Key events
What we learned today, Monday 13 October
This is where we’ll wrap up for today, but let’s recap the main events:
We’ll be back bright and early tomorrow.
Australian shares fall amid new chapter in trade woes
Australian shares have tumbled on the back of a resumption of US-China trade tensions, stoking worries about global growth and tech company valuations, AAP reports.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 75.5 points on Monday, down 0.84%, to 8,882.8, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 81 points, or 0.87%, to 9,183.3.
While investors had increasingly discounted US public trade announcements as negotiating tactics in recent months, China’s call to initiate export controls on rare earths was different, Moomoo market strategist Michael McCarthy said.
You can now read the full story on the AFP investigating Lidia Thorpe’s comments here:
Henry Belot
Nacc deputy says public hearings will come ‘when the right matter’ arises
Another quick update from the deputy commissioner of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Kylie Kilgour.
When questioned about the watchdog’s transparency and the lack of public hearings, Kilgour asked for patience:
Absolutely, we will do a public hearing when we have the right matter. We just don’t have that right matter, today. I can tell you, none of the investigations we are doing would be justifiable to have a public hearing. When we get to that stage, we’ll do it. We are ready to do it. We’ve got all the procedures in place. We’ve got people trained.
Kilgour told the Centre for Public Integrity conference that Nacc needed to carefully balance the task of protecting witnesses, privacy and reputation when holding public hearings.
Henry Belot
Nacc deputy acknowledges concern over robodebt handling and pledges transparency
The deputy commissioner of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nacc) has acknowledged community concern about how it handled the illegal robotdebt scheme and has committed to being transparent when appropriate.
The Nacc’s original decision not to investigate was heavily criticised, with its own watchdog, inspector Gail Furness, revealing she had received more than 1,000 complaints.
In February, the Nacc said five public servants and one public official would be investigated to determine whether or not they “engaged in corrupt conduct”.
Kylie Kilgour told a conference organised by the Centre for Public Integrity that she was aware of frustration about the speed of the Nacc’s investigations. She declined to comment on the details of the robotdebt investigation, but said that would change in time:
I will speak more about that investigation when it is done. I will be as transparent and as public and as open as I can be, when I can be, about that investigation. I do understand the community sentiment about what happened in robotdebt and our decision not to investigate.
Henry Belot
Nacc’s robotdebt investigation progressing at ‘decent pace’, deputy commissioner says
The National Anti-Corruption Commission’s (Nacc) deputy, Kylie Kilgour, has told a conference in Melbourne that its investigation into the illegal robotdebt is progressing “at a decent pace”.
Earlier this year, the independent MP Helen Haines, who helped craft legislation to establish the Nacc, called for a public update on the investigation and warned community confidence in the watchdog was on the line.
In February, the Nacc said five public servants and one public official would be investigated to determine whether or not they “engaged in corrupt conduct”.
Kilgour told a conference hosted by the Centre for Public Integrity that “the investigation is under way”:
I am the deputy commissioner that is conducting that investigation with a dedicated team down here in Melbourne. That investigation is happening. It is happening at a pretty decent pace. I can’t comment much more than that at this stage. But people can be assured that it’s been taken extremely seriously, and I take the task of conducting that investigation extremely seriously.
Coalition unveils reshuffle after Hastie’s resignation
Sarah Basford Canales
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has announced another reshuffle after Andrew Hastie vacated the shadow ministry earlier this month over an immigration policy dispute.
Tasmanian senator Jonathan Duniam, who was formerly the shadow education and early learning minister, will replace Hastie in the home affairs portfolio while Berowra MP Julian Leeser moves from shadow attorney general to education and early learning.
Andrew Wallace, a former house speaker in the Morrison government, will take up the opposition’s attorney general portfolio and leave his place as deputy chair of the powerful parliamentary intelligence and security committee. That move frees up the position for Herbert MP Phillip Thompson, who also maintains his shadow assistant ministry roles for the NDIS and defence.
Other changes include Zoe McKenzie’s appointment as the shadow cabinet secretary and Aaron Violi’s promotion to the opposition ministry as shadow assistant communications minister.
Josh Taylor
Up to 3m people signed up for VPNs in UK following age assurance rollout
The executive director of the UK-based Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA), Ian Corby, has said between two or three million extra people began using a virtual private network (VPN) to bypass age assurance measures that rolled out in the UK earlier this year.
Corby told the Senate committee on age checks for search engines and the social media ban:
We think probably two or three million extra people are using a VPN, based on some analysis we’ve done, out of obviously, sort of 60 million, and those are hopefully mostly adults, of course, because VPNs tend to come with a cost.
I always do warn people that cheap or free VPNs are stealing more of your data than you could ever possibly imagine. So only ever use a good quality VPN.
Greens senator David Shoebridge said that figure “shows a potentially very, very large gap or window” through which people are avoiding age verification.
Corby said social media platforms under the Australian requirements would need to take steps to prevent users from using VPNs to bypass the check.
[Social media] need to look at the nature of the traffic they’re getting from VPNs. And you can always spot VPN traffic and see whether it looks as if it’s likely to be from a user who is underage in Australia, and if it turns out that they’re never using the social media platform during school hours in Australia, that their currency on their browser is set to the Australian dollar, that they’re using AEDT as their time zone, then you would ask them to prove that they’re not in Australia, or to do an age check.
Victoria police don’t know if Dezi Freeman is still alive
Benita Kolovos
After announcing his plans to restructure the Victoria police force, the commissioner was asked for an update on the search for Dezi Freeman, who fled into the bush after killing officers Vadim de Waart-Hottart and Neal Thompson on 24 August.
Bush said:
Unfortunately, we have no updates. Of the three likely scenarios we’re considering what weight we put to each of them. Is he still alive? We don’t know. Is he alive and still in the area? We have no real information to suggest that it’s occurred, but we never discount. Or has he been unable to leave the area and is being looked after by others? We don’t know. All of those are assumptions, possibilities, and we plan and resource for those three.
He said there had been 1,400 tips to police with “every one of those pursued twice”.
We encourage anyone who believes they have any information that could help us find this person, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
AFP investigating Lidia Thorpe’s comments at pro-Palestine rally
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) are investigating whether comments made by Independent senator Lidia Thorpe at a pro-Palestine rally breached legislation.
Thorpe had told the rally:
We stand with you every day, and we will fight every day, and we will turn up every day, and if I have to burn down Parliament House to make a point … I am not there to make friends.
An AFP spokesperson said it was aware of comments made at a protest regarding Australia’s Parliament House.
The AFP’s National Security Investigations team in Victoria began investigating almost immediately into whether the comments breach legislation. This will be done methodically.
It is not the usual practice of the AFP to provide a running commentary on matters. However, noting the public commentary and concern, the AFP is seeking to reassure the community that this issue is being appropriately considered and undertaken in a timely manner.
Thorpe said her words about burning down parliament house were “clearly a figure of speech”.
Search resumes for missing boy Gus Lamont in South Australia
The search for missing four-year-old Gus Lamont will resume tomorrow in South Australia.
Police announced on 3 October that search efforts had been scaled back for the boy who disappeared from his family’s sheep station in the remote South Australian mid-north at the end of September.
South Australia police released a statement this afternoon, saying the search would resume at Oak Park Station, 43km south of Yunta, on Tuesday.
The search, which will involve police and ADF personnel, will concentrate on an expanded area outside of the zone already searched extensively following Gus’ disappearance on Saturday 27 September.
There continues to be regular and close engagement with the Lamont family who are continuing to assist with the investigation.
Oak Park Station is private property. The family has asked that media refrain from contacting them and [entering] their property.
Nick Visser
That’s all from me. Natasha May will guide you through the rest of Monday. Take care!
Adeshola Ore
Medical watchdog says 95% of notifications on Gaza conflict required no regulatory action
About 95% of complaints to Australia’s medical watchdog about health professionals sharing views on the Gaza conflict required no regulatory action.
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) received 188 complaints related to the Gaza conflict between 1 October 2023 and 12 September 2025. The complaints related to 95 practitioners. The chief executive of AHPRA, Justin Untersteiner, told Senate estimates last week two cases of health professionals facing allegations of professional misconduct had been referred to the relevant tribunals.
A spokesperson for Ahpra told Guardian Australia that of the 173 notifications about the conflict that had been closed, seven required regulatory action.
In addition to the tribunal referrals, three practitioners were cautioned, while two had conditions imposed on their registrations.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners wrote to AHPRA in August, urging the regulator to fast-track the investigations of GPs who made public comments about the Gaza conflict.
Benita Kolovos
‘No one should live in fear of people breaking into their homes’, Victoria’s police commissioner says
Back to Victoria where its police chief commissioner is starting the press conference on the complete restructure of the force amid concerns over increasing crime in the state.
Bush has begun his press conference by saying Victoria police “have exceptional people who do a wonderful job under challenging circumstances”, but the force is facing two significant issues.
Firstly, he noted a “major crime problem in Victoria”, with the state “way overrepresented” and that there are “far too many victims”.
No one should live in fear of people breaking into their homes overnight, stealing cars, violence in the street, violence at retail outlets, knife crime.
The second problem, he said, was “the lack of trust and confidence in the Victoria police”:
In terms of those two very significant issues, we need to police differently. We need a reset. We need to reorganise ourselves.
Ted O’Brien says super tax changes a ‘victory for common sense’
Deputy opposition leader Ted O’Brien says treasurer Jim Chalmers’ new superannuation tax plans are a “victory for common sense”.
O’Brien just said during a press conference:
I welcome today’s decision, to dump a tax which was always super big and super bad. …
We have known for a very long time that this tax is very bad for Australians. But the treasurer refused to budge. Now, finally, the government has made the right decision, to dump its superannuation tax regime.
Today is indeed a humiliating day for the treasurer. But it is a victory for common sense; it is a victory for everyday Australians who are otherwise going to be stung by this tax which was fundamentally unfair.
Benita Kolovos
Getting ahead of crime ‘problem’ will require ‘fundamental shift’, commissioner says
Bush said in a statement before the press conference that there was “no escaping” the fact that there was a “crime problem here in Victoria”.
Getting ahead of this crime problem requires consequences for those offenders who drive fear in our communities combined with ongoing swift arrests and proactive operations. But it will also require a fundamental shift in how Victoria Police operates. We need to change how we police, so that we can get ahead of the criminals and stop the offending before it happens.
He said there were 22,000 police, protective service officers and public sector staff across the state, but those on the frontline were not being given enough support. Bush said:
While specialist services within Victoria Police have benefited from considerable investment – and necessarily so – our general duties officers, the backbone of our organisation, have not received the same levels of focus or investment.
They are loaded past their capacity, burdened by bureaucracy and systems that don’t talk to each other. Our structures do not support them as effectively as is needed and nor do our back-of-house functions, technology or processes. If we are to prevent crime, then it starts with properly resourcing and enabling our frontline police officers.
