The Point Live: It's on for the Liberals, protests planned for Melbourne in response to Isaac Herzog's planned visit

Matt Canavan is getting annoyed with the RBA.

He starts by asking about real wages and says that their data suggests that real wages are not going to rise much. Bullock says not to care too much about the wages prices data because that doesn’t include everything that is being paid. Which tbh I agree with Canavan on this – as I have shown repeatedly:

Canavan asks how the RBA can say people are doing ok, when there has been such a big drop in real wages.

Bullock wants instead to talk about real household disposable income, which actually has increased – because these take into account tax cuts and interest rates cuts/rises, and govt benefits:

Canavan then says “I think people are only going to get angrier in this country if they are being gaslit into thinking the economy is ok, when their lived experience is absolutely terrible right now”

Bullock breaks in very feistily to say “Senator I take exception to that comment” (Canavan retorts “As I have taken exception to saying things are ok”)

Bullock continues

I have said that there are certain aspects of the economy which are doing well and one of them is the labour market, which is a positive for people. Now I understand that some people are doing it tough. I do understand. I get letters and I read them. But that is not to say that you can’t recognise that there are some parts of the economy that are doing well. And the labour market I think has been a really positive thing for this country”

Canavan responds that he is talking about the comment that “the economy is ok”. And he, to be honest, makes a good point that the economy is about (in his view) the basic ability of people to provide for themselves.

Bullock responds that “you’re thinking ‘OK means it’s great’, when ‘ok’ means it’s ‘ok’”

Canavan then asks “if the labour market is so good, then why aren’t wages growing?”

Bullock says you’re looking at the wage price index, whereas the RBA are looking at a measure of what people are actually being paid (ie including overtime and promotions etc). And sure, she has a point, but cripes, the wage price index is not a small bit of data. It is essentially the CPI for wages. The RBA dismisses it far too readily in my opinion.

Up in estimates, Maria Kovacic is questioning the implementation of the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement. Currently, Australian public schools are underfunded by over $4 billion a year, but the agreement should put all states and territories on the path to fully funding public schools by 2034. Victoria became the last state to sign a bilateral agreement on how to reach that goal in December last year, but that agreement didn’t commit it to funding targets past 2026; Kovacic wants to know why.

The Department of Education explained, “With all these negotiations there’s two dimensions. One’s the reforms and the reforms were mostly settled. The second is the funding trajectory and that funding trajectory really is about at what point in time jurisdictions get to the required level of funding and what point in time the Australian government gets to its level of funding that we’ve offered. If the parties can’t agree on what those trajectories are, then those negotiations continue. So we got to the end of last year, we’ve signed a two year agreement and we will restart and through those discussions we anticipate in the next couple of months, we will reach agreement with Victoria which includes the funding trajectory to get them to their full and fair funding level of 100 percent.”

As noted by Kovacic, this means that, while Victoria has committed to the 2034 target, it has no agreement about how the funding will work to get there.

Rumours are swirling that the government will finally act on the capital gains tax (CGT) discount. Speculation is that the changes will be rolled out with the May budget.

The CGT discount reduces the amount of tax paid when someone sells an asset for more than they bought it for. It is one of the main drivers that has increased house prices and made housing so unaffordable.

We got more hints that changes might be coming from estimate hearings this week. The Finance Minister Katy Gallagher indicated that any changes would be confined to housing.

Jenny Wilkinson, the Treasury Secretary, effectively confirmed that they had done work for the government on potential changes to the discount. But she refused to say what those policy proposals were.

The best outcome would be to get rid of the CGT discount completely and tax capital gains in exactly the same way as other forms of income.

The Australia Institute has been explaining how the CGT discount has been driving up house prices for over a decade. Hopefully we will finally see some change and first home buyers will finally get some relief.

Senator Nick McKim is now asking about housing lending. He notes that investor growth has been booming of late.

He is right

He asks why this is occurring. Bullock says low interest rates mostly.

McKim then wonders if things like the 5% deposit guarantee can affect this, and they admit that yes, this could cause them to get in first (which they did) and that also when these investors show up at an auction they are now are competing against more first-home buyers.

They don’t follow through saying that this will raise house prices, but it does,

As we noted yesterday the average size of home loans jumped in a big way in the December quarter after the introduction of the 5% guarantee.

You can read more about this in my Guardian column out today

AAP

Police did not mean to cause offence to people praying peacefully when they were dispersed by force at a chaotic protest, the head of the force says.

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon offered a qualified apology to Muslim groups but defended the actions of his officers as anger grows over police tactics and powers used to break up a protest rally on Monday.

Officers were seen beating, pushing and pepper-spraying people in Sydney, including medics, who said they were violently pushed while attempting to treat the injured.

Vision of a group of Muslims being disrupted while performing sunset prayers beside Sydney Town Hall prompted mass outcry.

“The police that had been confronted were moving forward to disperse everyone,” Mr Lanyon told ABC radio on Thursday.

“This was not targeting any religion. I have apologised for an offence taken for interfering with that religious process, but it needs to be taken in context that we were moving a violent and aggressive crowd.”

The powers that paved the way for the crackdown will be challenged in parliament after the protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s Australian visit.

Laws rushed through parliament after the Bondi terror attack allowed police to make a declaration that prevents people from seeking authorisation for rallies in key areas, leaving participants vulnerable to arrest for marching through the streets or obstructing traffic.

As a result, Monday’s protest was a static gathering.

Mr Herzog’s visit was also controversially declared a “major event”, a designation protest organisers unsuccessfully challenged in court, unlocking further police powers to move on activists.

When the event concluded, demonstrators – some of whom only wanted to leave – could not move as police tried to stop the whole group from marching.

Officers soon began unleashing pepper spray and rushing at the crowd.

Street medic Omaim Al-Baghdadi was wearing a vest identifying herself as medical personnel when police arrived.

“We were trying to explain that we were doing treatments, but that didn’t really register, so we got pushed and pulled,” she told AAP.

“At the planter boxes, I found people laying down that were also injured, so I tried to commence treatment there, but again police came and pushed us quite violently.”

That night, she treated other medics who had been caught in police tear gas while coughing up her own lungs.

Riley Brooke initially attended the event as a protester and was in the middle of applying first aid before attracting the attention of police.

“I was fully backed against the wall with my hands up and one hand on a water bottle, I think saying, ‘I’m just flushing eyes out, I’m not in the protest anymore, I’m just doing first aid’,” they said.

“One yanked me and threw me, and I fell flat down on the ground.”

Premier Chris Minns has repeatedly defended the police actions but is facing calls from within his government for an independent inquiry into the handling of the protest.

Four Labor MPs have called on their leader to approve a review of the circumstances leading up to the clashes, held at arm’s length from police.

Laws enabling protest crackdowns and the decision to not allow a court challenge to the laws until the end of the month should be probed, protest attendee and Labor MP Stephen Lawrence said.

Five people were taken to hospital after the protest and 27 arrested, with nine facing charges.

There was a division in the house over this bill, which expands ASIO’s powers:

Amends the: Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 to: make the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s compulsory questioning powers framework permanent; expand the scope of adult questioning warrants; amend the eligibility and termination provisions for prescribed authorities; impose additional reporting requirements to ensure that the Attorney-General is made aware of any relevant information regarding the conduct of questioning under a compulsory questioning warrant; require that post-charge questioning occur only before a prescribed authority who is a retired judge; and Intelligence Services Act 2001 to enable a further review of the framework by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security

The crossbench attempted to amend it to include protections for minors under questioning and limit the timing of the powers, but were lone votes in that chamber

Tim Wilson is feeling a bit of relevancy deprivation syndrome it seems.

Mike Bowers caught this:

Just a bunch of blokes, being blokey, talking about blokey things.

Angus Taylor has used his social media to say he will be running for the leadership:

Our country is in trouble. The Labor government has failed and the Liberal Party has lost its I am running to be the leader of the Liberal Party because I believe Australia is worth fighting for. I believe that we need strong and decisive leadership to give Australians clarity and confidence to provide a vision for the future.

We must start by holding this failing Labor government to account for their total mismanagement of our country. The problem is that Australians are facing. I am dedicated to serving you, the Australian people, giving you a strong alternative, that re- enlivens the I’m committing myself to the of restoring our party, so that it can be the party that Australians expect and deserve. Because we are running out of time and Australia worth fighting for.

Soon after parliament opened this morning, Anthony Albanese paid tribute to one of Australia’s treasures – Jon Kudelka, who was taken from his family, and all of us too soon.

“When Jon Kudelka died earlier this week, Australia lost one of its great cartoonists and artists and Tasmania lost one of it’s favourite sons. He could skewer his targets with wit and precision, but when he turned his eye to the beauty of his home state, he celebrated it with joy, with a style that was entirely his. The outpouring of grief for him in the days since his death is an indication of the special place he held in so many Australian hearts. I extend my sincere condolences to his wife Maggie, his children Kay and Oskar and to his friends. May Jon Kudelka rest in peace.

Michele Bullock is asked by Jane Hume who is likely on the phone at the same time about becoming Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, about fiscal policy (ie govt spending). She says she does not think it is the RBA’s role to tell the government what to do.

Hume wants to get Bullock to admit govt spending caused inflation.

Bullock says aggregate demand is in their view is bigger than supply, and both public and private demand contribute to aggregate demand, but if you look at the impacts, private demand is doing all the work and public demand is not the driver.

This all great really confusing for people so think of it this way: 4 people are pushing a car on a road, 3 are the private sector, 1 is public sector, sometimes the public demand needs to push extra hard because one of the private sector blokes is feeling a bit crook or has pulled a hamstring. The key thing though is not to push the car so fast that it breaks the speed limit. Sometimes – like during the mining boom, the private sector was juiced up on steroids, and yet the public sector was also pushing hard (because of all the tax cuts and middle-class welfare handed out by Howard).

In that instance the public sector demand was contribution to inflation.

In 2023-24 the private sector was not doing much pushing – so the public sector pretty much had to do all the work.

Right now, though the public sector is barely pushing at all –  it is mostly just steering the car to stop it going off the road. The private sector (in the RBA’s view) is pushing the car too hard and so it has thrown a couple weights in the car (though an interest rate rise) to make it harder to push.

Meanwhile back with the committee, Hume wants to verbal Bullock, and get her to say the government should cut spending, Bullock plays a straight bat knowing that Hume is after a headline.

Anthony Albanese spoke to Adelaide radio 5AA earlier this morning (he’s been a fairly constant regular since he used to do a double-header with Christopher Pyne) and he was asked about One Nation (which is becoming a bit more of a thing in SA ahead of its coming state election)

Albanese:

Well, more important than just the politics, raw politics and that of course will always be taken into consideration by any politician, is the concern that I have is for the fabric of the nation. One Nation have played a divisive role in Australian politics over a long period of time.

They identify what they see as issues and don’t come up with solutions. Now, the fact that their vote has risen means that it needs to be taken seriously. What it signals to me is that there are many people who are frustrated with the existing system and that’s understandable given that there are real cost of living pressures there.

And that’s why we’re acting on cost of living, not just sitting back and identifying it, but coming up with practical ways to make a difference.

And in South Australia, one of the things that we’re doing very strongly is working with the Malinauskas Government on Australian jobs, whether it be the intervention that we’ve worked together in Whyalla, or whether it be particularly the AUKUS related jobs that are going to lead to significant high wage, high value jobs, particularly in manufacturing.

Right now, Michele Bullock is appearing before the Senate Economics estimates committee.

She has recently appeared before the House Economics committee so there’s not going to be much new said.

She opens by talking about how inflation have been driven by private investment (data centres) and that household disposable income has grown of late and that is likely why household consumption surprised on the upside. She also notes that the Black Friday sales are also changing our spending habits, so it is tricky to work out if the boost in spending is just people searching for bargains or is it real and ongoing.

She then is asked about the world’s economy, and she points out the Trump tariffs have not been as bad as expected, but ricks remain because (without saying it explicitly) Trump is a loon so who knows?

Phil Thompson also mentioned that NSW Liberal senator Jess Collins had also made the decision to resign, which is not a surprise to anyone who knows how Collins came to win the senate – she won the spot, over Hollie Hughes, largely because of Angus Taylor’s factional support.

So Hughes was one of Ley’s numbers in the original May vote, but Collins replaced her in the senate term change over in July. Collins was always one of Taylor’s numbers.

There is an old joke in journalism that any newspaper headline that ends with a question mark can be answered by the word “No” (sometimes called Betteridge’s Law of Headlines).

It is very unlikely that Pauline Hanson will become Australia’s next prime minister. But answering why it is very unlikely can teach us a lot about how the Australian government works.

Over on The Nightly, Aimee Edwards has an explainer about how Australia chooses its prime ministers, why a senator (as Pauline Hanson is) has only once become PM and why Labor still looks very comfortable despite One Nation’s rise in the polls.

Here is Phil Thompson on why he is supporting Angus Taylor, while also saying a thank you to Sussan Ley for seeing the ‘potential’ in him by putting him in the shadow ministry, but sorry, he doesn’t think she’s very good at her job. I mean, I don’t disagree, but he shouldn’t be THAT hard on himself.

He is also very proud of this line he came up with – see if you can guess which one.

I handed my resignation from the shadow ministry and gave a letter to call on an party-room meeting to resolve the leadership.

From the hallways of parliament to the kitchen table, people have been talking about a leadership spill.

…The Australian people have given us clear message – to listen to and work for them. That’s what we’re doing by bringing this on. It has been in turmoil, it has been disastrous, we have been in spiral.

And we need to get out of it. Angus Taylor has the ability to do that.

Sussan Ley is a good person, and I respect her, and I thank her for her seeing potential in me and being able to allow me to serve in the shadow ministry, however, if we want to be a credible opposition and we want next election, and we want to hold the government to account, and we want to do the most important thing – which is listen to the Australian people – we need a new leader to do that.

Anthony Albanese will deliver the Closing the Gap update at midday, but here is the official government statement of measures being put in place:

In 2025, the Albanese Government focused on jobs and training, easing cost of living and increasing food security in remote communities, and improving housing, health and education outcomes.

In 2026, the Albanese Government is building on what is working and investing in key areas to improve Closing the Gap outcomes. We are:

• Doubling the successful Remote Jobs and Economic Development Program from 3,000 to 6,000 new jobs with a $299 million investment. So far, around 1,500 jobs have been created, delivering the dignity of work with decent pay and conditions.
• Expanding cost of living support for remote communities with a $27.4 million investment to lift the cap on the Low-Cost Essentials Subsidy Scheme. 113 stores have already signed up to the Scheme, which will now be available to all 225 remote stores around Australia, delivering cost of living relief for 30 essential grocery items.
• Expanding the Store Efficiency and Resilience Package to 75 additional remote stores with a $32.7 million investment to keep stock fresh when the wet season and distance make transport difficult.
• Delivering Our Ways – Strong Ways – Our Voices: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Plan to End Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence 2026 – 2036, with an immediate investment of $218.3 million. The first standalone plan to end violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children.
• Reforming the health and hospital system to better meet the needs of First Nations people as part of the historic hospital funding agreement we secured at National Cabinet this month. This is a record $250 million Commonwealth investment and $200 million from the States and Territories.
• Investing a further $144.1 million to continue to improve health infrastructure across Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS), building on the over 100 projects already delivered or underway.
• As a matter of priority, investing $13.9 million in 13YARN to extend hours and establish a text message service so more First Nations people can access culturally safe, crisis counselling.
• Supporting the successful Birthing on Country program across Australia with a $44.4 million investment to provide culturally safe maternal care to 1,100 mothers and their babies annually.
• Boosting the First Nations Health Worker Traineeship program with an additional $2.6 million.
• Supporting Aboriginal Hostels Ltd with an investment of $48.3 million to continue to deliver critical short-term accommodation services.

These investments build on major commitments already underway, including a 10-year, $4 billion joint investment to halve overcrowding in remote Northern Territory communities, $600 million in dedicated First Nations housing funding through the Housing Australia Future Fund, expanded Indigenous Ranger and Junior Ranger programs, and targeted investments in education, justice reinvestment, health, water and digital connectivity.

LNP MP Phil Thompson has made the trek to Sussan Ley’s office to resign (no surprise, he has been holed up with Angus Taylor for days).

I have never seen Sarah Henderson look this happy.

Mike Bowers captured Henderson leaving the ABC studios after declaring she was supporting Angus Taylor for the leadership and Jane Hume as the deputy leader.

Here is how Claire Chandler announced her resignation:

Let’s take a look at Sussan Ley’s seat of Farrer. Ley had to be saved against a pre-selection challenge, not once but twice by Alex Hawke and his NSW Liberal faction, after facing some strong opposition from her branch. That didn’t make things easier, but before 2025, Ley held the seat with a 16.4% margin.

At the election, she experienced a 8.9% swing against her. The independent candidate, Michelle Milthorpe finished second and now, Ley’s margin against her is down to 6.2%.

This doesn’t mean Milthrope will run again, although we hear that there have been ‘very promising’ community meetings where Milthorpe has featured. If Ley loses the leadership and resigns, it is not a given that the Liberals would retain the seat.

For those wondering, One Nation has polled at about 6-7% at the election in Farrer, but given its surge in regional and rural seats, you would have to think that vote would increase as well – and preferences are necessarily going to break a Liberal or Nationals candidates’ way.

In news that will shock absolutely no one, Sarah Henderson is backing Angus Taylor. She wants Jane Hume to run for deputy.

Tasmanian conservative Claire Chandler has resigned from the front bench and you’ll see more of that today as Taylor’s allies line up.

Asked if Sussan Ley was ‘done’ Henderson replied:

I think she is, I think we’re going in the wrong direction. We need a credible set of policies, we need to show that can fight for the Australian people, hold this terrible government to account every single day and that why I am hoping that Angus Taylor will be our the next couple of days. It is very difficult time for the Liberal Party.

This is not easy to change leader but at a primary vote of 18%, would wipe out most members in the House of Representatives and we owe it to the Australian people to be a credible opposition to fight hard every single day and under Angus Taylor and his leadership, we can do that.

Kos Samaras job is to look at polling and research for the major parties. So, you know….

For those of you who are able to not pay attention, in 2018 Peter Dutton challenged Malcolm Turnbull for the Liberal prime ministership (you may remember the ‘he’s not a monster’ phase) and in response to all the non-stop leaks and speculation, Turnbull forced Dutton to front up and challenge him, by effectively calling on the spill himself.

Dutton didn’t have the numbers, but it was also revealed that Turnbull had lost just shy of half the party room. That then set the stage for another contest, without Turnbull, who saw the writing on the wall and removed himself. Julie Bishop was knocked out early after her supporters went to Scott Morrison and in a contest between Dutton and Morrison, Morrison won. He came up the middle as it were.

Can this happen here? Never say never, and Ted O’Brien and his staff are doing all they can to try and make it seem like Super Ted is a viable third candidate. And look, stranger things have happened. But O’Brien doesn’t have a strong supporter base himself – so it would have to be a scenario of literally no one else. O’Brien is seen as a more likable Tim Wilson, if such a thing exists, and while Wilson likes to have his name thrown into the mix, there is nothing to suggest he has anywhere near the levels of support needed to be an actual contender.

So it is unlikely there will be a third candidate (Andrew Hastie seems happy for the mess to play out, but you never know with the Liberal party) but don’t rule it out. Stranger things have happened.

Andrew Wallace doesn’t really want to get into any of the gender issues around the Liberals maybe ditching their first woman leader after only nine months, despite the interviewer trying twice. He just says its a bad look for any Liberal leader to be challenged like this.

He also doesn’t think Angus Taylor has the numbers:

I think this leadership challenge – if it ends up being that challenge – if it ends up being that – has been undercooked. I think it’s been unprepared or ill-prepared. I think Sussan has the numbers. I think that the majority of the party room believe that Sussan hasn’t been given a fair go, and they want to given a fair go, and they want to give her that opportunity to succeed. And I am definitely one of those people.

Sussan Ley’s supporters have been out early this morning. Shadow attorney-general Andrew Wallace (it’s ok if you have never heard of him before) wandered into the parliament house ABC studios this morning to speak about why he will be supporting Ley if a spill is called:

I think she has done a very good job in difficult circumstances. This is off the back of two straight election defeats, and the last one of which, unfortunately, was pretty significant. Being the Opposition Leader in federal politics is the toughest job of them of all, especially coming off those two defeats.

Look, with the two splits with the Nationals and the worst attack on Australia’s soil from a terrorist perspective, there’s been a lot going on, and I quite honestly believe that Sussan hasn’t been afforded a reasonable opportunity to succeed, and I want to back and make sure that she does so that we can continue to take the fight up to Labor.

The thing is…the Coalition is going backwards under her leadership – where she has made the decisions which included how she handled the Bondi terror attack. And the vote went backwards. So while she hasn’t had a lot of fresh air, she’s also been responsible for creating a lot of the fog.

AAP has some more on the Closing the Gap target update, which will be reported to the parliament a little later this morning:

Indigenous health services will be upgraded across the country with promises from the prime minister that failure to address disparity with non-Indigenous Australians is not an option.

Anthony Albanese will use his annual closing the gap speech on Thursday to announce a $144 million boost to Indigenous health to upgrade more than 100 services in cities and regional areas.

The prime minister will argue addressing heath outcomes is critical in improving multiple closing the gap outcomes.

“Many of these clinics had not seen a dollar of new investment for decades,” he will say.

“All levels of government will work together to see this funding deliver a change in outcomes.”

Mr Albanese will also announce plans to reduce prices on essential items at all remote grocery stores in Indigenous communities, following a successful trial.

Prices on 30 items like flour, cereal and toothpaste would be in line with those in the city across 225 remote stores

“We all know what it means to be able to put healthy food on the table.The difference it makes for mums expecting a baby, for a child’s health and growth, even for their ability to concentrate at school,” the PM will say.

Mr Albanese’s address will reveal four of the closing the gap outcomes are on track to be met, with a further six targets being improved upon.

“Based on progress to date, later this year we expect confirmation that the target of 95 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children enrolled in preschool has been achieved,” he will say.

“There are four areas where progress is stalled, or going backwards.The most urgent is suicide. Suicide shatters families, it tears apart communities.”

The prime minister will also use the speech to warn against any pre-emptive declaration of failure in closing the gap in outcomes.

“Talk of failure dismisses the aspirations and achievements of Indigenous Australians. It ignores the leaders and communities who are changing lives,” he says.

“Failure is a word for those who have stopped trying – or given up listening.

“The challenges facing us are significant, complex and connected, with causes that reach back generations. But that does not render us powerless – it makes each act of change powerful.”

The closing the gap speech comes after the government announced the roll out of a 10-year plan on Tuesday to address domestic and family violence against Indigenous women and children.

13YARN 13 92 76

Lifeline 13 11 14

Anthony Albanese will deliver the latest Closing the Gap report card, and it is not great news. Only four of the 19 targets are on track, although he will report improvements in another six areas.

In four areas – including the rate of suicides, the number of children in out of home care, early childhood development and the number of adults incarcerated, Australia has gone backwards.

Albanese will deliver the update to parliament, where he will also address the Boorloo (Perth) terror attack, where a man has been charged with throwing a bomb into a crowd at an Invasion Day rally. It did not detonate, but was originally treated as an attempt to intimidate, before being escalated, following days of public pressure for further investigation, into a terror attack.

Albanese:

The danger of that alleged attack was real — and so was the racism and hatred behind it, motivated by a white supremacy ideology.

You’ll be seeing a lot of these expressions over the coming days. (Mike Bowers captured the main Angus Taylor faces as he delivered his statement in the opposition courtyard)

After being caught on the hop by the news of a quiet trial in Laos for one of the people responsible over the methanol poisoning deaths of two Australians (and a very small fine as punishment) Penny Wong has announced a special envoy for the case:

Today I have appointed Mr Pablo Kang as Special Envoy to continue our efforts for progress in the investigations into the methanol poisoning deaths of Australian citizens Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones.

Since their November 2024 deaths, the Albanese Government has been clear to the Lao authorities of the need for transparency and accountability.

We have consistently conveyed our expectations that charges should reflect the seriousness of the tragedy that killed Holly, Bianca and four other foreign nationals.

I have asked Mr Kang to depart for Laos as soon as possible this week and explore all avenues to progress the case.

Mr Kang heads the Southeast Asia Regional and Mainland Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He has previously served as Ambassador to Cambodia, Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and High Commissioner to Vanuatu.

We understand the heartbreaking grief of the families of Holly and Bianca, which has been exacerbated by the delays and lack of transparency over the legal processes in Laos.

The Albanese Government will continue to press the Lao authorities on Holly and Bianca’s cases and will continue to support their families in their pursuit of justice.

The Israeli president is expected to face another day of protests as his controversial Australian visit nears an end.

Isaac Herzog will be closely guarded by police, who have been granted special search powers, as he arrives in Melbourne for a packed day of meetings with senior politicians and community leaders.

A planned protest in the city’s CBD is expected to attract more than 5000 people, leaving police on high alert.

The demonstration against Mr Herzog’s visit at Flinders Street Station is expected to remain peaceful, according to police who said there is no specific threat to the president.

“We want to be clear that there is no intelligence at this time to suggest that the event is the target of any specific threat,” Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill said.

Police have been granted special powers under terrorism legislation ahead of the visit, allowing officers to stop and search vehicles or people in public places, seize items and detain people as a preventative measure.

The powers apply to specific areas Mr Herzog will attend while in Melbourne.

Mr Herzog was invited to Australia by the federal government following the Bondi terror attack but has received a hostile reception from protesters and some politicians over Israel’s actions in Gaza.

At least nine people were charged, and 27 arrested after protesters were punched and pushed by police when an anti-Herzog rally turned violent in Sydney’s CBD on Monday.

Labor Friends of Palestine Victoria committee member Kate Shuttleworth called for a peaceful protest in Melbourne, urging the increased search powers to be used with caution.

“The scenes out of Sydney were deeply distressing. Rank-and-file Labor members were among those pushed, punched and subjected to force. We do not want to see that repeated in Victoria,” she said in a statement. 

“We are asking for calm, for restraint, and for the protection of democratic rights. Peaceful protest is not a threat to Victoria, it is part of who we are.”

The president’s movements have largely been kept under wraps during his visit.

Mr Herzog met with survivors of the Bondi attack in Sydney, before being hosted by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra.

The four-day trip has been welcomed by members of Melbourne’s Jewish community which has been rocked by multiple anti-Semitic attacks, including the Adass Israel Synagogue firebombing in 2024.

“It’s a comfortable feeling,” Adass board member Abe Weiszberger told AAP. 

“Bondi is most probably when the volcano erupted. We’ve seen the volcano bubbling for two or three years.”

Mr Weiszberger said the visit was important for the community, saying it helped bring back a sense of belonging.

“It gives you some comfort in this sea of unknown and where we don’t know what’s the next move,” he said.

The Israeli president has described his four-day trip to Australia as very emotional, saying it was important to visit the community and express condolences.

For those of you who have a life and may have missed the statement last night (I am jealous, what does it feel like) this is what Angus Taylor put out about his resignation from the front bench:

Since last May, I have worked hard as a member of the leadership group and the Shadow Cabinet to help our team regroup and rebuild after the federal election. I have supported the leader and done everything I can to assist her in restoring the Party’s standing with the Australian people.

Despite these efforts, the Liberal Party’s position under Sussan Ley’s leadership has continued to deteriorate, leaving it weaker than at any time since its formation in 1944.

This is a confronting reality, but one we cannot ignore.

As a party that holds itself up as an alternative government, our failures have allowed the Albanese Government to avoid accountability for their mismanagement of our country. This is devastating for Australians who, under Labor, have become poorer, more divided and more disillusioned.

Under Anthony Albanese, Australians are going backwards. Our standard of living is declining, and this government is failing to protect the way of life Australians have worked so hard to build.

This cannot continue.

We must urgently restore Australians’ confidence in the Liberal Party by demonstrating strong leadership, clear direction, and the competence and conviction to courageously fight for our values with a clear vision for the future.

For these reasons, I have tendered my resignation from the Shadow Cabinet, effective immediately.

This is not a decision I take lightly. I remain committed to the Liberal Party, which has provided me the honour and privilege of serving it.

In the period ahead, I will be consulting closely with colleagues about the future of our Party, so it can once again be the party that Australians expect and deserve.

The number of First Nations people in jail in NSW is higher than ever before, while those without convictions are soon expected to make up half of the prison population.

Though the number of people imprisoned has fallen since 2019, fresh data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research has found the number of Indigenous Australians in custody has increased by 18.1 per cent.

With 4452 Aboriginal adults in jail as of December, First Nations people represent more than a third of the NSW prison population – the highest number and proportion on record – despite making up three per cent of the general population.

This means the incarceration rate for Indigenous Australians is 15 times higher than non-Indigenous people, with one in 25 Aboriginal men in NSW having lived in prison.

“The Aboriginal figures are shocking,” NSW BOCSAR executive director Jackie Fitzgerald told AAP.

Police have stepped up efforts to crack down on domestic violence, but because its prevalence in the community have not decreased, greater law enforcement efforts have had an outsized impact on Indigenous incarceration, she said.

The number of people imprisoned on remand, which means they have been charged but not convicted and are often awaiting trial, has reached the highest proportion ever recorded at 46 per cent of the adult prison population.

NSW’s remand population has grown by 20 per cent since December 2023 due in part to the aforementioned police efforts to step up domestic violence enforcement and changes to bail outcomes.

More people are coming before the courts, as legal action against domestic violence has grown by 50 per cent since 2019.

Meanwhile, those facing domestic violence charges are less likely to receive bail, with bail refusal rates rising from 17.5 per cent to 19.4 per cent between 2023 and 2025.

It is possible this has been influenced by high-profile stories of domestic violence offenders on bail that have gone on to murder current or former partners.

While Ms Fitzgerald acknowledged remand could help incapacitate those with serious charges, bail refusal rates have increased across the spectrum of offences.

If this trend continues, people on remand will account for half of the prison population in the next two years.

“It’s worth a conversation about whether the community is comfortable with incarcerating so many people who haven’t been through that court process,” Ms Fitzgerald said.

“We do also know that many of those people, even if convicted, won’t receive a custodial penalty.”

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This is just a bit of gossip, but the Fin have also reported it, so I am going to indulge – but yesterday, when everyone was still waiting to see whether Angus Taylor would challenge or not (he ended up doing it just after 7pm) Sussan Ley’s supporters started wandering around accusing Taylor of the T.A.C.O protocol – Taylor Always Chickens Out. It comes from Donald Trump skeptics, referring to Trump’s big threats on things like tariffs, that never come to fruition.

It’s still unclear if Taylor has the numbers. Not all the senators are in town, and Taylor relies on quite a few people in the senate to make up his bloc, so if a party room meeting was called today, instead of tomorrow like Taylor wants, then he wouldn’t necessarily have all his votes.

But even if one was called today, it wouldn’t end it. There would be another meeting called in March when parliament resumes and everyone was in town. So if it happens today, and he loses, don’t assume that’s the end of it.

Hello and welcome to the last sitting day of the parliament – but it’s events outside the parliament which have sucked up all the oxygen.

It is on in Lib spill land, although the when and hows are still being worked out. Angus Taylor has quit the shadow front bench, which was the first domino in the spill, but but he didn’t actually say he would challenge. That comes next. But today will mostly be a messy day of number counting and leaks and too-ing and fro-ing before the main event, which will most likely be held on Friday.

Also happening is Isaac Herzog, who has been credibly accused of inciting the commission of genocide, moving on to Melbourne, where he will be met with more protests. He met with senior politicians in Canberra yesterday, at both Government House and the parliament, and Elizabeth Watson-Brown and Sophie Scamps boycotted parliament in protest of Herzog being hosted in the Peoples’ House.

The government will get another day off from having to answer any major questions, as the opposition is way too busy focusing on itself.
I’ve had about three hours sleep, which makes for a grand total of 15 hours for this week, and the two coffees I have inhaled are yet to make a dent.

So it is going to be a slow, painful fall into the abyss today. Care to join me? Take a breath and we’ll jump in.