What we learned; Monday 20 October
That’s it for today, but let’s recap the main events:
Anthony Albanese landed in Washington DC ahead of his first formal meeting with Donald Trump.
Malcolm Turnbull said Albanese should not be ‘all over Trump like a cheap suit’.
The government raised an ‘unsafe and unprofessional’ South China Sea incident with the Chinese embassy.
Barnaby Joyce said he had spoken to Pauline Hanson but “nothing is locked in” with One Nation.
Bushfire emergency warning in south-east Tasmania with some told it was “too late to leave”.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, said police have the resources and “powers” to deal with violent protesters.
Disclosures revealed Climate 200 donated more than $10m to candidates in 2025 election.
There has been a record flu season as vaccination rates plateau or trend down in some age groups.
Space debris found on fire near a WA mining town was suspected to be from a Chinese rocket.
The east coast is to sizzle after record October temperatures in Australia’s west.
Thanks for reading!
Updated
Additional bushfire warnings in south-east Tasmania as some told ‘too late to leave’
Returning to the bushfire emergency warning issued for Nugent in south-east Tasmania, some residents are now being told it is too late to leave.
In an updated warning issued just after 5pm, the Tasmanian fire service said the uncontrolled fire was travelling towards Nugent between Masons road, Nugent road and Bezzants road.
It said:
It is too late to leave. Fire is threatening evacuation routes and leaving now will put your life in danger. You must take shelter before the fire arrives.
Residents east of Masons road have been issued a watch and act, and are being told to leave now if they are not prepared, with the fire expected to impact the area imminently.
Marles says fighter jet incident raised with Chinese embassy
Marles continues:
Now let me be completely clear that our aircrew are safe and the plane was able to land perfectly safely, and it has not been damaged in any way. But we have sought now in instances of this kind to have a very set procedure.
And so firstly, we are making the incident public. Secondly, we have advocated or raised this issue with the Chinese embassy here in Canberra, and we have also made representations via our embassy in Beijing.
Now our utmost concern will always be for the safety and welfare of the Australian defence force personnel, in this instance who are flying the Australian P-8, and we will also continue to undertake activities which assert the rules-based order, because the rules-based order – and in this instance, freedom of navigation in the air and on the sea – is fundamental to Australia’s national interests.
Updated
‘Unsafe and unprofessional’: Chinese military released flares ‘very close’ to Australian aircraft, Marles says
The ABC has broadcast an earlier media address by the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, about yesterday’s incident in the South China Sea. This is what he said:
Yesterday afternoon, a Royal Australian aircraft P-8 plane was doing a routine maritime surveillance patrol in the South China Sea. It was in international airspace above international waters and at that time … a Chinese air force Su-35 fast jet came up alongside – that of itself is pretty routine.
The Chinese air force plane then released flares – again, that of itself can be a standard form of interaction between two military aircraft. But then on two occasions, it released flares very close to the Australian P-8 aircraft. Having reviewed the incident very carefully, we have deemed this to be both unsafe and unprofessional.
Updated
Chinese fighter aircraft releases flares in close proximity to Australian air force plane
Australia’s defence force has expressed “concerns” after a Chinese fighter aircraft released flares in close proximity to an Australian air force surveillance patrol on Sunday.
In a statement on Monday, the Australian government said the “unsafe and unprofessional interaction” posed a risk to the aircraft and its Royal Australian air force (RAAF) personnel.
No injuries or damage to the RAAF P-8A Poseidon aircraft were sustained in the encounter over the South China Sea. The incident marks the latest in a series of encounters this year, including similar incidents in February and last May.
The statement continued:
Australia expects all countries, including China, to operate their militaries in a safe and professional manner.
For decades, the ADF has undertaken maritime surveillance activities in the region and does so in accordance with international law, exercising the right to freedom of navigation and overflight in international waters and airspace.
Updated
Bushfire emergency warning issued in south-east Tasmania
A bushfire emergency warning has been issued for Nugent, in south-east Tasmania, with residents advised urged to leave now if safe to do so.
In a warning issued at 3.30pm, the Tasmanian fire service said an uncontrolled bushfire at Nugent was travelling towards Kellevie between Nugent road, Bezzants road and Crawlers Gully road, and was “expected to put lives in danger and may destroy homes now”.
There is expected to be thick smoke, and showers of embers which may cause fires all around you.
Spot fires may threaten your home before the main fire arrives.
Smoke and ash may make it difficult to see and breathe.
The statement said the fire service was attending, with conditions expected to worsen.
Updated
Finally, the former prime minister says it is “unlikely” Anthony Albanese will negotiate a significant change to US import tariffs. Turnbull says:
He should argue for parity with the UK, certainly for a reduction in steel tariffs … I would hope they would at least have been floating a tariff rate quota for Australian steel so a percentage of our Australian steel and aluminium exports would go in tariff-free.
Asked if Albanese should seek guarantees that US tariffs will not affect the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), and on the potential for Australia to furnish the US with a supply of critical minerals, Turnbull says:
[Albanese] should be saying to Donald Trump, you have the best deal in the world on trade, you have no tariffs, no quotas coming into Australia and a big surplus. We are giving you a big naval base in Western Australia, sending you billion of dollars and we have no guarantee of getting any submarines from you at all … We are doing a lot for you so you shouldn’t be putting tariffs on anything Australian.
Trump always has all the cards on the table all the time. If you want a deal with him in difficult situations like this, you have to be able to do the same, but I do not think Anthony Albanese is prepared to go that far.
Updated
Turnbull says Australian media like ‘anxious boyfriend or girlfriend’ over Aukus
Turnbull has been asked about how he expects discussions on the Aukus agreement to go. The former prime minister, who says he found Trump to be “wild, erratic, colourful, difficult” but “not an irrational actor”, says he expects the US president to express his support for the deal again.
The Aukus deal is a fantastic deal for the Americans, a terrible deal for Australia, so there is no way Donald Trump will walk away from it, because what does he get? Billions of dollars which our government seems to take great pride in using to create American jobs, a dockyard and submarine base in Western Australia.
You see there is this kind of simplistic grovelling attitude in much of the Australian media that desperately wants to be loved, like an anxious boyfriend or girlfriend, desperately wanting confirmations of love and they want Donald Trump to say something nice about Aukus.
Turnbull: Albanese shouldn’t be ‘all over Trump like a cheap suit’
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull is speaking on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, where he has been asked about how Anthony Albanese should conduct his meeting with Donald Trump on Monday morning local time (Tuesday morning AEDT). He says the prime minister should avoid being “all over Trump like a cheap suit”:
He should be himself. He has to be upfront, strong, he should not suck up. That is a bad look for him politically and a bad way to deal with Donald Trump, although that is how a lot of people try to deal with him, so he has to be strong and sincere and himself. I think he will be fine.
There is nothing more toxic in politics than inauthenticity. That would be such a bad look … Trump respects strength and that is what you have to manifest if you are trying to get things done with him.
Updated
Meeting with former premier ‘not necessarily particularly strange’, says Minns
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has been asked today about former premier Morris Iemma, whose lobbying firm has seen clients from the development industry flock to it since Minns’ 2023 election, amid a planning overhaul in the state.
As Guardian Australia’s NSW state correspondent, Anne Davies, has written, at least 40 new clients from the property sector have signed up to the lobbying firm of the former premier, who is a political mentor to Minns.
Iemma Patterson Premier Advisory (IPPA), where Iemma and the former Liberal MP Chris Patterson are the principals, describes itself as having “an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of government and the bureaucracy that drives the decision making processes in the state”.
Asked about an allegedly undisclosed meeting with Iemma, Minns says the former premier “doesn’t work as an advisor to my government”.
Well, a lot of people provide advice to government. I mean, they might do it at a civic event or through the opinion pages of a newspaper, or when you brush past them at a opening of something. So it’s not necessarily particularly strange. What I would say is that when it comes to Morris Iemma, we are all well aware that he works as a lobbyist and who his clients are, and obviously myself, [planning minister] Paul Scully, other senior bureaucrats in NSW and public servants take that into consideration.
Space debris found on fire near WA mining town suspected to be from Chinese rocket
More on the space debris found this morning in remote Western Australia:
Burning space debris that crashed to Earth in outback Australia is likely part of a Chinese rocket that launched in September, according to leading space archaeologist Alice Gorman.
Authorities are investigating the hunk of metal and carbon fibre after miners spotted it near Newman, Western Australia on Saturday afternoon.
“It seems to be the fourth stage of a Jielong rocket,” Gorman, a Flinders University associate professor and author of Dr Space Junk vs the Universe, said, adding:
There was one launched in late September. If it is the one from the 25th, that means it’s been orbiting the Earth for a bit and then came out of the blue.
There was no indication it was going to re-enter right now so people weren’t expecting it – when I went to look for re-entry predictions I couldn’t find anything, which is an indication of the suddenness of it.
Read more here:
Albanese pledges to ‘work hard here to create benefits for Australians back home’
Shortly after touching down in Washington DC, Anthony Albanese posted on social media that he would “work hard here to create benefits for Australians back home, from regional security to trade and investment.”
He posted a video of the moment he stepped off the official jet into driving rain, after nearly 24 hours in transit from Australia. The prime minister didn’t take questions from media on his arrival, but was met by the US ambassador, Kevin Rudd, and other diplomats on the tarmac, telling them during a brief handshake: “it’s wonderful to be here”.
In his social media post, Albanese added the caption:
Australia’s national interest is at the heart of everything we do.
I’ve just touched down in Washington D.C. ahead of meeting with President Trump.
We’ll work hard here to create benefits for Australians back home, from regional security to trade and investment.
He will meet US president Donald Trump tomorrow, with their bilateral meeting scheduled for around 2am Tuesday (Aedt). We’ll bring you more coverage after the meeting.
Updated
That’s all for me. Penry Buckley will be your guide for the rest of the afternoon. Take care.
Crocodile discovered in luxury Queensland resort pool
A crocodile discovered lying in a luxury Queensland resort’s pool has been removed by wildlife rangers.
A TikTok user posted footage of what appears to be a juvenile crocodile in the lagoon-style pool at the Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas, in far north Queensland.
East coast to sizzle after record October temperatures in Australia’s west
October heat records are set to fall this week across South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales, while Sydney and Brisbane can expect peaks in the high 30s.
There is the potential for record-breaking heat through parts of NSW, the BoM says, as well as thunderstorms with possibility of damaging and destructive winds though southern Victoria, south-east SA and even the south coast of NSW.
Over the weekend, new October temperature records were set in Telfer (44.3C) and Warburton (43.9C) in WA, and Ernabella (40.9C) and Tarcoola (43.9C) in SA.
But many more places could approach or exceed record temperatures over coming days, as the focus of heat moves east – and increases – into SA, NSW and southern Queensland.
Read more here:
Updated
Windy, stormy weather sets its sights on south-east Australia
Large parts of south-east Australia will likely see severe weather and widespread, intense wind on Wednesday as a low pressure system moves across the country, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury with the Bom said:
It is likely we will see severe weather warnings for widespread damaging wind gusts issued, most likely across south-east South Australia, southern and mountain Victoria and parts of eastern New South Wales.
We could even see some locally destructive wind gusts in some of these areas as this system moves through.
Melbourne, parts of the Illawarra in NSW and parts of Sydney could see “a day of acute severe weather risk” on Wednesday, Bradbury added.
Weather Update: Windy, stormy weather developing for south-east Australia.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) October 20, 2025
Video current: 12:00pm AEDT Monday 20 October 2025.
For the latest forecasts and warnings, go to our website https://t.co/4W35o8iFmh or the BOM Weather app. pic.twitter.com/KGomV5kt0N
Albanese lands in Washington DC
Anthony Albanese has arrived in Washington DC into a heavy rainstorm. The prime minister’s plane touched down at about 10.30pm local time, where he was greeted by the Australian ambassador, Kevin Rudd, and other officials on the tarmac.
Over the driving rain and the aircraft noise, Albanese could be heard to say “wonderful to be here”.
The prime minister didn’t stop for questions from the waiting media as the rain pelted down, walking briskly to his waiting car and into a motorcade into the city.
Updated
Oscar Piastri remains confident in F1 title hopes as lead narrows
Oscar Piastri remains confident in his Formula One world championship chances after Lando Norris and Max Verstappen slashed the Australian driver’s lead at the United States Grand Prix, the Press Association reports.
Piastri endured a difficult weekend in Austin, colliding with McLaren teammate Norris in Saturday’s sprint as both were dumped out before managing only fifth in the GP race as Verstappen eased to victory.
Norris’s second-place finish meant he cut the gap to Piastri to just 14 points, while Verstappen’s 33 points across the weekend saw him reduce his deficit to the leader by 23 points to 40.
Momentum is not with the Australian as he finished behind both Norris and Verstappen for the fourth race in a row. Neither McLaren driver has won since Zandvoort five races ago – after which Verstappen was 104 points off the lead.
Read more here:
Updated
Police issue warning after counterfeit $50 and $100 notes appear in NSW Hunter Valley
NSW police issued warnings for residents across the Hunter Valley to be on the lookout for counterfeit cash handed to businesses across the region.
Officials have seized notes amounting to more than $2,600 in fake $50 and $100 notes from businesses in a wide range of towns, including Cessnock, Kurri Kurri, Muswellbrook, Scone, Singleton, Blandford, Cliftleigh, Glendon, Merriwa and Middle Falbrook between May and October of this year.
Officials urged businesses to take steps to check currency, such as:
Feel the note. Genuine notes are difficult to tear.
Check the note for words such as “prop” or “specimen”, indicating they are fake.
Look for the Australian coat of arms to the left of the clear window.
Feel for a slight raised printing on the main design of the note.
Look for the seven-pointed star inside a circle.
Check the clear window for an image. The $50 note has the Southern Cross and the $100 has the lyrebird.
Updated
‘This is what was thrown at police today’: police chief condemns violent protests
Police will use an abundance of CCTV and body-worn camera footage to identify those responsible for violent protests that put two officers in hospital.
One woman is expected to be charged over the ugly clashes as police tried to separate the anti-immigration rally from a counter anti-racism protest in Melbourne’s CBD on Sunday.
Supt Wayne Cheeseman said police were pelted with large rocks, glass bottles and spoiled fruit as protesters tried to break through police barricades.
New NSW protections for sharing unlawful recordings with investigative agencies
People who come into possession of an unlawful audio or visual recording will not face prosecution if they provide it promptly to the New South Wales police or corruption watchdog, under a push to strengthen the agencies’ investigative powers.
The Minns government will introduce laws to parliament on Tuesday to create a public interest exception so individuals or organisations who were not involved in making an unlawful recording can share them with authorities without fear of prosecution, provided they act quickly.
The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) already has an exemption under the existing Surveillance Devices Act. The amendment, which brings NSW in line with other states, will enshrine it in legislation for all statutory investigative agencies. Recording someone without consent will remain illegal.
The NSW attorney general, Michael Daley, said the reform had been “carefully designed to aid investigations into suspected criminal or corrupt conduct while maintaining important privacy considerations.”
Updated
Sydney ferry re-enters service after major refurbishment
The Narrabeen, a Freshwater-class ferry that runs on Sydney’s Circular Quay to Manly route, re-entered service today after a major refurbishment.
The vessel was set to be decommissioned by the state’s previous Liberal government, but a new restoration will see the ferry operate for another five years before its next major docking.
The ferry entered service in 1984 and can carry up to 900 passengers per trip. A grassroots community campaign helped save the Freshwater-class ferries, and the Minns government said it will spend $71m to refurbish the fleet.
The Narrabeen has had a full engine rebuild, a modern control system, hull repairs and refreshed passenger areas, among other upgrades.
Updated
Search for Tasmanian bushwalker missing for more than a week ‘under review’
The search for a bushwalker who has been missing in Tasmania’s Mount Field national park area for more than a week is “under review”, police say.
Daryl Fong, 30, was on a day hike when he last made contact with a friend about 3am on Sunday 12 October to say he had been delayed and was planning to seek shelter overnight.
Since then, his mobile phone has not been active, nor has a personal locator beacon he is believed to have been carrying.
The search for the missing hiker continued over the weekend, with a specialist vertical rescue team deployed to search cliff areas before the onset of dangerous weather conditions on Sunday. In a statement today, Tasmania police said:
A review of the search is currently being conducted, with expert advice being sought from specialist survival experts.
Search personnel remain committed to finding Daryl but with the passing of time and the conditions in the area, serious concerns are held for his welfare.
Updated
Greens refer concerns over NSW koala relocation program to RSPCA
Sue Higginson, the Greens’ spokesperson for the environment, said she was deeply concerned after the report the government moved forward with the koala relocation program.
She said in a statement:
I am so shocked by what has been found in these documents, and the government and department should be independently investigated for an avoidable failure where they sidelined experts and pushed ahead with meeting their internal objectives with no care for the animals they were supposed to be protecting.
This is why I have referred the department to the RSPCA for animal cruelty crimes.
Higginson went on to accuse the government of being “blind to the experts and the evidence”, adding:
This was not a koala conservation project, it was a politically motivated animal experimentation. These koalas were treated as lab rats instead of as part of critical conservation work.
A spokesperson for the environment department said a “robust” review is under way into the project, telling the Guardian:
In some instances, there was conflicting advice amongst the panel, veterinarians and other experts. A robust review is under way to examine all of the circumstances, including the planning, advice, implementation and post-release monitoring and response.
The department has been approached for comment over Higginson’s claims.
Updated
Allan says Victoria police have the ‘resources’ and ‘powers’ to deal with violent protesters
Allan says it’s important not to “conflate” Sunday’s counter protesters with all rallies that occur in Melbourne’s CBD:
We’ve had some significant size protests in cities, in Melbourne, in Sydney, around the country, that have been peaceful, that haven’t seen this level of violence. What we saw yesterday was a very different pattern of behaviour.
It was violent. It was unacceptable. It’s not tolerated.
She maintains Victoria police “had the resources, and also, importantly, they had the powers to deal with those protesters”. Allan also emphasises that other protests held in the CBD over the past two years – presumably referring to pro-Palestine demonstrations – have been peaceful.
The government is also introducing laws to parliament by the end of the year to ban masks at protest, she says.
These proposed laws were first announced in December last year. She says when the laws come into effect “will be determined by when the parliament deals with this matter”.
Allan again says she has not received advice that there’s a need for protest permits in the state, despite calls by the police union in the wake of Sunday’s protest.
Updated
Victorian premier assures public Melbourne CBD safe despite protests
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, and health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, are holding a press conference at Royal Melbourne hospital to announce a virtual hospital pilot but inevitably she’s asked about yesterday’s protests.
Police on Sunday said two officers were hospitalised as they attempted to separate an anti-immigration rally from a counter anti-racism protest in Melbourne’s CBD on Sunday. They said the counter protesters hurled rocks, glass bottles and rotten fruit at police as they tried to break through barricades.
Allan is asked what she made of the protest:
What we saw yesterday is, for some, they are choosing to protest for the sake of protesting. And whilst that very important tenet of our democratic society is the right to protest, what comes with that is an obligation to do so safely.
What was clear yesterday was, for some, a small number, they chose to come and bring violence to the streets and I want to thank Victoria police for the way they kept the community safe and dealt swiftly with this group of protesters who were choosing to use violence. It was unacceptable.
Asked if she stood by her previous comments that the CBD was safe, Allan said:
I will repeat that yes, Melbourne’s CBD is safe, and I think it would be wrong and misleading to conflate the behaviour of a very small number of people yesterday who came to the city to bring violence, and they were dealt with swiftly by Victoria police.
Updated
NSW government rejected expert advice before failed koala reintroduction that left more than half dead
The New South Wales government rejected advice from an expert scientific panel before it attempted a failed reintroduction of koalas to a forest in the state’s south that resulted in the death of more than half the animals.
Internal documents show most members of a panel advising the state environment department on plans to relocate endangered koalas as part of a conservation strategy recommended against moving marsupials from forest near Wollongong to the South East Forest national park near Bega, a five-hour drive away.
The documents show eight of the 13 koalas moved in March died – one more than the government originally claimed when Guardian Australia revealed the deaths in July.
They died over a two-month period. Some were left in the forest for six weeks after the first deaths, contrary to the government’s public statement that all were taken into care once the first deaths were recorded.
Read more here:
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price being sued for defamation by head of an Aboriginal land council
Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is being sued by the head of an Aboriginal land council over a media release he claims defamed him by implying he was unfit for the role, AAP reports.
A hearing of the case in the federal court will begin on Monday and last seven days.
A statement of claim by the Central Land Council chief executive, Lesley Turner, says a media release from the senator in July 2024 wrongly suggested he no longer had the support of the majority of council members.
It had been falsely reported that a no-confidence motion had been moved against Turner by council members, the claim says.
The senator’s release implied Turner had “behaved so unprofessionally that it warranted his dismissal” and was “unfit to continue to occupy the role of CEO”, according to the claim filed to the court.
According to Nampijinpa Price’s defence, she denies the claims within the media release were intended to damage, or further aggravate any damage to Turner’s reputation, Sarah Basford Canales reported last month.
The documents say the senator believed the issue was “significant” and that it was in the “immediate public interest” that she issue a public comment.
Updated
Continuing our dive into the AEC election disclosures
The biggest spender of the Climate 200-backed candidates was Caz Heise, who ran for the seat of Cowper on the NSW north coast.
Heise, who ran for a second time in the 2025 election against Nationals MP Pat Conaghan, received $2,141,655 and spent $1,994,969 on her campaign.
Meanwhile Alex Dyson, who ran in the regional Victorian seat of Wannon for the third time, received even more in donations – $2,186,936 – but his declared electoral expenditure was far less at $1,086,054.
Neither won their seats.
Also unsuccessful was Zoe Daniel – the nail-biter that prompted a partial recount (requested by Daniel’s team) resulted in the return of Liberal Tim Wilson to the inner Melbourne seat of Goldstein.
Daniel received $1,834,832 in declared donations and spent $1,795,594.
Updated
Climate 200 donated more than $10m to candidates in 2025 election
Climate 200 was a repeat big spender in the 2025 election campaign making $10,857,934 in donations to candidates – according to AEC disclosures released this morning. The group received $9,458,559 in donations.
The disclosure threshold for the 2025 federal election was $16,900.
Of the successful candidates, Monique Ryan received the highest amount in donations, of $1,905,102, and spent $1,874,118 on her campaign.
Meanwhile, fellow independent MP Allegra Spender was the biggest spender (aptly enough) of the winning teals, splashing $1,900,722 on her campaign, while receiving $1,743,971 in disclosed donations.
Other independents Sophie Scamps and Kate Chaney weren’t too far behind, receiving donations of $1,729,956 and $1,484,647 respectively. Warringah independent Zali Steggall, who is no longer backed by Climate200, meanwhile, received $789,736 in declared donations and spent $726,737 on her campaign.
Notably, they all spent less than their 2022 campaigns, where Spender spent more than $2.124m on her campaign and Ryan spent $2.122m on hers.
Updated
Chalmers says Ley’s tax pledges show opposition has ‘no idea’
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, just released a statement amid reports the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, will promise tax cuts to low and middle-income Australians in an economic speech later today.
Chalmers said the Coalition has “no costings, no details and no idea”, adding:
When we legislated two more tax cuts for every taxpayer, the Liberals and Nationals voted against them and promised to repeal them.
If they won the election and had their way, income taxes would be going up, not down.
They’re promising more spending and smaller deficits, Australians deserve to know how they’re going to do it.
The treasurer said Labor was the “only party delivering tax cuts for every taxpayer including more tax cuts next year and the year after”.
Updated
First ministerial forum with PNG today since new defence alliance
Australia will today host the first ministerial forum with Papua New Guinea since the countries announced a defence alliance earlier this month.
The 31st Australia-PNG ministerial forum in Canberra will outline the next steps for the Pukpuk alliance, Australia’s first new alliance since the Anzus agreement was signed in 1951.
The forum is expected to create a joint taskforce to oversee a new recruitment pathway allowing PNG citizens to join Australian defence forces with a first meeting expected before the end of the year.
The countries’ ministers will also discuss upgrading facilities at a training depot near Port Moresby, which will support up to 200 additional trainees. A potential battalion barracks in PNG’s Hela province will also be discussed.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said:
Today, we take our first steps on the stewardship of our alliance and nurture our full breadth of interests to shape a peaceful, stable and prosperous Blue Pacific.
Updated
Record flu season as vaccination rates plateau or trend down in some age groups
A record flu season which has seen more than 410,000 lab-confirmed cases so far in 2025 has led to the Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) to call on governments to help boost vaccination rates.
The case numbers have already outstripped the previous all-time high of 365,000, recorded last year.
Flu vaccination rates have plateaued or are trending down in some age groups. Only 25.7% of children aged six months to five years were vaccinated in 2025, the lowest since 2021. Rates for patients over the age of 65 have also slipped, with the 60.5% rate the lowest since 2020.
Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia have committed to introducing free childhood intranasal vaccinations ahead of the 2026 flu season. The RACGP president, Dr Michael Wright, said the college wants other states and territories to do the same:
The vaccination rate for young children, who are at increased risk of contracting a severe flu infection, has fallen to just one in four and they’re also coming down with influenza more often than any other patient group.
Updated
Kevin Rudd touts Aukus pact before Albanese’s meeting with Trump
Australian ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, has been working overtime to talk up the Aukus pact to the American government recently. Hosting a defence industry reception focused on Aukus at the Australian embassy in Washington DC, conveniently just days before Anthony Albanese arrives in town, Rudd is spruiking the military pact as Australia awaits the outcome of a Pentagon review.
As Albanese arrived on American soil on Monday (Australian time), Rudd posted on X another glowing endorsement of Aukus and its industrial benefits for the United States, saying “Aukus works because our industries do”.
“Aussie and American firms are working together to build the capabilities that keep our region secure,” the caption reads.
Posting video of his speech to the Aukus event at the embassy, he thanked members of the defence industry sphere for taking “the idea of Aukus and turning it into a concrete set of engineering and technology innovation enterprises”.
Yesterday, Rudd posted online that Aukus was “creating new jobs and building new businesses across our three countries” – Australia, the US and United Kingdom.
Updated
Officials investigating suspected space debris that landed in remote WA mine site
Authorities are assessing suspected space junk found at a mine site in Western Australia.
Official said a multi-agency response is under way after mine site personnel found a burning object on a remote access road about 30km east of the town of Newman. Early assessments indicate the object is made of carbon fibre and may be a pressure vessel or rocket tank consistent with aerospace components.
The object has been ruled out as being from a commercial aircraft.
WA Police said the object remains under investigation, but it has the characteristics of known space re-entry debris.
Updated
Joyce says he has spoken to Pauline Hanson but ‘nothing is locked in’ with One Nation
Joyce spoke to Sunrise earlier this morning, saying while he had briefly spoken to Pauline Hanson on the phone amid the speculation about his future plans, “nothing is locked in”. He said this morning:
Let’s just take it down a step, I have not joined One Nation. I have not actually at this point in time resigned from the Nationals.
Joyce said he also spoke to Hanson while the pair were in Canberra about a month and a half ago, but said there was “nothing unusual there”.
Joyce said he wouldn’t be “salami sliced” into talking about his plans when he hadn’t yet made them, adding he only rang Hanson out of “politeness” as it was the “decent thing to do” as everyone was talking about them.
Updated
Sussan Ley to say low and middle-income Australians will get tax cuts in a future Coalition government
Low and middle-income Australians will be given tax cuts under a future Coalition government, AAP reports.
In a major economic speech in Sydney on Monday, the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, will point to personal income tax cuts as the centrepiece of the policy offerings she will take to voters. She will say future tax cuts will be focused on areas where financial burdens are being felt the hardest.
Ley will tell the Centre for Independent Studies:
We’ll start where the pressure is greatest: low- and middle-income earners who are feeling the squeeze from higher prices and rising living costs. This is not a passing policy preference.
It is more than just a commitment to lower taxes.
However, the scale of any potential tax cuts is yet to be determined, and firm details will only be announced closer to the next federal election.
Updated
Michael McCormack says Nationals want Joyce to stay
Nationals MP Michael McCormack said the answer was “absolutely” yes, when asked if the party would prefer Joyce to stay. McCormack told RN Breakfast:
Barnaby’s been a force of nature for regional Australia and he’s done a lot of good things …
I appreciate he’s announced his retirement from the seat of New England at the next election. And he goes, obviously, from that position with a lot of respect. And I also obviously, as I texted him last night, I earnestly and honestly hope he remains with the Nationals until indeed his retirement from public life.
McCormack went on to say he doesn’t believe One Nation represents the views of regional Australia.
I appreciate Pauline Hanson has been there for a long, long time, and she’s done a lot of things that have given her endurance a healthy tick along. But I’ve got to say, the Nationals have been there for more than 100 years. We’ve turned up, we’ve absolutely made sure that regional Australia has been looked after in the halls of power in Canberra.
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Barnaby Joyce says ‘obviously’ relationship with David Littleproud ‘less than spectacular’
Barnaby Joyce said his decision to quit the Nationals came amid a relationship with party leader David Littleproud that was obviously “less than spectacular”, saying it was “healthier for all if it’s not working for you to get out”.
Joyce spoke to RN Breakfast this morning:
Obviously the relationship with David was less than spectacular. I mean, I think if we say anything else, it’s not being truthful. …
I wish people all the best. I just, I’m not going to leave sort of bitter and twisted and angry. I just, you know, honestly, I wish people all the very best. That’s what I actually do. Like most things, you feel a lot better when you’re not angry. So I’m not angry now because I’ve said I’m getting out.
Joyce said he would not comment on speculation he would join One Nation, but said the party had done a “good job” on some issues, including its stance on net zero.
Let’s just pull the horse on this one up straight away. No decisions have been made, and that’s where we are right now.
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Draft of new laws on supermarket price gouging to come today
The federal government will today release a draft of proposed new laws to crack down on supermarkets price gouging promised during the federal election campaign.
In March this year, the prime minister said supermarkets would be liable for “heavy fines” if found to be charging excessive prices for products with the consumer watchdog, the ACCC, tasked with finding the best model to determine what constitutes price gouging.
The ACCC earlier this year found major supermarket chains had increased their profit margins through the costs of household profits. The watchdog described Australia’s biggest chains – Coles, Woolworths and Aldi – as among the most profitable supermarket businesses in the world.
The draft bill will be open for submissions until 3 November.
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Albanese en route to Washington DC after brief refuelling stop in Hawaii
After a brief refuelling stop before sunrise in Honolulu, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, continues on to Washington DC for his meeting with the US president, Donald Trump.
The two men will have their first formal bilateral meeting, after a few phone calls and a brief encounter in New York City last month. The meeting is expected to occur in the very early hours of Tuesday morning, Australian time.
Albanese stepped on to his official plane on Sunday, right after arriving back from an overseas holiday. We will look forward to hearing from the PM after we land in Washington DC later today.
Albanese is accompanied on this trip by the resources minister, Madeleine King, and industry minister, Tim Ayres – underscoring the likelihood that critical minerals will be a key point of discussion for the Trump-Albanese meeting, alongside issues around Aukus, defence and trade.
Albanese said in a written statement before departure he was looking forward “to a positive and constructive meeting with President Trump at the White House”.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, is acting as prime minister until Tuesday night, then the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, will act as PM from Tuesday night until Albanese’s return later in the week.
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Good morning
And welcome to Monday. The sky is falling! Nick Visser here to guide you through the morning’s news. Here’s what’s on deck.
Suspected space debris was discovered near a mine site in Western Australia this weekend after workers found a burning object near a remote access road. Early assessments indicate it was made of carbon fibre and may be some kind of pressure vessel or rocket tank.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, had a brief stop in Honolulu, Hawaii, a few hours ago before continuing on his way to Washington DC for his meeting with the US president, Donald Trump. Their first formal meeting will be very early tomorrow morning Australian time.
The federal government is set to release a draft of proposed laws to crack down on supermarket price gouging. The prime minister said earlier this year companies could be liable for “heavy fines” if found to be charging excessive prices.
Stick with us.
