News live: another 29 Australians evacuated from Tel Aviv; Sussan Ley says emissions reduction not about ‘landing on a certain date’ | Australia news

Pictures of Australians leaving Israel

Government sources said Australian defence personnel and diplomats supported the departure of another 29 Australians and family members from Israel.

Here’s a look at some pictures:

Finance minister asked about lifting defence spending

Asked on ABC TV how difficult a decision it would be to lift defence spending, the finance minister, Katy Gallagher, said:

I mean, these are the balancing decisions that governments have to take. But I would again say in the last three years we put $11bn across the forward estimates and $57bn into defence over the medium term. We’ve been able to do that at a time we have put increases into health, and other important social programs. So, you know, it is a balancing act. But the government’s job is to make sure that all areas of government are funded properly, including defence. But then all of the other programs that Australians deserve and rely upon and that continues.

It’s on my desk every day, really, those choices. We’ll continue to make them in the best interests of Australia. That’s the PM’s view and that’s what we take to defence funding. But we also take it to all those other important areas.

‘We’ve put billions of dollars into defence,’ says Katy Gallagher

The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, says Australia takes advice on defence spending from agencies seriously.

Asked on ABC TV if Australia is looking at defence spending and security arrangements as other nations lift defence spending, Gallagher said:

We have been increasing defence spending. When we came to government, it wasn’t what it should have been and delivering the capability needed. There have been a lot of press releases but not a lot of equipment or capability delivered. Pat Conroy and the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, have been trying to turn that ship around. We’ve put billions of dollars into defence. We understand the environment we’re working in. We take the advice of our agencies seriously. When they come to us and say, this is the capability we need, and this is the funding that’s required, we have provided that funding and that’s the approach we’ll continue to take.

Sussan Ley says emissions reduction is not about “landing on a certain date”.

The opposition leader was asked on ABC RN a short while ago about the committee she set up to develop a new energy and climate policy:

It’s iterative and it’s continuous, and it will develop a plan … underpinned by two goals. That we have a stable energy grid which provides affordable and reliable power for households and businesses, and that we reduce emissions so that we’re playing our part in the global effort and the global challenge of climate change.

So it’s not ending at a certain point in time. It’s not landing on a certain date. It’s an important working group, and it will reflect the wide range of views on energy policy across Australia, and it will also hold up a mirror to this government, because they’ve made big promises on energy. We’re going to hold them to account, and we’re going to make sure that they explain to the Australian people how they are on track to reduce the cost of electricity. We haven’t seen that so far.

Ley says Liberal party has to recruit more women but ‘agnostic’ about using quotas

Sussan Ley continues to be “agnostic” on methods to get more women into the Liberal party, including quotes. But the opposition leader reiterates that she is “a zealot that it does actually happen”.

She tells ABC RN:

I am agnostic on the specific methods to make it happen, but I am a zealot that it does actually happen.

Our Liberal party is a federated body, and it doesn’t have a top-down instruction method … We’ve got state divisions. Now, some state divisions might choose to implement quotas. If they do, that’s fine. If others don’t, that’s also fine. What I made very clear yesterday is what is not fine is not having enough women. So as the first woman leader of our federal party, let me send the clearest possible message: we do need to do better. We’ve got to recruit better. We’ve got to retain better. We’ve got to support better.

Sussan Ley says she is taking up the fight for women in the Liberal party

Asked if she still calls herself a feminist, Sussan Ley says she is someone who “stands up for women every single hour of every single day”.

The opposition leader tells ABC RN:

I know that when it comes to our party and our representation of Australian women, I am going to be the number one flag flyer for that, because it is so important that as the first female leader of our party, which sends a signal – it’s about more than that, clearly – but I do take up this fight when it comes to women in our party and the representation of the women of Australia.

‘We’ve got to be a Liberal party that is proudly for women’: Ley

Reviews will look into where the Liberal party went wrong in their recent failed election campaign, Sussan Ley says.

The opposition leader is speaking to ABC RN:

I stood on polling booths during the election, and I spoke to a lot of women, and women said to me they weren’t confident that the Liberal party had their back when it came to understanding and putting policies in place, about work-life balance, about getting it right, between dropping the children at childcare, doing the best by your family, managing struggles at work, paying your mortgage, cost of living, and so on. And as I said yesterday, we’ve got to be a Liberal party that is proudly for women, made up of women standing up for women.

The Liberal party did not “meet modern Australians where they are” at the last election, opposition leader Sussan Ley says. She is speaking on ABC RN this morning:

We have to meet modern Australia where they are. And clearly we did not do that in the last election.

We’re going to listen. That’s the first and most important thing. And yesterday, I outlined two important reviews that are part of that first stage of listening. We’re going to fix our policies. We’re going to work hard every single day for the Australian people.

Another 29 Australians helped to leave Tel Aviv overnight

Josh Butler

More on that latest group of Australians evacuated from Tel Aviv:

Another 29 Australians and family members have been helped to leave Israel as the Australian defence force assists on further departure flights from Israel.

Government sources said Australian defence personnel and diplomats supported the departure. More than 300 people who were registered as wanting to leave the region were spoken to by consular staff.

The government is trying to take advantage of windows that open, to safely help people depart the Middle East. Israeli airspace is open, and the government is urging people to investigate commercial options or keep speaking with airlines if they’ve had flights cancelled – which may be the fastest way to leave.

The government will keep talking to Australians who’ve registered as seeking help.

Australians in need of urgent consular assistance should contact DFAT’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on +61 2 6261 3305 (from overseas) or 1300 555 135 (within Australia).

More Australians land in Sydney after evacuation from Israel

Overnight, a group of Australians landed in Sydney after getting out of Tel Aviv on a RAAF jet.

Sky News aired images of passengers running into the arms of their families in the airport arrivals area. Another group is expected to arrive later on Thursday.

A total of 119 Australians were taken out of Israel by the Australian government on the first flight on Tuesday and travelled to Dubai and then to Sydney.

About 1,000 Australians have registered with the government for help to leave Israel, and 3,000 have asked for assistance to leave Iran.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is still trying to help Australians trapped in Iran, but has advised them to head to the border with Azerbaijan if they can.

– Australian Associated Press

Caitlin Cassidy

KPMG reviewing Australian Education Research Organisation

KPMG is undertaking an independent review of Australia’s leading education evidence body, the federal government has confirmed.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said the “independent performance evaluation” of the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) was under way at the request of the commonwealth, state and territory education ministers.

AERO was publicly launched in December 2020 by all Australian governments as one of the policy initiates under a review into education. It was tasked with conducting research to improve learning outcomes for Australian children and young people, which have been lagging or going backwards in national and international tests.

The government-funded body has been a strong backer of evidenced-based teaching models including explicit instruction, which has now been rolled out in most jurisdictions in Australia.

The spokesperson said it was “best practice” that government bodies be periodically assessed “to determine whether they are achieving their intended purpose”.

This process ensures accountability, promotes good governance, and is a normal part of continuous improvement. KPMG has been commissioned through a competitive procurement process to conduct the evaluation.

Rafqa Touma

Thank you Martin Farrer for kicking off the blog this morning. I’ll be rolling it from here – let’s go.

Social media report has nuanced findings for teens

Our technology reporter Josh Taylor has an exclusive report today on a large survey of 17,480 young people across Australia aged between 15 and 19.

The survey, carried out by Mission Australia, comes amid the public debate over restricting access to social media for people aged under 16.

The findings are nuanced with a link between excessive use of phones and poorer mental health outcomes. But moderate users report being in better shape than those using their devices for only one hour a day.

Read Josh’s full report here:

Half of Australia’s big four banks are predicting a cut in interest rates when the Reserve Bank next meets following better-than-expected inflation numbers, Australian Associated Press reports.

Despite predictions of inflation remaining steady, headline inflation for May fell to 2.1% from 2.4% the previous month.

The fall was driven largely by a drop in the cost of fuel as well as rental prices.

Trimmed mean inflation, which removes volatile price movements, also dropped from 2.8% to 2.4%.

The figures have bolstered predictions of a cut when the Reserve Bank hands down its next cash rate decision on 8 July.

The Commonwealth Bank has joined with NAB in forecasting the next cut to be in July, while Westpac and ANZ predict a lowering of the cash rate in August.

Commonwealth Bank economist Harry Ottley said the May data had made a rate cut in July all but certain, with both inflation sets being in the Reserve Bank’s target range of between two and three per cent.

Calls for urgent action on rising energy debt

Cait Kelly

Anglicare Australia is calling for urgent action to address rising energy debt as a new report shows a full-time minimum wage worker has just $33 left after paying for rent, food and transport.

Anglicare Australia’s 2025 cost of living index also found that a single parent on the minimum wage has just $1 left, even with government assistance. A family with two full-time workers and two children has only $5 remaining each week.

Anglicare Australia’s executive director, Kasy Chambers, said the results were “bleak” and many were left with nothing for energy bills.

We’re seeing more people trapped in energy debt. They are skipping meals, going without heating, and falling behind on bills they’ll never be able to repay.

Too many households are falling behind and staying behind. Over 330,000 people are struggling to pay back more than $300 million in energy debt – and the number of people with debts over $3,000 is surging.

Chambers said people were forced into payment plans they could not sustain.

They carry energy debt from one bill to the next with no chance of catching up, even though energy retailers are making record profits.

That’s why we’re calling for energy debt relief for people in hardship, and better regulation to stop the gauging of energy costs and helps people to start afresh.

Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the overnight stories and then Rafqa Touma will take the helm.

Half of Australia’s big four banks are predicting a cut in interest rates when the Reserve Bank meets a week from Tuesday, following better-than-expected inflation numbers yesterday. It would ease pressure on household budgets and comes as Anglicare calls for action to stop the poorest slipping into more debt. More coming up.

Plus: Australian teenagers who spend between one and three hours on social media a day report similar or better mental health outcomes compared with those on for less time, a new survey shows. Those who spent more than three hours said they had less control over their lives, suggesting that moderate use is the key to wellbeing. More coming up.