Australia news live: Hundreds pay tribute to police killed by Dezi Freeman on one-year anniversary; value of Japan’s melon gifts to Albanese revealed

The Guardian reports that Australia's Productivity Commission is standing firmly behind its interim finding that the GST deal with Western Australia was a costly mistake that should be reversed. Commissioner Angela Jackson pushed back hard after WA Premier Roger Cook branded critics 'east coast clowns' and warned changes would rip six billion dollars out of the state's economy. Jackson said the premier's comments crossed a line into attacking the commission's integrity, insisting its work remains independent of the prime minister and 'above politics.' She added that undermining institutional independence like this is a trend showing up more broadly in public debate internationally.

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