Live: New US tariff on Australia 'makes no sense', defence minister says

Defence Minister Richard Marles has defended Australia's modern slavery laws after the US said it would slap 12.5 per cent tariffs on Australia.Follow all the updates in our live blog. Fri 24 Jul 2026 at 9:03amFri 24 Jul 2026 at 9:03amMarles refuses to say whether govt knew about status of IS-linked doctorDefence Minister Richard Marles has refused to say whether the federal government knew an Islamic State-linked doctor was alive in Iraq.The Australian reports IS doctor Tareq Kamleh, who was presumed dead, is among 13 Australian IS fighters detained in an Iraqi prison. The paper reports the government knew he was alive.Speaking to Sky News, Marles says the government will apply levers to prevent the return of IS fighters where it can.But asked if the government was aware four years ago that Kamleh was alive, Marles has refused to go into any details."There's a whole lot of details that have to be kept in the classified realm. I'm obviously not going to go into any of those details," Marles says."There are many reasons why information of that type is kept classified for a whole range of reasons which I think you can understand in terms of not alerting others."Fri 24 Jul 2026 at 8:32amFri 24 Jul 2026 at 8:32amJane Hume responds to One Nation's offer to CoalitionOne Nation leader Pauline Hanson has reportedly offered to work with the Coalition to pass laws through parliament to prevent Islamic-State-linked fighters from coming home.News Corp reports Hanson sent a letter to Opposition Leader Angus Taylor today requesting both parties work together.The Coalition and One Nation would require the support of other crossbenchers because both parties don't have the numbers to pass a bill through the Senate.Even then, any attempt to pass a bill through parliament will fail because Labor has a whopping majority in the lower house.Speaking to Channel Seven, Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume has pointed out One Nation's support alone is not enough to pass a bill."The problem here, of course, is that it's not One Nation's votes that we need to pass this legislation. And Pauline [Hanson] should know that after 30 years in politics, we simply don't have the numbers," Hume says."Even with One Nation, it's Labor's votes that we need to make sure that we can shut the door on ISIS terrorists, sympathisers coming back to our shores."Fri 24 Jul 2026 at 8:12amFri 24 Jul 2026 at 8:12amJane Hume says Coalition isn't convinced about creation of new Fair Work CourtJane Hume says the Coalition isn't convinced the formation of a specialised court for workplace relations disputes is the right way to speed up resolutions.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday announced the federal government would create a Fair Work Court, a specialised forum for the quicker, cheaper resolution of unpaid wage claims.But the deputy Liberal leader says she agrees that it takes too long to resolve workplace relations disputes.She told ABC Radio National Breakfast that's because the system is too complicated for businesses to navigate."Now, let's be very clear: workers should be paid every single dollar that they are owed, but employers need workplace laws that are clear and practical to comply with, and that's not happening right now," Hume says."I'm not entirely sure what use another court would be in helping businesses comply. So it's an overly complex industrial relations system that seems to be the problem and creating another court, another layer of lawyers, another layer of cost, we're not entirely sure that's the answer."Fri 24 Jul 2026 at 8:07amFri 24 Jul 2026 at 8:07amCoalition signals openness to paying under 18s superanuationDeputy Liberal leader Jane Hume has signalled the opposition would be open to paying superannuation to under-18s.Delegates at Labor's National Conference yesterday voted to add under-18s in a pledge to ensure superannuation was paid on "every dollar earned".Speaking to ABC Radio National Breakfast, Hume says she was surprised to see the issue raised at the conference, because it was brought before parliament a few weeks ago."People should be paid appropriately for the work that they do. If superannuation is a part of that, that's something that we would be open-minded towards," Hume says,"But I want to see the legislation before we make a commitment."Fri 24 Jul 2026 at 7:57amFri 24 Jul 2026 at 7:57amDefence minister says gambling reforms must strike a 'balance'A push from within Labor to reduce the harms of gambling is set to come to the fore at day two of Labor's National Conference in Adelaide.Labor's gambling advertising reforms before parliament include restricting gambling ads on daytime and early evening television, and during school pick-up and drop-off hours on radio.But Labor hasn't adopted all recommendations of its own You Win Some, You Lose More inquiry, which called for a national regulator on gambling and a ban on inducements.Speaking to ABC Radio National Breakfast, the defence minister says he respects there are different views."We are very keen on ensuring that the connection between gambling and sport is reduced and that's what we've done in the reforms that we've put in place," Marles says."We stand on those reforms with a level of pride and so we continue to move forward on that basis. We get that there are differing views out there. There's a balance here which has to be struck."Fri 24 Jul 2026 at 7:48amFri 24 Jul 2026 at 7:48amRichard Marles says US tariff decision 'makes no sense'Defence Minister Richard Marles has defended Australia's modern slavery laws after the US said it would slap 12.5 per cent tariffs on Australia.The tariff was proposed last month, after a US trade investigation into forced labour.As we've reported, the US trade representative has now announced the proposed tariff will take effect from 2:01pm Friday AEST.Speaking to ABC Radio National Breakfast, Marles says the US's decision "makes no sense", and the government is disappointed by the decision."This really, in our view, makes no sense. We continue to make that argument to the Trump administration, both in terms of trade but also in terms of our stance in relation to forced labour and that'll continue to be our position and the way in which we advocate," Marles says.Fri 24 Jul 2026 at 7:33amFri 24 Jul 2026 at 7:33amBreaking: US to slap Australia with 12.5 pc tariff from later todayThe Trump administration has confirmed a 12.5 per cent tariff will be placed on Australian exports to the US from later today Australian time.The tariff was proposed last month, after a US trade investigation into forced labour.The Australian government and Business Council of Australia made formal submissions opposing the tariff during a consultation period, which ended earlier this month.The US Trade Representative has now announced the proposed tariff will take effect from 12:01am Friday, local time (2:01pm Friday AEST).A temporary 10 per cent "global tariff" on the US's trading partners will expire at the same time.Australia is not the only affected country. Tariffs between 10 and 12.5 per cent will be placed on imports from 59 other economies, which represent all of the US's major trading partners.Fri 24 Jul 2026 at 7:31amFri 24 Jul 2026 at 7:31amDefence minister says Labor has no plans to introduce gas export taxRichard Marles is doing the rounds on morning television today, this time on Channel Nine where he's been asked about a gas export tax.Labor MP Ed Husic has pushed for a gas export tax at Labor's National Conference in Adelaide yesterday.The defence minister says the federal government has no plans to introduce a gas export tax on resource companies.Marles says Australia must be a reliable partner and supplier of gas to countries in the region."We're also mindful that we need to be making sure that we are a reliable partner for the countries that we provide gas to, and that is a really important aspect of this," Marles says."Those energy partnerships with countries like Korea and like Singapore have been so important in terms of securing fuel supply to our country during this difficult period. And I think Australians can understand how important those partnerships are and we need to bring our side to that table."Fri 24 Jul 2026 at 7:22amFri 24 Jul 2026 at 7:22amAUKUS funding boost will allow Australia to cut steel on submarines by 2030Richard Marles says the $4.6 billion injection of money into the Osborne shipyards will enable Australia to cut steel on the first AUKUS submarine by the end of this decade.This boost comes on top of $3.9 billion already announced for the Australian Naval Infrastructure shipyards.The new shipyards will be 10 times the size of the existing Osborne shipyards, building the navy's Hunter frigates.Asked on ABC News Breakfast about concerns over the cost of AUKUS among Labor rank and file, the defence minister says it will be a discussion at the Labor National Conference tomorrow."We'll see what plays out in relation to that, but I'd remind you that three years ago we had a full-throated debate around AUKUS at the ALP National Conference, which was then in Brisbane," Marles says."When that debate occurred, the result was not close. There was overwhelming support within the national conference for AUKUS."Fri 24 Jul 2026 at 7:10amFri 24 Jul 2026 at 7:10amAnthony Albanese calls new UK PM Andy BurnhamPrime Minister Anthony Albanese called the United Kingdom's newly minted PM Andy Burnham to congratulate him on taking the top job.Burnham rose to the UK's top political office on Monday, after a weeks-long process to replace Keir Starmer as Labour Party leader.The pair discussed AUKUS, boosting trade and economic investment and the federal government's under-16s social media ban.They also discussed the conflict in the Middle East and the government's approach to artificial intelligence.Fri 24 Jul 2026 at 7:00amFri 24 Jul 2026 at 7:00amGood morning 👋Hello and welcome to the federal politics live blog! It's great to have you join us on this chilly Friday morning.I'm Josh Boscaini, joining you live from Parliament House in Canberra, here and ready to bring you all of today's federal politics news.Shipyards, which are set to construct Australia's fleet of AUKUS submarines, will receive a $4.6 billion funding boost for expansion.And we're entering the second day of Labor's National Conference in Adelaide where we expect gambling to be the focus.Let's get right into the day and see what today brings us in the unpredictable world of politics!!