News and politics live updates: Tim Ayres defends Albanese’s AI laws, rejects Greens’ data centre pause

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has accused the Albanese Government of making Australia’s housing crisis worse, arguing young Australians are being locked out of the market because there are not enough homes being built.

He said Labor’s policies had damaged confidence while failing to improve affordability.

“What we are seeing is less young first home buyers entering the market. That is because there are less homes and the government’s own plan is to impose taxes, or they have imposed taxes that will mean less homes,” Mr Taylor said.

“This government has completely failed young Australians and so their solution is to trash the housing market, destroy confidence in the housing market. That is not a solution thanks is making a bad situation worse.”

Liberal leader Angus Taylor has declared he has never supported introducing gender quotas for the party as members are asked for feedback ahead of the next election.

A discussion paper from an internal commission established by former leader Sussan Ley, has canvassed several ideas including US-style primaries to turn the party into a “fit-for-purpose political machine in the 21st century”.

“I’ve never supported any quotas at all,” Mr Taylor told reporters when asked about the proposals in Melbourne.

“What I do support, is more great people joining the Liberal Party and more great people, women and from all sorts of backgrounds. We’ve got brilliant Chinese Australians running here in Victoria”.

Queensland’s Olympics minister is back at the starting line, reclaiming the Games portfolio just weeks after stepping aside over a federal electoral enrolment probe.

Tim Mander stood down while the Australian Federal Police considered an Australian Electoral Commission referral over his decision to enrol to vote at a staffer’s home amid the breakdown of his 40‑plus year marriage.

Premier David Crisafulli has confirmed Mr Mander has been cleared by Australian Federal Police.

‘’Last night, when I arrived in Far North Queensland, I got an update from Minister Tim Mander to advise that the AFP investigation has run its course and found that the allegations against him are false,” Mr Crisafulli said on Thursday.

Read the full story here.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has directed Australia’s corporate regulators to support growth and productivity, following criticisms over-regulation is stifling investment.

Dr Chalmers has updated the government’s statements of expectations for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and Australian Securities and Investments Commission for the first time since 2021, when the coalition was in power.

The statements, issued on Thursday, outline the government’s expectations of how the regulators will carry out their functions.

They were updated to place greater emphasis on not getting in the way of productivity and economic growth.

Read the full story here.

Anthony Albanese has defended his decision not to attend next month’s remote Garma festival in the Northern Territory, claiming he hasn’t had a day off all year.

In an interview with ABC Radio Sydney, the PM was pressed about whether his decision was a “broken promise”.

“I haven’t had a day off all year,” Mr Albanese explained, saying he would be on leave during the event but would also attend another remote indigenous event in the coming days.

During the interview, the PM also revealed he was suffering from the flu, which he suggested was a result of his busy schedule.

Mr Albanese also ducked questions over whether his wife Jodie Haydon had counselled him against doing any further podcast interviews following his recent controversial appearance on the Deep Bush program.

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has sought to distance himself from far-right British activist Tommy Robinson, saying he does not agree with much of what the controversial figure stands for despite defending the importance of understanding how he gained support. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, met with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson during her recent trip to the UK and recorded an interview that is yet to be released.

Speaking to ABC Radio National Breakfast, Mr Joyce said there was value in hearing Robinson’s perspective, but rejected suggestions he supported his views.

“I don’t support so much of what Tommy Robinson does, but I think it’s incredibly important we understand the social dynamic and how that came about,” he said.

“If I had the opportunity to talk to him, I would (want) to work out exactly what was going on in their head.”

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor was forced to defend Liberal frontbencher Jacinta Nampijinpa Price after she came under scrutiny for reposting a video from a right-wing podcaster that claimed Labor was importing migrants from India, Africa and the Middle East to boost its electoral prospects.

Speaking to Channel Nine, Mr Taylor said he had spoken with Senator Nampijinpa Price in recent days but not about the social media post, rejecting suggestions the repost amounted to an endorsement.

“A retweet is not an endorsement,” he said.

“A retweet is pointing to a post that is made by someone else with obvious questions.”

Iran has threatened to block more key trade routes across the Middle East as the United States launches a fresh round of strikes against military targets and Donald Trump issues a stern warning if a deal isn’t settled.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG) warned the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the US halted what it described as its “Acts of aggression”, while also threatening to shut down other regional oil and gas exports.

The warning comes as the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said it carried out a second wave of Wednesday strikes on Iranian targets.

“Iranian military capabilities used to threaten vessels freely transiting through the Strait of Hormuz,” it wrote on X.

“The US military is holding Iran accountable at the Commander in Chief’s direction.”

Earlier, it said US forces has fired off 90-minute rounds of attacks at Greater Tunb Island that morning.

CENTCOM also said its forces turned away two vessels attempting to pass through its newly reinstated blockade of Iranian ports.

As tensions escalate in the region, Donald Trump issued a fresh threat to Iran, warning the US could “finish it off”.

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Industry Minister Tim Ayres has labelled the Greens’ push to pause new AI data centres as “pretty dopey”, arguing Australia cannot afford to stall investment as the Albanese Government moves to introduce mandatory national standards for the fast-growing sector.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this week unveiled the new framework, which will require future AI data centres to minimise water use, fund additional electricity generation and cover the full cost of connecting to the grid.

“We cannot afford to stand still. We cannot afford to stand still as a country. The data centre expectations are being worked through with the states,” Mr Ayres told ABC’s AM program.

“Key tech firms (are) signing memorandums of understanding with the government that are consistent with those. We are going to move to make them mandatory. It’s very clear to see the direction of travel here.”