Leading our news this morning, the Treasurer has warned state and territory leaders ahead of COAG talks that he’s not interested in being their cash cow. New South Wales Premier Mike Baird has led calls for an increase in the GST to fund increase in health costs, but Scott Morrison says he’s interested in tax reform rather than raising existing taxes.

“If the objective of the states and territories is to ask Commonwealth to increase the GST to create a large pool of revenue for them to spend on their services and obligations in commitments, well, you know, it’s not a magic putting.” Scott Morrison there.

Tony Abbott has used a speech in Singapore to call for a more coordinated military approach to defeat Islamic state. The former prime minister acknowledges that interventions in Iraq and Libya ended badly, but he argues the alternative is more attacks. Mr. Abbott says defeating IS might require the commitment of western troops to fight alongside local forces.

Volkswagen says allegations that lied about carbon dioxide emissions in up to 8000 cars are largely unfounded. The German carmaker now claims the number of vehicles affected is only about 36,000. It says only a small number of new models will have their emission figures slightly adjusted.

And as we heard, Cate Blanchett is called for more local artist to feature on the screen after accepting one of the Australian film industry’s highest honors. Blanchett received the Longford Lyell Award for her contribution to the industry. Mad Max: Fury Road was best film with actor awards. Shawn Seet won best TV comedy and MasterChef won Best Reality TV Show.