Australia news live: Dutton says opposition ‘won’t be departing’ from net zero, China welcomes PM’s confirmed visit

Dutton says he would ‘sit down with the Labor party’ in event of second referendum

Dutton was also quizzed on his timeline for his proposal for a second referendum, on constitutional recognition that was floated this week.

Dutton was asked when such a referendum would be held – keeping in mind, of course, that it would only happen if he were to win government at the next election.

The opposition leader danced around the question several times, before saying he would “sit down with the Labor party” at some point down the line:

I would sit down with the Labor party and we would have – I believe in sensible conversation. I don’t believe the prime minister, to be honest, when he says at the moment that if the referendum goes down, it’s all over. It’s got echoes of Kevin Rudd’s greatest moral challenge.

We will be able to, I believe, arrive at a form of words, because at the moment the prime minister will dismiss that because he doesn’t want to allow any conversation to take place in relation to recognition.

I will take a judgment as to … when we could get a successful outcome. I believe that the prospect of getting that question is very different than it was even three years ago or 13 years ago, when it might have first been proposed.

Paul Karp

Dutton says opposition ‘won’t be departing’ from net zero

In recent days some in the Nationals have agitated to abandon the commitment to net zero, through a motion to be debated at Nationals conference and comments from frontbencher Barnaby Joyce that the estimated cost of net zero was “utterly untenable”.

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has just rejected that push, telling Radio National the Coalition “won’t be departing” from net zero.

He said:

No [it doesn’t concern me], there’s strong support for net zero. It’s a policy that we took to the last election, I’ve recommitted to it. We won’t be departing from it, and I believe very strongly we need to have a proper debate about how we credibly reduce emissions in this country.

Because as we’ve seen, the Labor government [in] New South Wales has signed up to the extension of coal-fired power … we’ve got South Australia who is very precarious in terms of their supply, manufacturers there are talking about offshoring and just reimporting the product from somewhere like Malaysia where there will be higher emissions.

So it’s why the sensible discussion – frankly, the mature discussion – about how we can firm up renewables through the latest technology of nuclear, which is embraced by Justin Trudeau, by Emmanuel Macron and many other countries, over 50 countries now … they see it as their only credible pathway to emissions reductions.

And interestingly, without giving too much away of the internal polling, the shift here, where the support, maybe five years ago, maybe two years ago, wasn’t there, is strongly there now, and particularly with younger people who are well-read on zero emissions, nuclear technology, being able to firm up wind and solar and you know, support hydrogen and other emerging technologies.

Opposition leader Dutton supports PM’s visit to China

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has said he believes it is “appropriate” that Anthony Albanese visit China, as the PM prepares to be the first Australian leader in seven years to visit.

Dutton was on RN Breakfast this morning, and was asked first up what he thought of former prime minister Scott Morrison warning against the visit. Morrison had criticised the government for what he describes as acquiescence to China’s demands.

Dutton said he recognised China as an important trading partner and that he believed the basis of a conversation should be on “peace and stability in the region”.

Well, my view is it’s appropriate for the prime minister to go because he’s got, firstly, an invitation but he’s also got a list of issues to raise and he obviously believes that he can get some way in relation to the relief around the tariffs that have been imposed. Human rights issues, obviously, remain paramount, particularly in relation to Australian citizens.

There will be other sensitive security issues that the prime minister will want to raise as well. China is an incredibly important trading partner for us and we want peace and stability to endure in our region. And I’m sure that will be the basis of the conversation.

Qatar Airways ‘not the only airline’ that could help bring air fares down: transport minister

Last night the federal transport minister, Catherine King, said she expects air fares to come down, but added that Qatar Airways was “not the only airline that adds to competition”.

King was on ABC’s 7.30, and she also denied being lobbied by Qantas, adding that another competitor, Etihad Airways, had extra capacity they were “not using” and that an application by Turkish Airlines was also pending.

It comes as King has faced criticisms this week for her decision to deny Qatar Airlines the opportunity to expand its footprint in Australia, and that she wants to see the industry protect jobs.

We’re up to 91% of pre-Covid capacity, we’ve got more capacity coming in … it is coming back, and we will start to see prices come down.

I would certainly like to see more jobs in aviation and I would like to see Qantas do a much better job, and this is incumbent on all our airlines in making sure we’ve got decent, long-term, sustainable jobs in aviation.

The race to the bottom that we’ve seen in jobs, I think, was really the catalyst for the same job, same pay [legislation] and we’ve been highly critical of Qantas in relation to that.

Mostafa Rachwani

Good morning, Mostafa Rachwani with you this morning to take you through the day’s news.

Ita Buttrose will address a gathering of some of the country’s most influential and recognisable women today to share her wisdom after more than 50 years in the industry, AAP reports.

The 81-year-old, who recently revealed she would not seek a second stint as ABC chair, will deliver the keynote speech at Friday’s Women in Media national conference in Sydney.

Buttrose told the federal government last month she planned to end her tenure at the national broadcaster when her five-year term expired in March 2024.

At the time, the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, called the former magazine editor and TV host a “giant of Australia’s media industry”.

Rowland will also be at the event for a panel discussion on advancing gender equality in the industry.

Also today, documentary-maker and 2023 Australian of the Year Taryn Brumfitt, who leads the Body Image Movement, will discuss the importance of body acceptance and self-compassion in the media.

Hosting events will be another industry veteran, Channel 10 newsreader Sandra Sully.

The conference will end tomorrow.

Albanese first PM in 20 years to hold formal bilateral talks with Philippines amid rising regional tensions

Australia will look to reinforce security and defence ties with the Philippines amid growing regional tensions, as the prime minister prepares to hold formal talks in Manila today, AAP reports.

Anthony Albanese will have one-on-one talks with the Philippines president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, as part of his week-long visit through Asia.

Albanese will be the first prime minister in 20 years to hold formal bilateral talks in the Philippines with the country’s leader.

“The Philippines is a critical nation for Australia’s interests, we have strong economic relations,” he told reporters yesterday. “We also have strong cooperation when it comes to defence arrangements, and in addition to that, of course, we have a strong diaspora in Australia.”

The two leaders have already held informal talks at the gala dinner for the Asean summit in Jakarta.

The bilateral meeting coincides with Australia ramping up its military ties with the Philippines. The defence minister, Richard Marles, in August confirmed Australia would work more closely with the Asian nation on joint patrols. Tensions had been rising in the South China Sea, with mounting clashes between the Philippines and China in the contested region.

Albanese said Australia respected rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region.

“Australia continues to engage consistently with international law in the region, including in the South China Sea,” he said.

During his visit to Manila, Albanese will take part in a wreath-laying ceremony before talks with Marcos at the presidential palace.

The visit to the Philippines follows the prime minister attending the Asean and east Asia summits in Jakarta.

The trip coincided with the launch of a new economic strategy for south-east Asia to 2040, which calls for increasing investment to the region, including the Philippines.

Later today, the prime minister will jet off to India for the two-day G20 summit in New Delhi.

After news emerged that Anthony Albanese would be travelling to Beijing to meet the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, later this year, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson was invited to issue an official response at its regular press briefing last night.

Asked to confirm the visit and provide more details, a spokesperson, Mao Ning, said:

China welcomes Prime Minister Albanese to visit China at the invitation of Premier Li Qiang and stands ready to work with Australia to make sound preparations for the visit. China always believes that a sound and stable China-Australia relationship is in the fundamental interests of the peoples of both countries, and conducive to peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific and the wider world.

We intend to work with Australia to deliver on the common understandings between the leaders of the two countries, uphold the spirit of mutual respect and mutual benefit, properly handle differences, and continue to improve and grow our comprehensive strategic partnership.

Welcome

Martin Farrer

Good morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be spotting you the top overnight stories before my colleague Mostafa Rachwani takes charge.

In an exclusive interview, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, identifies the slowdown in the Chinese economy and a continuing squeeze on the spending power of Australian households as the two key factors explaining why the economy might be in for a spot of turbulence in the next 12 months. He acknowledged that people are “feeling the squeeze” from interest rate rises, but is still hopeful Australia can avoid a recession because “we’ve got a lot going for us”.

The Australian War Memorial has installed a new temporary 84-word plaque next to a display about Ben Roberts-Smith to acknowledge he was found to be “involved and complicit in unlawful killings in Afghanistan”. But critics say the move was “inadequate” and that the plaque should be removed.

Another exclusive story this morning is that authorities in Queensland are notifying the families of 64 alleged victims of an accused paedophile after their identities were mistakenly made available to journalists – including at Guardian Australia. A 45-year-old male childcare worker was in July charged with offences involving 91 children in Australia and overseas, including 64 in Brisbane. Court documents relating to the charges were made available to several media outlets but the names of 64 alleged victims had not been redacted from charge sheets, as would usually occur.

And China has officially responded to the news that Anthony Albanese will travel to China later this year – more on that soon. The prime minister is today in Manila to hold one-on-one talks with the Philippines president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, as part of his week-long visit through Asia.