Emily KaineUpdated August 20, 2026 — 7:06am,first published 6:45amWhat’s making news today By Emily KaineHello and welcome to our national news live blog for Thursday, August 20. Here’s what you need to know today. Labor’s gambling reform package passed the parliament late last night and is expected to pass the Senate with the backing of the Coalition. The news comes amid heavy criticism of the laws. Several vocal MPs, as well as Rod Glover – husband of the late Peta Murphy whose report three years ago triggered a push for gambling ad bans – have said the reforms are nowhere near comprehensive enough. The government’s sweeping cuts to the NDIS passed the Senate last night and are expected to become law as early as this week.The News Media Bargaining Incentive – the government’s plan to force multibillion-dollar tech companies to compensate news outlets for their journalism – will be debated in the Senate today after it passed the lower house yesterday. The opposition has been calling for minister Matt Keogh to be sacked over his reported falling out with certain veterans pleading for healthcare funding. Yesterday, Senator Jacqui Lambie moved an urgent motion in the Senate urging the government to walk away from its plan to cap allied health spending for veterans at $5000.Swans senior player Isaac Heeney has been revealed as the focus of a sexual assault investigation after the AFL club banned five players for the rest of the season for breaching its club standards on a night out in Melbourne on Sunday. And North Korea has denied there was any direct communication between Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, even as the US leader said he was seeking to meet with the North Korean leader this year. Latest Posts7.06amUS debt tops $56 trillion after doubling under Trump and BidenBy Washington: Total US debt has topped $US40 trillion ($56 trillion) for the first time, the Treasury Department said, drawing fresh warnings that a fiscal crisis is brewing as ballooning costs far outstrip revenues held back by tax cuts.The federal government’s IOU has now more than doubled in less than a decade, from $US19.95 trillion when US President Donald Trump was sworn in for the first time in January 2017.US President Donald Trump and former president Joe Biden. APAbout a third of that increase occurred during two years of frantic government borrowing to fund the COVID-19 pandemic responses undertaken by Trump and former president Joe Biden, while the fiscal policy choices of both presidents combined with long-running tax-and-spending imbalances to account for the rest.Budget watchdog groups have issued stark warnings that a full-blown debt crisis could erupt unless lawmakers confront an unsustainable fiscal outlook and raise taxes, cut spending or both.6.46amCarroll to sign off on royal commission into construction sector By Kieran RooneyVictorian Premier Ben Carroll will move today to set up a royal commission into the construction sector immediately after a morning cabinet meeting.Carroll said he would establish the royal commission as his first promise after becoming leader at the end of July.His predecessor, Jacinta Allan, refused to set up the inquiry despite pressure from integrity advocates, the opposition and her own MPs after two years of reporting by The Age on organised crime and corruption in Victoria’s Big Build.Premier Ben Carroll will hold a special cabinet meeting to sign off on the royal commission.AAPThis morning, Carroll will put the terms of reference and his chosen commissioner to lead the inquiry, to cabinet.Immediately after these details are endorsed, the premier will advise the Governor of Victoria to issue letters patent establishing the royal commission.Carroll is also expected to front the media at some point today to talk through the terms of reference.6.41amLambie launches scathing attack on government’s plan to cut veterans’ spendingBy Rob HarrisIndependent senator Jacqui Lambie has launched a scathing attack on the federal government’s plan to cap allied health spending for veterans at $5000 a year, warning the contentious measure could cost lives.The former Australian Army corporal used a fiery speech to accuse the government of a “callous disregard for veterans’ health and wellbeing” and plead for the cap to be scrapped.The government announced the cap in May as part of a package aimed at reining in rising veterans’ health costs and tackling what ministers say is excessive charging by some providers.Senator Jacqui Lambie addresses the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday 3 March 2026. fedpol Photo: Alex EllinghausenAlex EllinghausenLambie’s intervention came as veterans’ groups stepped up pressure on Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh over the policy. Advocacy groups have questioned how the change – due to come into effect next July – will work, who will assess claims and what will constitute a “valid clinical need”.“What you need just to ask yourself is how many veterans’ lives will this cost?” Lambie said in the Senate yesterday. “It is not worth a veteran’s life. I am begging you, scrap the cap.”Read the full story here. Pinned post from 6.24amWhat’s making news today By Emily KaineHello and welcome to our national news live blog for Thursday, August 20. Here’s what you need to know today. Labor’s gambling reform package passed the parliament late last night and is expected to pass the Senate with the backing of the Coalition. The news comes amid heavy criticism of the laws. Several vocal MPs, as well as Rod Glover – husband of the late Peta Murphy whose report three years ago triggered a push for gambling ad bans – have said the reforms are nowhere near comprehensive enough. The government’s sweeping cuts to the NDIS passed the Senate last night and are expected to become law as early as this week.The News Media Bargaining Incentive – the government’s plan to force multibillion-dollar tech companies to compensate news outlets for their journalism – will be debated in the Senate today after it passed the lower house yesterday. The opposition has been calling for minister Matt Keogh to be sacked over his reported falling out with certain veterans pleading for healthcare funding. Yesterday, Senator Jacqui Lambie moved an urgent motion in the Senate urging the government to walk away from its plan to cap allied health spending for veterans at $5000.Swans senior player Isaac Heeney has been revealed as the focus of a sexual assault investigation after the AFL club banned five players for the rest of the season for breaching its club standards on a night out in Melbourne on Sunday. And North Korea has denied there was any direct communication between Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, even as the US leader said he was seeking to meet with the North Korean leader this year. 1 of 1