Emily KowalUpdated June 30, 2026 — 8:15am,first published 7:03amThis morning’s headlines at a glanceBy Emily KowalLatest Posts8.15amShadow treasurer rejects calls for Liberal party rebrand By Nick NewlingShadow treasurer Tim Wilson has rejected calls for the Liberal Party to rebrand after frontbencher Melissa McIntosh called for the move following disastrous polling in two newspapers yesterday.“The best word we have is ‘Liberal’ because it speaks to a sense of hope about the future, about an Australia where people are in control of their own lives, hard work pays off, and people feel a basic sense of respect,” Wilson told journalists at Parliament House in Canberra.Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson has rejected calls for the Liberal Party to rebrand.Alex Ellinghausen“Australians need hope right now against the high tax agenda of the Albanese government and those that want to divide us, which is both the Albanese government and One Nation.”Asked whether the party was cutting through, with all major polls showing the Coalition receiving less than 20 per cent of the primary vote, Wilson said: “There’s a lot more work to do to build out the blue horizon of Liberal hope, where young Australians feel like they can get ahead, where hard work pays off.”Wilson described talk of a change of Liberal leadership as “a complete distraction” from the government’s economic management.8.05amSeven Australians impacted by earthquakes in VenezuelaBy Nick NewlingThe Australian government is providing consular assistance to seven Australians impacted by the earthquakes in Venezuela, Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said.“It has been utterly devastating, and I think authorities are still working through the scale of those who are lost and those who are still trapped,” Wong told ABC television this morning.“This is very, very distressing for all, and we extend our deepest sympathies to the people of Venezuela.“We are providing some consular assistance to some seven individuals. We obviously will continue to engage with authorities to determine if any Australians need further assistance.”The aftermath of the earthquakes in Venezuela.Getty Images/AP7.52amTreasurer ‘engaging’ with idea of super for teens who work under 30 hoursBy Nick NewlingTreasurer Jim Chalmers has said the government is “engaging” with the issue of paying teenagers superannuation when they work fewer than 30 hours per week, as he spruiked changes to the system set to come in this week.“We’re engaging on all these sorts of issues. We’re always looking for ways to improve the system, but for us, our time and effort and energy has been going into this change, which comes in from tomorrow,” Chalmers told Sky News.From July 1, employers will have to make superannuation contributions within seven days of paying employees. Currently, superannuation payments only need to be made on a quarterly basis. The change is expected to increase the value of superannuation accounts over time.The government is “engaging” with the idea of paying superannuation to nearly 500,000 teenagers who work fewer than 30 hours per week. .BloombergChalmers said the change means “thousands of extra dollars for workers.”Asked about the Greens proposal to pay superannuation to nearly 500,000 teenagers who work fewer than 30 hours per week, Chalmers said: “We didn’t need the Greens political party to tell us that this was an important issue. I met with a delegation of young workers just last week talking about this, we’re always looking for ways to strengthen the superannuation system.”Chalmers did not make it clear whether the government was intending to make alterations to the way superannuation is paid to teenagers.7.45amCanavan shuts down talks of One Nation team up By Emily KowalNationals leader Matt Canavan has glossed over suggestions that the Liberals and Nationals parties need the support of One Nation to get into government.Speaking on Sky News, Canavan said Australia needed a change of government. Asked if the Liberals and Nationals would need the support of One Nation to achieve this goal, Canavan said the Coalition was “best served by putting our own foot forward.”Nationals leader Matt Canavan.Alex Ellinghausen“We have got to fight for what we believe in, and I believe that our country needs a change of government, a change of direction. Things are going backwards at a rapid rate right now,” said Canavan.“We need to change our country because things are going own the toilet right now.”Pressed on the topic of One Nation, Canavan redirected questions.“What the clear focus on is defeating this government. That’s the primary goal that we’ve got to do because that’s the only way we change the country. Talking about other political parties is not going to change the country,” he said.7.17amMichaelia Cash dismisses calls for Liberal party ‘rebrand’By Nick NewlingLiberal Senate leader Michaelia Cash has repeatedly rebuffed questions over the Coalition’s record low polling, insisting that Opposition Leader Angus Taylor’s leadership is safe.“There’s a long way to go between now and the next election, and our focus is on putting forward a credible plan to the Australian people that will improve their standard of living,” Cash told Nine’s Today this morning.“I walk through shopping centres and people come up to me, and they say: ‘Please change the government. We cannot afford any more of a Labor-Greens dirty deal’,” Cash said before dismissing a question over the uncertainty of Taylor’s leadership.The questions come after dual polls this week showed the Coalition’s primary vote falling to between 17 and 18 per cent, sparking calls for a party “rebrand” from frontbencher Melissa McIntosh. Cash dismissed the statement.“Australians don’t want us to rebrand, they want us to change the country that is actually going backwards under Larissa Waters, the Australian Greens, and Anthony Albanese,” she said.7.00amChristian Brothers cry poor to abuse survivors after transferring elite schools for $1By Cameron Houston and Caroline SchelleThe Christian Brothers in Australia transferred some of its most valuable colleges to a separate trust for just $1 each but now claims it will be broke by September and unable to compensate hundreds of survivors of shocking clerical abuse.At least three prominent schools in NSW, including Waverley College in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, were passed by the Catholic order in 2018 to the Trustees of Edmund Rice Education Australia.Some boys have been expelled from Waverley College after an incident with younger students.James BrickwoodDocuments obtained by this masthead reveal other NSW schools including St Patrick’s College in Strathfield and St Pius X College in Chatswood were also transferred that year for the nominal consideration of $1 each.The move came just months before state governments across Australia removed the controversial Ellis Defence, which had limited civil claims against churches since 2007.The transfer of schools between the two entities has fuelled claims by abuse survivors and their lawyers that the Christian Brothers engaged in a deliberate strategy to shield its assets from civil claims.Read the full investigation here. 6.46amWhy Australia’s ski slopes are looking muddy and bareBy Nick O'Malley and Benjamin PreissA striking absence of snow has left Australia’s slopes muddy and bare as the ski industry pins its hopes of a salvageable season on a late downfall to cover the alps.Skiing businesses rely on the winter school holidays to bring hordes of families to the Australian alps to kick off the ski season.But as students begin their holidays in Victoria and start marking off the last days before winter holidays begin in NSW this weekend, a glum would-be skier posted a clip of himself standing beneath chair lifts on a slope of dull muddy grass marked by a strip of manufactured snow.Snow coverage in Australia is in long-term decline due to increasing temperatures caused by climate change, data from the Bureau of Meteorology shows. This year’s season is also expected to be hit by the onset of an El Nino weather pattern, declared by the Bureau of Meteorology on June 16, which causes warmer and drier conditions.Snow guns at Perisher are struggling to build a bed of snow in warm, rainy conditions.Alex EllinghausenHowever, resort operators in NSW and Victoria insist the lacklustre start to the season is not uncommon.Read the full story here.Pinned post from 6.37amThis morning’s headlines at a glanceBy Emily Kowal1 of 1