Teals to form new party; ASIO boss criticises terror threat level

Good morning and welcome to our live broadcast of national news. Thursday, June 25th. We’ll keep you updated with today’s news.

Here are the main headlines of the day.

Teal independents to form new political party: Teal independents Zali Steggall and Allegra Spend will launch a new political party called Community Strong Australia in a much-anticipated move to further destabilize the two-party system and attempt to capture disgruntled One Nation voters.

ASIO boss criticizes terror threat level: The country’s homegrown spy boss has revealed he is working with the government to overhaul its decade-old terror threat warning system, warning that the current threat level underestimates the seriousness of the dangers facing Australians.

Warning about Labor’s union procurement changes: New federal laws allowing businesses with union-backed enterprise agreements to be given preference for taxpayer-funded work have led to warnings that they could create a new risk of corruption in Commonwealth contracts, and comparisons have been drawn with practices revealed in the CFMEU scandal.

Trump canceled the event and demanded voter ID laws be implemented ahead of the midterms: President Donald Trump’s worsening relationship with the US Congress reached a new low after he canceled a planned event on Capitol Hill and refused to sign a bipartisan housing bill until lawmakers pass stricter voter ID laws.

Meanwhile, in the media world, Today show host Karl Stefanovic will leave Nine following his provocative podcast interview with far-right British activist Tommy Robinson, potentially defusing a major advertiser boycott.