Australia politics live: Labor MP Ali France defends having vacant block as registered address; employment minister outlines jobseeker changes
From 1h agoLabor MP Ali France defends electoral enrolment after Liberal senator refers her to AEC
Josh Butler
Labor has rejected claims from Liberal senator James McGrath that government MP Ali France has a case to answer about her enrolment details, saying she is living away from her registered address while her home is being rebuilt to better suit her disability needs.
McGrath, a LNP senator from Queensland, said he had raised concerns with the Australian Electoral Commission that France’s current registered enrolment address was a vacant block of land. France is the member for Dickson, having unseated Peter Dutton at the 2025 election.
In a statement, France said she has lived at that address for five years, and that the block is currently vacant because her house was demolished in February “to build a new home that is more suited to my needs as a disabled woman”.
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It should be completed by the end of the year and my son and I are very much looking forward to moving back when construction is complete. I have lived at the address for five years and will continue to live at the address into future.
The AEC’s website states: “If you are absent from your enrolled address for a period of time but have an intention to return to that address to live, you do not need to update your enrolment. This includes if you intend to rebuild your house in the event of a disaster.”
Guardian Australia has been told France lived at the property until its demolition in February.
McGrath claimed in a statement: “A Labor MP being enrolled at a vacant block of land is as dodgy as they come.”
He requested the AEC investigate the issue “with the upmost seriousness and in a timely manner.”
David Hudson has told the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion he believed giving the Community Security Group (CSG), which provides security services to the Jewish community, additional powers or privileges would be “problematic”.","elementId":"6ae43abe-c3d8-4b81-a28a-81cfff4da412"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
In his statement, read to the commission, Hudson said CSG supplant or displace the role of the police in protecting all members of the community. He argued police held “considerable reservations” about granting additional law enforcement powers to CSG.","elementId":"94f29578-36a7-49ee-8b13-cf4031ffecea"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Hudson said:","elementId":"242a8731-34ff-410c-97c7-1dac5401c812"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"\n
Isolating a particular group for additional powers within our community is problematic. It creates a disconnect between groups. It can cause friction between groups if one particular element of society is afforded privileges that others aren’t.\n","elementId":"b07d0339-daa2-469a-8282-02dad0f95c42"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
The commission has finished public hearings for the current block but is continuing to take evidence in camera.","elementId":"fabb667e-4bf1-42a6-9c98-dcb4443a1f8d"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1779853399000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"05.43 CEST","blockLastUpdated":1779854623000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"06.03 CEST","blockFirstPublished":1779853651000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"05.47 CEST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"05.47","title":"NSW police had ‘considerable reservations’ on granting CSG additional law enforcement powers, royal commission hears","contributors":[{"name":"Ben Doherty","imageUrl":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2020/06/29/Ben_Doherty.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=abd7f5b3ef04d350c81865799c983ae4","largeImageUrl":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2017/11/27/Ben_Doherty_720x600_final.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=ad77cc5ab55e38b496a823d980bac121"}],"primaryDateLine":"Wed 27 May 2026 06.03 CEST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 26 May 2026 22.31 CEST"},{"id":"6a1666218f0803c3c6f95abc","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
A former adviser to Kevin Rudd has called on Australian business to rise up against Labor’s tax reforms, and confirmed he is lobbying Albanese government ministers to change course.","elementId":"9c88a852-3296-43c9-8b96-c899bc5e0052"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Lachlan Harris, press secretary to the former prime minister, told Guardian Australia he had been urging private sector resistance to the reforms, which amend the tax discount on profits on the sale of assets – or “capital gains”. Harris said:","elementId":"f4b97271-a629-4946-b30e-11b0252a48dd"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"\n
Harris said he had been “swamped” by entrepreneurs opposed to the changes after he came out against the tax reforms, speaking to the Nine newspapers last week. He said he had gone on to lobby the federal government directly.","elementId":"fd680109-c2b5-4922-883e-3f52d20b069a"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"\n
I’ve spoken to a few people in the government this week – MPs, ministers, staffers – and said to all of them privately exactly what I said in the paper publicly: these reforms are bad for every young kid who has a dream of starting a business.\n
In a young person, the desire to take a risk and start a business is a delicate thing. These reforms risk snuffing that flame out for the next generation of kids who want to start a business.\n","elementId":"f2fb5129-2f6b-4e6f-ac29-b38f8a5df102"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Harris, the son of the founders of supermarket chain Harris Farm, co-founded the Budgie Smugglers swimwear brand and now runs media business Revtech. He worked as an adviser to Rudd when he was prime minister, alongside his friend Andrew Charlton, who is now a federal assistant minister.","elementId":"5c85cb68-49ba-403c-89a4-3a717853d4eb"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Since Harris’s public intervention, Charlton has been one of the few Labor frontbenchers to echo startups’ concerns the tax reforms could erase their tax discount.","elementId":"263cfc37-6ab3-4d42-9220-8b3cfa83836a"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1779852833000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"05.33 CEST","blockLastUpdated":1779853525000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"05.45 CEST","blockFirstPublished":1779853006000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"05.36 CEST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"05.36","title":"Ex-Labor adviser urges business to oppose Albanese’s tax reforms","contributors":[{"name":"Luca Ittimani","imageUrl":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2025/04/30/Luca_Ittimani.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d5a0ce308e8f38b7531e9b5e5f71dc21","largeImageUrl":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2025/04/30/Luca_Ittimani.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=b269ad3cfa5a0e929b1c0afc69304369"}],"primaryDateLine":"Wed 27 May 2026 06.03 CEST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 26 May 2026 22.31 CEST"},{"id":"6a165a4b8f0803c3c6f95a8e","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Labor has rejected claims from Liberal senator James McGrath that government MP Ali France has a case to answer about her enrolment details, saying she is living away from her registered address while her home is being rebuilt to better suit her disability needs.","elementId":"79ab9812-96d9-4d0e-8487-6d5c4da8bcbd"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
McGrath, a LNP senator from Queensland, said he had raised concerns with the Australian Electoral Commission that France’s current registered enrolment address was a vacant block of land. France is the member for Dickson, having unseated Peter Dutton at the 2025 election.","elementId":"1062ebe8-8a5c-4de4-95a3-0304e85f3904"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
In a statement, France said she has lived at that address for five years, and that the block is currently vacant because her house was demolished in February “to build a new home that is more suited to my needs as a disabled woman”.","elementId":"f53afceb-9939-4840-8e0b-27a28906d91c"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"\n
It should be completed by the end of the year and my son and I are very much looking forward to moving back when construction is complete. I have lived at the address for five years and will continue to live at the address into future.\n","elementId":"82b81735-6546-4fba-9b2d-56aa2794e321"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
The AEC’s website states: “If you are absent from your enrolled address for a period of time but have an intention to return to that address to live, you do not need to update your enrolment. This includes if you intend to rebuild your house in the event of a disaster.”","elementId":"0030c8e9-c915-455e-a970-b4374a9a6935"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Guardian Australia has been told France lived at the property until its demolition in February.","elementId":"e6182864-fd05-4a6b-a819-f71456ab10cb"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
McGrath claimed in a statement: “A Labor MP being enrolled at a vacant block of land is as dodgy as they come.”
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is perhaps breathing a small sigh of relief with slightly better than expected inflation numbers just released by the bureau of statistics.","elementId":"04e1dff1-a4af-4265-8b85-584e23830882"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Speaking to reporters in Parliament House, he says there are some “encouraging” signs but the war in the Middle East is having a big impact on the economy.","elementId":"9dfd1b2c-2fc6-4a10-9edb-ac1b1c30040f"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
One of the biggest impacts to the numbers was the cut of the fuel excise by 26 cents per litre, which Chalmers said reduced headline inflation by half a percentage point.","elementId":"262bf360-3e49-4c39-a8ba-52633e5f0210"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"\n
Inflation came down more than expected in April, and that’s a good thing, but we know that inflation’s still too high in our economy.\n
We’ve had an inflation challenge in our economy, which is made worse by the war in the Middle East, and what we see in these numbers is some encouraging numbers, but also we understand that inflation is too high in these numbers, and that’s why it’s a big focus of the government. The moderation in the figures, as I said, was much better than the median expectation of the market.\n","elementId":"88786c79-767d-4153-842b-2ecfae2b6e44"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Inflation has dropped to 4.2% in the year to April, from 4.6%, after petrol prices fell from their March peaks thanks to the government’s 26-cent cut to the fuel excise.","elementId":"256a1969-ba97-4d50-a829-342ac46838a8"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
The fall is bigger than economists’ forecasts leading into the data release, but still well up on the 3.7% rate leading into the global oil shock.","elementId":"94d7d1d8-1df8-4ee6-b0b0-99653e8f6f0e"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
The Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed an underlying inflation measure, which removes large price swings, ticking up to 3.4%, from 3.3%.","elementId":"49355d93-d56b-44df-ba18-2b25943c57e6"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Westpac has been fined $26m for grossly negligent conduct after failing to respond to customers in financial hardship, AAP reports.","elementId":"539cf764-ebb7-48fe-bed5-6dc3fcc1271b"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Federal court judge Tim McEvoy on Tuesday found that while the bank’s conduct was not deliberate, it occurred over a relatively lengthy period, from 2017 to 2023.","elementId":"b039685e-0ccd-4250-8ea4-ca32a42f7a1d"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission pursued Westpac in 2023 after it was found the bank had failed to respond to more than 200 online hardship requests from its customers over the six-year period.","elementId":"11e467d3-5acb-46f5-9c04-283148847234"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Justice McEvoy found the requests were made by customers of Westpac and its subsidiaries St George Bank, Bank SA and Bank of Melbourne.","elementId":"9b0f87c2-3126-43e4-ac7b-86654eefa20d"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
The customers were struggling to keep up with repayments on home loans, credit cards, personal loans, car loans and other responsibilities, justice McEvoy said:","elementId":"20ece228-a7b1-4e39-9153-7b75730a8158"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"\n
I accept that Westpac’s contraventions in this case were very serious.\n
They impacted many vulnerable customers and continued over an extended period. It may in fact be said that the circumstances faced by the affected customers means that their financial vulnerability cannot be overstated.\n
Live read sponsorships on podcasts would be included in proposed online advertising restrictions to gambling ads, communications department officials confirmed in Senate estimates, which independent senator David Pocock said would be a “bonkers” situation requiring podcasters to upload multiple versions of a podcast.","elementId":"cf549011-5089-4ecf-b3d7-7e33b2bdbd71"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Under the proposed restrictions, streaming platforms can only have gambling ads for users who are over 18 and have logged in, and must allow users to opt out of seeing or hearing such advertisements, in order to prevent children hearing those ads.","elementId":"ce6e910c-7988-45bf-ada5-bf07dd73bd4b"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Department officials confirmed if a podcast host has a live read, such as “we’d like to thank our sponsors”, this would be considered advertising, and if a user has opted out, they should not be able to hear it.","elementId":"927ed8e5-af34-4792-9ab1-75ab5181aa73"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Pocock asked:","elementI
