Australia news as it happened: Federal budget debate continues; Tony Abbott to become Liberal president; Australians released from Israeli prison allege mistreatment

Independent MP Sophie Scamps believes the federal government will revise its changes to the capital gains tax discount amid pressure from entrepreneurs to create a carve-out for start-ups.

Appearing on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing today, the MP for Mackellar in Sydney’s north was asked whether she was confident Labor would tweak its CGT discount plans, which would particularly affect her affluent constituents.

“Look, personally, I think they will,” Scamps said.

“I think they recognise that there were very valid concerns that were being raised by the tech sector, by start-ups, by small business that did need addressing.

“The government promised that they would consult on this.”

The Australian who died while hiking the Inca Trail in Peru has been identified as a Victorian police officer.

Matthew Paton, 52, tripped and fell up to 400 metres during a trek with other tourists and a guide at the world-famous trail to Machu Picchu, local police said.

Victoria Police shared a statement from Paton’s family – his wife and three children, Ainsley, Luke and Meg – who said they were “shattered”.

“It seems surreal at the moment – everyone is bereft. Family was the most important thing to Matt. He was dedicated to his family, including his wife of 31 years and their three children. He adored his family. And we adored him.”

Read more about the update to this story here.

The prime minister says it was inappropriate for Pauline Hanson to call a journalist a “nasty bitch” after a press conference yesterday.

Appearing in Jervis Bay earlier today, Anthony Albanese was asked about One Nation’s recent clash with the media, and he used the question to paint Labor as the only mainstream party left in Australia.

“Well, it’s not appropriate,” he said of Hanson’s remark.

“Labor is now the only mainstream political party in Australia. We have three right-wing parties all competing against each other and their allies cheering them on.

“Parties of grievance could only achieve so much because they don’t put forward a positive agenda. And they need to be held to account as well for their actions, and for their policies, or lack thereof.”

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce today apologised for Hanson’s staffer Richard Henderson telling the journalist to “shut up”, but did not apologise for Hanson’s comment.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has left the door open to altering contentious tax changes announced in the budget.

Following reporting in this masthead that Albanese would be open to walking back proposed changes to taxing discretionary testamentary trusts – which the opposition have labelled a “death tax” – Albanese said today the government would “work through the legislation”.

The government announced in last week’s budget that a 30 per cent rate would soon apply to all discretionary trusts to better align earnings from investments with income tax.

There are about 10,500 testamentary trusts in the country, created within a person’s will so they can manage their assets and the income derived from them after they die.

In Wollongong this morning, Albanese said: “Let’s be very clear that we’ve said, when it comes to some of the misreporting that’s there, we’re not interested and there’s no measures in there that are going to hurt inheritances.

“So we’ll work through the legislation we’ve said will be introduced in the second half of the year. On trusts, there will be a consultation period about that, and we made that clear on budget night.”