Australian news and politics live: Labor reduces Liberal Party Question Time questions after Coalition split

Health Minister Mark Butler has released the plan for Labor’s “Thriving Kids” initiative — a proposed alternative to the NDIS for children with mild to moderate developmental delays or autism.

Speaking in Canberra on Tuesday, Mr Butler said just five months on the advisory group examining the initiative had handled down their final report and developed a model of care.

The proposed model of care is broken down into four parts: Identification pathways, providing key information, parental supports and then targeted care.

Mr Butler said it was about “getting the NDIS back on track”.

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Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock has blamed stronger demand, decreased productivity, and a resisilent global economy on the recent interest rate hikes.

Ms Bullock said that the former rate was “no longer at the right level to get inflation back to target in reasonable time,” and added that “we cannot allow inflation to get away from us again.”

She said that it is not just one thing that’s driving the pick-up in inflation, but a combination of factors.

Ms Bullock said the economy is “closer to its supply capacity” than previosuly thought, and “years of weak to no productivity growth is a big part of that.”

“The global economy has turned out to be much more resilient than we thought despite the ongoing high level of uncertainty and unpredictability,” she said.

“So taking all these factors together, the board decided it was necessary to raise the rate.”

Anthony Albanese has been asked what steps he will take to adress the underlying cultural, social and economic factors which contribute to extremism.

Bradfield MP Nicolette Boele has used Question Time to ask whether the Prime Minister will commit to adequately resourcing the implementation of a National Anti-Racism framework.

The PM said the attack on the Invasion Day rally in Perth is an example of something that the authorities are dealing with and is being looked at as “an act of terrorism”.

“I think it is quite extraordinary that there wasn’t a much more serious consequences of what occurred there in Perth,” he said.

He added that it’s not just anti-Semitism that needs attention, but hate speech in general.

“I think we need a broader conversation as a society as well about the impact of polarisation, the impact, as I have said, about social media pushing people towards more and more extremes, down these rabbit holes,” the PM said.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has come under fire in Question Time following the Reserve Bank’s decision to lift interest rates for the first time in over two years.

Within moments of the decision being announced, Mr Chalmers put the blame for the move on the former Coalition government and external pressures.

“Mr Speaker, now I want to make it really clear to the house and the people watching from home, Mr Speaker, that the statement released by the independent Reserve Bank explaining the decision that they have taken today does not mention Government spending,” Dr Chalmers said.

“It makes it very clear that the pressure on inflation is coming from private demand.

“Mr Speaker, they left us much higher inflation and left us a much weaker budget.

“This side of the house is focused on the cost-of-living challenge. That side of the house is focused on who sits where from one week to the next. We won’t be distracted by opposition parties, which are divided, decisive and in disarray.”

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon has extended the state’s protest restrictions ahead of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit next week.

“I have considered that there remains a significant risk to community safety by public assemblies and I have extended that declaration a further 14 days,” Mr Lanyon told reporters on Tuesday.

For the next 14 days, public assemblies will only be restricted in the Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command and in parts of Sydney’s CBD, excluding Hyde Park.

Mr Lanyon said the decision to extend the declaration is a balanace between ensuring community safety and recognising the importance of free speech.

“I know that there is significant animosity about President Herzog’s visit,” Mr Lanyon said.

“Obviously, what I fear is a large-scale public assembly with so much animosity could present a risk to community safety.”

Today’s extension is in place for 14 days, unless amended or revoked.

As well as the Question Time changes, the Speaker informed Parliament that the split in the Coalition means all Nationals members have been removed from parliamentary committees.

They lost spots on 12 lower house committees.

The rules specify a certain number of “Government” and “Opposition” members serve on committees, but the Nationals are technically no longer part of the opposition.

Leader of the House Tony Burke suggested these rules would be changed down the track, but said he was “not inclined” to mess around with parliamentary procedure until it was certain what the two parties would decide to do.

Labor will reduce the number of questions the Liberal opposition can ask during Question Time and will instead grant more opportunities to members of the crossbench, following last week’s implosion of the coalition.

At the start of Parliament’s formal return on Tuesday, Leader of the House Tony Burke has revealed the procedural shakeup while mocking the leadership chaos in the Liberal and National parties.

“The reason we have to do this is because of significant changes to seating arrangements on the other side of the House,” Mr Burke told Parliament just after midday, and two hours before Question Time.

“Effectively, when the Member for New England (Barnaby Joyce) moved to the crossbench, it had not occurred to us at the time that the entire National Party was going to move to the cross bench with him”.

“While he’s not their leader, they appear to be his followers in the pathway over there,” Mr Burke told Parliament, generating laughter from Labor backbenchers seated behind him.

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Liberal leader Sussan Ley told David Littleproud she would accept three renegade Nationals senators back onto the frontbench but only after they spent six months in time out.

The two party leaders and their offsiders held talks on Monday night about reuniting the Coalition but didn’t reach any conclusion.

Ms Ley put on the table an offer that both parties would reaffirm shadow cabinet solidarity and agree that neither part room could overturn any decision endorsed by the joint frontbench.

She also made it a condition that Bridget McKenzie, Susan McDonald and Ross Cadell, who resigned after crossing the floor to oppose laws banning hate groups, couldn’t rejoin the frontbench until July 2026 at the earliest.

“We are both parties on the non-Labor side of politics and we both have a lot in common when it comes to the people we represent and the way we know we have to hold this Labor government to account,” Ms Ley said on Tuesday morning.

“So we agreed that we would keep talking. The conversations were friendly, constructive and will continue.”

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Liberal Leader Sussan Ley has declared she is “very confident” of surviving in the job until the May Budget, but has dodged questions about last week’s meeting of frontbenchers, which discussed her leadership.

Ahead of Parliament’s return on Tuesday, the Opposition Leader fronted reporters supported by deputy Ted O’Brien and frontbencher Melissa McIntosh as she stares down a potential challenge from leadership rival Angus Taylor.

Following a church service to mark the start of the Parliamentary year, Ms Ley was asked whether she was confident of still being Opposition Leader in May to deliver the Budget reply.

“Very confident of delivering a strong Budget in reply speech in May. There is lots of work between now and May because we have a big agenda to prosecute,” she told reporters.

When pressed on whether she would seek explanations from colleagues who held a covert meeting in Melbourne last week to discuss a Liberal leadership challenge, Ms Ley declined to answer.

“Every single one of my team is focused on the mission that I have outlined, that Ted O’Brien has outlined, and that all of my team is behind. Focused 100 per cent on Australians.”

“I know that whenever we come together in whatever format that the media chooses to remark upon, we are talking about Australians and how important it is for them that we come to Canberra to fight for what they believe in”.