News and politics live updates: Albanese Government warned over rising debt, persistent Budget deficits

Independent MP Sophie Scamps has pressed the Government over its NDIS overhaul, asking how it can guarantee participants will not be removed from the scheme before appropriate foundational supports are available.

The reforms are expected to result in about 300,000 people either leaving or being prevented from accessing the NDIS.

Health Minister Mark Butler said foundational supports would be in place by January 2028, adding he had seen implementation plans from every state except Queensland for the rollout of Thriving Kids, which will support children aged eight and under.

However, Butler acknowledged there was still “a lot of work” to do to establish foundational supports for everyone else.

Manager of Opposition Business Dan Tehan has been booted from the House of Representatives after a cheeky attempt to get around Speaker Milton Dick’s ruling on unparliamentary language spectacularly backfired.

It kicked off when Mr Tehan asked when Energy Minister Chris Bowen would “cut the crap” on the cost of the Capacity Investment Scheme. Mr Dick ruled the language out of order and gave him another shot at the question, so Mr Tehan swapped “crap” for “fecal matter”.

The Speaker was not amused.

“That is a direct defiance of what I’ve just addressed to the house,” Dick said before ordering Mr Tehan from the chamber.

“The language must improve. I respect the traditions and conventions of this house. And I want to uphold them. I’m asking all members to do so. For goodness sake.”

And yes, it all unfolded in front of the Youth Parliament.

Mr Wilson pointed to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, which showed new owner-occupier first home buyer loan commitments fell 2.9 per cent in the latest quarter.

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil defended the Government’s record in Question Time, saying:

“There have been more first home buyers each and every year under our government than there have ever been under any other government in Australian history.”

Ms O’Neil then attempted to compare Labor’s record with that of the Coalition, prompting the Opposition to argue she was straying from the tightly worded question.

Speaker Milton Dick ruled O’Neil could make some comparisons, but said they had to remain relevant to the question.

Ms O’Neil continued, opting to focus on the positive experience of first home buyers rather than directly criticising the Coalition.

“We all read the newspapers on the Sunday morning. For the first time in my life, they are peppered with article after article about first home buyers around the country who are going to auctions and winning.”

She then pointed to what she said was a major change for first home buyers entering the property market.

“It’s not rocket science. It’s a very simple reason that they’re winning auctions, Speaker, for the first time in 25 years – first home buyers are standing on a level playing field.”

Sydney chief executive Matthew Pavlich says the club is “shocked and disappointed” after several players were involved in an alleged police incident in Melbourne last night.

It comes after Victoria Police confirmed they are investigating a report of an alleged sexual assault at the Pullman East Melbourne, the hotel where the Swans were staying.

Pavlich fronted the media on Monday morning.

“We can confirm several players were involved in an alleged incident last night in Melbourne,” Pavlich said.

“We’ve identified this to the AFL. We are working with them and also the relevant authorities on this matter.

“We’re still piecing together exactly what transpired here and have our own set of internal enquiries ongoing.

“It’s safe to say we’re extremely shocked and disappointed that this has taken place and that the players have found themselves in this situation.

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Victorian teachers have accepted a major pay deal from the Ben Carroll government, ending a long-running dispute and calling off a third statewide strike planned for Wednesday.

Australian Education Union members voted 79 per cent in favour of the latest offer, which will deliver teachers, principals and support staff a 28.3 per cent pay rise over four years, alongside a $2000 bonus when the agreement begins.

The deal is expected to cost the government between $5bn and $5.5bn and will make Victorian education staff the best paid in the country.

Australia’s former top treasury official has delivered a blunt warning about the nation’s finances and accused successive governments of losing sight of the dangers posed by persistent defecits and rising spending.

Martin Parkinson, who served as treasury secretary and later secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, said both Labor and the Coalition had failed to adequately confront Australia’s long-term Budget position.

He questioned whether the Albanese government could realistically deliver a sustained return to surplus, arguing the economy should be generating stronger Budget outcomes at this point in the economic cycle.

“It’s almost like debt is not an issue for anybody anymore because the concern dissipated during the COVID crisis and nobody’s ever refocused on it,” Dr Parkinson told the Australian Financial Review.

“Where we are in the economic cycle, we should be running significant structural surpluses, and yet we’ve got a structural, and headline, deficit.

“If we take the Budget papers as correct, it takes a decade to get back to a headline surplus. Even then, we get a surplus in part because of the assumptions on terminating expiring programs. But we know terminating programs don’t always terminate.

“We are consuming today, and our children are going to pay for it with their tax burden.”

Former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has congratulated veteran public servant Gordon de Brouwer on replacing her as the Australian National University’s Chancellor, three months after she quit the role after a tumultuous tenure.

The ANU on Monday confirmed the recent Public Service Commissioner would take over the part-time and largely ceremonial role following his retirement from government earlier this year.

In a statement it confirmed Dr de Brouwer would become the ANU’s 14th Chancellor, “bringing more than four decades of experience in public policy, governance, institutional leadership and reform to the role”.

“Dr de Brouwer is a distinguished public sector leader, economist and ANU alumnus who has held senior leadership positions across the Australian Government, including as Australian Public Service Commissioner and Secretary for Public Sector Reform.”

Earlier in the day the Nightly had foreshadowed Dr de Brouwer’s appointment after ANU sources revealed the announcement had been scheduled to be made over the weekend as the prestigious Canberra institution celebrated its eightieth birthday.

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US President Donald Trump says the United States will “substantially reduce” joint military exercises with South Korea, pointing to his close relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and taking a swipe at Seoul for refusing to join US efforts against Iran.

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Mr Trump said it was “too late to cancel” the annual exercises, which are due to begin on Monday, but argued they were expensive and unnecessarily provocative.

“These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile,” Trump posted.

He also linked the decision to South Korea’s response to the conflict involving Iran, writing: “While somewhat unrelated (?), I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, ‘No thanks!’”

Neither Seoul nor Pyongyang has publicly responded to Mr Trump’s announcement.

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Cautious shoppers are still spending but are increaingly chasing value and confining buying to key promtional events, says electronics giant JB Hi-Fi.

With the threat of even higher interest rates, pain at the petrol pump and stubborn inflation, boss Nick Wells said the company continued to see variability in trading.

“In an uncertain retail environment where customers are seeking value, our brands continued to resonate and our teams continued to execute to a high standard,” he said.

JB Hi-Fi reported a 4.8 per cent leap in sales for the full-year compared to FY25 to a record $11.1 billion, delivering an underlying net profit of $489.9m - up 2.9 per cent on a year earlier.

Underlying earning before interest and tax were up 3.8 per cent to $734.4m.

The company declared a final $1.27-a-share dividend, up 22c, taking its full-year payout to $3.37.

JB Hi-Fi may have showered its shareholders in an improved payout, but investors are clearly concerned about shrinking sales since the start of the new financial year.

The electronics retailer earlier reported record revenue for FY26 and a solid increase in profit but also noted sales in July had recorded negative growth.

Shareholders marked the stock down more than 9 per cent in the opening few minutes of trade to $73.70.

Chris Gatenby has been sworn in as Tasmania’s newest senator at Australian Parliament House.

Mr Gatenby, a former Liberal party president, replaces Wendy Askew following her resignation announcement in June.