On Trump’s tariffs and the threat of more for Australia, Jim Chalmers says:

We haven’t heard different from the 10% baseline that’s been levied on Australia.

Obviously, we continue to engage with the Americans on this. It’s one of the main issued playing out in the global economy. It’s a major source of uncertainty in the economy whether it’s what’s been said overnight about India, whether it’s the back and forth between the US and China, or the tariffs levied directly on Australia.

We have got the baseline rate as far as we are aware and as we understand it which is 10%.

)That’s diplomatic speak for – have you see how the US keep moving the goal posts with the other countries he is ‘negotiating’ with? Do you see how it means nothing?)

Q: Does the government expect that to move?

Chalmers:

Well, I think it would be a brave person to assume that there won’t be – whether it’s with other countries or – there will always be more announcements about this. These tariff announcements are a moving feast. But our expectation is we get the baseline. We think that the best outcome is zero because these tariffs are an act of economic self-harm. We see inflation is going up in the US. Earlier in the year they had slowing growth, interest rates on hold again in the US overnight. They have got higher interest rates than we do in Australia. So we think these tariffs are bad for the American economy, certainly bad for the global economy. We’re better placed and better prepared than most countries to deal with that but we won’t be immune. We’ll continue to engage with the Americans on it.

This interview is racing through topics. Next, the treasurer is asked if Australia could recognise a Palestinian state in September when the UN meeting is held. Chalmers says:

I don’t want to put a time frame on it. It’s been a longstanding bipartisan policy that we see a two-state solution in that part of the Middle East. From my point of view, that progress that has been made, that momentum that we are seeing in the international community is welcome but it’s also conditional. T

here are a number of obstacles still in the way to recognition of a Palestinian state. For example, the treatment, the release, of the hostages, making sure that there’s absolutely no role for Hamas. These are the sorts of things that the international community is working through.

But that statement that came out yesterday that we signed as Australians via our Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, is a really important one. It condemns the terrorist act on 7 October. It demands a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and access for humanitarian aid and it encourages countries to work towards recognition as a really important part of that two-state solution. The reason we want to see it a two-state solution is because Israeli families and Palestinian families need and deserve to be able to raise their kids in peace and that’s what this is all about.

On the Closing the Gap targets, the treasurer says:

We need to do much better. I think from memory, 10 of the 15 measures we have seen a little bit of progress in the report released overnight. Some have gone backwards in worrying ways. I think every member of the government, I think many Australians, would acknowledge that we need to do better and the reason why these reports are so important is because they make sure that we keep governments and the community more broadly up to the mark. With eneed to do better when it comes to closing the gap. Minister Malarndirri McCarthy is working in her characteristically diligent way with all of the stakeholders, all of the communities to try to turn these numbers around. There has been progress in 10 of the 15. There has been some worrying outcomes in the rest, but overall, we need to do more and we need to do better.

Moving on to the productivity round table in a couple of weeks – is Jim Chalmers looking at changing the capital gains tax discount?

That’s not why we have put this economic reform round-table together. It’s all about making our economy more resilient and more productive and our budget more sustainable. I expect and I hope that building more homes is one of the central considerations of the economic reform round-table.

I have been working very closely with Minister Clare O’Neil, with a number of people who will be at the round-table and with a whole range of people around the country. We have all got an interest in building more homes sooner.

That’s the Government’s priority.

The primary focus there I think at the round-table will be around how we speed up approvals and get the zoning for housing right because we desperately need more homes. The Commonwealth government has come to the table with tens of billions of dollars in investment. Our political opponents want to cut funding for housing but overwhelmingly, people want to see where there’s common ground to build more homes and that will be the focus

After yesterday’s inflation figures, everyone has turned a sharper eye to the reserve bank and its decision to hold rates, which on economic indicators seemed like the wrong decision then and after the latest inflation figures, well, seems even more wrong.

Jim Chalmers isn’t going to say that out loud – as the Treasurer there is that whole thing about government interference with an independent body – but he is making his view clear regardless. He told ABC News Breakfast this morning:

I’m not going to pre-empt decisions that the Reserve Bank takes independently. I think rate relief is welcome, certainly when interest rates were cut twice already this year, that provided some very, very welcome rate relief for millions of Australians with a mortgage.

So that’s how we see it.

But I don’t want to make predictions or pre-empt the decisions that the Reserve Bank will take. What yesterday’s numbers showed when it comes to those inflation numbers is really quite remarkable progress. The progress that Australians have made together over the course of the last three years on inflation has been outstanding because we have been able to get inflation down at the same time as we keep unemployment low, we have got real wages growing again, but it’s never mission accomplished because the global environment is uncertain. We have got some persistent structural issues in our economy growth, our economy is soft and people are under pressure. That’s why the primary goal, the main priority of the first two weeks of the Parliament sitting, has been to roll out more cost of living help.

The Northern Territory CLP government has said it wants to reintroduce spit hoods to youth detention centres, eight years after they were banned. The hoods have been associated with deaths in custody, and their banning was recommended by a 2017 royal commission. The use of the hoods, which can be used on children as young as 10, also go against Australia’s human rights obligations.

You can read more on advocate and expert warnings, here

Child and forensic psychiatrist, associate professor John Kasinathan told the ABC the hoods were like torture for those who have been forced to wear them:

Anyone that’s spoken to a young person that’s had one of these spit hoods on – they will tell you – and I have spoken to young people that have had this experience – and it is horrible. They can’t see anything. It gets into their mouth, into their nose. They find it difficult to breathe – some of them actually – it can trigger an asthma attack – and it’s incredibly harmful.

…it’s really dangerous. That’s why it’s been banned and, as per the United Nations’ guidance on these instruments, a person would need to be restrained quite significantly for a hood to be put on. If someone came up to you or me and wanted to put a hood on, you know, your head or my head, I would protest, and I’m sure you would too.

And our audience needs to really have some empathy for the young people that are in this situation.

The young people that were subjected to spit hoods in the Northern Territory previously were often restrained in restraint chairs, which are, again, inhumane and considered a form of torture. If the government was really serious about protecting youth justice staff and workers from people spitting at them, the most sensible way to manage that is by making sure your staff are wearing protective gear, which can include gloves, gowns, and a face mask with a visor that protects from spitting. That is a far more effective way of dealing with young people potentially spitting.

One of the fears after the Voice referendum was that Indigenous people and organisations would find it even harder to work with government to address issues impacting their community – given that story there and what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been saying since the referendum campaign, their fears were well founded (and of course they were).

One of the things Indigenous leaders have made clear, at least to me, is that since the Voice referendum, there has been a real ‘hands off’ approach from the Labor government, which has made their job harder.

The Closing the Gap targets that are seeing improvement are areas where there is a lot of Indigenous leadership, working with community, instead of imposing on top of it. That is what the Voice was meant to do on a much more national scale – give First Nations people input on the legislation and programs which impact their community. Just input and advice.

The loss of the referendum didn’t just create a status quo situation. It’s made it even harder for Indigenous leaders and groups to be heard.

Without changing the approach to Closing the Gap, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will continue to “pay the price”, Indigenous organisations say. 

Just four of the 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track to be met, according to the latest data from the Productivity Commission. 

But key targets, including adult imprisonment rates, children in out-of-home care, suicide and childhood development are continuing to worsen.

While there have been improvements in Year 12 attainment, tertiary education and housing access, these are not on track to meet deadlines.

“It’s not enough to hope the gap will close, governments must hold themselves to account for the commitments they’ve made under the National Agreement,” Coalition of Peaks lead convener Pat Turner said.

“That requires smart investment, longer-term flexible funding, and full implementation of the four Priority Reforms – shifting power, not just policy

“Without real power shift, we’ll keep seeing the same patterns repeat, and our people will continue to pay the price.”

Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council chief executive Paula Arnol said the latest Closing the Gap report card is disappointing. 

“It’s 2025 and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are still not experiencing the health outcomes that non-Indigenous Australians enjoy. This is unacceptable,” she said.

The data follows a recent review of the Closing the Gap Agreement, commissioned by the Coalition of Peaks. 

The review found Indigenous community-controlled organisations are key to progress, and governments must listen to First Nations people and share decision-making power to create positive change. 

Productivity commissioner Selwyn Button said the review shows the outcomes of the agreement are falling well short of what governments have committed to. 

“What the outcomes in the Agreement reflect most of all is the limited progress of governments in collectively acting on the Priority Reforms: sharing decision making and data with communities; strengthening the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector and changing the way governments operate,” he said.

Ms Turner said improvements in early education enrolments, employment and land and sea rights show what’s possible when government partner with Indigenous organisations “in the right way”.

But she said, when governments fail to meet their commitments to work with community-controlled organisations, the gap widens. 

“What’s important for Australians to understand is that Aboriginal community-controlled organisations are not fringe services,” Ms Turner said.

“We’re not asking for special treatment. We’re asking for a fair share. When we get that, we deliver.”

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Some of the most popular vehicles in Australia are consuming significantly more petrol than advertised, tests have shown, and hybrid cars rank amongst the most unexpectedly thirsty models. 

Twenty-five of 30 vehicles tested on Australian roads failed to meet their laboratory test results, and 11 of the cars consumed 10 per cent or more fuel than expected. 

The Australian Automobile Association revealed the findings in its latest round of on-road vehicle testing, which also found six models produced more noxious emissions than allowed in Australia. 

The results come amid a greater focus on vehicle emissions, following the introduction of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard in 2025 and after rising sales of hybrid cars. 

The association tested a wide range of vehicles in the latest round of its $14 million Real-World Testing Program, ranging from large SUVs and vans to small cars, a ute and people-mover. 

The vehicles are tested on a 93km route around Geelong in Victoria, with tailpipe emissions captured on urban streets, rural roads and motorways and compared to lab test results. 

Surprisingly, a small SUV registered the greatest gap in fuel consumption during recent tests, with the Hyundai Kona Hybrid using 33 per cent more fuel on the road than in the lab. 

Another small SUV, the Kia Stonic, used 26 per cent more fuel than expected, followed by the Hyundai i30 Hybrid (17 per cent), the Toyota Fortuner (16 per cent), and the Kia Sportage Hybrid (14 per cent). 

Findings that one-third of the vehicles consumed more fuel on the road than in the lab indicated a widespread issue in the automotive industry, association managing director Michael Bradley said.

“It’s becoming clear that carmakers continue to optimise their vehicles’ performance for lab testing, meaning new cars are too often overstating their improvements in fuel use and environmental performance,” he said. 

“Some vehicles perform as advertised but most do not, and our program is seeking to reward carmakers that deliver genuine financial and environmental savings.”

In addition to fuel consumption, six of the 30 vehicles tested produced more noxious emissions than allowed under the Australian standard, including the Ford Ranger ute, Toyota Hi-Ace, and Toyota Fortuner. 

Five vehicles did buck the trend and use less fuel than expected, however, such as the Ford Transit van (nine per cent less), Lexus NX350h SUV (seven per cent less), and Mercedes-Benz GLC250 SUV (three per cent less). 

The program, funded by the federal government, has examined emissions from 114 vehicles since 2023 and found 88 models failed to meet their promised fuel consumption. 

The association will expand its tests to electric vehicles shortly, Mr Bradley said, and compare their on-road range to what consumers are promised. 

“Range anxiety continues to be a significant barrier to EV uptake,” he said. 

Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi said there was a legal obligation to prevent genocide and Labor couldn’t rely on words alone:

Words won’t feed people, but with this motion, Labor’s hand will be forced to implement sanctions. The parliament’s support for this Greens motion puts it on the record that Israel is breaching international law and that the Australian Government must act. 

There is a legal obligation to prevent genocide, and from today’s vote, Labor can no longer pretend that they did not know.

This is a direct result of community and Greens pressure. For almost two years, voices for peace including the Greens have been attacked and maligned by the Government but today is vindication that they are starting to open their eyes to stopping the genocide and the forced starvation of Palestinians.

Finally, Parliament is starting to pressure Israel to stop its genocide. After 21 months, Parliament is finding its heart, but Labor’s courage on sanctions is still missing. 

This is just a start. The Greens will continue to hold the Government to account to ensure that their support for this motion today translates to genuine action – including the economic sanctions needed to end the blockade. 

The only blocker to sanctioning Israel is Labor. The Greens will continue our pressure, continue to hold Labor to account, and to ensure that Parliament’s vote for this motion today translates into genuine action.”