The NSW Opposition will support the Government’s planning law reform bill, with some amendments to make the system fairer, faster and more transparent.
The bipartisan approach began last year when Opposition Leader Mark Speakman, Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders and Shadow Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Scott Farlow wrote to the Premier and the Planning Minister proposing cooperation on planning law reform to help to fix the state’s housing crisis.
The Leader of the Opposition Mark Speakman said the Opposition’s focus has always been on getting more homes built without adding cost or complexity.
“Planning law reform can’t be about politics or spin in the middle of a crisis. It has to be about helping people into homes they can afford, near the families they love and the jobs they rely on. Our amendments are practical, responsible and aimed at cutting red tape while keeping government accountable,” Mr Speakman said.
Under the Opposition’s proposed amendments:
The Housing Delivery Authority would be subject to a full statutory review, and further accountability measures would be introduced.
District and regional planning panels would remain.
The Development Coordination Authority would be required to publish annual reports.
The Community Participation Plan would be set out in regulation or equivalent.
The new targeted assessment pathway would not apply to major non-residential developments like mines, waste incinerators, transmission lines, wind farms and solar farms.
NSW Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders said the regions cannot be left behind.
“Removing regional planning panels runs the risk of reducing the capacity to support regional development into the future, which is why we will push for changes to safeguard those projects that will allow our country communities to thrive,” Mr Saunders said.
“I’m also calling for the Government to ensure the legislation won’t make it easier to rush through renewables projects that have been causing angst for residents and businesses in the bush.”
Shadow Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Scott Farlow said the Opposition’s changes would make the bill more effective.
“We need a planning system that delivers homes, not hold-ups. Our amendments will help build faster, smarter and with greater confidence for investors and communities alike,” Mr Farlow said.
While planning law reform is important, the Minns Labor Government should also be removing barriers to affordability, not creating new ones that don’t help to accelerate home ownership. The Housing and Productivity Contribution is a tax introduced by the Government in 2023 on housing continues to make the dream of owning a home even harder for young people and families.
The contribution is costing developers $12,000 per house and $10,000 per unit in Greater Sydney.
Month: October 2025
Statement on Middle East peace plan
Australia welcomes President Trump’s announcement that Israel and Hamas have signed off the first phase of the plan to bring peace to Gaza.
After more than two years of conflict, hostages held and a devastating loss of civilian life, this is a much needed step towards peace.
Australia has consistently been part of international calls for a ceasefire, return of the hostages, and the unimpeded flow of aid to Gaza.
We urge all parties to respect the terms of the plan.
We thank President Trump for his diplomatic efforts and acknowledge the important role of Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye in delivering this agreement.
Australia strongly supports the plan’s commitment to denying Hamas any role in the future governance of Gaza.
There is a very long road to recovery in Gaza, securing long term peace and building the Palestinian state.
Together with our partners, Australia will continue to do what we can to contribute to a just and enduring two-state solution.
Man ban in women’s prisons reaffirmed after NT takes the first step
Family First has welcomed the Northern Territory Government’s landmark decision to ban biological males from women’s prisons and has reaffirmed that, if elected at the upcoming state elections, its Upper House candidates will move legislation to ensure the same protections in South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales.
NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro declared: “There should be no men in women’s prisons, full stop… if you are a man and you’re fundamentally equipped as a man, then you belong in a men’s prison.”
Family First Upper House candidates Deepa Mathew (SA), Bernie Finn and Jane Foreman (VIC), and Lyle Shelton (NSW) said the move stands in stark contrast to the ideological confusion that has gripped other states.
“Ms Finocchiaro’s stand is just common sense,” said Mr Finn. “It’s shocking that it takes the Northern Territory to remind southern states that women have the right to safety and dignity.”
The call follows the shocking case in South Australia: where a female prisoner, known as Katie, was allegedly sexually assaulted by a violent trans-identifying male inmate, Krista Richards, formerly known as Leslie Graham Richards, at Port Augusta Prison. Richards — a convicted would-be hitman with a history of violence against women — was housed with Katie despite prison authorities knowing his record.
“Every woman in Australia should be horrified by what happened to Katie,” said South Australian Family First candidate Deepa Mathew. “A woman was trapped in a cell with a man — a violent offender — because LGBTIQA+ ideology trumped common sense. It’s hard to imagine a more grotesque betrayal of women’s rights. No government that allows this can claim to care about women’s safety.”
Family First noted that both Labor and Liberal parties in southern states have failed to take such a clear position. In Victoria, Opposition Leader Brad Battin recently said he supported biological men who identify as women being housed in women’s prisons so long as they are not sex offenders — a position Family First described as a good start but “timid and incoherent.”
“The issue is not just sex offenders — it’s about protecting women from the risk, trauma and indignity of being locked up with men,” said Ms Foreman.
Queensland’s now Health Minister Tim Nicholls went further in June 2023, telling Parliamen “I completely endorse the findings of the committee that there is no evidence whatsoever that transwomen are any more likely to commit offences than other women are. There is no reason for fear of those things (biological males taking advantage of girls and women).”
Family First called this statement “disgracefully out of touch” given multiple cases of biological males assaulting women in prison — including the South Australian case that sparked national outrage.
“This comes barely a week after the Sex Discrimination Commissioner admitted she doesn’t even ‘understand the term biological man’,” said Mr Shelton. “When senior bureaucrats and politicians deny basic biology, women lose.”
“Family First will end this madness. We will legislate to protect girls and women from dangerous gender ideology in prisons and restore biological reality to law.”
Greens vote will ensure historic Treaty bill passes, as Liberals dig their own hole on the wrong side of history
The Victorian Greens have said they’re proud to confirm they will support the Statewide Treaty Bill without amendment as it makes its way through Parliament in the coming weeks.
The four Greens votes in the Legislative Council will ensure the historic bill will pass.
However, the Greens say the Liberals have sunk to a new low following reports overnight the Opposition will scrap any Treaty laws within 100 days of being elected.
With new polling suggesting the Opposition is on track for a fourth consecutive state election loss, it’s clear they’re continuing to dig their own hole on the wrong side of history.
Leader of the Australian Greens, Ellen Sandell MP:
“This is a historic moment where every Victorian has been invited to walk with First Nations people on this incredible journey – to share in and celebrate the oldest living cultures in the world, and to create a better future together.
“With the Greens votes, this Treaty legislation will pass.
“First Nations people are experts for their own communities, and Treaty is about respecting and embracing that truth.
“It’s deeply disrespectful that the Liberals have turned their backs on this history-making moment and on Aboriginal Victorians who have been working for years on Treaty.
“To use this historic and proud moment to sow division is a new low, even for the Liberals. The Liberals have been a hopeless opposition, and the fact that their only plan for Victoria is to drag us backwards shows just how unfit for government they are.
“It’s a sad shame the Liberals couldn’t find it within themselves to back what First Nations people have been calling for – they’re just digging their own hole on the wrong side of history.”
Labor’s decision to reject cannabis inquiry recommendation ‘spineless’, Greens say
The Victorian Greens have said Labor’s decision to reject the key recommendations from an inquiry into cannabis is ‘spineless’, and will continue impacting marginalised communities.
Earlier this year, a parliamentary inquiry into a private member’s bill that would have decriminalised the personal use of cannabis released its final report.
The inquiry recommended adopting an approach to decriminalising cannabis in line with the bill, while drawing on the successful experience of the ACT, where cannabis has been decriminalised for personal recreational use since 2020.
In their response to that report today, Labor rejected this recommendation.
Given minor cannabis offences are disproportionately enforced against people experiencing poverty, structural oppression, and over-policing, Labor’s decision to treat recreational cannabis use as a crime will continue to cause real harm to thousands of Victorians every year.
Victorian Greens drug harm reduction spokesperson, Aiv Puglielli MLC:
“This is a spineless decision from a government that wants to pick and choose who benefits from drug harm reduction.
“The Premier herself has admitted to using cannabis, and yet would punish other Victorians for doing the same. This Labor Government decision reeks of privilege.
“The reality is people use cannabis. Rejecting what the experts are calling for isn’t just kicking this can down the road, it will cause real and profound harm to thousands of Victorians.”
NT and Australian Greens Statement on NT prisons
The Northern Territory Chief Minister is manufacturing a culture war distraction while presiding over a correctional system in crisis.
Women prisoners in Alice Springs are being held in dangerous, overcrowded conditions without adequate facilities, legal privacy, or safety from male inmates. Instead of dealing with the problem they created, a prison system in overcrowded crisis, the NT government has chosen to target one of the most marginalised groups in our community and attack trans women by putting them in crowded men’s prisons.
The Chief Minister told the media “if you’re born a bloke, you go into a men’s prison.” She also said “…we want to make it really clear that if you are a man and you’re fundamentally equipped as a man, if I could put it that way, then you belong in a men’s prison.”
Greens Senator and Justice Spokesperson David Shoebridge said:
“Aboriginal women are being imprisoned at unprecedented rates and held in sweltering, overcrowded conditions without any rehabilitation services. That’s the national crisis and it’s not the gender identity of inmates.
“This is just more bigoted scapegoating from the NT Government while their prison system fails women they have put in jail every single day.
“This dangerous culture war being perpetrated by the NT Government is enabled by the Federal Government who funds 71% of the NT prison system and is therefore directly implicated in this dangerous policy.
“It’s time to ensure Commonwealth funding comes with the requirement to uphold the human rights and dignity of people in prisons, not just give a blank cheque for the excesses of the NT Government.”
Greens Senator and LGBTIQA+ spokesperson Nick McKim said:
“Putting trans women in a men’s prison is a shocking abuse of their human rights.”
“Trans women are women and trans rights are human rights.”
“Trans people need love and support, not to be thrown into danger to pander to far-right culture warriors.”
Greens Member for Nightcliff, Kat McNamara MLA said:
“The Chief Minister is confecting culture wars to distract from the prison crisis unfolding under her rule.”
“The way the Chief Minister is speaking about trans people is uneducated, offensive and dangerous.”
“Trans women experience double the rate of sexual violence from men than the rest of the population. We must ensure their safety in prison.”
“The CLP government is pouring salt on the wounds of the queer community this week. In the same week they are weakening protections in our anti-discrimination laws, they’re stripping away an essential protection for trans women in the NT.”
“As one the few openly queer members of the Legislative Assembly, I am devastated for our LGBTQIA+ community this week.”
Release of hostages welcome, time for peace with justice
The Greens welcome the ceasefire and exchange of Israeli and Palestinian hostages and hope that these are concrete steps towards peace with justice.
After two years of genocide and bloodshed, the international community must do all it can to ensure peace. The cessation of bombing and exchange of hostages is a move towards this. However, peace will only be enduring if there is justice, an end to the apartheid system and self-determination.
Senator David Shoebridge, the Greens spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, said: “Any moves to end the genocide in Gaza are welcome and now there is cautious optimism for the first time in years.
“This short moment of relief cannot hide the global responsibility for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and the wholesale destruction of Gaza.
“This week’s ceasefire and today’s return of hostages show that at any stage in the last two years, peace was possible, but it required the United States and those that follow its lead, including Australia, to force Israel to the table.
“A genocide on this scale took global co-operation from international arms manufacturers together with diplomatic cover for Israel’s government and arms industry. Australia was a player in all of this, which is a permanent stain on the Albanese government’s record.
“Millions of Australians, and billions around the world, have now had a brutal first-hand lesson in how a US-dominated world works, whether it is their government’s involvement in weapons platforms like the F-35 fighter jet, or empty rhetoric about an ‘international rules-based order.’
“The foreign policy of the two major parties has lost legitimacy, it has made the world a less safe and less fair place. There must be a new course, one independent from a US-led foreign policy that saw such a devastating scale of bloodshed.
“We owe the Palestinian survivors of this unspeakable genocide truth, compassion and justice and that will require a fresh global commitment to a Free Palestine and the urgent enforcement of the Genocide Convention.
“Until there is a just and lasting peace across Israel and Palestine, meaning an end to the genocide, dismantling of the apartheid system and respect for self-determination, all countries are still obligated to act.”
Annual Cyber Threat Report highlights persistent threat to individuals and across the Australian economy
The Australian Signals Directorate’s (ASD) Annual Cyber Threat Report for 2024-25 highlights the persistent threat of malicious cyber activity to the nation, underscoring the urgency of action by all Australians and Australian businesses to raise the nation’s cyber defences.
This year’s report illustrates how cyber criminals continue to impact many Australians, leveraging new technologies and techniques to expand their destructive attacks and cause widespread financial harm.
It also details how state cyber actors continue to target business and critical infrastructure, as well as all levels of Australian government, in an attempt to conduct espionage, steal sensitive data or posture for disruptive attacks. These findings make it critical that all Australian businesses develop robust business continuity plans for service disruptions caused by a cyber incident.
Key findings from the report include:
- ASD answered over 42,500 calls to the Australian Cyber Security Hotline, equating to around 116 calls per day.
- ASD responded to more than 1,200 cyber security incidents, an 11% increase from 2023-24.
- ASD received over 84,700 cybercrime reports, an average of one report every 6 minutes.
- The average self-reported cost of cybercrime per report for small business rose by 14 per cent to $56,600, while the cost to individuals rose 8% to $33,000.
The report highlights the importance of government and industry partnerships in combatting cyber threats through intelligence sharing, combining insights and capabilities to block and counter these threats. These partnerships enable us to identify emerging threats and help defend Australian organisations in advance of cyber attacks. Increased cyber security awareness is leading to greater collaboration across government and industry, as well as reporting of cyber incidents.
ASD’s Cyber Security Partnership Program grew to over 133,000 partners and the Cyber Threat Intelligence Sharing network now shares millions of indicators of compromise with hundreds of Australian partners. All Australian businesses and organisations are encouraged to join ASD’s Partnership Program at cyber.gov.au.
The Australian Government is working to prevent cybercriminals from targeting the nation through its investment in Project REDPSPICE, which has already doubled ASD’s capacity to assist consenting private entities to uplift critical networks and counter malicious cyber activity.
The 2024-25 Annual Cyber Threat Report is available here
the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the Hon Richard Marles MP:
“ASD’s Annual Cyber Threat Report sharply illustrates that the nation faces an increasingly challenging threat landscape where cyber-enabled espionage and crime are not a hypothetical risk, but a real and increasing danger to the essential services we all rely on.
“The report makes clear that malicious actors have been working unseen to steal data and demand ransom payments from Australian victims, or to target our most critical networks for disruptive attacks.
“ASD’s annual assessment again shows the urgency of industry and government working collaboratively to raise our collective cyber defences and protect the digital arteries so essential to the nation and our economy.”
the Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Cyber Security, the Hon Tony Burke MP:
“The Signals Directorate protects Australians every day.”
“Our government is working hard to strengthen our cyber defences, but there are simple, effective steps that every Australian can take to keep themselves and their families safe online.
“Always install the latest software updates, use unique passphrases, enable multifactor authentication wherever it’s available, and if you receive an unexpected cold call, hang up and call back through the official line.
“Most cyber incidents are preventable, and basic defensive measures make a huge difference. Working together, we can keep our community safe online.”
Australia and United States sign Joint Statement of Intent on guided weapons
Australia and the United States have taken another step towards co-production of guided weapons with the signing of a Joint Statement of Intent and the opening of a new joint office to enhance bilateral cooperation in this critical domain.
These initiatives are underpinned by the Albanese Government’s investment of up to $21 billion over the decade to establish a sovereign Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise, boosting our industrial capacity and supporting thousands of jobs in Australia’s defence industry.
The signing today of the Joint Statement of Intent with the United States Department of War and Lockheed Martin Corporation in Washington DC marks a significant milestone in Australia’s efforts to build a sovereign GWEO Enterprise. It also represents a deepening of our strategic partnership with the United States and shared commitment to building a resilient, interoperable and sovereign capability.
The signing of this Joint Statement of Intent paves the way for further co-development and production of critical long-range fires, beginning with variants across the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) family of munitions and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM).
This statement also acknowledges that for guided weapons manufacturing in Australia to be a viable and sustainable capability, Australia will need to produce guided weapon quantities beyond the demands of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). It also recognises the Australian Government’s objective to manufacture guided weapons that could be integrated into the US-led global supply chain.
Australia is on track for the production of GMLRS munitions before the end of 2025, with a view to manufacturing more advanced weapons in the future.
The signing of the joint statement comes as Australia and the United States deepen cooperation on the PrSM program with the opening of a joint office in Huntsville, Alabama. The dedicated facility will serve as the central hub for coordination between Australia and the United States on the acquisition and development of the PrSM capability and will oversee its production and sustainment.
PrSM is a long-range missile with a maximum range beyond 500 kilometres and is central to strengthening Australia’s land and maritime strike capability.
the Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Pat Conroy MP:
“This Statement of Intent reaffirms the strength of our longstanding alliance with the United States and our mutual interest in contributing to regional and international security.
“This milestone is a clear demonstration of our shared commitment to building a resilient and interoperable industrial capacity for both Australia and the United States.
“The statement reflects the Albanese Government’s determination to accelerate the delivery of advanced capabilities that help keep Australians safe, while strengthening our defence industrial base.”
Australia expands support for HIV services in Papua New Guinea
The Albanese Government is nearly tripling our investment in HIV services in Papua New Guinea (PNG), following the PNG Government’s declaration of a HIV emergency in June this year.
Working in partnership with the PNG Government, churches, the private sector, and others, Australia is increasing its annual HIV development funding to almost $10 million this financial year to safeguard the Papua New Guinean population.
Australia’s increased support will focus on preventing transmission by increasing awareness and testing, strengthening surveillance, and supporting expanded access to prevention measures.
The announcement was made during a visit by the Assistant Minister for Pacific Island Affairs Nita Green to the St Therese HIV clinic to mark the completion of their recent renovation.
Australia is investing in the renovation of three HIV clinics in Port Moresby, including the St Therese, to ensure a safer, more dignified space for people to receive counselling and care.
Recognising the vulnerability of young people, Australia will support youth-led education and outreach programs to help reduce new infections.
Our programming will also include tailored services for women and girls, who are disproportionately affected by HIV.
Today’s announcement adds to ongoing Australian Government initiatives to support the Pacific in its fight against HIV, including partnerships with UNAIDS, Health Equity Matters, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong:
“Australia and Papua New Guinea are close neighbours, friends and strategic allies, and we support each other in times of need.
“As HIV rates in the Pacific continue to rise, we recognise the increasing importance of working together to safeguard our region.”
Minister for Pacific Island Affairs Pat Conroy:
“Rising rates of HIV in the Pacific are threatening lives and livelihoods.
“Australia is committed to working side-by-side and step-by-step with PNG to improve health outcomes.
“This support complements Australia’s broader commitment to health security in the Pacific, working with regional partners to address cross-border health challenges.”
Assistant Minister for Pacific Island Affairs Nita Green:
“It is an honour to re-open the St Therese HIV Clinic in Port Moresby – Australia’s support for this renovation is a symbol of our steadfast commitment to Papua New Guinea’s health sector.
“Australia shares a desire with the Government of PNG to drive better health outcomes across PNG.
“Together, we stand as partners in responding to the HIV situation in PNG, with urgency, compassion, and resolve.”