Australia news live: history made as federal cabinet achieves gender parity; Victoria to cap petrol prices in ‘cost-of-living shake-up’
Key events
Sportsbet facing class action over allegedly unlawful in-game bets
A class action has been launched on behalf of gamblers to recover millions of dollars allegedly lost through unlawful in-game bets facilitated by Sportsbet.
Law firm Maurice Blackburn Lawyers commenced a class action against Sportsbet in the Supreme Court of Victoria on 24 December.
It involves in-play bets (also known as live bets) made on sporting events using Sportsbet’s “Fast Code” service – part of the in-play betting product that it offered.
Maurice Blackburn principal Elizabeth O’Shea said that betting on a sporting event after the event commences is prohibited in Australia, and “there is an exception to this if the bet is made wholly by telephone”.
We believe that Sportsbet’s use of the Fast Code service is not just an attempt to circumvent important laws aiming to prevent gambling harm, it is also illegal because key information about the bet is communicated by punters otherwise than by a voice call.
Sportsbet represented to the plaintiff and group members that the Fast Code service was legal, and in doing so we believe it engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct contrary to the Australian Consumer Law.
The class action claims a refund for everyone who lost money on in-play bets using the Fast Code service, open to anyone who lost money made after the beginning of a sporting event in the past six years.
100 evacuate from south-west Sydney hotel amid suspected lithium-ion battery fire
Two children have narrowly escaped harm after a fire forced the evacuation of 100 guests from a hotel in Sydney’s south-west.
Fire and Rescue NSW said the cause of the fire was unknown at this stage, but reported “popping” sounds were consistent with the “thermal runaway” of lithium-ion battery fires.
About 1.30am this morning, firefighters were called to a fire on the second floor of a hotel on the Hume Highway at Warwick Farm.
Children in one of the hotel rooms were woken by popping sounds and a bedside table alight, FRNSW said in a statement.
The flames spread to a pillow which was thrown into the hotel room shower by the quick-thinking occupants, and extinguished. However, upon returning to the room, the guests found a mattress well alight and immediately ran to safety outside, where they called [triple zero].
About 100 people were evacuated and the fire was brought under control. FRNSW investigators are examining a number of items at the fire scene, including several rechargeable vapes and other electrical devices.
Tropical Cyclone Sean moving away from Pilbara coast
The Bureau of Meteorology says the category 3 Tropical Cyclone Sean is moving away from the Pilbara coast in Western Australia.
It said heavy rainfall and damaging wind gusts were forecast for coastal and island communities, but conditions were expected to ease as the cyclone moved away.
One Facebook user captured footage of the tropical cyclone from Barrow Island yesterday, showing dark clouds encroaching over the horizon.
The Barrow Island weather station recorded gusts up to 113km/h yesterday, and was still recording winds in excess of 80km/h.
PM on calls for national cabinet to meet on antisemitism: ‘People want action, not more meetings’
Asked if he would back mandatory jail time of six years for anyone who attacks a place of worship, as Peter Dutton announced earlier today, Anthony Albanese said:
Peter Dutton, of course, will continue to do what Peter Dutton does. What I’ll continue to do and what people are looking for when it comes to antisemitism is for the country to unite against abhorrent instances.
He said the federal government would continue to work with the states and territories:
There’s no place for antisemitism, and those who are engaged in it should face the full force of the law.
On whether national cabinet would be convened, the PM said “what people want to see isn’t more meetings, they want to see more action”.
Albanese criticises Coalition for opposing ‘every measure we’ve put forward’
The prime minister said the Coalition has opposed “every measure that we’ve put forward” – with today’s aluminium announcement the latest. Anthony Albanese told reporters:
I think that any alternative government that goes to an election just saying they want to go backwards – which is their slogan, it speaks about going back, at least they’re being honest – we’ll go back to the cuts. The last time the Coalition won an election, we saw massive cuts to education, to health – under Peter Dutton – to the ABC, to everything across the board with their horror budget. And they described our cost of living support as a sugar hit just last week.
The PM later added: “If you don’t shape the future, the future will shape you.”
Albanese lashes Coalition’s nuclear energy plans
Anthony Albanese has begun taking questions, and accused the Nationals of “just being negative, like the Coalition”.
It’s like production tax credits for new critical minerals and rare earths, they’re opposed to that as well. They’re opposed to Australian industry, and when you look at the nuclear costings that they put out, [they] were pretty flimsy.
He pointed to a detail in the Coalition’s costings, where they claimed Australia would use 40% less energy in 2050 than the Australian Energy Market Operator says will be needed, and said:
Well, what does that mean? That means businesses like this disappearing, going offshore – and that’s what their vision for Australia is.
Husic says Coalition has no plans to protect blue collar jobs
Ed Husic also took a dig at the Coalition, saying they had “wasted three years not coming up with policy”.
[They are] not being prepared to look people in the eye and say, ‘We have to be ready for global competition.’
What’s your plan to make sure we protect blue collar jobs? Completely missing in action. It’s not good enough to be under prepared going into an election year with no policy and no ability to explain to blue collar communities across the country how you’re backing manufacturing.
Those blue collar workers rightly deserve and expect better than what we’ve got out of a lazy, irresponsible and unprepared Coalition that isn’t putting forward [ideas] …
Customers expect companies to reduce emissions footprint, Husic says
The industry minister Ed Husic is also speaking to reporters, saying that Australia “cannot be left behind” when it comes to getting emissions down. He said:
We’re in a world where our competitors are thinking about how they can make aluminium with less of an emissions footprint and meet customer demand that is expecting the same. We cannot be left behind. We need to think ahead.
We need to plan for the future of places like this and the other smelters that the prime minister mentioned, from Gladstone, Portland, Bell Bay, [so] that they all have a future.
Aluminium investment about making economy more resilient: PM
Anthony Albanese said the $2bn investment to shift the industry to renewables was not only because it would help the environment, but because “it will lower the cost and make them more competitive and ensure that these high value jobs can continue into the future”.
Increasingly, the world is looking to import clean, reliable metals like Australian-made aluminium.
This represents a massive opportunity for growth, and that’s why today we’re investing in Australia’s aluminium industry to provide that certainty for jobs going forward, but also for our economic growth and our national interest going forward as well, to make our economy more resilient.
Albanese addressing reporters from Hunter region
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is addressing reporters at Tomago Aluminium in the NSW Hunter region, after this morning’s aluminium announcement (see earlier post).
He said 5,000 local jobs depend on the Tomago facility – and “tens of thousands of jobs” across the country “depend on us being able to make things here”.
This is what a Future Made in Australia looks like. Us taking the products that come out of the ground in Weipa at the Bauxite mine, making sure that work occurs at Gladstone, and then the final product comes out here at Tomago. That is what having control over the supply chain looks like and this is a great example here …
If there is a lesson from the pandemic, it’s [that] Australia cannot continue to be just at the end of supply chains, be vulnerable as a national economy by not making things here. We need to be more than a quarry, we need to be a country that value adds ourselves.
Apan says pro-Palestine protests will continue amid ceasefire
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network says its protests, “which take many forms”, would continue “unabated” amid the ceasefire in Gaza – which it describes as “a pause, not peace”.
In a statement, Apan president Nasser Mashni said:
We have a lot of work ahead to hold our own government accountable. As long as Australia maintains its military, economic and diplomatic ties with Israel, it remains complicit in Israel’s violence.
The Australian government must act – cut military ties, impose sanctions and meet its international legal obligations to hold Israel accountable for its crimes.
Milton Dick considering byelections after Shorten, Pitt resignations
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Milton Dick, says he has received letters of resignation from both Bill Shorten and Keith Pitt.
He is now considering the possibility of holding a byelection “whilst being mindful that a general election is due to be held in the coming months”.
The Speaker will make an announcement in due course.
Andrew Messenger
Queensland, NSW governments stand firm against casino aid
Continuing from our last post: for months, Star has appealed to state governments for tax relief – but both NSW and Queensland have stood firm against any tax relief or bailout for the company.
Star Entertainment chief executive Steve McCann on Friday repeated the company’s appeal for state tax deferral. He told the Australian newspaper:
We need more time.
In Queensland, the premier, David Crisafulli, has repeatedly ruled out backing Star with public money, though has floated potential backing for employees if the company does go into administration. A spokesperson for Crisafulli said today:
The Crisafulli government’s position has not changed.
Crisafulli told reporters yesterday:
We only have one focus and that is the jobs and the continuity of jobs regardless of who runs that facility (Queen’s Wharf). I want Queenslanders to know we are not tipping money into the company. It is not our issue.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, also ruled out support for the troubled gambling firm, saying on the weekend:
I don’t have money for casinos, I’m sorry.
Jonathan Barrett
Star warns casino operations under threat
The embattled Star Entertainment warned shareholders today there is no certainty it can stay afloat, as the casino operator seeks additional funding and state government tax relief.
Star is on the brink of collapse amid a sharp reduction in revenue and elevated operating costs due in part to the fallout of multiple inquiries uncovering systemic breaches of anti-money-laundering rules.
It also recorded a massive project cost blowout at its new Queen’s Wharf casino in Brisbane.
Star said in an ASX announcement there is no certainty that any of its current negotiations will materially increase the company’s liquidity position.
In the absence of one or more of those arrangements, there remains material uncertainty as to the group’s ability to continue as a going concern.
Star could buy some time if it meets the conditions of a loan agreement that would give it access to $100m before March, although it would also need to turn around its unprofitable business, or attract a buyer, to avoid eventually falling into administration.
The casino company, which operates gambling facilities in Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast, has asked the NSW and Queensland governments for tax relief. While the state governments have expressed support for Star employees, they have balked at providing financial support.
Star’s quarterly accounts, released today, show that its revenue fell 15% in the last quarter, while posting an earnings loss of $8m.
Federal cabinet reaches gender parity, PM says
Three women have been sworn in as ministers to take over the portfolios of retiring former Labor leader Bill Shorten as federal cabinet reaches gender parity.
As AAP reports, social services minister Amanda Rishworth has taken on the NDIS in her portfolio and finance minister Katy Gallagher his other position of government services minister.
Early childhood education minister Anne Aly has become the junior minister for the NDIS.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, noted at the ceremony:
[It’s] the first time in Australian history, since federation, that we’ve had equal representation in the cabinet of the government of Australia.
If you factor in the PM, the gender split is actually 12-11.
Queensland records highest summer road toll for five years
The Queensland police service has urged road users to re-evaluate their driving as the state experiences its worst start to a year on the roads since 2020.
The force said in a statement that it had been a devastating start to 2025, with 17 people already dying on the roads. It said:
The figure more than doubles the fatalities recorded during the same period last year and is the highest lives lost toll for this period since 2020.
QPS road policing and regional support command, acting chief superintendent Garrath Channells, said these crashes are deeply concerning.
These tragic numbers are not just statistics; they represent fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, and friends whose lives have been cut short.
Police are out there doing everything they can on the roads to try and bring this figure down and ensure people can return home to loved ones or their families. To then observe the deadliest start to the year since 2020 is truly harrowing.
Mutual obligations paused until next Monday amid IT issues
Cait Kelly
Mutual obligations have been paused until next Monday following disruptions to the Workforce Australia IT system last week – which welfare recipients use to receive their Centrelink payments on time.
The government did not answer questions about what caused the IT system. In a statement, the Department of Employment Workplace Relations said:
Issues with the MyGov system administered by Services Australia were impacting employment services participants’ ability to report compliance with mutual obligations. These issues have been resolved.
The pause is in place for all participants in:
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Workforce Australia Services
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Transition to Work
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Disability Employment Services
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Community Development Program.
Antipoverty Centre spokesperson Jay Coonan said the pause to MOs had been poorly communicated and welfare recipients were “always an after thought”.
These delayed notices and confusing communications show it. All we know is that the way this has been handled again shows total disregard for the lives and humanity of welfare recipients – this has to stop, just put an indefinite pause on “mutual” obligations.
Ultimately, the government knows as well as we do that the only way to fully protect people in poverty from unnecessary harm is to abolish the cruel system of “mutual” obligations altogether.
Greens says Trump inauguration marks ‘time to soberly reassess relationship with US’
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, has labelled Donald Trump a “danger to democracy and a danger to peace” ahead of his inauguration as US president. At a media conference in Melbourne earlier, Bandt said:
It is gravely concerning that over so many years, successive Australian governments have contracted out so much of Australia’s defence and foreign policy to the United States, especially now that a dangerous man like Trump is in charge.
With Trump now assuming charge of the United States, this would be the time for Australia to have a sober reassessment of our relationship with the United States.
It is time for Australia to say perhaps it is not such a good idea for us to be joined at the hip and for Australia to yet again be bound to follow Trump into whatever his next war is.
The Greens also said Australia should ask whether it has “contracted out far too much of its own sovereignty to Trump” via agreements like Aukus.
Australian billionaires made $67k an hour last year: Oxfam Australia
Australia’s 47 billionaires each take home an average of $67,000 an hour, more than 1,300 times more than the average Australian, according to Oxfam Australia.
The data, released as part of its “Takers Not Makers” report, showed that in 2024 Australian billionaire wealth rose by more than 8% or $28bn, at a staggering rate of $3.2m an hour.
Across the world, total billionaire wealth grew by $3tr last year, equivalent to roughly $8.4bn a day, at a rate three times faster than the year before.
Oxfam Australia said this is the second largest annual increase in billionaire wealth since records began.
Last year, Oxfam predicted the emergence of the first trillionaire within a decade. However, with billionaire wealth accelerating at a faster pace, this projection has been adjusted significantly – the world is now on track to see at least five trillionaires within that timeframe.
Oxfam Australia chief executive Lyn Morgain said the “capture of our global economy by a privileged few has reached heights once considered unimaginable”.
The crown jewel of this oligarchy is a billionaire president, backed and bought by the world’s richest man Elon Musk, running the world’s largest economy. We present this report as a stark wake up call that the futures of the vast majority of the global population are being crushed by the enormous wealth of a tiny few.
Oxfam Australia is calling on the federal government to implement a wealth tax on Australian billionaires and the super-rich, and implement a permanent crisis profits tax on big corporations “so that when crises hit, corporations can’t profiteer as they did during the pandemic”.
