The chief executive of Catholic Schools NSW has denied he performed a factory reset on a work phone and iPad to wipe critical evidence for an investigation into allegations of corruption in the New South Wales Liberal party, an inquiry has heard.

On Wednesday afternoon, Dallas McInerney revealed he had performed the factory reset over the weekend after giving evidence to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) last week.

On Friday, McInerney was asked to provide messages between him and Reformer Jean-Claude Perrottet in 2021, which he has shared with the commission.

But asked on Wednesday if his phone contained messages between him and other Reformers, McInerney revealed he had reset the device on Saturday morning, knowingly wiping its data, after his bank contacted him on Friday to tell him his account had been “compromised by an unknown merchant”.

He said he performed a factory reset on an iPad, which remained in his possession alongside the phone ahead of being surrendered to Catholic Schools NSW, “in the realisation I’m not likely returning to the company”.

Counsel assisting, Dr Peggy Dwyer SC, put it to McInerney that the move was “a transparent attempt … to wipe evidence that would have been critical for this commission”.

McInerney responded that he had known about Icac’s public inquiry “for almost seven or eight weeks”.

“Had I wanted to do any malfeasance of that nature, I would have had quite a runway to do that. What triggered it was a compromise on my banking alerted to me by the NAB [National Australia Bank], and I have the case file number for that. I can share that with the commission.”

McInerney said he had not transferred any of the contents, which included personal messages and family photos, from his Catholic Schools NSW phone to the iCloud before resetting it, but said some additional messages had been provided to his legal team.

On Wednesday afternoon, the commission called for all messages between McInerney and members of the Reformers between April 2019 and July 2023 to be made available by 1pm on Thursday.

McInerney admitted to meeting with Reformers Robert Assaf and Jeremy Greenwood in the weeks before the inquiry. Icac has previously heard that Assaf met with Greenwood on multiple occasions this year, with Assaf claiming they had discussed his summons.

McInerney said his meeting with Assaf, which was attended by both men’s sisters, was a “check-in on Robert”. He said he met with Greenwood on at least two occasions, with the men discussing “matters in the public domain” relating to Icac’s inquiry.

‘Pestering’ Angus Taylor

On Wednesday, the inquiry heard that McInerney, a factional ally of Angus Taylor, “pestered” the now opposition leader for a meeting with a member of a Christian Liberal factional group under investigation for soliciting illegal donations.

McInerney, who last week denied a message about a plan to “shake down Angus” referred to donations to the group, was asked on Wednesday about a 2020 request to help organise a meeting with Taylor by Reformer Christian Ellis.

Icac heard messages between and McInerney and Ellis about setting up a meeting between Ellis and Taylor in February 2020, when he was federal energy minister.

After an initial request was unsuccessful, Ellis wrote days later to McInerney: “I know I’m being a pest, but any luck with Angus by any chance? Next Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday?”

McInerney wrote back: “Don’t worry about pestering. That’s how things happen. I’m pestering him [Taylor] big time”.

On Wednesday, McInerney accepted that messages, including one in which Ellis wrote “You’re a legend”, showed it appeared he had secured the meeting with Taylor.

The permanent $20,000 instant asset write-off has passed in Parliament, ending years of tax-time uncertainty over the small business concession.

The Senate passed legislation on Wednesday to enact the tax break, without amendments, a day after the House of Representatives voted for the reform.

It will allow eligible small businesses, with annual turnover below $10 million, to instantly deduct the business-related portion of their capital upgrades, up to a $20,000 limit per asset.

The tax break covers spending from July 1, 2026.

Crucially, that concession will be available on an ongoing basis, replacing a piecemeal system that required new legislation every year.

Business groups and accountants had criticised the year-by-year model, saying the concession’s changing size and shape, and delays to relevant legislation, affected spending decisions by businesses.

“Small businesses have told us they want certainty,” said Small Business Minister Anne Aly in a statement accompanying the bill’s passage.

“A permanent $20,000 write-off gives them the confidence to invest in the tools, technology and equipment they need to grow.”

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the measure will help small businesses save on accounting costs, compared to calculating complex depreciation schedules for capital upgrades.

“This is all about slashing compliance costs for small businesses, saving operators hours of time on records and red tape and incentivising investment,” he said.

Around 300,000 small businesses claimed the instant asset write-off in 2025-26, according to the Treasury.

While the measure has been made permanent, the Opposition, and select crossbenchers, have argued its asset threshold should be raised to $50,000.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has argued a higher spending limit could help businesses acquire a vehicle, potentially allowing them to take on more work.

The new legislation also gives effect to a loss carry back scheme announced in the 2026-27 federal budget, allowing businesses to apply tax losses to the previous two income years to receive a tax offset.

First home buyers who were supposed to be the winners from the federal government’s overhaul of property taxes are dropping out of the market as quickly as investors and there are claims they are waiting for home prices to drop even further.

Westpac chief Anthony Miller, head of the nation’s second-largest mortgage lender, has rejected suggestions the country is facing a property market “collapse”, while saying governments, the building industry and even banks had to do more to make housing more affordable.

And there are signs the contentious changes to negative gearing are encouraging investors into building new homes. A record number of mortgages have been taken out over the past three months for construction of houses and units.

A sharp slide in house prices since February, predictions of falls of up to 15 per cent by the end of next year and a drop in auction clearance rates have all increased scrutiny of the May budget’s overhaul of property taxation.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ reforms include restricting negative gearing by investors to new builds, while capital gains tax changes make the purchase of homes in the hope of fast-paced, large increases in property values less attractive.

Calls for striking students to stay in school are unlikely to deter thousands across the country preparing to take part in a major walkout in protest against Pauline Hanson.

High schoolers have begun joining the coordinated university union protests taking place in every major city and several smaller locations across the country on Thursday afternoon.

“Say No to Pauline Hanson” rally flyers distributed by organisers the National Union of Students include calls to “fight against racism” and “stand up against the far right”.

“Pauline Hanson actually doesn’t stand for things that benefit students’ lives … [and] a lot of students are galvanised by that,” Akash Nagarajan, the union’s general secretary, said.

The Hanson’s One Nation primary vote has ballooned in the last 12 months and now sits at 26%, according to the latest Roy Morgan poll.

Responding on social media, Hanson said students should instead be protesting against the cost-of-living crisis and stagnant national wage growth.

“The Labor Greens governments is selling out your future, and you’ll inherit a weaker, poorer and less safe country,” she wrote.

“Whether you know it or not, One Nation and I are fighting for you.”

Further calls for students not to sideline their studies on Thursday came from politicians including the federal education minister, Jason Clare, and the Victorian premier, Ben Carroll.

“If people want to protest on the weekend, then fill your boots, but I want you at school when school is on, learning,” Clare told reporters on Wednesday.

Despite being urged not to skip class, Melbourne high school student Jules Arpula said there was “nothing more important” for students to do on Thursday.

“We refuse to just adapt to the new ‘normal’ of Hansonism,” she said.

Hera Sheppard has been endorsed as a candidate for the Victorian Socialists to contest the state election.

If elected, the teenager would be among the youngest MPs elected in Australia.

Eighteen-year-old Hera Sheppard is expecting her schedule to be jam-packed over the next few months.

In between the demands of high school studies and a part-time job at McDonald's, the year 11 Warrnambool College student will be squeezing in a political campaign.

Ms Sheppard has thrown her hat in the ring ahead of Victoria's state election, making her one of the youngest candidates endorsed to contest a seat.

"I'm not going to have any free time. I'll be campaigning every minute that I'm not at work or school," she said.

>"It's quite the sacrifice, but it's something that I'm willing to give up to try and campaign for a better world."Eighteen-year-old Hera Sheppard is expecting her schedule to be jam-packed over the next few months.In
between the demands of high school studies and a part-time job at
McDonald's, the year 11 Warrnambool College student will be squeezing in
a political campaign.Ms
Sheppard has thrown her hat in the ring ahead of Victoria's state
election, making her one of the youngest candidates endorsed to contest a
seat."I'm not going to have any free time. I'll be campaigning every minute that I'm not at work or school," she said."It's quite the sacrifice, but it's something that I'm willing to give up to try and campaign for a better world."

Ms Sheppard has been pre-selected by the Victorian Socialists as the candidate for the South West Coast seat.

She will go up against incumbent Liberal member Roma Britnell, who has held the seat since a 2015 by-election.

The electorate is a Liberal stronghold and has been held by the party since its creation in 2002.

It largely spans rural communities, including the regional centre of Warrnambool and the smaller towns of Portland, Port Fairy, Heywood, Terang and Koroit.

Ms Sheppard said she aimed to represent the next generation of workers on issues including housing, workers' rights and public transport.

She is also advocating for a six-carriage train for Warrnambool's V/Line service with better travel times.

Ms Sheppard said she spent most of her life living in public housing, and issues around public housing waitlists and supply were close to her heart.

"I think we need to be able to have public housing available for whoever needs them," she said.

If elected, Ms Sheppard would be the youngest-ever MP to make it to an Australian parliament.

In 2010, Queensland MP Wyatt Roy was elected to the House of Representatives aged 20, and in 2025, 21-year-old Charlotte Walker became the country's youngest senator in South Australia.

In Victoria, former premier Jacinta Allan was the state's youngest female MP, elected at 25 years old in 1999.

Victorians will go to the polls in November.

Subscribed to her a while back for some reason but this cool riff of hers popped up in my feed and I reckon it's worth a post because IMO it's quite stellar.

Hope she goes on to make a full song out of it.

My stock X-box controller has just about bitten the dust, and it's time to get a new one.

Thing is that I have never used any other controller other than the stock-boxer, and I'm wondering if there is any point splurging on something more premium or one with extra control features etc.

I exclusively play souls-likes when I have the time, so other types of games aren't a consideration for me here.

It would just be really useful to get some perspectives from people experienced with various types of controllers when it comes to this genre.

Energy minister Chris Bowen says the federal government will override state governments that oppose new national rules on datacentres, with commonwealth legislation forcing new AI datacentres to be powered by renewable energy and banning those fuelled by gas.

Bowen said he expected his counterparts in Queensland and the Northern Territory – who had protested the new federal rules at a meeting last week – to be unhappy with the move, but said the Albanese government was committed to powering the AI revolution with renewable energy.

“We will legislate as a commonwealth. The constitution is clear about the power of commonwealth legislation. I respectfully disagree with Queensland and the Northern Territory,” Bowen told the National Press Club on Wednesday.

The Australian Energy Market Commission warned that without rule changes such as those proposed by Bowen, the costs of bringing large datacentres online “will be paid for in part by customers” rather than big tech companies.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese ast month pledged to legislate binding standards for AI datacentres, including on locations and energy use, with new national rules requiring them to rely on new renewable energy, minimise water use and maximise energy efficiency, pay for their grid connection costs and “put at least as much energy into our grid as they take out of it”.

Queensland and the NT last week opposed the changes in a meeting of state and federal energy ministers, despite all other states backing the plan. Queensland’s David Janetzki called the federal proposal “underdeveloped ideas that hand increased power to Canberra”.

The NT has proposed a major datacentre powered by gas from the controversial Beetaloo basin development.

But Bowen on Wednesday confirmed federal legislation would mandate the rules set out by Albanese. He said while gas had a “role to play” in firming up datacentre power use, “if a datacentre is proposed to only use gas, it will not meet the national minimum standards and it will not be allowed to register and will not be able to proceed”.

“While I always prefer to work with my state and territory colleagues, the commonwealth will not be standing by and letting a race to the bottom of states falling over themselves to attract datacentres, at the cost to household bills, reliability or emissions,” he said.

“We will use all the powers available to the commonwealth, including commonwealth legislation, to ensure that Australian households and Australian energy reliability is put first: even if some states have different ideas.”

The NT government was contacted for comment. Janetzki said his government “look forward to discussing” the issue at an upcoming national cabinet meeting on AI, but said his state “will not force uneconomic investment into the system”.

In a Q&A session after his speech, Bowen disputed the characterisation that Canberra would “force” states to comply, but stated that federal laws would override states.

“We’ll engage in our levers. The clearest one is obviously commonwealth legislation. We’re going down that road.”

Bowen said that while Albanese would soon confirm details of the federal legislation, new datacentres would have to prove the source of their renewables , how much power they’re offsetting, that they have backup power and that they would be “flexible” with use at peak times to stabilise the grid.

On Wednesday, the AEMC, the national body for the power grid, advised that datacentres should have to show renewables certificates. The AEMC said this was to ensure “their connection doesn’t tip the supply-demand balance and push up wholesale prices for everyone else”.

“Datacentre growth does not have to come at a cost to other consumers, but that depends on getting the settings right from the start. Our starting point is simple, this growth must not leave other consumers worse off,” said the AEMC chair, Anna Collyer.

The AEMC said power operator Transgrid had seen “an unprecedented increase” in new connection requests in Western Sydney, with some 8 gigawatts about to be connected to the grid – “on par with the entire average daily demand for NSW”.

The AEMC warned that, without changes to energy rules, grid connection costs for datacentres would be felt “across the consumer base at no clear consumer benefit”.