Greens and independents line up to condemn Liberals’ net zero decision – as it happened

Job figures send markets to lowest close since mid-September

Australia’s share market has tumbled to its lowest close since 18 September after stronger-than-expected jobs data scuppered hopes of further interest rate cuts.

The S&P/ASX200 dropped 46.1 points on Thursday, down 0.52%, to 8,753.4, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 44.9 points, or 0.49%, to 9,034.5.

A surprise drop in unemployment to 4.3% in October prompted interest rate markets to slash expectations for future cuts, dragging on rate-sensitive sectors such as IT stocks, real estate, financials and industrials.

Jessica Amir, a market strategist at share trading platform Moomoo, said the drop was likely the beginning of a consolidation that would persist while market players adjusted their portfolios:

It’s a bit of a wake-up call – don’t expect what has been going up over the past 10 months to continue to go up for the rest of the year.

Big money is chasing international companies that are going to do well from the global economic slowdown, not just from Australia.

- AAP

Jobless rate fall further reduces chances of interest rate cuts

While many of us are fixated on the Liberal party’s self immolation, it’s worth remembering there was some good economic news today.

A jump in employment in October pushed the jobless rate back down to 4.3%, assuaging fears that we were on the brink of a labour market downturn.

It also means the Reserve Bank is unlikely to feel the need to cut interest rates again, especially after inflation reared its ugly head again in the September quarter.

NAB economists had been among the holdouts for another rate cut (in May), but now see rates on hold for the foreseeable future.

“The acceleration in house price growth and investor lending also argues for stable policy at a minimum,” they say.

Tasmania’s ‘self-esteem as a state will be trashed’ if stadium not built, parliament told

Leaving the politics of net zero behind us for one moment:

It may be off-season, but the Hobart stadium continues to be a political issue.

Doors will “slam closed” on the aspirations of young people if a new waterfront AFL stadium isn’t built, a parliamentary debate on the divisive project has been told.

Construction of a roofed stadium at Macquarie Point in Hobart is a condition of the Tasmania Devils entering the AFL and AFLW in 2028. The $1.13bn project requires the approval of both houses of state parliament to proceed, with debate under way in the lower house.

It is expected to pass the chamber on Thursday night with the support of the governing Liberals and Labor opposition.

State minister Eric Abetz says “confidence will be shattered and our self-esteem as a state will be trashed” if the proposal doesn’t go ahead:

The message will be: don’t try and do business in Tasmania.

- AAP

Barnaby Joyce on Liberals dumping net zero: ‘A great day for Australia’

While some moderate Liberals aren’t overly impressed by today’s policy change, Barnaby Joyce is. He’s just been asked what he thinks about the change on ABC:

I think it is a great movement. They are to be congratulated. This is a great day for Australia.

But when asked whether this would make him more likely to return to the Nationals, he wasn’t so clear:

This is not about me, this is about getting rid of the policy. I keep my cards close to my chest and I played my part. Now I look forward to seeing what happens on Sunday.

Tehan says Australia must consider nuclear energy

Dan Tehan has been asked whether the Liberal party has become a joke on the issue of climate change.

Obviously, politicians aren’t in the business of calling themselves a joke. But here’s the defence:

Not at all. We believe in climate change and taking action and that’s why we have set out three goals when it comes to emissions reduction, year on year, on average we will reduce emissions over a 5-year period.

We will also make sure we work with like-minded countries to pay our fair share and we will bring all technologies to the table to reduce emissions.

We will become a relic if we do not look at nuclear energy. We will fail next generations, because energy abundance is what everyone wants to pursue and [want to] do it in an emissions-free way.

Tehan denies that Liberal party has become the ‘Nationals-lite’

Dan Tehan of the Liberals is up on ABC, being asked with the Liberals are now “Nationals-lite”.

That phrase hasn’t come from nowhere – fellow Liberal MP Tim Wilson warned the party against a “Nationals-lite” approach ahead of today’s meeting. Here’s Tehan’s response:

No, we are the Liberal party, and there has been a thorough process we have undertaken to bring this policy together.

He was then asked specifically about votes in Wilson’s inner-suburban seat. He’s pivoted to talking about energy costs, as have many of his colleagues today.

There will be people in his seat, in my seat, people across Australia today who are opening power bills saying Anthony Albanese promised me a $275 reduction in my power bill by the end of this year and not only that, he used modelling to base his commitments to reducing emissions on that modelling.

Politics expert says Ley’s move is attempt to maintain party cohesion

Zareh Ghazarian, the head of politics and international relations at Monash University, was watching that press conference from Sussan Ley.

He says the Liberal party “continues to tie itself into knots over the issue of climate policy”:

The issue has been a key point of division within the party for many years. As is expected after a heavy loss, the party’s new leader, Sussan Ley, is still trying to assert authority over the party.

On this occasion, it appears that the party’s leadership has erred on the side of trying to maintain cohesion within the party.

On one hand the party has abandoned a net zero policy, but on the other hand it has committed to the Paris agreement and working to mitigate emissions. This has the potential to either define, or undermine, Ley’s nascent leadership.

Hanson-Young says Nationals have killed the Liberals

Sarah Hanson-Young continues:

It’s crystal clear that the National party has killed the Liberals today. You know, Barnaby Joyce wanted to kill the National party and he ended up killing the Liberals too. That’s what’s happened today.

The Liberal party has been dragged by the nose into this anti-science, anti-environment, anti-economy position and they look like a bunch of nutters. They don’t look like a party fit for government.

‘I’m heartened by what I’ve seen today,’ Littleproud says

David Littleproud has gone on to thank the Liberals for their policy change:

This is one of the biggest policy decisions the Liberal party has got to make and they’ve done it with great maturity, with great leadership.

I’m heartened by what I’ve seen today, that this debate now shifts from any challenging the science to actually now having a conversation with the Australian people about the economics of net zero and the alternative ways that we can do that here in Australia.

David Littleproud welcomes Liberals’ net zero change

As expected, Nationals leader David Littleproud has welcomed the Liberal party’s policy change:

The Nationals embarked on a calm, considered pathway back in June to understand and review our previous position on net zero by 2050.

What we wanted to understand is can we live up to continuing to reduce emissions, to continue on that pathway, to do our fair share, to make sure that we do the right thing by future generations but to also do the right thing by households and businesses today.

Littleproud says the Nationals will meet with senior Liberals in coming days to sort out the finer details of the Coalition’s policy.

Today what we’ve heard from the Liberal party gives us great hope that, in the coming days, we’ll sit down constructively with them to work through the pathway that they’ve articulated.

Recap of Sussan Ley press conference

Sussan Ley and senior Liberal colleagues have wrapped up a press conference in Canberra after announcing they will ditch a net zero emissions by 2050 policy.

Let’s just recap a couple of key points from that press conference:

• Despite saying “make no mistake, we are not pursuing net zero”, Ley is also saying net zero “would be welcome” if we can “get there with technology”. She dismissed questions from reporters about whether the party was playing “word games”.
  

• Dan Tehan, the shadow energy minister, says Australia is already doing its fair share on emission reductions compared with other nations. He says the Liberals are about “growing the economy” while claiming Labor were about “strangling the economy”.
  

• Ley has also dismissed suggestions this policy change will hurt the party in urban seats. She says “I know that people in the city are struggling with affordability of energy costs … These are highly relevant questions to people in the cities”.
  

• Ley insists energy costs would be lower under a Coalition government, but is unwilling to put a date on when that would happen.

How soon will energy bills come down?

Sussan Ley is unwilling to put a timeline on when energy bills would be lower under a Coalition government.

On multiple occasions during this press conference, Ley has sought to reference “mums with kids who are struggling to pay the bills”.

Ley has been asked how quickly bills for that mother would come down, should the Coalition win an election. Her response:

I can 100% guarantee power bills will be lower under us. But it’s two and a half years until the election. I want to make this point very clear. Those energy bills will be much lower under us and, on the eve of the election, we may be able to give you further detail.

Ley says new policy will still appeal to city voters who abandoned Coalition for teals or Labor

Ley was asked how she hopes to appeal to city seats claimed by teal independents or the Labor party in recent elections with this new policy. The opposition leader said she still has an eye on those seats:

Of course we will be pitching for and presenting serious credible compelling policy alternatives at the next election. They do include the city seats, but I know that people in the city are struggling with affordability of energy costs …

These are highly relevant questions to people in the cities.

Ley points to Tomago smelter as evidence energy policy needs change

Ley just spoke about Australia’s largest aluminium smelter and its financial woes as a key episode reflecting the need for a shift in policy.

The Tomago smelter, owned by Rio Tinto, recently said it was not “commercially viable” because of high energy prices. Its current contract with AGL Energy expires in December 2028, and the company said it had not yet found a way to support commercial operations sustainable beyond that period.

Read more here:

‘We’re about doing our fair share,’ Dan Tehan says

Dan Tehan, the shadow energy minister, said the Liberals were about “growing the economy” while claiming Labor were about “strangling the economy”.

He said Labor’s emissions policies were too dramatic when compared with targets set by other nations, saying:

We’re about doing our fair share. Whereas Labor is about racing ahead of the world.

Tehan said the Liberals’ policy would see emissions reduced year-on-year “in five-year blocs”, and in-line with “comparable countries”. He referenced unspecified “available technology” to help make sure Australia was doing its fair share.

Meta working to let teens keep Messenger without having Facebook account

Earlier we brought you the news that teens under the age of 16 would not be able to keep using Messenger once the social media ban kicks in from 10 December because you can only access Messenger with a Facebook account.

Meta has been in touch and says the company is working to fix this issue so kids will still remain part of the family group chats.

A spokesperson said:

We’re working on a solution to maintain access to Messenger for teens so they can stay connected with friends and family, despite the ban taking effect just before the summer holidays.

Andrew Hastie to PM after the Liberals’ net zero move: ‘We are coming for you’

Most Liberal MPs are staying quiet publicly for the moment, with Sussan Ley about to speak on the net zero discussion, but backbencher and leadership aspirant Andrew Hastie seems happy about the decision.

In an Instagram Story post, Hastie published a screenshot of Anthony Albanese’s comments calling the Liberals a “clown show” this morning. Hastie wrote the caption: “I sense your fear @AlboMp”, tagging the PM’s Instagram handle.

He went on: “we are coming for you ...”

Teen who fatally stabbed woman near Brisbane sentenced to 16 years’ jail

A teenager who fatally stabbed a grandmother in front of a young girl has been jailed for 16 years over a murder that sparked landmark law reforms, AAP reports.

Vyleen White was murdered by the boy, then aged 16, in a car park at Redbank Plains shopping centre, west of Brisbane in February 2024. The teen quickly approached White and demanded her car keys, then inflicted a 17cm-deep knife wound that was fatal.

The teen later pleaded guilty to the murder, as well as car theft and three counts of stealing.

The 70-year-old’s death was a catalyst for the Queensland Liberal National government’s controversial “adult crime, adult time” laws, ensuring juveniles face at least 20 years in custody for murder.

However, they are not retroactive, meaning the teen was on Thursday sentenced under Queensland’s previous laws after earlier pleading guilty to murder.

Chief Justice Helen Bowskill said:

(Ms White) was a person who mattered greatly to her family and her community. All lives matter. They are precious. They are not to be wasted by selfish and senseless acts of violence.

More on today’s great labour force figures, which showed the unemployment rate fell to 4.3% in October

The latest figures reversed a shock rise to 4.5% in the previous month that had some economists fretting that the jobs market was on the verge of a major downturn.

The 42,200 increase in the number of employed Australians in October included a 55,300 jump in full-time work, offset by a 13,100 fall in part-time employment.

For context, the economy added more jobs in October than it did in the previous five months combined.

It follows a stretch of weak labour force reports that suggested the jobs market in 2025 was struggling to make the transition from government-led employment growth to private sector hiring.

The underemployment rate – which includes the unemployed and those with jobs but are trying to get more hours – also fell 0.2 percentage points to 5.7%.

Terry Rawnsley, a senior economist at KPMG, the Australian Bureau of Statistics data “show that the labour market is proving resilient”.

Despite some challenging economic headwinds, both employment and hours worked have increased significantly.

Sydney Trains worker stood down after reportedly attending neo-Nazi rally

A Sydney Trains worker has been stood down pending an investigation into his reported attendance at Saturday’s neo-Nazi rally outside NSW parliament.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Sydney Trains confirmed the decision and said it was “very concerned with the matter”.

In the interim, Sydney Trains has directed the employee not to attend work while the matter is examined.

The employee’s role is frontline and his actions are not supported by Sydney Trains or Transport for NSW and are not in line with public sector values.

Allegra Spender says Liberals have ‘abandoned’ action on climate change

Wentworth MP Allegra Spender has lashed the Liberal party for ditching support for net zero by 2050 policies.

Spender, who beat Liberal Dave Sharma in the 2022 teal wave, says the opposition has “abandoned evidence-based policy thinking”.

Let’s be clear – the Libs have abandoned climate action and the need of businesses having certainty to invest. They are playing culture wars with energy policy and the country is worse for it.

They have no serious plans to reduce household power bills or business energy costs and have refused to provide a stable political environment for businesses to make investments.

Spender points out Australia is more vulnerable to floods, storms, droughts and coastal erosion than most countries.

We need concerted international action but the Libs would reduce our chance to reduce global warming by influencing international action.

The Coalition’s delayed climate action is just climate denial again.

After Liberals agree net zero position, talks to start with Nationals

A bit more info on the next steps to settle the Coalition’s policy after the Liberal party resolved its position.

Three Liberals and three Nationals will be chosen to negotiate a joint position, which will be put to a joint party-room meeting on Sunday for endorsement.

Guardian Australia has confirmed the three Nationals representatives in the talks will be Matt Canavan and Ross Cadell – who led their party’s internal review of net zero – as well as Susan McDonald, the shadow resources minister.

Liberal party net zero meeting ends

It seems official – the Liberal party has ditched a net zero by 2050 commitment, but it appears it’s committed to officially staying in the Paris agreement.

We’ve just seen members filing out of the meeting room, but none seems too talkative. The few people we’ve seen made a hasty exit, not saying much. But a few people in the room have said the meeting was largely cordial, focused on how to sell their new plan politically.

It’s expected the Liberal talking points will go toward a focus on energy prices rather than strictly on emissions reductions. Sussan Ley is expected to speak in about an hour.

Mathias Cormann tells Australia to lift economic game

Company taxes and regulation must be cut to boost productivity, Australia has been told by an expat head of a leading global economic body.

Mathias Cormann, the first Australian to lead the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and a former federal finance minister, said the nation trails other member countries in attracting investment and this led to poorer productivity growth.

Here’s what he told the corporate watchdog’s annual forum in Melbourne:

Australia needs to reassess the international competitiveness of its regulatory and of its tax policy settings.

Australia can and must do better.

While productivity challenges were common across developed countries, Australia’s labour productivity grew at just 0.5% annually between 2010 and 2024, well below the OECD average of 0.9%, Cormann said.

NSW crossbench MP: parliament ‘should not rise’ until workers’ compensation scheme fixed

Returning to NSW’s workers’ compensation reforms, independent MP Alex Greenwich, whose compromise solution has the support of the Minns government, says the proposal has the numbers to pass the upper house, despite the opposition of the Coalition and the Greens.

Earlier the treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, said the reforms could now be subject to more than a hundred amendments, with the bill moving between the upper and lower house in the coming weeks. Parliament sits this week and next week before the summer break, although the government has the option to use a reserve week.

Greenwich says the opposition leader in the upper house, Damien Tudehope, has indicated the Coalition will not support a crossbench proposal to increase the impairment threshold for psychological injuries to 25%, rising to 29% by 2029.

The Coalition has characterised the government’s original proposal to increase the threshold to 30%, potentially dramatically reducing the numbers of workers able to claim compensation as “nasty”.

Greenwich, who says the crossbench compromise has the key support of upper house Legalise Cannabis MP Jeremy Buckingham, says:

We know [workers’ compensation] is broken. We have negotiated a comprehensive fix for it. Now’s the time for the Coalition to get on with it and, if they stall, we will just keep sitting. My message to the government is, don’t let parliament rise until the workers’ compensation system in New South Wales is fixed.

Seven’s merger with Southern Cross Media a step closer

Australia’s competition watchdog has helped get Kerry Stokes closer to retirement, clearing Southern Cross Media to take over his Seven West Media, AAP reports.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has opted not to oppose the media tie-up, with deputy chair Mick Keogh saying the companies were different enough not to significantly impact advertising or content markets.

Southern Cross is a radio and podcast business, led by the Triple M and Hit networks, while Stokes’s company operates national broadcaster Seven and newspapers in Western Australia.

Keogh said on Thursday:

Southern Cross and Seven are not close enough competitors for content. Owners of traditional media platforms such as radio, free-to-air television and newspapers will continue to face strong competition from digital media.

Southern Cross will be no exception, even after the acquisition.

Sydney’s new fish market one step closer to completion, with opening date set for January

The mammoth new Sydney Fish Market is closer to opening after the NSW government said today construction on the structure is now finished, with the keys in the hands of the company that operates the market.

The new building will be open to the public on 19 January after individual vendors finish their fitouts inside, allowing one final holiday season trading period at the old market nearby.

NSW premier Chris Minns said in a statement the new fish market would be a “magnificent building” for Sydney’s harbour:

From when it opens, this world-class building will attract millions of visitors each year and provide an enormous boost to our economy.

Thank you to everyone who has slogged away at completing this incredible building that we can all be so proud of.

Bill to restrict late-term abortion defeated in South Australia after emotional debate

A bill to restrict access to abortion after 22 weeks and six days has been defeated in the South Australian parliament.

The former One Nation MLC Sarah Game, who is now an independent, worked with the controversial anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe on the legislation that went before the SA parliament on Wednesday night.

It was voted down by 11 votes to eight.

Several MLCs became visibly distressed and tearful during the debate on Wednesday evening.

The attorney general, Kyam Maher, referred to comments from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (Ranzcog) that the bill was premised either on an ignorance of reality or a wilful misrepresentation of the facts.

“I can only imagine the pain and anguish that mothers and families must experience when having such a difficult decision so late in a pregnancy for a variety of complex and very deeply personal reasons,” he said.

Read more here:

Limits on landlord loans no surprise, but not yet, economists say

Economists say they “wouldn’t be surprised” if the financial stability regulator moved to limit banks’ lending to property investors, after data yesterday showed landlord loans hit record highs in September.

The surge in lending shocked banks and markets and saw the Greens urge the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to pull the brakes on investor lending.

An Apra spokesperson confirmed they would respond to the letter. The regulator has since July been engaging with banks on options to curb lending, including new investor loans, in case limits are needed.

Cameron Kusher, an independent property expert, said Apra could have reason to act by early 2026:

We’ve seen intervention before and it’s happened when investor lending has been at similar levels to what it’s at now … I’d be surprised if we got it this year but I wouldn’t be surprised if early next year there was some sort of intervention.

Ashwin Clarke, a senior economist at Commonwealth Bank, noted the sharp rise in investor loans would raise worries but was yet to reach the 2014-15 highs that last triggered Apra’s intervention:

This print will likely add to their concern, but we don’t think the threshold for macroprudential policy has been reached.

Read more here:

What’s the mood like in Parliament House amid the Coalition’s net zero policy debate?

The mood was much more subdued this morning in the corridors of Parliament House ahead of a shadow ministry meeting to settle on climate and energy policy.

Unlike yesterday, when streams of Liberal frontbenchers and backbenchers filed into the party room for a five-hour marathon meeting on whether to keep net zero by 2050, no journalists or photographers crowded to observe the frowns or smiles on the faces of Liberal MPs entering.

Held in one of the Senate’s committee rooms, media activity is restricted and this journalist was politely reminded of those rules by Liberal staffers and shooed away. Yesterday, my colleague, Dan Jervis-Bardy, reported 49 MPs spoke, with 28 speaking against net zero entirely, 17 expressing a desire to keep it in some form while four were on the fence.

The meeting’s outcome – to make it official – seems all but written in stone at this stage, but anything can happen in Canberra.

The shadow cabinet is expected to meet for a much shorter period today, a relief to most who waited hours for a resolution yesterday only to be fed breadcrumbs of information by the late afternoon. But the implications could be long-lasting for a party already rife with internal division, struggling to attract inner-city and suburban votes and broadly shunned by younger voters.

ACCC issues recall notice for children’s sand that may be contaminated with asbestos

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has published a recall notice for children’s sand products that may contain asbestos.

The products include colourful sand sold at several retailers, including Officeworks, Educating Kids, Modern Teaching Aids and Zart Art. The sand is brightly coloured and labelled as Kadink Sand (1.3kg), Educational Colours Rainbow Sand (1.3kg) and Creatistics Coloured Sand (1kg).

The products were sold between 2020 and 2025, and were recalled because they may contain a naturally occurring asbestos called tremolite asbestos.

ACCC deputy chair, Catriona Lowe, said:

We have engaged with Officeworks who is a major supplier of these products and they advised that the products have been removed from sale. We expect they will take all the necessary steps to alert their customers.

We continue to engage with suppliers and expect all to provide appropriate support to consumers including responding to queries and providing advice about arranging a refund.

Anyone who purchased the sand is advised to stop using it immediately and secure it away from children. Do not throw it in general waste, but look up asbestos disposal facilities in your area here.

Aurora australis the result of ‘cannibal’ solar storm

The aurora australis that lit up the sky across large parts of Australia and New Zealand last night resulted from what has been dubbed a “cannibal” solar storm.

Dr Laura Driessen from the Sydney Institute for Astronomy said:

There’s a really strong and magnetically active sunspot on the sun at the moment.

Since 9 November, the sun has released two strong coronal mass ejections – bursts of high-energy plasma – towards Earth.

Driessen said:

They happened at two different times on the ninth and the 10th. Basically, the one on the 10th was a bit faster, so it caught up with the one on the ninth.

Experts from the British Geological Survey told CNN:

The second one caught up with the first one and they amalgamated together by the time they reached Earth. Hence, the term ‘cannibalised’, as the second one gobbled up the first one.

Penny Wong says Australia still advocating for climate summit, adding Pacific voices ‘should be elevated’

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, spoke earlier about the ongoing tussle over next year’s UN climate summit, the annual Cop.

Wong told ABC News this morning that conversations surrounding the event, which Australia would like to host in Adelaide in partnership with Pacific nations, remain “difficult” as Turkey has maintained its own hopes of hosting it. She said:

Turkey has been very focused on maintaining its bid.

What we are saying is that the Pacific is at the frontline of climate change. We are saying that Pacific voices and the Pacific experience should be elevated the Pacific’s agenda should be more prominent in the global agenda.

That has been really the impetus behind Australia’s bid to host this and we’ll continue to work with others and to engage with Turkey to try to get the outcome that we want for Pacific island nations.

Albanese adds he is ‘concerned’ about neo-Nazi rally outside NSW parliament

The prime minister was asked about the neo-Nazi rally outside NSW parliament last weekend, and reports that members of a group that promotes white supremacist views intend to register as a political party.

Albanese said:

I am concerned about the gathering that was there. I condemn it unequivocally. There’s no place in Australia for the antisemitic display that we saw outside New South Wales parliament house.

The prime minister said the New South Wales government was “responding” to reports of the party registration. He would not comment on any individuals at the rally having their visas reviewed, but said:

I do note that people who come to Australia and then say that they are anti-migrants coming to Australia, I think that speaks for itself.

Albanese says Coalition ‘choosing to take Australia backwards’ with net zero debates

Prime minister Anthony Albanese is speaking about the Coalition’s debates on its net zero policy. He just said during a press conference:

The Coalition are choosing to take Australia backwards. They’re walking away from jobs for Australians, and investment certainty for business. …

They’re walking away from climate action because they fundamentally do not believe in the science of climate change. …

Australians cannot afford to keep paying the price of Coalition infighting when it comes to climate policy and energy policy.

Fortune teller arrested for alleged role in multimillion-dollar fraud scheme

Two women, including one claiming to be a feng shui master and fortune teller, have been arrested and charged for their alleged roles in a multimillion-dollar fraud and money-laundering operation in Sydney.

NSW police said the arrests are part of a growing investigation into a scheme to purchase luxury “ghost cars” that did not exist using allegedly stolen personal information to apply for false loans.

The two women, 53 and 25, were arrested yesterday in Sydney’s Dover Heights.

Police said the older woman “allegedly exploited vulnerable clients within the Vietnamese community by persuading them to take out financial loans – while taking a share herself – based on her prediction that there was a ‘billionaire’ in their future”.

The alleged fraud is estimated to total nearly $70m.

The older woman was charged with 39 offences, including 19 counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception. She was refused bail and will appear in court today. The younger woman was charged with multiple counts, but was granted conditional bail to appear in court in January.

Seventeen other people have been arrested as part of the broader investigation, Strike Force Myddleton, and remain before the courts. The NSW Crime Commission has now frozen $75m in assets linked to the alleged syndicate.

Real estate agents face $110,000 fine for underquoting under new laws in NSW

Real estate agents in New South Wales could be fined $110,000 or more if caught underquoting properties under proposed new laws intended to stamp out misleading price estimates and increase transparency for buyers.

The Minns Labor government has started consultation with the property sector as it prepares to draft legislation to enact tougher underquoting laws, which it expects to introduce to parliament next year.

Underquoting is a tactic used by some agents who advertise a property for less than the estimated selling price or the owner’s asking price in order to lure buyers and drum up competition.

It is against federal consumer law to underquote, and most states, including NSW, have additional regulations to further discourage the practice.

Read more here:

Wong says Coalition wars over climate change ‘fused in their minds’

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said this morning the Coalition “still haven’t learned” in its fight over net zero policies.

Wong spoke to ABC News this morning, saying the opposition was seeing the same infighting over climate change as it has for the past 15 years. She said:

What we see the Coalition is the same conflict, the same climate chaos, the same leadership wars which has defined them on this issue for, you know, what is it, 15 more years. What is the consequence? Well, we’ve seen it. The consequence is higher energy prices …

What we need is policy certainty. That’s what the Albanese government is giving. The Coalition still haven’t learned – the climate wars and leadership contests have become fused in their minds for almost 15 years and it all continues.

Liberal senator says those seeking to drop net zero commitments for political win are ‘wrong’

Andrew McLachlan, a Liberal senator from South Australia, said Coalition colleagues who believe scrapping net zero commitments will help them politically are “wrong”.

McLachlan spoke to RN Breakfast this morning after members of the opposition met in Canberra to discuss their stance on net zero. Sussan Ley is poised to dump the target after the meeting after senior MPs advocated for doing so.

McLachlan said he is a “big supporter” of Ley, but said those seeking to abandon net zero pledges would fly against momentum in business and the opinions of the broader community. He told RN Breakfast:

I’ve been in the Liberal party a long time. There’s been good days and bad days. You pick yourself up, you move forward, and you fight for your values. I’m passionate about the natural world. I think, as a person of a conservative disposition, I owe it to advocate for it. …

I wouldn’t be advocating for net zero if I didn’t think it was important. I do so because I have a strong commitment to emissions reductions, but I also think it’s exceptionally good politics, but that’s my secondary factor. …

I’m a financial services executive before I came to parliament. I lived every day under targets. I don’t know why there’s a fear of targets.

Measles alert issued for north Brisbane

Queensland Health issued an alert after a confirmed case of measles spent time in two hospitals last Saturday, warning members of the public to be on alert for signs and symptoms of the virus.

The confirmed case spent several hours at Brisbane Northside Emergency at St Vincent’s private hospital in Chermside between 8am and 12pm on Saturday 8 November. They also spent time at North West private hospital in Everton Park between 12pm and 1pm that day.

The health department said “members of the public who visited the above areas on the specified dates and times may have been exposed to the disease and need to be alert for symptoms for up to three weeks from the exposure date”:

Measles is a highly infectious virus that is spread by coughing and sneezing or through direct contact with secretions from the nose or mouth. Symptoms usually start 7-10 days after contact with an infected person but can sometimes take as long as three weeks.

The measles virus is also airborne and can spread via aerosols which can survive for up to two hours in the air after an infected person leaves a room.

Early symptoms include fever, lethargy, runny nose, moist cough and sore red eyes, followed a few days later by a blotchy, red rash that often starts on the face before spreading to the body.

Victoria government to lengthen family violence orders and change stalking laws

Victoria will reform stalking laws to create better clarity about the offence, under proposed laws to be introduced by the state government on Thursday.

The Allan government will also introduce legislation to create a two-year minimum term for all family violence intervention orders to reduce the number of times victim-survivors need to go to court.

The stalking reform involves creating better clarity over what constitutes a stalking offence under state legislation. It was a key recommendation from a 2022 report commissioned after the murder of Melbourne woman Celeste Manno in 2020.

Last year Luay Sako pleaded guilty to murdering his former colleague after stalking her.

As part of a suite of reforms to strengthen family violence orders, courts will extend the length of these to align with a perpetrator’s prison sentence if they are behind bars. An additional 12 months will be added after the perpetrator is released from prison to help reduce the heightened family violence risk at this time.

Good morning, and happy Thursday – Nick Visser here to pick up the blog. Let’s see what the day has in store.