News and politics live updates: Chalmers warns One Nation, Coalition super plans would ‘decimate’ incomes

Japan’s visiting Defence Minister says Tokyo has accepted Australia’s explanation for Anthony Albanese’s “melons” remarks, and he did not discuss the controversy during a meeting with the Prime Minister in Canberra on Tuesday.

Mr Albanese has resisted repeated calls to apologise to his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi following crass comments made abot the female leader’s “strange” gift of two prized melons.

Minister Koizumi, who was in Canberra for talks with Defence Minister Richard Marles, said the matter didn’t come up in a meeting with Mr Albanese at Parliament House.

“There was not such a discussion today,” the Japanese Defence Minister told reporters.

“Before I visited Australia, the Australian side had already told the Japanese side that Mr Albanese actually said … he did not really mean it that way.”

Defence Minister Richard Marles has confirmed Australia and Japan are moving towards a major new defence arrangement that could see Japan use Australian missile ranges to test advanced weapons, including its hypersonic missile program.

Following talks with Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, Marles said the countries were also strengthening information sharing between their defence forces, while Australia’s acquisition of Japan’s Mogami-class frigates was progressing, with the first expected to enter service this decade, “Making it one of the fastest acquisitions of a surface combatant in the Royal Australian Navy in our history.”

Mr Marles also revealed negotiations were advancing on greater Japanese access to Australian testing facilities.

“We have agreed to progress a better and enhanced arrangement between Australia and Japan for Japan’s use of our missile ranges over the next decade across a range of missile capabilities, including Japan’s hypersonic missile program,” he says.

Mr Koizumi described the prospect of testing missiles in Australia as a “groundbreaking development” and “Second only to similar cooperation with the United States.”

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has dubbed the Opposition leader “Angus ‘Toto’ Taylor”, insisting during gambling reform negotiations that he rolled at Anthony Albanese’s feet for a belly rub like the PM’s beloved cavoodle.

Speaking after news Labor and Coalition have carved out a deal on the reforms after a number of compromises, Senator Hanson didn’t hold back on her criticism.

She insisted the reforms didn’t go far enough as the 2023 landmark 2023 “You Win Some, You Lose More” parliamentary report had recommended and that the Bill was “riddled with holes”.

Senator Hanson-Young also accused gambling lobby groups of having “their mitts all over” the deal to ensure “little ‘Toto’ Taylor does the right thing”.

“This bill has been written by the gambling lobby,” she told a Canberra press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

“Do you know who’s happy about these laws passing this week? The gambling companies.

“The gambling companies are getting what they want. They are able to continue to advertise online, to advertise on our television screens, to advertise during sport.

“The whole bill is a dog, and it’s now become a dog’s breakfast.

“Angus Taylor has been weak. He’s rolled over and he’s yapping like Toto the dog.

“Let’s be clear: this is not reform. This is a protection racket for an industry that has lost its social license.”

The Greens will present amendments to the bill in the Senate but the Coalition have resolved to help Labor pass the legislation by Monday evening.

Anthony Albanese has insisted that his gambling overhaul go far enough despite concerns it’s a drastically watered down result of a landmark 2023 report by the late Peta Murphy called “You win some you lose more”.

During a speech to the House on Tuesday afternoon, the Prime Minister said his reforms would minimise harm to children and vulnerable gamblers, introduce tougher broadcast and digital rules, and ramp up enforcement on illegal gambling.

“This new legislation is the most significant gambling advertising reform by any Australian government ever. It increases protections for people most at risk of gambling harm, while continuing to allow those who enjoy a bet to do so,” he said.

The PM thanked the Coalition after lengthy negotiations.

In his speech, he explained that the legislation would ban gambling ads during children-focused broadcasts and prohibit celebrity endorsements, venue ads, and gambling sponsorship logos on team jerseys.

He also spoke to the opt-out register for gambling ads to complement BetStop with Anika Wells raised in the House yesterday.

Three Coalition members will reserve the right to vote on gambling reforms after Opposition leader Angus Taylor struck a deal with Anthony Albanese to get the long-awaited overhaul passed.

It’s been revealed after a marathon joint-party room on Tuesday morning that some members, across the House and Senate, didn’t believe the amendments went far enough.

After Mr Taylor took his deal with Labor to shadow ministry on Monday night and following backbench committees, it had been taken to the partyroom for endorsement.

In the room, six people had raised that they would like the reform to be stronger and three asked for the relevant minister to clarify what had been agreed to.

As part of the negotiations with the PM, the Opposition also agreed to reforms to the ballooning NDIS after Labor compromised over a so-called “widow’s tax” included in Federal Budget changes to Capital Gains Tax and negative gearing.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is insisting rents will still only increase by $2 a week despite a major bank forecasting increases of up to 30 per cent to compensate for landlords no longer being able to negatively gear their properties.

National Australia Bank is forecasting that rents in Sydney and Melbourne could increase by 25 to 30 per cent over two years as a result of Labor’s Budget restricting negative gearing to brand new homes from July next year, if they were exchanged after May 12.

Despite those forecasts, Dr Chalmers is sticking by Treasury’s Budget prediction that rents would only increase by $2 a week for a household paying the median rent.

“Well, we haven’t changed the expectations that we printed in the Budget, and that’s for a very simple reason,” he told Sunrise host Natalie Barr on Tuesday.

Dr Chalmers noted NAB’s forecasts didn’t take into account the grandfather provisions for landlords, who would be able to continue to negatively gear their properties if they owned them before Budget night.

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Liberal frontbencher Julian Leeser has attempted to suspend standing orders in the House of Representatives to push for an extension of the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion established following the Bondi Beach terror attack. His motion argues “many significant” Australian voices have not yet been heard, including university leaders, senior arts and cultural figures, activists, public servants, ministers and representatives from the Australian Human Rights Commission.

“There will not be another opportunity like this one. Through you, Speaker, I say: Prime Minister, the royal commission cuts its cloth to the measurements you provide. It needs more time. It needs the terms of reference to hold more people to account,” Mr Leeser says.

“Give it the time and terms of reference it needs to do its job properly. Fifteen people were murdered on Bondi Beach. Their memory demands that we get this right”.

A controversial so-called “widow’s tax” will be removed from the government’s changes to negative gearing as Labor pushes to also pass its gambling overhaul by the end of the day.

The government and opposition have also agreed to several amendments in an overhaul of gambling regulations, with voting expected to be finished on the package this evening.

Leader of the House Tony Burke has outlined a strict 5:30pm (Canberra time) deadline will be set to force votes on all remaining amendments to the laws, ensuring they pass the House by 6:30pm.

The government has also separately agreed to axe its so-called “widow’s tax”, an unintended consequences of its May tax changes.

The government is closing in on a deal to pass long-awaited gambling reform, with party rooms meetings in Parliament on Tuesday expected to review and progress debate.

A report published on Monday evening from an explosive two-day Senate inquiry into the gambling reforms has recommended that the Senate pass the changes.

The overhaul comes after a 2023 report by the late Peta Murphy called “You win some you lose more”, which Anthony Albanese responded to with a string of proposed reforms in April 2026 at a National Press Club address.

Labor, however, faced criticism from the Coalition, Greens and crossbench who had said they didn’t go far enough.

Mr Albanese has since held several personal meetings with Opposition leader Angus Taylor to try to strike a deal, with targeted inducements and online gambling ads key sticking points.

Inducements can include VIP perks, bonus bets, boosted odds and sign up bonuses and were a key discussion point during the Senate inquiry after former NRL player Luke Bateman said he had been offered drugs by waging groups to keep him betting.

Several participants in the inquiry raised concerns over the “predatory” nature of the wagering industry, including reduction researchers claiming it is one of the most effective drivers of compulsive gambling.

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Treasurer Jim Chalmers has opened the door to fast-tracking a fix to the so-called “widows’ tax” as the Coalition threatens to block Labor’s $30 billion NDIS overhaul unless the issue is resolved this week.

The Government has been working to close a loophole in its tax changes affecting grandfathered negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions when properties are inherited or transferred following death or divorce.

“If the opposition’s main ask is that we pass the government’s legislation quicker, then obviously I’m up for that discussion,” Dr Chalmers told reporters at Parliament House.

He said no objections had been raised to the draft legislation released last week, potentially clearing the way for the fix to be brought forward as Labor seeks the Senate support needed to pass its NDIS reforms.