As it happened: NSW Labor Minister resigns, referred to ICAC; PM casts doubt on Commonwealth’s role in future treaty negotiations

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton wants a review into the effectiveness of working with children checks and the establishment of a national child sex offenders’ register following the arrest of a Gold Coast childcare worker for the alleged abuse of 91 young girls.

Speaking in parliament earlier this afternoon, Dutton said child sex abuse was “incomprehensible on many levels but it needs to be spoken about” and urged parents to talk to their children tonight to help protect them from the scourge.

He added the difficulty in discussing the issue was made harder by not being able to see the faces of victims, and sometimes not being able to identify alleged perpetrators “because of the protections, rightly or wrongly, under the law”.

“I do believe that we need a parliamentary joint taskforce to be established to review the effectiveness of working with children checks, to carry forward as a matter of urgency the establishment of a national child sex offenders registry, which I proposed as minister for home affairs,” he said.

“The debate and the time for serious contemplation of that registry has now come.”

A plan to raise more money by taxing big offshore gas and oil companies faces an uphill battle as independent senator David Pocock and the Greens confirm they will vote against the proposal as it stands.

Pocock said proposed changes to the petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT) represented a “disappointing” and “weak” approach from the Albanese government and called for it to be higher.

“I would much rather see the rate of PRRT raised from 40 per cent up to 50 or 60 per cent, which is what a bunch of experts are saying should happen,” he said today.

“We’ve got to actually look at getting a fair return for our resources (because) these gas companies are making record, wartime profits selling our gas back to us at international prices and they’re not even paying the PRRT.”

Without changes from the government, Pocock said he would vote down the proposal.

“I can’t cop them telling Australians who are doing it tough that, ‘I’m sorry, the budget is tight’,” he said.

The government won’t need crossbench support if the coalition backs the bill, which has yet to be published or introduced to parliament.

The bill proposes to cap tax offsets at 90 per cent of assessable income, but the crossbench want this dropped to 80 per cent to secure their votes.

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Minns said significant property assets were held by members of Crakanthorp’s family, including his wife, and the government should have been made aware of them.

“I can’t give you a number, but obviously more than a couple [of properties],” the premier said. Nor was he aware of any personal benefits Crakanthorp or his family might have attained.

“But I do have concerns about potentially acting as minister for the Hunter given the scale and size of the private holdings held by his family in the Hunter region,” Minns said.

“I am disappointed. This is not what we want. We want to have a cabinet that the people of NSW can trust in and have faith in.”

Deputy Premier and Education Minister Prue Car will assume Crakanthorp’s education-related responsibilities, while Police Minister Yasmin Catley will take on the Hunter portfolio.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has sacked his skills, TAFE and tertiary education minister, Tim Crakanthorp, who was also minister for the Hunter, for failing to disclose “substantial private family holdings in the Hunter region”.

“He has breached the ministerial code,” Minns said. “I’ve lost confidence in his ability to be a minister in my government.”

Crakanthorp is the first minister in the Minns government to lose their job, just four months after Labor came to power.

Minns said he became aware of the commercial real estate holdings today, and has referred the matter to the Independent Commission Against Corruption for potential investigation.

NSW Premier Chris Minns held a press conference outside NSW parliament at 4.15pm.

A parliamentary source unauthorised to speak to the media told this masthead the statement was about the future of a cabinet minister.

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In some lighter news out of Canberra, the Women’s World Cup winners trophy was at Parliament House, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hosting FIFA president Gianni Infantino and a group of former Matildas.

While inspecting the trophy, Albanese playfully took off. Here’s hoping robbery won’t be necessary for Australia to get their hands on the ultimate prize in football.

The trophy is 47 centimetres high and weighs 4.6 kilograms. It’s made of sterling silver and covered in 23-carat white and yellow gold. The trophy was first awarded at the 1999 Women’s World Cup.

The ABC has confirmed a Four Corners crew was present at a climate protest attempt at the home of Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill in the Perth suburb of City Beach early yesterday, but denied they had any knowledge of what the protest was about.

WA Premier Roger Cook this morning issued a please-explain to the ABC over why a team was present at the protest attempt and why it didn’t alert police ahead of time.

A statement from the public broadcaster said the crew was from its Four Corners investigations team, which had received a tip to head to the address, but denied they had any knowledge of what the protest was about or that they were colluding with the activists.

A spokeswoman said the Four Corners team attended the protest action to gather material for a potential report later this year.

“They had no knowledge of what action was going to occur there. When they arrived, the police were already in attendance in numbers,” she said.

“The ABC team remained on public land observing what was happening and getting some vision, as journalists do.

“They at no time went on to private property or had any involvement in what was happening, the ABC team in no way colluded with the activists.”

Government Services Minister Bill Shorten has urged Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to cut former prime minister Scott Morrison “loose before he drags you down” over his role in the unlawful robo-debt scheme.

Morrison defended himself in parliament on Monday by denying adverse findings against him after the robo-debt royal commission found he, as social services minister in 2015, allowed cabinet to be misled over the lawfulness of the scheme, and gave untrue evidence to the royal commission.

Labor’s attack on Morrison continued for a second day following his accusation that the government had “lynched” him over the findings. Shorten said Dutton’s continued association with Morrison was a test of his leadership.

“The challenge now for the opposition and the leader of the opposition is as simple as this. Courtesy of the member for Cook: he disputes it. He implies very clearly he did not get a fair go. So the choice for the leader of the opposition’s very straightforward: who’s correct?” Shorten said.

“This is a test for your leadership. Do you back the member for Cook or do you back the royal commission? You are in an untenable position. My advice is cut him loose before he drags you down with them.”