Resources minister says gas companies have spent billions establishing energy infrastructure
Madeleine King, the federal resources minister, said there was no change in the government’s position on the taxation of gas.
She spoke to RN this morning, saying gas companies had spent tens, if not hundreds, of billions of dollars over decades to create gas facilities, calling claims gas companies were getting gas at a sweetheart deal were “absurd”.
She said:
double quotation mark These facilities support communities across the country … It’s only in the universe of the Greens party and their friends that they can say that spending hundreds of billions of dollars across the country could be considered in any way free. It’s clearly an absurd position.We’ve got to remember what those billions of dollars of investment has delivered for the Australian people and what we get out of it. And one of those things is a domestic gas supply.
Key events
David Pocock accuses government of ‘rolling out’ talking points from the gas industry
Independent senator David Pocock spoke earlier about the government’s reported ruling out of a gas export tax. He had this to say:
double quotation mark We now have the vast majority of Australians, ‘that say that’s a finite resource that belongs to us, we want a return on that resource’.And yet we have a prime minister and others who are just rolling out the talking points from the gas industry. …
We had politicians parroting those talking points, those numbers. We now have people in the media giving us those numbers with no interrogation of where they come from.
Surely the PM should be giving us the ATO’s figures, not the gas industry’s figures.
Cait Kelly
Rise in unemployment would mean Australians need higher welfare payments, government’s expert committee warns
The Government’s independent expert Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has called for an increase to JobSeeker, Youth Allowance and related payments and Remote Area Allowance in this Budget.
Released today, it also recommends reform of employment services to stop punishing people and provide genuine help for people to get into decent paid work.
Cassandra Goldie, chief executive of the Australian Council of Social Service, said:
double quotation mark With some predicting unemployment could rise to between 5 and 6.5% by the end of the year, we urgently need a stronger safety net and employment services that don’t punish people but help them to get paid work.Cost of living support must be targeted to people already living in poverty, who face severely rising costs of fuel, food and rent.
Income support payments are so low that people cannot meet their needs, let alone look for paid work with any dignity or stability. That has to change in this Budget.
Four arrested in Sydney over alleged plot to kill prominent figure in organised crime
NSW police have said they foiled an alleged plot to kill a prominent figure in organised crime.
Officials with Taskforce Falcon said four men have been charged over their involvement in various stages of the alleged conspiracy. Police said the investigation began after officers on patrol in Sydney’s Bankstown noticed a car with cloned plates in September.
The driver allegedly sped away and officers began a chase. They later discovered the vehicle abandoned and an allegedly loaded handgun discarded on the road.
The incident set off an investigation under the taskforce. NSW police said detectives later uncovered aspects of the alleged murder plot, including setting up staged vehicles, surveilling the target and a planned getaway driver.
After extensive inquiries, four men were arrested yesterday. Two men from Leppington, aged 26 and 21, were charged with conspiracy and agreement to commit murder; a man from Punchbowl, 21, was charged with participation in a criminal group, contributing to criminal activity; and a man in Ashcroft, 17, was charged with participation in a criminal group, contributing to criminal activity.
The first three men were refused bail and will appear in court today. The teenager was granted strict conditional bail and will appear in children’s court next month.
AFL player Lance Collard’s ‘crippling’ ban for allegedly using homophobic slur slashed on appeal
St Kilda forward Lance Collard will serve a two-week suspension over his latest homophobic slur after having his ban reduced by the AFL appeal board, AAP reports.
Collard was initially banned for seven weeks, with a further two weeks suspended, after being found guilty of calling a VFL opponent the slur last month. He denied the allegation.
On reducing the sanction, the board declared a suspension of that length would have had a “crippling” effect on the 21-year-old fringe player’s career.
Collard’s reduced two-week ban comes with a further two weeks suspended until the end of next season, when his existing contract expires.
Read more:
NSW inspectors have visited more than 2,300 petrol stations to ensure fair pricing
NSW Fair Trading inspectors have now visited more than 2,300 petrol stations since the beginning of the fuel crisis linked to the war in the Middle East.
The Minns government said drivers should continue to use the FuelCheck website over the long weekend to ensure the fuel they buy is in-line with standard pricing. Officials have handed out more than 210 fines so far, about 70% of which have been issued in regional NSW.
Those who fail to meet their obligations can face on-the-spot penalties of $1,100, with court penalties of up to $110,000.
Anoulack Chanthivong, the minister for fair trading in NSW, said:
double quotation mark As our robust re-inspection regime continues, we’re calling on every motorist in the state to report regional and metropolitan service stations that are taking them for a ride.My message to service stations remains clear: do the wrong thing and you will be caught.
Kyle Sandilands arrives at federal court
Ima Caldwell
Kyle Sandilands has arrived at the federal court this morning, calling on ARN to put him back on the radio.
The media swarmed Sandilands as he exited a Rolls-Royce and moved up the court steps.
A reporter asked “how ugly is this going to get?”, to which Sandilands replied: “It’s pretty ugly now.”
His message to ARN? “Put me back on the radio.”
Asked if he had spoken with Jackie “O” Henderson, he said he hadn’t – meaning they still haven’t reconnected since their on air blowup.
He is there for a joint case management hearing, despite he and Jackie “O” filing separate cases against ARN.
ARN is seeking damages from the pair for breach of their separate $100m contracts and loss of advertising revenue.
Ben Doherty
Ben Roberts-Smith planned to leave Australia and researched buying wellness business in Spain, court documents show
In case you missed this one from last night:
Ben Roberts-Smith was planning to leave Australia to live overseas and had a business-class flight out of the country booked in four days’ time when he was arrested at Sydney airport this month, court documents allege, with investigators telling a court “his willingness to return to Australia to face prosecution cannot be judged”.
Roberts-Smith was ultimately granted bail last week under strict conditions, a move opposed by prosecutors who said there was potential concern he was a flight risk and might try to avoid ever having to face trial for a series of alleged murders he committed in Afghanistan.
He is accused of killing unarmed, handcuffed civilians who were in the custody of Australian soldiers and posed no risk to safety, in situations where there was no active engagement in conflict.
Read more here:
Asic issues warnings to ‘finfluencers’ over alleged unlicensed financial advice
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) issued warning notices to four finance influencers, also known as “finfluencers”, AAP reports.
They are suspected of providing unlicensed financial advice, such as promoting claims of guaranteed returns, which could also be misleading or deceptive.
As younger Australians increasingly turn to social media for personal finance advice, the watchdog is attempting to crack down on bad online actors before anyone gets hurt.
“If someone on social media is promising easy money or guaranteed returns, there is a real risk they’re breaking the law, and you could be the one who loses money,” Asic commissioner Alan Kirkland said. He continued:
double quotation mark What people see online is shaped by algorithms designed to drive clicks and engagement, rather than promoting accurate information.
While the influencers have not been named, the commission’s surveillance has focused on those targeting Australian investors and discussing products like leveraged derivatives, shares and exchange-traded funds.
Asic has urged young Australians to study social media influencers and compare their advice with trusted, evidence-based sources.
Sanya Mansoor
Microsoft and Meta announce large staff reductions as they spend big on AI
Meta and Microsoft are trimming their workforces by thousands as they make heavy investments in AI and executives claim that the technology is meeting their companies’ productivity needs.
Meta told staff on Thursday that on 20 May it would cut some 10% of its personnel – just under 8,000 employees– to boost efficiency, part of a layoff plan made months ago. The company is also closing about 6,000 open roles. The same day, Microsoft announced to employees, for the first time, that it would offer voluntary retirement to about 7% of its American workforce of roughly 125,000.
In an internal memo to Meta’s staff, Janelle Gale, the chief people officer, didn’t mention AI explicitly but said the cuts would allow the company to “offset the other investments we’re making”.
In Meta’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings presentation, the CEO, Mark Zuckerberg spoke about a “major AI acceleration” that included plans to spend between $115bn and $135bn on AI – nearly twice the company’s capital expenditure the previous year.
Read more here:
Caitlin Cassidy
James Valentine chose assisted dying but barriers remain for Australians wanting to access it
When the beloved broadcaster and saxophonist James Valentine died this week it was on his terms – he was at home, surrounded by his family, after making the choice to use voluntary assisted dying (VAD).
“Throughout his illness, James did it his way, which lasted all the way until the end,” his wife, Joanne, and two children, Ruby and Roy, said in a statement.
“Both he and his family are grateful he was given the option to go out on his own terms.”
As tributes flow for Valentine, advocates for VAD hope his loss will encourage the federal government to address structural barriers to accessing the end-of-life care that are preventing some Australians from doing the same.
Every Australian jurisdiction excluding the Northern Territory has legalised VAD, which represents about 2% of all deaths, or 5% of cancer deaths. The NT government has committed to draft and debate a VAD law, with no timetable in place.
Read more here:
Resources minister says gas companies have spent billions establishing energy infrastructure
Madeleine King, the federal resources minister, said there was no change in the government’s position on the taxation of gas.
She spoke to RN this morning, saying gas companies had spent tens, if not hundreds, of billions of dollars over decades to create gas facilities, calling claims gas companies were getting gas at a sweetheart deal were “absurd”.
She said:
double quotation mark These facilities support communities across the country … It’s only in the universe of the Greens party and their friends that they can say that spending hundreds of billions of dollars across the country could be considered in any way free. It’s clearly an absurd position.We’ve got to remember what those billions of dollars of investment has delivered for the Australian people and what we get out of it. And one of those things is a domestic gas supply.
Government has reportedly all but ruled out gas export tax
As reported by Dan Jervis-Bardy earlier this week, Guardian Australia understands the government has all but ruled out a 25% tax on gas exports, while the ABC reported the PM himself was poised to kill off the tax.
Spender said the government should still push forward with it. She told RN Breakfast:
double quotation mark I think this is where community pressure really matters.The status quo doesn’t work. We do need a different model. The government is responsible for this. It really did not take action when it should have. It didn’t learn the lessons from Ukraine.
We cannot let another crisis pass and yet not to actually do the right thing by Australians who are really struggling right now.
About the Author
