ALP president Wayne Swan removes retweet about Bondi vigil after criticism from Jewish groups
One last story before we close the blog for today. We brought you the news earlier that two peak Jewish groups called for Wayne Swan to resign as president of the Australian Labor party after he shared a post on X that criticised the people at a Bondi vigil who booed the prime minister.
After Anthony Albanese was booed by some members of the crowd on Sunday at a vigil for the victims of the 14 December terror attack, Swan reposted a post from progressive online commentator Everald Compton that same day that said:
Jewish people boo @AlboMP on arrival at #Bondi vigil but they support #Netanyahu who allowed 1200 Israelis to be slaughtered by Hamas then murdered 70000 innocent people in Gaza.
It is beyond belief that such hypocrisy can become respectable.
Swan responded earlier today by saying he understood the community’s “deep trauma” and that he would continue to engage with Jewish community leaders.
He has now added an apology and said he has removed the X post, saying:
I’ve reflected on the retweet and have taken it down and I apologise for any offence caused.
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What we learned: Tuesday 23 December
That’s where we’ll leave the blog for today. I hope you have a nice evening, wherever you are. Here were today’s top stories:
Const Scott Dyson, one of the New South Wales police officers hospitalised after the Bondi terror attack was woken up for the first time since he was placed into a medically induced coma, his family said. Meanwhile, the other officer hospitalised, probationary constable Jack Hibbert, was discharged, according to his family.
Sydney’s Emanuel Synagogue emailed members after court documents revealed the alleged Bondi terrorists, Naveed and Sajid Akram, stopped in its vicinity in the lead-up to the attack in Bondi. According to the police fact sheet, released Monday by the courts, the pair’s silver Hyundai allegedly arrived at Ocean Street in Woollahra about 5.58pm on Sunday, 14 December.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said he was ‘confident’ his new anti-protest laws would withstand a constitutional challenge after the Greens and a range of activists flagged plans to oppose them. Three activist groups – the Palestine Action Group, Jews Against the Occupation and Blak Caucus – said they would challenge the laws in court as soon as January. The laws, part of an omnibus bill that would also change gun rules, were expected to pass the upper house on Tuesday evening.
Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen defended his colleagues, the day after Sussan Ley’s quite vocal attack, particularly on the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, whom the federal opposition leader claimed “had not shed a single tear” for the victims of the Bondi massacre.
Two peak Jewish groups called for Wayne Swan to resign as president of the Australian Labor party after he shared a post on X that criticised the people at a Bondi vigil who booed the prime minister. Swan responded by saying he understood the community’s “deep trauma” and that he would continue to engage with Jewish community leaders.
And the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced travel entitlements for the families of parliamentarians will be wound back, after the government sought advice from the expenses watchdog following a string of controversies involving Labor ministers.
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Rain and storms continue for northern Australia, hot in the west on Christmas Eve
Australians in the country’s north can expect more rain and storms while those in the west should prepare for hot temperatures tomorrow, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
The weather bureau’s senior meteorologist, Jonathan How, has released the forecast for Christmas Eve.
In the east, severe thunderstorms remain a possibility near the coast.
In Western Australia, a slow-moving and dominant high-pressure system to the south is causing a lot of hot air to pour over the state.
It’s a different story for the south-east, How says. Cold, southwesterly winds are bringing cold weather to Tasmania and southern Victoria.
Queenslanders can expect rain and storms for almost the entire state apart from the far south west and southern interior, with heavy falls possible in the gulf country and north west.
There will be showers and storms in the north-east of New South Wales, as well as showers in the south coast which are moving north expected to reach Sydney on Christmas morning.
Tomorrow, Sydney and Canberra are both expected to be warm with maximum temperatures of 30 and 20 degrees Celsius, respectively.
In Victoria, a few showers are expected along the southern coastline while the north of the state will be warm and dry. Melbourne is expected to have a maximum temperature of 21 degrees.
It will be even cooler in Tasmania, with the potential for snow to fall as low as 800m above sea level and a top temperature of 16 degrees in Hobart.
In South Australia, southerly winds should keep temperatures up to 5 degrees below the average for this time of year in the state’s south.
But there are severe heatwave conditions forecast for Perth as well as stormy conditions up towards the Pilbara.
In the Top End, widespread storms are expected across the region.
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Police officer injured in Bondi terror attack woken from medically induced coma, family says
One of the New South Wales police officers hospitalised after Bondi terror attack has been woken up for the first time since he was placed into a medically induced coma, his family says.
NSW police have shared an update on Const Scott Dyson, who had been attached to the eastern suburbs police area command for 18 months before the mass shooting on 14 December.
In a statement distributed by police this afternoon, Dyson’s family said:
Scott has been in a medically induced coma since the event on Sunday 14 December 2025, and has undergone surgery almost daily.
Our family would like to share that Scott has been getting stronger each day, and today … he was woken up for the first time.
There is still a long way to go in his recovery, but this is a positive sign.
We would like to thank the public for the support, messages and well wishes shown to Scott and our family during this difficult time.
We are also grateful for the tireless work of his medical team.
Our focus remains on Scott’s continued recovery and we kindly ask for our family’s privacy to be respected.
Earlier today, the family of probationary constable Jack Hibbert, the other police officer who was injured and hospitalised during the Bondi shooting, said he had been discharged from hospital.
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NSW protest laws ‘risk silencing’ First Nations voices after record number of deaths in custody, peak legal service says
New South Wales protest laws “risk silencing” First Nations voices in the lead-up to Invasion Day rallies, with Aboriginal deaths in custody at a record high in the past 12 months, the state’s Aboriginal legal service says.
As Guardian Australia previously reported, more Indigenous people died in custody last year than any year since 1980.
Legislation passed through the state parliament’s lower house on Monday night that would allow NSW government to ban protests for up to three months after a suspected terrorism incident had been declared. The bill is expected to pass the upper house later this afternoon.
It comes after NSW parliament resumed for an emergency sitting to debate new protest laws and gun law reform in the wake of the Bondi terror attack on Sunday 14 December.
The principal legal officer of the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) of NSW/ACT, Nadine Miles, said her organisation was concerned the protest laws came at a time when Aboriginal communities were in crisis.
She said:
The right to protest is a cornerstone of a functioning democracy.
Aboriginal deaths in custody and the incarceration of Aboriginal people are at record highs, both in NSW and nationally.
This is a time of crisis for the communities we serve. It is a time to come together and unite for change, not to risk silencing the voices of Aboriginal people.
The ALS said Aboriginal people had resisted and protested colonisation for more than 200 years, and since the 1938 Day of Mourning, 26 January has been marked as a day of protest and solidarity against the unjust dispossession of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The ALS said they were also concerned that the legislation would affect upcoming rallies to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death in custody of David Dungay Jr, a Dunghutti man who died at Long Bay Correctional Centre in late December 2015.
You can read more about last year’s record number of Indigenous deaths in custody here:
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Synagogue writes to members after court documents reveal alleged Bondi terrorists stopped in its vicinity
Sydney’s Emanuel Synagogue has emailed members after court documents revealed the alleged Bondi terrorists, Naveed and Sajid Akram, stopped in its vicinity in the lead-up to the attack in Bondi.
According to the police fact sheet, released Monday by the courts, the pair’s silver Hyundai allegedly arrived at Ocean Street in Woollahra about 5.58pm on Sunday, 14 December.
CCTV footage suggests they were parked across from the synagogue for about 20 minutes, with both men briefly exiting the car.
A black Islamic State flag is allegedly visible in the boot of the car. They then continued their drive to Bondi beach.
A statement from the Jewish security organisation Community Security Group (CSG), shared in the Emanuel email, said:
The NSW Police have today released additional information regarding the conduct and whereabouts of the attackers leading up to the events on Sunday 14 December.
Within this information were details surrounding the duo’s presence in the vicinity of the Emanuel Synagogue in the hours leading up to the attack. They parked their vehicle in the vicinity of the Synagogue, briefly exiting and returning to the vehicle, before driving away.
The vehicle registration was not known to CSG prior to the attack. However, intelligence gathered from the scene enabled us to identify that the vehicle had been outside the Synagogue. This information was promptly shared with NSW Police to assist their investigation.
There is no indication that the attackers intended to target this synagogue - and the area has been deemed safe.
NSW police declined to comment, as the matter is before the courts.
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Wayne Swan responds to ECAJ calls for him to resign
The ALP president, Wayne Swan, has responded to the ECAJ calls for him to resign, saying he would continue to engage with Jewish community leaders.
In a statement, shared by a spokesperson, Swan said:
I understand the deep trauma the Jewish community is experiencing following the terrible terrorist attack. I understand that over recent years the Jewish community has experienced increased anxiety and insecurity and that rising antisemitism has had a real impact on their everyday lives.
I’ve had a long association with the Australian Jewish community and I look forward to continuing to support the community and engage with their leaders.
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Peak Jewish groups call for Wayne Swan to resign as ALP president
Two peak Jewish groups have called for Wayne Swan to resign as president of the Australian Labor party after he shared a post on X that criticised the people at a Bondi vigil who booed the prime minister.
After Anthony Albanese was booed by some members of the crowd on Sunday at a vigil for the victims of the 15 December terror attack, Swan reposted a post from progressive online commentator Everald Compton that same day that said:
Jewish people boo @AlboMP on arrival at #Bondi vigil but they support #Netanyahu who allowed 1200 Israelis to be slaughtered by Hamas then murdered 70000 innocent people in Gaza.
It is beyond belief that such hypocrisy can become respectable.
In response to Swan’s decision to repost the statement, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry called for him to resign and for Albanese to “disown” him.
In a statement, ECAJ said:
The criticisms of the government are legitimate; the booing was not the right way to express them, and should not have happened.
Yet in the midst of our community’s grief and anguish, we are appalled that a national figure like Wayne Swan chose to re-tweet another person’s post which seized on the booing episode to try to diminish and delegitimise the outpouring of sympathy our community has received from the Australian public.
The tweet, and the implied endorsement of it, was a subtle form of dehumanisation which exemplifies the sewer of antisemitic hatred that has blighted Australian society for the last two years and which helped spawn the murder of 15 innocent people at Bondi Beach.
The president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, David Ossip, made similar comments in his own statement distributed to media this afternoon, calling Swan’s position as ALP president “completely untenable”.
Swan was approached for comment.
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NSW police say they have seized multiple firearms during rural crime operation
New South Wales police say they have seized multiple firearms and commenced several investigations after a rural crime operation held in the state’s north-west over the weekend.
Police said during the operation they conducted 61 roadside breath tests and 12 roadside drug tests, and issued 25 traffic infringement notices.
From 19 to 21 December, the force said its Rural Crime Prevention team led a joint operation, assisted by the Central North Police District and the Traffic and Highway Patrol Command, to disrupt alleged criminal activity with a focus on allegedly illegal hunting, trespassing, and firearms offences in Nyngan, Walgett, and surrounding areas.
Police said the “incidents of note” included stopping a 35-year-old male driver in Miandetta for a roadside drug test who allegedly returned a positive result for methamphetamine.
The man was arrested for the purpose of a secondary oral fluid test, which also allegedly returned a positive result, police said.
When they searched his vehicle, police said they allegedly seized a rifle, 52 rounds of ammunition, several knives and other items, with investigations continuing.
Separately during the weekend’s operation, police said they served a 27-year-old man with a firearms licence suspension, and allegedly seized several firearms in his possession.
Police have said their inquiries continue.
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Another Labor backbencher speaks out against NSW protest laws
Returning to the upper house debate on the Minns government’s omnibus bill on gun control, hate speech and protest laws, another Labor backbencher has spoken out against the government’s plans to restrict protests for up to three months after terrorist attacks.
Labor MP Anthony D’Adam has followed his colleague Stephen Lawrence in condemning those who have linked the Bondi attack to pro-Palestine protests, including the march on Sydney Harbour Bridge in August, also attended by Minns government ministers Penny Sharpe and Jihad Dib. He says:
My view is that only two people are responsible for this horrible [alleged] crime, two people, and to entertain arguments around a line of causality that extends beyond those two people, is to absolve those perpetrators of some level of responsibility for their criminal act. I don’t think we should be doing that. Individuals make choices.
We must reject the arguments around the tenuous causality that’s associated with the assumptions that underpin some elements of this legislation, particularly in regard to protest … To apply a blanket ban on protests for a three-month period just seems to be disproportionate to the objective that’s supposedly being pursued.
Both Lawrence and D’Adam will vote with the government on the combined bill, despite their concerns about protest laws.
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Hello, I hope you’ve had a good day so far. I’ll be with you on the blog until this evening.
I’m going to hand you over to my colleague Catie McLeod now, who’ll take you through the rest of the afternoon and evening.
Lost Paradise music festival joins NSW pill testing and drug checking trial
Lost Paradise music festival, running over the new year on the NSW Central Coast, will be the eighth festival to take part in the NSW government’s 12-month pill testing and drug checking trial.
The harm reduction program allows festivalgoers to provide a small sample of substances for analysis on-site by qualified health staff, who will give the patron information about what is found in the sample – including potency where possible – and advice on how to reduce risks if they choose to take the substance.
It’s free and anonymous.
In a statement today, the NSW Health department said that while illicit drugs remain illegal in NSW, the trial acknowledges the reality of drug use at music festivals.
The NSW chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, said:
This trial aims to inform individuals about substances, allowing them to avoid dangerous substances, discard high-risk drugs, make safer and more informed choices and potentially avoid serious health risks.
Our priority is to reduce harm and keep people safe.
You can read more about the political background to the pill-testing trial here:
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Police officer injured in Bondi attack released discharged from hospital
Probationary constable Jack Hibbert, one of the two police officers who were injured and hospitalised during the Bondi shooting last week, has been discharged from hospital, his family has said.
In a statement shared this afternoon, the family said:
Our family would like to share that Jack has now been discharged from hospital.
While he is home, he is still recovering and will need space, support, and continued positive thoughts during this time.
As a family, we couldn’t ask for anything more – having our Jack home, especially for Christmas, truly feels like a miracle.
We are deeply grateful for the overwhelming support, kind messages, and well wishes from the community, Jack’s colleagues, friends, and the emergency services.
The care and dedication shown by the medical staff has been nothing short of exceptional.
We kindly ask that our family’s privacy be respected as we focus on Jack’s recovery and spend this special time together.
Thank you again for the compassion, love, and support shown to our family.
Jacko you’ve shown strength of a different degree, we are so glad you’re home buddy.
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Reserve Bank of Australia ‘concerned’ inflation is too high
The Reserve Bank board is “concerned” about the recent pickup in inflation, with newly released minutes confirming the central bank may have to hike rates in 2026.
The RBA at its last meeting kept the cash rate at 3.6%, but with inflation “well above” what had been expected in the September quarter, the minutes show that any thoughts of a rate cut have evaporated.
Members noted the economy appeared to be running a little too hot, and that they may have to tap the brakes with another rate hike “to bring aggregate demand and supply back to balance”.
That said, “members judged that it was too early to determine whether inflation would be more persistent than they had assumed in November”, the minutes read.
NAB’s chief economist, Sally Auld, said the minutes reinforced the “hawkish” tone from the governor, Michele Bullock, and predicted the RBA would hike in February and then again in May.
The next board meeting is on 2–3 February, and follows a key inflation report for the December quarter, due 28 January.
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Christmas seafood fans urged by police to be wary of cheap oysters
People on the hunt for fresh seafood in NSW this Christmas are being urged by police to be wary of cheap oysters and only to buy from “reputable sellers”.
A four-day blitz on rural crime by NSW police over the weekend included targeting alleged offenders for “a number of offences, including oyster theft”, police said in a statement today.
Officers inspected 13 oyster leases on the NSW South Coast including on the Clyde River, Batemans Bay, Bermagui River, Wapengo and Wagonga Inlet, Narooma, police said, as well as undertaking on-water patrols and checking fishing licences.
Detective sergeant Michael Calleja said cheap seafood was “not worth the risk”:
Not only is it illegal, but it may not be good for your health. Illegal sellers are not bound by strict health requirements, making the oysters potentially unsafe to consume.
Oyster theft can attract fines of up to $275,000 and imprisonment.
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NSW Labor backbencher on protest laws: ‘This could go so wrong’
A NSW Labor backbencher has warned proposed protest laws restricting public assemblies for up to three months after a terrorist attack “could go so wrong” and are likely unconstitutional.
Upper house member Stephen Lawrence, who is also a barrister specialising in public law, has told parliament he believes the laws will limit the implied freedom of political communication in the Australian constitution.
Many have seen the legislation, which would prevent the authorisation of public assemblies under NSW’s form 1 system after a terrorist incident, as effectively banning all protests. Lawrence says a provision allowing a “public assembly restriction declaration”, or Pard, to be made if there is a concern for public safety would be satisfied “by any large protest at any time”.
Lawrence says changes giving police move-on powers if a person is obstructing another person or traffic under a Pard would also capture crowd behaviour at most protests. “In summary, our freedom to politically communicate by way of protest will be limited by this bill,” he says.
He continues:
In that scenario, we could potentially be in 1978 Mardi Gras territory, violence may occur, protests may be ended that are non-threatening and in a way fundamentally inconsistent with free speech and the right to free association and assembly. That need for caution I raise should not be understood as a criticism of the way NSW Police have handled protest-related matters ...
It is us, not the police, who will decide by passing this bill, to up the ante, to remove the pressure valve of protest, to create a pressure cooker …
A dystopian vision, if I’ve ever heard one, but our hard working police will have to enforce it, and I wish them all the best of luck. This could go so wrong.
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CBA repays $68m to customers after charging $270m in excessive fees
Commonwealth Bank has announced it will repay $68m to low-income customers who paid fees the regulator has described as excessive, in a move cheered by consumer advocates.
CBA and subsidiary Bankwest charged about $270m in fees to about 2.2 million low-income customers over five years, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission found in July. The customers could have been exempted from account-keeping, dishonour and overdraw charges.
While other banks, such as Westpac, have committed to fully repay what the regulator deemed “excessive fees”, CBA had declined to do so for the last five months.
CBA’s chief executive, Matt Comyn, last month said the fees were charged in accordance with the terms and conditions and repayment could be seen as taking shareholder money, though he foreshadowed room for “goodwill” payments.
The bank today said it would deliver $68m worth of those from February 2026 onwards. It would contact eligible concession customers who faced “unusually high fees”. CBA had previously repaid $25m in separate fees that Asic had judged to be excessive.
Consumer advocacy group Choice, which has campaigned for a full refund, welcomed the bank’s adjustment. Choice’s Morgan Campbell said:
This isn’t the full amount of unfair fees but it’s a big win for thousands of CommBank customers on low incomes.
Commbank should never have charged these fees in the first place, and we shouldn’t have had to drag them kicking and screaming to make these refunds.
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Protest group spokesperson’s reaction to banning use of ‘globalise the intifada’ shows it will divide community: Minns
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has responded to Palestine Action Group spokesperson Josh Lees’ comments earlier today about the Palestinian resistance phrase “globalise the intifada”.
To recap, Lees said the phrase had never been chanted at the marches he’d been at over the past two years, but that Minns banning it may make it more popular. It was chanted last night at a demonstration specifically opposing the anti-protest laws and the proposed banning of the phrase as “hate speech”.
Minns responded, saying Lees’ response was “almost troll-like”:
It’s a serious moment for New South Wales. And [that is an] almost troll-like response, [as if] it’s a big game. I don’t think it’s a big game. I think that the consequences here are serious. They’re massive. The implications for families and communities are huge. And I don’t think that it is ironic – I’m calling it out. I do think that it leads to violence in our community. I think that it leads to disharmony.
I want to point out to everybody, by the way – a big part of that group’s message to the people of New South Wales is that you can trust them – yes, there might be some fringe elements but you can trust them.
We were repeatedly assured that yesterday’s protest was going to be a peaceful vigil for the lives that were lost last Sunday. Instead, we’re treated to calls or chants of “globalise the intifada”. That tells you everything that you need to know about what it can mean if we don’t have bright red lines in relation to protests in New South Wales in the context of a terrorism event.
I think that the verdict is in. After two years, after the marches, after the division, after the huge police resources that have gone into it, the verdict is in – this will divide our community.
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Police and local council to team up on ensuring safety of public Christmas gatherings in east Sydney
Police will work with local councils where there have historically been large public gatherings at Christmastime, such as Bondi and nearby Bronte, to ensure they are safe, NSW police minister Yasmin Catley has said.
Catley said:
Police will work closely with the community. They already have a great relationship with the local councils there and the councils are aware of any large gatherings they’re expecting and working hand-in-glove with them and make sure they have the resources they need. Just remembering the police always do an in-depth risk assessment for every event that they know is on in the city and we know they do thousands in the city. And they will assess the risk and they will apply the correct amount of police for that risk.
Waverley Council has asked that there not be large gatherings at Bronte like there have been in the past; Catley addresses this, saying:
[Police] are working with the council. And they’re having discussions in relation to that. They’re asking people to be sensible and I’m hopeful that that’s the case. They will make sure the resources are there that are required for that event to take place.
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Minns condemns post reshared by Wayne Swan criticising people who booed PM
Chris Minns has condemned a post reshared by the former deputy prime minister and treasurer Wayne Swan on X (formerly Twitter) that said Jewish people who had booed Albanese on arrival at the Bondi vigil were hypocritical because they supported Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who “allowed 1,200 Israelis to be slaughtered by Hamas then murdered 70,000 innocent people in Gaza”.
Asked if he condemned this post, Minns said:
I do. He shouldn’t have said it. I don’t know why he said it. I know that there were boos there on the weekend, but not everybody booed. This is the thing about roping everybody into the actions of one or two or ten or however many people. It’s not fair. I’ve seen it over and over again when it comes to protests or meetings or the like. There needs to be some restraint on what’s being said – particularly from prominent members of our community, and former leaders of the country.
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Minns ‘confident’ NSW protest laws will withstand constitutional challenge
Asked about the constitutional challenge to the anti-protest laws, Chris Minns says he’s “reluctant to front-run the court”, but that:
All I will say is that we’ve run our legislation thoroughly through the crown solicitor. We are alive to the threat from the high court and a reversal of these changes. And in some cases, that’s tempered us in terms of rushing into bills. In other cases, we don’t think that we can wait.
But we’re all confident that they’re sound constitutionally. But I’m not second guessing, or I guess front-running, the high court. They’ve got to make the decision on it. But we’re comfortable – in fact, I don’t want to say that – we’re confident that the laws will with stand a constitutional challenge.
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NSW premier gives examples of images and words he thinks should not appear at protests
Chris Minns today goes into some examples of placards and images and words that he thinks should not appear in public or in protests, after yesterday refusing to give examples of those things.
Minns says:
I’ve seen resistance to the government’s legislative agenda in recent days and I understand the concerns behind it. But I want make the point that in virtually all aspects of government policy, there’s an acknowledgment that words lead to actions. We hear it all the time. We accept that it is true. But if that’s the case, as an idea or a concept, then that must be the situation as it applies to protests in New South Wales.
How can it be that a protest can take place in the state and there’s a swastika tattooed on the Star of David on a poster in the middle of the city? Or photos of the Ayatollah, the leader of Iran? Or posters or flags of Hezbollah or Hamas? The terrorist leader, Hassan Nasrallah – Hezbollah’s leader, a big framed picture of that leader there. Shirts saying, “Death to the IDF”. A sign that says “All Zionists are neo-Nazis”.
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Minns ‘grateful’ for passage of gun control and protest bill in NSW lower house
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says he’s “very grateful” the bill has passed the lower house and is now being debated in the Legislative Council.
He continues:
We’re hopeful that the legislation can pass at some point today or in the early hours of tomorrow morning. As I said yesterday, the passage of this legislation is the single best thing in the short run to keep the people of New South Wales safe. And I want to acknowledge the leader of the opposition’s bipartisan approach to some of the difficult issues we’ve had to confront together in a short space of time.
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The NSW premier, Chris Minns, is stepping up to speak to the media now.
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NSW Greens call on parliament to fix ‘ridiculous bill’ and reconsider protest laws
Returning to the NSW upper house debate, Greens member Sue Higginson has emphasised the Greens support for gun control restrictions, acknowledging that while some may feel the reforms are rushed, the evidence for the changes “has in fact, been in place for decades and supported by many”.
But announcing her intention to move a motion to split the gun control and protest laws into separate bills, Higginson says it is “impossible to consider the two contradictory and unrelated parts of this bill in tandem”.
I am utterly dismayed and blindsided and appalled that schedule five and six [concerning protest laws] are contained in this bill and being put before this parliament today in the aftermath of the horrific, hate-filled antisemitic Bondi beach mass shooting.
Australians have been called upon to unify, to wrap our arms around the Jewish community and to check in on one another. We have not been called upon to divide communities by infringing upon civil liberties.
Referring to protest laws struck down by the supreme court in October, Higginson asks upper house members to take legal advice before they vote on amendments, “to spare the shame and embarrassment of this parliament once again enacting unconstitutional laws”.
“Let’s do this, work together and fix this ridiculous bill,” she says.
Higginson has called for greater education and deradicalisation programs co-designed with the Jewish the Muslim communities, saying “we will never be able to simply criminalise our way to social cohesion”.
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NSW Shooters party says blame for Bondi ‘does not rest’ with firearm owners
A NSW Shooters Fishers and Farmers MP has spoken out against the state government’s proposed gun control laws, as the party attempts to delay the bill’s passing through the upper house today by moving dozens of amendments.
As Guardian Australia has reported, throughout most of 2025, the momentum was in the other direction as the Minns government considered a private member’s bill put forward by the Shooters party, who hold two crucial votes in the upper house, which would have included a legislative right to hunt.
Upper house member Mark Banasiak, who says he speaks on behalf of “260,000 law-abiding firearm owners in this state”, says “licensed firearm owners did not radicalise the [alleged] offenders”:
We were not the ones who ignored the advice of our own security agencies, and that risk was known, the warnings were clear, and yet state and federal governments did nothing, nothing, until the moment came when the public demanded answers.
And instead of looking inward, instead of confronting their own failures, the government chose to look sideways. They chose to point the finger at 260,000 law-abiding firearm owners, Australians who do the right thing every single day, farmers, sporting shooters, hunters, collectors, regional Australians, people who comply with the law, people who submit to background checks, to inspections, to licensing requirements, to ongoing scrutiny, people who are already the most regulated citizens in this state.
The blame for this atrocity does not rest with them.
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Albanese says MPs’ family travel entitlements to be wound back
The prime minister has announced travel entitlements for the families of parliamentarians will be wound back, after the PM sought advice from the expenses watchdog.
Anthony Albanese announced significant changes at a press conference on Tuesday, in response to questions from a journalist, where he revealed he’d received the advice from the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority nine days ago.
The changes would stop parliamentarians being able to claim Australia-wide travel for their spouses, and all travel must be via economy class.
Spouses would be allowed to claim travel in accompanying a parliamentarian between their home and Canberra, or within an MP’s electorate or a senator’s state.
The PM said the remunerations tribunal will now consider the changes, which the PM said would keep the process “at arm’s length”, but would also consider the impact for young families.
He said:
We also have indicated in the correspondence to the remuneration tribunal that careful consideration be given to new mothers or fathers, but to children essentially who are dependents as well, to make sure that we don’t disadvantage parents. We want a parliament that reflects Australia in all its diversity.
Today, the attorney-general, Michelle Rowland, repaid thousands of dollars in expenses she claimed for a trip which included time on a family holiday in Perth.
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NSW premier’s chief of staff wins case against parliament over century-old law
The chief of staff of the New South Wales premier has won a landmark case which could have forced him to appear before a parliamentary inquiry, with the court ruling a power allowing the government to compel individuals to give evidence at committees is unconstitutional.
As Guardian Australia has reported, the premier’s chief of staff, James Cullen, had argued the court should not be able to compel him to give evidence before a parliamentary inquiry because it could politicise the justice system.
The case was brought by Cullen after he refused a parliamentary summons to appear before a committee examining the leaking of confidential minutes from a report on the proposed sale of Rosehill racecourse earlier this year. Under a 1901 law, the president of the Legislative Council, Ben Franklin, had sought a warrant for Cullen’s arrest.
In a judgment published today, NSW supreme court chief justice Andrew Bell, and justices Mark Leeming and Stephen Free, found the provisions of the Parliamentary Evidence Act used to compel Cullen to appear were invalid “because they contravene the limitation on state legislative power”.
They have ordered Cullen’s committee summons be dismissed, and the office of the president pay his costs.
In a statement today, Cullen said the decision was “a comprehensive win for democracy and the integrity of the courts”.
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Albanese responds to Sussan Ley comments
Sussan Ley’s comments from earlier today, in which she claimed the prime minister had only called her once since the Bondi attack, have been put to Anthony Albanese. He responds:
I called her on a Sunday night. I spoke to her again on the Monday morning. I think people will judge whether Sussan Ley and others have been engaging in bipartisanship or not since then.
You know, we have engaged constructively. We’ve provided briefings for the leader of the opposition, we’ve provided appropriate briefings, and we’ll continue to engage constructively and we’ll continue to engage right across the parliament as well.
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No royal commissions after Port Arthur or Lindt siege, Albanese says
On the calls from the Coalition for a federal royal commission (not just the state one that the NSW premier, Chris Minns, has already said he intends to hold), the PM notes that there were no royal commissions called in the wake of previous major terror attacks in Australia.
Albanese says:
I just note that there was no royal commission called by the Howard government after Port Arthur. There was no royal commission called by the Abbott government after the Lindt siege. We provided on both those occasions as the opposition – and I was a part of that opposition – we provided support for national unity at that time and we have now. New South Wales has said that they’re going to have a royal commission. We’ve said we’ll cooperate with that and we certainly will. And the Richardson review will be completed by April.
I note the clauses, the 25 clauses with subclauses add up to more than 100, more than 100 areas of investigation have been called for in a royal commission by the Coalition. If you go through them all, that would report in many years to come. And there hasn’t been a royal commission held recently that has not had an extension of time.
We know who the [alleged] perpetrators are here. One of them is dead and one of them has now been transferred to Long Bay jail. We know they are [allegedly] motivated by the evil ideology of Isis and a perversion of Islam. We are continuing to investigate whether any other connections can be made, and the amount of work that has been done by police and security agencies in a relatively short period of time is quite extraordinary.
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Asked what he makes of Sussan Ley’s comments yesterday that claimed he and senior ministers hadn’t shown sufficient grief and emotion after the attack, Albanese says:
I certainly do regret the politicisation of this issue. This is a time where the nation needs to come together in unity and with that sense of purpose, this is not a time for people to look for political product differentiation for the sake of it. And I’ll continue to argue for unity. I’ll continue to conduct myself in a way that’s consistent with that call for national unity, with being focused on making a difference, with providing support for the agencies who are conducting their investigations. I would hope that other people do that too.
That is what happens at a time of national crisis and mourning. That is what national leaders do. That is what has happened in the past. And I must say, I thank those people from across the world, but across here as well – I’ve had leaders from across the political spectrum, former leaders reach out saying that that is what we should be seeing in Australia right now.
We’re into questions now, and when asked about the transparency of the prospective Dennis Richardson report into the actions of Asio and law enforcement leading up to the Bondi shooting, Anthony Albanese says what is “appropriate” to make public will be, but also cautions the media to apply “common sense” to publication of information.
The PM says:
[Richardson] will make whatever is appropriate, can be made public, will be made public. Obviously, as you’ve seen as well, yesterday, I note that a range of the police documentation was made public as well, about the work that has been done to not just identify the perpetrators, of course, but to go through the detail of the time line. All of that is public.
I would suggest as well that media organisations – I just caution about some common sense being applied here as well about the way that things are published, including pictures. What we don’t want is to see motivations that are not appropriate encouraged either.
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Legal thresholds for hate groups and preachers will be lowered, Burke says
On antisemitism and hate speech, Tony Burke says “consultation is occurring in earnest with the leadership of the Jewish community of Australia”.
There will be a lower threshold for what constitutes hate speech, Burke flags. He says:
The work that’s being done in consultation with the leadership of the Jewish community will feed directly into the drafting which will take place. But people should be in no doubt about where the target is as this drafting is done. We want to make sure that those hate preachers who have managed to keep themselves just on the legal side of Australian law, that the threshold is lowered so that those statements that we have seen that every reasonable Australian has viewed as horrific and as having no place in Australia will become criminal.
Similarly, for organisations which for a generation – organisations like Hizb ut-Tahrir and the neo-Nazis – for a generation have managed to keep themselves just on the legal side of Australian law but never on the side of the Australian community. Organisations which by definition hate modern Australia, that the thresholds will be lowered to allow them to be listed organisations under a new regime so that even if you don’t satisfy the definition of terrorism, you can still be listed as an organisation which is not able to operate in Australia.
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Legislative changes to address ‘motivation and method’ behind attack, Burke says
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, has stepped up to speak now, and goes into some further detail, saying the issues that need to be addressed are both “the motivation and the method” – antisemitism and gun violence.
Burke says:
Yesterday, the senior officials group, which has been established federally dealing with home affairs and attorney general’s and across various police and justice portfolios and premiers departments of the states and territories, met for the first time. They’re now commencing work on implementing the decisions which had been made at national cabinet. That work is consultative and ongoing.
We’ll now be drafting instructions for the commonwealth components of legislative changes. Some of those drafting instructions will be issued tomorrow. Others will be immediately after Christmas.
The commonwealth firearms reform package includes a gun buy-back scheme, intelligence sharing, import controls for firearms related goods, new offences relating to 3D printed firearms and consideration of removing merits review at different parts of the application process.
The hate crimes database and the national firearms register are both being accelerated to be able to provide the best possible information both to the public generally and to the authorities that issue gun licences. That deals with the method of guns in terms of the motivation.
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Albanese repeats call for 'more guns off our streets' after Bondi massacre
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking now in Canberra, after the 10th meeting of the national security committee following the Bondi shooting.
The prime minister’s introductory remarks are largely made up of a summary of the action that the government has taken and is taking in the aftermath of the attacks.
Albanese says:
At all of these [national security committee] meetings, we receive updates from the Australian federal police commissioner from the heads of our security agencies, Asio and Asis, as well as from departments as well. Today also we received updates from [attorney general Michelle] Rowland and [home affairs minister Tony] Burke about the work that’s progressing on law reform, including the discussion with the states about progressing gun reform. The terrible events at Bondi show that we do need more guns off our streets. The fact there are more guns in Australia today than there were at the time of the Port Arthur massacre is of real concern to Australians and it needs to change.
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We also expect the NSW premier, Chris Minns, to speak to media at midday AEDT. Plan your lunch breaks accordingly.
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Prime minister to speak shortly
We’re expecting the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to hold a press conference at 11.30am AEDT – less than 15 minutes away. We’ll bring you that when it happens.
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The official memorial for the victims of the Bondi shooting was removed yesterday, but people are still leaving flowers for them. These photos were taken on Monday afternoon.
Banning pro-Palestine protest phrase ‘might make it popular’, organisers say
The constitutional challenge to the Minns government’s proposed anti-protest laws has support from a broad coalition of protest groups and advocates, including Labor Friends of Palestine, the NSW Council of Civil Liberties and climate activist group Rising Tide, all of whom spoke at today’s press conference.
The challenge is being supported in parliament by the NSW Greens, who have backed gun control reforms but condemned protest law changes. The party’s justice spokesperson, Sue Higginson, says the Greens will move amendments today to split the government’s bill, but may be forced to abstain from the final vote. Lower house Greens member Jenny Leong abstained from the second and third reading votes yesterday.
Questions from reporters have focused on the phrase “globalise the intifada”, which the NSW premier, Chris Minns, has said he intends to ban. Yesterday, hundreds gathered in Sydney to protest against the laws on public assemblies, with some chanting the phrase.
Josh Lees, organiser for the Palestine Action Group, says:
It’s a basic act of us supporting the uprisings of Palestinians against their oppression, against illegal occupation and genocide … and by the way, we have never chanted this, I’ve never chanted this in the last two years. So the fact that Chris Minns wants to ban it might make it popular. That’s the irony of this whole thing.
The government has said it will ask a parliamentary committee to investigate banning other “hateful statements”, including the controversial phrase, in further hate speech laws to be introduced next year, but this is not included in this week’s bill.
Debate has now begun in the NSW upper house. We will continue to bring you updates throughout the day.
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Lego sets worth $3,000 stolen from Victorian toy store
Victoria police are appealing for public assistance after $3,000 worth of Lego was stolen from a toy store in the regional town of Colac on early on Sunday morning.
In a statement today (and I sincerely apologise for this in advance), police said:
Two offenders, lacking in Christmas spirit, forced their way through the front doors of the store on Murray Street in Colac about 4am.
With only two sleeps left until Christmas, Santa’s elves will have to work overtime as the pair stole $3K worth of Lego sets.
The thieves fled the scene in a grey Audi.
Police have released CCTV and images of two men who may assist police with their enquiries.
Investigators believe the offenders entered the store the day prior to the burglary.
They described the alleged offenders as follows:
The first offender is described as Caucasian in appearance, 160cms tall, of medium build, with black hair and wearing a black t-shirt, grey pants, grey runners and a black motorcycle helmet.
The second offender is described as Caucasian in appearance, 188cms tall, of medium build, with brown hair and wearing grey tracksuit pants, white runners, a black baseball cap and a distinctive black and white t-shirt.
Police are very keen to speak to any witnesses or anyone in the area at the time of the incident, and urged those who may have information to contact Crimestoppers.
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Michelle Rowland pays back “around $10,000” in family travel expenses
The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, says she has repaid thousands in public expenses she claimed for a trip which included time on a family holiday in Perth.
At the height of the expenses and travel spending saga several weeks ago, Rowland said she had received advice from the parliamentary expenses watchdog that “a portion of the family reunion travel expenses were outside the guidelines”, relating to a trip she’d taken to Western Australia in July 2023.
Rowland’s office said she had undertaken at least 10 official engagements during the trip, which also included her flying family members to join her there.
In an ABC radio interview this morning, Rowland confirmed she’d repaid about half the total cost of the trip.
Rowland said:
I received advice from the independent authority that a portion of that, for one use two and a half years ago was outside the guidelines. So, I sought advice on that and repaid that amount.
The full figure will be publicly released in time. It was around $10,000. Again, I point out this is the point of IPEA. We sought advice so that that could be acted on, and that was.
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Three groups to launch challenge against NSW protest laws as soon as January
The Palestine Action Group and Jews Against the Occupation have announced they will bring a constitutional challenge to controversial laws which restrict protests for up to three months following a terrorist attack.
The third co-applicant is the First Nations-led Blak Caucus. There are concerns about the laws’ potential impact on Invasion Day rallies on 26 January, which would fall within three months of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack.
The laws passed the lower house last night as part of the government’s omnibus bill on gun control, hate speech and protests, and is expected to pass the upper house tonight. The Greens have indicated they will move amendments to the protest laws in tonight’s debate.
Criminal defence lawyer Nick Hanna, who is representing the groups, said a challenge would likely be moved in early January on the basis that the laws burden the implied freedom of political communication in the Australian constitution.
There is yet to be any suggestion that the two [alleged] terrorists attended a single protest, or even supported the protests. In fact, we know that they are apparently inspired by the Islamic State, which is ideologically opposed to the Palestine protests. And so I think it’s for good reason that large segments of the public will be deeply concerned about the laws being passed today.
Constitutional law expert Prof Anne Twomey has said because the laws would ban the authorisation of protests under NSW’s form 1 system, rather than banning public assemblies outright, a challenge may not be successful. Hanna says his understanding is that the legislation “has the potential to effectively ban all protests for any cause”.
“After the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is facing several reckonings,” Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz writes for Guardian Australia today.
He continues:
There’s a long-overdue national focus on antisemitism, something that the Jewish community has been worried about as long as I have been alive. There’s the ongoing concern about national security, and questions about how something like this could have happened. But to me, as a public health expert and Jewish Australian, perhaps the most important conversation we are finally having is the one about guns.
You can read the full opinion piece here:
Sussan Ley defends ‘expressing my anger and disappointment’ in outburst against Wong and Albanese
The federal opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has defended her outburst against Penny Wong and Labor yesterday, saying she was simply “expressing my anger and disappointment”.
Speaking on Seven’s Sunrise this morning, Ley said she was “not going to tolerate the empty rhetoric and weak response [to the Bondi shooting] we have seen from this Albanese government”.
Ley continued:
The feeling, the anger, the dismay, the distress is palpable [in the community]. It has taken the prime minister eight days to say the word “sorry”. If it takes him another eight days to call royal commission, that that is a shame, but he could do that today. He could recall the parliament to pass stronger laws to address the worst terrorist attack on Australian soil.
When the presenters noted that the attack felt very personal, Ley said:
It was me expressing my anger and disappointment on behalf of the community to the government. That’s what it was. I won’t tolerate, as I said, the weak response I have seen or [comments like Wong’s suggestion that the community] “take the temperature down”. This community is desperately seeking the one thing that will start the healing journey, which is this commission.
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Ross River virus warning for Gippsland residents and holidaymakers
Residents of Gippsland and anyone heading there for a holiday this summer are being urged to protect themselves from mosquito bites, after Ross River virus was detected recently in mosquito surveillance traps.
The Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has issued the warning of increased risk this morning after the Victorian Arbovirus Disease Control Program identified Ross River virus in multiple mosquito traps in Wellington and East Gippsland Shires over recent weeks.
While mosquito controls have been put in place on council land, DHHS says mosquito levels can be difficult to control with warm weather.
Ross River virus is contracted through bites from an infected mosquito. Many people do not develop symptoms, but some may experience fever, joint pain and swelling, muscle aches, fatigue or rash. Symptoms can last for weeks or months in some cases. There is no vaccine or specific treatment, and preventing mosquito bites is the most effective way to reduce the risk of infection.
DHHS recommends people travelling through Victoria this summer:
Wear long, loose-fitting, light-coloured clothing.
Use mosquito repellent containing picaridin or DEET on exposed skin.
Limit time outdoors when mosquitoes are most active, particularly at dawn and dusk.
Holidaymakers should pack repellent before leaving home, as stocks may be limited in smaller country towns.
Ensure accommodation, caravans and tents have intact mosquito screens.
Use mosquito coils.
Camp some distance from the edge of rivers/lakes, where mosquitoes breed.
Anyone who develops symptoms consistent with Ross River virus infection should seek advice from their GP.
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Mayor calls for patrons to return to Bondi Beach businesses
Bondi businesses are pleading for public support after the terror attack tore a rift through the local community.
The mayor of Waverley council, Will Nemesh, said it was understandable people had stayed away from the famous beach since the attack, but now was the time to return and support local traders.
Nemesh said many operators have seen a sharp decline in trade and revenue in the week since the shooting:
I have heard so many stories over the past week of businesses that swung into action amid the chaos on that night, sheltering patrons and helping those fleeing the shooting.
Those selfless acts of kindness should be celebrated and there is no better way to show your appreciation than with a bit of spending.
The Bondi and Districts Chamber of Commerce president, Emmanuel Constantinou, said in a statement this morning that other operators had started trading early on the Monday after the shooting to continue serving the community and to provide supportive spaces for locals to gather:
From dawn, we had florists giving away flowers, bakeries offering free pastries to police and emergency services, and cafes serving up complimentary coffees.
That dedication continued throughout the week, from chemists offering extended trading hours to hospitality venues serving as informal community support spaces. Our beautiful local businesses were there for Bondi – now it’s time for Sydney to back them.
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‘You don’t solve antisemitism by oppressing another portion of the community’
Timothy Roberts goes into the right to political protest and why it’s important for democracy:
Protest is about assembly and political speech and communication. We have a right, as a community, to step outside on the street, look each other in the eye, and say what we stand for or don’t stand for.
We saw that with the March for Humanity over the Harbour Bridge. The political class was telling us a particular perspective, yet hundreds of people marched over the bridge, and very quickly the tune was changed.
Unfortunately, the premier is connecting the march and other protests with the attack that we saw in Bondi. Those sort of links are inappropriate. Peaceful protest is an important way for us as democracy to know each other, to know what we’re thinking and where we stand.
Roberts notes that the Minns government is proposing to introduce a “really subjective” notion of what is or isn’t hate speech into criminal law, with his plans to ban the Palestinian resistance phrase “globalise the intifada”.
Quite frankly, the premier has a very poor track record with democratic rights. I don’t think the premier can be trusted alone to make that call. But at the very least, more time, community consultation, about what solutions are needed to a very difficult problem. You don’t solve antisemitism by oppressing another portion of the community. I’m concerned that that sort of response only heightens divisions …
Because very quickly, we get to a point where we’re silencing voices that have a legitimate place in our democracy for people to express themselves.
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Civil liberties council says protest laws 'incredibly poor government and political leadership'
Timothy Roberts, president of the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties, says the approach being taken by the NSW state and federal governments in pushing through new laws very quickly is “incredibly poor government and political leadership”.
Roberts, speaking to ABC TV, said the Council for Civil Liberties would be supporting the constitutional challenge to the anti-protest proposals.
Roberts said:
I think there’s a broad coalition of civil society that’s very concerned about these proposals and the civil liberties council is definitely about supporting that. We’re very concerned about the police commissioner being given far too broad powers to determine when we, as a community, should assemble or communicate with each other. That’s not up to the police commissioner – that’s us. We’ve been investigating the constitutionality of what’s been proposed, and we believe that it’s wanting …
Unlike Minns, we’re going to take some time to consider these laws and their constitutionality and the problems with them. We’ve got a government that’s passing things at an alarming rate. It’s a shame that it’s up to civil society to then pick up the slack of this government and measure these against the constitution and whether or not it’s appropriate …
It’s just incredibly poor government and political leadership at both levels, frankly. Sure, things like gun reform, there’s relatively broad support for. But even that is divisive. And to pursue such important legislation – legislation that cuts across our democratic rights – without consulting with community, without consulting with the rest of civil society, is an incredibly dangerous thing to do.
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NSW Health just provided an update on the condition of patients in Sydney hospitals who were injured in the Bondi terror attack.
There is no change from last night’s update. Eight patients remain in a stable condition across five hospitals, and four in a critical but stable condition.
NSW Health gives latest update on injured Bondi shooting victims
As of last night, there were 12 patients receiving care in Sydney hospitals for injuries sustained in the Bondi shooting.
As of 7.30pm, Monday 22 December:
One patient is in a stable condition at Prince of Wales hospital.
One patient is in a critical but stable condition and one patient is in a stable condition at St George hospital.
Three patients are in a critical but stable condition and one patient is stable at St Vincent’s hospital.
Four patients are stable at Royal Prince Alfred hospital.
One patient is in a stable condition at Royal North Shore hospital.
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Minns criticises ‘intifada’ chant at rally against anti-protest laws
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has criticised protesters who chanted “globalise the intifada” in opposition to his proposal to ban the phrase.
About 300 people gathered at the protest outside the town hall in Sydney last night, beginning with a minute’s silence to remember the 15 people killed in the Bondi terror attack. Rally organiser Adam Adelour told the crowd that “intifada” was an Arabic word meaning uprising, revolution, or shaking off.
“If there is more intifada against genocide, there will be less genocide,” he said.
A spokesperson for Minns told the Australian on Monday:
We were repeatedly told that tonight’s gathering would be a vigil for the death of innocent Jewish Australians and yet it has resulted in a violent chant being spread on the streets of Sydney.
This proves the need for further laws that the government will be introducing to ban this hate speech and calm a combustible situation in our city.
Since the terror attack last Sunday, things have changed and we have to change too.
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Bowen: Sussan Ley's outburst against Wong was 'pretty disgusting'
Chris Bowen was asked on ABC RN about Sussan Ley’s quite vocal attack on the government yesterday, particularly the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, whom the federal opposition leader claimed “had not shed a single tear” for the victims of the Bondi massacre.
You can catch up on that here:
Bowen responded:
I thought that said more about Sussan Ley than it does about Penny Wong. I thought that was a disgusting element of an increasingly partisan pile-on in the wake of a national crisis. Australia has in the past come together at moments like this, whether it be the Lindt cafe or Port Arthur, and oppositions have chosen not to make political points. This opposition is trying a different path.
Sussan Ley is not the arbiter of grief or mourning, and she does not get to decide how people express that mourning and that grief. And I thought, as I said, it said more about Sussan Ley than it does about Penny Wong …
Sussan Ley, I think, needs to reflect on her behaviour yesterday. It was pretty disgusting. And I think as it shows, that she is choosing to make political points out of an issue and a personal attack on someone like Penny Wong, I think, will jar pretty badly with Australians.
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Bowen ‘guarantees’ gas reservation policy will lower prices
The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, has said he can “guarantee” the “historic” gas policy changes yesterday – that will require the country’s three major LNG companies to set aside as much as a quarter of their gas for domestic use – will reduce prices.
Speaking the ABC RN this morning, Bowen said:
Australia is one of the world’s largest gas producers and exporters, as you indicated. And yet, we have forecast shortages and have had for 20 years forecast shortages, and it doesn’t make any sense. Now, the policy that we announced yesterday, our preferred model, slightly oversupplies the Australian market, which is our best way of putting downward pressure on prices.
Now, gas prices will be always determined by a range of fundamental factors: the cost of extraction, the gas in the Bass Strait, which is very cheap, gas, is running out. There’s only 12% of it left. We’ve been exploiting that since the 1960s, and there’s only 12% left to exploit in Queensland. In Northern Territory, it is much more expensive to get out of the ground and to move around the country. These are fundamental factors, but nevertheless, the levers the federal government has are designed to put downward pressure on prices, and we pulled that lever yesterday …
I can guarantee it will address shortages, and I can guarantee it’s the best way we have of putting downward pressure on prices as much as possible. Obviously, prices are an element of supply and demand. If you increase supply domestically, you’re putting downward pressure on prices.
You can read more on the gas reservation policy here:
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ABC defends Tingle and Ferguson over Bondi attack coverage
The ABC’s managing director, Hugh Marks, has defended two of the network’s best-known journalists, Laura Tingle and Sarah Ferguson, following criticism of their coverage of the Bondi terror attacks.
In a statement released on Monday night, Marks said the terror attack was “a shocking and traumatic event for Australia and especially for the Jewish community” and extended to the Jewish community “our deepest sympathy”.
But he said criticism of those reporters was “unfounded”.
Last Tuesday the ABC’s Politics Now podcast, hosted by Patricia Karvelas alongside Global Affairs Editor Laura Tingle, sought to tackle some of the issues that had emerged in the national conversation in the wake of the Bondi attack. Journalist Laura Tingle has since been criticised for one comment made in the podcast that was about separating religion from radicalisation. Her analysis and the program in no way sought to minimise the terrorist nature of these horrific events, or the needs for Australia to combat antisemitism, or the rights of Jewish people to feel safe.
Sarah Ferguson was criticised for an interview she conducted with Josh Frydenberg on 7.30 on Wednesday 17 December. Mr Frydenberg had previously made comments which sought to lay blame for the horrific attacks directly on the Prime Minister. Sarah’s interview included a question on his potential return to politics which was a legitimate question for a journalist to put to him.
The ABC has reviewed both comments and the programs in question and believes that the criticisms made are unfounded.
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Seven shareholders approve Southern Cross merger
Shareholders have overwhelmingly thrown their support behind a deal to create an Australian media giant spanning television, radio, print and digital, Australian Associated Press reports.
Shareholders in the company that owns Seven Network and the West Australian yesterday approved its merger with the group that owns Triple M and the Hit Network radio stations.
More than 99% of all votes cast by shareholders were in favour of the scheme, and 88.3% of shareholders voted for it.
The transaction combining Seven West Media and Southern Cross Media Group is expected to complete on 7 January.
The Seven West chair, Kerry Stokes, said:
The combination of these two great companies will bring together the best content creators in the country and deliver significant financial and strategic benefits.
This is an opportunity to create a national, diversified media organisation with extensive scale and reach across free-to-air television, streaming, audio and digital publishing assets.
Stokes said he would hold on to the role of chair of the combined group until stepping down from the board at the end of February.
Seven West shareholders will receive 0.1552 Southern Cross shares for every Seven share that they own under the merger and will own 49.9% of the combined group, with Southern Cross shareholders owning the remaining 50.1%.
In addition to the Seven Network and the West Australian, Seven West owns the Sunday Times, PerthNow, national news website The Nightly and Streamer, a community sports streaming platform.
Southern Cross Austereo owns 104 radio stations across Australia and operates the LiSTNR digital audio app.
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Richardson security review expected within ‘matter of months’, Marles says
Richard Marles says Dennis Richardson’s review into law enforcement and intelligence processes leading up to the Bondi attack will involve a certain amount of reporting to the public, but there would be elements that would remain classified – so we won’t get to know everything Richardson finds out.
Marles says:
There will be a public version of the report. I mean, there will be elements of it which necessarily deal with classified information and it’s, by definition, important that remains classified. But we’ve made clear there’ll be transparency in respect of this.
Dennis Richardson is a person with enormous experience, first-hand experience, in terms of being secretaries of departments, but also these intelligence agencies.
He will do this independently. He’s not of the agencies or the department now, so he is able to go into this in an independent way. But we need to get to these answers quickly, and we cannot be waiting around for years, which is what a royal commission would take.
He won’t be specific on the timeframe, but Marles says Richardson is expected to complete the review “within a matter of months”.
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Marles says Labor’s resistance to Bondi royal commission about reforms in ‘coming weeks, not in the coming years’
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, has been speaking to ABC TV just now, and the first question he’s been asked is about the calls for a federal royal commission into the Bondi attacks.
He repeats the argument that we’ve heard a few times from the federal government over the last couple of days, which is about how slow royal commissions tend to be.
Marles says:
Royal commissions take years, and we need to be acting within weeks. It’s really as simple as that. We’ve had Jillian Segal do her report as our special envoy into combating antisemitism. We understand that antisemitism is at the highest point that I’ve seen in my lifetime. She has given us a program of action. We have now endorsed that in full. And we are working on those actions. And we want to do that right now …
We need to be going after hate preachers, and that’s why we’ve announced that we will pursue law reform in that regard. And we want to do that in the coming weeks, not in the coming years. We need to be looking at the opportunities that those who seek to do this damage have in terms of access to guns, and there is further gun reform that can be done. And we need to be doing that right now. And there is a task in understanding what’s happened here in terms of intelligence, in terms of policing and the like.
He mentions the review into intelligence and law enforcement processes in the lead-up to the Bondi beach attack, to be led by former Asio boss Dennis Richardson. You can read more about that announcement here:
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Good morning
Good morning folks, I’m Stephanie Convery and I’ll be taking you through today’s live news for the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon.
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Woman to face court after allegedly yelling antisemitic comments at university group in October
A woman will face court following an investigation into alleged intimidation at a university in Sydney’s inner west, New South Wales police say.
Police said the woman allegedly yelled antisemitic comments at a group of students and other members of the Jewish community who were celebrating the Jewish holiday Sukkoth within the grounds of the university at Darlington campus on 9 October.
The matter was reported to police officers at the time, prompting an investigation which led to a 53-year-old woman’s arrest at Parramatta police station earlier today.
Police said she was charged with three offences – two counts of stalking or intimidating intending to cause fear or physical harm, and one count of offensive conduct.
The woman was granted conditional bail to appear at Newtown local court on 3 February, police said.
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Chants of ‘globalise the intifada’, the phrase Minns wants to ban, at Sydney rally against proposed protest law changes
Hundreds of people rallied in Sydney last night in support of Palestine and chanted a phrase the premier has sought to ban on the eve of a new legislation preventing protests.
Chants of “globalise the intifada” followed an address by Sara Saleh, a human rights lawyer with Palestinian heritage, who condemned the Bondi terror attack but also condemned the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of Israel’s military.
“That is precisely why I intend to keep saying, ‘Globalise the intifada, free Palestine,’” Saleh said.
Our reporter Luca Ittimani was there and has sent this report:
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Greens lead constitutional challenge to anti-protest laws
The NSW Greens justice spokesperson, Sue Higginson, will join pro-Palestine and other activist groups to launch a constitutional challenge against the Minns government’s latest anti-protest laws this morning.
After the omnibus terrorism and other legislation amendment bill was passed by the lower house with Liberal support last night, Higginson will hold a press conference at 9.15am this morning to announce the challenge.
She claims the new laws “impermissibly burden the constitutional freedom of political communication”.
She will be joined by other campaigners and activists opposing the laws including: Michelle Berkon of Jews Against the Occupation; Elizabeth Jarrett of Blak Caucus; Nick Hanna of Hanna Legal; Nasser Mashni, president of Australia Palestine Advocacy Network; Josh Lees of Palestine Action Group Sydney; NSW Timothy Roberts of the Council for Civil Liberties; Sheikh Wesam Charkawi; Shovan Bhattarai of Students for Palestine; Pete Moss of Labor Friends of Palestine; Zack Schofield of Rising Tide; April Holcombe of Community Action for Rainbow Rights; NSW Socialists; and the Coalition of Women for Justice and Peace.
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Anne Davies has also filed this analysis of the legal changes being planned for NSW.
She writes that while a tragedy like Bondi demands action, “the unpredictable political wave of public feeling after a disaster can either wipe you out or see you riding high”.
Drafting laws that significantly curtail rights – such as the right to express your view on political matters by peaceful protest, or even as some would have it, the ‘right’ to own guns – need to be approached with careful and forensic clarity.
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NSW lower house passes gun reform and anti-protest bill
NSW parliament’s emergency sitting of parliament in the wake of the Bondi shootings will continue today with the omnibus bill to change gun laws and to restrict protests expected to move to the upper house.
The lower house passed the bill last night after nearly 10 hours of debate. The Liberals voted with Labor, while the Nationals opposed the bill.
Labor does not have the numbers to pass legislation in the upper house but will again be counting on the Liberals to support the bill.
The crossbench, the Nationals and the Greens are expected to move hundreds of amendments and could use debate on changes to force a marathon session on Tuesday night.
The usual rule to prevent the parliament sitting for very long hours will be lifted.
The Nationals, the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party and other independents are vehemently opposed to Labor plans to restrict the number of guns that individuals can own to 4 while farmers and professional shooters will be restricted to 10.
The Shooters plan to move about 120 amendments to this and other aspects of the proposed gun laws.
The Greens are planning numerous amendments to the bans on protests, which they argue are unconstitutional and undemocratic.
Government sources said the government was prepared to have the parliament sit on Christmas Day if it proved necessary, but added they were hopeful the bill would pass on Tuesday night.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the day’s breaking stories and then Stephanie Convery will take the reins.
NSW parliament’s emergency sitting of parliament in the wake of the Bondi massacre will continue today with the omnibus bill to change gun laws and to restrict protests expected to move to the upper house. More details coming up.
The NSW Greens, pro-Palestine and civil liberties groups will launch a constitutional challenge against the anti-protest laws this morning at 9.15. We’ll have more on this shortly.
Shareholders in Seven West Media have overwhelmingly thrown their support behind a deal to create an Australian media giant spanning television, radio, print and digital by merging with Triple M owner Southern Cross Austereo. We’ll have more very soon.
