Australia news live: former federal Liberal candidate says dumping net zero could cause ‘generational damage’ to party’s electoral chances

Dumping net zero will do ‘generational damage’, former Liberal candidate warns

Roshena Campbell, the deputy mayor of Melbourne, has warned the Liberal party’s moves to reject net zero emissions targets will do “generational damage” to the party.

The Liberal party is on track to dump the Coalition’s net zero target and align the pace of Australia’s emissions reduction with that of other countries, in line with the Nationals’ approach, Guardian Australia reported today.

Campbell warned that move would suggest to young voters that Liberals were not interested in urgent climate action:

For so many young voters that will be a gamechanger. They will not look at the Liberal party, not at the next election, [or] the next election after, and this is the sort of generational damage that can keep a major party out of government …

When we’re talking about softening language, speaking to aspirations instead, speaking to emission reduction over a longer time period, that is so out of step with the views of younger voters, that this is an urgent issue that deserves an urgent response.

Campbell, a former Liberal candidate for the outer-suburban Melbourne seat of Aston, said the party would never regain inner-city seats like Kooyong and struggle to hold on to Goldstein.

Liberal infighting over whether to abandon support for the net zero emissions target has destabilised Sussan Ley’s leadership of the party, with the backbench MP Sarah Henderson today claiming the leader is “losing support”.

Updated at 06.51 CET

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What we learned today, Friday 7 November

We’ll leave our live news coverage there for the week. Thanks for joining Nick Visser, Penry Buckley and Luca Ittimani on the blog today. Here’s what we covered:

Have a good weekend.

Updated at 07.44 CET

Credit card outstanding debt hits four-year-high

Credit card debt accruing interest climbed $530m in September to reach its highest level since July 2021.

The rapid monthly growth took the total debt accruing interest on personal credit cards to $18.4bn, according to a Canstar analysis of RBA credit card figures, released today.

Climbing debt suggested more households were relying on credit to get by, the Canstar spokesperson Laine Gordon said.

Over the past year, credit card debt accruing interest has risen in eight out of 12 months, suggesting that some Australians are finding it hard to keep their heads above water as costs continue to rise.

To make matters worse, RBA data shows Australians with credit card debt are being slugged with rates above 18 per cent on average. At those levels, it’s little surprise so many people are struggling to make a dent in what they owe.

Spending on both debit and personal credit cards rose $567m in September, to be $4.2bn higher than it was a year beforehand. Transaction amounts on credit cards alone fell 1% in September after record-high spending the previous month.

Updated at 07.40 CET

Shares resume slide as rate-sensitive stocks tumble

Australian shares are down for a second straight week against a backdrop of sticky inflation and fears the Reserve Bank’s interest rate-cutting cycle is over, AAP reports.

The S&P/ASX200 and the broader All Ordinaries each fell less than 1% on Friday. An afternoon tumble in financials stocks eradicated an early lift for the market, with three of the big four banks in the red by the close, and investment giant Macquarie Group weighing heavily, as we reported earlier.

The top 200 has fallen almost 3% in a fortnight and is sitting at six-week lows heading into the weekend.

The Australian dollar is buying 64.75 US cents, down from 65.07 US cents on Thursday at 5pm.

Updated at 07.16 CET

Inquiry hears of ballot box intimidation and misinformation at 2025 election

Politicians and campaigners have told a parliamentary committee they faced growing intimidation and bully tactics at May’s election, AAP reports.

Helen Haines, the independent MP, also expressed concerns about violence, saying one booth required a police presence. She told the inquiry today:

It was dangerous and our volunteers did not wish to return to that polling booth because they felt so threatened.

Nicolette Boele, who won the Sydney seat of Bradfield from the Liberals, said she had to hire private security.

The Greens deputy convener, Jonathan Parry, spoke of intimidation tactics at polling booths, with a volunteer from another party coming and standing over him at the federal election in May.

Parry also attributed more brazen misinformation to a lack of consequences without laws on truth in political advertising.

Kevin Bonham, the election analyst, said prominent social media users played a role in posting constant disinformation. He told the inquiry:

They’re usually not bots, it’s particularly rightwing accounts that are outside the Liberal party mainstream, the sort of Sky News-oriented types, some of the supporters of minor right parties.

You can read more about the inquiry here:

Updated at 07.14 CET

Minister defends military purchases from Israel

Pat Conroy has continued to defend the Albanese government’s purchase of military equipment from Israel.

The defence industry minister first said it was important to get “the best equipment” for the armed forces on Tuesday, speaking at a weapons expo in Sydney.

This afternoon, Conroy stood by his remarks. He told the ABC:

I make no apology for getting the best possible equipment for the Australian Defence Force … That’s about giving the best equipment to our soldiers, sailors and aviators so they can defend Australia.

Conroy said the government was working to build more military equipment in Australia as well.

He brought up and denied, unprompted, claims that Australia has exported military equipment to Israel. Critics of the government say Australia has continued to export machine components:

Pat Conroy speaks alongside BAE’s Craig Lockhart, PMB Defence’s Mike Hartas and Australia’s chief of navy Vice-Adm Mark Hammond on Tuesday. Photograph: Hollie Adams/ReutersShare

Updated at 07.24 CET

Dumping net zero will do ‘generational damage’, former Liberal candidate warns

Roshena Campbell, the deputy mayor of Melbourne, has warned the Liberal party’s moves to reject net zero emissions targets will do “generational damage” to the party.

Campbell warned that move would suggest to young voters that Liberals were not interested in urgent climate action:

Campbell, a former Liberal candidate for the outer-suburban Melbourne seat of Aston, said the party would never regain inner-city seats like Kooyong and struggle to hold on to Goldstein.

Updated at 06.51 CET

Hot housing market boosts News Corp’s realestate.com.au

REA Group, the News Corp-controlled real estate listings behemoth that runs realestate.com.au, is making millions on the booming activity in Australia’s property market.

REA today reported 12.6 million people visited realestate.com.au on average in July, August and September and buyer inquiries were up 19% compared to the previous year, averaging 2.7m each month.

Fewer homes are going up for sale compared to last year, though, with listings 8% lower on the previous year.

Surging buyer demand more than offset the fall in listings, though, and REA earned $429m in the three months to September, $16m higher than the same period in 2024. The company’s revenue on rent listings also grew as prices rose and listings declined.

REA predicted listings to stabilise after a pickup in Sydney and Melbourne sales, which analysts at RBC said would further boost REA’s revenue. It noted limited stock in the other cities meant some sellers were delaying the listing of their properties – a vicious cycle, further limiting supply.

Guardian Australia has previously investigated REA, the biggest real estate listings company in the country, over its heavy fees and market dominance. You can read more here:

Updated at 06.15 CET

Commonwealth Bank’s ‘sour taste’ as Choice leaves lemons

In lighter news, consumer advocacy group Choice has handed Commonwealth Bank a basket of lemons and a letter for its chief executive, Matt Comyn.

CBA was the recipient of “a special prize” in Choice’s 2025 Shonky awards on Wednesday for charging low income-customers a collective $270m in unfair fees, making it Australia’s most awarded business.

Choice’s Morgan Campbell and Bea Sherwood, deliver the lemon basket and letter to CommBank’s Sydney head office. Photograph: Choice

Choice invited Comyn to a trophy presentation event next week at CBA’s Sydney headquarters:

Dear Matt,

Commbank’s refusal to refund 2.2 million customers who were charged $270 million in unfair fees has left a sour taste …

We want to give you a special trophy for Commbank’s 4th Shonky, and a petition signed by more than 25,000 Australians who think you should pay this money back. In the meantime, please enjoy this basket of lemons, the official symbol of the CHOICE Shonky Awards.

We hope this is where the bitterness ends. By facing up and refunding your customers, you could still make lemonade.

In response to receiving the award on Wednesday, a CBA spokesperson said the bank had paused overdraw and monthly account-keeping fees for eligible concession customers and committed to making goodwill adjustments where appropriate to customers who have incurred unusually high fees.

Read more about CBA’s record-setting prize here:

Updated at 05.51 CET

Tom McIlroy

Bowen agrees with UK PM that the ‘consensus is gone’ on fighting climate change

Chris Bowen has endorsed Keir Starmer’s grim assessment of the international consensus on limiting global temperature increases, insisting net zero emissions by 2050 policies represent the “bare minimum” needed to protect the globe.

The UK prime minister told world leaders on Thursday at the Cop30 climate summit in Brazil that the “consensus is gone” on fighting climate change around the world, a decade after the landmark Paris agreement in 2015.

Starmer said green energy policies were a “win-win” for the globe and for economic growth, even as Donald Trump retreats from global cooperation and labels climate change “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”.

Bowen, who is leading implementation of Australia’s 2035 emissions target and will travel to the summit in Belém next week, said Starmer was right.

The climate change and energy minister said:

It’s a contested space, but that makes supporting action in keeping with the science more important, not less important.

Read the full story here:

Or listen to the interview on the Australian Politics podcast here:

Updated at 05.26 CET

Kate Chaney backs Nine’s call for gambling ad ban compensation

Kate Chaney, the independent MP, has backed Nine Entertainment’s calls for any ban on gambling ads to include compensation for media companies and apply across the board.

As we reported earlier, Nine’s chair, Catherine West, said the company had asked the government for financial support if it restricts ads on wagering. Chaney supported that call today:

Gambling ads make up a small part of the total advertising revenue for media companies, as Ms West acknowledges, so finding a workable solution is not as difficult as the government is making out.

The crossbencher was a member of the parliamentary committee that recommended restrictions on gambling ads in mid-2023, led by the late Peta Murphy, a Labor MP.

Chaney in October proposed a levy of 0.5% on every dollar wagered, following similar proposals by that committee, and from the Australia Institute and the Public Health Association.

Gambling ads could be replaced by public health messages, funded by the levy and covering the media and sporting code revenue lost to an ad ban, Chaney told Guardian Australia.

I have a problem with the gambling debate being framed by the Albanese government as a difficult balancing act between companies who want gambling revenue, and everyday Australians … If it’s about media revenue, that’s a problem that can be solved.

Updated at 05.16 CET

Macquarie Bank sheds $6bn in market value

Luca Ittimani

Macquarie Bank has lost almost $6bn in market value after disappointing investors with its financial results – though its efforts to break up the big banks’ party have seen some success.

The challenger to the big four banks enjoyed double-digit growth from April to September in home lending and household deposits. Mortgage brokers are responsible for most of the boom in Macquarie borrowers, while its condition-free savings account has attracted households’ cash.

Profits in its banking and financial services exceeded market expectations, but net profits across the group were less than $1.7bn for the six months to September, $200m lower than expected.

John Storey, an analyst with UBS, said the market would need to trust in management to deliver a much stronger next six months. The market has shown no such trust, dumping Macquarie shares to a six-month low, with the big bank now valued at less than $77bn.

Updated at 05.36 CET

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