What we learned, Wednesday 17 June
And with that, we are going to put the blog to bed. Before we go, let’s recap the big headlines.
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The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, addressed the National Press Club for the first time since entering politics 30 years ago. She attacked multiculturalism, calling for a “monocultural society” where English is the only language spoken at home, proposed scrapping SBS and implementing a subscription model for the ABC, and attacked transgender rights. She also said too many pregnancies were terminated in Australia.
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Hanson also attacked a Guardian Australia reporter for asking about her daughter, Lee Hanson, who is employed as a senior adviser to New South Wales One Nation senator Sean Bell, despite living and working in Tasmania.
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Kyle Sandilands settled his legal dispute with ARN Media with a $12m cash payment over three years, but Jackie O Henderson’s $82m claim against the broadcaster will continue. The shock jock agreed to drop his $85m lawsuit against Kiis FM in return for a cash payment and $1.5m in advertising contract on ARN’s stations for a new broadcasting venture.
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The Australian government has lowered its travel advice for a slate of Middle Eastern countries, including Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from Level 4: do not travel, to Level 3: reconsider your need to travel. Some parts of Israel remain at a do not travel warning.
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Two children died after being struck by vehicle in Sydney’s south-west. NSW police said emergency services were called to the intersection of Joseph and Gilbert Street, Cabramatta, at about 3.15pm, where they found two children, both aged under five, had been struck by a car.
Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We will be back tomorrow to do it all again.
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National Press Club refers protest banner incident during Hanson speech to AFP
The National Press Club says it has referred the banner incident at Pauline Hanson’s speech today to the Australian federal police, adding it believes no club personnel were involved.
If you missed the One Nation leader’s first appearance at the nationally televised address today, a banner appeared behind her on the stage in an apparent stunt that read: “I opposed a pay rise for workers”.
Guardian Australia has confirmed ACT policing has received the complaint about the “alleged unauthorised access and interference with equipment at a building at Barton” and have been onsite for forensics testing.
The press club said it had referred “relevant footage and other evidence to the AFP for further investigation” and referred to claims by progressive activist group GetUp that it was responsible. The statement said David Sharaz, who works for GetUp and is Brittany Higgins’ husband, was in attendance and seen filming the incident.
The press club’s statement continued:
It appears that two persons entered the club building yesterday afternoon without permission and installed a separate drop-down screen in front of our media wall/ light box. It is evident that a further person present during the address activated a remote device to trigger the unfurling of the coiled banner.
David Sharaz was seen filming the incident on his phone and, after the banner had lowered, left abruptly.
We understand that this is likely to form part of the AFP investigation.
When the investigation has concluded, the club will consider its legal options against the perpetrators, including recovering costs for the significant damage to the media wall/ light box.
The statement apologised to Hanson.
Sharaz has been contacted for a response.
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Protest camp at Sydney public housing estate scheduled for demolition told to leave by noon tomorrow
Homes New South Wales has issued a notice to a protest encampment at the Waterloo public housing estate, telling those camped there that they must leave by midday tomorrow.
The supporters set up camp there 24 days ago in opposition to the staged demolition of the public housing estate, which was scheduled to begin on 25 May.
The notice said:
Homes NSW has permitted you to be on land under its ownership for the last 24 days.
During this time, we have seen evidence of forced entry into the worksite, vandalism and damage to property and equipment.
This letter is formal notice that you are required to leave stage 1 area by 12pm midday on Thursday 18 June 2026. You will need to remove all structures, items and rubbish currently onsite.”
Homes NSW said in the letter that “any ongoing attendance” passed that time “without our express permission” will be treated as trespassing.
The NSW government is demolishing Waterloo south, which housed vulnerable Sydneysiders in 750 public housing properties, to make way for 3300 properties. It’s expected the $4b redevelopment will take between ten and 15 years.
Half of the new properties will be private, 20% will be “affordable” housing, and the remaining 30% will be a mix of public and community housing.
The tenants displaced by the redevelopment are being relocated to other social housing estates in nearby suburbs and have been promised they can return when the new homes are complete.
The advocates defending the homes have argued that the government’s plan to redevelop Waterloo is a reneging on a “pre-election 2023 promise to save Waterloo”.
Ron Hoenig, the state MP for Heffron, sent letter and texts to tenants in the lead-up to the 2023 election urging tenants to send the Liberal party a message – “Hands off Waterloo” – by voting Labor.
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Melbourne now has the highest-earning suburb
The ATO has released its 2023–24 statistics and there are some interesting headline figures in the mix.
A quick breakdown:
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Net capital gains reported by individuals rose from $37.8bn in 2022–23 to $40.6bn in 2023–2024, with the biggest source of capital gains for individuals coming from real estate.
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The postcode with the highest average taxable income ($321,988) was 3944 in southern Melbourne. This is the first time Victoria has had the highest-earning postcode.
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For the last 15 years, surgeons have remained the highest-paid occupation with the 4,280 individuals reporting an average taxable income of $519,998 in 2023–24.
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Net tax from companies for the 2023–24 income year increased by 3.3% to $145bn (compared to $140bn in 2022–23).
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Two children dead after being struck by vehicle in Sydney’s south-west
NSW police said emergency services were called to the intersection of Joseph and Gilbert Street, Cabramatta, about 3.15pm, where they found two children, both aged under five, had been struck by a car.
NSW Ambulance paramedics treated the children at the scene, before they were taken to hospital in a critical condition, where they have since died.
NSW police said they are yet to be formally identified.
A 33-year-old woman known to the children was treated for minor injuries at the scene, while the driver – a 56-year-old man – was uninjured, arrested and taken to hospital for mandatory testing.
An investigation has commenced, and a media conference will be held soon.
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Housing peak body responds to Pauline Hanson’s address
Spokesperson for Everybody’s Home, Maiy Azize, said:
Senator Hanson claims to be for the battlers of Australia but we have failed to see her campaign for more social housing that’s actually affordable for the people who are doing it the toughest, and that we are severely lacking in this country.
It’s disappointing that we did not hear a word about the need to massively expand public and community housing but instead heard her support tax breaks that line the pockets of investors and push housing out of reach for everyday Australians.
The solutions that will make the biggest difference to housing affordability and fairness in Australia include building social housing at scale, strengthening renters’ rights, and seeing the parliament – including Senator Hanson – pass investor tax break reform.”
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Prayers for Coogee shark attack victim
A massive wave of support continues to build for Coogee shark attack survivor Leah Stewart, with a dedicated fundraising campaign almost tipping the $400,000 mark late on Wednesday.
On Tuesday evening a prayer vigil was held at the Castle Hill Adventist Church for Stewart, who serves as a teacher and deputy principal at Hurstville Adventist School in Sydney’s south. Church members, colleagues and friends gathered in small groups to offer collective prayers for the victim, her partner, and her 18-month-old daughter.
In a statement, Hurstville Adventist School described the profound impact the event has had on its staff and students.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Leah and her family. We are providing support to our students, staff and the wider school community,” the statement said.
The 35-year-old mother remains in a critical condition in the intensive care unit at St Vincent’s Hospital after an attack by what is believed to be a 3.5-metre great white shark on Saturday.
Her brother, Joshua Stewart, established the official GoFundMe campaign to assist with extensive long-term medical care, rehabilitation, and prosthetics after her arm was amputated.
Coogee Surf Life Saving Club and Randwick city council will host a community swim at Coogee Beach this Sunday at 9am.
The council said the event will provide a secure environment with heightened safety protocols including a drone, jetskis, and inflatable rescue boats. After the swim, the Coogee SLSC will host a beachside barbecue, with all proceeds donated directly to support the Stewart family.
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Greens senator condemns Hanson’s press club address
Senator for South Australia Sarah Hanson-Young has called a press conference in response to Pauline Hanson’s speech, calling it “deplorable”.
She said:
Is there anyone in this country that Pauline doesn’t hate? Is there anyone she’s not willing to beat up on and punch down to? Pauline Hanson has shown today she’s the same old crank she’s always been. She’s the same old racism, same old division, same old fear, same old nastiness. A leopard never changes its spots.
Hanson-Young accused Hanson of having no answer, only divisive politics. She said:
She’s got no ideas every time she highlighted a problem, she had no answer, and that’s because she’s only got people to blame. She wants to blame immigrants, she wants to blame Indigenous people, she wants to blame people living on the NDIS, she wants to blame young people, she wants to blame workers. She’s got no ideas of how to fix the system. And was it offensive? Well, it is what you expect from such a deplorable person like Pauline Hanson.
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Life-saving club to host swim event after shark attack
Coogee Surf Life Saving Club and Randwick city council will host a community swim at Coogee Beach at 9am on Sunday, 21 June.
The club said the swim provides a supportive and community environment with additional safety measures provided by a drone, jetskis, inflatable rescue boats and board paddlers, along with lifeguards and life savers.
Everyone in the area and neighbouring surf clubs are welcome to join the event.
The meeting point for the swim is near the Coogee boat shed on the north side of the rainbow steps.
Coogee SLSC President, Ben Heenan, said:
Our community takes a lot of strength from the ocean, and people will come back to the ocean in their own time. However, they will come back to the ocean with friends, with family and with members of the community.
We are offering the swim on Sunday to all members of the community as a potential step towards coming back into the ocean and finding strength from the ocean. People can come down just to chat and not enter the ocean, they can dip, they can swim a lap of the bay – whatever the next best step for them is.”
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Woman with IS links loses bail bid
A woman with IS links has been refused bail after a magistrate found she posed an unacceptable risk of endangering the community, AAP has reported.
Zeinab Ahmad, 31, looked straight ahead as chief magistrate Lisa Hannan handed down her decision in Melbourne magistrates court on Wednesday.
Ahmad was charged with slavery offences in May after returning to Australia with other family members of former Islamic State fighters.
Ahmad moved to Syria with her first husband, Dawod, in January 2015 and he became a member of Islamic State before he was killed in a drone strike in May 2016, the court was told.
The judge found Ahmad’s application should be refused because there were no exceptional circumstances and the risk she posed to the community was unacceptable.
Judge Hannan pointed to the lack of compelling evidence showing Ahmad had renounced IS or changed her beliefs.
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‘For a long time it felt like no one was listening’: Former Don Dale detainees awarded exemplary damages
The high court of Australia has reduced the compensation payouts awarded to four former Don Dale youth detention centre inmates who were unlawfully teargassed in 2014, marking a turning point in a decade-long legal battle.
Today, the high court determined that while exemplary damages are necessary, the initial $200,000 per person payout was excessive, slashing the exemplary damages to $50,000 for each of the men.
One of the four men, Leroy O’Shea, made a statement after today’s decision, released via the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA):
Winning this case means a lot to me. It’s not just about the money – it’s about recognition that what happened to us was wrong. For a long time it felt like no one was listening to what we went through. The decision shows that young people in detention still have rights and deserve to be treated with dignity and care. I hope it helps make sure things like this don’t happen to other young people in the future.”
The group first sued the government in 2015, with a trial judge ruling that the deployment of the CS gas was lawful, and the court of appeal dismissed an appeal against the dismissal of their claims. In a 2020 decision, the high court ruled that the four former detainees were entitled to damages, ordering the Northern Territory (NT) to pay almost $1m ($200,000 each). However, the NT government contested the scale of compensation and during the appeals process, disturbing footage of teenagers being handcuffed and hosed down after being teargassed at the notorious Don Dale Detention Centre was seen as evidence.
NAAJA civil managing lawyer Andrew Roberts said successive governments have fought against accountability for 12 years:
At the end of the day, these were vulnerable children in the care of the state …
Even to this day, the government has not apologised for their wrongdoing or held any of the individual officers to account. This is an incredibly important outcome for our clients, who have carried the weight of this with them for many years and who can now begin to heal and move forward.”
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Legal bid on welfare debt calculation fails in high court
The high court has rejected an appeal from a man challenging the lawfulness of a method used to calculate welfare debts for almost two decades.
Matthew Chaplin, a then casual worker receiving youth allowance in 2014-15, challenged a method known as income apportionment, which was used to calculate welfare debts from at least 2003 until 2021. The method spread a welfare recipient’s income across fortnights in which they had not worked. The commonwealth Ombudsman deemed the method to be unlawful, and the federal government retrospectively validated the affected debts and set up a compensation scheme. It also proposed a different method to recalculate the debts. Chaplin’s high court case argued that the recalculation method was not legally sound.
The high court rejected his appeal on Wednesday. Chaplin’s lawyers, Victorian Legal Aid, said the ruling provided “clarity on a complex question of law that potentially impacts up to three million people”.
Lucy Adams, VLA’s director of civil justice, said:
Mr Chaplin’s case also highlights the need for effective guardrails when it comes to social security debt raising. Right now, Centrelink can raise and pursue debts as far back as it likes, when people often don’t have the evidence they need because it’s many years later. As recommended by the Robodebt royal commission, the Australian Government should implement a six-year limitation period. It’s crucial that Centrelink acts lawfully and that our social security system is fair and accountable. We thank our client Matthew for his courage to pursue this matter.
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Hanson’s immigration statements examined
Just returning to that speech earlier this afternoon by Pauline Hanson to offer a bit more context on the immigration front.
In the speech, the One Nation leader suggested social cohesion wasn’t possible when nearly a quarter of Australians spoke a language other than English at home.
Hanson said:
Again, the 2021 census showed that 1 in 4 people, 23% speak a language other than English at home, the most common being, Mandarin and Arabic. How can you generate social cohesion if people can’t speak the language? In that same census, 872,000 people self-reported, as speaking English ‘not well’ or ‘not at all.’ Under the failed policy of multiculturalism, all cultures are allowed equivalence to ours. Surely opposing that is not racist, it’s common sense.”
But let’s rewind. The 23% figure she stated, which is accurate, doesn’t mean those people can’t also speak English. Instead, the population of those self-reported as speaking English “not well” or “not at all” sits at about 872,000 people, or about 3.4% of people in Australia.
The census reports some other interesting facts. About 80% of those who can’t speak English well or at all were born overseas – that means 20% weren’t. Nearly two-thirds of the group had arrived in Australia more than 10 years ago.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics also noted one-third of people who spoke Khmer, a language of an ethnic group in Cambodia, could not speak English well or at all. The ABS said this was the highest proportion of any language group.
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Alright, it’s a whirlwind of bloggers today for you. Cait Kelly is up on deck now for the rest of the arvo. Take care!
More than 28,000 Australians applied to buy SpaceX shares
Elon Musk’s SpaceX shares proved popular with Australian investors before its share market debut, according to the local lead retail broker, CommSec.
CommSec said in a statement that retail investors opened a record 37,000 international accounts ahead of the US company listing, “many” of which then applied for SpaceX shares.
CommSec then received over 28,000 applications to buy shares at the company’s initial public offering, which happened last Friday. CommSec said that was a record number, while the largest Australian IPO received just a quarter as many applications.
The tech business reportedly received applications globally from three times more investors than it could sell to, suggesting not all 28,000 Australia retail investor applicants bought in.
CommSec declined to comment when asked how many people were initially allocated or have bought SpaceX stock on CommSec. We do know one institutional investor that got shares though: Gina Rinehart.
SpaceX sold its shares for US$135 and they closed at US$201.80 on Tuesday. Investors have seen a near 50% return in just three trading days. The company is now valued at US$2.66tn, giving founder Musk an estimated net worth of US$1.3tn.
A lot of investors are happy to sell: 555m shares were issued on Friday but 322m sold on Tuesday.
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Hanson on childcare
Childcare centres are “out of control” says Hanson, after the government just announced a $3.6bn two-year agreement to continue funding a 15% wage rise for childcare educators.
There are a final few questions to Hanson (Hanson’s speech ran way over time).
The One Nation leader says there needs to be an investigation into how much money goes into childcare, but won’t say what she would do to overhaul the system.
I was a mother of four children. I didn’t have a university degree to look after my children.
Why do we now expect these childcare centres to have students or people with some sort of degree to look after a child? It’s just got out of proportion. It’s just ridiculous.
We know that Hanson is in favour of women staying at home with their children – per her income splitting policy that would allow men to essentially share their income with their partner so they pay less tax.
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Queensland attorney general pressed on future of state’s Aboriginal children’s commissioner role
Earlier, Queensland’s attorney general faced questions about the future of the state’s designated Aboriginal children’s commissioner.
Deb Frecklington announced reforms yesterday that would fold the state’s family and child commission into a new super-agency responsible for child safety. The body is led by two commissioners, one of them the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Commissioner, who must have an Indigenous background under state law.
The commission investigates and makes recommendations about the system, and also includes the child death review board which reports on the deaths of children known to the system.
Frecklington revealed yesterday that both bodies would become part of the new commission which will be responsible to the attorney general, but insisted that the investigatory agencies could remain independent of the department.
Queensland does not currently have an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Commissioner. The attorney general allowed the term of the previous incumbent, Natalie Lewis, to end earlier this month.
Frecklington told media on Wednesday that under the legislation establishing the new body a deputy commissioner role would be required to hold “demonstrated experience in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs”.
She was pressed on whether that person would be required to have Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islaner descent.
“There must be a position that has demonstrated (experience in) Indigenous, Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander affairs. There are so many children, Queensland children across the system that are in need of protection, every single one of them, and we will ensure that every single one of them is represented by the commission,” she said.
About half of Queensland children in out of home care are Indigenous.
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Hello again: we’re back to general news after that speech…
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Pauline Hanson and those pesky migration figures
It feels like an age ago already but Pauline Hanson started off her speech with figures about the migrant character of Australia.
In the speech, Hanson said:
In the 2021 census, more than half of Australian residents, 51.5% were born overseas or had one parent born overseas. 51.5%. Is that supported by the Australian electorate? Is that what Australia wants? The comparable figure for the United States is 14%. Do Australians feel that the Nation is losing its identity along with its values? We all know the answer to that.
So, do the figures actually say this?
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2021 census, 51.5% of Australians had at least one parent born overseas so Hanson was on the money there.
However, the US figure she provided seems quite off the mark. The US Census Bureau reports its 2024 figures show around 93 million of the country’s population are first or second generation migrants. That equals around 27% of the population, or nearly double what Hanson suggested.
Hanson spars with SBS chief political correspondent: ‘You’re going to be without a job’
SBS chief political correspondent, Anna Henderson, asks Hanson what she believes should be the gestational limit for abortion. The party has promised to roll back abortion rights for women around Australia.
Hanson won’t put a time on it, and says she’s still accepting of people who need “to have an abortion for medical reasons”, including late-term terminations where the mother’s life was in danger. But she says abortions for sex selection (which experts say is predicated on misinformation) shouldn’t be allowed, nor should abortions “the day before the birth”.
Here are the facts on abortion access around the country from MSI.
Then things get a little frostier as Henderson asks why Hanson wants to scrap the SBS, and says the broadcaster “is providing Australian news in 60 languages – not international news alone”.
Look, I can understand your question. You’re going to be without a job.
I want them to be able to learn to speak English before they get here, to to get their citizenship, and that would help them assimilate into our society … where is the assimilation? We are a monocultural nation - not a multicultural. And our our language is English.
Henderson pushes back several times, calling out Hanson and says, “isn’t it part of your platform to integrate people from other countries into Australia, to help them become Australian?”
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Get Up! claims protest banner at NPC
Left-wing political activist group Get Up! has claimed responsibility for the banner behind Pauline Hanson during her first press club address.
The banner read:
I opposed a pay rise for workers while I took a $100,000 pay rise for myself.
GetUp! CEO Paul Ferris just sent around a statement to the media saying the address “deserved some honesty”:
Pauline Hanson has built her entire brand on being for the battlers. But her record tells a different story. One Nation has consistently opposed wage rises, affordable childcare, increases to the aged pension, and housing affordability measures.
We thought the occasion deserved some honesty. So we provided it.
‘I try to keep out of it as much as I possibly can!’ Hanson’s not a fan of Canberra
And don’t we know it, because it was recently revealed that Hanson was absent from 88% of Senate estimate hearing days over the past decade.
Canberra Times reporter Dana Daniel asks Hanson if she likes Australia’s capital city (not really, is the answer) and about a branch of One Nation in Canberra that hasn’t held a single meeting and whose members don’t speak with the media.
Hanson says there has been a branch meeting and says the party has strong support in the capital.
I try to keep out of it as much as I possibly can! Although I love my job.
We have just start the a branch here. I heard in the first meeting, over 200 people there. So it’s going extremely well in Canberra.
One Nation plans to gut funding for Indigenous Australians
Hanson has promised to abolish the department for Aboriginal Australians and says that First Nations people should be treated like everyone else, and that one First Nations child shouldn’t get better education funding than a child next to them.
She says that there’s $30bn to be saved.
NITV reporter John Paul Janke asks where that figure comes from, and what happens to the First Nations people living in remote and rural areas if that funding and departmental support is stripped.
Hanson says “that money will go into consolidated revenue, where any Australian can get that help if they need help.”
And all this money that we’ve paid out, probably about $30bn plus a year, where has it gone?
Where is the accountability?
Where has the gap been closed?
That $30bn figure has been used previously by Warren Mundine – and the ANU did a fact check on it back in 2016. The tl; dr that whole $30bn a year isn’t going straight to First Nations people and also includes money that goes towards defence or regional infrastructure.
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Guardian reporter asks Hanson about appointment of daughter to adviser role
My colleague Sarah Martin, who’s reported extensively on Hanson, asks her about her daughter, Lee Hanson.
Martin asks:
Taxpayers are paying more than $160,000 a year for your daughter to seemingly campaign full-time in Tasmania, while employed at a political adviser for a New South Wales senator. Did you have any role in appointing her to that position?
Hanson looks livid to see Martin there, and goes on a personal attack against her telling her that she’ll be banned from any future press conferences and refused any interview requests.
Hanson accuses Martin of having an “obsession” with her, her party and Gina Rinehart.
Honestly you never give up.
You will put out lies about me, well, I’ve had enough of that.
You can read a few of Martin’s excellent works here, here and here.
To Martin’s question, Hanson says that her daughter was hired on her merits.
I didn’t get her that job. She got the job on her own merits, by someone who actually wanted to employ her. Her abilities, her skills in HR, her abilities in working for the Tas University eight years and was head of a department down there. So my daughter is very capable of doing it.
Martin asks her again to clarify that she had no role in the hiring, and Hanson says that she has already answered the question.
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Foreign aid should be ‘well spent’
Hanson says foreign aid should be well spent, but that Australia should “clean up our own back yard first”.
One Nation’s website promises to “redirect and reduce foreign aid spending, saving up to $3 billion annually.”
Hanson says she’s concerned that money is going to countries where there’s “corruption” and are taking money from China at the same time.
I’ve got 130,000 Australians living in poverty who can’t get a roof over their head and we’re giving foreignaid to countries that don’t respect it and corruption happening there, that needs to change.
My concern is they [Pacific nations] are still accepting from China. If China is our biggest concern, we need to look at at the relationship they have with China and how it’s going to impact on us.
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Will Hanson support her previous policy of a flat 25% income tax rate?
Asked if she will take to the election her previous idea of a flat 25% income tax rate, Hanson won’t say, but does believe Australia’s taxes are too high.
She says she wants to introduce income splitting – an idea that’s been around for a while and would encourage mothers to stay at home with children.
I’m not going to give you where my head’s at the moment for tax policy – I intend to speak to those experts, the economists, the people that I trust who have a good understanding of our tax system.
She tells the government to rein in its spending to afford it.
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On to industrial relations
Hanson is asked about her previous positions having criticised minimum wage increases, opposed same job, same pay, voted against casual workers’ rights, wage theft criminalisation, and workplace protection for the gig economy and you’ve argued recently again for more powers for bosses to sack workers.
Hanson, who famously once ran a fish and chip shop, counters the question and says that we should think about the small business owners. She says one business person told her the latest increase (to what she doesn’t specify – perhaps wages) is going to cost him $50,000 and that he would need to find $100,000 or let people go.
Hanson:
So it is of great concern. You need to look at the other the ledger – can businesses afford and pay that?
She backs an industrial relations overhaul and doubles down on her argument for bosses to sack workers:
Businesses also tell me you can’t sack people these days.
They’re on their phones, they don’t work, they don’t turn up, they actually are lazy, and businesses are tied to it. They’ve had enough.
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Time for questions
Hanson is asked if she will front up to daily press conferences in front of all media.
Hanson says she won’t be a “football” and has already banned the Guardian and ABC from One Nation events.
She won’t explicitly say whether she’ll do daily conferences and allow everyone inside the tent:
I’m not going to be anyone’s football to kick around when you want to. I want truthful, honest reporting from the media. You will have access to me.
Connell pushes back and asks if that access will include all media, Hanson replies:
Let’s see how it goes between now and the start of the campaign. If you want to keep bashing me around, I don’t forget.
I’m like a bloody old elephant.
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Hanson promises to scrap SBS and gut the ABC
Tom Connell tells Hanson to hurry up and go to her summary, to which she replies “I’ve only got a few pages left”, and then skips a couple.
She shifts to AI and says it shouldn’t be left to self-regulation, then she gets to her final page and says she has a few words to the mainstream media.
She tells the media to lay off:
I’m an elected representative, and I should be scrutinised. That doesn’t give you the licence to pile on. It doesn’t give the licence to delegitimise my party.
Then she announces the future of public broadcasting under her leadership – promising to scrap multicultural public broadcaster SBS. (She says this while SBS live broadcasts the Fifa World Cup being watched by millions of Australians).
There will be big changes if One Nation is given the chance. The SBS will be gone. There’s no need for it any more; the internet has overtaken the need for it. The ABC will still exist, but in a very different form. Taxpayers will still fund some of the ABC’s operations in regional, rural, and remote areas where there is a lack of commercial media. But in the cities which are already saturated with media outlets across the political spectrum, the ABC will only be a subscription service.
She accuses the ABC of political bias from top down.
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‘Every attempt has been made for years to silence me’
Voters are now “finding the courage to embrace One Nation” says Hanson, and believes Australians have “woken up” to support her rightwing party.
Hanson’s popularity has soared this year, and this month overtook Anthony Albanese as preferred prime minister.
She says:
Every attempt has been made for years to silence me. There are always some people, usually a lot of people, who get offended by what I say or do, even offended by my very existence. I don’t fear it. I embrace it. But many people aren’t like me.
In Australia today, in our democracy, the real tragedy is people are frightened of what will happen to them if they just speak up, but now they are finding the courage to embrace One Nation.
Hanson has a go at the budget, saying it will leave young people worse off, and that “more than 40,000 18 to 24-year-olds will lose out to Chalmers capital gains tax.”
But modelling by Treasury shows 90% of young Australians will be better off:
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This has got to be one of the longer speeches at the press club. It’s already 1:10pm (normally speeches end by 1pm) and there’s still a substantial chunk of the address to go.
Hanson is eating into her question time.
One Nation will back nuclear and stop ‘propping up’ renewable energy
Renewable energy, as we know, is also on Hanson’s policy hitlist, though she says she’s not completely opposed to it – but that everyone should “share the wealth that is under our feet” (i.e mining).
She says the government should stop “propping up” renewable projects and other projects like hydrogen (which the government has been scaling back on).
She also says that One Nation will back nuclear (which – though not new – is somewhat interesting seeing how the policy backfired against the Coalition at the last election).
Hanson:
Our energy crisis is a product of failed energy policy; and this policy was supported years ago by major political parties and the big media giants. I have always opposed it. Ford and Holden closed their factories more than a decade ago, for one simple reason, the cost of production.
One Nation says that the energy transition has been devastating to the country – read this from my colleague Adam Morton:
And how does nuclear stack up cost wise?
The CSIRO and the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) have assessed the cost of different electricity sources and found that solar and wind backed by storage energy, new transmission lines and other “firming” – what the country is building now, in other words – were the cheapest option. Have a read of more on that here:
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Pauline Hanson’s address interrupted by protesters
The banner reads:
I opposed a pay rise for workers, while I took a $100,000 pay rise for myself.
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Hanson turns to the rising cost of living
One Nation leader cites survey data from the Salvation Army which found that 19% of those surveyed said they’d eaten food from rubbish bins in the past 12 months while 60% said they’d eaten expired or spoiled food.
Just a note here, the Salvation Army surveyed 4,400 Australians seeking emergency relief support from the charity.
But she pins the blame on the high cost of energy and renewables.
We’re already 20 minutes through her address but just halfway through her speech (which was dropped to the media a few minutes before she began). It means that there won’t be as much time for questions from journalists.
She promises to slash any support for the renewable energy industry:
Because individuals and businesses are suffering from this net zero nonsense, the government shovels out millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money just to justify their failing energy policy. Let me make no apology.
One Nation will end this renewable energy bribery – grants, tax incentives, concessional finance, even the government underwriting anything that sponsors the whole net zero hoax.
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Protesters crash Hanson’s address at the National Press Club
Pauline Hanson’s address to the National Press Club has been disrupted by a banner that called out One Nation’s opposition to an increase to the minimum wage for Australian households.
While the One Nation leader was speaking, the banner appeared behind her on the stage in an apparent stunt.
It read: “I opposed a pay rise for workers”
Press Club staff tore the banner down while Hanson continued with her speech.
‘Other political parties are simply following me’
Hanson claims credit for the Coalition’s focus on immigration, and says other political parties are following her.
The press might consider reflecting on this and better consider why more Australians trust One Nation on immigration policy than anyone else. The story is simple, my views haven’t changed. Other political parties are simply following me.
She promises to tackle “radical Islam” and calls it “incompatible with Australian values and our way of life.”
It looks like some protesters have gotten into the club – we’ll have details from Tom McIlroy who’s in the room in a second.
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‘We cannot be a multicultural society’: Hanson
Hanson says Australia must be “monocultural” and calls multiculturalism a “failed policy”.
She tells the press club that according to the 2021 census, 23% of people in Australia spoke a language other than English at home – the most common being Mandarin and Arabic. She asks how Australia can “generate social cohesion if people can’t speak the language?” (Might point out here that just because a different language is spoken at home, doesn’t mean the person can’t speak multiple languages.)
Hanson says:
At the centre of this crisis is the utterly flawed policy of multiculturalism. We cannot be a multicultural society. We are a multiracial society, but we must be monocultural. Australians must live under the one cultural umbrella.
Hanson particularly targets Muslims.
She points to the Bondi terror attack and the return of women and children from Syrian detention camps as events that have led to One Nation’s support sky rocketing.
I am not frightened and nor is One Nation. There is no room for hate preachers in this country.
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Hanson begins address by attacking immigration and the housing crisis
Pauline Hanson begins saying don’t expect a “divisive welcome to country” from her, setting up the tone for her address. She acknowledges veterans, Australians born here and those who have arrived.
“The public are sick and tired of being ignored,” Hanson says, and says the problems are: immigration and housing.
No surprises here, immigration is Hanson’s bread and butter issue, and has been since she first joined parliament in 1996.
Unsustainable demand is being driven by several factors, but the biggest is high immigration.
Net overseas migration in the first three years under this Albanese Labor government has totalled 1.27 million people.
Undeniably immigration or immigration policy has our country in the state of crisis.
Let’s do a quick fact check here. Hanson speaks a lot about unsustainable immigration or mass migration. So what is net overseas migration, and what are the actual number? You can take a look below:
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Full house at National Press Club
Pauline Hanson has packed out the National Press Club in Canberra, with a long list of journalists hoping to ask questions of the One Nation leader.
Hanson is accompanied by her chief strategist James Ashby, as well as parliamentary colleagues including Barnaby Joyce, Malcolm Roberts, Sean Bell and Tyrone Whitten.
There are many business lobbyists in the room, with the crowd described as one of the biggest at the Press Club in recent years.
About 40 protesters gathered outside the club, protesting One Nation’s policies.
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Good afternoon, Krishani Dhanji here to take you through One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson’s address at the National Press Club in Canberra.
Protesters are already outside the club’s entrance. Hanson will speak for around half an hour, and then 30 to 40 minutes of questions. The press club president, Tom Connell from Sky News, is moderating today.
We know Hanson and her colleagues have said some pretty inflammatory things in the past (to say the least), and could say more today so please take care of yourselves.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on what she says, and will have fact checks handy to call out any misinformation.
Stay with us, it’s going to be a roller coaster ride (probably).
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Alrighty, Krishani Dhanji is up on deck in Canberra to cover all things Pauline Hanson during her address to the National Press Club. You’re in good hands.
Hanson announces plan to halve tobacco excise
One Nation wants to cut the tobacco excise by 50% and freeze indexation until mid-2028 to address the ballooning illegal cigarette market.
Pauline Hanson announced the policy before her appearance at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday afternoon.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released this month showed the amount of nicotine consumed around the country had soared by 40% in the eight years to 2025, driven in part by surging illegal tobacco sales.
In a post to social media, Hanson said:
One Nation will cut the tobacco excise by 50%, and freeze indexation until 30 June 2028 (with an option to review and extend). This will reduce the retail price of tobacco products by around 35% (about $17 off a pack of 20 cigarettes).
The aim is to reduce the incentive for consumers to go to the black market. This would improve consumer and business safety, reduce the black market and related criminal activity to manageable levels for law enforcement agencies, and potentially reverse the decline in government revenue.
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Sydney pool to be renamed after late Richard Scolyer
Sydney’s Inner West Council will rename a popular public pool after the late Richard Scolyer, the cancer researcher and former Australian of the year who died this month at 59.
The pool at Leichhardt Park Aquatic Centre will be renamed in Scolyer’s memory. The centre is in the middle of a $55m renovation and is one of the city’s most visited, seeing around 760,000 patrons each year.
Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne wrote on Instagram:
The Inner West community, like all Australians, wants to honour the bravery and compassion with which Professor Scolyer lived his life.
Richard’s incredible medical achievements were matched by his passion for sport and exercise which he maintained to the very last days of his life.
The Richard Scolyer Aquatic Centre will be a fitting local reminder of his incredible legacy.
Tasmanian devil, Mary, found after escaping theme park
Mary, the Tasmanian devil missing for two weeks after escaping a Gold Coast theme park, has been found – and taken to a veterinary hospital in an unstable condition.
The carnivorous marsupial escaped a quarantine facility in Paradise Country in the early morning dark of 2 June – with zookeepers believing an “abnormally large leap” saw her clear a fence.
CCTV cameras captured Mary skulking around deserted grounds at 4am that morning before she disappeared.
The devil on the lam evaded the park’s wildlife team scouring the area alongside a drone operator with thermal imaging capabilities for a fortnight, until she was found last night in an area of bushland just off Kopps Road, under two kilometres from the park.
A spokesperson for Village Roadshow Theme Parks said she was discovered in an unstable condition and was rushed to a specialist veterinary hospital.
“Mary is currently stable and remaining in the veterinary hospital to allow specialists to conduct further diagnostic testing,” the spokesperson said.
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Former Star boss fined $700,000 for ignoring criminal risks
The former chief of Star has been fined $700,000 for ignoring criminal risks from overseas gamblers after a judge slashed the sought penalty due to a previous lenient deal, AAP reports.
Former Star chief executive Matthias Bekier failed to inform the company’s board of suspicious conduct committed by Chinese junket operator Suncity in 2018 and 2019, the federal court found in March. Bekier and former Star general counsel Paula Martin were successfully sued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for breaches of their duties.
On Wednesday, justice Michael Lee imposed the penalty on Bekier, finding the casino boss headed an organisation that had been allowed to operate despite its inherent risks as long as it remained vigilant.
The casino’s corporate governance failures emerged because its overseers didn’t “blow the trumpet” when they saw “the sword coming”, he added.
The judge also hit Martin with a fine of $400,000. Bekier was banned from managing corporations for six years while Martin was banned for seven years.
Lawyers for Asic originally sought a $1.3m fine against Bekier and a $1.1m fine against Martin at a hearing in May.
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A rat sighting in New Zealand can trigger an urgent response. Meet the ‘ghostbusters’ hunting them down
In many places around the world, discovering a rat in your garden would barely register a second thought.
But in parts of New Zealand, a single rat, possum or stoat can trigger an urgent response, as the country embarks on a world-leading project to eradicate introduced predators by 2050 to save its unique wildlife from further decimation.
Wellington resident Davin Hall knows first-hand. In March he noticed large tunnels cutting through the compost bin at his home. He suspected a rat and after two weeks of trying to catch the pest, he called in the cavalry: a team of pest-catchers who will try all methods possible to hunt down and kill a single rat.
“It’s kind of like this idea of Ghostbusters,” says James Willcocks, project director at Predator Free Wellington, which hunts down pests in the New Zealand capital.
Read more here:
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Just a heads up that Pauline Hanson will speak at the National Press Club in Canberra today, starting at 12.30pm.
Political blogger extraordinaire Krishani Dhanji will step in and be with you for commentary on her remarks.
Albanese says watching State of Origin tonight ‘much more fulfilling’ than Hanson at Press Club
Anthony Albanese was asked if One Nation was ready to govern amid a surge in polling and ahead of Pauline Hanson’s address to the National Press Club today.
The prime minister had this to say:
One thing that we know is that the questions that I hope are asked at the Press Club, is why is it that One Nation is opposed to all of the cost-of-living measures that my government has put in place. …
Well, what we’ve done in difficult economic circumstances is to make sure that we continue to prioritise cost-of-living measures. That’s what good government looks like.
When asked if he would tune in, Albanese said he had a “busy day” ahead.
I’ll leave that to the media … I’ll be watching the State of Origin tonight. And I’m sure that will be much more fulfilling.
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Albanese says deal with childcare workers will help fill ‘massive vacancies’ in early learning
Anthony Albanese is speaking about an agreement to extend an increase in salaries for childcare workers by 15% for another 18 months. He said the increase would help deal with “massive vacancies in early learning”.
The prime minister said:
People were leaving the sector because they couldn’t afford to stay in the sector. Even though they loved the work, these workers here, and every centre I’ve been into right around Australia, what I do is I meet workers who are so proud. …
Combined with minimum wage increases, a typical full-time educator will earn around $255 more a week than before these changes. That’s a real difference. That makes an enormous difference to people’s quality of life in the sector.
Jason Clare, the education minister, said one of the benefits of having more full-time staff in a centre would be stability:
You don’t have people moving in and out, being at a different centre every day.
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One Nation’s health policies based on misconceptions and may cost the taxpayer, experts warn
Medical experts have blasted One Nation’s health policies, saying they do not make sense, are based on misconceptions and could cost taxpayers more money while leaving vulnerable Australians without access to care.
The party has promised to withdraw Australia from the World Health Organization and to scrap regulator the Therapeutic Goods Administration, rolling its “essential functions” into the health department. It has also proposed adding photo ID to Medicare cards.
The Grattan Institute health program director, said some of the policies looked like mistakes.
Breadon pointed out that the TGA was already part of the health department.
“Targeting an agency that is majority funded through cost recovery [fees and charges to pharmaceuticals], not through taxpayer funding, also doesn’t make a lot of sense,” he said. “So that really doesn’t stand up to even a very small amount of scrutiny.
It just looks to me like an error.
Read more here:
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Victorian premier to seek advice on plan for US weapons stockpile
Returning to Victorian premier Jacinta Allan’s press conference earlier this morning. She’s been asked about the US military’s plan for a permanent, war-ready weapons stockpile for its Marine Corps in the state.
When asked if she was aware of the plan, Allan said:
I’ll need to take some advice on that.
Pressed on whether the stockpile could put Victoria at risk from other countries in the region, she said:
I don’t think you could necessarily extrapolate that from, if that scenario was to come about, we have already here in Victoria, and indeed in [and] around the country, we have many partnerships through the defence industry sector with other countries, companies, whether it’s the US, whether it’s South Korea with Hanwha down at Avalon, so these arrangements are not necessarily unusual, but we would get some advice on that.
Allan said questions were best put to the federal government.
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Dfat lowers travel advice for Middle East countries but still ‘high threshold’
The Australian government has lowered its travel advice for a slate of Middle Eastern countries, including Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from Level 4: do not travel, to Level 3: reconsider your need to travel. Some parts of Israel remain at a do not travel warning.
The changes come after a deal between the US and Iran to end the conflict in the region, with Australia encouraging all parties involved to “pursue a durable and lasting peace”.
Still, Dfat notes that the situation there could deteriorate with little warning, saying in a statement:
Level 3 remains a high threshold. We continue to urge Australians to postpone non-essential travel. ‘Reconsider your need to travel’ also means ‘reconsider your need to transit’. If you need to transit these locations, stay as short a time as possible and eliminate unnecessary activities.
Many travel insurance policies do not cover travel to regions that include a travel warning in the level 3 or level 4 range.
Aside from the listed countries above, Dfat continues to advise do not travel to Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Yemen, and reconsider your need to travel to Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
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Victorian government introduces life sentences for ‘evil’ youth crime recruiters
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, held a press conference to announce new laws will be introduced to parliament today that will impose life sentences on crime figures who use children to carry out crimes such as arson and carjackings.
The bill creates a new aggravated offence of recruiting a child to commit a serious crime, which carries a life sentence. The legislation also removes the requirement for the offender to know that the child was underage.
It comes after the government increased the maximum penalty for child recruitment from 10 to 15 years in November last year. She said:
Hiring kids to do their dirty work is just pure evil, and Victorians are rightly horrified by the behaviour of organised crime figures who are using kids, particularly some with intellectual disabilities, to carry out crimes, particularly in the area of arson.
So today we are introducing legislation into the Victorian parliament to create a new aggravated offence of recruiting children to commit serious crimes, and perpetrators of these crimes will be facing life in prison. This offence will apply whether the crime has been carried out or not.
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Two more men charged with murder after death of Baghsarian
Two men have been charged with murder following the death of Chris Baghsarian, 85, who police say was mistakenly kidnapped from his home in February.
NSW police said they executed a search warrant in the Sydney suburb of Shalvey on Tuesday morning, where they arrested a 19-year-old man. A short time later, they arrested another man, 21, in Silverwater.
Both have since been charged with murder and taking or detaining in company with the intent to ransom, occasioning actual bodily harm. They were refused bail and will appear before local court today.
Four other people have previously been charged in connection with Baghsarian’s death. They remain before the courts.
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Childcare workers avoid major pay cut as government funds $3.6bn retention payment extension
The government will spend another $3.6bn to extend funding for a critical pay rise for 60,000 childcare educators, due to expire later this year, avoiding a major pay cut for the industry, following sustained pressure from the sector.
Labor said the funding for a 15% increase in childcare salaries will be tied to providers limiting their fee increases.
The decision comes weeks before a union coordinated walk off of up to 20,000 childcare workers across the country. The united workers union had warned staff were facing a pay cut of between 4% and 15% cut if the government did not extend the payment.
Labor promised educators a 15% pay rise over two years in 2024 also at the cost of $3.6bn, which it hoped would align with a staged pay rise for the sector under the Fair Work Commission’s gender undervaluation decision. But the commission rejected a push to front-load the increases meaning the government has had to fund the gap.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese says:
[Early educators] do incredibly important work and they deserve to be fairly paid for it.
Only childcare centres who agree to limit their fees for parents will be eligible to receive funding for this wage increase for workers.
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Shadow treasurer says most Australians won’t see RBA decision as ‘good news’
Tim Wilson, the shadow treasurer, said the RBA decision yesterday to leave interest rates on hold would not be seen as “good news” by many Australian households still struggling with the high cost of living.
Wilson spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying the government needed to “take pressure out of the economy” and stop inflation so interest rates can be cut once more. He went on:
My much bigger concern on the current trajectory is that the Treasury is trying to crash the economy, which is only going to lead to higher unemployment. And of course, it doesn’t even mean that interest rates will go down …
If you want to build out the future of the economy, encourage [and] incentivise growth, and most importantly, get a pathway so all Australians look to the future with hope and confidence.
Wilson said everyone was waiting to see how the temporary Iran deal will play out when it comes to the global economy, and if the cut to the fuel excise in Australia should continue, but “we’re all cautious for a reason”.
What we don’t want is the government to give money back to Australians with one hand, then just take it in inflation with another, which will mean not just inflation, less in your red basket at the supermarket, less at the trolley, but also, of course, higher interest rates as well.
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Kyle Sandilands to start his own show and share revenue with ARN
ARN Media told the ASX this morning it had entered a binding settlement with Kyle Sandilands, which terminated all claims and counter claims in the federal court.
The agreement includes $1.5m in advertising for Sandilands’ new independent broadcast in return for the radio host sharing 19.9% of any revenue for three years with ARN Media.
The financial agreement means Sandilands has severed all ties with ARN, and will not be able to appear on any radio stations which compete with Kiis FM for nine months, the company told the ASX.
Sandilands and his co-host on Kiis FM’s Breakfast Show, Jackie “O” Henderson, took separate legal action against ARN after the company terminated their 10-year contracts a year in.
Sandilands and Henderson were seeking $85m and $82m respectively, and a date had been set down for a lengthy and costly trial.
While the Sandilands matter has been settled the company announced the Henderson proceedings remain ongoing.
The settlement agreement provides for the full and final resolution of all claims and counterclaims between the parties, including those relating to the previously announced Federal Court proceedings.
ARN said it had agreed to pay Sandilands a cash settlement sum of $12.09m with $3m payable in July 2026 and the balance payable monthly until June 2029.
Mr Sandilands has advised ARN that he intends to pursue independent media opportunities. As part of the settlement, ARN will provide Mr Sandilands with advertising services on ARN’s partner platforms of $1,500,000 over the next three years.
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Coogee shark victim Gofundme raises $340,000 as swimmer drowns at Manly
A massive wave of community support continues to build for Coogee shark attack survivor Leah Stewart, with a Gofundme campaign surging past $340,000 within just two days of its launch.
The mobilisation of funds comes as Sydney’s coastline continues to face a grim week, with a fresh tragedy on the Northern Beaches yesterday.
A man died after being pulled from the water at Shelly Beach at Manly yesterday afternoon.
Emergency services were called following reports two swimmers had been caught in a rip and then pulled from the water with one man unconscious.
Police officers and NSW Ambulance paramedics commenced CPR on a man in his 40s, before he was taken to hospital in a critical condition, where he later died. The other swimmer, a 20-year-old man, was uninjured.
It is believed the deceased man is a US national and was spear fishing.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
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Sandilands settles with KIIS FM for $12m
Kyle Sandilands has settled his legal dispute with ARN Media with a $12m cash payment over three years, but Jackie O Henderson’s $82m claim against the broadcaster will continue.
The shock jock agreed to drop his $85m lawsuit against KIIS FM, in return for a cash payment and $1.5m in advertising contra on ARN’s stations for a new broadcasting venture yet to be announced.
“Restraints prevent Mr Sandilands from engaging with ARN’s direct competitors for a maximum period of up to nine months from the date of settlement, expiring in March 2027,” ARN said.
Greens refer Labor public housing tower redevelopment to ombudsman
The Victorian Greens have referred the state Labor government’s plan to demolish and redevelop the state’s 44 high-rise public housing towers to the state ombudsman and will use parliament today to try to expedite an investigation.
The party’s housing spokesperson, Gabrielle de Vietri, confirmed she wrote to the ombudsman seeking an investigation into several issues including the condition of towers awaiting demolition, the treatment of residents, the impact of relocations on their wellbeing, the adequacy of alternative housing offered and whether the relocation practices are compatible with residents’ human rights.
She has also asked the ombudsman to specifically examine the impact on older Victorians living in public housing towers earmarked for demolition.
The Greens will also move a motion in the upper house on Wednesday, which if passed, will require the ombudsman to report back within six months.
It follows the government’s release of its response to a parliamentary inquiry into the redevelopment, in which it supported only four of the 21 recommendations.
De Vietri said:
The inquiry heard evidence of residents being pressured to relocate, deceived about their rights and fearful of losing their homes and communities. Those allegations are serious, but Labor’s response shows they haven’t taken them seriously … They don’t care what the experts say or what people think. We’ve had to send in the Ombudsman to hold Labor to account before they do irreparable damage.
The Greens will also use their time in the upper house on Wednesday to introduce their better rights in police custody bill, which creates a mechanism to safely reduce prison overcrowding when correctional facilities reach dangerous capacity levels.
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Mark Butler says it’s time to ‘get on’ with NDIS changes
Health minister Mark Butler said it’s time to “get on with the work” of changing the NDIS, saying he believes the proposed legislation is ready to be debated next week.
Butler spoke to RN this morning ahead of the release of a Senate committee report into the proposed changes, with the health minister set on passing the legislative changes during the next sitting period. That report is due to be released on Friday, just days before parliament returns on Monday.
Butler said he believes the “broad direction” of the NDIS changes are “absolutely the right” move, reflecting years of work. He went on:
I’m absolutely convinced the plan I announced eight weeks or so ago is the right plan for the NDIS. But there will also be some things that we are looking at, as I said from the debate in the house of representatives, some of the crossbenchers’ proposed amendments just to improve things like transparency and some other things like that. …
This work has been going on for three years to get the NDIS back on track. It is time for us all to get on with the work of implementing it.
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Good morning, it’s Nick Visser here again to take you through the morning’s news. Let’s get to it.
Allan said that ignoring such messaging normalised hostility, adding that she wanted her son and daughter to grow up in a world where public service did not subject women to gendered degradation.
When grilled by Sarah Ferguson over the criminal infiltration of the Construction Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) into Victoria’s infrastructure projects, a portfolio Allan managed directly prior to becoming premier, she disputed the figure reported by Rotting from the Top that estimated systemic corruption and inflated procurement costs had cost Victorian taxpayers $15bn.
But she did not clarify whether she or her department had requested an official calculation of the true taxpayer cost, instead saying that 88 criminal charges had been laid by Victoria police and about 150 construction industry licenses had been cancelled by the Labor Hire.
Jacinta Allan pressed on collapse in Labor’s support
In a bruising interview on ABC’s 7.30 last night, Victorian premier Jacinta Allan grappled to answer questions about the collapse in Labor’s support and allegations of escalating multi-billion-dollar union corruption, just five months out from the state election.
A new poll released last week showed Labor trailing in third place on primary votes at just 21%, behind the Coalition and a surging One Nation. With her personal net approval rating sitting at an all time low, Allan upped the government’s ante on working from home, saying it was a human right.
She said a state consultation survey of 37,000 people found that “thousands and thousands” had said their work-from-home requests had been denied by their bosses.
The premier also addressed the appearance of mobile billboards driving through Melbourne depicting her in AI-generated images wearing a black witch’s hat alongside the slogan “Ditch the Witch” – a revival of the phrase used against former prime minister Julia Gillard. The $105,000 campaign was funded by a group of local business owners, including Franco Puleo, the owner of the Gotham City brothel in South Melbourne.
Allan linked the extreme political rhetoric to the physical safety of female politicians.
“There is absolutely no place for gendered attacks on any woman in any workplace. You have to take a stand. You have to call this out.”
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Pauline Hanson to address National Press Club for first time in her political career
Pauline Hanson will address the National Press Club in Canberra for the first time in her three decades in politics today.
Monash University’s head of politics Zareh Ghazarian said Hanson’s address should give an overview of what her party would be like, in addition to its broad policies and aspirations.
“One Nation is at a transition point from being a minor anti-establishment party to potentially being on the cusp of a major political breakthrough,” he told AAP.
“There’s a lot riding on this speech. It’s going to be closely watched by media, but a lot of other Australians as well as the political parties.
“Hanson has to perform well to convince those on the fence, that her party and leadership is something to get behind.”
Consistent polling has shown One Nation has become Australia’s most popular political party, and has a substantial lead over the Coalition on primary voting indication.
Polls show Hanson is also now the preferred prime minister.
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US military stockpile to be kept in Melbourne then moved to rural Victoria, report says
The Australian stockpile, expected to reach full capacity by 2028, will be kept in Melbourne before being moved to US warehouses to be constructed next year at an Australian military base at Bandiana in rural Victoria, tender documents show, according to AFP.
“Marine Corps activities in Australia support integrated global sustainment by maintaining ready-for-issue equipment and supplies for operations and exercises across the Indo-Pacific,” a US Marine Corps spokesperson told AFP.
The spokesperson declined to comment on contract details or force planning assumptions but said Marines equipment is kept at “high readiness”.
Contracting arrangements and the operation of the facility would be made in close coordination with Australia’s Department of Defence.
“These activities improve responsiveness, strengthen interoperability with allies and partners, and support a range of missions across the Indo-Pacific,” the spokesperson said, using an alternative description for the Asia-Pacific region.
US army trucks were left at the Bandiana base in 2023 after an Australian war game involving US troops held every two years. The marines stockpile at Bandiana, approved last July, is separate.
“Marine Corps and Army equipment programmes are designed to support their respective service requirements and are managed under separate authorities and processes,” the marines spokesperson said.
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US military plans war-ready weapons stockpile in Victoria – report
The US military is planning a permanent war-ready weapons stockpile for its Marine Corps in Victoria beyond the range of most Chinese missiles, tender documents show according to Agence France-Presse.
The development of the stockpile, a first for the Marine Corps in Australia, comes as the United States is keen to leverage the continent’s strategic location in the South Pacific to counter China’s rapid military build-up, analysts said.
The US Marine Corps began global prepositioning of military supplies during the Cold War – using floating stores on ships and caves in Norway where weapons, ammunition and vehicles to sustain thousands of troops are kept.
The first land stockpile in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to open this year in the Philippines, close to potential flashpoints in the South China Sea.
Documents published by the US Navy this month show advanced planning for an even larger Australian stockpile, with US$30m allocated to build warehouses and offices in Victoria for “critical forward provisioning”.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Nick Visser with the main action.
The US military is planning a permanent war-ready weapons stockpile for its Marine Corps in Victoria beyond the range of most Chinese missiles, tender documents show according to reports this morning.
Victorian premier Jacinta Allan was given a tough grilling on ABC’s 7.30 last night when she struggled to answer questions about the collapse in Labor’s support and allegations of union corruption. More coming up.
And One Nation founder Pauline Hanson will address the National Press Club in Canberra today for the first time in her three decades in politics, as her party hits record poll highs.
