Live: Taylor issues ultimatum to PM over NDIS and widows' tax

Angus Taylor has issued an ultimatum to the prime minister, declaring the opposition's support for the National Disability Insurance Scheme hinges on the government scrapping the so-called widows' tax. Follow all the updates in our live blog. Tue 18 Aug 2026 at 7:45amTue 18 Aug 2026 at 7:45amChanges to curb gambling ads 'substantial': ChalmersLabor and the Coalition have all but agreed on amendments to the government's gambling advertising legislation, as part of a tentative deal to pass the bill this week.It includes the establishment of a single register allowing Australians to opt-out of wagering ads across online platforms.Speaking with ABC's News Breakfast, Treasurer Jim Chalmers called the measures "substantial" and would be cost neutral."This will be cost recovered from the gambling industry itself," He says.Chalmers says there will be some action to curb inducements used to entice punters. But we know action won't go as far as was recommended in the 'you win some, you lose more' report."I think primarily there's an important role for the regulator to crack down on and enforce these inducements. But beyond that, this is not an area of policy that I've been intimately involved in."Tue 18 Aug 2026 at 7:35amTue 18 Aug 2026 at 7:35amGreens slam Hanson for folding to tobacco lobby demandsGreens leader Larissa Waters has weighed into One Nation's push to slash the tobacco excise, accusing Pauline Hanson of caving to the tobacco lobby."It's pretty clear that Pauline Hanson is doing precisely what big tobacco have been lobbying her to do," Waters told Nine."We see them haunting the halls of parliament here, trying to boost their profits. I mean, if you want to fight crime, fight crime. But don't dress up fighting crime as just a premise to boost the profits of big tobacco."NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane, who was also on the panel, agreed the excise should but stressed it wasn't that simple."It's not as simple as Pauline is saying and price matching the criminals. That's just not going to work," she says, calling for a nationwide blitz on tobacconists selling illegal tobacco and vapes.Tue 18 Aug 2026 at 7:30amTue 18 Aug 2026 at 7:30amOne Nation pledges to slash tobacco exciseOne Nation has pledged to slash the tobacco excise by up to 75 per cent and pause the indexation for three years.Leader Pauline Hanson flagged the policy on Tuesday morning, saying the current settings had "failed" and handed a "multi-billion-dollar market to organised crime".Australia has among the highest cigarette prices in the world, with the tax alone increasing by more than 200 per cent in the past decade.The current excise sits at around $38.21 for a pack of 25, or $1.53 for a single cigarette. A 75 per cent cut in the excise would amount to $28.66 cut to the price of a pack.Around 80 per cent of cigarettes and vapes consumed in Australia last year were illegal, according to data analysed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in June.Under-the-counter cigarettes sell for around $25 a pack and are being imported in huge quantities, mainly from Asia and the Middle East.Tue 18 Aug 2026 at 7:21amTue 18 Aug 2026 at 7:21amPaterson hears back from AFP on melonsLiberal frontbencher James Paterson has heard back from the Australian Federal Police, after last week referring the apparent leaking of a diplomatic note sent by Japan.Several media outlets reported that Japanese diplomats had last month sent a note to their Australian counterparts downplaying the prime minister's hand gestures in the 'Bush Deep' podcast, stating they did not believe there was any "ill intention".Paterson wrote to the AFP asking it to investigate the "apparent unlawful disclosure of confidential correspondence" between Japanese diplomats and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.In correspondence seen by the ABC, the AFP says the matter has been handed to its Special Investigations Command, where it says the "matter will be reviewed".As it happens, Japan's defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi is in Canberra and is due to appear at a press conference alongside Defence Minister Richard Marles later today.Tue 18 Aug 2026 at 7:06amTue 18 Aug 2026 at 7:06amRuston hopeful Coalition will agree to deal but notes not everyone will get what they want(ABC News: Matt Roberts)A tentative deal on gambling advertising will be put to the Coalition party room this morning.The agreement between the government and the Coalition includes establishing a single register to allow Australians to opt out of wagering ads across online platforms.Liberal frontbencher Anne Ruston didn't want to get ahead of the meeting but was hopeful the opposition would agree to the deal."Obviously we're hoping the party room will agree to a suite of measures that we've negotiated with the government that will see vulnerable Australians who have gambling problems and particularly children protected from predatory behaviour of gambling companies," she tells ABC's Radio National Breakfast. But does the deal go far enough to convince those within the Coalition, such as Simon Kennedy who has been calling for an opt-in, rather than an opt-out model?"There's a wide range of views that sit within our party room, and I think what Sarah [Henderson] sought to do is try and walk a line down the middle so that not everybody gets everything that they want."Tue 18 Aug 2026 at 7:00amTue 18 Aug 2026 at 7:00amTaylor issues an NDIS ultimatumOpposition Leader Angus Taylor says the Coalition will only back Labor's NDIS overhaul once the government scraps its so-called widows' tax.The tax emerged as an issue after May's budget because it means someone who inherits an investment property from their spouse after they die could face a less generous tax treatment and lose existing negative gearing access.The chief critic of the legislative flaw, independent senator David Pocock, said it would disproportionately hurt women.Labor has promised to "fix" the issue and is consulting on changes, but Taylor wants it dealt with immediately and has issued an ultimatum, in a letter to the prime minister."The government should not proceed to a final vote on its proposed changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme until it has repealed the 'widow tax'," Taylor told Albanese in a letter seen by the ABC."The Coalition will only support the government's NDIS changes once this matter is resolved".Tue 18 Aug 2026 at 6:52amTue 18 Aug 2026 at 6:52amGovernment agrees to ad opt-out register in deal with CoalitionA "one-stop shop" allowing Australians to opt out of wagering advertising online has been agreed to by Labor and the Coalition in a tentative deal to pass the federal government's gambling reforms.The government and opposition briefed a Labor backbench committee and the Coalition shadow ministry on about 15 amendments on Monday evening, ahead of a full caucus and partyroom meeting for final approval on Tuesday morning.With shadow cabinet backing the bill, it is expected to pass. However, Liberal sources have told the ABC that some in the party are considering crossing the floor because they believe the laws still will not be strong enough.Communications Minister Anika Wells used a speech in parliament before the deal was finalised to signal Labor was poised to move on so-called gambling inducements and online ads, after criticism that its bill did not go far enough."It is expected that the government's reforms will respond to these concerns by introducing new restrictions on inducement-based marketing and establishing the wagering advertising opt-out register, which will provide Australians with a one-stop shop to opt out of seeing wagering advertising on online platforms," she said.Read the full story at the link below. Tue 18 Aug 2026 at 6:50amTue 18 Aug 2026 at 6:50amGood morning 👋Hello! Welcome to our politics live blog. I'm Courtney Gould from the ABC's Parliament House team, here to guide you through the day.Angus Taylor has issued an ultimatum to the prime minister, declaring the opposition's support for the National Disability Insurance Scheme hinges on the government scrapping the so-called widows' tax.The opposition leader's demand comes as the government inches closer to a deal with the Coalition to pass its overhaul to gambling advertising legislation. More on that shortly.Settle in, friends; who knows where the day could take us?