Australian news and politics live: Albanese urges discipline as Labor kicks off next phase of reform

Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong has reaffirmed Australia’s commitment to a peaceful and prosperous Pacific following a high-level meeting with Tonga’s Crown Prince Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala and Deputy Prime Minister Samiu Vaipulu Fusimalohi.

The visit, which came just days after Ms Wong’s own diplomatic tour of Tonga, signals a continued deepening of ties between the two nations amid growing regional challenges. Australia and Tonga “share a vision for a peaceful, stable and prosperous blue Pacific,” Ms Wong said, positioning both nations as key players in ensuring security and cooperation in the region.

As Tonga takes on the role of Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, Ms Wong praised the country’s leadership and emphasised the importance of shared values and mutual respect.

There was a moment on Sussan Ley’s 60 Minutes interview on Sunday evening when reporter Tara Brown almost got the Liberal Party leader to cry.

Unfortunately for the show’s ratings, Ley held her composure as she talked about an awful week in May when she was forced to save the Coalition from death while watching her mother die.

The interview’s timing was important. Parliament meets on Tuesday for the first time since the Coalition’s devastating election loss on May 3. Ms Ley is trying to rebuild her demoralised party’s primary support, which this week hit the lowest level recorded in Newspoll history.

Ms Ley’s first step is explaining to Australians who she is. Her second will be to demonstrate what she stands for. There’s a lot of material for the first: the daughter of an MI6 spy, she went from high school failure to high office.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that reducing student debt will be the very first item on the agenda when Parliament reconvenes this Tuesday.

In a message shared on X, Mr Albanese emphasised the Government’s commitment to easing the financial burden on students and graduates.

“We promised cutting student debt would be the first thing we did back in Parliament,” he wrote.

“And this week we’re introducing the legislation to make it happen. Because getting an education shouldn’t mean a lifetime of debt.”

Student loan debt has been a growing concern for many, with thousands of graduates facing years, if not decades, of repayments.

It is expected that the legislation will be introduced midweek.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers have led the tributes to veteran journalist, Peter Ryan, who has passed away aged 64 after a long battle with cancer.

The Walkey Award-winning journalist, who dedicated 45 years to reporting with the ABC, was diagnosed with metastatic thyroid cancer in 2014.

Mr Albanese described Ryan as a “legend of Australian journalism.”

While Mr Chalmers called Ryan’s passing a “devastating loss for Australian journalism and economics” and remembered him for his “unrivalled talent for drawing out the vital elements of each day’s economic news.”

“On busy days when you didn’t have time to pore over pages and pages of economic analysis, you knew that a few minutes of Peter would be a decent start,” he said.

“We will miss him, we mourn him, and our hearts go out to his loved ones and many admirers.”

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has returned to walk on foot, choosing to stroll on into Parliament for the first week back, accompanied by his son Nathan.

Mr Albanese was seen strolling along the roadway, stopping at the lights as local traffic and cyclists caught a glimpse of the Prime Minister getting in some exercise before what is set to be a big first week in Canberra.

The Prime Minister appeared to have a pep in his step, perhaps sparked from the latest Newspoll figures which showed Labor’s primary vote increased to 36 per cent — 1.4 per cent higher than at the election, while support for the Coalition hit a 40-year low.

Nationals Leader David Littleproud has pushed back against calls from Prime Minister Albanese for the Coalition to just get out of the way in Parliament.

“Mr Albanese is giving interviews and suggesting we should just get out of the way—well, we will not,” Mr Littleproud told colleagues.

“Our job is to represent the millions of Australians who voted for us and the millions who maybe did not but still expect us to be the strongest and best opposition that we can be and we will be.”

He made clear the opposition will support “constructive policy in the national interest,” but will push back where Labor’s agenda falls short: “If they bring forward legislation not in the national interest and not in the interest of Australians then we will fight them every step of the way.”

Mr Littleproud also took aim at the Prime Minister’s focus, saying, “Anthony Albanese has been swanning around the international stage (and has) forgotten that there are Australians struggling to put dinner on the table tonight, struggling to pay energy bills, who are unable to insure their own homes because he has let the fundamentals slip away.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged Beijing and Washington to step up communication between the two powerhouse countries as he pitches Australia playing a “constructive” role as a middle power in a turbulent world.

The Prime Minister said Australia could be a “calm, consistent and clear voice for stability, security, economic growth and certainty going forward”.

“I think we can play a positive role. We are US allies, but we have a constructive relationship with China,” Mr Albanese said following his high level meetings with China’s top leadership during his six-day tour of the country.

“Australia as a middle power can play a positive and constructive role in the world. We are living in uncertain times and there is turbulence in the world.”

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As the Coalition party room gathers at Parliament House, Nationals Leader David Littleproud has addressed colleagues with a direct reminder of the challenges facing Australians.

“The hard work starts today,” he said.

Mr Littleproud urged the party to stay true to its values: “We will agree where we can but where we must we will hold true to our values and beliefs and have the courage to stand up. We will do what is right for this country and articulate a different vision, where we need to and be constructive where we can. That is what the Australian people expect.”

He closes with a rallying call: “We have to be humble for what has happened to us but we can do one of two things. We can sit in the fatal position in the corner and give up or come out swinging. And we will come out swinging”.

“We rely on the collective wisdom of this room to be able to come forward and collectively put forward a cogent argument to the Australian people over the next 2.5 years.”

Opposition Leader continued her address of the Coalition party room, slamming the Albanese government’s performance after a Treasury’s leak.

“You will know that the Treasury has accidentally leaked its own advice and the advice to the government has been, from treasury in this leaked paperwork that the budget is struggling. The budget is under pressure and Australians will have to pay more tax,” she said.

“I have not made a single Australian who wants to pay more tax, who thinks they are paying not enough tax.”

Pointing to rising household costs, she said, “Small businesses are struggling. Families are wondering how they will pay their electricity bill. Mortgages are still incredibly expensive on a household budget.”

Ms Ley criticised Labor’s promises, noting, “There was no way in the world that we were going to build 1.2 million more homes in five years.”

She finished with a pledge: “It is vital that we do that. We are here for the values that we have always stood for as a Liberal Party.”

As Parliament resumes, Coalition MPs are gathering in Canberra, with Opposition Leader Sussan Ley addressing her colleagues.

“We are at an incredibly strong and talented team and when I look around this room it brings a smile to my face to see what amazing quality we have,” she said.

“The real work in the Parliament of Australia will start this week and I am up for the job, I am excited and I know all you are as well.”

She made it clear, “We will not be judged by the headlines of the day, what we will be judged by is what we offer the Australian people at the next election.”

“On behalf of the struggling Australians we are here to take the fight up to them because every taxpayer works hard and deserves an opposition that takes the fight up to the government”.