As it happened: Convicted paedophile Rolf Harris dies; India’s PM meets with Anthony Albanese in Sydney

Thanks for joining us today. Here’s a summary of some of our main headlines.

• NSW Police have charged an officer after he allegedly tasered 95-year-old great-grandmother Clare Nowland at an aged care facility in southern NSW last week. Senior Constable Kristian White was charged on Wednesday evening with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault. He was charged with a future court attendance notice, which means he will remain in the community until appearing before court on July 5.

• Treasury has confirmed it has referred the PwC tax scandal, involving former partner Peter Collins, to the Australian Federal Police for a criminal investigation.
• Liberal MP Julian Leeser has appealed to Australians to vote for the Voice to parliament, saying it will help transform remote Indigenous communities by tackling entrenched problems, as former prime minister Scott Morrison made a rare public intervention to urge a No vote.
• ABC boss David Anderson has conceded in a Senate estimates hearing the broadcaster had “fallen short” in supporting staff in the days after Stan Grant stepped down from hosting the flagship Q+A program.
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended his government’s decision to light up the Sydney Opera House with the Indian flag tonigh despite paying no similar tribute during the coronation of King Charles III.
• The lead investigator in the Lehrmann case, ACT Policing Detective Inspector Scott Moller, has publicly revealed himself to be a survivor of sexual assault.
• The Prime Minister said his thoughts were with the victims of Rolf Harris, who died in the UK at the age of 93. The disgraced entertainer was jailed after a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing girls.

Treasury has confirmed it has referred the PwC tax scandal, involving former partner Peter Collins, to the Australian Federal Police for a criminal investigation.

“PwC Australia’s former head of international tax, Mr Peter Collins, improperly used confidential Commonwealth information,” Treasury secretary Dr Steven Kennedy said in a statement Wednesday evening.

“The emails that the Tax Practitioners Board tabled in Parliament on 2 May 2023 highlighted the significant extent of the unauthorised disclosure of confidential Commonwealth information and the wide range of individuals within PwC who were directly and indirectly privy to the confidential information.”

“In light of these recent revelations and the seriousness of this misconduct, the Treasury has referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police to consider commencement of a criminal investigation.”

The TPB board banned Peter Collins, the former PwC partner who leaked confidential government tax plans, from acting as a tax practitioner until next year.

A 148-page document, released by senate estimates, detailed the evidence from the board’s investigation which revealed how confidential information on plans to combat multinational tax avoidance was shared widely among other staff and partners within the multinational firm, and marketed to clients.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says it’s important for Australia to diversify its business markets to include stronger ties with India.

Speaking on Radio 2GB this afternoon, he agreed it was important for Australia to not put all its eggs in one basket as it has previously done with China.

That’s why engagement with the rising economies of India and Indonesia are so important,” Albanese said. “At the moment, if you look at our exports, our exports to China are larger than the next three countries of the United States, Japan and South Korea.

So that will give you just some idea of how dependent we became on China. Now, China remains an important economic relationship, but it is important that we diversify.

Over coming years, India will be the third-largest market in the world, Indonesia will be the fourth-largest market in the world. And my government, through Penny Wong and through our economic ministers as well, is very engaged, particularly with the ASEAN countries.

We have to our north the fastest growing economies of the world in human history. That presents an enormous opportunity for Australia if we get it right.