Australia news LIVE: Labor will attempt to pass tax reforms on Thursday; Second cohort of IS-linked brides to return home today; Antisemitism royal commission continues, security services probed

Hello and welcome to our national news live blog for Tuesday, May 26. I’m Emily Kaine, and I’ll be helming our coverage for the first part of the day. Here’s what is making headlines.

• Labor will attempt to pass its tax changes through parliament on Thursday without any carve-outs, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. A second, more detailed set of legislation will be introduced after a period of Treasury consultation with business stakeholders.
• The teals have responded to revelations in this masthead yesterday that the independent MPs had held talks to form a political party. Bradfield MP Nicolette Boele and Mackellar MP Sophie Scamps said they would consult their community about their next steps, while Wentworth MP Allegra Spender and Warringah MP Zali Steggall said there was space for a centrist alliance that could challenge Labor and the Coalition’s models.
• AFL great Neale Daniher has died after a 13-year battle with motor neurone disease. Yesterday, football figures and politicians, including the prime minister, paid tribute to Daniher. AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said the sport was “heartbroken”.
• A second cohort of IS-linked women and children will return to Australia from Syria today. It is unclear whether any of the seven women will be arrested upon their arrival.
• US President Donald Trump dramatically expanded the scope of Iran peace talks by demanding Arab nations sign agreements with Israel and threatening to freeze key Gulf allies out of the negotiations if they failed to do so.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen is holding a press conference in Canberra after the market regulator dropped the maximum rates that retailers can charge customers.

“I’m pleased with today’s figures: reductions of 3.4 per cent to 7.7 per cent in NSW, 7.2 per cent to 10.7 per cent in Queensland, and of around 1.1 per cent in South Australia. This… is consistent with the decline yesterday announced under the Victorian default offer of around 5 per cent,” Bowen said.

“I’m particularly pleased with the progress for small business – these reductions in energy prices are even bigger, up to 20.9 per cent for small businesses in rural NSW.”

During his appearance on Sky, Hastie also accused the government of being too “passive” in its management of the return of the cohort of Australian women and children with links to Islamic State.

“[The government’s] job is to protect Australians, and these people betrayed their country. They joined one of the most murderous terrorist organisations of this century, and now they’re coming back, and the government’s saying, ‘Oh, we’ve got nothing to do with this’,” the Liberal frontbencher said.

“Well, they do have a job, and that is to protect us and to manage the risk that these people pose, and so I think it’s important that Tony Burke, the minister for home affairs, takes a more active role. He can’t be as passive as he has been. We need to see some action, and we need to see this government taking these risks seriously.”

Opposition industry spokesman Andrew Hastie has dismissed the potential consequences to the Coalition if the party opposes the government’s income tax cut.

Labor will try to pass its budget legislation this week, with the controversial changes to capital gains tax and the working Australians tax offset in the same bill in an attempt to wedge the opposition.

“Labor’s trying to put a poison pill in this bill, the working Australians tax offset, which we support. But nonetheless, the Australian people did not vote for an increase to their taxes, and this is exactly what Labor is going to do, and this is ultimately a vote for more taxes, which is why we will oppose it,” Hastie told Sky News.

“This is classic wedge politics, and people can see through it.”

The government has confirmed seven women and 12 children from the IS-linked cohort in Syria have made plans to travel to Australia.

A statement from Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government was not assisting the group.

“These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation,” the statement said.

“As we have said many times, any members of this cohort who have committed crimes can expect to face the full force of the law. Our world-class law enforcement and intelligence agencies have been preparing for their return since 2014 and have long-standing plans in place to manage and monitor them.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns says he and the prime minister “disagree on a fair bit”, arguing that ensuring the state receives an equitable share can make the relationship “uncomfortable”.

The comments came after we reported that Minns and Anthony Albanese’s relationship had deteriorated sharply since December.

The discord had arisen after the Bondi terror attack with an argument between the pair which resulted in officials being asked to leave the room while they sorted it out.

Speaking on 2GB this morning, Minns confirmed the argument took place but said he “can’t remember it being particularly acrimonious”.

Staying with Bowen, the climate change and energy minister has labelled the Coalition “unpatriotic” for its attack on the cost of his COP presidency.

Bowen said the $150 million price tag for his role in the global climate change summit would be spent on engagement with Australia’s neighbours in the Pacific.

“There’s been some disinformation spread by the opposition, but they’re taking a very unpatriotic approach to this, I would suggest,” Bowen told Radio National.

“These things do cost money. It cost money when John Howard chaired APEC. It cost money when Tony Abbott chaired G20. They were good for the country, and the Labor Party supported them, because we’re a patriotic party.”

Electricity prices are expected to fall in most states over the next year after the energy regulator dropped the benchmark price.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Australia’s uptake of renewable energy, as well as reforms to the default market offer contributed to the decrease. Renewables now account for 50 per cent of the market, and batteries are flattening peak energy demand periods.

“I think we can take really quite a good degree of satisfaction – while there’s more to do, and energy prices are still too high – in these material reductions, in some cases 20 per cent for small businesses that we’re seeing today,” he told Radio National.

The government has “exposed Australians to unnecessary risks” by allowing the return of a second cohort of IS-linked women and children, says Nationals leader Matt Canavan.

According to reports, the group will arrive in Australia today after departing a Syrian internment camp on Thursday.

“It’s probably too late for anything to change now, of course, but the government has exposed Australians to unnecessary risks,” he told Sky News.

Canavan said the government should have imposed temporary exclusion orders on the women.

“We know from the previous arrivals that some of these individuals have been charged with terror-related offences, so that is a risk, and it’s still … completely unclear to me why the government hasn’t used the powers it has to exclude people, these people on a temporary basis, at least.”

Minister for Aged Care and Seniors Sam Rae has said this morning there are “lessons to be learned” from the antisemitism royal commission, and that the government will pay close attention to where improvements can be made to keep Australians safe.

Yesterday, the royal commission into antisemitism resumed and heard from police and security agencies about the handling of security and intelligence linked to the shooters who opened fire on a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach in December, killing 15 people.

NSW Police did not conduct a risk assessment for the festival, the commission heard, even as the national terrorism threat was considered “probable” and Jewish groups raised fears of an attack.

“These are very sobering reports that are coming out of this royal commission … I know the security agencies will be looking or listening, they’re obviously participating. There are lessons to be learned.

“The government is likewise paying close attention, and where we can make improvements, obviously we will do that,” Rae told Nine’s Today show.

Donald Trump dramatically expanded the scope of Iran peace talks by demanding Arab nations sign agreements with Israel and threatening to freeze key Gulf allies out of the negotiations if they failed to do so.

The US president confirmed that during a phone call on Saturday with the leaders of Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan, he pressed them to join the Abraham Accords – a diplomatic agreement from his first term by which Arab nations normalise relations with Israel.

“It may be possible that one or two have a reason for not doing so, and that will be accepted, but most should be ready, willing, and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more Historic Event than it would, otherwise, be,” Trump posted on social media.

He said he was “mandatorily requesting” that all countries join the accords. “It should start with the immediate signing by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and everybody else should follow suit. If they don’t, they should not be part of this Deal in that it shows bad intention.”

Trump also claimed Arab leaders would be “honoured” to have Iran join the Abraham Accords once a deal to end the war was signed – as would he. “Wow, now that would be something special!” he said.