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

Children at Geelong’s Whittington Primary School have reportedly caused chaos at the neighbouring Whittington Child and Family Centre, sparking safety fears and leading to the hiring of ratepayer-funded security guards.

Parents say that disruptive behaviour including threats against families and staff, has forced classrooms at both facilities into lockdown on multiple occasions in recent months.

Parent James Feetham described the situation as “havoc,” sharing, “they surrounded my car, I’d just put my kids in the car and they were scared. It takes a lot to shake me, and I was angry but I kept calm for my kids”.

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Cabinet minister Mark Butler says the Coalition does not seem willing to negotiate on Labor’s proposed tax increase on superannuation accounts with balances above $3million, while Treasurer Jim Chalmers “continues to work with others in the parliament” to gain support for the bill in the Senate.

“That’s something that he has been trying to work with the Opposition on for, I think, at least two years, with them really appearing to learn nothing from the verdict on the opposition’s sort of, relentlessly negative approach to politics over the last three years,” Mr Butler told ABC Radio National on Monday morning.

“They don’t appear to be willing to negotiate on this matter at all, but the Treasurer continues to work with others in the parliament.”

One of NATO’s top officials says China’s rapid nuclear build-up poses a deterrence challenge to the United States amid warnings China and Russia could embroil the West in a two-front war as early as 2027.

Pentagon official, Jim Stokes and now the head of NATO’s Nuclear Policy, made the comments, speaking exclusively to The Nightly in an interview for the ​Latika Takes​ podcast.

China has added around 100 new warheads to its stockpile since 2023, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, meaning its nuclear arsenal is the fastest-growing in the world.

The Institute said China currently has around 600 nuclear warheads and could potentially have at least as many Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) as either Russia or the USA by the 2030s.

​Read the full story.​

Families have been let down in the past by governments and regulators, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has admitted as Labor scrambles to fix a childcare crisis with new laws to cut off funds to substandard centres.

Legislation to cut subsidies for centres with egregious and continued breaches of quality standards and prevent providers who persistently fail to meet minimum standards from opening new centres will be put to Parliament on Thursday.

The Opposition is expected to support the new laws, which will also make it easier for regulators to send inspectors into childcare centres.

“Clearly, governments, regulators haven’t done well enough in the past, but we are determined to make sure that parents can have the peace of mind that they deserve,” Mr Albanese told The West Australian in an exclusive interview ahead of parliament’s first sitting since the Federal election.

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Health Minister Mark Butler has made it clear that Australia will not negotiate on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) in response to pressure from the US pharmaceutical industry and potential trade threats under the Trump administration.

When asked about possible negative impacts on Australian companies, Mr Butler said: “We won’t be negotiating about our PBS,” he told ABC RN.

“We know that the big pharma industry in the US is lobbying that government … very hard to try and reduce the schemes that Australia and other countries have … where we’re able to negotiate good prices for medicines on behalf of the people we represent.”

“Now, it’s no surprise that big pharma wants to see higher prices because that means bigger profits. But you know, our position is absolutely rock solid. We will not be negotiating around that.”

Health Minister Mark Butler has echoed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s call for humility, urging Labor colleagues to remain focused following the party’s commanding majority in the May election.

Mr Butler emphasised that the party’s priority now is to fulfil its election commitments, with Labor set to hold a record 94 seats in the House of Representatives.

“It’s about repaying the confidence that the Australian people gave to the Labor Party … our job now is to deliver on those promises we made,” Mr Butler told ABC RN on Monday morning.

“Now the parliament is back together … and I think we all have the weight of that responsibility on our shoulders.”

​Read latest Newspoll result.​

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce is urging the Coalition to abandon the government’s 2050 net zero emissions target, arguing it is a key issue that could help the opposition recover from its recent electoral defeat.

Appearing on Sunrise after the Coalition slipped to a historic low in the latest Newspoll, Mr Joyce stressed the importance of the Coalition drawing sharper lines with Labor, identifying climate policy as a prominent area for contrast.

“You have to find issues which are binary, which you are fully for, and the Labor party is fully against. If you try and work on nuances and amelioration and views of a different issue, that’s no good,” Mr Joyce told Sunrise.

“That’s why such issues such as net zero, I say: find a point of division. You don’t believe in net zero, they do believe in net zero ... if you have another way of going about it, there are your numbers.”

Mr Joyce has previously stated his intention to introduce legislation seeking to repeal Australia’s net zero emissions target.

Despite Labor’s soaring Newspoll numbers and a commanding majority, Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek says the government’s focus is on keeping promises, without slipping into overconfidence.

“Well, the Prime Minister’s made it very clear that we are there to deliver what we promised the Australian people, and that’s our 100 per cent focus… Our first pieces of legislation will be reducing student debt, making sure childcare centres have higher standards and protecting penalty rates,” she said on Sunrise.

Ms Plibersek pushed back on Mr Joyce’s suggestion that politics should be more combative, arguing,

“I think the Australian people are a bit tired of that sort of fighting politics… Actually getting on board and working together for the Australian people is what is important.”

Australia’s new Parliament opens as Labor celebrates a super-sized majority, but the Coalition confronts its lowest primary vote in four decades, according to today’s Newspoll.

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce didn’t downplay the challenge:

“They are brutal numbers. I think the first thing you do is you be honest about them… Any person in a lower House seat, wherever it is, Watson, Farrer, New England. If you had a 3 in front of your primary vote, you would be very, very worried,” he said while speaking on Sunrise on Monday morning.

With Labor enjoying a strong majority, Mr Joyce called for the Coalition to “find issues which are binary, which you are fully for, and the Labor Party is fully against,” warning that blurry lines and “nuances” won’t revive their fortunes.

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Unions representing workers in manufacturing, nursing, and midwifery are urging the Prime Minister to focus on implementing shorter working weeks and increased leave, arguing that reduced hours are essential for improving work-life balance.

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek has been asked if the government will consider a four-day work week.

“We’ll listen to all respectfully. And the Treasurer’s round table on productivity I think is a great way of bringing unions and business and other groups together to discuss how we make our economy stronger and more productive,” she told Sunrise.

“What we won’t be doing to improve productivity is ask people to work longer for less. That was the policy of the previous government.

“We want to invest in our people, boost training, invest in technologies and new ways of working, make sure that we’re playing to our competitive advantages as a nation. That’s how we boost productivity.”