Tasmanian independent senator Tammy Tyrrell has joined the Labor party, a coup for Anthony Albanese.
Tyrrell. who was elected in 2022 as the Jacqui Lambie Network’s lead candidate, is about to speak alongside the prime minister in Canberra.
Tyrrell left the JLN to sit as an independent in 2024.
Tyrrell is the second crossbench senator to join Labor since the 2025 election. after WA senator Dorinda Cox defected from the Greens in June last year.
Queensland Labor leader held in contempt of parliament
Queensland Labor leader, former premier Steven Miles, has been held in contempt of parliament.
The parliamentary ethics committee tabled a report into three opposition MPs on Thursday. The other two Labor MPs were not held in contempt.
All three made claims on 19 February. last year, that deputy premier Jarrod Bleijie had allegedly failed to disclose a conflict of interest about a new rail line to the Sunshine Coast. He owns a home near to the project.
“The member for Kawana did not disclose his conflict before the election when he was carrying out that con on the people of the Sunshine Coast …” Miles claimed in parliament said. last year.
“I clarify that the impact of the project on his property was never disclosed at any point in time”.
Miles apologised in April 2025, but was referred to the ethics committee. He argued to the committee that the deputy premier had failed to inform the electorate of the conflict of interest. that he had not meant to mislead the parliament.
But the bipartisan committee found. Bleijie had “abided by his parliamentary obligations in respect of disclosures of conflicts of interests”. It ruled that Miles had committed a contempt and recommended he apologise.
Miles did so on Thursday.
Greens senator’s proposed NDIS amendment fails
An amendment to NDIS reforms proposed by Greens senator Jordon Steele-John has failed.
In an impassioned speech to the senate, Steele-John said NDIS cuts are “immoral” and being rushed through. He put forward an amendment for the bill go to an inquiry that would see a report in August. provide a “sensible amount of time to engage disabled people. Steele-John said:
double quotation mark This is outrageous and it is wrong. Fellow senators this is wrong. These cuts are immoral. This is not what you were elected to do. to cause this harm to cause this pain, to put these lives at risk…
Many in this place may not have a lived experience of disability. But I do hope that the majority of us have not lost our capacity for empathy,. our commitment to curiosity, and a belief that we should understand the laws that we are passing … And the impacts that they will have on people.
160,000 people now face removal from the NDIS.
On budget night the government quietly released its response to the parliamentary inquiry into diabetes, which concluded in July 2024.
The final report from that inquiry made 23 recommendations, including that the government introduce a levy on sugary drinks to encourage manufacturers to reduce sugar content; to regulate unhealthy food marketing to protect children including ads on TV, online. in gaming; and for improved food labelling targeting added sugar.
In its response published on Tuesday night, the government noted these recommendations, but did not commit to adopting them. This is despite the measures having significant support from public health experts. the Australian community, the executive manager of the Food for Health Alliance, Jane Martin, said.
More than a quarter of Australian children are above a healthy weight. more than 40% of children’s total energy intake comes from unhealthy foods.
“It’s imperative. the government takes action to push sugary drinks companies to cut the sugar in their products through a tax on sugary drinks companies,” Martin said.
A government-funded feasibility report on limiting unhealthy marketing to kids was published last week.
The government provided “support in principle” for nine of the inquiry’s recommendations. “noted” 14, but stopped short of adopting any proposal.
The Public Health Association of Australia CEO. Adjunct Prof Terry Slevin, said: “The public health community was hoping for a government response that committed to more direct action”.
He called for the government to commit to a high-level government taskforce to determine how to implement the recommendations.
Cowlishaw told the court that gambling companies “derive significant revenue from individuals who gamble at excessive or problematic levels”.
double quotation mark Governments also derive significant revenue from gambling taxation. thus have vested interests in maintaining weak regulatory environments and existing policy settings. The gambling industry has adopted tactics that have strong parallels with tobacco industry tactics. include sponsorship and support of research and evidence production that aligns with commercial objectives rather than public health goals.
The inquest continues.
Inquest witness criticises federal government response to Murphy gambling report
An expert witness in the inquest to the death of a young Melbourne man who bet nearly $900,000 over four years has described the federal government’s response to Peta Murphy’s report on gambling as “extremely disappointing”.
Assoc Prof Sean Cowlishaw, a psychologist. expert in gambling harm, gave evidence at the Victorian coroner’s court on Thursday as part of the inquest into the death of 22-year-old Kyle Hudson, who killed himself in July 2021.
The coroner is investigating the circumstances. likely contributing factors to Hudson’s death, including whether betting companies Sportsbet, Entain and bet365 accurately assessed his risk of gambling-related harm.
Cowlishaw was asked his opinion on the federal government’s response to the Murphy report. after the Labor government released its contentious, much-delayed response on Tuesday, the day of the federal budget.
Cowlishaw told the court:
double quotation mark In absolute terms, there were 31 recommendations that were made in that report. It looks like the government has addressed three of those, so under, just under 10%. Some of the key recommendations that I think as relates to this court have been completely ignored. This includes the recommendation for the banning of gambling related inducements and inducement advertising.
There are recommendations in there that relate to restrictions on gambling advertisements in a broad sense, which are positioned as strong, but fall very far below the comprehensive ban that was indicated in the report … So I interpret these as a partial ban with a lot of caveats. again, very far below what was initially recommended in the Murphy report.
The health minister, Mark Butler, confirmed Dfat has secured a suitable aircraft. crew to transport the five Australians and one New Zealander on board the hantavirus-affected cruise ship MV Hondius.
The aircraft is due to land in the Netherlands at 4pm Sydney time,. then take off with the passengers about 90 minutes later. They are expected to land in Perth tomorrow. will be subject to a quarantine order, remaining at WA’s Bullsbrook quarantine facility for at least three weeks.
double quotation mark … obviously Foreign Affairs. Trade have also secured all of the necessary clearances and approvals to travel from the Netherlands to Perth …
Six passengers are still in good health, they have all tested negative for hantavirus. are showing no symptoms as well.
Passengers and crew members will travel this flight for its duration in full PPE …
The quarantine order remains in place for three weeks. we will be reviewed during those three weeks to determine what will take place for the remainder of the 42-day period of potential incubation at the World Health Organization has advised.
Mal Lanyon has said police are looking into whether directions made under the major events declaration for the protest were lawful.
Minns said he was ready for a potential legal challenge to the use of the major events declaration. as signalled by protest groups. Asked if he had spoken with the police commissioner about charges being withdrawn, he said:
double quotation mark No. I mean we’ve got separation of powers, we think that’s important,. after police make their decisions, we don’t have anything to do with it.
NSW premier says he expects majority of Herzog protest charges to remain
The NSW premier. Chris Minns, says he expects the majority of charges laid following the Sydney protest against the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, in February to remain.
As we reported yesterday, police have withdrawn their first charges against a protester following the rally. It came hours after the NSW police commissioner. Mal Lanyon, said any charges made under the struck-down public assembly restriction declaration (Pard) laws would be withdrawn, pending a review.
Asked today if charges being dropped showed the Pard laws had not helped police, Minns said:
double quotation mark No. absolutely not, they were the right laws at the right time … No one should believe that the vast majority of charges are going to be withdrawn. It should also be remembered that there was a [major] event declaration that was in place for very good reasons.
We had a head of state in Sydney that we had to keep safe. We also had to keep people. were going to that public event safe in the immediate aftermath of the worst terrorism event the country has ever seen. And most of the charges related to that … major event declaration being in place,. police acted reasonably in the circumstances.
NSW parliament passes bill to restore water flows to wetlands where turtle rescue unfolded
The New South Wales lower house has passed legal amendments to allow water flows to resume to parched wetlands where scientists had to rescue turtles in the state’s north-west.
WaterNSW stopped flows to the Gwydir region in March after concerns were raised about flooding of private land. Scientists were filmed digging turtles out of mud in a rapidly drying waterhole in the Gingham watercourse, while a grazier described the deaths of birds, frogs. sheep on separate wetlands on his property.
Environmental flows refer to water released by the government from dams. tributaries into rivers and ecosystems to restore their health.
The amendments. which passed the upper house last week after they were introduced by water minister Rose Jackson, protect WaterNSW from civil liability claims when it is carrying out its usual functions. Jackson last week described the environmental impact of the halt to flows in the Gwydir region as “devastating”.
The bill’s passage through the lower house on Thursday morning means flows can resume. is expected to occur within weeks.
First block of antisemitism inquiry hearings wraps up
That’s a wrap on today’s antisemitism hearing. Dr Dave Rich (Community Security Trust). Peggy Dwyer (Jewish Council of Australia) have had a long discussion about what is and is not antisemitic. They agreed it is not antisemitic when people are upset and angry about deaths of Palestinians, including children.
In other cases, Rich says antisemitism is very often a “shadow form of legitimate discussion”,. that sometimes “we have to tread delicately in teasing them apart”.
There could also be inadvertent use of antisemitic language, he said.
“It’s a very emotive debate,” he said, adding:
double quotation mark People have very strong feelings which are often very linked to their personal identity. I think it is only right that when a complaint is made. an investigator comes to that complaint, all these things are taken into account … rather than just branding someone an anti-semite because they used a particular word or a particular phrase.
Rich also answered some questions from John Sheahan KC acting for law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler. which is representing a range of Jewish organisations. Sheahan asked whether the IHRA definition has had a chilling effect on free speech. Rich said there were a couple of examples from 2017 that get used repeatedly,. that in another case it’s been used to exonerate people.
The next block of hearings will start on Monday, 25 May.
NSW prison population hits record high
The number of people in prison in New South Wales has reached a record high, growing more in four months than it did in the previous four years, according to data released by the Bureau of Crime Statistics. Research (Bocsar) on Thursday.
The total number of people in prison reached more than 14,000 in March. rising by more than 1,000 prisoners in over the four months from November 2025 to March 2026.
The data showed the rise is being driven by an increase in the remand population,. Aboriginal adults in custody, which again reached record highs after reaching record numbers in December as well.
There is also now a record number of people in prison for domestic violence offences. which makes up 28% of the prison population, according to the data.
Data previously obtained by Guardian Australia from Bocsar shows bail refusal rates for domestic violence offences have increased since reforms to the system in the wake of Molly Ticehurst’s murder by her former partner while he was on bail.
This includes for offences considered less serious, which were not targeted in the reforms.
Last year, there was a record number of Indigenous deaths in custody.
On Sunday. as revealed by Guardian Australia, a 19-year-old man took his own life in a Sydney prison unit that an independent watchdog previously recommended be closed because it “simply cannot provide a safe environment”.
More on this story here:
Australia can’t ‘kick the can down the road’ on housing any longer, PM says
Albanese was just asked about the next election, and how voters should feel about the shift in position. He said:
double quotation mark We have been upfront about the fact we have changed our position. like we changed our position on the fuel excise which was a major issue at the last election.
It is the right thing to do, when it comes to this substance of the policy. And we’re not prepared to sit back. say, we know that there is an ongoing issue with first home buyers and with young people getting into housing … and say we’re just going to kick this can down the road.
Albanese again defends budget and housing efforts: ‘clearly we needed to do more’
The presser is quickly moving on to the budget. the Albanese government’s shift on the capital gains tax discount and changes to negative gearing.
double quotation mark We have changed our position,. we are still making sure that we look after people who have existing investments by making sure that there is a grandfathering of negative gearing, but also we are making sure that negative gearing can continue …
We have thrown everything that we can at supply. Clearly we needed to do more.
Tyrrell says she wants to have a ‘seat at the table’ after change
Anthony Albanese is speaking about the move in Canberra now, saying Tammy Tyrrell will join a “strong” team in Tasmania. He said:
double quotation mark People across Tasmania know her as a fighter. She is someone who is warm, genuinely funny and compassionate. She also never gives up on people.
She is someone who does not mince her words. She stands up for people stop. now she will bring that advocacy into the Labor party as a member the Labor caucus.
Tyrrell said she is proud to join Labor,. as a senator she wants to have a “seat at the table where I can make the most change”:
double quotation mark I know exactly what Tasmanians are wanting out of this current government. the people that represent it.
She said she won’t apologise to “anybody” for joining Labor.
“It’s a good fit,” she said. “I’m very proud to be a Labor girl.”
Tasmanian independent senator Tammy Tyrrell has joined the Labor party, a coup for Anthony Albanese.
Tyrrell. who was elected in 2022 as the Jacqui Lambie Network’s lead candidate, is about to speak alongside the prime minister in Canberra.
Tyrrell left the JLN to sit as an independent in 2024.
Tyrrell is the second crossbench senator to join Labor since the 2025 election. after WA senator Dorinda Cox defected from the Greens in June last year.
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