News and politics recap: Bowen unveils business solar boost under Small-Scale Renewable Energy Scheme

We are wrapping up another day of our live coverage of Australia’s news and politics.

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Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen has issued a very direct warning that the Commonwealth will override any State that tries to run a “race to the bottom” by undermining his plan to make data centres offset their energy use by contributing to renewables.

His clear threat came during a National Press Club address on Wednesday in which he outlined the Government’s plan enforce national firming and cost protection rules.

Despite friction emerging with Queensland and the Northern Territory, which last month voted down plans to mandate that data centres run off renewable energy, Mr Bowen said the Federal Government intended to move ahead.

The Labor frontbencher reminded the hold-out jurisdictions that the “Constitution’s pretty clear” on the matter, warning that a “hands-off, let-’er-rip approach” would end in tears.

“If a government thinks that they’re going to undermine other States with some sort of race to the bottom. We won’t let that happen,” he said.

Read the full story here.

Skilled migrants from the defence, healthcare, teaching and construction sectors are being prioritised under the latest directive issued by the Home Affairs Minister as the Albanese Government works to reduce Australia’s overall intake of new arrivals.

A “ministerial direction” quietly signed by Mr Burke late last month gives precedence to temporary visa holders already counted in Australia’s population for permanent status, while slowing down new arrivals from overseas.

Home Affairs insiders say the document, issued under Section 499 of the Migration Act 1958, is part of an overall government push to reduce net overseas migration as political pressure mounts from One Nation and other critics.

“Australia’s skilled migration program is targeted to support key industries and strategically important occupations that are in the national interest,” the ministerial direction states.

“The program is designed to select people who will make a positive contribution to the Australian economy and labour market and assist Australian businesses to access workers with skills that cannot be sourced from the local labour market.”

“Prioritising skilled migrants in occupations supporting law enforcement and Defence, and in healthcare, teaching, construction with a focus on housing, ensures the skilled migration program is providing the right skills in the right occupations.”

“Prioritising skilled migrants already contributing to Australia supports a sensible, measured approach to provide the skilled workers Australia needs,” the document signed on July 24 explains.

Read more.

Victorian Firefighters Union leader Peter Marshall was a relentless warrior for his members. His greatest victim may have been Jane Garrett, the emergency services minister who was broken, physically and mentally, by a fight she found herself with the union and her government.

On Wednesday, four years after her death from cancer, Ms Garrett received a posthumous vindication for her refusal to give Mr Marshall special treatment during pay negotiations a decade ago.

Then premier Daniel Andrews agreed to a secret deal with the firefighters union in 2016 that breached government policy and codes of conduct and was kept from Ms Garrett and the Country Fire Authority, according to a long-awaited report from the State’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission tabled in Parliament today.

Although the deal was not corrupt, the Government gave Mr Marshall special access that he used in wage negotiations and over the 2019 creation of Fire Rescue Victoria, creating a “significant risk of corrupt conduct”, the agency’s investigation Operation Richmond found.

Even though the events are historical, the Coalition cited them as an example of dubious behaviour by the Government over 11 years in power. With an election four months away, Liberal leader Jess Wilson said the Labor Party was running a “gangster Government”.

Read the full story.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been accused of trying to detonate a political landmine after flagging a plan to repeal a “widow’s tax” on investment properties — two months after concerns were first raised.

Labor’s Budget sought to grandfather negative gearing and the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount for investment properties exchanged before May 12.

But on June 9, the Financial Advice Association of Australia issued a submission to the Senate economics committee warning the proposal meant a spouse, following a divorce or a death, would not have access to this grandfathering provision, as their share of an investment property was transferred into their name.

Dr Chalmers on Tuesday night put forward draft legislation, with 17 days of consultation, to address the so-called “widow’s tax” — six weeks after the Senate passed the overall Budget package.

Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson said it appeared Labor was simply trying to detonate a political problem, with the Budget passing both houses of Parliament with support from the Greens after only two days of Senate committee hearings.

“They’ve released this updated legislation because they’ve laid landmines all across the economy that keep exploding,” he told News24 on Wednesday.

“The question for the Treasurer is, is he going to allow more than two days of consultation?”

Read more.

Labor is scrambling to finalise a crackdown of Australia’s immigration settings after Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke cancelled a highly anticipated National Press Club appearance this week to unveil the new approach.

Government sources have told The Nightly that broad agreement was reached for the overhaul during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles on Monday, but the “finer details” of the policy are still being ironed out.

Over recent months senior Labor figures have become increasingly attuned to growing voter angst over migration levels which some MPs fear is boosting support for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party.

During a visit to Thursday Island, Mr Marles was questioned about the Home Affairs Minister’s postponed press club address and insisted there were no disagreements inside government about Labor’s new policy direction.

“Tony Burke is seeking to reschedule his appearance at the National Press Club at the earliest opportunity, and that’s what will occur,” Mr Marles told reporters.

“We’ve been working through immigration policy ahead of the Budget. We continue to do that. Obviously, Tony leads all of that, and he’ll be speaking about that as soon as he can when this is rescheduled at the National Press Club.”

Read the full story here.

In a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Andrews said the watchdog found no evidence to support claims he had been blackmailed into reaching a favourable outcome for the union and its members.

“The report found no evidence whatsoever to support the false and completely outrageous claims that I had been blackmailed to force a favourable outcome for the United Firefighters Union (UFU) and its thousands of career firefighter members.”

“These claims were baseless when they were made almost a decade ago, and they remain baseless today.

“For the record and the avoidance of any doubt, there are no findings in relation to corrupt conduct made about me, any other member of the government, or the public service. That is a fact.”

Mr Andrews defended his government’s handling of the long-running dispute between the Country Fire Authority and the UFU, saying action was needed to resolve the issue.

“By 2016, the relationship between the Country Fire Authority and the UFU had completely broken down. The dispute needed to be resolved in the public interest, and it was.”

One in five Australian birds and mammals are facing a “high to extreme risk” from the escalating bird flu virus that’s starting to devastate wildlife.

The deadly H5 strain’s impact continues to rise as Australia recorded its first domestic mass mortality event among birdlife during the past week, as the number of confirmed positive cases climbs beyond 100.

About 300 species, including about 30 per cent of Australian bird species, faced heightened danger from the deadly virus, the Invasive Species Council said in a statement, citing government data.

This includes 13 critically endangered and 70 endangered species or subspecies rated as at extreme, very high or high risk.

Read the full story here.

Chris Bowen has vowed to step up and take responsibility for the Labor government’s renewable energy targets if its ambitions continue to stall.

Labor’s plan to meet its 82 per cent renewables target by 2030 has been hit by concerns as it failed to deliver its 2022 election promise of cheaper electricity bills.

“They’re right to be concerned about high power. Power bills are higher than we would like. Higher than I would like. The answer to that is to work hard every day to get them down,” The Energy Minister said at the National Press Club.

“We are making very good progress on many elements of the transition. There’s others where we’re facing headwinds, which we’ve always been frank about … Australians knew that in 2025. They knew what we’d said in 2022. They knew our record and they asked us to keep going. And as I said, we accept that mandate.”

Asked if he would take personal responsibility in the event the 2030 targets were not met, Mr Bowen conceded “it’s on me”.

“Is it on me? Yes, that’s my job. I’m not famous for walking away from my responsibilities. I run into them, embrace them and do my best to deliver on them,” he added.

Chris Bowen has weighed in on the controversy surrounding an episode of the ABC’s Race Around the World.

A July 12 episode of the show featured a film made by contestant Kate McGuinness which included a “joke” about a stick being shoved “right up Gina Rinehart’s butt-hole, stirring it round, mixing her guts up nice and smooth, making her into one big sausage roll”.

While Mr Bowen conceded he had not seen the clip, he said he had read about it.

“It is not appropriate... and it should not have aired and the ABC should take appropriate action,” he told the National Press Club.

“No Australian, even an Australian I profoundly disagree with like Mrs Rinehart, should be subject to that sort of commentary.”

Mr Bowen was then asked if he believed the ABC ought to apologise for airing McGuinness’ film.

“They should take appropriate action up to and including and considering the message that they should send to Mrs Rinehart,” he replied.

“I believe in decent, respectful debate, and civil discourse, and that was not that.

“If the clip was as I read it, then yes, I expect an apology.”