Australian news and politics recap March 13: US slams Australia as ‘dumpers’ amid tariff war of words

Queensland has shifted from response to recovery as it picks up the pieces from destructive ex-tropical cyclone Alfred and the ensuing flooding.

“The last month and a half this state has been tested in a way it hasn’t been tested for a long, long time,” he said.

“I know it seems like there’s long road ahead but we must flick the switch from response to recovery.”

Power has been restored to thousands of homes but more than 30,000 customers were still without power.

Premier David Crisafulli said 18 schools remain closed across Queensland and said reopening them as soon as possible wa sa priority in order to minimise disruption.

He promised “every single Queenslander matters” and no one will “fall through the cracks”.

“We are determined to make sure this proud state can continue to be the great place it’s always been,” he said.

As Labor and the Coalition duke it out over power price hikes flagged today by the Australian Energy Regulator, one of the country’s most experienced energy experts says he is “hearing” that both parties are looking at cost-of-living relief for energy ahead of the election.

But, the Grattan Institute’s Tony Wood says there is no easy fix for energy prices, due to an ageing coal fleet, the need for more transmission investment and forecasts for a doubling in energy demand over the next 20 years.

Mr Woods said the country must face up to the fact that prices will continue to rise until all parties work together to find a solution.

The warning comes as the Austrailan Energy Regulator (AER), which sets default prices for South Australia, New South Wales and south-east Queensland, warning residential customers to expect increases between 2.5 per cent and 8.9 per cent, depending on their region.

Small business customers could see rises between 4.2 per cent and 8.2 per cent.

Energy and Climate Minister Chris Bowen has defended Labor’s record on power prices, telling media that the party would “consider what more can be done” ahead of next week’s budget.

The Government has already given two rounds of $300 energy rebates, at a cost to the budget of $3.5 billion.

“There’s a budget coming soon and we’ll continue that approach of considering what more we can do,” Mr Bowen said.

Earlier, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton called on PM Anthony Albanese to sack Mr Bowen, calling Labor’s renewables-only policy a “disaster”.

“Frankly, today, if the Prime Minister doesn’t sack Chris Bowen, I don’t know when he would sack him. He deserves to lose his job over forcing up the electricity prices of Australians yet again,” Mr Dutton said.

Clive Palmer has vowed to build hospitals and feed the hungry if he wins damages in a legal battle with the Australian Government over his mining interests.

The mining magnate has taken his court fight to sue Australia for $300 billion all the way to the Hague in the Netherlands, in a battle that could conceivably cost every person in Australia $11,500.

However, speaking at the National Press Club on Thursday, the billionaire declared himself a warrior for low-income Australians struggling to feed their families amid a cost-of-living crisis.

Mr Palmer said any damages was ultimately down to an international tribunal.

“Whatever damage that we’ve suffered by what (former WA Premier) Mark McGowan did by taking away my rights to go to court in Australia... by saying that he was exempt from the criminal law... that will be assessed,” he said.

“And when we get those funds, I’m sure I can spend those funds better than the government can for the people of Australia.

“And if we do get quite a big award, you’ll see new hospitals in many states, and we’ll be feeding the hungry Australians in this nation.”

In February, Mr Palmer presented Foodbank with a $5million donation and urged fellow rich listers to do the same.

The government is considering banning a US influencer from returning to Australia after she snatched a baby wombat from its distressed mother and posted the video to social media.

Sam Jones sparked outrage after now deleted vision of her picking up a wombat joey before running down a road towards the camera went viral.

In the horrifying footage, a man filming Jones can be heard saying: “Look at the mother, it’s chasing after her.”

Holding the hissing animal up for the camera, Jones then says: “I caught a baby wombat. Mumma’s right there, she is p*****, let’s let him go.”

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told Sky News the Department of Immigration was “now working through the conditions on her current visa and determining whether immigration law has been breached.”

“Either way, given the level of scrutiny that will happen if she ever applies for a visa again, I’ll be surprised if she even bothers.

“I can’t wait for Australia to see the back of this individual, I don’t expect she will return”.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles described Ms Jones as a “complete idiot”.

“I’ve seen the vision, and...she is a dill, and people who come here on visas shouldn’t be idiots, and clearly that’s what she has been,” Mr Marles told 3AW.

“You don’t need any degrees in wildlife management to understand that this put the wildlife in apposition of stress.”

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The controversial billionaire may have seemingly modelled his new party on that of Donald Trump, but Clive Palmer was gunshy when it came to revealing his interactions with the US president.

Asked whether he had spoken to Mr Trump or planned to, Mr Palmer responded: “You’ll have to wait and see. Can’t give you all the news on one day.”

“I don’t, sort of talk about private discussions.”

Clive Palmer says a two-pronged approach is needed to solve Australia’s housing crisis.

He has called for a 3 per cent cap on interest rates and for Aussies to be allowed to access 30 per cent of their superannuation for a deposit.

Mr Palmer says this will mean more houses will be available to rent.

“That means Australians can live again, that means that our rentals will be available for people at a much lower price,” he said.

“Nearly a third of our Australians are renting at the moment, and this country, to its disgrace, has 120,000 homeless people that have nowhere to live.”

Clive Palmer claims 20,000 Australians have signed up to his new party Trumpet of Patriots since it was launched last month.

Speaking today at the National Press Club, the mining billionaire said he wants to “cut the waste” in Canberra and touted other policies that are strikingly similar to those promoted by Donald Trump’s administration.

That includes recognising only two genders, reducing imigration and bolstering local manufacturing to “Make Australia Great Again”.

The Opposition Leader has laid the blame for power price hikes set to hit millions of Australian households on Labor - and called for Energy Minister Chris Bowen to be sacked.

Residential customers in NSW, South Australia and south-east Queensland have been warned to expect increases of between 2.5 per cent and 8.9 per cent after the Australian Energy Regulator delivered its draft determination for the Default Marker Offer for energy prices in 2025-2026.

Linking the price rise to the governement’s renewable energy policy, Mr Dutton said it was time for Mr Bowen to go.

“I think it’s time for Chris Bowen to be sacked, and I think the Prime Minister should accept that Chris Bowen has been a total failure as the Energy Minister in this country,’ he said.

“Chris Bowen and Anthony Albanese have presided over a broken promise of a $275 electricity cut, which was made on 97 occasions before the election, and now power bills have gone up by $1,300.

“Chris Bowen has been a disaster. He’s one of the key players in the Albanese government, and he has let Australians down, and there should be a price to pay for that.

“And frankly today, if the Prime Minister doesn’t sack Chris Bowen, I don’t know when he would sack him, because he deserves to lose his job over forcing up the electricity prices of Australians yet again.”

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Peter Dutton has brushed off concerns from Coalition MPs he’s not doing enough to convince voters ahead of the looming election.

Several unamed MPs spoke to The Australian of the need for the Opposition Leader to unveil big policies to bolster his economic credentials with some believing it is unclear what he stands for.

There were also concerns he would not be offering income tax cuts at the election or doing enough to unwind Labor’s industrial relations agenda.

Speaking on 2GB this morning Mr Dutton said a lot of families were hurting at the moment, and “we have to make decisions which will help them”.

“There’s a lot of policy that we’ve been working on that we’ll announce between now and the election, but that’s ... where we are in the cycle.

On tax cuts, Mr Dutton said it would depend on how much money was “left in the back by Labor”.

“Now, Labor’s spent a lot of money. They’ve driven up inflation, and what we’re not going to do is fuel inflation further.

“I think interest rates have a prospect of going up again under Labor, particularly if they’re re elected in the big spending Labor/Greens government, and we are not going to fuel inflation.

“So we’ll make the decision that is right for our country at the time, knowing how much money we have in the bank and whether we want to pay down debt or whether we want to put money into tax cuts or provide support through other policy.”