Australia news live: Angus Taylor dismisses Labor’s ‘half-arsed’ tweaks to CGT reform; boy, 12, dies in Cairns crash in suspected stolen car

<p>Follow live updates</p><ul><li><p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p></li></ul><p><strong>Ted O’Brien</strong> distanced himself from <strong>Pauline Hanson</strong>’s suggestion that Australia shouldn’t give aid to Pacific countries that also take aid from China.</p><p>He said it was a legitimate concern, but her solution was “completely wrong” for the Pacific and not in Australia’s national interest.</p><p>The idea that you effectively hold a gun to the head of our Pacific neighbours – that’s not what a friend does, that’s not a way of building trust, you don’t basically create an ultimatum.</p><p>You certainly don’t say it’s all about who you’re going to get money from. The relationship that we have with the Pacific islands is far deeper than development money.</p><p>From Australia’s perspective, I think that’s the main thing that we should be concerned about, because that has a direct impact on the prices we pay here in Australia.</p><p>A permanent toll would be bad in practice, wrong in principle, and set a dangerous precedent for how otherwise waterways should be managed internationally.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/jun/21/australia-news-live-bird-flu-h5n1-wildlife-fuel-excise-iran-hormuz-albanese-bowen-taylor-coalition-one-nation-pauline-hanson-ntwnfb">Continue reading...</a>