Allan: ‘Hanson chooses to barrack for the bullies, I choose to fight them’
Benita Kolovos
Allan also responded to Pauline Hanson, who – asked about the truck-mounted billboard featuring the premier alongside the phrase “ditch the witch” – said the premier should “suck it up, sweetheart”.
Allan said:
double quotation markPauline Hanson chooses to barrack for the bullies. I choose to fight them.
On Sunday, one of the AI-generated images from the billboard was published in the Herald Sun, alongside a story about a possible leadership spill against Allan. This prompted the premier to release a statement saying “sexism has no place in our political debate, full stop”.
The billboard drew condemnation from several high-profile figures including Julia Gillard and Anthony Albanese.
When asked if calling out the billboard had drawn more attention to it, Allan said:
double quotation markI have spent my entire life committed to fighting for equal opportunity and equal representation for women, and I’m not going to stop now. And in fact, having the privilege of standing here as premier and having the opportunity to call out sexism against women in all its forms, it actually in positions like mine it demands that response.
It demands calling out sexism in all its forms, because it’s not just against women politicians and women political leaders, it’s women in all workplaces, in all works of walks of life. And I’m also not going to stand back and let young girls see this sort of material, and think that it’s normal, because no one chooses to call it out. I’m going to call it out. I’m going to keep calling out.
On Gillard’s response, Allan said:
double quotation markIt made my heart sing to see Julia’s response, and also to see the response from so many other women and men in our community, because we’ve got to draw the line … There’s too much division, too much hate, I don’t have a problem if people have a different view, that’s democracy, but what is wrong is when difference is used, is weaponized in a sexist, misogynist, hateful way, and I’ll always call that out.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, at the Victorian branch of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation this morning. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAPShare
Updated at 21.56 EDT
Key events
Patrick Commins
Survey shows cost-of-living pressures ‘back with a vengeance’ in June
Household confidence has slumped back to around 50-year lows, as the cut to the fuel excise provided only a temporary reprieve and homeowners were unsettled by falling property prices.
Westpac’s latest monthly consumer sentiment survey showed a big jump in pessimism around family finances, with “budget and taxation” and “inflation” at the top of respondents’ minds when it came to news topics.
With no immediate end to the Middle East conflict in sight, Matthew Hassan, a senior economist at Westpac, said “responses in June showed particularly high recall for news on ‘budget and taxation’ and ‘inflation’.”
He said:
double quotation markWhile most assessed the news as unfavourable, there was a stronger consensus on ‘inflation’ news which 85% of consumers read as negative, compared to ‘budget and taxation’ which closer to 70% viewed as unfavourable.
Cost-of-living issues came back with a vengeance in June. Australian consumers are clearly bracing for more bad news on the financial front.
Respondents said just 4.5% of respondents said investing in real estate was the “wisest place for savings” – the smallest share since the survey began in 1974, and against the 24% long-term average.
Hassan said this reflected “a mix of price declines in some markets, actual and expected interest rate rises, and the major tax policy changes affecting investor housing announced in the federal budget”.
Financial markets are pricing in an effectively zero percent chance of a Reserve Bank rate hike next Tuesday, but a nearly 50% chance by the following meeting in August.
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Updated at 22.10 EDT
Allan: ‘Hanson chooses to barrack for the bullies, I choose to fight them’
Benita Kolovos
Allan also responded to Pauline Hanson, who – asked about the truck-mounted billboard featuring the premier alongside the phrase “ditch the witch” – said the premier should “suck it up, sweetheart”.
Allan said:
double quotation markPauline Hanson chooses to barrack for the bullies. I choose to fight them.
On Sunday, one of the AI-generated images from the billboard was published in the Herald Sun, alongside a story about a possible leadership spill against Allan. This prompted the premier to release a statement saying “sexism has no place in our political debate, full stop”.
The billboard drew condemnation from several high-profile figures including Julia Gillard and Anthony Albanese.
When asked if calling out the billboard had drawn more attention to it, Allan said:
double quotation markI have spent my entire life committed to fighting for equal opportunity and equal representation for women, and I’m not going to stop now. And in fact, having the privilege of standing here as premier and having the opportunity to call out sexism against women in all its forms, it actually in positions like mine it demands that response.
It demands calling out sexism in all its forms, because it’s not just against women politicians and women political leaders, it’s women in all workplaces, in all works of walks of life. And I’m also not going to stand back and let young girls see this sort of material, and think that it’s normal, because no one chooses to call it out. I’m going to call it out. I’m going to keep calling out.
On Gillard’s response, Allan said:
double quotation markIt made my heart sing to see Julia’s response, and also to see the response from so many other women and men in our community, because we’ve got to draw the line … There’s too much division, too much hate, I don’t have a problem if people have a different view, that’s democracy, but what is wrong is when difference is used, is weaponized in a sexist, misogynist, hateful way, and I’ll always call that out.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, at the Victorian branch of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation this morning. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAPShare
Updated at 21.56 EDT
Benita Kolovos
Victoria premier says she remains ‘all in’
When asked what her message was to MPs who had been “expressing frustration” via the media, Jacinta Allan said:
double quotation markWe don’t need polls to necessarily tell us that the old rules of politics, they’re changing, and we’ve seen how global economic shocks are really hitting people hard. We hear that, we see that.
We also see how One Nation is cannibalising the Liberal party vote, the National party vote, and I will also acknowledge it is taking a slice out of the Labor vote as well. We have to see that, hear that, understand that, keep listening to Victorians, but more importantly, take action to help people right now with those pressures that are real.
Asked whether any of her MPs had asked her to stand down, she said “no”. She went on:
double quotation markI just want to make this clear too – when the going gets tough, the tough get going, and I am all in.
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Allan dismisses leadership concern at press conference
Benita Kolovos
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, held her first press conference since Labor MPs revived conversations about a possible leadership spill against her late last week.
Following a tough week at parliament, continued poor polling, the premier’s weak personal ratings and rising support for One Nation, Labor MPs last week said Allan’s leadership was again at risk, despite a seeming lack of a viable candidate who could unite the party’s left and right factions.
Flanked by nurses, Allan told reporters on Tuesday she had seen the reports but dismissed them as “navel gazing” at a time most Victorians were struggling with cost of living pressures:
double quotation markI’ve seen these reports. Can I make it clear that people are looking for help, and navel gazing doesn’t help people with those cost of living pressures that are so real right now. What does help is 20% off your car reggo.
What does help is half-price public transport all the way through to the end of the year. Working from home also helps, and that’s what I’m focused on, because that’s what Victorians tell me that they want their government to be focused on.
Victoria’s premier, Jacinta Allan, speaks to media this morning. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAPShare
Updated at 21.27 EDT
Martin Pegan
Imagining Australia’s path to World Cup glory: who stands in the Socceroos’ way?
The Socceroos knocked on their ceiling at the last World Cup when reaching the round of 16 for the second time in their history. Four years later, and with an exciting new crop of talents emerging, there is reason to dream that Australia can match that – and perhaps even go further.
Tony Popovic. Photograph: Manuel Orbegozo/AAP
Since taking the reins little more than 18 months ago, coach Tony Popovic has helped the Socceroos chart a new course. Most crucially, the veteran of the celebrated 2006 World Cup squad has set out to build a belief that the time is now for Australia to “go very far” at a global tournament.
We gaze into a crystal ball to predict the routes the Socceroos could take to meet those great expectations.
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ASX slumps amid global volatility
Jonathan Barrett
Australian shares opened sharply lower this morning, after a sharp selloff in technology stocks in South Korea and the US caused a broader slump in global markets.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 1.5% to 8,500 points in early trading this morning. Australian shares have not traded since Friday due to Monday’s public holiday.
Global markets were sold off heavily late last week, amid concerns over valuations and elevated inflation, before Wall Street recorded a partial rebound on Monday.
Oil prices have been rising after renewed conflict in the Middle East dampened hopes that the strait of Hormuz would soon reopen, which has weighed on equities.
Chris Strazzeri, dealing manager at trading platform Moomoo, said Monday’s lead from Wall Street was “constructive rather than convincing”.
He said:
double quotation markThe technology sector’s rebound should provide some support, but with geopolitical risks still lingering and investors looking for greater clarity, today’s session may be characterised by cautious optimism rather than a broad-based rally.
The Australian dollar is trading at about US70.4 cents, near two month lows.
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Updated at 21.37 EDT
Australia secures more diesel and fertiliser
Australia has secured more fuel and more fertiliser amid ongoing instability surrounding the strait of Hormuz.
The Albanese government said it has secured shipments of 31,000 tonnes of urea (a fertiliser) and 50m litres of diesel, which is says will provide more certainty for farmers “as they make planting and growing decisions for the current and upcoming season”.
The trade minister, Don Farrell, said in a statement the move showcased “practical steps to secure essential supplies to keep Australia moving”. The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, added in a statement:
double quotation markWe’ve now got 740m litres of diesel arriving which would not otherwise be on its way, because of the action the government took early, and you can expect that figure to keep growing.
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Updated at 20.31 EDT
Unclear if newest US tariffs will overlap with existing tax on imports, Farrell says
Tom McIlroy
The trade minister, Don Farrell, says Australia is unsure whether the latest round of potential Trump tariffs will replace or overlap the US president’s first tax on Australian imports.
Farrell has protested against the latest announcement from Washington DC – a 12.5% tariff on countries supposedly not doing enough to combat modern slavery. But his talks with US trade representative, Jamieson Greer, last week in Paris has failed to provide any further clarity for Australia.
Asked this morning if the new tariff would be in addition to the 10% baseline rate included in Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff regime, or if it would replace that rate, Farrell conceded he did not know.
“That was the first question I asked my counterpart, Jamison Greer, and I think, based on his answer, there is a possibility that for a couple of days the tariffs might overlap, but they don’t intend to enforce that lap,” he said
double quotation markOur position to the Americans is it should be zero. We have a free trade agreement with the United States, which we honor. We don’t apply tariffs to any goods that come in from the United States. We expect the United States to do exactly the same and honor our free trade agreement and apply no tariffs to Australian goods.
Don Farrell in February. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare
Updated at 20.44 EDT
Cait Kelly
Australians have lower life satisfaction now than during height of Covid pandemic, analysis finds
Growing financial pressure is causing lower life satisfaction levels among Australians today than during the lockdowns at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to KPMG analysis of ABS data.
Overall life satisfaction – based on asking people to rate their own satisfaction on a scale of 1-10 – has fallen to 7.1 in 2025, down from 7.2 in 2020, when lockdowns and widespread restrictions were in place. This marks a notable decline from the pre-pandemic level of 7.5 in 2019 and a broader easing from the relatively stable levels observed between 2014 and 2019 (7.6–7.5).
Terry Rawnsley, an urban economist with KPMG urban economist, said:
double quotation markUnlike the pandemic lockdowns, this isn’t a temporary disruption, it’s sustained pressure on living standards. Real wages have gone backwards, declining 4.1% between 2019 and 2025, while median household wealth has stalled at $700,000.
These factors have left many average Australians in a precarious financial position for the better part of five years and is undoubtedly affecting how they feel about their lives.
Improving life satisfaction is not something that can be fixed overnight. It will require a sustained focus on factors closely shaping how Australians experience the economy, including real incomes, housing affordability and financial resilience.
Melbourne in 2021. Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 19.50 EDT
Sarah Basford Canales
Australia has until 6 July to ask for exemption from tariff regime
When asked whether Australia would be prepared to strengthen its modern day slavery laws in order to avoid potential tariffs by the US, Don Farrell said he didn’t “see the two as being linked as such” but insisted Australia had effective mechanisms to deal with it already.
The announcement from the Trump administration comes as the deadline approaches for the end of temporary trade sanctions imposed after the US supreme court struck down Trump’s 10% global tariffs.
Farrell said:
double quotation markI think we’ve got a piece of legislation that deals with [it]. We have criminal sanctions for people who breach it. We have an anti-slavery commission. So I think when you look around the world at those countries that are doing something about modern slavery, we’re one of those countries that is doing that.
Australia will have until 6 July to press for an exemption.
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Farrell says Australia ‘absolutely disappointed’ in new US tariff proposal
Don Farrell says he told the US’s top trade official “how absolutely disappointed” Australia is to be included in potential tariffs against countries allegedly failing to prevent imports of goods made by slave labour.
In a press conference this morning, the trade minister said he met with the US trade representative, Jamieson Greer, last Wednesday in Paris to convey the strong opposition to the proposal:
double quotation markI’ve expressed to him how absolutely disappointed we are to have been included in this category, and said to him that … we do not believe that it’s appropriate to have Australia classified in this group. The final decision has not yet been made by the American administration, that will be some weeks away. In the intervening period, we’ll be processing our argument very strongly that we should not be in this category.
Read more:
Don Farrell. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare
Updated at 19.31 EDT
No reports of Australians affected by deadly quake in the Philippines, minister says
Matt Thistlethwaite, the assistant foreign affairs minister, said there are no reports of any Australians affected by the quake in the Philippines.
He told Sky News this morning:
double quotation markAccording to the reports from Australia consular officials on the ground there, thankfully there are no Australians involved at this stage. Obviously, we just saw the shocking and terrifying footage of those buildings coming down. …
Our consular officials will continue to monitor the situation.
People look at a collapsed building after a magnitude 7.8 quake in General Santos in the southern Philippines, 8 June 2026. Photograph: Noel Celis/ReutersShare
Updated at 19.12 EDT
Natasha May
Death toll climbs to 35 after magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocks the Philippines
At least 35 people have died after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake shook part of the Philippines early on Monday, collapsing buildings and triggering tsunami alerts.
The quake hit early in the morning about 20km (12.4 miles) off the coast of Sarangani province, with tremors felt strongly across Mindanao and 420km away in the city of Manado on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
Authorities were verifying preliminary reports of 35 people killed and 144 injured across Mindanao, mostly from falling debris and landslides, according to civil defence officials. They told people not to enter damaged homes and other infrastructure because of the threat of aftershocks.
The Guardian has approached Dfat for comment.
Read more here:
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Minister calls proposed US tariffs on Australian goods ‘completely unjustified’
Matt Thistlethwaite, the assistant foreign affairs minister, said Donald Trump’s proposed 12.5% tariffs on Australia would “obviously” have an effect on Australian goods sold in the US.
The White House said this month the tariffs could be laid on imports from dozens of countries, claiming the listed nations – Australia among them – had failed to prevent imports of goods made by slave labour.
Thistlethwaite spoke to ABC News Breakfast this morning, saying:
double quotation markWe reiterate our call that these tariffs are completely unjustified and unwarranted. They’ve been put in place because of the US’s perception around anti-slavery and forced labour provisions.
Australia has some of the most stringent and strongest anti-forced labour and modern slavery laws in the world and they require the largest corporations in Australia to check their supply chains and ensure that they’re not using forced labour or slavery-based practices in their production of their goods and services.
He added Australia would continue to negotiate “and work with the United States to have them removed as quickly as possible”.
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Updated at 18.37 EDT
