Australia news as it happened: Trump activist Charlie Kirk fatally shot at college campus; Sussan Ley apologises to Indian community after dismissing Jacinta Price

Thanks for reading the national news blog. This is where we’ll end today’s coverage.

To conclude, here’s a look back at the day’s major stories:

• Conservative influencer and key Trump ally Charlie Kirk was shot dead while debating university students at an open-air event in Utah, in an act of political violence that stunned America. The manhunt continues for the gunman.
• Opposition Leader Sussan Ley formally apologised for Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s false claim that the government was bringing Indian migrants to Australia to pad its vote after sacking the firebrand senator from her shadow ministry.
• The firebrand Coalition Senator was still due to appear at a Liberal party fundraiser being held at an Indian community centre in Perth’s southern suburbs this evening.
• Embattled Australian National University vice chancellor Genevieve Bell resigned from her million-dollar role, closing a tumultuous chapter for the institution, which has included open staff revolt, the launch of an external investigation and an ongoing public relations crisis.
• The university’s chancellor, Julie Bishop, vowed to stay on as head of the institution’s governing body until her term ends in 2026, despite being the subject of bullying allegations, which she denies.
• In Victoria, a major investigation by this masthead obtained a trove of leaked internal state government correspondence that, for the first time, showed government officials were repeatedly warned of Big Build corruption from early 2023 to as recently as June this year.
• In NSW, a known neo-Nazi facing criminal charges managed to infiltrate an event in state parliament, where he was given a platform to ask questions about the benefits of “supremacy” and “racism”.

Thanks again for joining us, we’ll be back tomorrow with more live coverage. This is Cassandra Morgan, signing off.

In case you missed it earlier, ANU chancellor Julie Bishop spoke to media following her announcement of vice chancellor Genevieve Bell’s resignation, and an all-staff university town hall.

We covered what she had to say in several posts below, and you can read more here.

You can watch back a video of her press conference below.

Older Australians can earn less for working more – in a perverse quirk of the tax system – incentivising pensioners to withdraw from the workforce at a time when the nation is grappling with extreme skills shortages.

A report by financial consulting firm Retirement Essentials shows Australians on the age pension are often hit with effective marginal tax rates of between 60 and 80 per cent – and in some cases as high as 122 per cent – far beyond the tax rate of those in the highest income bracket.

An effective marginal tax rate is the share of an extra dollar of income lost to either income tax or a drop in government transfer payments, such as the age pension.

Commissioned by industry super fund HESTA, the report shows working age pensioners earning $55,000 take home more money than those earning $60,000, due to the staged reduction in age pension payments.

The report shows age pensioners – assumed to have about $300,000 in their super – keep less than a third of the income they earn between the $15,000 and $20,000 mark.

Click here to read the full exclusive report from Millie Muroi.

ANU chancellor Julie Bishop refused to apologise to the university’s staff and students under questioning from journalists.

At her press conference a little while ago, a journalist asked: “Students … say that their on-campus experience has been ruined. Staff say that they hate coming to work. Morale is pretty low here. Do you, as a chancellor, need to apologise to staff and students, considering how bad the situation here has gotten?”

Here’s how Bishop responded:

“We’re working really hard to ensure that everybody feels safe and secure and welcome; that any harm that people feel, any stress that they have, can be addressed. I will work really closely with the interim vice chancellor, with our deans, with our managers, all of whom I’ve been speaking to over recent weeks to ensure that ANU is the very best student and staff experience it can be. We have a group of remarkable people. You will have noted that I pay a particular tribute to our deans in response to those ... questions, and I want to ensure the ANU is the very best institution that it can be.”

As we reported earlier, staff cheered at the ANU town hall meeting this afternoon when chancellor Julie Bishop was asked a question about vacating her role, and when she formally announced the vice chancellor’s resignation.

When Bishop rejected allegations of bullying levelled at her by academic Liz Allen, one staff member called out, “solidarity with Liz”, and there were cheers of “hip, hip, hooray” from the audience.

At Bishop’s press conference this afternoon, a journalist asked her: “You said that you had the support of the council, but do you feel – after the reception of the town hall today – that you had the support of the staff of the students at this university?”

Here’s what Bishop said in response:

“Look, I’m not an expert on crowd emotion, but there were varying emotions expressed today and it’s understandable. This is a hard day for any university. And I felt that people were of course emotional. I feel very emotional about it. A number of people do.

“It was hard, but the council has supported me going forward with an interim vice chancellor, and we will work to ensure that we can meet the aims that the interim vice chancellor stated today about stability, about building trust and respect, and about a strategic forward-looking focus.”

ANU chancellor Julie Bishop has refused to be drawn on questions over vice chancellor Genevieve Bell’s resignation, saying only that it sends a powerful message that she remains “part of the ANU family”.

Speaking to media minutes ago, Bishop – who announced Bell’s resignation to a chorus of cheers at a university town hall this afternoon – said she would not entertain questions on Bell as a “matter of respect”.

“It was a very hard decision for her, and I think if you read her statement, you’ll see that she took a very difficult decision in the interests of the university, and we accept that decision that she’s made,” Bishop told reporters.

“As Australia’s first female chancellor, I was indeed very proud that distinguished professor Genevieve Bell became our 13th vice chancellor, as she’s a distinguished academic.

“She’ll be returning to the school of cybernetics. I think that sends a very powerful message that she is, and remains, part of the ANU family.

“She should be allowed to have time to go on leave and to come back to the ANU family, and I’m not going to say anything further.”

Academic Liz Allen, who accused ANU chancellor Julie Bishop of bullying, posted a video of this afternoon’s town hall meeting at the university.

In a post to Instagram, the demographer shared the moment Bishop told staff university vice chancellor Genevieve Bell was resigning. The announcement was met with cheers from the audience.

Allen told a Senate inquiry last month that Bishop berated, laughed at and blocked her from leaving a room – allegations Bishop vehemently denies.