Australia news LIVE: Plea for gambling ad ban; Voters mark down Labor on economy; Women hold more board roles

Federal Housing Minister Clare O’Neil has accused the Greens and Coalition of getting in the way of Labor’s housing reform, but has refused to say how the country will build 1.2 million homes in two years if it cannot pass legislation.

Labor’s housing schemes, including Help to Buy and Build to Rent, were blocked during the last sitting week by the Greens and Coalition, and sent to an inquiry to report by September 4.

Asked what the government will do if the bill does not pass, O’Neil said it was up to the opposition parties to work with Labor.

“Our government has stepped into this space,” O’Neil said. “This is a really big and ambitious target, and the schemes that are before the parliament are an essential part of them.

“We’ve got a bill being blocked by the Greens and the Liberals in the Senate … I mentioned we have this really big problem with a housing shortage, this is going to build 160,000 additional homes over the coming decade and again, being blocked by the Greens and Liberals in the Senate.”

O’Neil said she will be talking to the Greens about their policy positions. “I can tell you that my focus is not on the politicians here, and it’s not on the politics of this. It is about trying to get more homes for Australians,” she said.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has thrown her support behind Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn, whose routine at the Paris Olympics has become an internet “sensation”.

Gunn – whose breakdancing name is B-Girl Raygun – rapidly became a meme. Her routine contained moves likened to a kangaroo hop, a sprinkler and trying to get a quilt off a bed.

Speaking on Seven’s Sunrise this morning, Plibersek threw her support behind Gunn.

“I think haters are going to hate. If I could buy a Raygun T-shirt I would,” she said. “The rest of those people are sitting on their couch mucking around on social media. She’s actually represented our country at the Paris Olympics.

“She’s an Olympian,” she said. “No one can ever take that away from her. Good on her for having a go, actually that’s what sport’s about.

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce also said he did not agree with the “denigration of any human being” but noted if you are an international competitor you are going to have international commentary.

“You have to accept that part of it; we comment on the swimmers, we comment on so many other people exactly how they went,” he said.

Gambling reform advocate Tim Costello says the federal government’s management of its gambling reforms have been “very odd” and argues the rest of the world looks at Australia as having a “blind spot” when it comes to gambling reform.

Earlier this month, this masthead revealed gambling advertisements will remain on TV for years to come after the Albanese government shunned a high-profile campaign, championed by late Labor MP Peta Murphy, for a blanket ban.

Instead, Labor proposes a cap of two gambling ads per hour on each channel until 10pm, and banning ads an hour before and after live sport.

Murphy’s widower Rod Glover has pleaded for the government to outlaw gambling advertisements.

Speaking on ABC Radio National, Costello said: “The management of this has been very odd … you’ve got to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Never in my 30 years of campaigning for gambling reform has anyone asked that of me,” he said.

“Labor members haven’t been briefed, but we understand [the legislation] is going to cabinet today and that they will be briefed tomorrow and I believe if it’s not the full ban … a number [of MPs] will be speaking up about this.”

Women now hold almost 40 per cent of the board roles at Australia’s biggest companies, but men continue to dominate the highest-paid roles.

Governance advisory firm Ownership Matters has issued its annual analysis of ASX-listed companies, and it reveals the highest-paid directors. All but one of the top 15 are men.

“The men are allowing record numbers of female directors into the tent but are yet to meaningfully hand over the best paid chairing roles,” Ownership Matters director Dean Paatsch said.

Maxine Brenner was the 15th highest-paid director in 2023. She sits on the boards of Telstra, Woolworths and Origin Energy. In 2023, she also sat on the Qantas board and took home $1.2 million across the four positions, the report said.

The report found that the top 100 companies have at least two female directors. In 2023, 39.8 per cent of board positions at ASX 100 companies were held by women, up from 9.6 per cent in 2005. Macquarie Group, Woolworths and Nine Entertainment – the owner of this masthead – are the only companies that have more female directors than male.

Read the full story here.

Hundreds of people have been evacuated and streets have been locked down in Cairns this morning after a helicopter crashed into a hotel roof.

Police were called to the scene at the Esplanade in the north Queensland town about 1.50am.

The hotel was evacuated as a precaution and no injuries were sustained by people on the ground.

No word has been issued about the fate of those on board the helicopter.

An exclusion zone is in place encompassing the Esplanade, Minnie Street, Abbott Street and Florence Street.

Police have advised that people avoid the area. A police investigation is under way.

Follow the story here.

Voters have marked down Labor over its handling of the nation’s finances after a political dispute about public spending and high inflation, shifting more support to the Coalition on a key test of budget management.

Labor has lifted its primary vote from 28 to 29 per cent over the past four weeks, in a small but important gain after months of decline. Core support for the Coalition has fallen from 38 to 37 per cent.

But the Coalition has cemented its lead over Labor on economic management and it has also extended its gains on budget policy when the Reserve Bank is blaming federal and state spending for putting pressure on inflation.

The exclusive findings show that Opposition Leader Peter Dutton (36 per cent) has maintained his small edge over Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (35 per cent) as the preferred national leader, compared with 35 and 34 per cent one month ago.

David Crowe’s report on the poll’s findings is here.

The widower of Labor MP Peta Murphy has made an emotional plea for the government to outlaw gambling advertisements, declaring his late wife would not stomach the argument that reform was too hard because of lost revenue for media companies and sports.

Dozens of prominent Australians, including senior Liberals John Howard and Jeff Kennett, last week urged Labor to rethink its plans to put a cap on how many ads can run on TV rather than the blanket ban proposed by Murphy in an influential bipartisan inquiry before her death last year.

Rod Glover, a policy adviser in Labor circles who has been friends with Anthony Albanese for years, implored ministers to give weight to Murphy’s detailed recommendations in a cabinet meeting set for Monday at which the proposals are expected to be debated.

Read the full story here.

Good morning, and welcome to today’s national news live blog. I’m Ben Cubby, and I’ll be steering us through the headlines of the first half of the day. Coverage of the Olympic Games closing ceremony is at our Paris live blog here.

It’s Monday, August 12.

Here are today’s headlines at a glance.

• The widower of Labor MP Peta Murphy has made an emotional plea for the government to outlaw gambling advertisements.
• Voters have marked down Labor over its handling of the nation’s finances after a dispute over cost of living pressures, according to the latest Resolve Political Monitor.
• Women now hold almost 40 per cent of the board roles at Australia’s biggest companies, but men continue to dominate the highest-paid roles.