Australia news live: KPMG searched laptop of whistleblower who warned of ‘culture of fear’

Court hears NSW police charged Palestinian Australian after anti-Isaac Herzog protest ‘without reasonable cause’ A 26-year-old Palestinian Australian is considering suing the state after police agreed in court on Thursday that his prosecution following the anti-Isaac Herzog protest was “without reasonable cause”. Eyad Shadid was arrested near where a group of Muslim men were praying when they were grabbed by police officers at the 9 February protest outside town hall. Shadid was later charged with refusing to comply with a police direction and resisting or hindering an officer.

Last month, police withdrew both charges against him. An application for costs, initially opposed by police but then agreed, was heard before the Downing centre local court on Thursday. Shadid’s lawyer Nick Hanna said that during the hearing the police prosecutor conceded that they gave no move-on direction.

Hanna said that the prosecutor also agreed the criminal proceedings against Shadid were instituted “without reasonable cause”. The facts sheet, seen by Guardian Australia and which outlines the police’s initial reasons for charging Shadid, had alleged that he was given a move-on direction and that he was arrested because of his refusal to comply with it. Judge Rami Attia ordered the force pay Shadid $9,900 in costs.

Hanna said: By conceding that Mr Shadid was in fact never given a move-on direction, it necessarily follows their arrest of Mr Shadid had no basis and was therefore unlawful. The next step for Mr Shadid will now be to consider bringing a civil claim against the state of NSW seeking compensation for the harm caused to him as a result of the arrest, which was violent and, in my view, plainly unlawful. NSW police said in response to a request for comment: Strike Force Laine continues to conduct inquiries into the public order event on Monday 9 February 2026.

As inquiries are ongoing, and a LECC investigation remains in place, it would be inappropriate to provide further comment. Has Pauline Hanson’s federal campaign just begun? – Australian Politics podcast For the first time in her 30-year political career, Pauline Hanson fronted the National Press Club this week.

It was a blistering address, and a combative question-and-answer round with journalists – with Hanson attacking multiculturalism, the climate crisis, transgender rights, Indigenous policy, paid parental leave and the two public broadcasters. Listen to our podcast digesting the speech, featuring longtime journalist Margo Kingston and political editor Tom McIlroy, here: ‘The Tassie devils in my neighbourhood keep stealing shoes and laundry, but I adore them’ This piece about thieving Tasmanian devils is a nice break from the news if you, like me, want to read something delightful. Kelley Swain writes: The thievery of these little creatures is endlessly amusing to me, but there have been, I’m told, a few rounds of inconvenience.

Expensive hiking boots have had to be hauled out from beneath the house with a boat hook: with them came cushions from deck chairs that had come from neighbours down the road, and linens that could have made up a picnic. Read more here: KPMG confirms staff leaked Optus information to colleagues bidding for Telstra contract KPMG has confirmed its staff leaked Optus’ confidential information to colleagues bidding for an audit contract with Telstra. In March, parliament heard a KPMG whistleblower’s allegations that colleagues had leaked information relating to Telstra.

The firm could not substantiate those allegations. But KPMG’s chair, Martin Sheppard, has told a parliamentary inquiry the firm confirmed in subsequent weeks there had been a leak related to the telco. He said KPMG staff that audited Optus shared unredacted confidential information to the team bidding for the contract to audit Telstra.

Sheppard said the Telstra bid team shouldn’t have accessed it: “information moving through an ethical divider shouldn’t have moved through that divider”. KPMG has previously acknowledged staff leaked information from another KPMG client, Lendlease, and another partner made an inappropriate comment but this is first time the firm has publicly detailed a third alleged breach of ethical standards. The staff believed to have leaked Lendlease information are believed to have self-reported to the peak accounting body.

But Sheppard could not confirm the staff involved in sharing Optus information had done the same thing. KPMG searched a whistleblower’s laptop over concerns he was leaking KPMG data after he reported other colleagues were leaking their clients’ data, a parliamentary inquiry has heard. KPMG’s former head of audit, Julian McPherson, said he authorised a search of the whistleblower’s laptop on 30 May 2024.

He said that was: ... in the context of us being concerned that the individual might be seeking other employment and we were concerned about whether information from KPMG might have been shared outside. Later that day, the whistleblower emailed McPherson to again raise concerns over his colleagues’ actions, writing: These are not isolated incidents but instead endemic within the organisation whereby profit and revenue growth is placed above everything else, including integrity, people, wellbeing and fundamentally doing the right thing.

The lack of speak up culture, the culture of fear, retribution and revenue growth at all costs is not acceptable. McPherson said he first spoke to KPMG’s human resources team and then its legal team about that letter. He told the then chief executive, Andrew Yates, some time later.

McPherson said someone else authorised further laptop searches on 21 and 26 November 2024, this time to try to investigate the whistleblower’s allegations. Yates said those searches uncovered evidence for the whistleblower’s allegations that had not previously been raised. He said KPMG only began investigating the allegations at that point and he did not tell the firm’s executive.

‘Life can change in an instant’: nearly $340,000 raised for family of young siblings killed by car in Cabramatta A fundraiser organised for the parents of two children who were hit and killed by a car on Wednesday in Sydney’s south-west has reached almost $340,000 by early Friday afternoon. We previously reported that the GoFundMe page set up for the children’s family had reached over $115,000 in donations by Thursday afternoon. The girl and her brother have been identified as Katherine, five, and Harry, aged 14 months – the only two children of mother Sok Ram and father Vundy Tha.

Katherine, who was in her first year of kindergarten, had just been picked up after receiving an award and was walking back to the family car with her mother when an SUV struck her and the pram carrying her baby brother. Patrick Te, the fundraiser’s organiser, posted an update on the page yesterday: From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for coming together to support Sokram and Vundy in this heartbreaking time. Each and every donation means the world to them – words truly cannot describe how deeply grateful they are … Please, hold your children a little tighter tonight, cherish every precious moment, and stay vigilant on the roads.

Life can change in an instant. Sydney police searching area around Newtown apartment block after man found with chest injuries dies NSW police are conducting a search of an apartment block and the surrounding area in Newtown, in Sydney’s inner west, after a man was found unresponsive with chest injuries inside a unit. Police said emergency services were called to the block around 8pm on Thursday night amid a concern for welfare.

On arrival, they found a man in his 60s unresponsive with the injuries. He was unable to be revived and declared dead at the scene. A large contingent of police were seen searching through the bushes throughout the area on Friday morning.

A report will be prepared for the coroner. An investigation into the matter is ongoing. Adass Israel synagogue investigation has ‘international connections’, police say Victoria police just held a press conference after a third man was charged over the alleged Adass Israel synagogue arson attack in Melbourne in December 2024, as we reported a moment ago.

A police official said the investigation did have “international connections”, adding to reporters: You would be aware that this investigation does have international connections. We will continue to work collaboratively with our international partners to assist and also draw information from them. In particular, there are a number of jurisdictions who are undertaking their own investigations, which is appropriate.

But we are very fortunate that the strong relationships that we have enable us to to draw upon information that they can provide us to assist our investigation. Tony Modra’s wife has thanked the two first responders who rushed to the AFL great’s aid after a truck accident, AAP has reported. Modra is in a critical condition in an Adelaide hospital with head injuries after an accident on his cattle property on Thursday afternoon.

The former Adelaide and Fremantle star was injured when a tree branch was believed to have broken through the windshield of a truck he was driving. Former Crows captain Mark Ricciuto, who remains one of the injured footballer’s best friends, relayed text messages from Erica Modra on his Triple M breakfast show on Friday morning. “She just wants to say a very big thank you to the first responders, called Sarah and Anthony, who saved his life and helped talk through to Erica while things were going down,” Ricciuto said.

She wants to thank the MFS and the emergency personnel at the Victor Harbor hospital who stabilised him and got him sorted until the intensive care team took control and looked after him. She said he’s going all right. It’s pretty amazing that he’s got through it.

KPMG’s ex-CEO tells inquiry firm treated whistleblower as someone with ‘employment’ issues Andrew Yates, who resigned as KPMG’s chief executive, has admitted the firm failed a whistleblower after they reported their colleagues were leaking their client’s documents Yates has told a parliamentary inquiry he had felt he was managing the whistleblower appropriately until this year. The inquiry heard the whistleblower wrote to the head of audit, Julian McPherson, in May 2024 saying they were facing retaliation from colleagues for speaking up. Yates said he understood the whistleblower was only someone with workplace “employment” issues, until November 2024 when investigations went further.

Yates said KPMG had sought to agree a deed of release to resolve the dispute by 2025, until the whistleblower said they had been rejected from another job after a reference from a KPMG person. The whistleblower no longer works for KPMG. Yates said: In this case we didn’t get it right.

I don’t think we made the whistleblower feel comfortable through the process, in terms of that whole concept of speaking up ... I feel that we could have made the process easier and I also feel probably we could have made it a more humanistic approach. Senator Paul Scarr put to Yates that the KPMG whistleblower “suffered a horrendous personal mental and career cost”.

Yates said he was “deeply distressed” to hear that. The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) has charged a third man over the alleged Adass Israel synagogue arson attack in December 2024. The Airport West man, 20, has been charged with criminal damage by fire (Arson), conduct endangering life and theft of motor vehicle.

It will be alleged he is one of three individuals who broke into the Ripponlea synagogue and deliberately set the fire. Victoria Police acting assistant commissioner Paul O’Halloran: While over 18 months have passed since the fire at the Adass synagogue, we have remained firmly focused on ensuring those who bring harm to our community are put before the court. It doesn’t matter what role someone may play, if you are involved in an incident such as this, then I can assure you police and our partner agencies will do everything we can to fully investigate and hold you to account for your actions.

It’s clear these incidents are designed to create fear and distress, when people of all faiths and backgrounds deserve to feel safe in our state. Kyle Sandilands reveals new show and says Pauline Hanson is ‘one of my favourite people’ Former breakfast radio kingpin Kyle Sandilands has revealed plans for a new subscription-based show after reaching a $12m dollar settlement with his previous employer, AAP reports. The shock jock also aired claims he engaged in days of discussions with One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, over the party’s political messaging after being fired from ARN Media earlier this year.

One Nation chief of staff James Ashby told The Sydney Morning Herald this morning Sandilands was “not working” for One Nation in any capacity, formal or informal. Sandilands said he had changed his opinion on Hanson and One Nation member Barnaby Joyce from several years ago and now thinks they are “very inspirational”. “I was with Pauline Hanson for a couple of days, just spending some time with her camp since all this saga happened, just working on getting their messaging across which I think has been well received,” he told the Game Changers podcast released on Friday.

She is really a surprise, she’s like one of my favourite people now and I didn’t like her that much prior. 4-magnitude earthquake earlier this morning. 45am this morning, with at least 125 people reporting to Geoscience Australia that they felt the shakes.

Newmont said in a statement to the Guardian: All underground personnel were safely returned to the surface, and there were no reported injuries. Underground operations have been temporarily paused while inspections are carried out. The safety and wellbeing of our workforce remains our priority.

The accounting peak body says it is investigating 12 people including KPMG’s former chief executive over its leaks scandal. Ainslie van Onselen, chief executive of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ), has told a parliamentary inquiry the group did not know about the leaks and was not contacted by KPMG’s leadership about the issues until they were made public in parliament on 24 March. She said she was concerned that Yates only reached out to discuss afterwards, in a conversation where she was told there was no basis to the allegations.

After KPMG acknowledged its staff had inappropriately internally shared confidential documents on 14 April, three of them self-reported to the CAANZ for investigation on 16 April. Another nine related investigations into individuals are now under way, van Onselen said. She said: It’s extremely serious conduct and I’m disgusted by it.

CAANZ’s general counsel, Vanessa Chapman, said that included investigation files on KPMG’s then CEO, Andrew Yates, and the then manager of audit, Julian McPherson. She could not confirm whether Yates and McPherson had self-reported. ) match between the Socceroos and the US during the World Cup.

Take a look at the analysis from Alexander Abnos and Jack Snape about what both teams could do to come out triumphant. Victorian teachers vote down government’s revised pay offer Public school teachers in Victoria have rejected a state government’s revised offer on wages, sparking the potential for future school disruptions, AAP reports. 3% who supported the deal.

The state government had put forward a revised offer in May which would see public school teachers pocket pay rises of between 28% and 32% over four years. The union’s council, made up of 120 elected teachers, education support staff and principals, will meet to determine the next steps the union will take after the failed vote. Scheduled strikes across the state were put on hold while the proposal was put to members on the government’s offer.

Members had demanded a 35% increase over four years, smaller class sizes and more flexible working arrangements, including the possibility of a four-day work week. Continuing on from our last post … KPMG had three investigations into the alleged leak, all finding no truth to the allegations. Lombardo said he asked for those investigations: They’ve responded by maintaining that that information is in confidence and so they haven’t provided us that documentation.

John Gillam, a Lendlease board member, said he would not have known the leaks had happened if not for the parliamentary disclosure and he did not know Yates would resign until he read about it in the news in May. KPMG held Lendlease’s audit contract for 68 years. Lendlease will be seeking a new auditor and Lombardo said it would seek reimbursement from KPMG for the associated costs.

KPMG refused to show Lendlease report on leaks of its confidential information, inquiry told KPMG did not update a client about their information being leaked and refused to let them see its investigations into the leaks, a parliamentary inquiry has been told. KPMG has admitted partners auditing Lendlease – an ASX-listed real estate company – internally leaked a confident document that should only have been accessed by those working on the audit. Lendlease’s chief executive, Tony Lombardo, said KPMG’s chief, Andrew Yates, first told him a whistleblower had raised concerns in May 2025.

They had stated that they’d done the investigation. It was unsubstantiated and if any facts changed that we would be contracted … I took comfort that they would have undertaken a robust investigation. Lombardo said he was surprised when leaks were alleged in parliament in March and there was then a rush of text messages then meetings between Lendlease and KPMG leaders: They’ve provided us with further information, but it has come back very piecemeal.

Australian net overseas migration falls to lowest level since 2022 – but the Coalition says that’s still too high Net overseas migration added 301,000 people to Australia’s population last year, the lowest increase since mid-2022 but still above the pre-pandemic pace. The new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics come amid an increasingly fraught political debate around immigration, after Pauline Hanson’s declaration that Australian society should be “monocultural”. After collapsing below zero during the Covid lockdowns, annual migration growth sprang back to as high as 556,000 in late 2023.

Since then, net overseas migration (Nom) has tracked steadily down – a fact the government has been keen to emphasise amid repeated attacks from the Coalition that Labor has failed to bring the numbers of arrivals back to “sustainable” levels. Read more here: Shadow minister says surge in One Nation reflects Australians craving political market competition Bragg went on to say that the two-party system hadn’t delivered “all that well for the country” over the last decade when asked about the surge in support for One Nation. He added to RN: I think the Australian people want to, in some quarters, want to break the system because they feel like it’s not working for them any more.

And I understand that. And I don’t think there’s been enough policy competition on budget management, debt management, tax policy, superannuation, industrial relations. I just think we haven’t been bold enough.

We haven’t had enough difference, market competition amongst the major parties. And I think that’s really led the country down a bad ravine. Shadow minister says debate on multiculturalism divisive and diversity something ‘we can be proud of’ Andrew Bragg, the shadow minister for housing, spoke to RN Breakfast earlier about Pauline Hanson’s speech before the National Press Club.

He said he didn’t agree with the One Nation leader’s stance that multiculturalism wasn’t good for Australia. Here’s what he had to say: We’ve always been a multicultural society in some form, and that’s been part of Australia for this last 250 years. And I think it’s something that we can be proud of.

But I think the point that’s been made is that there has been a loss of shared common purpose, perhaps. There has been a disappointment in the direction of the nation, and I think that’s being channelled. I think this is a reasonable debate to have, but I don’t think it’s going to work if we’re going to be dividing Australians against one another.

8% increase on the previous 12-month period. It’s the 36th consecutive month that the 12-month road deaths total increased, according to the Australian Automobile Association (AAA). 6% increase; Victoria had 267; Queensland, 330; and Western Australia had 192.

South Australia (99), Tasmania (33), the Northern Territory (31) and the ACT (15) rounded out the list. 7 deaths per 100,000 residents. 2 deaths per 100,000 people.

8 deaths per 100,000. Michael Bradley, the managing director of the AAA, said in a statement: States and territories have different approaches to managing speed, drink driving, and emerging mobility devices. Our rising road toll demands that we use evidence to identify any policy success stories that exist and help proliferate them, while identifying the failures that must be fixed There were two small earthquakes in New South Wales this morning, according to Geoscience Australia.

45am this morning, with at least 108 people reporting they felt the shakes. 2 magnitude temblor hit near Wilcannia two hours earlier. Just two people reported feeling that quake.

A bigger quake near Orange back in April shut down mining operations at a goldmine, which prompted more than 150 workers to evacuate. 5 magnitude event, which was felt hundreds of kilometres away. The previous event saw miners flee into underground refuges: The treasurer said he does think the Labor party has lost some “political paint” after the changes to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing, “but it’s worth it because we’re doing the right thing here”.

He told RN: If we’re given the choice between taking the easier path politically or doing the more difficult thing, but the right thing in the interests of particularly first home buyers, young people, workers in the tax system, then it will be worth it. Obviously, there’s a big partisan political campaign against these changes. We understand that.

We anticipated that. We expected that. But it’s worth it because our job isn’t just to take the easy political options.

He said the party didn’t announce the changes before the last election because Labor’s view was focused on supply. The more important thing than the politics of this is to get the policy right, to get the substance right. Because at the end of the day, what matters most is the tax system and the housing market are broken.

We are acting to fix it. 7m small businesses, came after “getting the consultation right” following the release of the federal budget. Chalmers spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying the changes were “all about providing more certainty for investors, more support for small business and also more incentive for innovation”.

He went on: We flagged on budget night that we would do a consultation on startups and in other areas to make sure that we got the final implementation details right. And so those announcements yesterday about those new next steps, about those implementation details, are the product of the consultation that we flagged some weeks ago. The treasurer maintained the changes were “all about making it easier for people to buy a first home”, cutting income taxes and “better aligning the tax treatment of labour and asset income”.

A rarely seen series of tapestries by the Australian artist Arthur Boyd will go on show at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra tomorrow, 50 years after they were acquired for the public. The series created in collaboration with textiles specialists in Portugal, known as the Life of St Francis tapestries, comprises a cycle of 20 textiles produced between 1970 and 1974. 5 million stitches.

They were acquired for the national collection by the visionary founding director of the gallery, James Mollison. The exhibition presents the monumental works alongside Boyd’s lithographs, pastels and drawings exploring the creative and technical processes involved in their translation across media. Senior curator, Elspeth Pitt, said.

Arthur Boyd is a celebrated figure in Australian art, and his paintings are often hung in the country’s major public art museums. His tapestries, however, have received relatively little attention. • Arthur Boyd: Tapestries is a free exhibition, on display at the National Gallery from 20 June – 18 October 2026.

Angus Taylor says he won’t join Pauline Hanson in judging people based on skin colour or race The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, said he would not join One Nation’s Pauline Hanson in judging people “based on the colour of their skin or their race”. “I judge people on their character and their conduct … if she wants to judge people based on the colour of their skin or their race, One Nation needs to explain that,” Taylor told reporters in Sydney on Thursday. Migration in this country has been too high and the standards have been too low, and that must change.

But what we favour is a values-based immigration policy where people who come to this country adopt our core values, and that is regardless of race or religion or where they come from. In her address on Wednesday, Hanson rejected accusations One Nation is a racist party and claimed it was common sense to oppose what she described as the “failed policy of multiculturalism”. ” She accused the media of double standards and petty attacks, of missing the party’s re-emergence and its role in speaking for disgruntled voters.

“Australians aren’t buying this crap from the political establishment and its media supporters any more,” she said. “I understand people are angry. I really get this,” Taylor said on Thursday.

” - AAP Good morning, and happy Friday – Nick Visser here to round out the week with you. Let’s get to it. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has defended the federal government’s adjustments to its controversial capital gains tax (CGT) changes, rejecting claims that Labor was forced into a humiliating backdown by furious business groups.

30, Chalmers faced intense questioning from Sarah Ferguson after announcing the turnover threshold for small business exemptions would lift from $2m to $10m. The $475m tweak effectively carves out 98% of active Australian businesses from the new tax dragnet. Ferguson suggested the carve-out exposed a hurried policy and a government whose commitments were built on “shifting sands”.

Chalmers said the concessions were the result of “meaningful consultation” rather than a capitulation to industry backlash. “We have chosen the harder road of reform rather than the political path of least resistance,” he said, arguing the broader policy was vital to help young first home buyers. Chalmers also ruled out resurrecting a previously floated gas export tax, insisting the government was “entirely focused” on legislating its current, highly contested tax agenda over the next fortnight.

When pressed on whether Australia’s Asian trade partners could trust his word that a gas export tax was permanently off the table given recent pivots over other policies, Chalmers said: I understand that people will level that charge against us, but then it’s more important to us that we get the substance right rather than the politics right. AFL great Tony Modra has been seriously injured in a truck accident on his South Australian property, Australian Associated Press reports. Modra, renowned as one of the AFL’s most brilliant players in a career spanning 1992 to 2001 at Adelaide and Fremantle, was in hospital in a serious condition with undisclosed injuries on Thursday night.

45pm AEST) on Thursday. “Police and emergency services responded to reports that a truck had crashed into a tree at Range Road, Back Valley,” South Australian police said. ” Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir, who played alongside Modra at the Dockers from 1999 to 2001, was shocked by the news.

“He’s obviously a big part of the Freo family and all I can say is I wish him and his family well,” he said. “Hopefully he can pull through. I’m thinking of him.

” Modra has lived on a beef and cattle farm at Waitpinga since 2003. A dual All Australian and five-time Crows leading goalkicker, Modra, who was born in McLaren Vale, south of Adelaide, kicked 588 goals in 165 AFL games. The federal government has announced another $100m in support for Ukraine as it continues its fight against Russia’s invasion.

8bn. The new contribution will come in the form of two $50m payments to the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List, of which Australia is a major backer. It will help secure the military equipment and capabilities the country needs to defend itself, including air defence capabilities and munitions, the government said.

The defence minister, Richard Marles, said: What happens in Ukraine matters here in the Indo-Pacific, which is why it is so important for Australia to stay the course and continue to stand with Ukraine until they find peace on their terms. Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Nick Visser with the main action.

Jim Chalmers has defended the government’s changes to its controversial capital gains tax reforms and rejected claims it amounted to a backflip forced by business interests. More follows soon. The federal government announced last night that it will give another $100m in support for Ukraine as it continues its fight against Russia’s invasion.

More coming up. And AFL great Tony Modra is in hospital after a serious truck crash near Adelaide. More on that soon too.