Josh Butler
Prime minister Anthony Albanese says Australians may keep shifting to populist alternatives such as One Nation if they feel left out of the economy, arguing the major structural tax changes in the federal budget were needed to rebalance the scales.
Albanese appeared at a Sky News forum in Sydney today, giving a speech and participating in a Q&A. Asked about the One Nation threat, with the rightwing party beating Labor in some opinion polls, he said he was alive to their rise.
double quotation markIf government stands still, the world will go past.
What we’re concerned about is if people think the economy isn’t working for them and they’re working their guts out and they’re not getting opportunity, I tell you what, they will turn to more simplistic, grievance-based politics, and that is the context in which my government’s saying ‘No, no, we’re going to deliver real change for the better’.
Albanese said he wouldn’t criticise people thinking about voting for One Nation, acknowledging “frustration” for many people.
double quotation markI’m critical of the leaders of that political movement [One Nation], but I’m never critical of voters. Voters are sending a message … that they don’t think that the economy is working for them, and they don’t want to work for the economy.
Pauline Hanson. Albanese said he wouldn’t criticise people who voted for Hanson’s One Nation but said they are ‘sending a message’. Photograph: Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 00.55 EDT
Key events
‘Long shadow’ recalled at ex-governor general Peter Hollingworth’s funeral
The family of a former governor general who resigned over his handling of child sexual abuse in the Anglican church has reflected on the shadow cast over his final years, AAP reports.
Peter Hollingworth served as the Archbishop of Brisbane for more than a decade before being appointed governor general in 2001.
He died after a fall on 19 May, aged 91, and was farewelled at a requiem eucharist at Christ church, in Melbourne’s South Yarra, on Friday.
Appointed governor general by John Howard in 2001, Hollingworth’s tenure was short-lived, as he resigned less than two years into the role amid scrutiny of his handling of child sexual abuse complaints within the Anglican church.
Delivering a eulogy on behalf of the family, Deborah Hollingworth reflected on the “long shadow” overhanging her father’s final years. She said:
double quotation markHe became the public face and lightning rod for the institutional failures to prevent and address child sexual abuse.
He bore that burden heavily, as did we …
He knew that in the public imagination he had come to stand among the bad men, and that knowledge grieved him profoundly.
And yet he understood how it had happened and why.
He also knew that there was a dark shadow over the church that he had served and been committed to.
Updated at 01.51 EDT
Reputational damage cost ANU $100m, interim VC says
Krishani Dhanji
Interim vice-chancellor of the ANU, professor Rebekah Brown, says that the reputational damage to ANU over a series of high-profile scandals and governance failures has cost the university $100m.
It comes after several reports into poor culture at the university, allegations of bullying by the former chancellor Julie Bishop, made at a Senate inquiry, and its management of a controversial $250m cost-cutting program.
The later led to the resignation of former vice-chancellor Genevieve Bell, while Bishop separately announced her resignation earlier this year.
Brown tells Senate estimates there’s no doubt that “things are very challenged at the ANU”, particularly the impact on the university’s donor pipeline and the ability to attract international students.
double quotation markIt is very significant, and we are still modelling the impact, the impact is still live. Our modelling from the end of last year … it’s in the order of $100m.
Interim vice-chancellor of the Australian National University (ANU) Rebekah Brown speaks during Senate estimates at Parliament House in Canberra, Friday, 5 June, 2026. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShare
Updated at 01.51 EDT
Amanda Meade
Good news for 2SER
Sydney Educational Radio, which is owned by UTS, was struggling to stay afloat beyond July after failing to find a new backer when it was abandoned by its funding partner Macquarie University last year.
The 2SER board now says it has approved a model that will enable the much-loved station, which has fostered dozens of broadcasting careers over decades, to continue operating, albeit with a smaller staff and funding pool.
A transitional director, Tony Duke, has been appointed to conduct an independent review. Prof James Bennett, the dean of the faculty of design and society and a 2SER board member, said: “Feedback and input of station staff, volunteers and the community has been critical in this process.
Read more from the latest Weekly Beast here:
Krishani Dhanji
Confidence in ANU governance ‘seriously damaged’, acting chancellor says
The ANU has acknowledged confidence in its governance has been seriously damaged and trust has been lost after a series of scandals at the university, Senate estimates has heard.
Acting pro-chancellor of the Australian National University (ANU) Andrew Metcalfe speaks during Senate estimates at Parliament House in Canberra, Friday, 5 June, 2026. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
The university has been heavily scrutinised over its culture and governance in recent years, including a scathing review by the national audit office that found the ANU council approved a controversial $250m cost-cutting program without “clear evidence” it was needed or urgent.
The acting chancellor, Andrew Metcalfe – a former government department secretary – told estimates:
double quotation markI want to acknowledge plainly that confidence in the governance of the ANU is seriously damaged in the last few years; staff and students have felt hurt, disillusioned and not valued; trust has been lost and the council has a duty to confront that directly.
Updated at 01.00 EDT
Measles alert issued for Sydney airport and CBD
NSW Health has issued a measles alert after a confirmed case from Queensland visited several locations across the Sydney CBD and Sydney airport while unknowingly infectious.
NSW Health’s director of communicable diseases, Dr Christine Selvey, urged anyone who has been in these areas to monitor closely for symptoms. It can take up to 18 days for them to appear after exposure.
Symptoms to watch out for include fever, sore eyes, runny nose, cough and a red, blotchy rash that spreads from the head and face to the rest of the body.
Selvey said:
double quotation markIf symptoms develop and you’ve been at one of the locations at the time listed on the website, see your doctor or health service, including an emergency department. Call ahead to let them know that you may have come into contact with measles so you don’t spend time in waiting rooms with other patients.
A full list of locations is available on the NSW Health website.
NSW has recorded 49 confirmed cases of measles since 1 January.
If you are experiencing symptoms or have concerns, contact your GP or call Healthdirect on 1800 022 222.
Updated at 01.00 EDT
Josh Butler
Entrepreneurs won’t leave Australia over CGT changes, Albanese says
Staying with the PM’s appearance at a Sky News forum, Anthony Albanese has defended key budget measures and not ruled out changes on some contentious proposals.
He said consultation continued on the capital gains tax changes, with discussions ongoing with small businesses, venture capital and startups. The first tranche of budget legislation passed the lower house of parliament yesterday, and will soon go to the Senate. Albanese said the government was still “working that through” on possible changes, saying it would be scrutinised through a Senate inquiry and there would likely be follow-up legislation, which could contain some changes.
Asked if he thought startup companies or entrepreneurs would leave Australia, as some have threatened to do, Albanese replied flatly “no”.
Asked about potential changes to the treatment of family trusts, with Labor planning to change tax settings around some of those arrangements, the PM replied: “We will do nothing that impacts negatively on inheritances.”
Updated at 00.19 EDT
Albanese paints budget as antidote to One Nation ‘grievance politics’
Josh Butler
Prime minister Anthony Albanese says Australians may keep shifting to populist alternatives such as One Nation if they feel left out of the economy, arguing the major structural tax changes in the federal budget were needed to rebalance the scales.
Albanese appeared at a Sky News forum in Sydney today, giving a speech and participating in a Q&A. Asked about the One Nation threat, with the rightwing party beating Labor in some opinion polls, he said he was alive to their rise.
double quotation markIf government stands still, the world will go past.
What we’re concerned about is if people think the economy isn’t working for them and they’re working their guts out and they’re not getting opportunity, I tell you what, they will turn to more simplistic, grievance-based politics, and that is the context in which my government’s saying ‘No, no, we’re going to deliver real change for the better’.
Albanese said he wouldn’t criticise people thinking about voting for One Nation, acknowledging “frustration” for many people.
double quotation markI’m critical of the leaders of that political movement [One Nation], but I’m never critical of voters. Voters are sending a message … that they don’t think that the economy is working for them, and they don’t want to work for the economy.
Pauline Hanson. Albanese said he wouldn’t criticise people who voted for Hanson’s One Nation but said they are ‘sending a message’. Photograph: Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 00.55 EDT
Teen may become first child in Victoria to face trial on terror charge
A teen who allegedly attempted to hijack a plane may become the first child in Victoria to face trial accused of planning a terrorism plot after his matter was uplifted to a higher court, AAP reports.
He was aged 17 when he allegedly carried weapons, including a shotgun, knives and a fake bomb, onto a Jetstar flight bound for Sydney in March 2025.
As the aircraft was in its final stages of boarding at Melbourne’s Avalon airport, with 173 passengers onboard and six crew members, he walked up the plane’s front stairs, a children’s court was told on Friday.
The teen, who cannot be named for legal reasons, allegedly told the crew he had a bomb and demanded access to the cockpit before it is claimed he began to assemble a shotgun, but was restrained before he could get any further.
Defence lawyers argued the teen’s case should remain in the children’s court as sentencing there would be adequate because of his mental health conditions, youth and lack of priors.
However, prosecutors claimed exceptional circumstances existed which warranted the matter to be uplifted to the county or supreme court, which a magistrate agreed with on Friday.
He is the first child to have terrorism offences uplifted to a higher Victorian court, and the first accused of preparing for and possessing items connected to planned terrorism, the magistrate said.
The teen, now aged 19, remains in custody and will return to a children’s court for a committal mention on June 19.
Updated at 00.07 EDT
Graham Readfearn
‘That’s a bad combination’: why Australia may be in for a slushy snow season
There was optimism across Australian alpine resorts this week as their social media channels filled with footage of snow flurries that arrived just in time for the opening of the ski season this weekend.
“We couldn’t be more excited,” said the Instagram account of Perisher, the southern hemisphere’s biggest ski resort, in Kosciuszko national park in New South Wales, as hands swept the fresh snow from outdoor tables.
While the spectacular wintry scenes will bring enthusiasm, the outlook for the rest of the winter – and the coming decades – is not quite so positive.
With an El Niño looking likely to form in the coming weeks, the odds are stacked in favour of drier and warmer conditions though winter and spring.
Read more:
Fresh snow supplemented by man-made snow making on the first day of winter at Perisher, NSW. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The GuardianShareAsic launches investigation into KPMG
Jonathan Barrett
The corporate regulator has launched a formal investigation into KPMG amid whistleblower claims the firm improperly used confidential information from a client to win other work.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission chair, Sarah Court, told Senate estimates today that the regulator was “trying to get to the bottom of the evidence”.
Court said: “We’ve now commenced a formal investigation this week in relation to KPMG and a number of the registered company auditors that sit within it.”
“I can assure you that Asic has been engaging proactively with KPMG and that level of engagement has intensified.”
Chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) Sarah Court during Senate estimates, 5 June, 2026. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
KPMG’s Australian chief, Andrew Yates, stepped down last week after taking responsibility for the consultancy firm’s failure to properly respond to whistleblower allegations around the misuse of client information.
It is alleged KPMG improperly used confidential information from its client Lendlease to win audit work with other firms.
The allegations were first revealed by Senator Deborah O’Neill under parliamentary privilege in a speech to the Senate in March.
Asic, and many other agencies and state and federal government departments, use KPMG services.
KPMG has been contacted for comment.
Updated at 00.16 EDT