Sex discrimination commissioner condemns Pauline Hanson’s DV comments
Sarah Basford Canales
The sex discrimination commissioner, Anna Cody, has condemned Pauline Hanson‘s suggestion that domestic violence is a “two-way street“, warning assigning blame to victim-survivors is “harmful, wrong, and dangerous”.
In a statement today, Cody said femicide – the intentional murder of women – is a “national crisis, and any attempt to shift the blame undermines our efforts to end it”:
double quotation markDomestic violence is never the responsibility of the person experiencing it … Leaving a violent relationship is not simply a matter of walking away. For many women and children – and the evidence is clear – it can be one of the most dangerous times.
Sadly, we have seen too many examples of women who left violent relationships being killed … Violence is a choice – and blame rests entirely with the person who commits it.
Hanson told 4BC radio yesterday domestic violence was “wrong but it’s also a two-way street”.
Hanson’s comments have been heavily criticised, with the One Nation leader responding to the backlash by accusing the media and the Labor party of “twisting” her words.
The CEO of Women’s Community Shelters, Annabelle Daniel, said the evidence on domestic and family violence was “clear and settled”.
double quotation markDomestic and family violence is a gendered issue. And as to the question of ‘just leave!’ – that requires somewhere safe and affordable to go, or to be able to safely and affordably stay on your own.
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Updated at 06.44 CEST
Key events
With that, I will hand the reigns over to Achol Arok who will be with you for the rest of the afternoon. Happy reading!
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‘Millionaires’ factory’ accused of dodging climate risk
Australia’s leading investment bank has been accused of ignoring the “absolutely catastrophic” risk climate change poses to human civilisation, Australian Associated Press reports.
Former Royal Dutch Shell senior executive Ian Dunlop told Macquarie Group’s annual general meeting on Thursday the bank’s financing activities had prioritised energy security and fossil fuel expansion at the expense of human security:
double quotation markIf you keep doing things in the way we’ve been doing it, and they lead to the potential temperature increase that have been mentioned at two and a half, three degrees … they’re not livable worlds. These will be catastrophic, absolutely catastrophic.
Dunlop also chaired the Australian Coal Association in the late 1980s.
Macquarie’s board has recommended shareholders reject a resolution co-filed by activist group Market Forces and super fund provider Australian Ethical asking the bank to disclose whether it is still committed to aligning its lending with the goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
Market Forces says Macquarie has become Australia’s most aggressive fossil fuel financier, tripling its oil and gas financing over the past three years.
The chair, Glenn Stevens, said climate change was a “wicked problem”, but Macquarie could not set global policy or do things that really addressed the problem for the world.
double quotation markBut we’re seeking to play our part in a way that we think makes sense, is tractable, practical and is in the interests of shareholders.
Another shareholder, Helen Scotts, commended Macquarie for investing in fossil fuels and said she hoped the investment bank would invest in nuclear energy next.
Before the meeting, the Australian financial services powerhouse announced it had tapped the head of its retail bank as its next chief executive. Macquarie Group’s Greg Ward will replace 64-year-old Shemara Wikramanayake, who will retire in November after eight years as chief executive and managing director.
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Updated at 06.53 CEST
Ima Caldwell
Government security grants for Jewish community fall short of costs, ECAJ chief says
Government grants for Jewish community security have saved places of worship from severe damage, but funding still falls short of annual protection costs, the antisemitism royal commission has heard.
Peter Wertheim AM, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), said that grant-funded fireproof doors prevented major damage during a July 2025 arson attack on an East Melbourne synagogue. The attack followed a December 2024 firebombing at Melbourne’s Adass synagogue, which prompted a $32.5m round of federal funding.
While commonwealth funding expanded to a three-year, $124m agreement in May 2026, Wertheim said a substantial financial shortfall remains. He said annual community security spending is still “more than double” the grant funding provided by the government, which ECAJ believes should fully and directly fund protection.
The funds are managed by the National Council for Jewish Community Security under the ECAJ, with state-based security groups evaluating risk criteria and assisting smaller interstate communities with applications.
Wertheim told the inquiry the community’s primary goal remains unchanged:
double quotation markWe would prefer to live without antisemitism and without the security funding that it’s necessitated.
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Updated at 06.44 CEST
Sex discrimination commissioner condemns Pauline Hanson’s DV comments
Sarah Basford Canales
The sex discrimination commissioner, Anna Cody, has condemned Pauline Hanson‘s suggestion that domestic violence is a “two-way street“, warning assigning blame to victim-survivors is “harmful, wrong, and dangerous”.
In a statement today, Cody said femicide – the intentional murder of women – is a “national crisis, and any attempt to shift the blame undermines our efforts to end it”:
double quotation markDomestic violence is never the responsibility of the person experiencing it … Leaving a violent relationship is not simply a matter of walking away. For many women and children – and the evidence is clear – it can be one of the most dangerous times.
Sadly, we have seen too many examples of women who left violent relationships being killed … Violence is a choice – and blame rests entirely with the person who commits it.
Hanson told 4BC radio yesterday domestic violence was “wrong but it’s also a two-way street”.
Hanson’s comments have been heavily criticised, with the One Nation leader responding to the backlash by accusing the media and the Labor party of “twisting” her words.
The CEO of Women’s Community Shelters, Annabelle Daniel, said the evidence on domestic and family violence was “clear and settled”.
double quotation markDomestic and family violence is a gendered issue. And as to the question of ‘just leave!’ – that requires somewhere safe and affordable to go, or to be able to safely and affordably stay on your own.
Share
Updated at 06.44 CEST
Krishani Dhanji
Conference adopts support for fair AI taskforce as MP points finger at tech bros
Labor has supported the adoption of a fair AI taskforce in its national platform, after a speech from NSW Labor right senator, Tony Sheldon, who put the “tech bros” on notice.
There were two amendments – one calling for the creation of the taskforce that would build awareness of the risks and opportunities of AI, and another that Labor would establish a set of Australian standards for AI and increase equitable education and use of AI.
Sheldon said:
double quotation markWe’ve got to be the people to say that human intelligence and creativity is the priority. We’re the ones to say that those tech bros that say to us that they’re going to replace everything you, you, and you do and make the decisions for you is the reality of the future – well, that is not true.
We need to have the strength, the capability, and the purpose to make sure that our human creativity, ambition, integrity, and intelligence is at the forefront of every decision that’s made in every industry we work in.
Sheldon also pushed for workers to have a stronger voice in the use of AI in workplaces at the NSW Labor conference earlier this month.
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Updated at 06.29 CEST
Ima Caldwell
Aged care security funding ‘a matter government would consider’
The inquiry also examined portfolio gaps regarding protective security for Jewish aged care facilities following a rejected application by Jewish Care Victoria.
Internal DPC correspondence showed the application was turned down because aged care falls under health and commonwealth portfolios, rather than state security grants.
Moule confirmed aged care primarily sits under federal jurisdiction, stating he was unaware of a specific Victorian funding program for aged care security. But he clarified that facilities are not entirely shut out from future state assistance if significant needs are raised:
double quotation markIf representations were made to the government in relation to security funding for aged care facilities in Victoria, then that is certainly a matter the government would consider.
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Updated at 06.20 CEST
Ima Caldwell
Victorian government shifted focus to operational security post-Bondi attack, inquiry hears
The Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet’s (DPC) secretary, Jeremi Moule, has detailed state government security funding during his appearance at the antisemitism royal commission.
Moule said the DPC distributed $3.7m across 22 Jewish community projects since the 2023-24 state budget. While funding previously targeted physical infrastructure, the Bondi attack prompted a pivot toward operational costs such as funding security guards for summer youth camps.
double quotation markThe rise in antisemitism in Australia and in Victoria is an issue to which the government has needed to be responsive … [leading to] the adaptation of grant programs to be more responsive to community needs.
Operational security is now an “active conversation” within government, Moule said. He also advocated for official state and federal alignment to streamline future security funding.
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Updated at 06.08 CEST
Macquarie CEO announces retirement after eight years at the helm
Achol Arok
Macquarie Group’s chief executive, Shemara Wikramanayake, has announced she will retire in an ASX update on Thursday.
Wikramanayake will step down in November this year after eight years in the top job and almost four decades with the company.
The company’s current head of banking and financial services, Greg Ward, has been appointed as her successor.
Wikramanayake described the role as a “great privilege” and said she had confidence in Ward’s appointment.
double quotation markLooking forward, I take confidence in the strength of the team, and particularly in Greg’s ability to build on the legacy of our six decades of history. We have worked together for 30 years, and his track record, leadership and integrity make him an excellent candidate to be Macquarie’s next Ceo.
From 2021 to 2022, Wikramanayake was the highest-paid chief executive in Australia after receiving $23.7m in compensation.
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Updated at 06.03 CEST
Krishani Dhanji
Push to wind back fuel tax credits
A little later today, the Labor conference will debate winding back generous fuel tax credits for miners.
There has been a push inside and outside of Labor – from the rank and file, to the unions – to cap the scheme, which refunds miners, farmers and other industries the 52.6c a litre excise applied to petrol and diesel.
Whispers had spread across the caucus that Labor would wind back some of the tax credits in the most recent budget, but that was before war broke out in the Middle East and the focus moved to securing domestic fuel supply.
The Labor Environment Action Network (LEAN) has put forward an amendment to the conference to, “remove disincentives for orderly decarbonisation” – ie wind back the credits.
We’ll see what happens on the floor when the 400 delegates vote whether to include it.
But it’s also worth noting that just because it’s included in the national platform, doesn’t mean the government will have to act on it.
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Updated at 05.55 CEST
Sarah Collard
Danila Dilba Aboriginal Health Service CEO resigns from Child and Families partnership forum citing concerns over NT Government
The Ceo of Danila Dilba Aboriginal Health Service, Rob McPhee has resigned from his role as the Independent Aboriginal Chair of the Northern Territory Children and Families Tripartite Forum.
His resignation follows the NT government’s passage of controversial child protection laws on Wednesday, which weaken the Aboriginal child placement principle in child safety decision-making.
In a statement, McPhee said he accepted the role in 2023 as a “genuine partnership” between the Northern Territory, the federal government, and the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector but he can no longer continue in the role due to a lack of “respectful and transparent collaboration”. McPhee said:
double quotation markOver the past two years, it has become increasingly evident that the Northern Territory Government is not committed to genuine partnership with the Forum on significant policy and legislative reform.
He cited further concerns that the NT government’s child safety planning and governance strategies lacked meaningful consultation with the Forum.
double quotation markThe decision by the Northern Territory government in 2025 to discontinue the Strategy without replacing it with an alternative long-term strategy or governance framework removed the Territory’s primary mechanism for shared accountability, long-term planning and collaborative governance for children and families.
Since then, significant policy and legislative reforms have continued to be developed without meaningful engagement through the Tripartite Forum.
McPhee’s resignation follows the NT Children Commissioner quitting in protest of the child protection reforms.
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