Labor receives assurances from Indonesian defence minister – as it happened (2025)

Many thanks for joining us for another mammoth day on the federal election campaign trail. Here were all the key takeaways from today:

• Labor has pulled further ahead of the Coalition as the campaign continues, opening up a larger lead in the latest Essential poll after two weeks of policy confusion and backdowns from Peter Dutton’s Liberals.

• A Resolve Strategic poll also showed Labor is now within reach of forming a majority government.

• Anthony Albanese began today in Tasmania focusing on health and Labor’s Medicare urgent care clinics. He also faced questions about the costings of his government’s commitments.

• The PM indicated he would seek a third term as leader if elected, following a “revolving door” of leadership for both parties.

• Albanese also said Tanya Plibersek would remain a senior cabinet minister, after their awkward interaction at Labor’s campaign launch on the weekend.

• Peter Dutton, meanwhile, began the day in Melbourne. The opposition leader said he didn’t “want house prices to plummet” under the Coalition’s housing policy, and that he would help his children with a home deposit “at some stage”.

• Dutton batted away questions about costings on nuclear and defence. He also said his party wouldn’t “shy away” from nuclear – after the Victorian Liberal party moved to distance itself from the federal policy.

• The defence minister, Richard Marles, received an assurance from his Indonesian counterpart that Russia will not be allowed to station planes in Indonesia, after reports emerged in the afternoon.

• The PM continued to tout Labor’s fee-free Tafe policy, as a video emerged of Liberal frontbencher Sarah Henderson saying the policy “isn’t working”.

• The WA Greens rescheduled an Anzac day fundraising party, which had garnered criticism from both major party leaders.

• The Greens also launched a new policy to provide free lunches for public school students.

Krishani Dhanji will be back with you first thing tomorrow morning, and I’ll be with you in the evening for the next leaders’ debate. Until then, take care.

Indonesia says reports of Russian aircraft operating from Indonesia ‘simply not true’

Richard Marles has now shared a statement after speaking to the Indonesian minister about reports of Russia wanting to station planes north of Australia.

In a statement shared by his office, Marles said:

I have spoken to my counterpart, HE Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin the Minister for Defence, and he has said to me in the clearest possible terms, reports of the prospect of Russian aircraft operating from Indonesia are simply not true.

The defence minister, Richard Marles, has spoken to his Indonesian counterpart and it’s understood he received an assurance that Russia will not be allowed to station planes in Indonesia.

Guardian Australia understands the two men communicated a short time ago after reports in a defence journal that Russia wanted to put planes in Indonesia.

We’re awaiting a statement from Marles but we understand he’s been told there won’t be Russian planes there. More to come.

Littleproud says poll leads for Labor don’t reflect Coalition’s ‘hyper-local’ campaigns

The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, was up on Sky News earlier this afternoon, asked about the polls moving in Labor’s favour.

He argued that the polls weren’t reflective of the “hyper-local” campaigns being run by the Coalition:

I don’t think the national polls are reflective of the hyper-local campaigns that are taking place there. And I think to your point, it’s exactly about cost of living … particularly as you get out of the inner suburbs, where there is not necessarily a bigger cost-of-living crisis as these you get out further out – they’re not feeling it as much.

What’s important is that while we’re not walking away from the national polls and what they reflect, but what we’re seeing [from our] internal polling is that as you get out where Australians are struggling, and we’re saying to them, we’re going to give you a tax cut of $1,200 an individual, $2,400 a family, who are struggling to pay their mortgage, struggling to fill the car up, struggling to put food on the table, we’re going to give them a tax cut.

Host Patricia Karvelas said the ABC understands Richard Marles has spoken to his Indonesian counterpart and confirmed there would be no Russian planes based in Indonesia.

Sarah Hanson-Young responded to the news and said:

I think it’s good news to hear that Russia won’t be on our doorstep. We shouldn’t have Donald Trump and his increased military presence, and we certainly should not have the Russians.

Greens senator ‘surprised’ to learn of now-cancelled fundraising party scheduled for Anzac Day

Sarah Hanson-Young said she was “surprised” to learn a WA Greens fundraising party was scheduled for Anzac Day – which has since been cancelled. She told the program:

I think the organisers have seen better for it and it will be on a different day which I think is appropriate … I’ll be heading to the dawn service here [in Adelaide] on that Friday and looking forward to thinking and remembering and really understanding those what sacrifices of our men and women who take these brave positions really means for the rest of the country, and our community.

Hanson-Young weighs in on reports Russia seeking to base military aircraft in Indonesia

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young is also up on ABC Afternoon Briefing this evening, weighing in on reports Russia is seeking to base military aircraft in Indonesia’s remote Papua region.

She said she has “some sympathy with the idea of ‘let’s not react without all the facts’,” but that it is right to ask questions.

It puts into perspective, though, just how sensitive and how volatile things are right now across the globe and the person who has supercharged that like nobody else of course is Donald Trump.

Labor MP argues Coalition ‘adores the Maga movement’

James Stevens was also asked whether Australia “needs to be made great again”, following comments from Jacinta Price, and said:

We are a fantastic country that is let down by a bad government. We need a new government. [It] doesn’t mean we don’t have a fantastic country as it is, but our government is letting us down and we need a new government to get Australia back on track.

Josh Burns also weighed in and argued the Liberal party “adores the Maga movement”.

It’s why we have Liberal party senior members chanting Maga slogans and wearing Maga hats and trying to emulate the policies of the Maga movement.

Peter Dutton has outlined policy like the Doge policy of Elon Musk and Jacinta Price is standing in front of him chanting Maga slogans. That is not what Australians want and when you look at the tariffs put on Australia that have had a huge impact on the stock market, Australians are literally holding their phones, looking at their superannuation being affected by tariffs of the Maga movement, and thinking ‘what on earth is this about?’

Yet you have the Liberal party standing in front of cameras chanting Maga slogans. It is completely mad and not in Australia’s interest. We will do things the Australian way and look after the Australian people and hopefully protect them from the tariffs that apparently the Liberal party is cheerleading from the sidelines on.

Stevens defends Coalition housing policy and says ‘private sector is building homes’

James Stevens was asked why the Coalition was prepared to build nuclear reactors but not houses, and, like Peter Dutton just earlier, responded:

We have a private sector building houses.

He said there had been a “failure of government policy, not a failure of the home builders, and I would not trust the Albanese government to build a home.”

I think we stick to the people who know what they’re doing when building homes, but we make the policy adjustments that will address challenges …

Burns says Dutton has ‘instinct to throw spears first and ask questions later’

Labor MP Josh Burns is now up on ABC Afternoon Briefing, who said it was important to act “calmly and rationally and not overinflate the situation” in regards to Russia’s request to base military aircraft in Indonesia’s remote Papua region.

On Peter Dutton’s characterisation of the situation as a “catastrophe”, Burns said:

Peter Dutton’s instinct is to throw the spears first and ask questions later.

The government has sought advice from Indonesia. There’s media reports around here. But let’s get to the bottom of this, find out what the situation is, and then we can respond accordingly and make sure we’re acting in our national interest.

One of the things we did coming into government was to ensure that we are stabilising relationships in our region, to ensure that the countries that the previous Coalition government decided to scream and shout at were treated like adults.

James Stevens, Liberal MP for Sturt and also on the program, said he was “not worried about being calm, I’m worried about knowing what’s going on.”

Dutton says Coalition ‘not supportive’ of fee-free Tafe

Peter Dutton was also asked whether he would cut fee-free Tafe if elected. He said the Liberal party has said it is “not supportive of the government’s policy in relation to Tafe”.

This comes as a video emerged of Liberal frontbencher Sarah Henderson saying the policy just “isn’t working.”

The free Tafe policy – I am sorry, it’s just not working. I am trying to be polite. But the free Tafe policy has cost this country $1.5bn.

Speaking on the ABC just now, Dutton said:

We want to put $12,000 as a wage subsidy into particularly the construction sector, to try and get those young tradies skilled up as quickly as possible. The completion rates in Tafe are at 13%, which is, you know, not a good spend of taxpayers’ money. And I want to make sure we have the best system possible so we’ve got trainees coming through, and apprentices coming through. We want to lift that number up to 400,000.

Dutton emphasises influence of John Howard over Donald Trump

What does Peter Dutton say to people who says he’s just like Donald Trump?

Dutton responded that this was a “campaigning slogan from a desperate government who wants to talk about anything but what they have done over the last three years”.

He instead pointed to John Howard as his political influence, and said:

If you have a look at my track record over the last 20 years, the biggest influence of my political life has been John Howard. He ran a stable government, cleaned up a Labor mess, implemented the gun law reforms. I want to keep our country safe, make sure the economy is well managed. That’s my political influence.

Dutton asked about Coalition’s spend on nuclear vs housing supply

Moving to housing, Peter Dutton was asked how the Coalition can be prepared to spend billions of dollars on building nuclear power stations, but not actual houses for young people?

Dutton responded that he wants “the lights to stay on in their house”. On supply concerns, he took aim at Labor’s housing policy and said:

I think the private market has demonstrated they’re much more efficient at building homes. That’s why we’ve got Metricon and Simmons homes and AVJennings – it’s not the Albanese government home building company. It doesn’t work.

Dutton suggests Indonesia knew about Aukus deal before Australian public

Host Patricia Karvelas asked why Indonesia should be giving Australia a heads up, and what their responsibility is to Australia as a sovereign nation? Peter Dutton replied:

Well, there would be engagement if that was the case, if it was being considered … I think the prime minister and the foreign minister, if they’re being honest, would say this came as a surprise to them, which by their own standard, would be a catastrophic failure.

So, did Australia give Indonesia a heads-up it was entering the Aukus agreement with the US and UK? Dutton suggested a conversation did occur:

I met with [president] Prabowo as the defence minister, when I was defence minister. We spoke to our counterparts in relation to the Aukus deal before arrangements were made. There were details we were able to provide, some we weren’t.

So Indonesia knew about Aukus before the Australian public? Dutton said a conversation occurred, “which I’m not going into”.

Patricia Karvelas asked whether it was a bit extreme for Dutton to use the word “catastrophic” to describe this situation. He defended the characterisation, pointing to previous comments made by Penny Wong about the Coalition and saying “she’s either prepared to live by her own standard or be accused of hypocrisy”.

Asked if Australia’s spy agencies had failed, Dutton said he hadn’t received a briefing from any agencies yet but had requested one.

Dutton says it is ‘catastrophic error’ if Australia didn’t know about Russian request to Indonesia

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, is speaking with the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing about reports Russia is seeking to base military aircraft in Indonesia’s remote Papua region.

Dutton said it would be a “catastrophic error in the government’s systems” if “Dfat, under Penny Wong, didn’t know anything about” the request.

Obviously the government was very critical of the former government in relation to engagements in south-east Asia. So, by the government’s own test, by the government’s own standard, if the government knew nothing about this, then I would be very surprised, and I presume the prime minister will answer those questions.

Asked what he is actually criticising, given the government has already said it is seeking clarification, Dutton argued that if there was a “functioning relationship with Indonesia [there would have been] contact at a departmental or ministerial level”.

I think by her own standards Penny Wong has failed here. Of course we don’t want Russian planes or other military assets in our region …

TLDR: Labor and Liberal’s duelling housing policies, and a diss track

The two major parties have officially launched their campaigns, with a big focus on addressing Australia’s housing crisis.

Guardian Australia’s Krishani Dhanji walks you through the competing policies as well as other campaign moments of note in today’s TLDR: Election 2025.

The Greens are seeking additional information to ensure its candidate in the Tasmanian seat of Franklin, Owen Fitzgerald, is not a New Zealand citizen by descent and therefore unable to sit in federal parliament.

Fitzgerald’s grandparents and father were born in Hamilton, New Zealand. According to disclosure forms, his grandparents are NZ citizens while his father is a dual Australian and NZ citizen. All three acquired NZ citizenship by birth.

Section 7 of the New Zealand Citizenship Act 1977 states:

Every person born outside New Zealand on or after 1 January 1978 is a New Zealand citizen by descent if, at the time of the person’s birth his or her mother or father was a New Zealand citizen.

In 2017, the high court ruled former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce was ineligible to sit in federal parliament due to his father being born in New Zealand.

New Zealand’s prime minister at the time, Bill English, confirmed that “unwittingly or not”, Joyce was a citizen due to his father being born there.

Fitzgerald’s disclosure form states he is not a citizen of any country other than Australia. But the form does not include any proof that he renounced his right to New Zealand citizenship or its automatic transfer to him.

While Fitzgerald’s disclosure form does contain confirmation he renounced British citizenship status, given his mother was born in the UK, there is no such document related to New Zealand.

The Greens have been contacted for comment.

Greens senator criticises lack of focus on family and domestic violence in major parties’ campaigns

Greens senator Larissa Waters says it is “outrageous” that neither major party has highlighted family, domestic or sexual violence during the federal election campaign.

In a post to X, she argued it had been “crickets on women’s safety, bar the Greens pledge”.

We heard big talk from [Anthony] Albanese who declared violence against women a national crisis less than a year ago, and [Peter] Dutton around the same time who called for a royal commission.

Prior to the campaign we saw Labor give piecemeal announcements and their budget flopped on FDSV without new significant funding or announcements. Meanwhile, the Liberal’s idea of supporting women was walking back their own attack on flexible work arrangements.

How dare they abandon women like this? If we made the 1 in 3 big corporations that pay no tax contribute their fair share we could fully fund frontline services and prevention efforts.

Calls for Australia to increase humanitarian aid to Sudan

Plan International says that Australia “can and must do more” to provide humanitarian assistance to Sudan, as the country’s civil war enters its third year.

Sudan is suffering from the largest humanitarian crisis globally and its civilians are continuing to pay the price for inaction by the international community, NGOs and the UN have said.

After a meeting of donor countries took place in Paris yesterday, in which Australia did not increase its support, Plan International Australia’s CEO, Susanne Legena, said:

Australia has so far committed $50m in humanitarian assistance to Sudan and neighbouring countries since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023. These contributions are welcome but, given the scale and severity of this crisis, we can and must do more.

This is an opportunity for Australia to act on our values and utilise the country’s humanitarian assistance capacity to make a further commitment.

Amad Mohammed from the Sudanese Australian Advocacy Network shared similar concerns, saying:

The Sudanese-Australian community watches on with anguish as their homeland is torn apart. We urgently call on the international community to act decisively to end this war and prevent further loss. We also call on the Australian government to expand its humanitarian assistance and support those affected by this crisis, both in Sudan and among displaced Sudanese seeking refuge and safety.