As it happened: PM calls on Optus to pay for fresh customer passports; Labor says federal budget set to face $32b deficit

Discussions focused on the timing of the referendum, refining the question to be put to the public and the information needed to help the referendum to pass.

While a date for the referendum has not been set, it is likely to be held in 2023.

Albanese said he recognised there is a risk to holding the referendum.

“If we don’t have a referendum, then by definition it won’t succeed,” he said. “The risk has to be balanced up with the certainty of failure if you don’t try.”

The group also discussed the design of the voice, including that the body provides independent advice and is made up of First Nations people based on the wish of local communities but it will not have a program delivery function or a veto power.

A constitutional expert group to advise on the referendum will also be established by the government.

AAP

Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said the efforts were put in place to protect young people whose brains were more vulnerable.

“These new restrictions will make it much harder for young people to get their hands on these small bulbs of nitrous oxide,” she said.

“Physicians are seeing an increase in some chronic uses of nitrous oxide with some really significant neurodegenerative conditions.

“They are incredibly dangerous and poisonous, particularly for young brains that are still developing.”

Limitations to the number of canisters that can be purchased and times they can be purchased online and in retail are currently being negotiated with the industry.

Read more here.

Belo, 74, a revered figure in deeply Catholic East Timor who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 with current Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta, hung up the phone immediately when approached by the magazine for comment.

But the allegations contained in the report would be investigated by the Vatican, said Marco Sprizzi, its representative in East Timor.

“Pope Francis is so much engaged in zero tolerance so no doubt after an article like that, they are investigating and they will investigate deeply,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. “I’m sure 100 per cent of that.”

Belo, who now lives in Portugal, became a Timorese hero during the Indonesian occupation and was awarded the Nobel Prize for his non-violent resistance.

In September 1999, he was evacuated on an Australian Air Force plane to Darwin as pro-Indonesia militia attacked his home, where 5000 people had sought refuge from violence in the aftermath of the East Timor independence vote.

Read more here.

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show the early impact of the interest rate rises in the three months to June, with total household net worth falling by $484.1 billion or by more than $5 billion a day.

It was the largest fall on record, although net worth still stands at $14.4 trillion.

The bureau said the drop was driven by weakness in the housing market and the superannuation sector.

The value of land and buildings dropped by almost $150 billion in the quarter while superannuation shed $294 billion in value. The biggest hit to property was in NSW and Victoria.

Read more here.

The Burdekin pumped hydro will be built primarily on cattle-grazing and sugar-cane land under a new public-owned entity, Queensland Hydro.

The premier said no national parks will be flooded as part of the multibillion-dollar scheme.

“I want to give that reassurance to the people of this region,” she told reporters on Thursday.

The government has allocated a $270 million down payment towards detailed planning of the project, with an expected total cost of $12 billion.

Energy Minister Mick De Brenni said that about 20 per cent of landowners had been contacted since the announcement and about 50 homes would be affected by construction.

He said about 1000 sites were assessed and the area west of Mackay stacks up the best.

Read more here.

Before the leaks were reported, explosions were recorded. A first explosion was recorded by seismologists early Monday southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm.

A second, stronger blast northeast of the island that night was equivalent to a magnitude-2.3 earthquake. Seismic stations in Denmark, Norway and Finland also registered the explosions.

Some European officials and energy experts said Russia is likely to blame for any sabotage — it directly benefits from higher energy prices and economic anxiety across Europe — although others cautioned against pointing fingers until investigators can determine what happened.

AP

The amended legislation passed the Senate but appears unlikely to clear the lower house when parliament returns in late October.

That means older Australians will have to wait longer for cheaper medicines and trips to the doctor.

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth confirmed the government would strip out the amendment about work bonuses.

“The Liberal-National coalition attached an unrelated amendment to the legislation as a political stunt,” Rishworth told AAP on Thursday.

“We want to ease cost of living pressures for older Australians and it is disappointing the coalition is delaying this much-needed relief.”

The government has already introduced its own work bonus bill to the lower house, which would allow pensioners to earn $4000 a year before having their payments cut.

Labor’s proposal equates to about $150 extra a fortnight while the coalition and Greens pushed for $300.

AAP