Key events
Government flags tougher anti- modern slavery penalties following US tariffs
Krishani Dhanji
The government has promised to strengthen modern slavery laws, and penalise companies with revenue over $100m that fail to prevent modern slavery in their supply chains.
The announcement comes after the Trump administration announced it would impose tariffs on countries that have failed to stop goods using forced labour and modern slavery entering.
The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, said the government will consult on the details, and that there would be a defence available for a company if it could demonstrate they took reasonable steps to prevent modern slavery.
Rowland said:
The proposed changes will introduce greater accountability, levelling the playing field for the majority of Australian businesses already doing the right thing.
The government will also look to introduce civil penalties to address non-compliance under the existing modern slavery act.
Last week the Australian embassy in the United States made a submission to the government on the tariffs, calling them “unwarranted and unsupported by the record” and said there was “no credible evidentiary basis for any finding that Australia’s acts, policies or practices relating to forced labour are unreasonable, or that they burden or restrict U.S. commerce”.
The attorney general also appointed seven new members to the modern slavery expert advisory group yesterday.
Good morning, Petra Stock here to take the blog for you through the morning, fresh from watching Argentina versus England.
A man was found dead after a house fire in a suburb in Sydney’s west overnight.
Police said emergency services attended a fire at a home Glenmore Park just before 1am.
Police found the body of a man in front of a partially-alight property. He has not yet been identified.
Amphetamine use rises among blue-collar workers
More Australian workers are taking meth on the job, Australian Associated Press reports.
The Drug Detection Agency, Australasia’s largest workplace drug-testing provider, on Thursday released its latest report for the final quarter of 2025/26.
The data shows the ingestion of amphetamine-type stimulants, including methamphetamine, soared over the year among the mostly blue-collar workers who underwent testing.
The presence of amphetamine-type stimulants accounted for 60% of all positive tests in the June quarter, a significant year-on-year rise of 17.9%.
Next in line was the use of opioids, including oxycodone, which made up 11.6% of positive tests, although usage was down over the year.
Cocaine was detected in 8% of positive tests in the quarter, an increase from the same period in the previous year.
Cannabis was also present in 39% of positive tests, but usage fell slightly annually.
Drugs were found in 3% of all screens conducted by the agency, which noted that rate was broadly unchanged from previous quarters.
By jurisdiction, Western Australia recorded the highest use of amphetamine-type stimulants at 88.6%, although the four other mainland states were all pushing 50% or above.
South Australia had the highest cocaine detections, Queensland the highest cannabis detections and Victoria the highest opioid detections.
NSW ranked second for cocaine and opioids, third for cannabis and four for meth.
The comedian Josh Thomas has weighed in on the row over the LGBT theatre based in a converted church in Sydney which is facing eviction after its landlord ordered it to cease “offensive trade”
The promoter and founder of Divine Playhouse says the venue faces significant operational, legal and financial challenges after the landlord, KCSYD Pty Ltd, said the theatre caused offence to “millions of Christian Australians”.
Thomas has described the situation as a “David v Goliath” battle.
The tenants invested so much time and money into this venue in good faith …
Surely they knew it was going to be a queer venue? They’re a giant company – they have the resources to check who’s moving in.
It’s going to be a David vs Goliath legal battle.
Read more here:
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.
Comedian Josh Thomas has weighed in on the Divine Playhouse saga, a queer-friendly theatre pop-up in Sydney that has been kicked out by its landlord.
A man has been found dead after a Sydney house fire, and a survey of workplace drug use has found a worrying increase in the use of methamphetamines, especially in Western Australia.
