Lawyer investigating CFMEU says call to pause Victorian big build projects is ‘silly’
Geoffrey Watson, the barrister who was appointed by the CFMEU administrator to investigate allegations of corruption and criminal offences within the union, said it would be counterproductive to pause Victoria’s big build projects while corruption in the sector is rooted out.
That call was made by deputy Liberal leader, Jane Hume, yesterday after reports by Nine newspapers that CFMEU officials appointed criminals to major roles within big-build firms and the state government knew the union’s takeover of construction sites was driving up costs and blowing out timelines.
Watson told RN Breakfast earlier this morning it was concerning. Watson has called for a royal commission to investigate how organised crime within the building sector “has infiltrated and really wrecked a major part of the economy”.
This is really into a criminal investigation … It happens to be the building industry, but it’s not like the other [construction sector] inquiries. It’s into crime. Now, why do I think we need it? It’s because the police, and they’ve made a statement today, they don’t have the relevant powers. They’ve been doing a great job, but they don’t have the relevant powers to investigate.
But asked whether federal funding for the big builds should be paused while the issue is investigated, Watson says that would be silly.
It’s silly. It’s counterproductive again, you want the projects now that they’ve started to get on and get finished … But if you said, as I heard suggested yesterday by somebody, that the site should be shut down, well, all you’re going to do is enable the people to be paid for not working. You’re going to drive a whole lot of innocent contractors out of business.
Geoffrey Watson SC. Photograph: Dan Peled/AAP
Key events
Luca Ittimani
Shared ebikes now used by a million NSW residents monthly
Over 1 million New South Wales residents now use a shared ebike each month, roughly doubling since October, as the state moves to add new parking zones.
The secretary of Transport for NSW, Josh Murray, shared the number on Tuesday, announcing the new parking plan alongside minister John Graham. Graham said:
We’ve got to change the culture. We’re asking for cooperation for bike riders here. These bikes are incredibly popular but they are having an impact on our city.
The state has charged ebike operators 80 cents per ride and is directing some of that funding to help councils set up parking zones. Operators will enforce compliance by geotracking the bikes and requiring customers to send photos of correctly parked bikes, Graham said.
The government was moving towards requiring ebike riders to park in a bay or be unable to end their trips, which would leave their meter running, Graham said.
Riders can be required to park in a parking bay or the trip won’t end. That’s where this is heading.
Thirteen NSW councils now host sharebike schemes. Graham said the government expected councils to install thousands of additional parking spots over 2026.
You can read more about the parking plan here:
What’s changing on 1 July?
Tomorrow is 1 July which means you can file your tax return, but there are also a bunch of other changes coming into effect.
From automatic indexation on some social welfare payments to extended parental leave (which Labor was spruiking all of last week), my colleague Ima Caldwell has a breakdown of all the changes that you need to know:
Oh wait, another pollie has announced a podcast
Every politician and their dog seems to be buying sound equipment and setting up a podcast studio – with Sarah Hanson-Young the latest to announce her new show … the original and creatively named, “The Sarah Hanson-Young podcast”.
To name a few, Liberal MP Andrew Wallace has a podcast, named “Wally’s World”, Labor MP Dan Repacholi has “Dan & the Doctor”, David Pocock has a podcast “With David Pocock”, and Alex Antic brings you “Based with Senator Alex Antic”.
I’d love to know the listener numbers on any and all of these.
Hanson-Young’s new weekly podcast promises “her political insights and analysis on current affairs, and a chat with a special guest to share conversations she’s having about fixing a broken political system”.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young is starting a podcast. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Jordyn Beazley
Following on from our previous post …
The parties’ confidential settlement involved Cairo Takeaway, Birenbaum and the Daily Telegraph releasing a joint statement in which the Daily Telegraph apologised to Cairo Takeaway for “causing distress”. Cairo also apologised unreservedly to Birenbaum.
But just hours after the agreed joint statement was published, the dispute was reignited when Birenbaum posted an additional “personal statement” to his Instagram and X accounts claiming he was “vindicated”. He posted the personal statement to the X account three hours before he posted the joint statement.
His lawyer, Rebekah Giles, also sent statements to media in which she labelled the settlement “an important win for Ofir Birenbaum and the Australian Jewish community”, the court heard.
In May, during a hearing over allegations Birenbaum breached parts of the settlement, lawyers for Cairo Takeaway alleged the statements by Birenbaum and Giles were a “coordinated effort” to discredit the settlement and “control the narrative” in the media.
Birenbaum’s lawyer, Kieran Smark SC, denied the comments were inconsistent with the official joint statement. He also suggested Birenbaum was vindicated because the restaurant had made a public apology.
Jordyn Beazley
Ofir Birenbaum breached settlement with Cairo Takeaway, court finds
A pro-Israel activist breached parts of a legal settlement with Sydney restaurant Cairo Takeaway, a court has found.
Justice Robert Bromwich handed down his decision in the federal court of Australia on Tuesday in the latest chapter of the long-running feud after Ofir Birenbaum went to Cairo Takeaway wearing a Star of David cap and necklace with reporters from the Daily Telegraph in February 2025.
Cairo Takeaway in Newtown, Sydney. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP
In August, Birenbaum launched defamation proceedings against the restaurant’s owner Hesham El Masry and staff member Talaat Yehia for statements made in a series of social media posts.
The case settled in March, but was reopened after the restaurant alleged Birenbaum had breached parts of the settlement the parties had agreed by claiming he was “completely vindicated”.
‘I honestly don’t think rebranding is going to help us get there’: Duniam
Jonno Duniam, who has announced he will retire from the Senate some time this year, disputes the call for a Liberal rebrand and says the focus should be on developing a suite of policies.
He tackles the suggestion from Melissa McIntosh a little stronger than some of his colleagues and says that talking about the Liberal party and its brand probably won’t help the Coalition win the next election.
He tells Sky News:
I think people are less concerned about the packaging or the box and what it looks like on the outside and more worried about what is on the inside, which is, frankly, where we’ve got to be focused. We’ve got to actually get our policy work done … That’s when we’ll start seeing the dial shift, or people return to us, having abandoned us.
I don’t think talking about ourselves and our brand is going to help us win the next election. I honestly don’t think rebranding is going to help us get there.
He also trashes any talk of preference deals, saying, “I think it is ridiculous for us in 2026 to be talking about preferences for a 2028 election.”
Liberal MP Jonno Duniam. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
Duniam says ‘bet your bottom dollar’ Labor will legislate super for under-18s
Shadow frontbencher, Jono Duniam, says you can bet your bottom dollar Labor will mandate superannuation payments for under-18s.
Right now an employer only has to pay super to a worker aged under 18 if they work more than 30 hours a week.
Jim Chalmers this morning said the government was engaging with young people on the issue, but said the priority for the moment was payday super (requiring employers to pay super at the same time as a paycheque).
Duniam told Sky News the government should understand what the changes will do before “rushing into another dodgy dirty deal”.
On whether the government, the people who control whether this happens or not, are going to do it, I think you can bet your bottom dollar they will …
Obviously, there are implications for employers, and we want to understand all of this. You can’t just do these things on the fly. There are costs to employers, particularly when you’ve got a huge casual and young workforce. Let’s understand what impact that would have on the economy before we rush off into another dirty dodgy deal with the Greens.
Qantas customers told to start compensation claim
Jonathan Barrett
Qantas customers who were refused refunds for flights cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions can start their compensation claims as part of a class action settlement.
Echo Law began contacting affected customers on Monday as part of a $105m settlement reached in March, in which Qantas agreed to resolve claims regarding its refund policies.
The court-approved letter sent to customers says that “even persons who have used their Qantas flight credit or were ultimately refunded for their flight are eligible for a settlement payment”.
The minimum compensation payment is $50, although some customers will receive “significantly more”, according to the letter.
The lawsuit alleged that affected customers were contractually entitled to cash refunds when their flights were cancelled, but were instead issued travel credits, often with restrictions and expiries.
Qantas settled the claim but did not admit fault.
A Qantas plane prepares to land at Sydney airport. Photograph: Rick Rycroft/AP
Leeser won’t back calls for a Liberal rebrand
Like every other Liberal facing the media this morning, Julian Leeser is asked whether he wants to – like Melissa McIntosh – see a rebrand of the Liberal party.
He doesn’t say yes or no, but the underlying vibe is – not really.
He sticks to the messages that the Coalition has been trumpeting – lower taxes and stronger borders – and says that’s been going down well among his constituents in Sydney.
When I go around my electorate, I’ve been talking to them about our tax-back policy, which is going over very well in the community because we are going to let people keep more of the money they earn.
When you go into a new tax bracket because you’ve had a wage drives, you deserve to keep that money.
Asked whether he supports Andrew Hastie’s strategy of fighting One Nation head on or Angus Taylor’s approach, Leeser again doesn’t want to engage, and says:
I’m focused on selling our policies to people in my electorate.
Leeser describes antisemitic abuse post Bondi terror attack
Julian Leeser, a Liberal frontbencher and Jewish MP, says online abuse has “gone to a whole new level” since the Bondi terror attack in December, and has called on social media platforms to step up.
Yesterday we reported that the royal commission into antisemitism had received a mixed response from platforms, some which had provided little or no response.
Leeser told Sky News:
Every time I post anything on my social media, I’m called a traitor and a Mossad agent, and there are graphic, violent and sexual comments that are made that I will not repeat on your program. That’s what Jewish Australians are copping today.
I’m a member of parliament. You expect some level of abuse as a member of parliament, but no one should expect that level of abuse, and I don’t want an Australia for my children, or for anyone’s children, where people are judged on the basis of their race or religion.
Member for Berowra, Julian Leeser. Photograph: Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images
Lawyer investigating CFMEU says call to pause Victorian big build projects is ‘silly’
Geoffrey Watson, the barrister who was appointed by the CFMEU administrator to investigate allegations of corruption and criminal offences within the union, said it would be counterproductive to pause Victoria’s big build projects while corruption in the sector is rooted out.
That call was made by deputy Liberal leader, Jane Hume, yesterday after reports by Nine newspapers that CFMEU officials appointed criminals to major roles within big-build firms and the state government knew the union’s takeover of construction sites was driving up costs and blowing out timelines.
Watson told RN Breakfast earlier this morning it was concerning. Watson has called for a royal commission to investigate how organised crime within the building sector “has infiltrated and really wrecked a major part of the economy”.
This is really into a criminal investigation … It happens to be the building industry, but it’s not like the other [construction sector] inquiries. It’s into crime. Now, why do I think we need it? It’s because the police, and they’ve made a statement today, they don’t have the relevant powers. They’ve been doing a great job, but they don’t have the relevant powers to investigate.
But asked whether federal funding for the big builds should be paused while the issue is investigated, Watson says that would be silly.
It’s silly. It’s counterproductive again, you want the projects now that they’ve started to get on and get finished … But if you said, as I heard suggested yesterday by somebody, that the site should be shut down, well, all you’re going to do is enable the people to be paid for not working. You’re going to drive a whole lot of innocent contractors out of business.
The Illinois legislature recently passed House Bill 5511, which imposes a sweeping, device-level age-gating framework across nearly all internet-enabled hardware,...
