Australian politics live with Krishani DhanjiAustralian politics Australia politics live: Albanese says Coalition’s request that police investigate Japanese melon memo leak is a ‘stunt’ Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast LIVE Updated 3m ago Krishani Dhanji Wed 12 Aug 2026 06.04 BSTFirst published on Tue 11 Aug 2026 22.22 BST Share Key events 1h ago Taylor asks PM if he will 'man up' and apologise over melon comments as question time begins 2h ago Bragg pushes for a drastically lower top tax bracket 2h ago Prosecution’s case against the alleged Bondi terror attacker expands 3h ago Stripping out energy efficiency standards will ‘deepen inequality’ says Acoss 4h ago ‘Sportsdebt’: independents' creative push to crack down on gambling ads 4h ago Wilkie contacts Nacc over gambling bill, claiming government ‘improperly influenced’ by wagering lobby 5h ago Victoria to vaccinate thousands of little penguins against H5 bird flu 6h ago Ted O’Brien apologises to Japan over melon-gate, despite Japan calling issue “sensationalised” 6h ago Australia signs statement with US, UK and others on ballistic missile testing 6h ago Group voting tickets abolished in Victoria 7h ago Does ‘putting a jumper on’ work in Australia’s notoriously energy-inefficient homes?
7h ago ‘Some people call it putting a jumper on’: Tim Wilson suggests housing energy efficiency standards could be optional 7h ago CommBank records bumper $11bn profit 8h ago Coalition promises to drastically cut net overseas migration and housing construction code 8h ago Welcome Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP Key events 1h ago Taylor asks PM if he will 'man up' and apologise over melon comments as question time begins 2h ago Bragg pushes for a drastically lower top tax bracket 2h ago Prosecution’s case against the alleged Bondi terror attacker expands 3h ago Stripping out energy efficiency standards will ‘deepen inequality’ says Acoss 4h ago ‘Sportsdebt’: independents' creative push to crack down on gambling ads 4h ago Wilkie contacts Nacc over gambling bill, claiming government ‘improperly influenced’ by wagering lobby 5h ago Victoria to vaccinate thousands of little penguins against H5 bird flu 6h ago Ted O’Brien apologises to Japan over melon-gate, despite Japan calling issue “sensationalised” 6h ago Australia signs statement with US, UK and others on ballistic missile testing 6h ago Group voting tickets abolished in Victoria 7h ago Does ‘putting a jumper on’ work in Australia’s notoriously energy-inefficient homes?
7h ago ‘Some people call it putting a jumper on’: Tim Wilson suggests housing energy efficiency standards could be optional 7h ago CommBank records bumper $11bn profit 8h ago Coalition promises to drastically cut net overseas migration and housing construction code 8h ago Welcome Albanese says no influence from industry over gambling policy Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, has alleged that “individuals in the Federal Government” had been “improperly influenced by individuals in the private sector” in formulating the gambling legislation, and written to the National Anti-Corruption Commission with his claims.
He asks the prime minister, “Do you agree this constitutes corruption?
Do you understand how the donations have compromised your government and its judgement?” Leader of the House, Tony Burke takes issue with the question, and the speaker Milton Dick rules that he’ll rule out the reflection at the end.
Anthony Albanese says there’s no suggestion of wrongdoing in Wilkie’s letter to the Nacc, and that he doesn’t believe there has been any undue influence on his policy.
He then punts some of the responsibility of dealing with gambling harm over to the states.
I don’t suggest members on any side of this debate have been influenced.
Other than by how do we deal with an issue that is complex, it isn’t simple, overwhelmingly, as the member full well knows, and was experienced in the last Parliament, the major issue of addiction and problem gambling is poker machines.
Which are not dealt with by this jurisdiction, but are dealt with by state and territory governments.
On political donations, he says they’re a matter for the party organisation, and won’t say any more on that.
While he goes over his three minute time limit, Dan Tehan starts coughing loudly.
Butler accuses opposition of parroting insurance industry modelling The decision to reduce private health insurance rebates for over 65s was “difficult”, but will pay for more aged care services, says the health minister, Mark Butler, in response to a question from Nationals frontbencher Anne Webster.
Webster says modelling shows older Australians will face a 21% surge in insurance premiums and out of pocket costs increasing by over $800 a year for an individual – which Butler says has been copied and pasted from the industry.
Butler stands by the Treasury modelling that the policy change will mean around 44,000 older Australians will ditch their private health insurance – or around 0.5% of total membership.
The shadow minister parrots modelling from the health insurers.
We remember when the insurance industry said that 1.6 million people will leave private health insurance when we means tested the premium under the last government.
And indeed, insurance membership went up.
Dai Le asks for national cabinet meeting to address rent hikes Independent MP Dai Le says renters in her electorate are facing rent hikes as the changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax take effect, and asks if the government will convene a national cabinet meeting and put renters on the agenda.
Anthony Albanese says that, under the budget changes, anyone who currently negatively gears their property will still be able to do so.
I note also that in area an that is growing such as the member for Fowler’s, there will still be negatively geared properties available for new builds.
He then says that everyone in Le’s electorate is benefiting from the top-up tax cuts that came into effect on 1 July and (because it’s politics) takes a stab at the opposition for saying that they wouldn’t support those cuts before the last election.
Coalition stomped on the immigration accelerator, says Albanese Nationals MP Alison Penfold is up next and turns the focus to migration, asking how many more migrants will arrive in Australia before Labor builds enough homes for everyone.
Anthony Albanese says the government has drastically reduced the migration intake post-Covid, and quotes former immigration department deputy secretary Abul Rizvi, who said that the Coalition previously “stomped on the accelerator” in order to increase the numbers.
He then quotes the Grattan Institute’s Brendan Coates saying, “the Coalition is wrong to suggest that record migration is the result of policy decisions by the Albanese government”.
By 2031, Australia’s population is expected to be 754,000 smaller than what the former Coalition government was forecasting prior to the pandemic.
Chalmers tested on backbencher’s email, Labor MP booted Liberal frontbencher Angie Bell asks the PM next about reports in The Australian newspaper last week that his MP Claire Clutterham wrote to a constituent that she had “difficulty coming to terms” with negative gearing and capital gains tax changes being spread across asset classes other than housing.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, takes the question and says it’s not unusual for local members to “relay to ministers issues which are raised by their constituents” and calls Clutterham an “outstanding local member”.
Before he can continue, Milton Dick makes Chalmers pause because there’s too much noise and, as he’s telling everyone to pipe down, kicks out Labor MP Rob McEwan for ignoring the warning.
Chalmers continues: The member for Sturt [Clutterham] and every single member of this government has seen in the housing market a distortion which needs to be addressed because, for too long now, the way that our housing market has interacted with our tax system is locking out too many people, particularly young people, from the great Australian dream of owning their own home.
‘Take it up with Mr Pape’, Albanese says Changing tack, the Nationals frontbencher Kevin Hogan quotes the prime minister, from yesterday’s question time, who said Australians using generous negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts were benefiting from “taxpayer-funded landlord welfare”.
Anthony Albanese says that, in fact, he wasn’t calling the tax incentives landlord welfare but was quoting the Barefoot Investor, Scott Pape, in an article in the Herald Sun.
The member is either deliberately or accidently misleading the House with that question.
Because, yesterday, as he will know, from Hansard, I was quoting Scott Pape, the Barefoot Investor, in the Herald Sun.
If the member wants to attack the Herald Sun for its coverage of housing issues, then that is a matter for him.
If you have a problem, I suggest take it up with Mr Pape.
Independent asks government to commit $200m for critical bird species Over to the crossbench, independent MP Nicolette Boele asks the agriculture minister, Julie Collins, if the government will commit to spending $200m over two years to build the resilience of critical bird species, which conservation scientists have called for in the face of a growing bird flu threat.
Collins says the government has spent $113m on preparation for and response to the bird flu while the government has a separate program worth $99m for saving native species by improving the habitat of threatened species.
She then pivots to the state and territory governments vaccinating native species against bird flu and says Victoria will begin their vaccination program with penguins on Phillip Island.
Albanese says Coalition asking police to investigate leak is a ‘stunt’ The shadow foreign affairs minister, Ted O’Brien gets a go next and continues the line of questioning on melon-gate, asking if the prime minister can assure the House that neither his office nor his department leaked official correspondence from the Japanese government to the media.
The opposition has asked the Australian federal police to investigate the leak, which Anthony Albanese calls a “stunt”.
Albanese once again says that the government takes the relationship with Japan seriously (“really?” shouts someone from the opposition benches).
He says: The AFP is completely independent of the government and they’ll undertake their work, and I’m confident about that.
Anthony Albanese during question time.
Angus Taylor has gone straight to melon-gate, asking if Anthony Albanese will “man up” and finally apologise for his comments about the gift he received from the Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.
Albanese speaks quietly as he ignores the call for an apology and says the relationship between Australia and Japan has never been more strategically aligned.
My office and my team have spent four years carefully rebuilding our relationships in the region.
He sits down, effectively ending his answer as the manager of opposition business, Dan Tehan, gets up and tries to make a point of order.
Pacific nations call for transparency over ballistic missile testing Pacific Island nations have raised alarm over recent ballistic missile testing in the region and called for greater transparency and reassurance.
The foreign affairs ministers of the Pacific Islands forum (PIF) spoke on Friday, before a joint statement issued by 40 countries including Australia, calling for advanced notice of any missile testing.
In a statement the Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said the two statements showed the broad consensus for transparency around testing.
These statements show the broad regional and international consensus – including from PIF foreign ministers – about the need for transparency, reassurance and respect for the sovereignty of Pacific countries.
That message should be taken seriously.
Australia will continue to work constructively with international partners to shape a peaceful, stable, prosperous region.
Where has Bragg’s migration target come from?
Andrew Bragg says net overseas migration should be dropped to 180,000 a year over the next four years, but so far no one else in his party has backed that number.
So, he’s asked whether he’s freelancing on the number or it’s actual Liberal policy.
Bragg says it’s not on the official platform, but he wants the debate to move forwards.
We haven’t finalised our complete policy suite as you know.
But I thought it was important to move the debate on towards – where the numbers are probably going to hit.
That’s the range.
And we backing that up with more to say later.
But I think that it is important that we keep the debate moving.
Bragg says the drop in the NOM would come from fewer international students, working holiday visas (eg backpackers) and unskilled workers.
Andrew Bragg.
