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Former spy refused visa to give evidence at royal commission – as it happened

www.theguardian.com · July 23, 2026 · 08:20

That’s a wrap on today’s live coverage from us.

Before we go, let’s take a look at the day’s top headlines:

Australia is not ruling out stepping up joint patrols of the South China Sea following “destabilising” missile testing in the region.

Students in Victoria will be kept at home as a second teacher strike disrupts public schools, leaving thousands of families to make alternative arrangements.

Anthony Albanese has seemingly shut down prospects of a new tax on gas exports, saying he doesn’t interpret a Labor party platform document calling for Australians to get “a fair share” from natural resources as a call for such a new tax.

The prime minister also announced a new Fair Work court, which Albanese says will streamline workplace disputes.

Australia’s unemployment rate held at 4.4% in June after a big jump in the number of employed Australians in the month.

One Nation has been quick to capitalise on Barnaby Joyce’s viral moment yelling at his staffy-border collie Stella to sit down on live television by, you guessed it, selling dog leads.

Macquarie Group’s chief executive, Shemara Wikramanayake, announced she will retire in an ASX update on Thursday.

The sex discrimination commissioner, Anna Cody, condemned Pauline Hanson’s suggestion that domestic violence is a “two-way street“, warning assigning blame to victim-survivors is “harmful, wrong, and dangerous”.

The supreme court of Western Australia has dismissed in full a case brought by Woodside Energy against three activists.

The ACT education minister, Yvette Berry, has resigned from her cabinet role after a ACT Integrity Commission report found “serious corrupt conduct by two ACT public officials”.

The energy company Origin has confirmed customers’ addresses and partial bank account data has been accessed in a hack that was revealed yesterday.

Thanks for tuning in, see you again tomorrow morning!