Australian news and politics live: Chris Bowen concedes that high energy prices threaten Tomago Aluminium

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has conceded high energy prices are a factor in the possible closure of Australia’s largest aluminium smelter but insists majority owner Rio Tinto also supports the government’s renewables rollout.

On Tuesday, Tomago Aluminium released a statement saying it was yet to identify a pathway that supported commercially viable operations beyond the expiration of its energy contract in 2028.

“It is true that they said that finding competitively priced energy remains a central challenge,” Mr Bowen said while facing a grilling from the opposition during Question Time.

“They go on to say that it is difficult to find enough renewable energy for the project. What they’re saying is what we say – that we need more of the cheapest and most reliable energy for our grid.”

Mr Bowen also reaffirmed previous Government signals about a potential bailout for the struggling aluminium smelter, confirming ongoing discussions with its owners.

Australians are paying more than they should on their mortgage because of high Federal Government spending, a leading economics professor says.

University of New South Wales economist Richard Holden said home borrowers were paying higher mortgage interest rates as higher Commonwealth spending crowded out private investment, including mortgage lending.

“Interest rates increase because firms and households are competing with government for domestic savings,” he told The Nightly.

“Government debt can crowd out private investment - including mortgage lending - when international capital is not perfectly mobile.”

Professor Holden also savaged the Government for relying on bracket creep, or more income tax revenue from workers getting pay rises to keep up with inflation, to finance its spending.

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Snapchat has argued it should be exempt from Australia’s under 16s social media ban because it was not like other “toxic” apps.

The app’s parent company, Snap, told a Senate inquiry today that while it would comply with the Albanese Government’s ban, it did not agree with eSafety Commissioner’s assessment that it was a social media platform.

“We have provided compelling evidence to the eSafety Commissioner showing that Snapchat’s primary purpose is messaging,” Snap representative Jennifer Stout said.

She appeared alongside representatives from TikTok and Meta in a special hearing after the three major platforms snubbed an earlier session on October 13.

Greens Senator and committee chair Sarah Hanson-Young had threatened to subpoena the trio after their non-appearance.

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Anthony Albanese has shut down suggestions of Japan being a fourth player in the AUKUS alliance.

The Prime Minister held talks with his newly elected Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Malaysia today.

While Mr Albanese said Australia was purchasing Japanese-made Mogami frigates, Japan would not play a part of the AUKUS pact alongside the US and UK

“AUKUS is an arrangement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States and we’re very much focused on delivering that,” Mr Albanese said.

“Of course, the Mogami frigates that we are purchasing from Japan are going to be very important.”

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Scores of jobs are set to go after BHP decided to “significantly scale back” activity at an iron ore mine that employs about 800 people and is a key union target, according to multiple sources.

Senior managers at BHP’s Yandi iron ore operation in the Pilbara are believed to have told workers on Tuesday morning that the ageing mine’s workforce will be substantially reduced over the coming months.

The site employs about 600 direct workers and up to 200 contractors, the latter mainly via ESS who run the catering and accommodation on site.

A BHP spokesman confirmed the changes at Yandi.

“Yandi’s production profile has steadily ramped down in recent years, and we now need to adjust the mine plan to meet current and future operational requirements,” he said.

​​Read the full story here.​​

Labor backbenchers have warned Murray Watt against gutting the new environmental laws to get them through the Senate as the minister considers how to win over the Coalition or the Greens.

The caucus approved a package of seven bills to overhaul the 25-year-old Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act with unanimous applause when MPs met in Canberra on Tuesday morning.

But backbenchers had an unusually large number of questions for the Environment Minister too, including one who said they were wary of major changes being made during negotiations.

Senator Watt made it clear his preference was to pass something as close as possible to what he will introduce, which has tangible gains for both business and the environment.

The Coalition and Greens have both come out early against the overhaul, each saying it goes too far on the other side.

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Coalition leader Sussan Ley has taken aim at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s choice of shirt after he returned from his state vist with US President Donald Trump.

Mr Albanese walked off his RAAF jet wearing a Joy Division shirt on return to Australia which Ms Ley says is in poor taste.

“The name was taken from the wing of a nazi concentration camp where Jewish women were forced into sexual slavery,” she told the house.

The Opposition Leader has called for Mr Albanese to apologise for wearing a shirt with an image “derived from hatred and suffering”.

“To wear that name across your chest is not just a statement of musical taste, and it is more than bad taste, it raises questions around values,” Ms Ley added.

Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls suggested the government will explore ways to ban puberty blockers after the Supreme Court sided with the parent of a transgender child and ruled against a ban on the controversial treatment.

Mr Nicholls said he would consider using a law that enables him to issue directives to local health boards to reinstate a ban imposed in January outlawing puberty blockers for patients under 18 with gender dysphoria.

“I’m going to consider what steps are available to the government and there are a number of steps available to us,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “Something that I will consider over the coming hours.”

On Tuesday, Supreme Court judge Peter Callaghan overturned the ban, ruling Queensland Health director-general David Rosengren had failed to properly consult the directors of hospital and health services, as required by State law.

“The process of consultation required by … (the Act) to be observed in the making of the decision was not observed,” Justice Callaghan said in his judgement.

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Australia’s AAA credit rating has been locked in as the Reserve Bank governor plays down a surprise jump in unemployment.

Ratings agency Fitch maintained its full-marks assessment of the nation’s financial position overnight on Tuesday citing Australia’s strong institutions, resilient growth outlook and improving government deficits.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the call was a “powerful endorsement” of Labor’s economic management.

“We are realistic about the challenges facing our economy including growing global uncertainty, but our AAA rating is further proof Australia is coming at these challenges from a position of genuine economic strength,” they said in a joint statement.

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There have been some changes in the makeup of Parliamentary committees today.

WA Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has quit his gig on the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, which reviews national security legislation.

As per the process, Mr Hastie wrote to the Speaker Milton Dick on Tuesday to inform him of his resignation.

It’s understood the Canning MP has removed himself to clear space for shadow ministers to step into, after he was dumped from the Opposition frontbench.

The Albanese Government has also agreed with the Coalition to establish a Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence.

The Defence-focused committee was raised in the Coalition’s joint-party room on Tuesday morning and welcomed by shadow defence spokesman Angus Taylor.

Queensland LNP MP Andrew Wallace has also been discharged from the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.