for the ABC to be ensuring that we bring great content to air and also acknowledging that, you know, with some of the people that we work with, sometimes there will be controversy.
Marks went on to speak about Charlie Pickering, who told a right-wing livestreamer in off-the-cuff remarks he believed Tame’s role was “problematic” as a matter of “personal opinion”. Marks said:
Obviously we’ve looked at Charlie’s comments. I think he did express that they were his own view. They weren’t represented at the ABC. It was a little bit on the hop and a little bit not. So I think we felt comfortable that we were able to accept that his comments weren’t a breach of the ABC code of conduct.
ABC managing director details changes in top news role
Hugh Marks, the ABC’s managing director, is speaking about changes at the public broadcaster after the director of news, Justin Stevens, resigned last month.
Marks spoke to RN Breakfast, saying the pair possibly felt “there were different directions to pursue” as the ABC considered the future of news. He went on:
I think there are a couple of key problems we’ve got really deal with. One is a lot of people, particularly in the live news area of the ABC, I think feel stretched and pressured, and that’s because we’ve added services to what we do. And more work obviously leads to more pressure. Sometimes that leads to having to spread our resources more thinly. And that’s a problem that I know I’ve got to solve. …
We’ve got to go through some changes. And I guess we can have different views on what those changes should be and how we go about implementing them.
Reuters executive Simon Robinson will replace Stevens in September. Marks said he has “deep journalistic experience”:
He’s worked as a reporter across many regions, including conflict regions, and he’s managed a team of 2,000 people creating journalism for Reuters for a number of years.
I think he has a lot of deep experience with the tasks that are going to be necessary to take that business forward.
Cait Kelly
New cost of living index shows jobseeker recipients can’t afford basics
Anglicare Australia is calling on the federal government to urgently raise the rate of jobseeker and other income support payments, after new research found people on Centrelink payments cannot afford basic living costs.
The 2026 cost of living index finds that:
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A single person on jobseeker falls behind by $251 a week after paying for rent, food and transport
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A single parent on a parenting payment falls behind by $174 a week
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A couple with two children on jobseeker falls behind by $428 a week.
Anglicare Australia’s executive director, Kasy Chambers, said:
These figures show that Australia’s cost of living crisis is hitting people on the lowest incomes the hardest.
People aren’t literally spending hundreds of dollars more than they receive every week. They’re surviving by skipping meals, going without healthcare, living in unsuitable housing, relying on emergency relief, turning to unaffordable lines of credit and building up debts they can’t afford to repay.
Hanson on sexist attacks on Jacinta Allan: ‘No wonder they called her a witch’
Pauline Hanson has doubled down on her comments after a “sexist” roving billboard campaign about Victorian premier that included the phrase “ditch the witch” was roundly condemned.
Listing issues Hanson said Victorians were concerned about, including “escalating” crime and renewable energy infrastructure, the One Nation leader told Sky News “no wonder they called her a witch”:
Probably stronger words might be used for her, but they feel the sooner she’s gone, the better.
Jacinta – if the shoe fits, then wear it.
On Monday, Hanson told Sky News that Allan should “suck it up, sweetheart”. She said had been called a witch “long before” Allan, including by politicians.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, told reporters in Canberra on Monday the “sexist” advertising campaign was “totally unacceptable and has no place in public life”.
“We want to encourage women to enter public life and it should be a contest of ideas, not personal attacks,” he said.
Good morning, and happy Tuesday. The mornings are getting darker, but it’s Nick Visser here to bring you the news no matter what the sun says. Stick with us.
Pharmacists call for broader powers to prescribe medications
Pharmacists are pushing for broader powers to prescribe medications, which they say will take pressure off GPs and the federal budget, while saving patients from having to book a doctor’s appointment every time they want to pick up a script.
Trials across the states and territories already allow chemists to prescribe medicines for hormonal contraception, urinary tract infections and skin conditions, among others.
Expanding pharmacist prescribing to asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hormonal contraception and cardiovascular risk reduction could save the health system $1bn a year, a report released by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia on Tuesday found.
It could also free up more than 10 million GP appointments and prevent 30,000 hospitalisations annually, modelling by health economics consultancy HTANALYSTS showed.
“This modelling shows that empowering specially trained pharmacists to prescribe for appropriate conditions isn’t just good for patients – it’s good for the entire health system,” the Pharmacy Guild president, Trent Twomey, said.
NDIS cuts unfairly affect women, advocacy groups warn
Women and families of disabled Australians will be unfairly affected by a sweeping rewrite of the national disability insurance scheme, advocacy groups have warned, AAP reports.
A government inquiry into proposed NDIS changes is this week expected to hear evidence that access changes – designed in part to halt ballooning costs – will negatively impact mothers of disabled children, even if they are adults.
About $11bn of the $16.6bn savings forecast for 2029/30 will come from eligibility changes, including more detailed assessments, modelling from the Grattan Institute shows.
The changes are likely to reduce NDIS participants to 598,000 in 2030/31 – a third of the expected numbers if no changes were made.
But before changes kick in fully, the majority of cuts will be made in short-term measures, particularly social and community participation funding, which means many clients will rely on their families to help them participate in everyday activities.
“These savings won’t be achieved without shifting costs on to families and informal carers,” the Grattan Institute said in its submission to the inquiry.
Women With Disabilities Australia warned care responsibilities were likely to shift disproportionately to women, who might need to take time out of work to look after disabled friends or relatives.
Support for Jacinta Allan declines
Dire polling showing an increasingly on-the-nose Victorian state government would be defeated in November’s election could reignite party rumblings to remove its deeply unpopular premier, AAP reports.
Victorian Labor’s primary vote has slumped to 23%, compared with the state’s Coalition’s 27%, while a surging One Nation shot to 25%, according to a Freshwater Strategy poll conducted for the Herald Sun.
If replicated at the November state election, the 12-year-old Labor government would be turfed from elected office, as it trails the Coalition 47 to 53 on a two-party-preferred basis.
Respondents believe it is time for Jacinta Allan to move on as premier, according to the pollster, but the Coalition would still need to pick up 16 seats required to form majority government.
Allan’s personal popularity has sunk lower, dropping five points for a net favourability rating of minus 37 points and trails far behind the Liberal leader, Jess Wilson, who has a positive net rating of 15.
Only 25% of respondents felt she would make a better premier compared with 49% who think Wilson will do a better job.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.
Jacinta Allan will be feeling the heat today after a poll showed her Labor party trailing the Coalition and One Nation before November’s state election. More coming up.
Women and families of disabled Australians will be unfairly affected by a sweeping rewrite of the national disability insurance scheme, advocacy groups have warned. More soon.
