Australia politics live: government claiming a victory for doing ‘the bare minimum’ on gambling, Pocock says | Australia news

One Nation files three years of overdue financial returns

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party has complied with a request from the Queensland regulator to file three years of overdue financial returns.

The party was sent a demand from the Office of Fair Trading last month to submit the missing returns by August 18 or face compliance action.

A spokesperson for the OFT told The Guardian on Wednesday that the returns were filed after business hours on Tuesday ahead of the midnight deadline.

One Nation Queensland Division Inc has now lodged audited financial statements for the years 2022/2023, 2023/2024 and 2024/2025, as required by the Associations Incorporation Act 1981.

The Office of Fair Trading has notified One Nation Queensland Division Inc that any future failures to lodge annual returns within prescribed time limits may result in enforcement action.

Under the act, members of the management committee of an incorporated association must ensure financial statements are lodged for the association’s last reportable financial year.

Any further breaches could expose Hanson and the New South Wales One Nation senator Sean Bell to financial penalties for failing to comply with the legal requirements in the state and could see the party struck off the state register of incorporated associations.

Guardian Australia has previously revealed that the party has repeatedly failed to meet the legal requirements for running an incorporated association in Queensland, including failing to hold annual general meetings on time and filing annual and financial reports late.

Returns filed until 2022 obtained by the Guardian and analysed by a leading accounting expert revealed more than $1m in missing or worthless assets which the party has refused to explain.

Liberal senator Paul Scarr to cross the floor on gambling bill

Paul Scarr will join his colleagues Pat Conaghan and Andrew Wallace and cross the floor of the Senate to vote against Labor’s gambling bill.

Scarr says the reforms don’t do enough to protect children and vulnerable Australians, and that he’ll be supporting amendments put forward by independent David Pocock (who also said today Australians would be “hugely disappointed” by the reforms.)

Scarr told reporters as he entered Parliament this morning:

This legislation doesn’t go far enough, in terms of protecting our kids from advertising, in terms of protecting people from inducements, and in terms of having strong statutory reviews of the outcomes of these laws.

So I’ll be supporting a range of amendments that are being put forward by Senator David Pocock, and I can’t support the bill in its current form.

Liberal MP Andrew McLachlan has also said he’s considering voting against the bill. McLachlan and Scarr also crossed the floor earlier this year to vote with Labor to censure Pauline Hanson after her burqa stunt.

Angus Taylor, donned in Lycra ahead of the pollie pedal*, says the gambling legislation passed in the lower house yesterday has the right balance – despite criticism that the reforms aren’t strong enough.

He told a press conference:

It’ll get the balance right between people having a bet, and they should be able to have a bet, and at the same time making sure there’s protection for the most vulnerable. For kids, for those who have got gambling challenges, and I want to deal with those, and that’s the balance we’ve sought to strike.

*What’s pollie pedal you ask? It was founded by Taylor and Tony Abbott where pollies, veterans, community leaders and others ride hundreds of kilometres raising funds for Wandering Warriors. Its website says the charity bike ride has raised more than $7.4m for different causes over more than two decades. Last year they rode 831km through Adelaide and parts of regional South Australia.

The Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, who’s with Taylor, says jokingly: “In about a year’s time, hopefully I can look as good in Lycra as you do. And maybe I’ll join you next year.”

Andrew Bragg weighs in on Chalmers’ text blast

The shadow housing minister, who was named in Jim Chalmers’ text blast, has also taken to social media to criticise the treasurer.

Chalmers sent supporters a text yesterday afternoon claiming Bragg and Pauline Hanson would “scrap your super” and calling for donations of $41.

Bragg wrote on Instagram:

Chalmers has failed as a treasurer. Everyone can feel his economic failure and all he has left is scare campaigns and personal attacks.

Chalmers just wants more of other people’s money and more taxes.

Chalmers earlier this week declared the next election would be a “referendum on super” after Hanson over the weekend said One Nation would allow Australians easier access to their super earlier.

It’s turned into a bit of a political storm. Yesterday Chalmers and other Labor ministers kept claiming the Coalition and One Nation would end the super guarantee, sometimes without prompt … maybe Chalmers think he’s on to a political winner here.

In pics: Thai PM arrives at Parliament

Thailand’s prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, is in Canberra today to meet with Anthony Albanese, and has received a ceremonial welcome outside Parliament House this morning.

The two will deliver a joint media statement after their meeting a little later.

Tanya Plibersek has also raised concerns over the response to sexual assault allegations linked to Sydney Swans players as well as the separate matter of sexual assault charges laid against three boys at the Sydney private school Scots college.

The federal minister for social services wrote on social media that the Swans and Scots college had a chance to “show leadership” without interfering in any investigations but didn’t.

She wrote:

They chose language that was passive and exculpatory … When people in positions of power gloss over allegations of sexual violence, when they’re more focused on their reputations than their responsibilities, it reinforces the culture of disrespect and entitlement that fuels this violence in the first place.

She says schools and sporting clubs are “two of the most important places boys learn their values”, that they need to demonstrate accountability, and condemn sexual violence unequivocally.

‘Jim Chalmers is full of shit’: Hanson fires up over Chalmers donations text

Pauline Hanson has lambasted the treasurer over a text blast sent to supporters yesterday, seen by Guardian Australia, claiming Hanson and the shadow housing minister, Andrew Bragg, want to “scrap your super”, and asking for donations of $41.

The One Nation leader called out the messages on X:

It’s Pauline Hanson here. Jim Chalmers is full of shit. One Nation doesn’t support scrapping super, we just think people should be able to use their super when in financial distress instead of losing their home. Labor would rather you end up homeless.

One Nation has said it would allow more Australians to access to their super earlier. At the moment, super can only be accessed before retirement “in very limited circumstances, including to pay certain expenses on compassionate grounds, as well as terminal illness, incapacity and severe financial hardship.”

At the National Press Club earlier this month, Bragg called super “one of the biggest policy failures since federation”, but the Coalition has said it’s not scrapping the super guarantee. It’s still considering whether to allow first home buyers to access part of their super to buy a home – a policy it took to the last two elections.

Swans links to allegations ‘deeply concerning’, Pocock says

David Pocock, a former captain of the Wallabies, says the allegations of sexual assault linked to several Sydney Swans AFL players are “deeply concerning”.

He adds that the response to the allegations, much of which has been centred on the team’s grand final chances, show “how far we have to go as a country”.

Pocock tells ABC News Breakfast:

Clearly there’s been a real breach of team protocol and all the rest and I think, the team should come down on that hard but as to the actual allegations, I think it’s really important that the process plays out and clearly, culturally, as a country, we’ve got a long way to go on this and it’s important that we’re all playing our part.

It shows how far we have to go as a country, if that’s the first reaction rather than looking at the substance of the allegations and what it means for us as a society … It’s going to take all of us to turn this around.

He says everyone should read Night Games by Anna Krien, which “delves into some of the challenges when it comes to culture in professional sport” and gives us an indication of the broader cultural problems across the country.

Independent senator David Pocock says Australians will be “hugely disappointed” by the gambling reforms passed in the lower house yesterday.

Pocock has been a vocal critic of the legislation which he’s said doesn’t nearly go far enough to combat the harms of online gambling advertising, and it’s fair to say he’s pretty furious about the result.

Pocock says gambling companies are currently regulated out of the Northern Territory, by a body which has no full-time staff. To make matters worse, he says the regulator has not contacted the wagering companies after shocking allegations of gamblers being offered drugs and sex workers were aired at a Senate inquiry.

He told ABC News Breakfast a little earlier that the legislation has “failed on so many levels”.

It’s tragic to [see] vested interests and their capture of the major parties meaning we don’t get evidence-based policy in this country and policy that puts Aussies ahead of the gambling companies … The late Peta Murphy said partial bans on advertising do not work and that’s why they went with a full ad ban. She said inducements should be banned immediately. This legislation essentially legitimises inducements and says let’s just get rid of the worst types of inducements.

The system is so broken and it’s no wonder we’re the biggest losers in the world per capita, and now the government is trying to claim this huge victory for just doing the bare minimum that really doesn’t deal with the issues that we’re facing.

Mulino ‘confident’ opposition will support news bargaining incentive bill after lifting levy for tech giants

Jumping back to Daniel Mulino on RN Breakfast, the financial services minister says he’s “confident” he can get the opposition on side to vote for the bill.

(There’s so much confidence in the building this morning …)

Mulino says the government will today introduce an amendment to the bill lifting the charge rate from 2.5% to 2.75%. What this means is that tech platforms including Meta, Google and TikTok will now have to make deals with at least eight news media organisations to pay them for their journalism or pay the government 2.75% of their digital advertising revenue which will then be given to news orgs.

It comes after the shadow communications spokesperson, Sarah Henderson, yesterday said that the current bill wouldn’t help enough journalists and could send media companies backwards.

Mulino tells RN the increase of the charge rate is a “good outcome for Australia’s media” and while he says he reckons the Greens and Coalition will support it, he seems more focused on dealing with the latter.

What we have is a very balanced package, a package that is sensible when it comes to the way in which we charge big tech, but also that charges at an appropriate rate for Australia’s media to make sure they get back into the position they are in, in terms of the overall level of deals.

I’m in good discussions with [Henderson] and overall the government is in good discussions with the opposition. I’m confident that we’ll be able to get to a point that the opposition supports this bill.

Liberal MP Andrew Wallace took a stand yesterday and decided – for the first time in his parliamentary career – to cross the floor and vote against the gambling reforms. He, like his Nationals colleague Pat Conaghan, said the changes don’t go far enough.

Wallace is up next in the RN Breakfast hot seat and is asked whether he received much blowback from colleagues after he crossed the floor. He doesn’t specifically say, but says broadly that “clearly it is not a preferred thing for people to cross the floor”.

So what are Wallace’s ongoing concerns with the legislation?

He takes serious issue with the government putting gambling companies in charge to “red-flag” at-risk gamblers.

If you look at the red flagging of problem gamblers as an example, this is effectively putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank. It’s the gambling companies that will determine the red-flagged people, the people who are problem gamblers. These are the same people who are preying upon those same individuals. I do not trust the gambling companies to act with good intent when it comes to this.

They [Sarah Henderson and Angus Taylor] made a bad bill better. But at the end of the day, Sally, I’ve got to look at myself in the mirror and I’ve got to look at my constituents in the face and say that I did what I thought was right.

He also points to the fact that right now, gambling companies can’t advertise on TV five minutes before a sports game, and that’s only increasing to a whopping grand total of … 15 minutes.

The One Nation threat is particularly close to home for Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie, with the rightwing party challenging for his WA seat.

But he tells RN Breakfast he “loves the pressure”.

Hastie has publicly said he’s had increased security for his home and office after threats to him and his staff, but says this won’t deter him.

I love pressure, Sally. I wouldn’t be in this job if I didn’t. I also love a fight, and I know people like [Hanson’s chief of staff] James Ashby are coming for me. He’s got his orders from above, and I’m going to hold my seat because I believe I’m the best person to deliver for the people of Canning, as I have over the last 11 years. Will it be a tough fight? Absolutely. Is it dirty and nasty? Yes, it is.

Asked whether the Coalition is under more pressure to release policies sooner because of One Nation, Hastie says:

It’s not a thought bubble race on X with Pauline Hanson. We want to make sure that our policies are costed and modelled and are responsible. It’s very easy to get a sugar hit in the headlines, but we’re doing the hard work.

‘No plans to lift the super guarantee’, says Mulino

Daniel Mulino, the financial services minister, says the government has no plans to lift the super guarantee from 12% to 15%. Currently federal public servants – including politicians – receive 15.4% super on top of their wages.

Labor has for a while now had a commitment in its national platform to “set out a pathway to increasing it to 15%”, but they’ve so far made no plans to do so. Wayne Swan was the last treasurer to raise the super guarantee from 9% to 12% over a few years.

Mulino tells ABC RN Breakfast:

There’s no plans to lift the super guarantee. Getting it to 12% was the work of Labor governments over a very long period of time. And I might say, in the face of opposition, it was fought tooth and nail every step of the way by the opposition.

Mulino is addressing the National Press Club today to announce measures to protect superannuation consumers. Why? He says it came from the collapse of superannuation providers Shield and First Guardian:

The scale of that collapse was shocking. Almost 12,000 Australian individual members of super funds and their families lost large parts, or in some cases, all of their super savings. But what was also increasingly clear was the predatory and inappropriate behaviour which led to those collapses. Lead generators reaching out to these people in unsolicited ways, undertaking highly manipulative interactions to convince them that their super products were not performing well or were inappropriate, and then manipulating them into inappropriate products for them.