Australian news and politics live: EY scandal erupts as grads fired, charged over Albo bank account

If the Prime Minister’s banking details can allegedly be accessed without authorisation, what does that mean for millions of other Australians?

That question is likely to be asked after two former Ernst & Young graduate employees were charged over the alleged unauthorised access of confidential Commonwealth Bank customer records, including those belonging to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

The two men, who had been seconded to Commonwealth Bank as part of EY’s graduate consulting program, have since been dismissed and are facing criminal charges over the alleged privacy breach.

According to The Australian Financial Review, the pair allegedly used internal banking systems to access the personal banking details of Mr Albanese and at least one senior EY partner despite having no legitimate work reason to do so.

The alleged breach was detected through Commonwealth Bank’s internal monitoring systems, which track access to sensitive customer information and alerted EY to the activity.

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“It is not appropriate for us to comment on individual contractor matters,” a Commonwealth Bank spokesman said.

The Australian Federal Police confirmed it had charged two men following an investigation into the alleged misuse of restricted banking data.

Read the full story.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has described as “horrific” the case of Perth man Simon Peter Carman, who has been charged in Thailand over the death of 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla.

“It’s a horrific case, and I think we’ve all been horrified by what has happened, and our sympathy goes to the friends and family,” she said this morning.

“In relation to consular assistance, again as minister, I’m bound by privacy obligations. We obviously provide consular assistance to Australians overseas where required.”

She says Australian officials have been engaging with their Thai counterparts, and she anticipates speaking with the Thai foreign minister at an imminent ASEAN meeting.

In a demonstration of the woes still besetting the Liberal Party, shadow treasurer Tim Wilson this morning stepped up to waiting TV cameras to talk about the “widows’ tax”, and the deal Labor and the Greens struck last week to pass tax changes – only to be met with seven questions about his party’s poor standing.

Does the Liberal Party need a rebrand? If it’s so good, why do only 17 per cent of people want to vote for it? Does it need a new leader?

“I’ve said consistently there’s a lot more work to do to build out the blue horizon of liberal hope,” Mr Wilson said.

He went on to spruik his book, The New Social Contract: Renewing the Liberal Vision for Australia, and its discussion of “the choice … between a liberal democratic future or a social democratic future”.

It does have some fans within Parliament House; unfortunately for Mr Wilson, they all seem to sit around the Cabinet table, judging by how often ministers quote it at him in Question Time.

Two Ernst and Young graduates have reportedly been sacked and are now facing the weight of the law after they allegedly accessed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s banking details.

The AFR reported that the two graduates, who were on secondment at CBA, that they grads commenced work with EY in March, before being sent off to the bank.

The outlet also claimed the grads allegedly accessed details of a senior partner.

It is understood that the PM’s office is aware of the alleged breach but has not commented on the matter.

EY, CBA and PMO have been contacted for comment.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers, the Albanese government and the Greens look set to make a $1b super deal as Labor continues to prioritise young Australians, especially those who will be old enough to vote at the next election.

The Greens are pushing to make a move that would block the Treasury from exempting major companies from paying super for those under 18.

Dr Chalmers told ABC on Tuesday that the issue was “really important”, promising to engage young people and unions before making a decision.

“This is a really important issue. I actually met with a delegation of young workers about this last week. We are always looking for ways to strengthen the superannuation system to make it deliver for more workers,” he said.

“We’ve indicated a willingness to continue to engage with young people, with unions, with the super sector, on proposals about what the next set of changes might be in superannuation.”