ABC managing director apologises for Antoinette Lattouf’s removal
Amanda Meade
ABC managing director Hugh Marks has apologised for the ABC’s handling of Antoinette Lattouf’s employment and for the distress it caused her:
We regret how the decision to remove Ms Lattouf from air was handled and the distress occasioned her. We extend our sincere apologies to Ms Lattouf and wish her well in her future endeavours.
He was responding to a federal court judgment today that found the ABC breached the Fair Work Act when it terminated casual broadcaster Lattouf for reasons including that she held a political opinion opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
Marks, who was not working for the ABC in 2023 when Lattouf was taken off air, said the matter was not handled in line with ABC values and expectations.
He said:
We also let down our staff and audiences, and this failure has caused understandable concern among the public and inside the organisation.
This matter has caused concerns to be expressed about the ABC’s independence and integrity, which are critical to the great trust the Australian public places in us. Any undue influence or pressure on ABC management or any of its employees must always be guarded against.
Concerns were also raised about the ABC’s handling of race and political views. I wish to emphasise the ABC’s absolute commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion at all levels of the organisation, to addressing racism and discrimination of all kinds, and to accurate and impartial journalism.
Due to confusion expressed about the Personal Use of Social Media Guidelines, which was canvassed during the case, these have been reviewed and will be replaced with new Public Comment Guidelines. We will talk more this about in coming weeks.
I wish to stress the particular and fundamental obligations the ABC and its employees have to be independent and impartial in our work to ensure we continue to earn the trust of all Australians. Those obligations don’t change as a result of this decision.
Key events
Josh Taylor
Prime minister’s department scales back permitted use of Signal
The prime minister’s department has ended staff’s permitted use of the encrypted messaging app Signal for official communications, documents obtained by Guardian Australia reveal.
The app, known for its privacy and disappearing messages features, was in the spotlight earlier this year after the global fallout from revelations that top US officials discussed operational details of a plan to strike Yemen in a Signal group chat that accidentally included the Atlantic’s editor Jeffrey Goldberg.
PM&C advice to staff in 2023 had said that it was “preferred that staff use the Signal app” over other platforms like WhatsApp for official communication, but it was not endorsed. But in new advice issued in mid-2024, provided to Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws this month, this permitted use had ended, and staff were advised to instead use Microsoft Teams. The advice states:
Signal is an app that was previously permitted to transmit and send some classified information, however this app has been superseded by Teams and should no longer be used in an official capacity unless approval has been sought.
The policy also warns staff that Teams is meant for “small pieces of information or conducting brief, informal conversations” rather than official information or decision making, and the chats “may also be exposed during FOI requests”.
The policy comes in contrast to the home affairs department, which began allowing staff to use Signal in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Two in police custody after reported 50-person brawl at Sydney construction site
NSW Police have two men in custody after a reported brawl at a construction site in the city’s west yesterday. Police initially said they were called to the city’s Castle Hill suburb around 7am Tuesday for a reported brawl involving up to 50 people.
Most of the group dispersed before police arrived, but police say they were told the fight involved two groups of people. Two men, aged 43 and 55, were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Officials said today two other men, aged 22 and 44, were arrested at Castle Hill Police Station around 11am. No charges have been laid.
Police are appealing for more information to identify any others who may be able to assist with their investigations.
Josh Butler
Albanese says he will visit China this year and hopes to meet Xi
Returning to an earlier press conference from Anthony Albanese, the PM has confirmed he plans to head to China later this year and expects to meet president Xi Jinping. Albanese also said he was expecting to travel to the US as well, but didn’t say if or when he might meet Donald Trump.
Speaking in Tasmania, the prime minister was asked about a report that he might visit Beijing before he visits Washington DC. He responded:
No, it’s true that I will be travelling to China later this year. We are waiting for a confirmation of a visit to the United States as well. I was in the United States last week, so it’s not true that I’m going to China before the United States. I was there in Seattle and making a very important announcement.
Asked if he hoped to meet Xi, Albanese replied: “yes.”
More broadly, the PM was unable to say whether further repatriation flights could be run from Iran to Australia. He said the situation remained volatile in the region.
“Our hope is that Australians are kept safe. So, at the moment there are of course not flights out of Iran. Overnight we were able to have, 118 Australians have been airlifted out of Tel Aviv on a Royal Australian Air Force flight. We think that is very good news. We will always prioritise the safety of Australians”, he said.
‘We got smashed.’ Sussan Ley reflects on Liberal party’s historic election defeat – video
ABC managing director says Lattouf case not a good use of taxpayers’ money
Hugh Marks, the ABC’s managing director, just appeared on the public broadcaster to discuss the Antoinette Lattouf case, saying it would have been “ideal if this did not go to court”.
Marks said:
In the scheme of things, compared to what else is happening in the world at the moment, we need to reflect on the importance of this, so it would have been better if it settled, but we weren’t able to get to this outcome.
Marks reiterated the ABC’s apology and said he regretted the way Lattouf’s termination was handled. He added:
I think there were opportunities, I would say, early on, to address this matter and they weren’t taken. As I said, once it got to a certain point, I suspect that, you know, that decision was too late but no, it’s certainly not a good use of our funds.
Commonwealth Bank predicts July rate cut after inflation data
Luca Ittimani
Commonwealth Bank has predicted the Reserve Bank will cut interest rates in July, faster than it had previously expected after price rises continued to moderate in May. Inflation in the year to May was just 2.1% on a headline basis and 2.4% on the trimmed mean measure watched by the RBA, data earlier today showed.
Belinda Allen, a Commonwealth Bank economist, said that would be enough to confirm a July cut, with inflation “the final green light to change our call” after weak economic activity and worsening business pessimism. She wrote in a note:
Today’s [figures] capped off a flow of data that should provide comfort to the RBA that a swifter return of the cash rate to neutral is both manageable and needed.
The Reserve Bank could then deliver another cut in August, Allen said. Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s largest bank, had previously expected the RBA would wait to cut in August, then September.
But Allen warned the July cut decision would be “a close one,” with the RBA to balance low unemployment and fading tariff against low inflation and sagging economic activity, amid widespread household and business pessimism.
Whenever the two cuts come, CommBank expects the RBA will then watch to see if a third cut is needed in late 2025 or early 2026, depending on whether business and household spending pick up or global disruption worsens.
Before today’s inflation data release, NAB was the only big bank predicting a July cut, to be followed by one each in August and November. ANZ and Westpac both expected the RBA to wait until August.
Caitlin Cassidy
Number of Australians beginning degrees increases, data shows
The number of Australians commencing degrees – outside of the pandemic – has reached record highs, new federal government data shows.
The data, released Wednesday, shows 390,000 domestic students began a degree in 2024 – a 3.7% increase on 2023. Early year-to-date figures for 2025 suggest commencements have increased by another 3% compared to 2024.
Taking out the two Covid years, when an unusually high number of students began degrees, it is the highest figure on record.
The minister for education, Jason Clare, said the Universities Accord, handed down last year, set a target for 80% of workers to have a Tafe or university qualification by 2050 – a projection critiqued by some higher education experts including Andrew Norton. In 2024, 33% of people aged 15-74 held a bachelor degree or above.
Clare said to hit the 80% target, the government needed to “break down that invisible barrier that stops a lot of Australians from disadvantaged backgrounds, from the regions and the outer suburbs from getting a crack at uni and succeeding when they get there”.
He went on:
That requires reform across the entire education system. That’s what the fully funding of our public schools is about. It’s also what the new funding system for our universities, that will roll out next year, is about.
ABC managing director apologises for Antoinette Lattouf’s removal
Amanda Meade
ABC managing director Hugh Marks has apologised for the ABC’s handling of Antoinette Lattouf’s employment and for the distress it caused her:
We regret how the decision to remove Ms Lattouf from air was handled and the distress occasioned her. We extend our sincere apologies to Ms Lattouf and wish her well in her future endeavours.
He was responding to a federal court judgment today that found the ABC breached the Fair Work Act when it terminated casual broadcaster Lattouf for reasons including that she held a political opinion opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
Marks, who was not working for the ABC in 2023 when Lattouf was taken off air, said the matter was not handled in line with ABC values and expectations.
He said:
We also let down our staff and audiences, and this failure has caused understandable concern among the public and inside the organisation.
This matter has caused concerns to be expressed about the ABC’s independence and integrity, which are critical to the great trust the Australian public places in us. Any undue influence or pressure on ABC management or any of its employees must always be guarded against.
Concerns were also raised about the ABC’s handling of race and political views. I wish to emphasise the ABC’s absolute commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion at all levels of the organisation, to addressing racism and discrimination of all kinds, and to accurate and impartial journalism.
Due to confusion expressed about the Personal Use of Social Media Guidelines, which was canvassed during the case, these have been reviewed and will be replaced with new Public Comment Guidelines. We will talk more this about in coming weeks.
I wish to stress the particular and fundamental obligations the ABC and its employees have to be independent and impartial in our work to ensure we continue to earn the trust of all Australians. Those obligations don’t change as a result of this decision.
Ley says Coalition will be ‘constructive’ at times, critical when needed
Ley was asked at the National Press Club about Peter Dutton’s “muscular” opposition while he was the leader of the Coalition and if she planned to be more constructive in her dealings with the Labor party. She said:
We’ll be constructive where there’s something to be constructive about. If there is a place to be constructive, then we will be. If there’s something that comes before the parliament that is deserving of criticism, we won’t hesitate.
I said today I stand ready to support the prime minister on initiatives around family and domestic violence and technologies with children. I have demonstrated already my approach is there are times when we do need to be constructive. And you’ll see that from me.
Ed Husic says Antoinette Lattouf was ‘treated terribly’
Labor MP Ed Husic celebrated broadcaster Antoinette Lattouf’s win in her unlawful termination case against the ABC. In a post on Instagram, Husic had this to say:
Good. Antoinette was treated terribly. #justice
Ley says election outcome reflects ‘deep and growing disconnect’ between Liberal party and voters
Ley told the National Press Club she plans to work with every division to better represent voters as the Liberal party lays the groundwork for the next federal election, including preselecting more women. She said of the election results:
These numbers reflect a deep and growing disconnect. We respect the election outcome with humility. We accept it with contrition. And we must learn from it with conviction …
The Australian people need a strong and effective alternative to vote for at the next election. Our first step is to listen, so we properly understand how we can improve.
NT police offer $500,000 reward to find Peter Falconio’s body
Caitlin Cassidy
Northern Territory police have offered a $500,000 reward for information that leads to the discovery of the remains of Peter Falconio, who died in the early 2000s.
Falconio, a 28-year-old British backpacker, was travelling Australia with his girlfriend, Joanna Lees, when he was shot in the head on a remote stretch of highway 10km north of Barrow Creek in July 2001. Lees managed to escape and hide in bushland.
Bradley John Murdoch was convicted of murder and attempted kidnapping in 2005 and sentenced to life imprisonment but has never revealed the location of his body.
NT police’s acting commander Mark Grieve told reporters on Wednesday the body of Falconio had never been located, despite “continued efforts” by police to pursue any viable information or leads.
The NT police still hold out hope that someone may be able to provide some vital information to assist in this search, and as such, a fresh reward for information is now on offer of up to $500,000 for information that leads to the discovery of Peter’s body in what will be the 24th anniversary of this death … next month.
Grieve said police had interviewed Murdoch in recent weeks and made “numerous approaches” over the years to no avail.
Sussan Ley says Liberals didn’t just lose, ‘we got smashed’
Sussan Ley is speaking at the National Press Club and addressed the Liberal party’s widespread losses during the federal election.
The opposition leader said:
We didn’t just lose. We got smashed. Totally smashed.
What we, as the Liberal party, presented to the Australian people was comprehensively rejected. The scale of that defeat, its size and significance, is not lost on me, nor any one of my parliamentary team sitting here today. It was devastating for our parliamentary colleagues, our party members, our supporters and voters across the country.
Josh Butler
Chalmers had ‘very productive’ chat with US treasury secretary, spoke about tariffs
Chalmers said he had a “very productive conversation” with his American counterpart Scott Bessent this morning, with a phone call touching on trade and tariffs issues, as well as critical minerals and tax. Chalmers, in a press conference in Brisbane, said he’d spoken to Bessent, the United States secretary of the treasury, bringing up Donald Trump’s tariffs on Australian goods:
This was a very positive discussion. We were able to cover a whole range of issues, the critical minerals market around the world, some of the challenging tax issues, including some issues before the US Congress, and also, of course, I made our case once again when it comes to trade and tariffs and these escalating trade tensions around the world.
I’m very grateful for the time that we were able to spend together on the phone today talking about critical minerals, international tax and also trade and tariffs at the same time.
Chalmers said it was his third conversation with Bessent, noting Australian investors were worried about volatility in the US, including in regards to superannuation funds and American legislative change – and forecast some “good developments” on these issues in coming days. Chalmers said:
I’ve engaged a lot with Australian investors over the course of the last couple of weeks on their concerns. I was able to represent them and raise their concerns directly with Treasury Secretary Bessent, and I know that the Treasury Secretary is very focused on these issues as well.
We hope that they can be resolved. We do not want to see our investors and our funds unfairly treated or disadvantaged when it comes to developments out of the US Congress and again, I’m very grateful to Scott Besant for hearing me out and for also undertaking to make what progress he can to try and resolve these issues.