1m agoMon 13 Apr 2026 at 9:55pm
Unions push to raise workers’ vehicle allowances
Australian unions are launching an urgent case in the Fair Work Commission today to increase vehicle allowances for workers struggling with higher fuel costs.
According to the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), stubborn prices at the pump are leaving workers out of pocket.
“The vehicle allowance that employers pay is out of date and hasn’t been adjusted with the big rise in fuel prices,” ACTU secretary Sally McManus says.
The Commission adjusts the vehicle allowance annually on July 1st, but the ACTU wants this brought forward so workers can get relief sooner.
McManus says aged care and NDIS workers, along with nurses who do home care, are among workers being negatively impacted by current allowance settings.
“A whole lot of those workers at the moment are effectively subsidising the service because they are losing money by doing their job,” she says.
“That’s obviously not acceptable.”
25m agoMon 13 Apr 2026 at 9:31pm
Taylor unveils first part of Coalition’s migration plan
Social media screening and a plan to deport people who breach Australian values would be introduced under a Coalition government, according to a newly minted migration policy to be released today.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor will unveil the first part of his plan for a migration crackdown in a speech to the Menzies Research Centre.
“Australians are fed up with politically correct preaching on immigration,” Mr Taylor will say.
A key element of the plan would involve a social media review of anyone who applies for an Australian visa, similar to one in the United States.
Read the full story at the link below.
30m agoMon 13 Apr 2026 at 9:27pm
Marles flags focus on drones but won’t say what will be deprioritised to fund them
Defence Minister Richard Marles won’t say what will be deprioritised to free up more spending on drones.
As our defence correspondent Tom Lowrey reported this morning, billions of dollars will be poured into drones, such as the Ghost Bat, the Ghost Shark and other smaller, cheaper uncrewed hardware.
Marles told ABC’s AM that Australia had to keep up with how drones are being used in conflicts.
Asked what projects were being deprioritised to shift funding to drones, Marles insists he’ll go through that later in the week.
“In terms of the broader picture around the funding of defence, what you’ll see on Thursday is a continuation of our track record, which is to increase our investment in defence,” he says.
As well as releasing Defence’s Integrated Investment Program (IIP) and the 2026 National Defence Strategy on Thursday, Marles will deliver a speech at the National Press Club.
He added Australia also needed to focus on counter-drone technology as well: “That’s a critical part of the whole equation of what we’re putting together here”.
42m agoMon 13 Apr 2026 at 9:14pm
Billions for drones as Defence learns from Ukraine and Iran
Billions of dollars will be poured into drones as Defence responds to some of the most immediate lessons from recent conflicts.
At least $2 billion in new or redirected funds will be included in Defence’s new Integrated Investment Program (IIP), details of which will be released this week.
That additional spending will take total spending on drones over the next decade to at least $12 billion.
It is not yet known what Defence projects will be “reprioritised” to free the extra money.
Defence Minister Richard Marles will release the IIP and the 2026 National Defence Strategy on Thursday.
Funding will go towards large uncrewed systems, such as the Ghost Bat and Ghost Shark, as well as the development of smaller, cheaper drones.
There will be a significant injection of new funds into smaller drones — at least $2.2 billion is to be spent developing lower-cost options.
Read the full story by ABC defence and national security correspondent Tom Lowrey at the link below.
46m agoMon 13 Apr 2026 at 9:10pm
PM to depart on second Asia mission to secure fuel
Anthony Albanese will depart Australia for the tiny Southeast Asian nation of Brunei as he begins another regional tour aimed at shoring up Australia’s fuel supplies.
While there will be a few formalities on arrival later today, the prime minister’s main meetings in Brunei will be tomorrow, when he sits down with the Sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah.
After that, Albanese will fly to Malaysia to meet Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Both Malaysia and Brunei are significant fuel suppliers for Australia, while Australia is a key gas supplier for Malaysia and a major food provider for Brunei.
Albanese says he wants to do everything he can to ensure the “two-way flow” of energy and critical supplies continues, despite the chaos caused by the war in the Middle East.
Malaysia, like Australia, is grappling with the impacts of the conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. It insists it has secure supplies until the end of May but — like Australia — is anxious about the outlook from June, when shortages might really start to bite.
The prime minister is likely to push for supply guarantees from both countries, but Albanese said yesterday he didn’t want to “pre-empt” his discussions with either leader.
“What you have to do is to act with certainty. What we are acting, with certainty, is to maximise Australia’s opportunities to secure supply,” he said.
“When it comes to Brunei, they provide about 9 per cent of our diesel, but (are) also a major supplier of fertiliser.
“And Malaysia provides the third-largest (fuel) imports to Australia. And so, we will negotiate with them in good faith.”
50m agoMon 13 Apr 2026 at 9:07pm
Australia to join UK, France summit on Strait of Hormuz
(ABC News: Ian Cutmore)
Australia will be among more than 40 nations to discuss safeguarding shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Labor’s Pat Conroy has confirmed.
The summit will be co-hosted by the United Kingdom and France. On social media, French President Emmanuel Macron said the talks would be “aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the strait”.
He described it as “strictly defensive” and “separate from the warring parties to the conflict” and “intended to be deployed as soon as circumstances permit”.
UK PM Keir Starmer said reopening the strait was “vital to ease cost-of-living pressures”.
Conroy told ABC’s News Breakfast the government welcomed the summit.
“Australia will most definitely participate in that summit. We are very keen to see … an opening by diplomatic means of the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
1h agoMon 13 Apr 2026 at 8:47pm
Good morning 👋
Hi friends. Welcome to our daily federal politics live blog.
I’m Courtney Gould from the ABC’s Parliament House team, here and ready to guide you through the day.
Anthony Albanese is jetting off for the second leg of his regional tour in a bid to shore up Australia’s fuel and fertiliser supplies. Meanwhile, the government has confirmed it will redirect billions towards drones as defence learns lessons from Iran and Ukraine (more on that shortly).
A speech from Angus Taylor is also on our agenda. He’ll be outlining the first phase of the Coalition’s migration plan. The opposition leader is due to speak with ABC’s AM shortly — I’ll bring that to you as soon as it happens.
The sun is up and so am I so let’s get blogging!
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