Australia news LIVE: Labor plan to buy gas to stop factory closures; Pentagon review confirms AUKUS timeline

Nationals senator Matt Canavan has slammed the government, and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, for a “sneaky”, “secret” meeting his department conducted with Save the Children last year regarding the return of six former Islamic State brides and their children to Australia.

“This looks incredibly sneaky from the government with secret meetings with departmental staff being kicked out of meetings, and so we don’t really know what went on,” Canavan told the Today show this morning.

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“The first thing that needs to happen here is the minister needs to be upfront with the Australian people, what was discussed with these charities... Because I think the other thing here is that we have laws.

“We have laws that are passed in this parliament that put obligations of the minister, rightly so, to protect our national security, our country, to make sure the proper processes have [been] followed when someone comes in to Australia. And the question here is, did the minister follow those laws? Because we don’t really know.”

The opposition has alleged the government had conspired to secretly return the six women returned to Australia in September.

In a statement, Burke said the notes “confirm what the government has always said. There was a request from Save the Children to conduct a repatriation operation. It was refused.”

The Pentagon’s review of the AUKUS defence pact has affirmed the deal’s existing timeline, but warns that all three countries must meet critical deadlines for the project to succeed, a person who has read it says.

The much-anticipated review, which took nearly six months to complete, has been read by members of the congressional armed services committees, and handed to the Australian government. The Pentagon does not intend to make the review public, a spokesman said.

Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary of defence for policy and an AUKUS sceptic, led the review.Credit: Bloomberg

Democratic congressman Joe Courtney, who is on the armed services committee and co-chairs the Friends of Australia Caucus, said the review confirmed the most contentious part of the deal – the sale of three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, starting in 2032.

But it also stressed that the pact required all three countries – Australia, the US and United Kingdom – to meet certain milestones in preparatory work.

“The report correctly determined that there are critical deadlines that all three countries have to meet,” Courtney said. “Therefore, maintaining disciplined adherence to schedule is paramount.”

Labor is weighing an unprecedented federal intervention to start bulk-buying natural gas from east coast producers and selling it to local businesses at discounted rates as it seeks to head off shutdowns of manufacturing plants battling soaring energy costs.

This move would complement a domestic gas reservation scheme, due to be announced as early as next week. The federal government would use its purchasing power to act as a “group buyer” to sell gas to particular manufacturers at discounted rates.

The federal government is poised to become a bulk buyer of gas in a bid to stop factories shutting down due to high energy prices.Credit: Louie Douvis

The scheme is under serious consideration, according to government sources not authorised to speak publicly, but is not yet finalised. It has been backed by some of the nation’s biggest manufacturers and the Australian Workers’ Union.

The federal government has recently tipped billions of dollars into propping up smelters and mills across the country as concerns grow about energy prices and Australia’s dwindling manufacturing sector.

Read the full story.

Good morning and welcome to our national news blog for Tuesday, December 5. My name is Emily Kaine, and I’ll be helming our coverage this morning on what will be the last day of our national blog for 2025 until our return next year! Here’s what is making news today.

• Labor is weighing an unprecedented federal intervention to start bulk-buying natural gas from east coast producers and selling it to local businesses at discounted rates as it seeks to head off shutdowns of manufacturing plants battling soaring energy costs. The move could be announced as early as next week.

• The Pentagon’s review of the AUKUS defence pact has affirmed the deal’s existing timeline, but warned that all three countries must meet critical deadlines for the project to succeed, a person who has read it says. The much-anticipated review, which took nearly six months to complete, has been read by members of the congressional armed services committees, and handed to the Australian government. The Pentagon did not intend to make the review public, a spokesman said.

• Large parts of the country, including NSW, WA and parts of the NT are set to swelter in extreme temperatures today, as the Bureau of Meteorology issues heatwave warnings for all three states. An extreme warning has been issued for NSW, where temperatures are expected to reach the low 40s in some areas by tomorrow morning.

• Bruce Lehrmann will not have a conviction recorded despite accepting a charge of taking and driving a Toyota Prado without consent. After Lehrmann failed to overturn a defamation result in the Federal Court and signalled intent to appeal further, the 30-year-old brought another proceeding to conclusion in Hobart Magistrates’ Court yesterday. Magistrate Robert Webster said a 12-month good behaviour bond would apply to avoid a conviction.

Stay with us as we continue to bring you rolling news updates from Australia and beyond throughout the morning.