Opposition Leader Angus Taylor labels tobacco excise a 'toxic tax' and calls for its abolition

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has declared the tobacco excise is one of the federal government's "toxic taxes".

The opposition leader has previously used the term to refer to the government's budget changes to the capital gains tax discount.

"The tobacco excise is one of those toxic taxes. Bracket creep, rising income taxes is a toxic tax. It's a sneaky tax," Taylor says.

"We will keep pushing all the way through the next election. And we stand ready to axe any one of these taxes."

Opposition leader says tobacco excise was 'well-intentioned'

Moving on to questions now, and Angus Taylor has been asked what the tobacco excise says about the limits of what governments can achieve.

The opposition leader says the tobacco excise shows well-intentioned policies can end up in "dreadful places".

Taylor has pointed to the federal government's budget changes to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing.

"We've got a government now that pleads that it's got good intentions every time it tries to do something, and it just keeps wrecking the place," Taylor says.

Angus Taylor says Coalition shares some responsibility for rise in illicit tobacco

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has just stepped up to speak at the Liberal Party-aligned Menzies Research Centre.

Taylor is talking about yesterday's announcement to slash the tobacco excise by 80 per cent in an attempt to shut down the illicit tobacco industry.

The Coalition has also vowed to legalise, regulate and tax vapes and nicotine pouches for adults.

The opposition leader says the Coalition shares responsibility for the increase in the tobacco excise.

But he says the situation has worsened after Labor legislated further annual increases of the tobacco excise above indexation.

"I stand here today openly acknowledging the errors of the past and I commit a future Coalition government to fixing them. That's the leadership Australians expect and deserve, and that's the leadership they will never get from Prime Minister Albanese," Taylor says.

Analysis: Jim Chalmers is positive on growth but Australia's productivity problem persists

Treasurer Jim Chalmers would have sighed with relief at this week's economic growth figures. Despite some preview talk of possible stagnation, we saw modest growth of 2.1 per cent in the year to the end of June.

But every economic number these days seems to bring a negative. Economists immediately strengthened their predictions of another interest rate rise.

Read Michelle Grattan's full analysis at the link below.

Canavan doesn't think social media is to blame for young men turning to misogynistic content

Nationals leader Matt Canavan is doubling down on his claim the school curriculum is teaching an "anti-boy" ideology and hitting back at criticism from the teachers' union.

Canavan has repeatedly claimed the ideology was being taught through the Respectful Relationships framework and it was pushing young boys towards misogynistic content online.

The Australian Education Union labelled the comments a "fundamentally incorrect portrayal" of the education system.

But the Nationals leader is sticking by his claim, dismissing the idea social media algorithms were responsible for young boys engaging in the content.

"Maybe we should get to the root of the cause of why many ... young boys are attracted to these toxic voices. I don't think it's because there's some conspiracy that Facebook is pushing this stuff," he says.

"It's that they are attracted to it because we're not treating boys with respect in the classroom."

Canavan was speaking from 'own experience': Hume

Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume has defended her colleague Matt Canavan after he criticised what he called the "feminisation" of the school curriculum.

Canavan rallied against the "lecturing" of young men in schools, alleging that a state-funded Respectful Relationships curriculum could be turning them to harmful online content.

The Nationals leader also argued "anti-boy" ideology was being taught in classrooms.

Speaking with Seven, Hume said Canavan was speaking from his own experience as a parent but distanced herself from his concerns about the curriculum.

"Australian parents have the right to speak up about that. We want our children to go to school and learn how to think, not what to think," she said.

"And if there is activism that's creeping into our classrooms or our curriculum, why not speak up about it."

Hume said she thought teaching respectful relationships and consent was really important.

Government shuts down course linked to student visa misuse

A graduate diploma used as a vehicle for international students to remain in Australia will be effectively shut down under the federal government's first use of new cancellation powers.

Transfers into the Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) have surged in recent years, with the government concerned students are using it to maintain their visa status rather than for genuine study.

The VET course crackdown is part of a broader effort to improve the quality of the international education sector and comes as the government is looking to slow migration arrivals.

Assistant Minister for International Education Julian Hill said Labor was acting to ensure Australia remained a "trusted global education destination" to protect students and "prevent misuse of the visa system".

"Australia continues to welcome genuine international students seeking a premium education and must maintain a ruthless focus on quality, integrity and a great student experience," he said.

The cancellation of the management diploma was sparked by concerns around the large volume of international students who were already in Australia switching into the course.

Read more at the link below.

Palau happy with Pacific Islands Forum turnout

A number of leaders chose not to attend the Pacific Islands Forum, held in Palau. But Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr says the turnout is an improvement from the gathering held over a decade ago.

"I don't know why everybody's concerned about the number ... In all, 15 of the 18 leaders showed up. Compared to 2014, we only had eight in Palau. So, that to me is a signal that the Pacific is united, the Pacific is together, and we do everything to get together," he says.

Whipps, one of the region's most vocal critics of China, pressed leaders to endorse a joint statement on China's recent intercontinental ballistic missile test.

Naoero declined to back the statement, and Kiribati did not join leaders at the final retreat at Whipps's private residence.

But the president rejects the suggestion it raises doubts over the Pacific's consensus on the test.

"You can have a dissenting opinion ... We try to get language that everyone can stand behind, but we also understand the sovereignty and individuality of each nation. We respect that."

He says that nations can't just launch missile tests without notification.

"We've had two in the past two years that have gone over without any of us that are in the firing range being notified."

Bowen not bothered only five non-Pacific leaders plan to attend pre-COP

Chris Bowen isn't fazed only five non-Pacific leaders are planning to attend an Australian-organised climate event in Fiji and Tuvalu next month.

The pre-COP event is part of the compromise deal Australia struck with Türkiye last year after bowing out of hosting the climate conference in Adelaide.

Bowen, who will lead the event as COP head of negotiations, tells ABC's Radio National Breakfast he's not surprised, and it's actually great news that any leaders have signed up at all.

"The pre-COP is not normally a leaders' level event. As President [Surangel] Whipps said to me yesterday, if we have one leader at pre-COP, that's one more than there's ever been to a pre-COP before," he says.

"So he certainly expressed a view, as all the other Pacific leaders did to me privately and publicly, that it's a very good thing that any leaders are coming to pre-COP because that is the first time that has happened."

The event is being held to highlight the impact climate change is having on low-lying Pacific nations. Bowen says about 4,000 people and representatives of 60 nations are expected to attend.

'Reasonable' Naoero didn't endorse criticism of China's missile test

Chris Bowen has spent the week at the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau, alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Yesterday, Pacific leaders issued a joint statement saying they didn't get enough notice of China's intercontinental ballistic missile test in July.

So was the criticism about not giving ample time or the nature of the test?

"The leaders in the Pacific were deeply concerned: one, that a missile test was done without permission of the countries whose airspace [it] had travelled through, and two, that there was no notice of the said missile test," the energy and climate change minister tells ABC's Radio National Breakfast.

"So I think it's both. It's a concern about sovereignty and safety and one that Australia fully backs."

Naoero did not endorse the criticism towards China. Bowen is asked if it raised doubts over the Pacific's consensus on the matter.

"It's perfectly reasonable for the vast majority of Pacific countries to express a view and for one or two to say that they have a different view. I think the view of the overwhelming bulk of the Pacific was made crystal clear," he says.

Private health rebate double whammy

The federal government is facing extra heat over its plan to reduce the private health insurance rebate for older Australians.

Not only will the states and territories pile on the pressure at a health ministers' meeting today by raising concerns the change will strain their public hospitals even further, but day two of the Senate inquiry into the issue is also happening.

ICYMI: Health Minister Mark Butler is proposing to wind back the rebate those aged 65 and over get on their private health cover to bring it into line with other age groups.

It'll mean more than 3 million older Australians will pay hundreds of dollars more a year, but it is expected to save the federal budget $3 billion over four years, which will be invested into aged care.

The Council on the Ageing, which appeared at the inquiry yesterday, said 1.2 million pensioners would be affected.

Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston tells ABC's Radio National Breakfast it is important to encourage people to use the private system to avoid adding more pressure to already-stretched public hospitals "at a time when their health costs are going, by the very nature of their age, to be higher".

'Nothing has changed': Chalmers sticks by housing tax changes

So, would Treasurer Jim Chalmers consider tweaks to the housing tax changes down the line if the market downturn was sustained?

It doesn't sound like it.

"From our point of view, nothing has changed our view that this is a really important reform because for far too long Australians, particularly young Australians, were locked out of the housing market," he tells ABC's News Breakfast.

Chalmers stands by Treasury house price forecasts amid downturn

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is standing by his department's forecasts about the impact the May budget's tax changes will have on house prices.

The budget wound back capital gains tax discounts for investors in established housing and limited negative gearing to existing investments and new builds. Treasury forecast the measures would reduce house price growth by 2 per cent.

But an uptick in interest rates, paired with the changes, have been credited for prices falling in almost every capital city in August, according to Cotality.

Chalmers tells ABC News Breakfast the Treasury forecast was based on a "two-year assumption".

"I would encourage people to understand that it's a two-year assumption, not something about the last couple of months. It's about the next couple of years," he says.

"Even if you look at some of the more dramatic forecasts that some of the banks have put out, for example, about house prices, even in some of those forecasts they expect house prices to return to growth next year."

New ACTU chief's Hanson warning

The new secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has told 7.30 there needs to be stronger guardrails and consultations in place to protect workers' rights with the arrival of AI.

Melissa Donnelly, 44, is the youngest secretary in decades to take over the influential ACTU at a time when workers are bracing for the arrival of artificial intelligence in Australian workplaces.

"Workers absolutely deserve and should have a say on AI in their workplaces," Donnelly said.

"That's not necessarily a veto. But workers are really worried about what it means for their jobs, what it means for their job security, what it means for their kids' jobs into the future.

"We have creative workers who are having their work stolen. There has to be a broader discussion, and workers deserve to have a seat at that table and have a say on what happens."

Donnelly said one of the priorities of her mandate was to ensure wages rise to help with the cost-of-living crisis, but warned Australians she did not think One Nation was the answer.

She reminded the public about One Nation's record when it comes to workers' rights, as Pauline Hanson's party seeks to capitalise on discontent amongst working Australians in a tough economy.

"One Nation says one thing and does another," Donnelly said.

"The reality is that Pauline Hanson's track record is voting against penalty rates, voting against rights for casual and gig workers. She's opposed the minimum wage. She's most recently suggested it should be easier to sack workers.

"If you're worried about cost of living, Pauline Hanson is going to make it worse."

'Serious concerns' for 36 unaccounted-for Australians in flood disaster

Australia still has very "serious concerns" for the safety of the 36 citizens yet to be located after the Nepal-Tibet flood disaster.

Two more Australians were confirmed safe overnight, revising the number of missing citizens down to 36.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers welcomed the news, but stressed the government still held concerns about the safety of the remaining 36.

"I can confirm two more Australians were located overnight. That would be a huge relief to the loved ones of these two Australians who've been located," he tells ABC's News Breakfast.

"But we still have very serious concerns for t