Coalition refuses to back extending fuel excise cut and flood warnings issued in NSW – follow live

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Putin nuclear threat ‘appalling’: Richard Marles

The defence minister and deputy prime minister Richard Marles says Australia is preparing to support Ukraine in a protracted war against Russia and will continue to provide military support.

He has also condemned the nuclear threat made by Russian president Vladimir Putin as “appalling”. Marles told Sky News:

What we understand is that Ukraine is going to need support over a long period of time [and] that’s very much the sense when I was in Europe and speaking to Nato countries – Germany, UK, France. All of those countries are really steeling themselves for this being an effort which needs to be undertaken over a long period of time, and that the importance of standing with Ukraine and enabling Ukraine to be empowered to resolve this on their own terms is fundamentally important.

Because the Russian aggression that we have seen, and certainly the comments that we’ve seen from Vladimir Putin in the last few days, which speak to the behaviour of Russia, it cannot be allowed to stand.

He said the comments made by Putin had caused “anxiety”, and described his decision to mobilise 300,000 reservists as a “step in completely the wrong direction”.

They are appalling comments to make. I mean, it is clearly an appalling thing to do to place that potential on the table.

Russia needs to stop and Russia needs to leave Ukraine. I think the scenes that we’ve seen from Russia over the last few days, of people seeking to leave the country, of obvious distress for those being called up and being asked to serve in the Russian forces in respect of this says everything about where public opinion is actually at within Russia.

Marles said that Australia needed to “stand with Ukraine” and would continue to offer military assistance, in response to the country’s calls for more vehicles and missiles.

We’re working with the Ukrainian government about how we can provide support over the long term.

Updated at 20.17 EDT

That didn’t take long …

Updated at 20.13 EDT

Road World Championships resume

It’s a beautiful sunny morning in Wollongong on the final day of the 2022 UCI Road World Championships. The men’s elite road race is due to begin at 10.15am, with the peloton taking on an epic 266.9km course taking in almost 4km of elevation, from Helensburgh to central Wollongong. The race is expected to finish just before 5pm.

For Australia, all eyes are on Michael Matthews. The Canberran won the under-23 road race last time the world championships were on home soil, in 2010. Since then he’s twice finished on the podium, but never been crowned elite world champion. Is today his day?

Yesterday, in the women’s road race, Dutch star Annemiek van Vleuten stunned the peloton with a late solo charge to win the world champion’s rainbow jersey for the second time. It was a jaw-dropping effort from Van Vleuten, who had fractured her elbow on Wednesday.

Despite animating the race at the pointy end, the Australian riders could not make the final selection and did not challenge for the medals. The best local finisher was Alexandra Manly in 15th.

Updated at 20.12 EDT

Hume refuses to be drawn on fuel excise

The shadow finance minister Jane Hume has refused to say whether she supports an extension of the cut to fuel excise, which ends on Wednesday night, during an interview on ABC Insiders.

She said the Coalition’s policy when in government was to support it as a temporary measure, but it was now a decision for the Labor government.

That temporary excise cut was welcomed by Australians that were feeling the pinch in their pockets.

My view is that the government will make its decision. What it does need to do is address the other cost-of-living pressures that are facing Australians.

She also said the Coalition was reserving its position on supporting the government’s changes to the childcare subsidy and its new federal integrity commission bill, which will come to parliament this week.

On childcare, Hume said the opposition wanted to “check out” whether the measure would improve productivity and participation.

On the integrity bill, she said that the opposition would support “anything that will stamp out corruption in public life”.

We’ve always said we supported the introduction of a federal Icac. This is really important legislation to get right, because if you get it wrong, it has dire consequences. We haven’t seen the details of Labor’s bill yet, so we want to ask those questions.

Will there be procedural fairness and natural justice? Will hearings be in public for private? When will they be one or the other?

Hume said she was concerned public hearings could be weaponised and this might deter good people from entering public life.

That would be a disaster. We want the best and the brightest to join, but if the risk to your professional reputation, if the risk to your bank balance, the risk to your life and livelihood is there, just because you can politicise a corruption charge, well, why would anybody enter public life?

Updated at 20.02 EDT

Search to resume for man seen in the water in Darling Harbour

Police say they are responding to reports that a man was seen in the water off King Street wharf at Darling Harbour in Sydney in the early hours of this morning.

The man had not resurfaced, according to reports to police.

Police say:

About 1.20am [on Sunday] emergency services were called to King Street wharf at Darling Harbour, after reports a man was seen in the water but had not resurfaced.

Officers attached to Sydney city police area command, with assistance from the marine area command, commenced a search for the man.

The search was suspended and is due to resume this morning, with the assistance of police divers.

Inquiries into the incident are continuing.

Updated at 20.09 EDT

Getting integrity commission law wrong will have ‘dire consequences’

On the integrity commission, Hume is asked whether she supports the body having public hearings – a key point of contention.

She says the Coalition will support “anything that will stamp out corruption in public life”. But she says she will wait to see Labor’s legislation before articulating the opposition’s position.

We’ve always said we supported the introduction of a federal Icac. This is really important legislation to get right, because if you get it wrong, it has dire consequences. We haven’t seen the details of Labor’s bill yet, so we want to ask those questions: will there be procedural fairness and natural justice; will hearings be in public or private; when will they be one or the other?

Updated at 19.52 EDT

Hume: Coalition won’t back cut to EV taxes

Hume is asked whether the opposition will support Labor’s attempt to increase childcare subsidies. She says:

We do believe that childcare is a really significant cost and a really important service for many Australian families When we were in government, we did the largest reform to childcare in 40 years, and in fact reduced the cost of childcare and made sure that families were subsidised, particularly those who were working, those who were studying and volunteering.

She says they will wait to see Labor’s legislation before deciding whether to offer support.

But Hume is less equivocal about the plan to reduce taxes for electric vehicles.

We won’t be supporting that legislation because it is really poor policy. The electric vehicles, reduction of the FBT on electric vehicles, the government couldn’t explain whether it would actually reduce emissions. The industry couldn’t explain whether it would take up the electric vehicles. It is enormously costly, runs to billions and billions of dollars and if you can’t prove the effect of a policy decision.

Updated at 19.49 EDT

Coalition went to ‘2019-20 budget essentially in balance’: Hume

Hume is asked whether she accepts the Coalition left the budget in structural deficit. She says:

Not at all. In fact, in 2019, because of the time we had been in government, we made sure there were budget offsets for new expenditures and we grew the economy. We could also decrease taxes and we went to the 2019-20 budget essentially in balance.

She says they had a “credible plan back to surplus” despite a $30bn deficit.

After the forward [estimates], but it was a credible plan back to surplus.

Updated at 19.47 EDT

Hume calls on Labor to cut fiscal spending

Hume is asked about what Australia should be doing to avoid going into recession, following her leader’s prediction that the US will do so.

She is asked whether the government should be cutting fiscal spending. Hume responds:

Well, the Labor government came to government promising higher deficits than the Coalition. In fact, it promised $45bn of off-balance-sheet spending and $18bn more of on-balance-sheet spending. I think it’s time that the Labor government consider the priorities and whether it is a good idea to go ahead with it at a time when winding back your fiscal priorities, winding back your fiscal wish list to make sure that your fiscal policy is in line with your monetary policy would be a better solution.

When we were in government, we made sure we managed expenditures and grew the economy at the same time as lowering taxes.

Updated at 19.45 EDT

‘We don’t have policies’: shadow finance minister

In an interview on ABC’s Insiders, shadow finance minister Jane Hume has just made a rather interesting claim.

She was being pressed on whether the Coalition supported the temporary fuel excise coming to an end. She said it was now Labor’s policy to manage.

She said:

We don’t have policies, we are in opposition, not in government.

That will be news to many, including Insiders host David Speers, who responded:

You do, you have policies on aged pension.