Follow today’s news liveAnywhere but Canberra: Australian voters on what matters to themInteractive guide to electorates in the Australian electionListen to the first episode of our new narrative podcast series: GinaSee all our Australian election 2025 coverageGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastTrump says tariffs to be placed on pharmaceuticalsTrump says he’ll be putting in place reciprocal tariffs on pharmaceuticals, at half the rate “they have been charging us”.Australia … they’re wonderful people, and wonderful everything, but they ban American beef. Yet we imported $3bn of Australian beef from them just last year alone. They won’t take any of our beef. They don’t want it because they don’t want it to affect their farmers and, you know, I don’t blame them but we’re doing the same thing, right now starting at midnight tonight, I would say. Continue reading…Follow today’s news liveAnywhere but Canberra: Australian voters on what matters to themInteractive guide to electorates in the Australian electionListen to the first episode of our new narrative podcast series: GinaSee all our Australian election 2025 coverageGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastTrump says tariffs to be placed on pharmaceuticalsTrump says he’ll be putting in place reciprocal tariffs on pharmaceuticals, at half the rate “they have been charging us”.Australia … they’re wonderful people, and wonderful everything, but they ban American beef. Yet we imported $3bn of Australian beef from them just last year alone. They won’t take any of our beef. They don’t want it because they don’t want it to affect their farmers and, you know, I don’t blame them but we’re doing the same thing, right now starting at midnight tonight, I would say. Continue reading…
Just back to Anthony Albanese’s speech at the Mining and Energy Union conference in the Hunter this afternoon:
After delivering the speech, Albanese appeared to stumble on stage, prompting gasps from the union members gathered in the room. He quickly recovered and appears OK.
He was also asked about this on ABC Newcastle radio just now, and said:
I stepped back one step. I didn’t fall off the stage … Just one leg went down, but I was sweet.
Wong responds to Keating’s suggestion that Trump tariffs signal end of NATO
Wrapping up the interview, Penny Wong was asked about comments from former PM Paul Keating that Donald Trump’s tariff announcement “represents the effective death knell of NATO”.
She said the government’s job was to “continue to seek strategic stability,” including Australia’s strategic partnership with the US and Aukus.
In relation to Nato, I think it is important to remember Nato is a very important contributor to global peace and stability. There is no doubt we live in an uncertain world … a world where we see more conflict and frankly more division. Our job, from Australia’s perspective, is to be a voice for continued engagement, continued strategic stability, because that underpins peace.
Are those institutions still in good health? Wong answered:
I do not believe suggesting that they are ending is in Australia’s interest.
Wong says direct negotiation over tariffs preferable to WTO
Asked about whether Australia might take the US to the World Trade Organization over the latest tariffs, Penny Wong said the government’s preference was to negotiate directly:
We have dispute resolution mechanisms available to us, both within the free-trade agreement and at the WTO. Our preference is to negotiate directly and to try to resolve this. That is what would like to do and what the government will be doing certainly if we are re-elected.
Should Australia revisit its restriction on US beef?
Penny Wong said Australia’s biosecurity decisions should be guided by science:
I want science the guide that process, it’s important for Australia and our industries and for our reputation that we ensure that our biosecurity is scientifically based.
Is the science still saying we must have this restrictions? Wong suggested it is:
As I understand – it is obviously not my portfolio – that process is not yet finalised to the extent that that position could be changed, and we certainly don’t propose to be compromising our bio security regime.
Wong says reciprocal tariffs would put costs on Australian consumers
Does Penny Wong think Australia can live with a 10% tariff, because getting out of it might be too costly for our country?
She told host Patricia Karlevas that “I don’t agree with how you have put that”.
Let’s remember tariffs are paid by the US consumer, ultimately. That is where the cost of tariffs fall. That is why we are not going down the path of reciprocal tariffs – that is putting Australian tariffs on because we know that would be making Australian consumers pay the price of this difference of views on a trade.
Wong said Australia would “continue to put our view very clearly” to the US and “diversify our economic relationships”.
Wong says defence relationship with US important ‘regardless of disagreements on economic policy’
Asked about Australia’s defence relationship with the US amid the tariff announcements, and whether Pine Gap should play a role in any negotiations, Penny Wong responded:
I think it’s very important that we continue to preserve and protect our strategic relationship and our institutional relationship with the United States.
The foreign affairs minister said she was “surprised that Peter Dutton would be so reckless as to suggest a different approach.”
We think it is important to remember the US administration, regardless of our disagreements on economic policy, we have a very important strategic relationship with them and we have had for decades. We have a very important relationship when it comes to Aukus and we are pleased with the continued and bipartisan support for Aukus.
Wong says Dutton ‘so arrogant as to be delusional’ with claims he could have achieved different tariff outcome
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says that “no country is in a better position than Australia” after today’s tariff announcements from the United States.
Speaking with ABC’s Afternoon Briefing just now, she said:
As the prime minister has made clear, we believe these tariffs are unwarranted – certainly inconsistent with the free trade agreement – and they go against the spirit of the friendship between our two countries.
But Wong said that “unlike [Peter] Dutton, we don’t want a deal at any cost”, and took aim at him as being “so arrogant as to be delusional”.
He seriously thinks he uniquely, amongst all leaders in the world, could have got a better deal. The reality is this is the decision president Trump and his administration have made. It is central to their political and economic strategy. We disagree with it for the reasons the prime minister has outlined.
Impact on American consumers from Trump’s tariffs
As the rest of the world chews on the bitter tariff stew served up this morning, spare a thought for American households – the very ones Trump is claiming he’s there to “make wealthy again”.
The average American will be $US3,800 ($6,000) worse off this year thanks to Trump’s tariff policies, according to Yale University’s recently created thinktank, The Budget Lab.
The poorest Americans will be hit the hardest in the short-term as taxes on imports push prices higher.
Clothing costs are anticipated to soar by 17%. The lowest income households will suffer a 4% drop in disposable income, versus a 1.6% drop for the wealthiest.
The US’s average effective tariff rate will reach 22.5% thanks to “liberation day”, or the highest since 1909, according to the new analysis.
The American economy will be nearly 1% smaller in 2025 thanks to the accumulated levies announced since Trump came to power, and most of that prospective damage is thanks to what was revealed today.
And US GDP will be permanently lower by 0.4%.
Before we feel too sorry for the US, its northern neighbour, Canada, will fare far worse: its economy will be 2% smaller in the long run.
Murray Watt dismisses Dutton’s IR climbdown
The workplace relations minister, Murray Watt, has just responded to news Peter Dutton has ruled out repealing “same job, same pay” laws.
Speaking to reporters after Anthony Albanese’s speech to the Mining and Energy Union conference, Watt said:
If you believe Peter Dutton on ‘same job, same pay’, I’ve got a mine shaft to sell you. Peter Dutton and his colleagues voted against the ‘same job, same pay’ laws. They called it at the time unAustralian and dangerous, they said the laws would close down Australia.
Does anyone really believe they are going to change position from that to all of a sudden start reporting it?
The Australian Electoral Commission has cleared podcast host Abbie Chatfield of any wrongdoing and said a review of her content has found it “does not require an authorisation statement”.
Liberal senators had raised concerns about some of the podcaster’s podcasts and material shared on social media, questioning whether it should have been classed as electoral material, which would require an official authorisation statement.
Anthony Albanese and Adam Bandt have both appeared on Chatfield’s podcast in recent weeks. Clips of the interviews were shared on both politician’s social media accounts. Chatfield has separately encouraged her followers to put the Liberal party last on ballot papers.
In a statement, an AEC spokesperson said that while the podcasts “could be viewed as being made for purpose of influencing how someone casts their vote, there is no evidence that there was a monetary benefit for the podcaster as a result of either Albanese or Bandt being invited onto the show”.
It appears that the invitations to Albanese or Bandt to participate were voluntary. In addition, questions put to both interviewees were sourced from the podcast’s audience. There is no evidence that either Albanese or Bandt had creative control in relation to the questions that were asked.
As such, the AEC is not satisfied that the episodes of Ms Chatfield’s podcasts on 21 February 2025 and 11 March 2025 could be considered to be paid advertising or to be communicated by or on behalf of a candidate or party. This content does not require an authorisation.
The AEC is making the outcome of this review public out of fairness to Ms Chatfield given the media coverage of the issue to date.
Just back to Anthony Albanese’s speech at the Mining and Energy Union conference in the Hunter this afternoon:
After delivering the speech, Albanese appeared to stumble on stage, prompting gasps from the union members gathered in the room. He quickly recovered and appears OK.
He was also asked about this on ABC Newcastle radio just now, and said:
I stepped back one step. I didn’t fall off the stage … Just one leg went down, but I was sweet.
PM on fast rail between Newcastle and Sydney: ‘We’re going through the business case’
Asked if there will there be money in the campaign for fast rail between Newcastle and Sydney, Anthony Albanese said that work was under way.
We’ve already begun that process. We’ve established the office in Newcastle here. We think it’s an exciting proposal. I’ve been a long term supporter of it. The work is being undertaken as we speak, and we’ve already provided funding in the budget.
In terms of how soon the high-speed rail could be in place, the prime minister didn’t specify, answering:
We’re going through the business case and going through those processes.
Albanese responds to climate protestors who crashed his press conference
Anthony Albanese also weighed in on the climate protestors that crashed his press conference in Maitland today, and said:
I think that people screaming in a hospital ward says more about them than advancing their cause. Frankly, I thought it’s [an] entirely inappropriate setting for a couple of people to pose as journalists …
Albanese speaks to local radio in Newcastle about job transition for mining workers
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking with ABC Newcastle this afternoon, declaring he “certainly” still sees the Hunter as a Labor heartland.
Asked if he has lost track with local voters, with a number of local seats considered marginal, Albanese disagreed:
Of course, Newcastle … [has] been represented by the Liberal party at various times. And when people have done that, they’ve come back to Labor pretty quickly, because it’s only Labor that will stand up for values.
He was also asked about community concern over the closure of coal mines and the transition for workers, and pointed to the net zero authority “to make sure that communities aren’t left behind”.
They’ll help by making sure that we have new jobs created, in addition to support for existing jobs that will be around for some time – but we want new industries to come to the Hunter.
Good afternoon! Emily Wind here, I’ll be taking you through the rest of today’s news.
That’s it from me today, thank you for following me along on the blog.
It’s been a huge day, with plenty of reaction to Trump’s announcement on tariffs, and the fabulous Emily Wind will be able to bring you all the rest on that issue and what’s happening on the election trail this afternoon.
I’ll catch you all bright and early tomorrow morning!
‘Same job, same pay’ laws on ballot at election, Albanese says
Anthony Albanese is delivering a speech about Labor’s “same job, same pay” laws to a Mining and Energy Union conference in the seat of Hunter, the heart of NSW coal country.
For those unfamiliar, the laws came into force last year allowing labour-hire workers to apply to be paid the same amount as directly employed staff doing the same job.
Unions in industries including mining and aviation are already capitalising on the new bargaining tool to negotiate pay rises for their workers.
The Coalition opposed the laws in federal parliament and vowed to review them if it won election.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, seemingly walked back that position on Thursday after responding “we’re not going to” when asked if a Coalition government would reverse the legislation.
In his speech to the union conference (almost certainly written before Dutton’s comments), Albanese said the laws were “on the ballot paper” at the 3 May federal election.
They are promising to abolish Same Job, Same Pay. To take away all those pay rises that workers have earned. Ripping money out of people’s pockets – and out of communities. Whether it’s your Medicare, your wages or your conditions ….
Albanese entered the packed conference room to a standing ovation from union members, before posing for a selfie with the Hunter MP, Dan Repacholi.
A report from progressive think tank the McKell Institute, published on Thursday, estimated the “same job, same pay” laws would deliver a wages boost of up to $920.3m each year to workers in industries such as mining, aviation and retail.
Uninhabited islands tariffed
If you also thought it was a little strange that Norfolk Island (a tiny island that is part of Australian territory) had been included in Trump’s tariffs, well the uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands have also been captured.
How? Why? Kate Lyons and Nick Evershed have the details here:
Jumping out of the campaign and back to Kim Williams at the Melbourne Press Club …
Williams has responded to comments made by Peter Dutton this week where he refused to rule out cuts to the ABC, saying the public broadcaster would need to demonstrate efficiency and excellence:
Williams says a “well-resourced ABC has never been more important”:
I don’t think the ABC has anything to apologise for in its continuing quest for excellence and its continuing obligation to operate with efficiency.
Asked if he believes a Coalition government would initiate a review of the ABC, Williams replies: “no doubt about it”.
Climate action group Rising Tide says it was its protesters who crashed Anthony Albanese’s media conference a short time ago.
The group started in Newcastle, NSW, around the Hunter region, and have been pushing to end all coal exports from Newcastle by 2030.
Rising Tide activists have also recently crashed the press conferences of Peter Dutton, Angus Taylor and Jim Chalmers.
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