NSW shadow upper house leader steps aside during Icac Liberals inquiry
Penry Buckley
The leader of the opposition in the NSW upper house, Damien Tudehope, has stepped aside for the duration of a watchdog inquiry into allegations of Liberal corruption after revealing he has been called as a witness.
As we reported on Wednesday, the Independent Commission against Corruption (Icac) has announced it will hold a wide-ranging public inquiry from 27 July into allegations, including that Liberal figures “solicited or accepted” illegal donations to recruit or renew members to the party – a practice known as branch stacking.
In a statement this afternoon, Tudehope, the shadow attorney general and most senior Liberal in the NSW upper house, said the opposition leader, Kellie Sloane, had accepted his offer to step aside during the public inquiry which “involves several people with whom I have had close relations during my political career”.
He said:
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by myself nor am I under investigation.
However, as I have been called as a witness to the inquiry, something I am more than happy to comply with, I am concerned that, while the public hearings are under way my position … could become an unnecessary distraction for Kellie Sloane and my parliamentary colleagues as they need to focus on holding the Minns Labor government to account and defeating Labor at the March 2027 election.
I reiterate that I have made this decision freely because I believe it to be the right course of action and I look forward to resuming my position … once the scheduled hearings have concluded.
You can read more about Icac’s investigation here:
Key events
What we learned today, Friday 3 July
That’s where we’ll leave things for today. Have a lovely weekend, wherever you are. The live news blog will be back on Sunday. Until then, here were our top stories:
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New South Wales recorded its first suspected case of the deadly H5 bird flu in a giant petrel that was found near Hawks Nest, north of Newcastle, on the state’s coast.
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The leader of the opposition in the NSW upper house, Damien Tudehope, announced he would step aside for the duration of a watchdog inquiry into allegations of Liberal corruption, after revealing he had been called as a witness.
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Court documents revealed the Christian Brothers has deliberately kept nine convicted child abusers, one who is currently behind bars, as members of its religious order because it says it has a “Gospel imperative” to “care for all Brothers” and “the needy”.
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New government estimates showed that Australia’s giant LNG exporters are set to enjoy a $27bn boost to their revenues due to the Middle East conflict, amid calls for higher gas taxes.
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The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, admitted that criminals have infiltrated some of Victoria’s largest construction projects – but again rejected growing calls for a royal commission.
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Also in Victoria, the MP Moira Deeming won a temporary reprieve against being ejected from the Liberal party, which postponed a decision on on her future.
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And the details of an assault against Senator Lidia Thorpe in 2024 outside the MCG were revealed after a court lifted a suppression order on the case.
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Overseas, the Socceroos were preparing to face Egypt in Dallas, where they are hoping to secure their first ever victory in a World Cup knockout match.
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Meanwhile, Egyptian Australians were grappling with the “bittersweet” dilemma of who to support in the potentially history-making match.
Luca Ittimani
Labor MP says new KPMG chair has backed firm instead the truth
Labor has joined condemnation of KPMG’s new chair, Michael Ebeid, with federal West Australian MP Tania Lawrence accusing him of prioritising the firm over the truth.
Ebeid was appointed to lead the embattled firm on Thursday, prompting a parliamentary committee to publish an email from March where Ebeid dismissed allegations its staff leaked confidential client information.
KPMG later admitted some of the claimed leaks had occurred and Ebeid has apologised for the email.
Lawrence, a member of the parliamentary committee, said today that Ebeid’s email showed a pattern of questioning parliamentary scrutiny. She said:
Every time Mr Ebeid had a choice, he chose to protect the institution over the truth. An apology might explain the email. It doesn’t explain the pattern.
Ebeid was appointed to replace Martin Sheppard, who fell on his sword after drawing the ire of the committee during a fiery day of hearings. But Lawrence signalled the committee was not satisfied. She said:
Our job on this committee isn’t to relitigate one appointment, rather it’s to establish whether the firm changes, not just its Chair. We’ll test that with evidence, not statements.
Ebeid in a statement on Thursday said he was not aware of “the full range of facts” at the time he sent the email. He said:
“I recognise the gravity of the whistleblower’s allegations and the shortcomings in the firm’s approach at the time…
“From what I now know … I would not have written that email and am sorry for sending it.”
Lawrence’s comments are the first explicit criticism of Ebeid from the Labor side, after the Greens’ Barbara Pocock moved quickly to condemn him on Thursday, indicating a growing political consensus against the new chair.
You can read more here:
NSW shadow upper house leader steps aside during Icac Liberals inquiry
Penry Buckley
The leader of the opposition in the NSW upper house, Damien Tudehope, has stepped aside for the duration of a watchdog inquiry into allegations of Liberal corruption after revealing he has been called as a witness.
As we reported on Wednesday, the Independent Commission against Corruption (Icac) has announced it will hold a wide-ranging public inquiry from 27 July into allegations, including that Liberal figures “solicited or accepted” illegal donations to recruit or renew members to the party – a practice known as branch stacking.
In a statement this afternoon, Tudehope, the shadow attorney general and most senior Liberal in the NSW upper house, said the opposition leader, Kellie Sloane, had accepted his offer to step aside during the public inquiry which “involves several people with whom I have had close relations during my political career”.
He said:
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by myself nor am I under investigation.
However, as I have been called as a witness to the inquiry, something I am more than happy to comply with, I am concerned that, while the public hearings are under way my position … could become an unnecessary distraction for Kellie Sloane and my parliamentary colleagues as they need to focus on holding the Minns Labor government to account and defeating Labor at the March 2027 election.
I reiterate that I have made this decision freely because I believe it to be the right course of action and I look forward to resuming my position … once the scheduled hearings have concluded.
You can read more about Icac’s investigation here:
Ben Doherty
Behrouz Boochani, Yekta’s former roommate in the Manus Island detention centre, said it was likely his friend would die without transfer and that:
Living in limbo in an unsafe place with no future has deeply impacted him and other men.
Clearly, the Australian government is responsible for this tragedy and they cannot get away with this violation of human rights.
I don’t understand what is the Australian government’s motivation to keep these men in this difficult inhuman situation. I just find it sadistic.
A spokesperson for the department of home affairs said:
The Papua New Guinea government is responsible for the management of individuals remaining in PNG who were formerly under regional processing arrangements.
The Australian Government does not have any role in the ongoing management for individuals remaining in PNG.
The Australian government has a deal – the details of which it has not revealed – with the PNG government financing the continuing custody and welfare of refugees and asylum seekers sent offshore to PNG.
Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition said the Australian government had the power to intervene to help Yetka, but “time is running out” and that:
Without the treatment Hatam needs, he does not have long to live.
Ben Doherty
Dangerously ill asylum seeker sparks refugee protest outside Australian consulate
A group of refugees formerly held by Australia on Manus Island and Nauru held a protest outside the Australian consulate in Auckland yesterday, demanding a dangerously ill asylum seeker still held in Port Moresby be transferred to Australia for critical medical treatment.
Hatam Yetka has been held in PNG by Australia’s offshore detention arrangement with that country for more than 12 years.
Several of those who participated in the Auckland protest were detained with Yetka inside the Manus Island detention centre, and have since been resettled.
Yetka is currently in a Port Moresby hospital, and dangerously unwell, according to friends who have visited him.
Yekta, formerly a bodybuilder, is emaciated – weighing only about 45 or 46kgs – weakened and unable to care for himself. He is also acutely mentally unwell and unable to engage in any resettlement process.
He is one of several dozen refugees and asylum seekers who remain held in Papua New Guinea, a decade after Australia’s illegal offshore detention centre on Manus Island was ordered shut by PNG’s supreme court.
Yetka was approved for evacuation to Australia in 2019 but the medevac legislation was repealed by the Morrison government in December 2019 before he could be transferred. He has remained in PNG since.
Pictures of Yetka are reproduced with the permission of his family.
‘Turning point’: one in five new cars sold is electric
Thousands more motorists are buying electric vehicles in what one automotive expert has called a “turning point” and permanent shift for the industry, AAP reports.
Electric cars made up more than one in every five new vehicles sold during June, according to figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries on Friday, during a month of record automotive sales.
Tesla’s Model Y electric car also claimed the title of Australia’s best-selling vehicle, overtaking strong competition from the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux utes.
The result is the fourth record-breaking month in a row for electric cars in Australia, and follows rising petrol and diesel prices caused by conflict in the Middle East.
While motorists may have initially investigated electric and hybrid vehicles to avoid fuel costs, the chamber’s chief executive, Tony Weber, said their widespread adoption would change the market for good.
Weber said:
While these factors have had a short-term impact, part of the EV growth would appear to be a permanent structural shift.
This year is likely to represent a significant turning point for the Australian automotive industry.
Australian motorists purchased more than 140,000 new vehicles during June – the highest number recorded to date.
More than 32,500 of those sales were for electric vehicles, according to statistics from the chamber and the Electric Vehicle Council, making up 23.3 per cent of all sales, up from 8.4 per cent in January.
Combined with hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales, low-emission vehicles represented 49.5 per cent of vehicles sold during the month.
Petrol and diesel vehicles continued to fall in popularity during June – with sales down by 29 and 18 per cent respectively — even though they remained the most popular fuel types.
Catie McLeod
Hi, thanks for reading so far. I’ll take you through the rest of the news this afternoon.
Nick Visser
That’s all from me. Catie McLeod will take things from here. Have a nice weekend.
Jack Snape
History beckons for Socceroos as they enter knockouts with a fighting chance
Australia’s coach Tony Popovic is aware of the stakes before the Socceroos’ game tomorrow.
“If we perform very well, we have a chance to make history, that’s what we’re working towards,” he said at the pre-match press conference. “The players are ready, they’re relaxed. Tomorrow, we put on a top performance and it gives us a chance to make that history as a side.”
Read more here:
Seven people charged after alleged protest action to stop a coal train in Newcastle
Seven people have been charged after they were arrested in Newcastle last month on allegations they attempted to stop a coal train as part of a protest.
NSW police said officers were contacted regarding a group who were allegedly trespassing and participating in unauthorized protest activity on 26 June. Security guards intercepted the group, and they were arrested at various locations around the area in the subsequent hours.
The seven, ranging in age from 18 to 66, have since been charged with various crimes, including causing an obstruction to a railway locomotive and entering non-agricultural lands to interfere with business.
They are all set to appear in court in the coming weeks.
Steph Harmon
Anthony Albanese’s favourite bands beg PM to stop AI companies from stealing their work
The Albanese government has insisted it has no plans to weaken copyright protections, after ruling out the potential text and data mining exemption last year – but creatives are sounding the alarm. Loudest among them this week are musicians, some of whom discovered last month that their work was already being scraped.
Albanese is known for his love of Australian music. Guardian Australia spoke to some of his favourite bands to hear what they had to say to him.
Here’s a bit from Bernard Fanning of Powderfinger:
It feels like a violation. We have always been very careful about where our music is placed, and this upends that consideration. Aside from that, it’s bad manners. A robot could never write Flame Trees, Highway to Hell, Took The Children Away or Am I Not Pretty Enough?
Read more here:
Lisa Cox
WA’s fifth suspected H5 case recorded in bird found on Perth beach
The Western Australian government says it has a fifth suspected case of deadly bird flu in a migratory seabird found on a beach in Perth’s northern suburbs.
Agriculture minister Jackie Jarvis said the dead giant petrel was found at Mullaloo and the government was increasing its H5 surveillance at metropolitan beaches.
Test samples have been sent to the CSIRO’s Centre for Disease Preparedness for confirmation it is the highly pathogenic strain of H5 bird flu that has killed millions of birds and thousands of marine mammals globally.
There have been five confirmed detections in Australia so far, four in WA and one in South Australia. Two more suspected cases were announced on Friday, including the bird found at Mullaloo and another at Hawks Nest in NSW.
All of the cases so far have been in migratory subantarctic species and all but one have been giant petrels.
Jarvis said:
I reiterate that we are still in the surveillance phase. This is another single migratory bird. There is no evidence of transmission to WA wildlife or the poultry industry.
University of Wollongong chancellor steps down, effective immediately
Michael Still, the chancellor of the University of Wollongong, has resigned from his position, effective immediately.
The university said Still had made he decision “with the best interest” of staff, students and the school’s community in mind.
Greg West will serve as acting chancellor.
Still’s term was set to end in 2027. But he said he did not want his involvement in a NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) to detract from UoW’s operations. Still said in a statement:
In order to best serve the interests of the University, its staff and students, and to ensure that leadership renewal can occur without interruption, I have decided that I should resign from council effective immediately so that the next Chancellor can be sought.
The university will begin the process of appointing a new chancellor.
My colleague, Graham Readfearn, has a great read on how bird flu finally made its way to Australian shores. You can take a look here:
Australia has prepared for incursion of bird flu, minister says
Agriculture minister says Australia has prepared for incursion of bird flu: ‘no evidence of mass mortalities’
Julie Collins, the federal agriculture minster, is speaking now in Hobart.
She said the government has been preparing for the H5 bird flu, including work with the egg and poultry industries to “do everything we can do to mitigate” against any incursions:
It is certainly disappointing we have had further suspected migratory birds that have suspect positives. What I can say is that this is not unexpected, given of course that we do know that these migratory birds have can travel long distances.
But I do want to reiterate that at this point in time they are single migratory birds and we have no evidence of any mass mortalities in any other birds or animals in Australia at this point in time.
Tara Moriarty, the NSW agriculture minister, said at an earlier press conference there was no need for panic buying of eggs or poultry products.
Keep buying eggs, keep buying chicken. There is no spreading to our poultry in New South Wales.
One bird that we are currently testing through the national lab to see what a strain of H5 it is stop we will continue to work with the federal government. This is of course a national problem with most of the birds testing positive so far in Western Australia, a couple in South Australia and now one … in New South Wales.
Julie Collins, the agriculture minister, will hold a press conference in Hobart at the top of the hour after New South Wales recorded the first suspected case of H5 bird flu.
We’ll bring you live updates from the event in a few minutes.
Michelle Grattan and Melissa Clarke on the political year so far – Australian Politics podcast
The 2026 political year has already been surprising. Labor passed changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, which they had previously ruled out. The Liberals changed leaders again, and One Nation has seen a surge of support in multiple polls.
Political editor Tom McIlroy speaks to press gallery colleagues Michelle Grattan, the chief political correspondent at The Conversation, and Melissa Clarke, political correspondent with ABC Radio National. They discuss their report card on the year so far, and the political contests to watch in the second half of the year.
