News update for Thur 3 April 2025
Your trusted guide to the top independent news and views of the day...
30 days until the May 3 federal election
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TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS UPDATES: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - Amy Remeikis for The Australia Institute here - and through 6 News here
Niki Savva: Wakey, wakey: Dutton looks shaky as his aptitude is put to the ultimate test - The SMH/Age
Albanese and Dutton especially – who has gushed over Trump and continues to ape his policies – have nothing to lose if they go in hard against him. How will Trump punish us? By scrapping AUKUS? Please. Make our day.
Malcolm Turnbull is right. No slumping to our knees, no sucking up. Allowing Trump to think it’s OK to treat Australia as an enemy rather than as a friend is not on.
Nor is it OK for a prime ministerial aspirant from Queensland to spit on the capital of the nation he wants to lead while expressing his preference to live in a harbourside mansion in Sydney.
Read from Niki Savva for The SMH/Age (paywall)
Also read >
Dutton appears to be slowly losing ground - Pearls and Irritations
Peter Dutton: The man who would be PM - Pearls and Irritations
Tim Wilson questioned over whether ‘tradie’ in Victorian ad is Liberal campaigner - The Guardian
A Bridget too far: all grit but no good solid dirt - David Hardaker for The Politics
‘Game on’: Kim Williams has ‘no doubt’ a Coalition government would initiate a review of the ABC - The Guardian
In the event of a hung parliament, one wildcard has been largely overlooked – the Nationals - The Guardian
If Peter Dutton needs to court the crossbench to form minority government after the election, he would risk putting his Coalition partner offside on climate and environment policy.
If the Coalition wins the election, it will face a concerted push from its junior partner, the Nationals, to weaken and even abandon climate initiatives and promote coal as an interim measure in the Coalition’s nuclear power plan.
That would put Peter Dutton and the Liberals between a rock and a hard place should he seek to form a minority government, given that might require the support of environmentally minded crossbenchers.
Also read > The Coalition and Labor’s faux postal vote forms are a blatant scam - Crikey (paywall)
Will there be another independent wave in 2025? - The Tally Room Podcast
Ben is joined by journalist Rachel Withers, writer of the Crikey column 'Well Hung', to discuss the prospects for independent candidates, including teal and Muslim independents, at the 2025 federal election.
Listen to The Tally Room Podcast
Also read >
The Importance of excellent Independent MPs - Ian McPhee for Pearls and Irritations
Labor pains: Meet the local independents trying to unseat Labor MPs - Rachel Withers for Crikey (paywall)
State of the states: six politics experts explain the key seats across the country - The Conversation
The five-week election campaign is now in full swing throughout the nation.
Amid the flurry of photo opportunities and press conferences, candidates campaign in specific areas for a reason: to shore up or win back key seats.
But which seats are key? Here, six experts explain the seats to watch in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.
Will Australia’s media do better at cracking down on lies this election? The signs aren’t good - Pearls and Irritations
Populism uses the freedoms of democracy against democracy. In particular, populists use freedom of speech to promote hate, incite prejudice, intensify social division and spread lies.
At the same time, freedom of speech is indispensable to the functioning of democracy. Among other things, it is the means by which the institution of the media is expected to inform people, provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, and hold the powerful to account.
Read more from Denis Muller for Pearls and Irritations
How do the major parties stand on women’s representation? Here’s a rundown - Women’s Agenda
Amid the nation’s domestic violence crisis, rising cost-of-living and the dangers of climate change, Australia needs women leaders at the table, driving change. With the federal election just around the corner, the representation of women in parliament is more critical than ever.
The total representation of women in parliament currently sits at 45 per cent, according to data from Pathway to Politics, with the House of Representatives having 39 per cent women and the Senate having 57 per cent.
Today’s cartoon by First Dog on the Moon
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS UPDATES: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - Amy Remeikis for The Australia Institute here - and through 6 News here
Join the new Boiling Point community - where we’re growing a group of politically informed Australians in the lead up to the 2025 federal election. See details and sign up here.
Is Dutton’s gas plan just hot air? - Full Story Podcast
For months, the Coalition has been spruiking nuclear power as the answer to Australia’s rising energy prices. This was until opposition leader Peter Dutton’s budget reply speech, when gas appears to have become the main focus of the Coalition’s public messaging on energy. With slim details and more questions than answers, climate and environment editor Adam Morton tells Reged Ahmad how the plan might work and what it means for climate change
Listen to the Full Story Podcast
Also >
Dutton admits: we’ve got a gas problem - The Last Place on Earth
You know our environmental laws are broken, when a coal mine makes 1000 times what it costs to pollute - The New Daily
Nine young Aussies make UN climate complaint against Australian government - Women’s Agenda
Labor will announce home battery rebate in “coming days,” says federal treasurer - Renew Economy
‘Same shit, different year’: Australia records hottest 12 months and warmest March on record - The Guardian
Immigration. A manufactured crisis of politics over policy - Michael West Media
A so-called Australian immigration crisis is a central election issue, but it’s based on misconceptions easily debunked by any examination of the evidence.
Immigration has been a pawn for political dog-whistling and misinformation for decades, and the 2025 election campaign promises more of the same, with Labor and the LNP engaging in a game of my-number-is-smaller-than-yours game.
The lack of agreement on a coherent long-term vision for an Australian immigration policy that in 2025 is not fit for purpose leaves migrants at the centre of a concocted debate where politicians compete for the most powerful headlines.
Read more in Michael West Media
What Canada, Mexico, Japan, the UK, and the European Union should do in response to Trump's grossly irresponsible tariffs - Robert Reich
Don't negotiate. Do this now so you'll be negotiating from a position of power.
Trump has done it — imposing a 10 percent tariff on all trading partners as well as double-digits tariffs on dozens of other countries that Trump regime officials say have treated the United States “unfairly,” whatever that means.
Also in his speech today, Trump confirmed that a 25 percent tariff on foreign-made automobiles would go into effect on Thursday, April 3. Imports of cars and car parts from Canada and Mexico will be especially affected.
Also read > Susan Crawford wins Wisconsin Supreme Court race against Elon Musk backed candidate - Women’s Agenda
Albanese brings a protectionism popgun to Trump’s trade war trenches. It won’t save us - Crikey
Anthony Albanese says he won’t be imposing tariffs on US goods — but he’s opted for other, softer forms of protectionism instead.
While the prime minister’s response to Donald Trump’s global trade war wisely eschewed any reciprocating tariffs, he is still proposing to take Australia further down the road of protectionism at a point when the global trade system is being demolished.
This is an historic day, no doubt — not any sort of liberation day, but a day which saw the overthrow of the global trade order. That order, if hardly “free”, has underpinned Western prosperity — and helped hundreds of millions of people escape poverty across Asia — over the past four decades and helped prevent any major power conflict since World War II.
Read more from Bernard Keane for Crikey (paywall)
US tariffs will upend global trade. This is how Australia can respond - The Conversation
US President Donald Trump has imposed a range of tariffs on all products entering the US market, with Australian exports set to face a 10% tariff, effective April 5.
These import taxes will be charged by US customs on each imported item. The punitive tariffs on 60 countries range as high as 34% on imports from China and 46% on Vietnam, and exceed the rates agreed between the United States and other global trade partners.
“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump said.
The impact on Australian industries will be both direct and indirect. The largest Australian export to the US is meat products, totalling A$4 billion in 2024, and our farmers may divert some product to other nations.
Also read > New modelling reveals full impact of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs – with the US hit hardest - The Conversation
John Lyons: The key to what is happening on tariffs is the psychology of Donald Trump - The ABC
Cyclone Trump has hit the Australian mainland.
After battering Canada, Mexico, Ukraine and the European Union in recent weeks, it has finally made its way to Australia.
The damage is bad — Australian beef farmers in particular will suffer.
But it could have been worse.
Our Asian neighbours have taken a much harder hit as part of this dramatic shake-up to the international trading system — China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand being hardest hit.
Read more from John Lyons for The ABC
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Quick Links…
New study of Australian artists finds average income from art is only $14k - The ABC
Labor wants to give the minimum wage a real boost. The benefits would likely outweigh any downsides - The Conversation
What Australians flying to the US need to know about phone and device searches at the border - The Guardian
What did John Howard know about the actions leading up to the 1998 waterfront dispute? - The ABC
Home economics: housing, living standards and the federal election - Follow The Money Podcast
Another election: Is it time to recognise teenagers’ right to vote? - The New Daily
Australia’s major parties have lost ‘courage’ on Indigenous affairs, Mick Gooda says - The Guardian
Britain launches AUKUS parliamentary inquiry amid 'geopolitical shifts' - The ABC
The $11 billion warship decision testing Australia’s alliances - 7am Podcast
You never know what you’re gonna get: Australians will have to wait until after the election to see if there’s an interest rate cut - Greg Jericho for The Guardian
News and Views! To vote, or not to vote? - TINFOIL TALES Podcast
Rednote used to spread false claims about ‘wicked’ policy on Chinese Australians and citizenship - The Guardian
Dutton flags cuts to 'wasteful' spending on education, health and ABC - The ABC
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS UPDATES: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - Amy Remeikis for The Australia Institute here - and through 6 News here
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You’re up to date for Thursday the 3rd of April. See you tomorrow!
TODAY’S BREAKING NEWS UPDATES: See all the breaking news of the day through The Guardian here - Amy Remeikis for The Australia Institute here - and through 6 News here
Join the new Boiling Point community - where we’re growing a group of politically informed Australians in the lead up to the 2025 federal election. See details and sign up here.
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