Labor stalls on migration changes + Trump's deal (or no deal) with Iran

**Chris Spyrou** (0:02)
A LISTENER PRODUCTION Hey, it's Chris Spyrou with you. Welcome to The Briefing. We're now five months into the US's war on Iran, and Trump is continuing to insist that a deal or decisive victory is within reach. So, with strikes suddenly paused and talk of a deal back on the table, is an end actually in sight?

**Trita Parsi** (0:25)
Obviously, the US is very strong. Its economy is much more dynamic. In many ways, it would be able to continue this longer. The difference is, though, that the American pain tolerance is much, much lower.

**Chris Spyrou** (0:37)
That chat is coming up in the second half of this episode first, though. Let's get into the headlines with senior listener, producer and journalist Justine Landis Hanley. It's Wednesday the 5th of August.

**Justine Landis Hanley** (0:49)
Good morning, Chris. Pressure is mounting for Anthony Albanese to go harder after online gambling ads following an explosive two-day Senate hearing into the betting industry.
And this time, the calls are coming from inside Labour. According to reporting in The Guardian this morning, Labour MPs are pushing for the Prime Minister to significantly strengthen the government's proposed laws that are designed to curb the gambling industry's influence on Australians.

**Chris Spyrou** (1:16)
This comes after the Senate inquiry into these proposed laws heard sensational evidence about how betting companies offer customers access to illicit drugs and escorts to encourage continued gambling. As we spoke about yesterday, former NRL star Luke Bateman told senators that at least one betting company had given him drugs when he struggled with a severe gambling addiction. Reverend Tim Costello, the chief advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, named Sportsbet and Tab, alleging that they had provided a young man with funding for travel, escorts and drugs.

**Justine Landis Hanley** (1:49)
Now yesterday, betting companies including Sportsbet and Tab appeared at the Senate inquiry and strongly denied claims that they offered these sorts of inducements to customers. A representative for Sportsbet described Costello's allegations as, quote, deplorable and said there was zero evidence to support them.
Also in the inquiry were some fiery exchanges between Green Senator Sarah Hanson-Young and the Sportsbet representative.

**Sarah Hanson-Young** (2:14)
It's a very simple question. Have you ever returned stolen money?

**SPEAKER_5** (2:19)
I can't comment on individual cases. I can comment on the regulation that we have here.

**Sarah Hanson-Young** (2:26)
We know the regulations are not there. Your industry only gets to survive based on the social licence that you have and you're on very thin ice.

**Chris Spyrou** (2:38)
The Home Affairs Minister has postponed a speech he was due to give at the National Press Club this week where he was expected to reveal sweeping cuts to migration. Tony Burke was due to appear on Thursday but pulled out yesterday, Arvo, with sources telling the ABC he'd been putting together a bunch of measures to bring down net migration quickly and drastically. It's sounding like tougher rules on family visas, a cap on how many backpackers can be in the country at one time and tighter limits on asylum seekers' right to work and to appeal decisions.

**Justine Landis Hanley** (3:09)
Sources say all of this went before cabinet on Monday and that the conversation behind closed doors got heated. It's the latest push by Burke to address net overseas migration and drag it back in line with what the government promised. And by net overseas migration, we mean the number of people moving here to live minus the ones leaving.
And that number has been coming down after hitting a post-pandemic high of more than half a million people back in 2023 It's now sitting just above 300,000.

**Chris Spyrou** (3:39)
The government's already moved to reign in international student numbers and has pushed up the cost of visa applications. And these latest measures from Burke are another sign that the government is trying to quell public anger over immigration and blunt the rise of One Nation. Now, Burke hasn't offered a reason for postponing the speech. We haven't been given a new date, but we're hearing that it will be rescheduled. So we will hear him speak there. Interestingly, on One Nation, Kevin Rudd was on the ABC's 730 last night. He was quizzed on a bunch of stuff. He spoke about Australia's relationship with China, AUKUS. He's very much standing by AUKUS. He said that these subs are things that we need for our national security. But he was also asked about Pauline Hanson.
Sarah Ferguson said to him, you're from Queensland. Would you have anticipated 30 years ago that Pauline Hanson would be out polling Labour and the Coalition? And he was like, well, without saying it, he was like, no.