What we learned today, Wednesday 10 September
Thanks for staying with the live blog this evening. We’ll leave our coverage there for the day. Here were Wednesday’s top stories:
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has been dumped from the opposition frontbench after failing to back Sussan Ley’s leadership.
The home affairs minister Tony Burke’s electorate office in south-west Sydney has been vandalised.
Music and art therapies will remain on the NDIS but the cost of sessions will be capped.
The NSW children’s guardian has been removed from his position for alleged misbehaviour.
Neo-Nazis may take to Melbourne streets again this weekend, police warned, with the entire CBD to be declared a designated area.
The Queensland Conservation Council said the state government cannot meet its emissions targets without abandoning plans to keep coal generators operating for longer.
About 500 machetes have been surrendered under Victoria’s amnesty program.
Labor ministers condemned Israel’s strikes against top Hamas members in Qatar, adding the Australian government was not informed of the actions beforehand.
We’ll be back tomorrow, keeping you across the country’s breaking news.
Updated
Tony Abbott says dumped Price a ‘big loss’
The former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott has said he expects Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to remain a strong presence in Australian politics despite her resignation from shadow cabinet.
Abbott wrote in a post on X:
Jacinta Price will be a big loss to the frontbench but I’m confident that she will continue to make a strong contribution to our public life.
Abbott earlier today published a column entitled “Mass Immigration Across the Anglo-Sphere Must Cease”. Price today doubled down on her own campaign against “mass migration” leading up to and after her resignation, while refusing to back Sussan Ley’s leadership or apologise for her comments about Indian migrants.
Updated
Price says controversy will ‘make our party stronger’
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has called for the Liberals to grow from the internal divide sparked by her remarks on immigration, to “reverse Australia’s decline and advance Australia”.
As we reported earlier, Price hit out at some of her Liberal colleagues in her resignation statement for having “disregarded” her points about “Labor’s mass migration agenda” to instead “indulge agenda-driven media commentary”.
The Northern Territory senator had kinder words for her colleagues in the shadow portfolios of defence, Angus Taylor, Phillip Thompson and Darren Chester, who she said “are doing a sterling job in holding the Albanese Government to account”.
Price said the “disappointing episode” could still help the Liberals grow:
I will learn from it. I’m sure others will too. No individual is bigger than a party. And I’m sure events of the past week will ultimately make our party stronger …
It’s a time for courage, for conviction and for truth if we are to reverse Australia’s decline and advance Australia again.
Price’s resignation brings an end for now to her time on the opposition frontbench, which started with her April 2023 elevation to shadow minister for Indigenous Australians. She held the defence industry portfolio after Sussan Ley’s elevation to the leadership in the wake of the Coalition’s electoral defeat in May.
Updated
Ley says ‘outstanding’ Price still welcome in Liberal party
Sussan Ley has said she asked Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to resign from the shadow ministry but would still welcome the senator in the Liberal party.
The Liberal leader said Price’s failure to express confidence in her leadership at a press conference this afternoon prompted her to ask Price to resign. Ley told reporters:
Today, critically, she refused to express confidence in my leadership of the Liberal party and confidence in the leader is a requirement for serving in the shadow ministry.
Ley encouraged Price to stay with the Liberal party when asked if the senator should rejoin the Nationals, saying:
These are matters for Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to consider her future, but I warmly welcomed her into our Liberal party party room and I still warmly welcome her in our Liberal party.
She is an outstanding Australian who has achieved much, and I know that she is admired and loved by many in this country. Her membership of the Liberal party is something we continue to welcome and support.
Price sat with the Nationals in parliament after being elected as a Country Liberal senator for the Northern Territory, until swapping to the Liberals ahead of a mooted tilt at the deputy leadership in the wake of Peter Dutton’s defeat in the May election.
Updated
Ley says Price failed to apologise ‘despite being given time’
Sussan Ley has said Jacinta Nampijinpa Price failed to meet the high standards she expected as Ley pushes for the Liberal party to “reflect modern Australia”.
Ley said Price did not apologise for comments about Indian immigration to Australia “despite being given time and space”. Speaking to reporters in Hobart, Ley said:
I made a compact with my party room and with the Australian people that under my leadership we would reflect modern Australia, respect modern Australia and represent modern Australia. Serving in my shadow ministry is a privilege and it is a requirement to have confidence in the leadership. Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has failed the test of high standard.
Ley had not publicly called for Price to apologise for her remarks before today, but this evening told reporters the comments “were deeply helpful … wrong and should not have been made”, adding:
My team and I have been out listening to Australians of Indian heritage and we have heard their response and the pain and hurt that these remarks provided for them. And despite being given the time and space to apologise, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price did not offer an apology.
Updated
Ley says Price ‘failed’ to apologise and uphold standards
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has issued a statement on the sacking of Coalition frontbencher Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.
Serving in the shadow ministry is a privilege. Shadow ministers and shadow assistant ministers are expected to uphold the standards I have set as Leader.
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has failed to do so and will no longer serve in my shadow ministry.
Today, despite being given sufficient time and space to do so, Senator Nampijinpa Price failed to apologise for remarks which have caused Australians of Indian heritage significant hurt.
She also refused to provide confidence in my leadership of the Liberal party and sadly, that has made her position untenable in my shadow ministry.
The Liberal Party I lead will respect, reflect and represent modern Australia.
Updated
Price promises campaign against net zero and truth-telling
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has promised to campaign against net zero emissions, Indigenous activists for truth-telling and what she describes as school students’ indoctrination in the wake of her resignation from shadow cabinet.
In a statement announcing her resignation, the Liberal senator said she would continue to “speak up on issues which are in the national interest and that are important to millions of Australians”.
Price cited Indigenous issues, specifically the “romanticisation of traditional culture” and “ineffectiveness of bloated bureaucracies” and resistance to what she described as:
activists who, ignoring the referendum outcome and the will of the Australian people, march on with the goals of segregation and reparations under the guise of that Orwellian phrase “truth-telling”.
She also pointed to broader issues, including so-called “mass” migration, rising Chinese military aggression, and more:
The economically immiserating and freedom eroding policy of Net Zero. The indoctrination of children in our classrooms that engenders national guilt and inhibits national pride. The Albanese Government’s determination to move Australia away from a free-market economy and towards a state-directed and controlled economy.
Updated
Ley dumps Nampijinpa Price from Coalition's shadow ministry
The Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has said she will step down from shadow cabinet at the request of Sussan Ley.
Price said in a statement Ley asked her to step down and she “accepted the Leader’s decision”.
She again did not apologise for her remarks last week suggesting Labor was giving Indian migrants preferential treatment for political reasons, instead adding:
I reiterated my regret in not being clearer in my comments on the ABC last Wednesday. Nevertheless, I took the opportunity to express to the Leader my disappointment that some colleagues disregarded the key point I was making about the damaging impacts of mass migration. And that some colleagues instead chose to indulge agenda-driven media commentary on this matter …
This has been a disappointing episode for the Liberal Party.
We’ll bring you more on this story as it unfolds.
Updated
Government warns travellers to reconsider Nepal visit
The federal government has warned Australians to reconsider travelling to Nepal as the south Asian nation faces its worst unrest in decades.
Nepal’s prime minister has resigned after widespread protests were met by police with deadly force, leaving 19 dead and hundreds injured.
Penny Wong, Australia’s foreign affairs minister, said the government was “deeply concerned” by the violence and encouraged Australians in Nepal to shelter in place and follow the advice of local authorities.
The government’s Smartraveller safety rating was downgraded from “exercise caution” to “reconsider”, citing the prospect that the situation could deteriorate further without warning. Airports across Nepal have been closed and flights cancelled, it said.
Wong also called for restraint from Nepalese protesters and police, writing on X:
The Australian Government is deeply concerned about escalating civil unrest and violence in Nepal. We send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of those who have tragically lost their lives, and our thoughts are with all those injured.
We urge all parties to exercise restraint and to resolve the situation peacefully. Australia supports human rights and universal freedoms, including the right to protest and freedom of assembly.
The protests were sparked by the Nepalese government’s ban on social media, which some interpreted as an attempt to suppress criticism of the government, and have developed into a broader movement against political corruption.
Updated
Final decision on Woodside’s massive gas project could come as early as Friday
Gas company Woodside and campaigners fighting its massive expansion plans in the Pilbara could learn as early as Friday the government’s final decision on Woodside’s North West Shelf extension.
In May the environment minister, Murray Watt, said he was proposing to grant approval for the extension, which would see gas drilled offshore and then processed at Karratha until 2070 – something climate campaigners have said is at odds with global climate goals.
Watt said he was proposing “strict conditions” for Woodside, in particular “air emissions” that could be putting 50,000 year-old world heritage-listed rock art at Murujuga at risk. A nominal 10-day period to agree the conditions has long since come and gone, with the government and Woodside in talks since then.
One group fighting the plans, Save our Songlines, has been in court to force the environment minister to make a decision on an application it made to have the Murujuga area protected under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.
Under a court order, Raelene Cooper, a Murujuga traditional custodian, was told she would get three days’ notice of Watt’s decision on the extension.
The group has said this afternoon they have been given notice the decision “will be made on or after this Friday 12 September”.
Updated
Pair admit damaging Sydney war memorial in olive oil ‘blessing’
Two born-again Christians have admitted damaging a capital city war memorial but explain their behaviour as a show of faith rather than disrespect, AAP reports.
Abel Clark and Peter McMaster, both 61, may have permanently stained the granite walls and steps of Sydney’s Anzac Memorial when they “blessed” them with olive oil about midday on 4 September.
The two men pleaded guilty in Downing Centre local court on Wednesday to recklessly damaging the memorial.
However, they maintained their innocence over a second charge of wilful damage of a protected place. The born-again Christians used olive oil because they believe it represents the Holy Spirit but admitted after their arrest they may have gone too far.
Updated
Chanel Contos welcomes age checks for pornography sites despite ‘loopholes’
Chanel Contos, the sexual consent advocate, has welcomed the eSafety Commissioner’s announcement of new rules requiring websites to block children from accessing inappropriate content.
The new codes will require online platforms hosting content such as pornography, simulated gambling, self-harm material or very violent material to ensure children cannot access the content.
Contos acknowledged the rules may struggle to enforce age verification for older users but emphasised the importance of keeping young children from accessing pornography. She told the ABC:
There will be loopholes but I am much more concerned with nine, 10, 11, 12-year-olds accessing this content than 16 and 17-year-olds … When pornography is inevitably accessed by older children, who are almost adults, we can have conversations and provide porn literacy.
The code applies not only to websites but also app stores and AI chat platforms among others, which Contos said constituted the “new frontier” of romantic relationships:
A few decades ago, people were worried that young people would be speaking to robots … What is actually happening is AI chatbots, and what they are craving is that emotional intimacy and connection and it is important that we limit access to that.
You can read about the codes here:
Updated
Crime scene established after Tony Burke's Sydney office vandalised
The home affairs minister’s office in Sydney has been maliciously damaged, NSW police said.
A crime scene has been established after the building, on The Broadway in the south-west suburb of Punchbowl, was extensively damaged.
The malicious damage was reported to have occurred between 5pm Tuesday and 8.20am Wednesday, police said. The minister, Tony Burke, said:
Vandalism helps no one and has no place.
Katy Gallagher, the finance minister, condemned the alleged vandalism. She told the ABC:
The electorate offices are important offices to be open and thought to be safe, for people to come and access services and support … To have those offices under attack is concerning.
[These incidents] are not in huge numbers but when they do happen they get coverage and they should be condemned and condemned by everybody who stands up for the rule of law and for a strong democracy.
Updated
SES carries out two rescues as flooding sweeps NSW
A group of bushwalkers are being rescued from flash flooding as heavy rain sweeps New South Wales.
The NSW State Emergency Service said its crews were helping the group, who are trapped by flood water at Wattamolla in Sydney’s Royal national park.
A motorist who drove off a cliff face at Camden Bypass on Sydney’s outskirts has also been rescued by police. The SES said it had responded to more than 90 incidents in the last 24 hours.
More flash flooding could occur, warned Dean Storey, the SES state duty commander, assistant commissioner. He said:
Flash flooding can occur quickly and without warning. We implore motorists to never drive, walk or ride through flood waters – if you come across a flooded road, turn around and find an alternative route.
Minor river rises could hit local roads and bridges around the Darling, Macquarie, Bogan, Orange, Upper Hunter, Hawkesbury Nepean Valley and St Georges Basin catchments, the SES warned.
Parts of NSW are expected to face damaging wind gusts of up to 110km/h and large hail of 2-4cm, with six-hour rainfall totals of up to 100m possible in the Illawarra, south coast and nearby ranges on Wednesday.
Updated
Gallagher says Price’s refusal to apologise ‘continues to surprise’
The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, has rejected Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s claim that Australia is facing “mass” migration as a “deliberate” choice of words.
Price last week suggested Labor was encouraging Indian immigration for political support, drawing widespread condemnation, including within the Liberal party. She withdrew the comments but has not apologised.
Gallagher, a Labor frontbencher, said Price’s persistent refusal had surprised her:
I was surprised and continue to be surprise she has not apologised. There is no doubt [she has] now caused unrest and concern in the community.
Price this afternoon doubled down on her campaign against “mass migration” after the former prime minister Tony Abbott released a column entitled “Mass Immigration Across the Anglo-Sphere Must Cease”.
Gallagher said Price was deliberately using loaded terms to describe Australia’s bipartisan and economically important migration program:
It is up to Jacinta to use the words that she wants to use but … there is some deliberateness to the term which she is using.
Traditionally, the parliament has stood as one on these matters and has celebrated the fact that we are a multicultural nation … In the last week or so we have seen a bit of fraying of that, particularly from members of the opposition but also other senators in this parliament.
Updated
Protest permits flagged by Melbourne’s deputy lord mayor
Melbourne’s deputy lord mayor has suggested protest permits should be instituted so police would not have to “babysit’ neo-Nazis and counter-protesters, who may again take to the streets of Melbourne on Saturday.
Victoria police said they would have a significant presence in the city where anti-immigration protests are set to be held alongside opposing leftwing protests to mitigate the risk of violent confrontation.
Roshena Campbell, the deputy lord mayor of Melbourne, said the prospect of violence between protesters was expending police resources. She told the ABC:
They are taking police officers from across the state, asking them to come in on the day off to essentially babysit these protesters and keep them apart like quarrelling schoolchildren.
Asked whether she believed new laws were needed to deal with hostility between activists, Campbell pointed to the permit systems used in jurisdictions including NSW:
The time has come for a serious discussion about how we deal with protest in Melbourne. I do think Victoria is in a different position to other jurisdictions. Many jurisdictions have a permit system that in the vast majority of instances work successfully …
[When] multiple protest groups [plan] to be in the city at the same time, when they are sending messages they are seeking confrontation, it’s almost impossible to protect public safety … Victoria has operated in the space with one hand tied behind its back and that is not the appropriate thing going forward.
Updated
Hospital admissions in NSW jump during ‘difficult’ winter
Hospital admissions have reached record levels in Australia’s largest health system, but further highs are expected after a “very difficult” winter, AAP reports.
More than 515,000 patients were admitted to NSW hospitals in the three months to June, the state’s health statistics agency said on Wednesday.
The state’s health minister, Ryan Park, expects further records to be set once figures taking in the rest of the cold and flu season are released. He said:
We’ve had a very, very difficult last winter period. Vaccinations have been down … respiratory cases have been up … presentations have been very high.
Nearly 65,000 elective surgeries were performed across NSW, the most in any quarter since the bureau began reporting in 2010.
Fewer patients were waiting longer than clinically recommended for their surgery in June, dropping to 2,534 from 8,588 at the end of March, but only two-thirds of non-urgent surgeries were performed on time. Non-urgent surgeries should be completed within a year.
However, people with less severe illnesses or injuries are beginning to use urgent or virtual care clinics set up to reduce strain on emergency departments, which Park said had diverted about 220,000 ED presentations.
Updated
Men charged over January’s alleged antisemitic attacks in NSW
Two men have been charged by counter-terrorism detectives for allegedly graffitiing Nazi symbols on a synagogue and three more incidents across Sydney in January.
The men were charged over allegedly damaging the synagogue in Allawah, in Sydney’s south, with antisemitic graffiti including a Nazi swastika. One, 26 years old, is alleged to have carried out the attack on the instructions and with assistance of the second man, 27.
The 27-year-old is also alleged to have contributed to attacks on a childcare centre in Maroubra, a Jewish primary school in Maroubra and a home in Dover Heights once owned by Alex Ryvchin – the co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
NSW police said the younger man was charged in late June and the older was charged in mid-July. They will face court separately in late October.
Updated
Australian students have more class time and shorter holidays than overseas peers
Australian students spend more time in the classroom than their peers and have shorter school holidays, a new report has found.
The OECD’s annual Education at a Glance survey, released on Tuesday evening, showed students in Australia received about 11,000 hours of instruction during their primary and lower secondary instruction (the first three years of high school), well in excess of the OECD average of 7,604 hours.
At the same time, school holidays were shorter in Australia than the OECD average, sitting at 12 weeks compared with 13.5.
The report also found primary and secondary school teachers were among the highest paid out of 30 surveyed countries, receiving almost $US74,000 ($112,000) last year, or 42% more than their counterparts.
The report found the salary cost was a trade-off with class sizes. Australia’s above-average salaries were partially offset by above-average class sizes.
The federal president of the Australian Education Union (AEU), Correna Haythorpe, said Australia’s above-average class sizes and high compulsory instruction hours compounded the pressures on teachers.
It is no surprise that teacher shortages are worsening when Australian teachers are working longer hours in larger classes with fewer resources than their colleagues overseas. Governments must deliver on their commitments and invest in the teaching workforce through better pay, manageable workloads, and schools that are fully funded and properly resourced.
Updated
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price declines to back Sussan Ley’s leadership
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has repeatedly refused to confirm her confidence in Sussan Ley’s leadership of the Liberal party, saying the opposition should be holding Labor to account for what she called “a mass migration issue”.
The firebrand Northern Territory senator was asked repeatedly if she had confidence in Ley’s leadership. She said:
Those matters are for our party room. My focus is to go forward and to ensure that we’re doing the right thing by the Australian people, which is what we’re elected to do.
Price’s remarks about Indian immigration sparked public backlash but also internal fallout within the Liberal party room as she resists colleagues’ calls for her to apologise. She again offered no apology this afternoon.
Asked how she would repair the divide within the party, Price encouraged her colleagues in the Liberal party to move forward and focus on the Albanese government’s policies. She said:
Those matters in terms of our party are obviously for our leadership. I would love to be able to move forward from this because there are issues. We’ve been elected by the Australian people to stand up as the opposition to address the failures of the Albanese government … and that’s what I would love to encourage, certainly, my colleagues to be focused on in moving forward.
Updated
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says she ‘won’t be silenced’ about migration
A defiant Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has said she “won’t be silenced” when speaking up about mass migration, a week after she suggested Labor was giving India preferential treatment for political benefit.
Speaking to reporters in Perth, Price said she was grateful to the Indian Australians who had offered her “overwhelming outreach” and support in the wake of her controversial comments. She said:
Last week, I made comments on the ABC. I almost immediately clarified those comments and expressed, of course, the fact that while, you know, my comments were certainly clumsy, unfortunately the issue that’s of great concern, which I won’t be silenced on, is the issue of mass migration in our country … and we should all be focused on that.
I’ve spoken directly to those who are Australians of Indian heritage and they have pointed out to me that that’s how they like to be regarded as well and have thanked me for my previous efforts in the voice [to parliament campaign] to ensure that we’re not divided along the lines of race in our country.
Updated
Thanks to the wonderful Nick Visser. I’ll be with you for the rest of the day.
That’s all for me. Luca Ittimani will guide you on the blog for the rest of the day. Take care!
Wet and unsettled weather, including threat of severe thunderstorms, coming for NSW this afternoon
Large stretches of NSW may be in for severe thunderstorms this afternoon as a band of clouds pushes across the state, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning of “wet and unsettled weather”.
Central and eastern NSW may see severe thunderstorms with damaging winds, heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding and large hail. That includes the Sydney metropolitan area, northern parts of the Illawarra and the Hunter district, which could see severe weather most likely in the afternoon and evening.
The BoM is also warning of intense and hazardous surf and swell conditions along large parts of the NSW coastline on Thursday, which will generate from strong to gale force winds.
Strong to gale force south to southwesterly winds around a coastal low are expected to generate large and powerful surf conditions on Thursday, with damaging surf possible.
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) September 10, 2025
These are expected to ease during Thursday evening.
More: https://t.co/scFbjpLi1I pic.twitter.com/bXm1g0NTJm
Updated
Nearly 200 tipoffs sent to police since $1m reward offered over alleged Porepunkah gunman
Police are providing an update amid the ongoing hunt for Dezi Freeman near Porepunkah, Victoria, saying they have searched extensively, including caves and mine shafts. They said while hundreds of tips had come through in their search, police are still asking for more information to track down “every avenue of inquiry possible”.
Nearly 200 pieces of information have come through since police offered up to a $1m reward for information leading to his capture.
Supt Craig Darlow said:
We’ve searched caves, we’ve searched mine shafts, huts, and we’ll continue to do that over the coming weeks if need be …
Whilst some of the people in the community might be frustrated with this and have difficulties with this, we request they be patient and understand that we have a job to do in identifying where Desmond Freeman is, and trying to arrest him to enable the community to feel safe.
Updated
PM will negotiate an upgrade to security deal with Fiji
Anthony Albanese says he will negotiate an upgrade to Australia’s security agreement with the government of Fiji, part of regional efforts being pushed at the Pacific Islands Forum in Solomon Islands.
The prime minister held a one-on-one meeting with his Fiji counterpart, Sitiveni Rabuka, on the sidelines of the summit in Honiara on Wednesday, agreeing to upgrade security ties through the Vuvale agreement.
Progress on the Fiji deal follows talks between the two leaders in Australia in July, and comes a day after Vanuatu said a separate $500m deal with Australia needed more work before it could be signed.
Albanese said preliminary discussions were under way for the scope of the agreement:
That could range from increased interoperability, the sort of training we are seeing with the Pacific policing initiative being expanded, to increased engagement between our defence forces.
I don’t want to pre-empt the discussions. They’re at early stages but certainly the relationship with Fiji is an important one. Fiji has a very significant position in the Pacific.
Australia is pursuing agreements across the Pacific in an attempt to push back on China, as it seeks to build influence in the region through infrastructure deals and funding for national governments. Deals with Tuvalu and Nauru have already been signed, and a major defence treaty with Papua New Guinea is complete.
Albanese is expected to sign it during a visit to coincide with 50 years of PNG’s independence from Australia later this month.
Updated
Solomon Islands PM calls for unity in Pacific Islands Forum opening address
The Solomon Islands prime minister, Jeremiah Manele, called for Pacific unity during the opening plenary at the annual Pacific leaders summit today, amid intensifying geostrategic competition.
The Pacific Islands Forum (Pif) kicked off in Honiara on Monday, against a backdrop of tensions over Manele’s decision to exclude external partners – including China, the US and Taiwan – from talks.
Manele told leaders the Pacific’s strength lay in its “solidarity” and how it responds to challenges as a collective:
The world around us is changing fast, competition among powerful interests is intensifying and the Pacific must never be seen as an arena for others.
Pacific nations were not “passive bystanders” and he urged leaders to commit to defending regionalism.
Solomon Islands is China’s biggest security ally in the Pacific and Manele’s decision to block external partners fuelled speculation he was trying to keep Taiwan out – a claim Manele has rejected.
The forum is expected to endorse a climate resilience fund and a declaration calling the Pacific an “Ocean of Peace”.
Updated
Victorian premier says no one has the right to use the ‘cloak’ of protest to be violent
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, was asked earlier about the protests planned in Melbourne’s CBD for Saturday, after police earlier warned neo-Nazis may again be involved.
The premier said “everyone has the right to protest peacefully”, adding:
No one has the right to use the cloak of a protest to bring violence to our streets … I thank Victoria police for the work that they do to keep our community safe every day, but for also how they are responding to people who are using the cloak of protest to bring violence and extremist behaviour to our streets, and I say very clearly that the Victoria police will deal with that behaviour with the existing powers and tools and resources that they have.
Updated
The NDIS minister, Jenny McAllister, said NDIS participants could feel confident the therapies were now being delivered by “qualified therapists, recognised by a professional association”.
The NDIA announced last November it would remove creative arts-based therapies as fully funded supports under the scheme, saying there was no evidence to support their effectiveness.
Under the agency’s proposed changes, participants could still use music and arts therapy but it would be relegated to a community participation budget.
A one-to-one session would have a maximum rate of $67.56 an hour while group sessions, with at least four participants, would have a maximum rate of $193.99 an hour shared between the participants involved.
The former NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, defended the decision but ultimately announced Duckett’s review to look at the supporting evidence.
Read more here:
Updated
Music and art therapies to stay on NDIS with capped costs
Music and art therapies will remain on the NDIS – but the cost of sessions will be capped – after a snap independent review concluded the therapies did benefit some participants.
The National Disability Insurance Agency, the scheme that administers the multi-billion dollar NDIS, announced today participants could continue to access the therapies but providers around the country would be capped at a maximum charge of $156.16 per hour.
The review, led by health economist Dr Stephen Duckett, found there was some evidence that music and art therapies could benefit participants, including children with autism and people with multiple sclerosis. He recommended the therapies be delivered by qualified professionals and a national cap be introduced to how much providers can charge.
Duckett said:
It is clear that art and music therapies can be effective, and event life changing, for some people with disability.
Updated
About 500 machetes surrendered under Victoria's amnesty program
The Victorian premier has confirmed about 500 of the knives have been handed in since the state’s amnesty period began.
On 1 September, Victoria enacted a ban on machetes as a prohibited weapon, making it illegal to own, carry, use, buy or sell them without an exemption. The ban includes a three-month amnesty period from September to November 2025, during which people can safely surrender their machetes at bins at police stations.
Allan said earlier:
It’s only a week or so into the machete ban … Half of the 45 bins have had the machetes counted, so you can expect it to be at least double that amount in terms of the machetes that have already been handed in.
Allan says possession of a machete after the amnesty period will lead to a fine of over $47,000 or up to two years’ imprisonment.
Updated
NSW children’s guardian removed from office for alleged misbehaviour
The NSW children’s guardian has been removed from his position for alleged misbehaviour after the handing down of the final report of a special ministerial inquiry into his office.
In a statement this afternoon, the NSW minister for families and communities, Kate Washington, said that the NSW children’s guardian, Steve Kinmond, had been removed from his position today. Washington said:
I acknowledge that this has been a difficult time for many staff at the Office of the Children’s Guardian, including the 70 current and former employees who engaged with the Inquiry. They perform critically important work to protect children and young people, and I thank them for their commitment and their service.
Washington has now tabled the report to NSW parliament. Acting children’s guardian Rachael Ward will continue to lead the office until a new guardian is appointed.
Kinmond agreed to step aside from his role as the state’s child safety watchdog in March while “serious and disturbing” allegations against him were investigated as part of the independent inquiry.
At the time, Kinmond told Guardian Australia he welcomed the inquiry but was not aware what serious allegations had been directed at him, saying he needed “further and better particulars” before he could comment.
Updated
Albanese says Australia remains a friend to the Pacific and will support efforts to address climate change
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, just spoke from the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum in Solomon Islands.
Albanese said:
The big challenges facing the Pacific require solutions designed and delivered for the Pacific by the Pacific, and Australia has a key role to play as a partner and leader.
He spoke about Australia’s commitment of $100m to help the Pacific find solutions to the climate crisis, saying the money was not just a fund but a “promise to Pacific communities they will not face climate threats alone”.
The prime minister said Australia was continuing to advocate to host next year’s UN climate summit, Cop 31, alongside Pacific island nations, saying there was a strong argument to do so given the threat of climate change to the region.
Updated
NSW premier questioned in parliament about police officer who allegedly punched Hannah Thomas
Chris Minns has responded to concerns raised about the police officer who allegedly punched Hannah Thomas in the face during a protest, saying in parliament the officer has the right to due process.
On Tuesday, the director of public prosecutions dropped all charges against Thomas, who was arrested in June and sustained a serious injury to her eye after an officer allegedly punched her at a Sydney pro-Palestine protest.
In question time a short while ago, Greens MP for Newtown, Jenny Leong, asked the NSW premier what steps had been taken to ensure the officer did not harm other peaceful protesters.
Minns responded:
It’s the subject of a professional standards investigation, oversighted by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission. That’s the process that we have in New South Wales.
I think everyone would appreciate that in those circumstances, anyone who’s accused of something like that has the right to due process and an investigation, and that’s the system that we have.
In case you missed it, here’s the story from yesterday on the DPP dropping charges against Thomas:
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Victorian premier rejects calls to trial personal use of pepper spray
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has rejected calls to permit a trial of pepper spray for personal protection in the state. Asked at a press conference earlier today whether Victoria should follow the Northern Territory in allowing a 12-month trial amid escalating crime, she said it was not under consideration by her government.
She said the government had given police additional knife search powers, introduced Australia’s first machete ban and toughened bail laws. Allan went on:
I’ve seen those reports out of the Northern Territory, and I’ll be honest, they’re not something that is on our current consideration, because what we’ve got to do is work with community, understanding some of the root causes of what’s behind some of these violent repeat offending that is so shocking the community.
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Markets less confident on interest rate cuts
Financial markets have pushed back their predictions for interest rate cuts, now expecting just two more with the second not until May 2026.
The Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock, was talking about “two or three more” interest rate cuts when the RBA board met a month ago but the economy now seems in slightly better health. Recent data shows steady growth in average weekly earnings, stable and low unemployment, and a returning momentum in consumer spending.
After that data released last Wednesday, Bullock was reported to have said:
If it keeps going, then there may not be many interest rate declines yet to come.
Economists and investors agree. Over the week since, markets have been leaning towards the next rate cut coming in December, instead of November, and a second cut in May, instead of March. Bets on a third cut have dried up.
Commonwealth Bank, meanwhile, has been warning there won’t even be a second easing in interest rates, unless business and government spending both slip and put more people out of work. Lucinda Jerogin, a CBA economist, said:
It would take a considerable deterioration in the labour market and an uneasy hand over from the public sector driving growth to the private sector to see additional easing in 2026.
Man charged with trying to break into charity bin at Sydney airport
A man is facing seven years in prison after allegedly trying and failing to rob a charity donation bin at Sydney airport before asking an airline employee for bolt cutters.
The 54-year-old is alleged to have visited the arrival concourse in August and attempted to use bolt cutters to break into the bin, which the Australian federal police believe contained between $1,000 and $7,000.
After failing to cut through the charity bin’s padlock, the man is alleged to have asked an airline employee for larger bolt cutters, pretending to be from the charity.
The AFP has alleged officers located the man and found a suitcase containing bolt cutters and other tools. He will face court today, charged with being armed with intent to commit indictable offence, with a maximum penalty of seven years in prison if convicted.
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Group of Eight says access to lucrative European research funding a ‘gamechanger’ for Australia
The Group of Eight (Go8), representing Australia’s sandstone universities, says Australia’s move to enter formal negotiations with the European Union to join Horizon Europe is a “pivotal decision” and an “important first step”.
Its chief executive, Vicki Thomson, wrote to then industry minister, Ed Husic, earlier this year on behalf of its member universities and the European Australian Business Council (EABC) CEO, Jason Collins, urging Australia to associate with the research fund. The Go8 also prepared a brief for the ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, at his request.
Thomson said as universities responsible for 70% of Australia’s university research effort, the Go8 had advocated for almost a decade for the nation to join the program:
Our future prosperity, national security, and global influence depend on our ability to be at the forefront of international research and innovation. With €36bn still available until 2027, and a successor program under negotiation with a proposed budget of €200bn, the opportunity is immense. Australia is lagging other OECD nations in terms of investment in R&D [research and development].
While negotiations are in the early stage, signing up to Horizon Europe would be a gamechanger for Australia’s research and innovation sector and ensure Australia is not left behind while other nations capitalise on the benefits of research-led innovations.
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Australia starts early talks to join $170bn European research funding program
Australia has started talks with the European Union to sign up to the world’s largest funding program for research and innovation, the science minister, Tim Ayres, has announced.
Australian universities have consistently lobbied the Albanese government to join Horizon Europe amid US president Donald Trump’s sweeping crackdown on higher education and international students but Australia has so far been resistant to join.
The seven-year scientific collaborative research fund, with a budget of €95.5bn ($168bn), has 20 non-European partners – including New Zealand, the UK and Canada. If it becomes a signatory, Australia would gain access to the massive pool of money to receive funding for a range of research areas including health, AI and climate change.
Prof Chennupati Jagadish, president of the Australian Academy of Science, said the move would be a “gamechanger” to mitigate geopolitical risk facing the scientific sector.
The global challenges we are facing require global solutions, requiring researchers and countries to work together. International scientific collaboration is a matter of strategic national interest and something Australia cannot do without.
Dr Kylie Walker, CEO of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering, said signing up to Horizon Europe would “strengthen international collaborations and open Australia’s access to significant additional international funding for research and development”.
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Entire Melbourne CBD declared ‘designated area’ ahead of planned weekend protests
Following up on our previous report that neo-Nazis may take to Melbourne’s streets again on Saturday:
Victorian superintendent Troy Papworth says the entire CBD has been declared a designated area, giving police the power to search people for weapons and direct them to remove face coverings. He says there will be “more police” visible than at the March for Australia rally and counter rallies two weeks ago and “different tactics involved”:
What we saw on the streets two weeks ago was violence on our streets, and it’s something that we just can’t tolerate. So we are committed to maintaining community safety in the streets of Melbourne.
Papworth would not say what plans were in place to protect Camp Sovereignty due to operational reasons but the sacred burial ground and protest site was a “focus” for police after the alleged attack after the March for Australia rally.
He admitted police “didn’t have intelligence to suggest that there was going to be any issues with Camp Sovereignty” at the time:
I won’t go into our operational considerations on how we’re structuring up our people, but Camp Sovereignty is absolutely front of mind for us in making sure that people are safe. We don’t condone violence against any particular groups, and we don’t want to see that happen again in the city. So it will be front of mind for us in making sure that we are well resourced and well deployed across the CBD to address any sort of violence.
He says there are seven members of the NSN whose bail conditions include not travelling into the city.
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Queensland can’t meet emissions targets without abandoning coal plans, group says
Queensland’s Conservation Council says the state government can’t meet its emissions targets without abandoning plans to keep coal generators operating for longer.
The government has committed not to close the Callide B generator in 2028 as planned and cast doubt on Labor plans to close all of them by 2035. On Tuesday, treasurer and energy minister David Janetzki said the state government’s five-year energy roadmap – to be released next month – will “need coal generation for longer”.
QCC campaigner Stephanie Gray said doing so would make it near impossible to reach Queensland 75% emissions reduction target by 2035.
“They’re effectively walking away from that commitment to Queenslanders by pledging that coal will be open for longer,” she said.
There’s no reason for making taxpayers fork out hundreds of millions of dollars to keep the failing Callide B coal power station on life support past its scheduled retirement in 2028.
Janetzki also signalled on Tuesday that there would be “certainty” for renewables investment in the plan “around coal generation”. Coal closure dates are a key driver of renewables investment, because they guarantee additional future energy demand.
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Marles says Australia will get ‘dozens’ of Ghost Shark drone subs
The defence minister said Australia would get “dozens” of Ghost Sharks under the deal, but wouldn’t put a specific number on how many of the underwater drones would be delivered.
We do not want to point out the precise number, but dozens of these units will be built in the first tranche of this program.
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Marles announces $1.7bn purchase of Ghost Shark drone subs
The defence minister, Richard Marles, just announced a $1.7bn effort to buy a new fleet of autonomous undersea vehicles called Ghost Sharks for the Royal Australian Navy.
The navy has signed a contract with Anduril Australia to deliver, maintain and develop the Ghost Shark over the next five years, a program “designed to conduct intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike operations, stealthily and at long range”.
The Ghost Sharks will be manufactured in Australia, Marles just told reporters at a press conference:
It exemplifies the fact that Australia is leading the world in terms of autonomous underwater military capabilities. A Ghost Shark is capable of engaging in intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike. This is a profoundly important capability for the Royal Australian Navy.
This is the leading capability in the world in terms of a long-range autonomous underwater capability.
Much of what we need to do in terms of meeting the strategic moment and meeting the strategic challenge our nation faces, is having a highly capable navy in all its forms.
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Papworth says police will deal with any violent offenders ‘swiftly’
Papworth went on:
Anyone who is looking to come to the city with intention of committing violence on our streets can expect to be swiftly dealt with by Victoria police, arrested and may potentially spend time in a jail cell if that’s appropriate. We would ask anyone coming into the city to protest on the weekend to come in lawfully and peacefully.
We will expect to see some friction in between groups and we do expect to see groups with opposing ideologies coming together, we’ve got intelligence has suggested they are intent on trying to come together.
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Neo-Nazis may take to Melbourne streets again this weekend, police warn
Victorian superintendent Troy Papworth has warned neo-Nazis may again take to the streets of Melbourne on Saturday, triggering another huge police response.
Speaking at a press conference at police headquarters, Papworth told reporters that police intelligence indicated four separate protests were planned on Saturday, with the possibility for each group to confront one another.
He said:
These protests have a mixture of extremist right wing ideology and left wing and opposing views, and due to the violence that we saw on the streets of Melbourne two weeks ago, and our intelligence pointing towards these groups again [being] intent on coming together and clashing, police have had no choice but to put together a significant police response to make sure that we’re protecting community safety and keeping these groups apart.
Papworth says the four protests were organised by umbrella groups Save Australia, Australia Unites Against Government Corruption, the Black Peoples Union and the Campaign Against Racism and Fascism as well as “other left wing aligned issue motivated groups”.
He says the National Socialist Network may also be involved:
We can’t discount the fact that, like we saw two weeks ago, that the National Socialist Network will be attending these protests and speaking.
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Night parrot listed as critically endangered as animals and plants added to threatened list
The night parrot, the narrow dwarf crayfish and the millmerran mint bush are among more than a dozen species to be newly added to or given a more urgent conservation status on Australia’s threatened species list.
The elusive night parrot has been upgraded from endangered to critically endangered, while 18 other species, including eight types of crayfish, the Mallee worm-lizard and several plants, were listed for the first time as either endangered or critically endangered.
The Australian Conservation Foundation said the changes showed the night parrot was moving closer to extinction and that climate change was a large and growing threat to nature that must be addressed in the government’s plan overhaul of Australia’s environment laws.
The organisation’s acting chief executive, Paul Sinclair, said “climate change is a threat to every single one of these species”:
If we want our reformed nature law to be fit for the 21st century, it needs to protect matters of national environmental significance from climate harm.
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Risk of thunderstorms ‘extensive’ across NSW today
The Bureau of Meteorology said it’s a “good day” to stay up-to-date with weather alerts after saying the risk of thunderstorms is extensive across NSW.
The agency said storms could become severe, “with heavy rainfall, damaging wind and large hailstones all possible outcomes”.
BoM said it will issue thunderstorm warnings as conditions develop.
⛈️⚠️ The risk of thunderstorms is extensive across New South Wales today.
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) September 9, 2025
Storms could become severe, with heavy rainfall, damaging wind and large hailstones all possible outcomes. Thunderstorm Warnings will be issued if this happens.
Its a good day to stay up to date. pic.twitter.com/JiTokCwEGa
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NAB to cut more than 400 jobs
National Australia Bank is planning to cut more than 400 roles as job losses from the banking sector escalate.
The announcement comes one day after ANZ confirmed plans to slash 3,500 jobs over the next year, representing about 8% of its head count. The NAB cuts are expected to focus on its technology and enterprise operations.
A NAB spokesperson said:
While some roles are no longer required or may move location, we are also creating new roles across all locations as necessary, to ensure we are set up for success and can deliver better outcomes.
The Finance Sector Union’s national president, Wendy Streets, said:
Two banks in two days slashing jobs, it’s shameful. This isn’t one rogue bank, it’s the whole sector driving the same agenda at the expense of workers and communities.
While Australia’s major banks have routinely denied any link between recent major job restructures and artificial intelligence technology, thousands of jobs have been lost at the same time as AI use soars in their back-office operations.
The FSU said NAB’s changes will affect 728 workers, which includes 410 permanent job cuts.
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Slashing migration would actually lead to higher house prices in Australia. Here’s why.
Think closing our borders would fix the housing crisis? Think again.
Eliminating migration for the coming decade would actually leave property prices 2.3% higher by the mid-2030s, according to economic modelling by KPMG; and there are other negative economic consequences too.
The temporary post-lockdown surge in net migration is now on the wane, but it appears to have left behind a heightened level of national sensitivity to the issue.
The chief economist at KPMG, Brendan Rynne, shares the consensus view among economists that migration has been good for the Australian economy. In an ageing society with a productivity problem, migrants are typically younger and better educated, and they bring new skills and ideas.
Read more here:
Bob Katter finally discloses interests, three weeks after deadline
Queensland MP Bob Katter has finally put in his register of interests (which all MPs and senators must do), after missing the deadline by three weeks.
Katter submitted his register yesterday after questioning by Guardian Australia, with every declaration due by 19 August.
Members are supposed to disclose things like shares, properties, interests, gifts and assets over a certain threshold, owned by them or their partner. Not publishing them within 28 days of parliament being opened can be treated as contempt of the house (but it’s very unlikely there would have been action against Katter on this matter).
In Katter’s list of family trusts and businesses, he stated “I may have some interest in cattle operations in the gulf”. He also stated rather candidly:
In mining, nothing definite at this stage, but I intend to take up old mining tenements discovered by myself prior to entering parliament.
But he says there are “no specifics yet”. He gave the same response in previous declarations.
He also writes that his in-laws have “extensive dealings with the government”, but we have no details on what those dealings are, and that some family members have “interests in cattle”.
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Australia Post details what parcel shipping will look like once service to US resumes
Gary Starr, the executive general manager of Australia Post’s parcel, post and e-commerce services, detailed how parcels will make their way to the US once the agency restarts postage to the country later this month. AusPost said yesterday it would resume operations for packages to the US by 25 September after a temporary pause to deal with Donald Trump’s tariff regime.
Under the changes, any parcel valued more than US$100 will be subject to duties linked to the sending country’s tariff rate, which is 10% for Australian goods.
Starr said the new system was complex, noting AusPost had partnered with a company vetted by the US so those duties and taxes could be paid before a parcel leaves Australia. He told RN Breakfast earlier:
What’s now required is for the duties and taxes to be collected before the item leaves Australia. And without an authorisation code, the US Customs and Border Protection won’t assess the product and it’ll just get returned …
As soon as we had the detail a couple of weeks ago, we engaged with one of the partners, and just really now it’s about getting integrated into that new system so that the taxes and duties can be paid and we can get cross-border commerce flowing again into the US.
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Researchers make breakthrough on koala STI vaccine
A breakthrough vaccine for a common sexually transmitted disease has provided fresh hope for Australia’s most beloved endangered animal – and maybe a blueprint for human use, AAP reports.
Researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast spent more than a decade developing a single-use vaccine for chlamydia in koalas. Prof Peter Timms, from the university’s Centre for Bioinnovation, said studies on koala populations using the vaccine over a 10-year period had shown reduced rates of disease and improved health outcomes, particularly for animals of breeding age.
After habitat loss and vehicle strikes, chlamydia is one of the main threats to koala populations, leading to blindness, pneumonia, urinary and reproductive tract infections, infertility and death.
The vaccine has been approved by the national regulator, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medical Authority. Timms said he hoped the vaccine would begin to be rolled out early in 2026, starting with koalas in wildlife hospitals before progressing to wild populations.
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Safe partying hub will help young Australians understand risks overseas, Wong says
Penny Wong spoke about the new Partying Safely Hub, saying the effort would help ensure more young Australians are “aware of the risk” associated with going out overseas.
She told ABC News this morning:
We lost Holly and Bianca, two beautiful young Australians, to methanol poisoning in Laos, and we were determined after talking with the grieving families, that one of the things we could do is to try to make sure that more young Australians were aware of the risks.
So we want people to protect themselves when they go overseas.
Wong was asked about the investigation into the deaths, saying the government shared families’ frustrations with the lack of progress:
I’ve pressed the Laos authorities on numerous occasions, as have others, about the need for there to be a full and thorough investigation of these tragic deaths.
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Wong launches new information hub to guard travellers against methanol poisoning
Australian travellers will have access to new information to help them avoid methanol poisoning in drinks when travelling overseas.
Ahead of Schoolies Week celebrations, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has launched the new Partying Safely Hub on the Smartraveller website.
It has information about partying safely while overseas and what to do if something goes wrong abroad.
Release of the resources follows the tragic deaths of Australian travellers Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones in Laos last year.
The Albanese government is continuing to press the government of Laos for a transparent and thorough investigation into their deaths, which followed drinking at a popular tourist spot.
The hub has practical information for parents, universities and schools on key topics involving alcohol safety, methanol poisoning, drink spiking, drug safety and travel insurance.
Wong said:
The tragic deaths of Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles as a result of methanol poisoning in Laos are a heartbreaking reminder of the dangers young people face when travelling abroad.
We want young Australians to explore the world with confidence, but above all we want them to have the knowledge and resources to come home safely.
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Wong says Cop 31 negotiations remain ‘pretty difficult’
Penny Wong said negotiations surrounding the Cop 31 summit, which the government wants to see next year in Adelaide, remained “pretty difficult” as Turkey hopes to win the bid itself. She said the government would continue to compete for the UN climate conference in an effort to elevate the issue of climate breakdown in the Pacific, telling ABC News:
We obviously have been to two elections with this commitment, and the fundamental drive for our commitment is because we want to elevate Pacific voices. The Pacific is on the frontline of climate change. …
We want to have a Pacific conference of the parties to elevate the experience of the Pacific peoples in the face of climate change.
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Wong says Israeli strikes on Qatar ‘the wrong thing to do’
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said she hopes Israel’s strikes on Qatar will not make a ceasefire highly unlikely, but admitted it will “obviously make it harder” to reach one.
Wong just spoke to ABC News:
The Australian government believes this was the wrong thing to do. Qatar, as you know, has been one of the parties seeking an immediate ceasefire. It has been working with the United States on the return of hostages. This is a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty. It imperils that work on the ceasefire and it risks escalation.
Wong added that Australia was limited in its ability to stop the war between Israel and Hamas as the nation is not a central player in the conflict:
We can’t end the war. What we can do is support the calls for a ceasefire and the work and the work of the United States and others to try to broker a ceasefire.
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Australia ‘perfectly positioned’ to host next UN climate conference, Thistlethwaite says
Thistlethwaite added that the government believes Australia is “perfectly positioned” to host Cop 31, the UN’s major climate summit, next year. The country is still vying with Turkey for the right to host the event alongside Pacific nations.
Thistlethwaite told RN Breakfast:
We think that Australia is perfectly positioned to host this Cop 31 given the urgency of climate change in the Pacific. And really, we want to see some of those northern hemisphere leaders come to the southern hemisphere, come to Australia, to Adelaide, and hopefully use the time that they’re here to think about perhaps travelling to Pacific neighbours and engaging with their governments and their people around the urgency of climate change.
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Labor condemns Israeli missile strike on Qatar
Matt Thistlethwaite, the assistant minister for foreign affairs and trade, said Israel’s strikes against top Hamas members in Qatar violated the nation’s sovereignty and imperilled ceasefire talks, adding the Australian government was not informed of the actions beforehand.
Thistlethwaite told RN Breakfast this morning the government condemned the strikes, adding:
These strikes violate Qatar’s sovereignty and they imperil a ceasefire and the release of the Israeli hostages. And unfortunately, they risk further escalation in the conflict.
Qatar’s been working quite hard behind the scenes alongside the United States and Egypt to try and broker a ceasefire and a release of hostages deal. So these strikes will imperil that. Nonetheless, it’s encouraging to hear Qatari leaders say that they remain committed to trying to broker an agreement and a ceasefire.
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Meta blocks and sends legal threats to makers of deepfake nude apps
Two days after the eSafety commissioner issued a notice to a UK company behind a “nudify” deepfake AI app, Meta announced it has issued cease and desist notices to 46 companies attempting to advertise similar products on its platforms.
Meta, which is already suing one such company to try to prevent it advertising on Facebook and Instagram, announced on Wednesday cease and desist notices have been sent to 46 companies attempting to advertise nudify apps on their platforms.
Meta said it has removed over 5,000 ads and 96 ad accounts linked to those companies, and blocked links to more than a dozen apps and websites offering nudify services.
On Monday, the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, told ABC’s 7.30 on Monday the platforms were not expressing remorse about not doing more to curb the rise of such apps.
“That’s what makes it all the more disturbing, having worked in the technology sector for 22 years,” Inman Grant said, adding:
I know what they are capable of, and not a single one of them is doing everything they can to stop the most heinous of abuse to children, being tortured and raped, and this imagery being perpetuated online.
Read more here:
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Good morning
And happy Wednesday. Nick Visser here to take over from Martin Farrer for the morning. Let’s see what the day has in store.
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More on the WA abuse settlement
Dion Barber launched the legal case in 2021 for the repeat abuse and harm caused by his stepfather as well as other perpetrators over subsequent years while in care.
A trial was held earlier in the year before judge Linda Black, who described Barber as a “completely credible witness in every respect” when she handed down her judgment.
Barber said he was happy with the result, but there was more work to be done.
I’m still going to fight because I want change in the system so this doesn’t continue happening.
I would like an apology [from the department] but it doesn’t mean anything to me because unless there’s change, it don’t mean nothing.
Judge Black’s comment about his evidence was also significant, he said.
“You always get put down as being a liar all your life and to have that come through by a judge and actually say you’re believed, it’s massive,” he said.
– AAP
WA makes 'extraordinary' $2.85m payout after state care abuse
A man repeatedly sexually abused as a child in state care has won a landmark legal case after being awarded almost $3m in compensation, Australian Associated Press reports.
Dion Barber, 45, sued the state of Western Australia for the “extraordinary” abuse he suffered in the 1980s and 1990s.
He was awarded $2.85m in the WA district court yesterday, the largest award of damages made to a child sexual abuse survivor in the state.
It also marked the first historical sexual abuse case against the state of WA to proceed to a judgment since a 2017 royal commission into child sexual abuse removed time limits for survivors to bring claims.
Barber was eight years old when he reported sexual abuse by his stepfather to his mother and authorities, his lawyers said.
The then community services department (now department of communities) and the children’s court confirmed he was abused, and he was placed under the guardianship and care of the welfare department.
Over the following months, he was forced to have counselling with his stepfather before he was sent back into the home, where he was raped and abused by the same perpetrator.
“The treatment of Dion is the worst I’ve seen,” lawyer Hugo Seymour told reporters outside court.
The sheer negligence in this case was extraordinary.
The decision to send him back to his abuser, knowingly, to force him into counselling with his abuser, to then place him with his alcoholic, clearly unsafe, violent father, and to let the wardship lapse was extraordinary, inexplicable.”
• In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800; adult survivors can seek help at Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380.
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NSW Labor pounces on Coalition’s koala park disarray
The New South Wales minister for the environment, Penny Sharpe, was keen to exploit the Liberals’ disarray over the koala issue and called on the party to make their position clear.
She said in a statement:
Koalas in NSW hang in the balance. This decision to protect the Great Koala National Park will secure their future in the wild.
Liberal Party members need to make clear their position in relation to the park. They can’t be both for and against the park, and they need to be upfront for voters ahead of the Kiama by-election on Saturday.
NSW Coalition embroiled in koala wars as Liberals skip Nationals motion to shrink park
The koala wars are alive and well in NSW, it seems, and again look set to cause serious marital strife for the Nationals and Liberals.
The Minns Labor government set the ball rolling on yesterday afternoon by moving a public interest debate, patting itself on the back for finally declaring the 176,000 hectare great koala national park, an election promise made in 2019 and again in 2023.
The Nationals then tried to amend the motion calling on the government to shrink the park to 37,000 hectares and protect timber worker jobs.
In an unusual move, the Liberals did not show up for the vote on the Nationals’ amendment, which failed 11-51, or for the motion itself.
The Liberals’ no-show has left the Nationals furious with firebrand MP Wes Fang posting on X:
The gutless NSW Liberal party members didn’t turn up to the Lower house to vote in support [of] the NSW Nationals on #Forestry&#Timber jobs.
More fallout is expected.
In 2020, the Nationals, then led by John Barilaro, briefly left the Coalition after a dispute over clearing of koala habitat on private land, which the environmentally-conscious former planning minister Rob Stokes had sought to protect using the planning laws.
The split only lasted a few days, but was politically costly. Both Barilaro and Stokes have now left politics.
With the opposition leader, Mark Speakman, under pressure over his “cut-through”, the politics of koalas may be his undoing as well.
Or it could be the hunting bill, or support for net zero. The Coalition is not happy.
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The Liberals’ Jacinta Nampijinpa Price problem – Full Story podcast
And we also have today’s Full Story podcast tackling the very same subject:
Nationals leader says Jacinta Nampijinpa Price should apologise for migrant comments
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, has joined several leading Liberals in calling for Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to apologise to the Indian community for her remarks that the government was only allowing them into the country because they would vote Labor.
Asked on ABC’s 7.30 whether Price should apologise, Littleproud said:
Yeah, I think she should. I think she’s admitted that she’s made a mistake. She regrets it. But I think it’s the right thing to do to simply say – you’ve made a mistake, I’m sorry for any offence that I’ve caused, and move on.
We all make mistakes in life, and I think it’s important that, when you do, you own up to them … We all get into these predicaments from time to time as politicians. That’s the sensible thing to do, and I think that’s what the Australian community should expect of her.
For more on this, read our report from last night as rightwing MPs rally around the senator:
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the overnight stories before Nick Visser reports for duty shortly.
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, has joined several leading Liberals in calling for Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to apologise to the Indian community for her remarks that the government was only allowing them into the country because they would vote Labor. More coming up.
A man in Western Australia who was repeatedly sexually abused as a child in state care has won a landmark legal case after being awarded almost $3m in compensation. More on that shortly.
And we bring you the latest in the koala wars in NSW, where Chris Minns’ Labor government finally declared a 176,000 hectare great koala national park, and the Coalition has been consumed by infighting over the plan.
