Albanese makes ‘no apology’ for $6m grant to Marrickville golf club
Anthony Albanese has defended a grant handed to a golf club in his electorate, and said he makes “no apology” for it.
The grant was part of an infrastructure program that disbursed most of its money to safe, marginal or target Labor seats.
Over on ABC News Breakfast, Albanese says there were three grants in that program handed to his seat, and the funding for the golf club was to stop sewage from the course going into the local river during rain events.
He then attacks the ABC.
The ABC were told information they chose not to publish appropriately … because it is on a flood area by the Cooks River, when it rains and there’s flooding, raw sewerage goes into the Cooks River. That’s what it’s for – for fixing that.
I make no apologies for my electorate being serviced by me as a good local member, these three grants, they’re all appropriate.
Albanese also confirms he was made an honorary member of the club some 15 years ago, but doesn’t say whether he should have declared it.
I don’t have a card. I don’t go in there. I haven’t been in there for years. I used to walk my dog along the path.
Key events
Douglas Smith
Death in custody at Alice Springs Correctional Centre
Northern Territory police are investigating the death in custody of a 35-year-old man at the Alice Springs correctional centre on Tuesday afternoon.
Police said the man died shortly after collapsing around 5.40pm. Staff commenced CPR before St John’s paramedics took over.
The man was taken to Alice Springs hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
Police said initial investigations indicate the man died as a result of a medical episode.
The man’s death is being treated as a death in custody. A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Bridget McKenzie weighs in on PM’s golf course grant
The shadow transport minister, Bridget McKenzie – who was at the centre of the Morrison government’s sports rorts saga and was forced to resign from her position – has also weighed in on Labor’s invite-only grants program.
It’s been revealed that program handed $6m to a golf club the PM’s electorate that he was an honorary member of. This morning Anthony Albanese said he made “no apology” for that funding, which he argued was used to stop sewage from the club entering the local river.
Speaking to RN Breakfast earlier this morning, McKenzie said she was “very surprised” by the story.
I resigned my ministerial portfolio because of a perceived conflict of interest. I had an honorary membership that I didn’t know I had from a gun club that I decided under the guidelines to award funding to so women and disabled members could actually go to the toilet on site, a $36,000 grant.
So I have been very surprised by the story today of the ABCs that the prime mnister has held an honorary membership to a golf club in his electorate that received a $6m grant in a grant program that was closed, non-competitive, and where only one golf club out of the 1600 golf clubs across the country was invited to participate.
For a recap of the sports rorts saga, see here.
Host Sally Sara pushes back on McKenzie’s claim that she made the “choice” to resign after sports rorts, but the Nationals senator says:
I handed him my resignation, upheld my own personal integrity, but also importantly, the integrity of the system. I’m concerned I’m going to be the last minister in this Westminster system to actually take personal responsibility.
Guardian Australia revealed in 2024 after the Morrison era that McKenzie’s office had actually proposed tripling funding for the “sports rorts” program to deliver “priorities for target and marginal” seats after consultation with MPs and senators.
Criticism of One Nation candidate over illegal drug is ‘demeaning’ , says Joyce
Barnaby Joyce has again defended the Victorian One Nation leader, Warren Pickering, after Pickering yesterday admitted to using ecstasy, methamphetamines and marijuana, losing his licence multiple times for drink driving and hurting people he loved.
Joyce says he has no qualms about One Nation’s vetting process, noting Pickering had spent time in the Australian Defence Force.
Speaking to News24, Joyce can’t say whether One Nation knew about the issues.
I think it’s a little bit demeaning for even us to sort of have some sort of salacious analysis of what was happening to an individual two decades ago. Look, as any organisation grows, the speed One Nation’s growing and the membership grows, of course the requirements grow as well, but I’m satisfied in how we are going, we’re getting a lot more proficient at it.
And if people are saying, I’m not satisfied with Mr Pickering, you’d say, hang on, the Australian Defence Force was. They took him on board, and they most definitely have a vetting process, because I’ve been there myself.
I don’t know [if One Nation knew], you’d have to ask the people beforehand. For me, he was subsequently in the Australian Defence Force, they have a vetting process.
Anthony Albanese wins charity tennis match against a critic – 6-0 6-0 6-0
You might remember earlier this year, Joseph Daoud, a Sydney mortgage broker, won a charity auction at the midwinter ball to play a tennis match at the prime minister’s lodge with Anthony Albanese himself.
Well yesterday that game finally happened – and it was doughnuts for Daoud.
Daoud has spent big bucks putting up billboards and posters around the country critical of Labor’s changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax, and while in the capital yesterday, paid for some skywriting that spelled out “stop the tax”.
Albanese tells ABC News Breakfast “it was what it was”.
But for me, the main point is that it was raising funds for charity. I think it would have been good if the gentleman had have put some of the money he’s put into billboards and sky writing and all of that, given additional money to St Vincent’s, to Red Kite, a charity that provide support for the families of children who have cancer and for a good cause.
Daoud on Sunrise accused the PM of manufacturing the score and taking a 15 minute “tinkle” during the match. Asked about that on the Seven program, Albanese shrugged it off.
We played a match. It was for charity. Importantly, the score was six love, six love, six love. Was played in played in good spirits.
Albanese admitted that he had used the word “tinkle” but that it was “about two minutes”. I hated writing that.
Albanese makes ‘no apology’ for $6m grant to Marrickville golf club
Anthony Albanese has defended a grant handed to a golf club in his electorate, and said he makes “no apology” for it.
The grant was part of an infrastructure program that disbursed most of its money to safe, marginal or target Labor seats.
Over on ABC News Breakfast, Albanese says there were three grants in that program handed to his seat, and the funding for the golf club was to stop sewage from the course going into the local river during rain events.
He then attacks the ABC.
The ABC were told information they chose not to publish appropriately … because it is on a flood area by the Cooks River, when it rains and there’s flooding, raw sewerage goes into the Cooks River. That’s what it’s for – for fixing that.
I make no apologies for my electorate being serviced by me as a good local member, these three grants, they’re all appropriate.
Albanese also confirms he was made an honorary member of the club some 15 years ago, but doesn’t say whether he should have declared it.
I don’t have a card. I don’t go in there. I haven’t been in there for years. I used to walk my dog along the path.
Labor ‘not waving the white flag’ on illicit tobacco, but Albanese won’t completely rule out excise cut
Anthony Albanese says the government’s priority is still to crack down on criminals, over reducing the tobacco excise to curb the exploding black market.
But asked several times whether he’ll guarantee that the government won’t cut the excise, Albanese won’t actually confirm.
Albanese: What we want to do is to make sure that we continue to put that downward pressure on smoking rates and making vapes available everywhere isn’t going to help.
Host: You’re ruling that out?
Albanese: What we’re saying is the big thing that we have to do is to crack down on crime …
Host: Are you saying you guarantee there will be no cut to the tobacco excise under a Labor government?
Albanese: No, what I’m guaranteeing is we’ll take on the criminals. That’s what we’re doing … We’re not about to wave the white flag.
Albanese dismisses concerns over powers in digital duty of care bill
Anthony Albanese says the Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, is being “disingenuous” over his criticisms that the communications minister, Anika Wells, will have too much power under the new digital duty of care legislation.
Speaking to the Today Show, the prime minister says the changes will be disallowable, meaning the Senate would have the power to vote against and reject rule changes.
Yesterday Wells outlined six areas that platforms would have to protect children from and ensure adults aren’t shown illegal content.
Albanese says:
The eSafety commissioner will of course provide the advice, but Matt Canavan actually knows that he’s being disingenuous because all of these things will be disallowable. That is, will be up to the whole parliament, like the other previous laws have been.
Migration fuelling almost half of regional growth
Migration makes up almost half of regional Australia’s population growth, a report has revealed, as healthcare services warn of major workforce shortages if the intake is cut, AAP reports.
Research from the Regional Australia Institute shows migrants made up 46.2% of growth in 2025, with the largest cohort arriving in areas outside capital cities aged between 25 and 44.
The institute is calling for increased regional migration pathways to be placed at the centre of the nation’s population planning to address skills shortages, and support new economic activity.
Regional Australia had just over 17% of overseas migrants in the 2024/25 financial year, well below its 36% share of the national population.
Under current policy settings, 28% of Australia’s population growth is projected to go to the regions, according to the institute.
But it argues its modelling shows that figure could reach as high as 72% under a “nation-building approach” that prioritises the regions as a primary destination for population growth.
Grants program for target seats an idea ‘as old as ancient Greece’, says Clare
Jason Clare has denied accusations of pork-barrelling against the government over an “invite-only” community infrastructure grants scheme that handed the majority of its money to safe, marginal or key Labor seats.
Clare says it’s “democracy” that election promises – like funding for a new park or sports oval – are kept by a government.
He says:
That’s democracy … if you’re in an election campaign and you make a promise as the local member, people expect that you’ll deliver on it. And that’s what this fund does.
Clare is asked point blank whether this is the way Labor wins elections, through these sweeteners for voters. He says this isn’t a new tactic.
I don’t think that that is new. This is probably as old as ancient Greece. Good politicians know that you don’t necessarily win elections by having a chat on the telly. You do it by having a chat on the front door of people’s homes and meeting people where they are.
Kids need a ‘digital detox’ says education minister
The education minister, Jason Clare, says the results of a global study released overnight shows Australian students who are online more do worse in class, and need a digital detox.
The 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results found year nines were going backwards in reading and maths, despite maintaining above-average OECD results, and that public school students are more than two years behind their independent counterparts.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, Clare says:
The experts call this cognitive stunting, that technology can be used as a crutch in the classroom. Or it also can be a distraction.
We’ve taken mobile phones, personal phones out of schools. But you go into the average classroom today and you’ll see tablets and laptops on every desk in every classroom … And the evidence is telling us that we probably need a good digital detox in our schools.
It doesn’t mean that there’s no place for technology. Our kids need to learn digital skills, and that includes AI. They need to know how to use it and how not to use it. But if it’s everywhere, then it’s having negative impacts on our kids.
Clare says the UK, which improved its scores since the last test three years ago, implemented phonics and other key changes to their curriculum 10 to 15 years ago which Australia is doing now. He says the next meeting of state and territory education minister will consider reforms to the maths curriculum.
Labor’s digital duty of care bill risks ‘malicious compliance’, Greens say
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the government’s digital duty of care legislation is too vague on whether it allows users to opt-in or opt-out of algorithms, and says that risks manipulation or malicious compliance by the platforms.
Speaking to RN Breakfast this morning, Hanson-Young says the fines of up to $100m also won’t be enough to deter big tech.
It’s neither opt-in nor opt-out. And what I’m concerned about is how the tech platforms will manipulate that. Unless the rules are tight, unless there’s no gaps, big tech is going to spend a lot of money fighting these laws in the first place and finding every which way to get around them. Malicious compliance at best.
I think the fines element is one of those areas that I think is just not good enough … you need to hit them really where it hurts, and that’s their revenue. So it should be a percentage of global revenue.
Asked about the Coalition’s claims that the laws amount to censorship of free speech, Hanson-Young says Angus Taylor is “wrong”.
I don’t know whether this is deliberate misinformation by the opposition leader or he just doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He hasn’t really spent much time engaging on these issues. Either way, it’s wrong.
Krishani Dhanji
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you as we tick over the halfway mark of the sitting week!
There’s plenty to get to this morning so let’s get stuck in.
RBA governor: inflation is still the major problem Australia’s economy
Adeshola Ore
The Reserve Bank’s deputy governor has acknowledged Australians are “furious” about inflation while warning it is the “one big problem” the country’s economy is facing.
The RBA board is due to meet at the end of the month, as fears grow that it will hit mortgage holders with a fourth rate hike this year after inflation eased in July but less than expected.
Speaking to the ABC’s 7.30 on Tuesday evening, Andrew Hauser, the RBA’s deputy governor, said while the economy was doing “quite well” on low unemployment and real household incomes, inflation remained “too high”:
People want inflation down. People are furious about inflation and I understand why. It’s unfair… It hits people on low incomes. It damages price signals. It makes the job of companies difficult.
What they want us to do is our job and bring inflation down.
Hauser pointed to the ongoing Middle East conflict, the “unexpected global boom” driven by AI and the weakness of supply potential in Australia’s economy as risk factors for driving inflation.
While Hauser said a rate hike was not inevitable, he said the RBA was focused on bringing inflation down.
Victorians could pay almost $100 a year more for electricity
Benita Kolovos
Victorians could pay almost $100 a year more for electricity under a state Coalition policy to halt two key transmission projects, according to new analysis that suggests it would result in a near 40% increase in wholesale prices by 2031.
Analysis by consultancy Nexa Advisory, commissioned by non-profit group Environment Victoria, has found postponing the Western Renewables Link and the VNI West would delay other renewable energy projects. Such a move could force the state to rely on using more gas.
As a result, the average wholesale electricity price could rise from $52.9 to $85.20 per megawatt hour – an increase of 37% – between 2027 and 2031. This would flow through to households, adding $472 to the power bills of a typical household – and up to $4,719 for a small business and $11,797 for a large business – over the five-year period.
By 2050, delaying the projects could add $33bn to wholesale electricity costs and produce an additional 8.6m tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions – akin to about a quarter of the state’s current annual electricity emissions.
Chalmers: One Nation would ‘diminish or destroy’ super
Patrick Commins
Jim Chalmers says the Coalition and One Nation would “diminish or destroy” a compulsory super regime that this month’s intergenerational report will confirm is key to long term budget sustainability in a rapidly ageing society.
In remarks to the Super Members Council later this morning, the treasurer will condemn as “crazy” the right wing parties’ plans to give workers early access to their super savings, which he said would leave Australians poorer in retirement and weigh on the nations’ finances.
New Treasury projections show the number of retirement-age Australians will nearly double to around 9 million by 2066.
But the intergenerational report, to be released on 21 September, will show the share of older people on the aged pension is expected to fall from 66% to 52% in 40 years’ time.
As a result, spending on age and service pensions is projected to fall from 2.3% of GDP last year, to 1.8% in 2066, the IGR will show.
This is much lower than other nations, which are struggling to meet their pension obligations: aged pension costs in the UK will account for nearly 10% of GDP by 2060, 8% in Canada, 7% in New Zealand, and 6% in the US.
“Super takes serious pressure off social security outlays, and makes the budget much more sustainable as a consequence,” Chalmers will say.
We cannot let One Nation, the Liberals and Nationals diminish or destroy one of the best things Australians and Australia have going for us now and in the decades to come.
They would put at risk the fiscal sustainability, higher living standards and stronger economy that the IGR shows will be supported by a strong and maturing super system.
Welcome to Guardian Australia’s live news coverage for Wednesday.
Our terrific liveblogger Krishani Dhanji will be with you shortly.
Let’s begin.
