Police confirm Chris Baghsarian’s remains found on the outskirts of Sydney
Det Acting Supt Andrew Marks with NSW police is holding a press conference after two men were arrested in relation to the alleged kidnapping and murder of Chris Baghsarian.
He confirmed the remains found yesterday are those of Baghsarian after forensic testing.
Marks said the two men, aged 29 and 24, arrested this morning were expected to be charged “in connection with the [alleged] kidnapping and murder of Mr Baghsarian”.
The two men were known to police, but for “insignificant matters”.
Key events
Benita Kolovos
Victorian premier asked about her poor polling
Back at the Future Victoria Summit in Melbourne, the premier, Jacinta Allan, was asked by the Herald Sun’s state political editor, Shannon Deery, what she makes of her personal approval rating and Labor’s primary vote both sliding in a series of recent polls.
She said:
We are seeing a lot of volatility at the moment in those polls that outlets like yours publish on a fairly regular basis. You could equally ask the question, why are so many Liberal voters going across to One Nation?
Allan conceded the political landscape had “changed and changed dramatically” in recent years, with both major parties losing their historical share of primary votes:
Politicians say polls come and go. The focus I have every single day is making sure that the decisions we are making [will] make people’s life easier, give them better access to public services, to health and education, because when we’re talking about the future of Victoria at this summit, that is what I want to see.
Protesters at Albanese speech were with climate group Rising Tide
The protesters who interrupted Anthony Albanese’s speech in Melbourne earlier this afternoon were affiliated with the climate action group Rising Tide.
The group said in a statement the members unfurled a banner that said “No New Coal and Gas” and asked Albanese: “Why are you selling my future to gas companies in the Otway basin?”
Security escorted the two protesters from the room.
Patrick Commins
CGT discount turns homes into a tax shelter for the rich, Ken Henry says
Ken Henry, an influential former Treasury secretary, says the capital gains tax discount has driven intergenerational inequity by turning rental properties into a tax minimisation strategy for wealthier Australians and contributing to unaffordable housing.
Henry, who led a review into the tax system in 2010, pushed back against the view that reforms to CGT should just be seen just through the lenses of tax equity and efficiency, rather than affordability.
“The intergenerational inequity lies in a lack of opportunity” to buy a home.
There is a loss of opportunity there that does a great injustice to a younger generation of Australians.
He said one of the outcomes of the current tax system, with a relatively high top marginal income tax rate, was that “rental property investments are primarily under Australian tax law a vehicle for sheltering wage and salary income from tax”.
The mix of the 50% tax discount on capital gains and negative gearing had turned homes into a speculative investment, Henry said.
What you see is typically once house prices start to move in the upwards direction, more and more of the purchases at any auction are investors. And it’s no coincidence therefore that the proportion of housing stock owned by owner-occupiers has been falling over time. That’s what’s driven it.
Earlier, independent economist Saul Eslake said the changes to CGT in 1999 had led Australia to “becoming even more a nation of property speculators than we already were”.
Widely cited modelling has suggested that cutting the CGT discount would only move property prices by 1-3%, but would boost home ownership by approaching 5% over time.
Daisy Dumas
Good afternoon, readers – and, thank you, Nick Visser. Let’s get on with the remainder of the day’s breaking news.
Nick Visser
That’s all from me. Daisy Dumas will take things from here. Take care.
Marks said the case was “up there” with one of the worst he’s worked on.
He told reporters:
It’s somebody’s worst nightmare. The fact that an innocent man was taken from his home is not acceptable … people need to be held to account for that.
And we hope that it doesn’t happen again.
Police confirm Chris Baghsarian’s remains found on the outskirts of Sydney
Det Acting Supt Andrew Marks with NSW police is holding a press conference after two men were arrested in relation to the alleged kidnapping and murder of Chris Baghsarian.
He confirmed the remains found yesterday are those of Baghsarian after forensic testing.
Marks said the two men, aged 29 and 24, arrested this morning were expected to be charged “in connection with the [alleged] kidnapping and murder of Mr Baghsarian”.
The two men were known to police, but for “insignificant matters”.
Lisa Cox
Greens call on Watt to revoke Alcoa national interest exemption for forest clearing
The Greens have called for the environment minister, Murray Watt, to revoke a national interest exemption granted to US mining giant Alcoa to allow continued clearing of swathes of Western Australia’s northern jarrah forest.
It comes after Guardian Australia revealed the federal environment department had been telling the company since 2011 its Huntly and Willowdale bauxite mining operations required approval under Australia’s nature laws.
Watt announced he had granted the exemption last week at the same time as handing Alcoa an “unprecedented” $55m penalty for unlawful clearing at the site between 2019 and 2025. The exemption was granted in part due to a critical minerals deal reached between Australia and the Trump administration last year that would involve Alcoa supplying gallium to the US for the defence and renewables sectors.
The Greens environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, said:
Minister Watt’s decision to give Alcoa a free pass to continue strip-mining the precious Northern Jarrah Forest is all the more staggering in light of evidence that the company has been unlawfully clearing for up to 15 years with no consequences.
Hanson-Young said the Greens would ask questions at a hearing of a Senate inquiry examining changes to Australia’s nature laws. The laws passed the parliament late last year after the Albanese government and the Greens reached a deal:
There should be a one-strike-and-you’re-out rule. These big Trump-backed US companies cannot be trusted with Australia’s native forests and our Environment Minister should not be handing out free passes for them to do so.
Watt said last week the penalty was the largest conservation-focused commitment of its kind and the government had significantly strengthened environmental compliance and enforcement.
Benita Kolovos
Jacinta Allan says airport rail will save ‘Victorians time every single day’
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, spoke earlier at the Victorian Chamber and Herald Sun’s Future Victoria Summit in Melbourne.
She began her speech by saying while everyone she speaks to loves their community and calls Victoria a “great place” to live, work and raise their kids, “pride doesn’t mean life is easy”.
Allan said:
Right now, families are under pressure from global cost-of-living forces and from the demands of modern life – work, school, kids, healthcare, commuting. People are doing everything right and are still feeling stretched. And when life feels stretched, the future can feel further away. So my vision of the future starts there, because unless life works for families today, the future will feel out of reach.
She pointed to her government’s commitments, including allowing pharmacists to dispense more medications without a prescription, increasing housing, legislating a right to work from home and building a new Sunshine station that will connect rail to Melbourne airport.
Allan said:
Last year at this same event, I said that funding secured with the prime minister will deliver airport rail. Well today, and you’ve just heard the PM steal the thunder a little bit … Work has started on these new lines [that] will get people to the airport faster, to speed up trains through Sunshine and Tottenham, saving Victorians time every single day. Fast trips aren’t just about convenience. They free up hours in a family’s week. They give people time back that modern life has taken from them.
Here is a render of the new Sunshine hub released this morning by the federal infrastructure minister, Catherine King, and Victorian transport infrastructure minister, Gabrielle Williams.
No charges over art posters seized from Canberra music venue
Sarah Basford Canales
No charges will be laid against the owner of a Canberra music venue who was shut down for a night last week by ACT police for potentially breaching hate symbol laws after displaying art posters depicting world leaders and others, including Donald Trump and Elon Musk, wearing Nazi uniforms.
In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, ACT police said it had now assessed the posters and no charges would be laid.
Following assessment, it has been determined that while the posters satisfied certain aspects of the legislation, other aspects were not met. As such, criminal proceedings will not occur. The posters will be returned to the owner in due course and this matter finalised.
ACT Policing remains committed to ensuring that alleged antisemitic, racist and hate incidents are addressed promptly and thoroughly and when possible criminality is identified, ACT Policing will not hesitate to take appropriate action.
David Howe, the owner of Dissent Cafe and Bar in Canberra’s CBD, told Guardian Australia his venue was shut down for about two hours last Wednesday night as police investigated a complaint about hate imagery relating to five posters in the window.
“I think it’s ludicrous, to be perfectly honest,” he told Guardian Australia, describing the works as an “anti-fascist statement” and noting the shutdown had caused the cancellation of an interstate band’s performance.
By Thursday afternoon, less than 24 hours later, the posters were placed back in the windows, with the contents covered with the word “Censored” in red, and have remained there since.
Read more:
Benita Kolovos
PM gets rapid-fire questions, calling former prince Andrew a ‘grub’
The prime minister was also asked a series of rapid-fire questions by the Herald Sun editor, Sam Weir, and was asked to give one-word answers. They were:
Sussan Ley: “Best wishes”
Angus Taylor: “Leader”
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor: “Grub”
Craig Tiley: “Legend”
Oscar Piastri: “Winner”
One Nation voters: “Frustrated”
Pauline Hanson: “Divisive”
Australia Day: “Great”
Grace Tame: “Difficult”
Donald Trump: “President”
Barnaby Joyce: “I can’t do that in one word, I am just looking forward to Barnaby Joyce v Pauline Hanson – you know it’s coming”
Women with Islamic State links: “They made their bed, they’re lying in it”
AFL or NRL: “Unfair”
Rabbitohs or Hawks: “I was on the board of Rabbitohs … but I support both”
His response on Mountbatten-Windsor received applause from the crowd.
Patrick Commins
High inflation the ‘political payback of a populist policy’, economist says
High inflation is “the political payback of a populist policy” by federal and state governments to subsidise energy prices from mid-2023, an economist says.
Stephen Smith, a partner at Deloitte Access Economics, said this morning’s evidence that inflation remains too high “means a pre-budget rate rise remains on the table”.
Smith made the same point as the Australian Bureau of Statistics that the 3.8% headline inflation figure “is heavily influenced by the end of energy bill relief, which has triggered an 18.5% increase in electricity prices in the month of January alone”.
While the federal government deserves credit for not continuing the electricity subsidies beyond December, today’s spike in headline CPI [consumer price index] was always going to be the political payback of a populist policy.
For Smith, the combination of relatively soft growth and high inflation are a hallmark of an economy struggling with low productivity growth, and highlighted the urgency of the reform challenge.
Unless the federal budget meets the moment and outlines significant economic and tax reform, growth will stagnate and inflation will persist for longer than necessary.
Cherelle Murphy, EY’s chief economist, said the latest inflation figures showed “persistent” price pressures, and reinforced the likelihood of further rate hikes.
“The Reserve Bank has its work cut out to get inflation back within the target band” of 2-3%, Murphy said.
Jim Chalmers in a statement said the latest inflation figures “are another important reminder that the coming budget will have the right focus on inflation and productivity against a backdrop of global uncertainty”.
Benita Kolovos
Albanese says government ‘always’ looking at economic reform
Asked about the prospect of changes to capital gains tax, Albanese said the government was “always” looking at economic reform. He went on:
What we have been very keen to do, because in part, we know there is a lot of frustration of the way that the political system works, is to deliver on the commitments that we took to the election.
We’ve been ticking them off one by one, but we’ve also said that’s the floor, not the ceiling, that’s not the limit of our ambition, and you’ll see reform in the budget.
You’ll have to wait to see.
Benita Kolovos
Albanese reminds everyone to ‘turn the heat down for goodness sake’ after bomb threat
We’ve now moved to a Q&A, facilitated by the Herald Sun editor, Sam Weir, and chief executive officer of the chamber of commerce, Sally Curtain.
Weir has begun by apologising about the protesters and thanking him for continuing on with his speech. Albanese responded:
The objective should always be to keep going.
Weir then asked him about the “scare” at The Lodge last night, which was evacuated due to a bomb threat. He joked the prime minister’s cavoodle, Toto, was a “fearsome guard” and asked whether Albanese could dispel the rumour Karl Stefanovic had been “lingering too long in The Lodge after his podcast”.
Albanese replied:
I can do that.
The prime minister added “a reminder to take every opportunity to tell people to turn the heat down, for goodness sake”.
Albanese envisions high-speed rail one day making its way to Melbourne
Benita Kolovos
The prime minister later turned to high speed rail, following the announcement of $230m for planning work for the first phase from Newcastle to Sydney. He says he envisions the project continuing all the way down to Melbourne in the future:
As a former infrastructure minister I can tell you, the only thing that moves fast in this process is the train. But let me be clear: for high-speed rail to deliver its full economic and national benefits, it cannot terminate at Sydney. Australia is the only inhabited continent on Earth that doesn’t already have high-speed rail.
And Melbourne to Sydney is one of the busiest flight corridors in the world. I accept that I will not be the prime minister when high-speed rail is finished. But I am determined to be the prime minister who starts it.
This final line received a heap of applause from the crowd.
Albanese was asked why we need high-speed rail and how are we going to afford it. He responded:
The first thing to say is that Sydney-Newcastle, makes most sense in terms of density … but it’s also the hardest. A lot of Sydney to Melbourne is actually a lot easier by definition. Essentially, think about that getting through the Hawkesbury and across what is pretty, pretty hard terrain, and would have to largely be under the ground rather than over. The big thing that makes sense between Sydney and Melbourne and changes the economics of it is the uplift of regional economic development that you would have along the route.
He says the vision would be Sydney to Melbourne in “under three hours”:
It’s not just a transport policy, it’s an economic development policy, it’s a housing policy. It’s a growth strategy as well, with huge productivity benefits. If you think about the time that it takes people travelling to an airport, sitting waiting, boarding all of that. There’s a reason why, around the world, high-speed rail has taken off. No one now flies from London to Paris.
Benita Kolovos
Albanese talking about efforts to help first home buyers and other infrastructure efforts
Albanese’s speech in Melbourne has largely covered his usual ground – covering off the commitments his government took to the last election. This includes the federal government’s new 5% deposit scheme, which he says has helped 71,000 Victorians buy their first home.
He says in the last year, one in every three Australians who bought their first home was a Victorian:
What’s happening in Victoria underlines an important fact. When it comes to housing affordability, the most important thing is supply. More Victorians have been able to buy a home, because Victoria is building more homes.
Albanese says the federal government confirmed earlier this month that it would sell empty or underused defence land – eight sites in Melbourne and eight in regional Victoria.
He says the state and federal governments were also working to build roads and public transport to service the new homes. He says the federal government has backed the North East Link, Suburban Rail Loop, the redevelopment of Sunshine Station and Melbourne Airport rail. On the latter, he says:
This is a project that has been debated and announced and re-announced for decades. Now it is under way. Plans approved, shovels in the ground. No turning back.
American political wonks: Donald Trump’s State of the Union is set to begin
You can follow along with Guardian US’s liveblog here:
Protesters ejected from prime minister’s speech in Melbourne
Benita Kolovos
Two protesters were ejected during prime minister Anthony Albanese’s speech at the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Herald Sun’s Future Victoria Summit in Melbourne.
The protesters chanted “no more coal and gas” as a heavy security presence escorted them from the event, held at Crown. Albanese continued his speech throughout, with the crowd applauding as the protesters were ejected.
It comes after Albanese was evacuated from his official Canberra residence on Tuesday night as police responded to a bomb threat.
