Ley says cost of net zero ‘looks too high’ as she sidesteps question on climate ructions
Benita Kolovos
Kieran Rooney from the Age asks: “How does net zero fit into your economic vision and does it undermine your leadership when your Coalition colleagues come out with such a strong position on the issue?
Ley replies:
I’m pleased to get a question on energy, because it is one of the factors of productivity in this country that is dragging our economy backwards. And that’s something that my colleagues and I agree with wholeheartedly, which is what I’ve said, and others have said, we will not have net zero at any cost, because the cost can be too high. And right now it looks like the cost is too high when you consider what this government is about to do with its Paris targets. Let’s hold that conversation until they actually make their announcement.
She says the party’s policy is being led by Dan Tehan, with input from Ted O’Brien and others:
So our energy policy, more broadly, will be underpinned by two fundamental themes: that we must have a stable, reliable energy grid to deliver affordable energy for households and businesses, and that we will play our role in reducing emissions in a responsible and transparent way.
Lily McCaffrey from the Australian asks if Andrew Hastie crosses the floor on Barnaby Joyce’s net zero repeal deal, what’s going to happen? She also asks if it’s becoming clear that she’ll have to ditch or modify net zero by 2050.
Ley replies:
Every day, I get another different set of hypotheticals about a whole range of discussions that you might see in the media. So I’ll simply say this, the shadow cabinet when we meet and discuss energy will do so with the passion and the determination that I described in my previous answer about backing in Australians, their industries and their future, and I can extend that to the broader party room.
And note too that all of my colleagues are participating in the discussion on energy right now, as they should. And I love it when people have strong views and express them, because they’re coming from the people they’re listening to from all corners of this country, you get the best possible outcome in decision-making, when you harness those ideas and you listen closely.
Key events
Failure to sign defence treaty not a backward step, pacific minister says
Pat Conroy, the minister for pacific affairs, has tried to tamp down any suggestions the failure to sign a defence treaty with Papua New Guinea is a backward step for Australia’s strategic plans in the region.
His comments largely mirrored those of the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, about the treaty.
Conroy told the ABC:
We have been open and transparent. We hit a logistical delay. The Cabinet of PNG was scheduled to consider the treaty on Monday.
Unfortunately most of their ministers had left Port Moresby to go to their home provinces to celebrate Independence Day and that meant they did not have a quorum to consider the treaty so this is a process delay rather than anything else and we had both prime ministers standing up today saying the words are agreed and first alliance in over 70 years will be soon signed and coming into force which will bring the people of PNG and Australia closer with a shared security future.
Today is a good day for Australia’s security and a good day for the Pacific.
Conroy added that he was “not at all” concerned that the PNG defence minister would be meeting with defence officials in China who could undermine the agreement.
We go through our process of briefing countries close to us about agreements like this, so I think it is an entirely sensible course of action for Defence Minister Joseph to brief other countries about why PNG is entering into this treaty.
Hobart stadium cost blows out by $185m but premier vows he won’t give up
The Tasmanian premier has confirmed the price tag for Hobart’s new stadium has blown out by $185m, while claiming the state’s planning commission also underestimated the social and economic benefits of the development.
Jeremy Rockliff was speaking to reporters after the Tasmanian Planning Commission concluded that the benefits of the stadium at Macquarie Point in Hobart were outweighed by its social, environmental and financial costs. According to AAP, he said:
I am not going to give up on this project.
You cannot put a value on keeping young people in Tasmania and building hope and aspiration.
Petra Stock
North Queensland towns receive up to five times their average rain for September in one week
The wet season in North Queensland usually begins in October, but areas around Cairns have seen “quite incredible rainfall totals” this week, with some recording five times their average monthly rain.
Jonathan How, a senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said in the 24 hours to 9am Wednesday there had been extensive falls of between 50 and 150mm across the coast between Daintree and Tully, including Cairns.
Significant falls in the 24 hours to 9am Wednesday included:
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Topaz, just inland from Innisfail: 379mm
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Daintree Village, up the road from Cairns: 279mm
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Bairds, just south of the Daintree: 235mm
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Cairns racecourse: 96mm
In the week to Wednesday, some places had already received five times their average monthly totals for September, How said.
In the seven days to 9am Wednesday, Topaz had received 569mm (compared to an average of 106mm), Daintree Village 382mm, Innisfail 224mm and Cairns 122mm. September averages usually range between 20 and 100mm, How said.
We are still stuck in this weather pattern where we’re still seeing these south-easterly winds push a lot of moisture on to the coast.
We will still see plenty of showers sticking around the region over the next few days. Still can’t rule out the possibility of heavy falls, but things do start to dry out over the weekend.
But these sort of rainfall figures have, not surprisingly, led to some river rises.
Minor flood warnings were in place for the Daintree, Mossman, Mulgrave and Russell rivers.
Jimmy Barnes and other musicians urge ANU to save music school
Caitlin Cassidy
Jimmy Barnes is among around three dozen high-profile musicians who have signed an open letter urging the Australian National University (ANU) to save its School of Music.
Under a draft plan released in July, ANU revealed plans to absorb the six-decade-old institution into the School of Creative and Cultural Practice and axe one-on-one instrumental lessons as part of the university’s restructure to cut $250m in costs.
Students at the music school have been holding continued protests against the flagged cuts, including overnight jam sessions.
Members of the newly formed School of Music Advocacy Roundtable penned the open letter on Wednesday in opposition to the decision. Excerpts of the letter read:
“If the proposed changes to the School of Music and the curriculum proceed, none of the students graduating will be employable as professional musicians.”
Cold Chisel frontman Barnes, You Am I’s Tim Rogers and Genesis Owusu were among the signatories.
An all-staff town hall will be held on Thursday by the interim vice-chancellor, Prof Rebekah Brown, to discuss the future of the university’s restructure.
BHP ‘unAustralian’, Queensland deputy premier says
Queensland’s deputy premier has labelled BHP “unAustralian” and defended the state’s mining royalties scheme after the mining giant blamed it for its decision to mothball a coalmine and cut hundreds of jobs while also reviewing the future of its training academy.
You can read more on that story here:
Luca Ittimani
Tasmanian premier ‘disappointed’ at school closures
Tasmania’s premier has said he is “very disappointed” after staff strikes closed 14 schools across the state on Wednesday.
School cleaners, grounds staff and kitchen assistants left work and rallied outside Parliament House in Hobart today, calling for improved working conditions, after years of rising workloads without an increase in staffing. The stop-work action forced about schools across the state to close their doors.
Amy Brumby, the Tasmania coordinator for the United Workers Union, said in a statement:
Members are rallying today to call for the immediate investment in [more] roles to match the reality of modern school operations and ensure student safety and educational standards can be maintained.
Tasmania’s premier, Jeremy Rockliff, told reporters:
I’m very disappointed at the school closures today. Parents and families are being disrupted and our young people are there to go to school and to learn.
Rockliff rejected responsibility for the closures and said he was confident continued negotiations would resolve the disputes, describing the government’s recent offer of a 3% pay rise to all state employees as “very strong”:
I’m a very big believer in supporting our facility attendants to be rewarded for the work that they do.
The Tasmanian government confirmed there was no indication that further school closures were expected. Negotiations are ongoing.
That’s all from me, Nino Bucci will take it from here. Take care, and enjoy your arvo.
Caitlin Cassidy
UTS’s teacher education program set to close as university reveals plan to slash more than 1,000 subjects
The University of Technology Sydney will close its teacher education program and public health school as part of a sweeping restructure that would remove more than 1,100 subjects to return the institution to surplus.
The proposed cuts, released on Wednesday, are part of the debt-ridden university’s strategy to reduce expenditure by $100m annually.
Under the proposal, the school of professional practice and leadership would be closed as part of a plan to reduce the total number of schools from 24 to 15, and the faculty of law, business school and transdisciplinary school would be combined.
Read more here:
Last squad of NSW RFS deployed in Canada return home after devastating wildfire season
The last contingent of NSW Rural Fire Service personnel arrived back in Australia after a long deployment aiding Canada with its wildfire season.
The agency said the returning personnel were now planning to enjoy “well deserved rest before the official start of bush fire danger period”.
This morning, the final contingent of #RFS personnel arrived home reuniting with their families after a long deployment assisting the Canadians with their wildfire season.
The returning personnel will enjoy well-deserved rest before the official start of bush fire danger period pic.twitter.com/r3fqxHKW9O— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) September 17, 2025
Canada saw one of its worst fire seasons on record, with scientists warning climate change was prolonging and exacerbating the burning. Thousands of fires across the country scorched more than 8.7m hectares of land, with officials warning last month the figures were Canada’s “new reality”.
Ley says cost of net zero ‘looks too high’ as she sidesteps question on climate ructions
Benita Kolovos
Kieran Rooney from the Age asks: “How does net zero fit into your economic vision and does it undermine your leadership when your Coalition colleagues come out with such a strong position on the issue?
Ley replies:
I’m pleased to get a question on energy, because it is one of the factors of productivity in this country that is dragging our economy backwards. And that’s something that my colleagues and I agree with wholeheartedly, which is what I’ve said, and others have said, we will not have net zero at any cost, because the cost can be too high. And right now it looks like the cost is too high when you consider what this government is about to do with its Paris targets. Let’s hold that conversation until they actually make their announcement.
She says the party’s policy is being led by Dan Tehan, with input from Ted O’Brien and others:
So our energy policy, more broadly, will be underpinned by two fundamental themes: that we must have a stable, reliable energy grid to deliver affordable energy for households and businesses, and that we will play our role in reducing emissions in a responsible and transparent way.
Lily McCaffrey from the Australian asks if Andrew Hastie crosses the floor on Barnaby Joyce’s net zero repeal deal, what’s going to happen? She also asks if it’s becoming clear that she’ll have to ditch or modify net zero by 2050.
Ley replies:
Every day, I get another different set of hypotheticals about a whole range of discussions that you might see in the media. So I’ll simply say this, the shadow cabinet when we meet and discuss energy will do so with the passion and the determination that I described in my previous answer about backing in Australians, their industries and their future, and I can extend that to the broader party room.
And note too that all of my colleagues are participating in the discussion on energy right now, as they should. And I love it when people have strong views and express them, because they’re coming from the people they’re listening to from all corners of this country, you get the best possible outcome in decision-making, when you harness those ideas and you listen closely.
Benita Kolovos
Ley is asked why politicians are struggling with big ideas to handle the big problems in the country. She quips that she’s not going to make a “political hit here about what I see on the government benches” as it would be “gratuitous”. She adds:
But I love big ideas. We all do – our party members do, my colleagues in the room do … obviously there are challenges around the political cycle. We all know that if you’ve got three-year elections, then that bumps into a lot of ongoing funding.
She says her colleagues are in the “policy process” stage with meetings every week:
As the term goes on, you’ll hear from them.
Benita Kolovos
Ley says government’s energy policy is a ‘train wreck’
Ley is asked how she would improve business confidence in Australia. She says she wants to see further domestic and international investment.
Ley goes on:
One thing I want to mention is environmental approvals, because we are lagging incredibly badly. For a typical gas project, I think the approval time has blown out to 500 days from 100 days … investors are going somewhere else, or they’re not extending where they are, or they’re downsizing. They’re not putting on those extra workers. So this government has completely taken its eye off the ball.
She also describes the government’s energy policy as a “train wreck”.
Benita Kolovos
Ley says she wants to bring Australians ‘with us’ on economic plans
The federal opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has concluded her first major economic speech at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia event in Melbourne and is now taking questions from the crowd.
Her first questions, though, are from the Ceda chief executive, Melinda Cilento, who asks her how she would balance her economic plans with the social compact.
Ley says she wants to “bring Australians with us on this journey”. She goes on:
It just seems like a whole lot of numbers and statistics but everyone [including] millennials or gen Z, they understand debt. They’ve got a student debt. They understand household debt when they can’t make that payment by the end of the fortnight.
They understand that perhaps they’re never going to be able to scrape up enough money for a deposit on the first home or any home.
So we need to frame the conversation so that we tell them that we understand what their lives are like, and we reassure them that the social compact about responsible budget management is about intergenerational equity.
Right now, every minute, $50,000 is spent on interest on the nation’s debt. And obviously people have got a lot of good ideas, but they all know that putting things on the credit card and then more things on the credit card is not the answer.
Jim Chalmers says Liberals run by ‘weird collection of cookers and crackpots’
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said earlier the “worst possible” thing for Australia to do would be to walk away from net zero commitments, adding a ding against the Liberal party amid the Coalition’s infighting over the emissions targets:
The Liberal party is run now by this weird collection of cookers and crackpots, and nowhere is that more obvious than when it comes to net zero …
These Liberals haven’t learned a thing. They haven’t changed a bit, they are as divided and divisive as they have ever been. You see that in their approach to net zero.
Read more here:
Nino Bucci
Police officer charged after Sydney ‘fare evasion’ arrest
A NSW police officer has been charged with assault after the arrest of a man who was reportedly seen jumping ticket barriers at Sydney’s Central station.
In a statement released on Wednesday morning, NSW police said that officers were patrolling the station on 27 May 2024 when a man was reportedly seen jumping ticket barriers.
The man ran from police and was chased, the force said, before he was arrested at Broadway.
Police said in the statement:
During the arrest, an officer deployed OC spray before further police attended and restrained the man.
Police commenced an internal investigation in relation to the incident.
A 36-year-old senior constable attached to a specialist command was issued with a court attendance notice for common assault, police said.
He is due to appear before Downing Centre local court on 23 October.
Police said “the officer is being managed in the workplace and his employment status is under review”.
Ley says Coalition would undertake an audit of government spending where ‘every dollar would be tested’
Ley is outlining the Coalition’s economic priorities, including reining in spending and accounting for every dollar going out of the government coffers.
She says:
Spending should only grow where it delivers real value, not just because the economy has grown. Every new dollar of spending would require a saving, a re-prioritisation or a reform that makes government leaner …
Every dollar would be tested. Is it delivering results? Does it reflect the core responsibilities of government? Can it be done more efficiently or not at all? This is not about mindless cuts, it is about smart choices and hard priorities.
‘Discipline is now essential,’ Ley says
Ley is calling for re-establishing “fundamental principles” that used to be “broadly accepted across politics”, saying the default should be about balanced budgets and restraining spending growth.
She says:
Discipline now is essential to ensure the economic legacy we hand to the next generation is stronger, not weaker.
She says part of that plan would be winding back welfare payments and creating a system of “targeted welfare to those who truly need it”.
Universal free everything might sound nice, but it drains resources from everyone.
Sussan Ley is delivering first major economic speech as opposition leader
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, is delivering her first major economic speech in Melbourne after signalling the Coalition plans to ramp up means-testing for welfare payments.
Read more from our preview here and follow along:
News Corp to run Jewish Council ads calling for sanctions on Israel
Daisy Dumas
News Corp says it is inaccurate to say a pro-Palestinian advertisement was pulled from its newspapers and has agreed to publish a progressive Jewish group’s call for sanctions on Israel.
The Jewish Council of Australia claimed on Tuesday evening its ads in Wednesday’s Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun had been pulled at the 11th hour after being legally approved and paid for.
The quarter-page ads feature the photos of hundreds of Australian Jews to mark the start of a national campaign and a petition calling for sanctions on the Israeli government, a two-way arms embargo and the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Australia in response to the atrocities committed in Gaza.
A News Corp spokesperson said it was inaccurate to say the ads had been pulled and that the delay was due to “normal internal processes”.
The JCA said it was told on Wednesday morning an amended version of the ad could run on Thursday with the inclusion of the word “advertisement” in the image.
Sarah Schwartz, the executive officer of the JCA, said:
Our ad really disrupts the message that all Jews support Israel and the message frequently put forward in News Corp newspapers that any criticism of Israel is antisemitic.
We have to keep persevering to have our voices heard in spaces where they otherwise wouldn’t be heard. We can’t give up on News Corp’s readership – this is a human issue.
