Australia news LIVE: Albanese continues to shirk responsibility for parliamentary expenses saga; Illicit tobacco market costing taxpayers $11.8 billion, government report finds

Good morning and welcome to our national news live blog for Friday, December 12. My name is Emily Kaine, and I’ll be helming our coverage this morning. Here’s what is making headlines today.

• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has continued to shirk responsibility for the ongoing parliamentary expenses saga, which has seen MPs come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks following revelations of Communications Minister Anika Wells’ use of parliamentary travel entitlements. Asked yesterday about a finance minister’s regulation allowing unlimited spousal travel perks for senior MPs, Albanese said: “I’m not the finance minister. I haven’t changed the rule.”

• At least half the Australian tobacco market is now made up of illicit cigarettes and costing taxpayers up to $11.8 billion a year, research has revealed, as calls grow for the federal government to reduce excise on the sector. The research, compiled by the government’s own illicit tobacco tsar, has found the illegal tobacco trade is at least double the size it had been previously thought and warns a major campaign across all levels of government will be needed to bring it under control.

• Two bushfires in Perth’s eastern suburbs have been reduced to watch-and-act levels, although authorities have warned there remains a possible threat to lives and homes as a fire is burning in the area and conditions are changing. A bushfire in the city’s east sparked an emergency warning yesterday, with residents in parts of Kenwick, Wattle Grove, Maddington and Beckenham urged to leave.

• The 22-year-old Utah man charged with killing Charlie Kirk made his first in-person court appearance yesterday, as his attorneys push to limit media access in the high-profile criminal case. Prosecutors have charged Robinson with aggravated murder in the September 10 shooting of the conservative activist on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, just a few miles north of the Provo courthouse. They plan to seek the death penalty.

• The Australian sharemarket is set to jump, with futures at 4.54am today pointing to a rise of 93 points, or 1.1 per cent, at the open. The ASX added 0.2 per cent yesterday.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest live news updates from Australia and beyond.

Federal parliamentarians have demanded Prime Minister Anthony Albanese take accountability for the widening saga over MPs’ use of parliamentary entitlements.

Independent MP Allegra Spender told Nine’s Today show this morning that the government should accelerate a review into the parliamentary entitlements system.

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“I think that community expectations are basically saying, hey, this isn’t quite in line with what we think... You guys need to rein this in.

“And I think that the prime minister should bring forward one of the reviews that they’ve pushed back. I think it’s reasonable look at these rules again,” she said.

Appearing alongside Spender was Liberal senator Andrew Bragg, who criticised Albanese for dodging responsibility on the issue.

“I think Australians are starting to see this guy for who he is. He’s a dodger, and he’s covering up all this stuff. So, I mean, he could fix this if he wanted to, and it’s now becoming a massive integrity issue... He’s trying to evade it, but he could actually fix it if he wanted.”

Bragg also said he would welcome a review into the expense system.

Asked at a press conference in Canberra yesterday about a finance minister’s regulation allowing unlimited spousal travel perks for senior MPs, Albanese said: “I’m not the finance minister. I haven’t changed the rule.”

The 22-year-old Utah man charged with killing Charlie Kirk made his first in-person court appearance as his lawyers pushed to further limit media access in the high-profile criminal case.

Robinson arrived in court with restraints on his wrists and ankles and wearing a dress shirt, tie and slacks. He smiled at family members sitting in the front row of the courtroom, where his mother teared up and wiped her eyes with a tissue. Robinson’s father and brother sat next to her.

The judge is weighing the public’s right to know details in the prosecution of Tyler Robinson against his lawyers’ concerns that the swarm of media attention could interfere with his right to a fair trial.

Tyler Robinson, accused of the murder of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, overnight. Credit: AP

Robinson’s legal team and the Utah County Sheriff’s Office have asked that cameras be banned in the courtroom. A coalition of national and local news organisations is fighting to preserve media access in the case.

Prosecutors have charged Robinson with aggravated murder in the September 10 shooting of the conservative activist on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem. They plan to seek the death penalty.

The defendant had previously appeared in court via video or audio feed from jail.

AP