Australia politics live: Nationals senator claims TikTok staff member bullied his office over questions on under-16s social media ban | Australia news
Nationals senator accuses TikTok of intimidating and bullying his office
The Nationals senator Ross Cadell said a TikTok staff member called his office while he was in a previous hearing for the age assurance inquiry, and intimidated his staff over questions he was asking.
At the parliamentary inquiry, he said the TikTok staffer said: “We get on very well with the leader’s office, we get on very well with the shadow minister’s office. You shouldn’t be asking these questions.”
He said it was intimidating and bullying.
TikTok’s director of policy in Australia, Ella Woods-Joyce, said she wasn’t aware of the incident:
I’m not aware of the details that you’re talking about, and what I can say is that the team needs to operate professionally and appropriately at all times, and I have confidence that that’s that’s what we do.
Cadell replied:
Do we think TikTok is too big to fail? … Because I note there was an apology late last week or earlier this week by the person involved to my staff member, but it came only after the confirmation that you would attend [today]. There was nothing, no address, no recognition of this factor until you had to face some consequence and show up.
Cadell questioned whether TikTok was a “bullying behemoth that wants to get its own way at any cost”.
Woods-Joyce said “absolutely not”.
Share
Updated at 18.14 EDT
Key events
Show key events only
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
Jordyn Beazley
City of Sydney passes Greens motion condemning NSW weapons expo
The City of Sydney last night passed a motion condemning a weapons expo that will be held in Sydney next week with the NSW government as the principal sponsor.
The Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition is taking place next week at Sydney’s International Convention Centre, and is being advertised as “the region’s premier commercial maritime and naval defence exposition connecting defence, industry, government and academia”.
The motion, which was moved by Greens Councillor Matthew Thompson without amendments and had near unanimous support, noted that:
Many of the major stakeholders and sponsors of this event have direct connections to current, and historical, conflicts – enjoying staggering profits from the misery and suffering from conflict and war.
The motion included a request for Lord Mayor Clover Moore to write to the NSW premier, Chris Minns. It noted the letter should condemn the event, and express that it’s the responsibility of the government to promote de-escalation.
It also noted the letter should request that:
Events promoting and profiteering from the sale of tools and weapons of war, such as, but not limited to, the Indo Pacific Weapons Expo, not be hosted by the NSW Government in the City of Sydney Local Government Area in the future.
Share
Farrell says trade with south-east Asia helps avoid conflict and increase prosperity
As Anthony Albanese continues meeting with south-east Asian leaders at the Asean summit today, one senior minister says free trade is the key to maintaining peace in the region.
Yesterday, Albanese said the region is growing quickly and will become the fourth largest economy by the end of the decade – making it ripe for stronger relations and investment from Australia.
Jumping back to Don Farrell’s appearance on ABC News Breakfast, the trade minister said Australian businesses should invest more in the region and export more products such as food and wine.
We’ve got lots of advantages. Obviously, proximity is one of them, a very reliable route for supply chains, and also large numbers of south-east Asian migrants who’ve come to Australia: Filipinos, Indonesians, Vietnamese, Thais.
We don’t want conflict in our region, and one way to avoid conflict is to increase the prosperity of our region. How do we do that? Well, free and fair trade does that precisely … The more we can engage economically with the region, then the more peaceful our region is going to be, and that’s the way the Albanese government would like to see it.
Share
Updated at 18.46 EDT
Rio Tinto said on Tuesday it is contemplating ceasing operations at its New South Wales-based Tomago aluminium smelter at the end of its current electricity supply contract, Reuters reports.
The Tomago aluminium smelter, which has been struggling with high power prices, has started a consultation process with employees on the potential future of its operations, but is yet to reach a decision.
The smelter’s existing electricity supply contract with AGL Energy expires in December 2028, with Tomago yet to identify a pathway that supports commercially sustainable operations beyond the period “despite extensive engagement and market approaches”, according to the miner’s statement.
Tomago Aluminium CEO Jerome Dozol said:
Unfortunately, all market proposals received so far show future energy prices are not commercially viable, and there is significant uncertainty about when renewable projects will be available at the scale we need.
Share
‘A planning system that says yes’: Victoria announces major overhaul to get homes built faster
Benita Kolovos
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, is holding a press conference to announces what she says is the “biggest overhaul” of the state’s planning laws in decades.
Under changes to the Planning and Environment Act 1987, three new planning streams will be created to slash permit approval times to as little as 10 days for standalone houses and duplexes, 30 days for townhouses and low-rise developments and 60 days for larger developments.
Third party appeal rights – which allow anyone to object to a planning permit – will be scraped for homes, duplexes, townhouses and low rise apartment streams.
For higher density apartments, only those who are directly impacted – such as neighbours in the area – will be able to appeal.
Allan says a planning permit currently takes 140 days to get approved – and if there is an objection, it blows out to more than 300 days.
Victoria’s planning laws were written decades and decades ago. It was a very different time, a very different time. We need to not only bring our planning laws into the 21st century, we also need to overhaul them, to take them from being old fashioned nimby-type laws into a planning system that says yes and gets homes and projects built more quickly.
Victorian premier Jacinta Allan. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAPShare
Updated at 18.23 EDT
Nationals senator accuses TikTok of intimidating and bullying his office
The Nationals senator Ross Cadell said a TikTok staff member called his office while he was in a previous hearing for the age assurance inquiry, and intimidated his staff over questions he was asking.
At the parliamentary inquiry, he said the TikTok staffer said: “We get on very well with the leader’s office, we get on very well with the shadow minister’s office. You shouldn’t be asking these questions.”
He said it was intimidating and bullying.
TikTok’s director of policy in Australia, Ella Woods-Joyce, said she wasn’t aware of the incident:
I’m not aware of the details that you’re talking about, and what I can say is that the team needs to operate professionally and appropriately at all times, and I have confidence that that’s that’s what we do.
Cadell replied:
Do we think TikTok is too big to fail? … Because I note there was an apology late last week or earlier this week by the person involved to my staff member, but it came only after the confirmation that you would attend [today]. There was nothing, no address, no recognition of this factor until you had to face some consequence and show up.
Cadell questioned whether TikTok was a “bullying behemoth that wants to get its own way at any cost”.
Woods-Joyce said “absolutely not”.
Share
Updated at 18.14 EDT
Josh Butler
Barnaby Joyce and Matt Canavan got one back on the journalists this morning, claiming victory in the annual press vs pollies touch football match.
Liberal MP Simon Kennedy bamboozled the press gallery defence, notching up the match highlight in scoring a try after a twinkletoes performance reminiscent of Brisbane star Reece Walsh. Nationals MPs Joyce and Canavan combined regularly through the middle, with strong defence and reliable carries for yardage, as a few fleet-footed staffers finished off the movements to score in the corners.
Even without Wallabies legend David Pocock taking the field, the politicians ran riot as the game went on. Not even the addition of minister Pat Conroy – referred to by some as the minister for rugby league – to the journos’ team could turn the tide.
Despite the press taking an early lead, with Sky News reporter Cam Reddin sidestepping through the defence with the ease of a seasoned politician dodging questions, the MPs piled on a number of unanswered tries to take a clear victory.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the pollies though. As Joyce took a carry but fumbled the ball, Canavan yelled in mock outrage “that’s why we’re getting rid of him”.
The final score? Unimportant. The numerical gap didn’t tell the whole story, the game on the paddock being much closer than it looked on the scoreboard. The real winner on the day, as it always is, was football itself.
Share
Minister defends Albanese government’s transparency record
Trade minister and special minister of state Don Farrell says he doesn’t agree that the government has dropped the ball on integrity and transparency.
The latest report from the Centre for Public Integrity, first released to Nine Newspapers, has given the government a failing grade following Anthony Albanese’s decision to cut opposition staff and attempts to tighten freedom of information laws.
Farrell tells ABC News Breakfast the government is doing more to increase transparency, including through its laws passed last term on electoral donations.
The amount [disclosure threshold] was $17,000. So, we have significantly dropped that money. More importantly, those donations have to be disclosed before the election. So, every … donation above $5,000 has to be disclosed before the next election. Now, I’d say that was very significant transparency issue.
Trade minister Don Farrell. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare
Updated at 18.01 EDT
Labor will ‘probably end up’ doing EPBC deal with Coalition, Greens leader says
Jumping back to Larissa Waters on RN Breakfast this morning, the Greens leader said she’d been appalled by what the environment minister “has put in these so-called nature laws”, and accused Labor of writing a blank cheque for business.
Waters says she’s willing to work with the government and negotiate on the legislation, but believes Murray Watt will come to an agreement with the other side.
At the moment, this package is written for big business. And the Coalition, I think, are posturing and probably will end up doing a deal with Labor on this. The Greens want to see environment laws that work for nature, protect communities’ rights, and actually don’t see coal and gas and logging fast-tracked unabated. We’re willing to talk to government about that.
Last night it was revealed the environment minister would be able to approve projects at odds with nature laws if it was deemed in the “national interest” under the new EPBC legislation.
Safe to say, Waters is not happy with that.
They’re [the laws] already riddled with loopholes. But rather than fix those loopholes, the proposal by this environment minister under this government is to add additional loopholes and yet more fast-track mechanisms for coal and gas.
Share
Updated at 17.48 EDT
Chance of RBA rate cut at next meeting is very slim, markets believe
Patrick Commins
The chance of a Melbourne Cup rate cut has been slashed to just 10%, according to financial markets.
Investors had been pricing in more like a 60% chance yesterday – but that was before Michele Bullock, the Reserve Bank’s governor, made it clear that she was more worried about a recent pick-up in inflation than last month’s jump in unemployment.
“There are still jobs being created, just not as many,” Bullock said on Monday night, adding that a jobless rate of 4.5% was “still pretty low”.
We’d always thought [unemployment] would drift up a bit. Maybe it’s drifted up a bit further than we thought, but it’s not a huge amount yet.
Tomorrow’s inflation report is expected to show price pressures were stronger than the RBA expected in the three months to September.
Economists still think there’s another rate cut or two in the works over coming months, although not likely until next year.
And financial market pricing still puts the chance of a rate cut by December at 80%.
Share
Updated at 17.46 EDT
Former Nationals leader thinks Joyce won’t be going to One Nation ‘any time soon’
The Nationals MP and former party leader Michael McCormack reckons Barnaby Joyce won’t be going to One Nation “any time soon”, despite missing the partyroom meeting yesterday.
On the Today show a bit earlier, McCormack said Joyce has the responsibility to see out the rest of his term (he’s said he won’t recontest the next election in his seat of New England) with the Nats.
But he did say it was a “shame” Joyce didn’t turn up to yesterday’s meeting.
I think that’s what you need to do when people are prepared to hand out for you, and they’re prepared to don your yellow T-shirt with ‘I’m backing Barnaby’ on the back. I mean, he needs to continue to serve and sit with the Nationals …
I’ve always believed that life is determined by those who turn up. And it was a shame he didn’t turn up to the partyroom meeting.
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, was at pains to say yesterday that it wasn’t the first time a sitting MP or senator had skipped out on party room meetings.
Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack in the House of Representatives. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShare
Updated at 17.41 EDT
TikTok and Meta to comply with under-16s ban
Josh Taylor
Both TikTok and Meta have also told the parliamentary inquiry on age assurance they will comply with the under-16s social media ban when it comes into effect.
There had been speculation that Meta might use its new teens account features for accounts of users aged between 13 and 18 to try to win an exemption for Instagram and Facebook for teens, but the company’s director of policy in Australia, Mia Garlick, told the inquiry that Meta was working to comply with the under-16s ban from 10 December and deactivating accounts from that date.
TikTok’s director of public policy in Australia, Ella Woods-Joyce, said the ban would push younger people into darker corners of the internet, but TikTok would comply with the law.
TikTok says it will comply with the under-16s social media ban. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 17.38 EDT
One Nation announces name change and rebrand in ‘defining moment’ for party
In all the hubbub around parliament yesterday, Pauline Hanson announced a change to the name of her political party.
“Pauline Hanson’s One Nation” will officially become “One Nation” which she called a “defining moment”. In a statement, Hanson said:
The rebranding reinforces One Nation’s commitment to restoring trust in politics, protecting Australian values, and continuing the fight for everyday Australians across every state and territory.
One Nation has been gaining ground by targeting conservative voters frustrated with the Liberal and National parties.
It also coincides with some … discussions … between Hanson and Barnaby Joyce (though Joyce hasn’t confirmed anything yet on a possible defection from the Nationals, and has said he’ll keep his options open).
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare
Updated at 17.24 EDT
Snapchat says it will comply with ‘unevenly applied’ under-16s social media ban
Josh Taylor
Snapchat users under the age of 16 will be kicked off the platform from 10 December, with the company telling the parliament that although it disagrees that the ban should apply to Snapchat, it will comply with the law.
Jennifer Stout, Snap’s SVP of global policy and platform operations, said in her written opening statement to a parliamentary inquiry on age assurance measures that Snapchat should be excluded as it would meet the definition of a messaging service that is supposed to be excluded under the ban, but the company will accept the ruling of the eSafety commissioner. She said:
We will comply with the law, even though we believe it has been unevenly applied and risks undermining community confidence in the law.
Beginning 10 December, we will disable accounts for Australian Snapchatters under 16. We know this will be difficult for young people who use Snapchat to communicate with their closest friends and family.
Stout said the ban could see teens pushed on to platforms that are not included in the ban, and that are less safe as a result.
Meta and TikTok are also appearing before the inquiry this morning.
Share
Updated at 17.15 EDT
Greens push for inquiry into Optus triple zero outage
Optus still hasn’t been hauled in front of a Senate inquiry to explain the triple zero outage in September, says Greens leader Larissa Waters, who is pushing for another inquiry into the incident, above the investigations already under way.
On ABC RN Breakfast, Waters hails the government’s agreement to triple the penalties for telcos when they fail to connect customers to triple zero.
People’s very lives depend on it. And those increased penalties are long overdue. And so I’m really pleased that we’re now going to have that deterrent and try to make sure that telcos perform this essential service. And having them be accountable in front of a Senate inquiry is part of that.
The government’s legislation to introduce a triple zero custodian for oversight of the whole triple zero system is currently in front of the parliament. Are the Greens supportive?
Waters says the custodian should have been “up and running for quite some time” and that her party is “looking forward to that bill coming before the Senate”. It’s not a tick and flick exercise though – she warns the minor party will consider how high the penalties are whether criminal penalties should be introduced.
Greens leader Larissa Waters. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare
Updated at 17.13 EDT
Can the Liberals be an ‘effective opposition’ without a net zero policy?
Moving on to a different issue, “what on earth is going on” in the Liberal party with net zero, asks host Sally Sara.
Julian Leeser doesn’t give much away, giving us the standard lines of “we are going through a process” and “we’re reviewing our policies”.
A recap: shadow energy minister Dan Tehan is taking a relook at the net zero commitment, which is tricky because the Liberal moderates want it to stay but the hardline conservatives want it scrapped completely.
Sara asks if the Liberals can be an “effective opposition” at this time without a policy. Leeser says:
We’re a couple of years away from an election. This is the policy formulation process. Well, it’s only five months since the last election, and this is a sort of Bismarck laws and sausages moment. We are looking at our new direction, and we’re having a debate, and people are expressing different views.
OK … so I just had to Google that one – 18th century Prussian politician Otto von Bismarck apparently said “laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made” (or something similar to that effect).
Share
Updated at 17.06 EDT
Leeser on childcare predators: ‘We need to throw the book at these people’
The shadow education minister, Julian Leeser, says last night’s Four Corners program on predators in childcare was “one of the most chilling things I have ever seen on television”.
Leeser, who was moved from the shadow attorney general portfolio in Sussan Ley’s latest reshuffle, tells ABC RN Breakfast “every available alternative” needs to be looked at to oversee the sector, when asked whether the opposition would support a national childcare commission (as many advocates have been pushing for).
We need to ensure that we’re giving law enforcement adequate tools. We need to ensure that the childcare regulators have the tools that they need as well. And that’s why I’ve written again to the minister this morning to offer our support because this just can’t be allowed to continue.
We need to throw the book at these people and we need to ensure that we’re throwing every resource to weed people out of the system and to bring people who are engaging in child sexual exploitation on the web or the dark web to justice.
Leeser introduced his private member’s bill to parliament yesterday which would introduce mandatory minimum sentences for child sexual abuse crimes. He calls on the government to pass it.
Shadow attorney general Julian Leeser. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare
Updated at 17.03 EDT
Australia must ‘rapidly’ reduce emissions to meet 2030 target, Bowen’s department warns
The government will need to “rapidly” reduce emissions to get to its 2030 target, warns Chris Bowen’s department.
The warning comes from the incoming governmental brief, first reported by the Australian newspaper, by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. It’s a brief every department gives their new minister, and is generally released through a freedom of information request. But this one took a little longer (and a little more effort) to be made public.
The minister for climate change and energy released the document after an order of production of documents request by Liberal senator Dean Smith.
The document is heavily redacted with entire pages blacked out.
The brief states:
Emission reductions need to accelerate rapidly to meet the 2030 target. Full and timely implementation of your first-term reforms will be essential. You can chart the forward path by setting a credible and ambitious 2035 target, building on the Future Made in Australia investments and through ongoing focus on leveraging Australia’s comparative advantages— renewable energy, critical minerals, and access to global capital as a global investment location.
The brief also warns the government must respond to the National Climate Risk Assessment as “a priority”.
Share
Updated at 16.56 EDT
