What we learned: Friday, 8 May
With that, we will wrap the blog for the evening. Have a lovely weekend, our fantastic team will be back tomorrow for all things Farrer-election-day.
Here were the major developments of the day:
A Sydney woman charged with joining the Islamic State will remain in custody after prosecutors argued the case against her was “strong and straightforward”. Two women arrested in Melbourne yesterday after their return from Syria have been charged by the Australian Federal Police.
Richard Lewer has been awarded the 2026 Archibald prize for his portrait of Pitjantjatjara elder, traditional healer and senior artist Iluwanti Ken.
All four Australians onboard the cruise ship where a hantavirus outbreak has so far been linked to the deaths of three passengers remain en route to the Canary Islands.
The former foreign minister, Julie Bishop, has resigned as the chancellor of the Australian National University, in a move praised by independent ACT Senator, David Pocock, the student union and National Tertiary Education Union.
And reporters from the ABC were denied entry to One Nation’s press conference in Albury earlier this morning in an incident independent Michelle Milthorpe has criticised as being “quite rude”.
Updated
All four Australians onboard cruise ship linked to hantavirus outbreak remain en route to Canary Islands
All four Australians onboard the cruise ship where a hantavirus outbreak has so far been linked to the deaths of three passengers remain en route to the Canary Islands.
Some media outlets reported that one Australian has already returned home after joining more than two dozen passengers who disembarked from the MV Hondius in St Helena on 24 April - 11 days before the first case of hantavirus was confirmed. However, a spokesperson for Oceanwide Expeditions confirmed to the Guardian that all four Australians who boarded the MV Hondius at Ushuaia, Argentina, at the beginning of the Atlantic cruise on 1 April remain onboard and in self-isolation.
One New Zealander was among the 30 passengers who disembarked at St Helena, along with the body of the 70-year Dutch national who died onboard 10 days into the cruise. These passengers’ subsequent movements are being traced by international health agencies coordinated through the World Heath Organisation. The cruise company spokesperson said there were presently no symptomatic individuals onboard.
The MV Hondius left Cape Verde on Thursday (AEST) and is expected to arrive in the port of Granadilla in the Canary Islands at some point towards the end of the weekend.
“Oceanwide Expeditions remains in close and continual discussion with relevant authorities regarding our exact point of arrival, quarantine and screening procedures for all guests, and a precise timeline,” the statement said.
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ASX sheds $50bn as Middle East tensions flare
Australian shares fell heavily today, wiping nearly $50bn in value as US and Iranian forces traded fire in the strait of Hormuz, undermining an anticipated peace deal.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed today down 1.5% at 8,744.40 points, erasing most of the week’s gains.
Ten out of the ASX’s 11 sectors fell on Friday, with telecommunications the only one to record a modest rise.
Shares in News Corp, which are listed in the US and Australia, jumped 2.6% today on the ASX after the media conglomerate posted a 9% increase in quarterly revenue to US$2.19bn ($3bn).
Its news media division, which includes Australian mastheads, recorded the weakest earnings figures out of its four main divisions, led by digital real estate, business news-focused Dow Jones and book publishing.
Australia’s broader market was primarily pushed around this week by events in the Middle East.
Chris Weston, the head of research at Melbourne-based financial firm Pepperstone, said “once again, the news flow on the geopolitical front has shown that the path towards a lasting agreement is anything but linear”.
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No jail for teacher over ‘gross’ sexual texts to child
A former private school teacher who sent messages detailing sexual contact to a minor will serve his time in the community rather than a jail cell.
William Roberto Gulson had been teaching at Sydney’s elite Knox Grammar school and tutoring privately, before embarking on a 90-minute online exchange with someone he believed was a 15-year-old boy in 2024.
In reality it was a 14-year-old, who along with another teen was running a fake profile on LGBTQI dating app Grindr in an attempt to catch pedophiles.
Gulson stood frozen as he was sentenced to a three-year community bond and ordered to complete 400 hours of community service in Sydney’s Downing Centre local court on Friday.
The 28-year-old will also appear on the NSW child protection register for eight years, is obliged to report any new tattoos and is barred from online gaming platforms that allow communication with children.
Gulson had testified the conversation amounted to a lapse in judgment as he was multitasking, marking papers.
Judge Hugh Donnelly slammed the former English and drama master’s account of the text exchange as “improbable, implausible and inconsistent with the logical course of events” as he handed down his judgment.
Gulson had a sexual interest in children, he determined when he found the former teacher guilty of procuring a child for unlawful sexual activity in January. He described Gulson’s texts to the 15-year-old as “extremely explicit”, mentioning kissing and licking, spotlighting a message which read “do you find it (sic) hot you’re the same age as my students?”
The former teacher has lodged an appeal against his conviction and sentence.
-Australian Associated Press
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Measles alert for Sutherland shire in Sydney
NSW Health has urged people in the Sutherland shire of Sydney to be alert for symptoms of measles after a confirmed case in a returned travelled from south-east Asia.
The person visited several locations in the shire while unknowingly infectious, including healthcare facilities. There have been 47 measles cases confirmed in New South Wales since January.
South Eastern Sydney local health district public health physician Dr Anthea Katelaris urged people to monitor for symptoms, particularly if they’d visited exposure locations.
Symptoms to watch out for include fever, sore eyes, runny nose and a cough, usually followed three or four days later by a red, blotchy rash that spreads from the head and face to the rest of the body. It can take up to 18 days for symptoms to appear after an exposure, so it’s important for people who visited these locations to look out for symptoms for this period.
Katelaris also encouraged the community to ensure they were up to date with measles vaccinations, which can prevent the disease after exposure if given early enough.
Measles is a vaccine preventable disease that is spread through the air when someone who is infectious coughs or sneezes.
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Three men accused of murdering boys to stand trial
Three men accused of murdering two young boys as they walked home from a basketball match have been committed to stand trial.
Peter Addo, 19, Abel Sorzor, 19, and Prince Conteh, 20, all formally entered not guilty pleas in Melbourne magistrates court on Friday afternoon.
They are accused of attacking Chol Achiek, 12, and Dau Akueng, 15, at Cobblebank in Melbourne’s outer north-west on 6 September.
The two boys were on their way home from basketball when a group of males allegedly set upon them and stabbed them to death. Five other accused - all aged 15 and 16 - have also been charged with two counts of murder.
At a preliminary hearing in April, the court was told police found a sword at the home of one of the 16-year-olds accused after the alleged murders.
Preliminary testing suggested it was likely the 16-year-old boy’s DNA was on the sword’s handle, while the DNA of one of the slain boys was on the blade, the court was told.
Addo, Sorzor and Conteh each elected to have their cases fast-tracked to the Victorian supreme court where they will stand trial on two counts of murder.
Magistrate Stephen Ballek remanded them each into custody to face their first directions hearing on 29 May. Senior crown prosecutor Kristie Churchill SC also indicated the underage accused were planning to have their cases fast-tracked.
The five teens are expected to complete that process at a children’s court next week.
-Australian Associated Press
Updated
Shadow home affairs minister declines to weigh in on net overseas migration target
The shadow minister for home affairs, Jonno Duniam, addressed the media earlier this afternoon where he released a series of questions the Coalition has about the women and children with links to the Islamic State who returned to Australia from Syria yesterday.
Duniam was also asked about whether the Coalition is considering cutting net overseas migration by between 150,000 and 200,000, as we reported in a leaked document.
He replied “we haven’t put a number on that”, and continued:
The most important thing to do in setting a net overseas migration target or number is to properly understand how you arrive at that point. And one of those ways of doing so … to determine how many houses are being built in this country. And of course if you’re not building enough houses, where are we going to house these people who want to come here to start a new life? …
I know people will throw numbers around, we want to address the problems that are being caused here. It’s not because solely we have too many people coming in. If we’re not building enough houses, we can’t accommodate people.
So we’ve actually got to boost our capacity to build houses here, and we’ll have more to say about that. But no numbers today. There will be a number before the election, but not today.
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Universities coordinate response to education platform hack
The federal education department, the National Office of Cyber Security and Universities Australia are coordinating a national response to the earlier reported cyber-attack on education platform Canvas, which took the service offline this week.
The University of Canberra said on Friday it was one of 25 Australian and NZ universities affected by the breach - where attackers have obtained school information, names, student IDs, email addresses, and potentially messages on the platform - and was part of the coordinated national response.
RMIT told students on Friday any assessment that was due between today and next Friday has been given an extension until 11.59pm on Friday 15 May.
University of Sydney was also rescheduling exams on Friday, and offered an extension, or a mark adjustment or alternative arrangements for any assessment affected by the outage.
The platform is used not just by universities but by schools and Tafe institutions.
The peak body for private schools in NSW, Independent Schools NSW, held a meeting with schools affected by the data breach on Friday afternoon.
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Sydney deputy mayor says community ‘rightly suspicious’ of datacentres
The City of Sydney deputy mayor, Jess Miller, told a NSW datacentres inquiry that the community in Sydney is “rightly suspicious of datacentres”.
The impression that they have, based on what they can see, is that they’re ugly, intrusive and parasitic. They take more than they give.
However, we also recognise that they are an inevitability if designed well, utilising innovation, design and engineering, they may well offer an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to our communities.
Miller said that these “quite lifeless, block-long, anonymous, cavernous buildings with no street activation” were already having a massive impact on the community without proper regulatory guidelines.
There are currently 16 datacentres operating in the City of Sydney area, she said, with 15 more in the development pipeline.
She said:
Uncoordinated growth without proper planning will strain the electricity grid, use huge amounts of drinking water, undermine our climate goals, take up scarce land needed for housing and jobs, cause local environmental impacts and provide limited local economic benefits.
Allowing datacentres in areas zoned for light industrial industry means we are forced to permit the use of scarce inner-city land to datacentres, which risks displacing productive, job-rich businesses whose workers also contribute to our area economically and socially.
Updated
Australian woman accused of travelling to Syria to join IS refused bail in Sydney
A Sydney woman charged with joining the Islamic State will remain in custody after prosecutors argued the case against her was “strong and straightforward”.
Janai Safar, 32, appeared before NSW bail court on Friday after she was arrested at Sydney airport on Thursday evening. She was one of four women who returned to Australia with children who were allegedly linked to Islamic State fighters.
Three of those women have been charged, including Safar, who faces one country of entering, or remaining in, declared areas, and another charge of being a member of a terrorist organisation. Each offence she faces carries a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Judge Daniel Covington refused Safar’s application for bail on Friday afternoon because it did not meet the exceptional circumstances test.
Her lawyer, Michael Ainsworth of Samuel Griffith Chambers, argued Safar should be released on bail for a number of reasons, including that the now 32-year-old committed the offences when she was 21 and has been in a refugee camp for nine years.
“She’s been in a situation that is, is, in itself, custodial in another country,” he told the court.
Updated
Lane Cove council wants temporary moratorium on datacentre approvals
Last weekend, Guardian Australia reported on three communities across Australia concerned about massive new datacentres proposed for their communities, including the Project Mars datacentre in Lane Cove.
Lane Cove deputy mayor, Rochelle Flood, told a NSW inquiry into datacentres on Friday that consultation from the datacentre developer for the project had been lacklustre.
I’ve heard directly from residents who live in properties that essentially adjoin the business park right where the datacentre is going to go.
Some of them didn’t receive an initial letter of notification. They weren’t aware of the online Zoom meetings that the proponent held with the community, because some of them are in their 80s. They’re not particularly digitally savvy.
There are several datacentres running or in development in the business park in Lane Cove, and Flood said residents were concerned about the cumulative impact of the centres on air quality, the environment and electricity demand.
Until issues are addressed, such as a requirement for renewable energy, recycled water, a demonstration of community benefits, and giving locals a voice in the planning process, Flood said the NSW government should have a moratorium on new datacentre approvals.
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Shadow home affairs minister has questions for Albanese government over women with ties to Islamic State
Jonno Duniam, the shadow minister for home affairs, released a series of questions the Coalition has about the women and children with links to the Islamic State who returned to Australia from Syria yesterday.
Three women have been charged upon their return, but the Coalition has spent the day criticizing the Albanese government for letting them return to the country at all. Home affairs minister Tony Burke maintained the government did not assist with repatriation in any way, but promised anyone who committed alleged crimes would face the “full force of the law”.
Duniam asked 10 questions, including why, if there was sufficient evidence to arrest the women there was not enough to impose temporary exclusion orders. He also asked how much taxpayer money had already been spent and I’ll be spent to establish charges against and continue to monitor the cohort.
He said in a statement:
Australians deserve transparency from a government that has chosen to allow individuals that have allegedly committed some of the worst crimes imaginable – charges so serious some of them have never been used before – back into the country.
And Australians deserve a right to know what risks are being imposed on communities, what safeguards are in place, the cost they will have to bear, and whether the same chaotic scenes seen at Melbourne airport will be replicated.
Updated
That’s all from me! The great Caitlin Cassidy will take over from here. Enjoy your Friday arvo.
Schools and universities online platform hit in cyber-attack
Canvas, an online platform used by schools and universities across Australia, has been hit with a cyber-attack this week, with one university giving students an extension while student logins were disabled as a precaution.
Instructure, the company behind the platform, was the victim of a cyber-attack earlier this month, where the names, emails and school names were exposed, but authorities say no financial information was compromised.
The platform has had more than 200m users worldwide, with 9,000 institutions.
The platform was restored earlier this week, but according to tech site Bleeping Computer, the hacker group known as ShinyHunters, which claimed credit for the attack, has subsequently put defacements on a number of login portals for schools in the US.
The Queensland government said on Thursday that schools in the state were in the process of informing families and teachers. The Tasmanian education department said on Friday morning it was urgently seeking updates from Instructure while Canvas was still offline.
Instructure has been approached for comment. The company’s status page states Canvas is back online for “most users” as of Friday afternoon.
The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) said on Friday it had disabled access to the system as a precaution, and assessments due on Friday were given an extension to Monday 11 February.
Updated
More on Queensland’s electric bike and scooter debate
The committee’s report acknowledged “considerable discussion” about proposed licensing requirements, but it recommended these be kept in the bill due to “medical evidence indicating a higher risk among those under 16 years of age and who may not yet have the cognitive or motor skills required to safely operate e-mobility devices in dynamic environments”.
It also acknowledged the need to provide licence exemptions in some cases, such as people with disabilities who were unable to obtain a driving licence, but could safely operate an ebike.
The Labor opposition members of the committee flagged they would oppose the bill.
They said the bill was “unnecessarily burdensome and restrictive on users, creates layers of ambiguity and financial and legal risk for retailers and businesses, and greatly jeopardises the uptake of alternative transport to cars in the middle of a fuel affordability crisis that shows no signs of abating”.
Updated
Committee says Queensland should drop plans for blanket speed limit for electric bikes and scooters on shared pathways
A Queensland parliamentary committee has recommended the state government should drop plans for a blanket 10kmh speed limit for ebikes and e-scooters on shared pathways.
But the committee – which is controlled by members of the LNP government – has backed controversial plans to require riders to hold licences, and effectively ban riders under the age of 16.
The committee had been scrutinising draft legislation that had been broadly opposed by groups including ride-share operators, food delivery services and cycling advocates.
In a report tabled on Friday, the committee recommended a number of amendments.
The most significant was to drop plans for a blanket 10kmh speed restriction that would have applied on footpaths and bicycle paths. Instead the committee suggested the speed restriction should be applied only to “footpaths in high pedestrian areas”. Riders would still be restricted to 15kmh when they are within 10m of pedestrians on shared paths.
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Macquarie bank plans to keep growing share of home loan market
More on Macquarie’s big result: the bank plans to keep up its quiet takeover of Australia’s mortgage market.
Macquarie today reported it added nearly $40bn in home loans to its book in the year to March, with a portfolio of $181.3bn. It added less than $30bn the year before, so its growth is accelerating.
Over the last five years, it has doubled its share of the mortgage market to about 7%, while Australia’s four biggest banks lose market share. Macquarie’s chief executive, Shemara Wikramanayake, told reporters the bank would keep going:
We have been able to patiently, slowly, grow up a little bit every year … We’ve been finding that we’re getting more and more volume of applications, interest, et cetera. I think we’re happy to continue at that very considered pace, as long as we can deliver the returns for shareholders.
The bank reported a growing share of its loans had gone to investors, with 38% of the portfolio. It also saw a greater share of interest-only loans, at 20% of the total.
Other banks have started to report falling customer interest in home loans in recent months as interest rates rise and the housing market slows. Wikramanyake said the bank’s higher-income customers have not lost interest in home loans or started falling behind on mortgages:
We tend to be able to select the quality credit because we’re a small player and we get far more applications than we can take on every year. We focus on those people that have good postcodes, have good income, low loan [to] value ratio … We are still seeing the same appetite we have been seeing.
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ABC reporters denied entry to One Nation press conference in Albury
Reporters from the ABC were denied entry to One Nation’s press conference earlier this morning in an incident independent Michelle Milthorpe has criticised as being “quite rude”.
The rightwing populist party’s leader, Pauline Hanson, joined local candidate, David Farley, and One Nation MP, Barnaby Joyce, at their campaign headquarters in the centre of Albury on Friday morning for a press conference.
While some journalists from The Australian and The Daily Telegraph newspapers were allowed in to question the politicians, Guardian Australia understands ABC reporters were told they weren’t allowed.
Hanson took three questions at the small press conference and was asked about immigration and where her election night campaign will be held after the owner of Soden’s Hotel revealed One Nation had reportedly cancelled a booking with them at the last minute.
This afternoon, Milthorpe was asked for her reaction about the incident:
It’s sort of a missed opportunity for them, really, isn’t it? . … it’s quite rude actually, to kick people out. I think it’s really important that you give everyone an opportunity to hear your message, and I’m very sorry that that happened.
Updated
Woman charged with murder over Queensland man’s disappearance
A woman has been charged with murder in relation to the disappearance of Mackay man Wayne Pedro Morseu, AAP reports.
The 46-year-old was charged with one count of murder and one count of interfering with a corpse after Morseu was reported missing in November.
Suspicions were aroused after he had not contacted or been seen by anyone in a number of weeks. In March, police said they believed he had died at his home address in September.
They alleged that the 71-year-old man’s body remained in his unit for a period of time, before being moved by someone involved in his death.
The woman charged this week was known to the man. She was due to appear before Mackay magistrates court on Friday.
Updated
Macquarie executive out-earns CEO with $35m pay
The head of Macquarie’s commodities and global markets division earned more than $35m over the past 12 months, surpassing the pay packet of the company’s chief executive.
Simon Wright’s $35.4m pay was largely generated through a profit share arrangement after his division grew earnings by almost 50% amid volatile global energy markets.
The chief executive, Shemara Wikramanayake, received remuneration worth $26.5m, which still represents one of the biggest executive pay packages in Australia.
While the differential in pay may seem odd, Macquarie’s performance-based packages mean the CEO is not always the highest paid employee.
All up, three Macquarie executives earned more than $20m, and three more received packets worth more than $10m.
The global investment bank and asset manager recorded a $4.85bn annual profit for the 12 months to 31 March, representing its second-biggest ever annual result.
Updated
Richard Lewer’s portrait of artist Iluwanti Ken wins Archibald prize
Richard Lewer has been awarded the 2026 Archibald prize for his portrait of Pitjantjatjara elder, traditional healer and senior artist Iluwanti Ken.
The New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based artist – a six-time Archibald finalist – was announced as the winner of the $100,000 prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on Friday. The judging panel, comprised of the gallery’s trustees, selected the work unanimously from a field of 59 finalists whittled down from 1,034 entries.
“The best thing about winning this award is I’ll never be referred to as ‘Richard Lewer, the six- or seven-time finalist of the Archibald’, which is good because I was getting kind of sick of it,” the artist joked in his acceptance speech. “But I don’t know if there’s anything different with this painting or the other paintings or whatever. I think this is the right time, the right painting.”
Read more here:
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R&D spending in higher education returns to pre-Covid levels
Spending on research and development (R&D) has returned to pre-Covid levels, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows.
Higher education expenditure on R&D was $16.4bn in 2024, up 17% on 2022 levels and representing the highest rate of growth since 2012.
The head of business statistics at the ABC, Tom Lay, said spending had reached its “highest level since Covid-19 restrictions were lifted in 2022”.
This recovery was supported by the return of international students increasing university revenue streams and staffing levels.
The lift was largely attributed to a $1bn rise (17%) in labour costs, Lay said, with more research funding allowing universities to hire more academic staff.
He said many universities also delivered their first pay increases since the deferral of pay rises over the pandemic, while labour laws also led to the transition of casual roles to permanent positions.
He said:
Higher education spending as a share of GDP has increased from 0.54% in 2022 to 0.59% in 2024. This is the first increase for this sector since 2018 and reflects a return to more normal operations.
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NSW Health ‘combating antisemitism’ after nurse speaks out
NSW Health has said it will not tolerate discrimination, after a Jewish Sydney nurse manager said her colleagues had called her “Zionist scum” and told her to remove posters and ribbons commemorating the hostages of 7 October 2023.
The nurse, who remained anonymous, also told the royal commission into antisemitism yesterday she and others in the Jewish community felt unsafe as patients in hospitals. You can read more here:
A NSW Health spokesperson today did not directly address the nurse’s comments but said the department was “committed to combating antisemitism and hate in all its forms”. They said:
Any form of discrimination, whether from colleagues, patients, or the public, is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
We want to reassure our communities that NSW Health remains dedicated to providing safe, compassionate, high-quality, and patient-centred care to all individuals, regardless of their background or culture.
NSW Health frequently reiterates to staff across our workplaces how we strongly condemn any form of discrimination, hate speech, or prejudice that undermines the inclusive and compassionate values that underpin NSW Health.
The spokesperson said NSW Health was engaging with community leaders to inform policy with lived experiences and expanding cultural competence and anti-racism training for all NSW Health staff.
We acknowledge systemic change requires ongoing dialogue and collaboration, and we are deeply committed to continuing to work closely with stakeholders to ensure that our health system remains a place of trust, respect, and inclusion for all.
PM rejects calls for Anika Wells to resign
The prime minister was also asked about the $10,000 Anika Wells has repaid.
He said “she has paid back the money” and there is an independent parliamentary expenses authority in charge of the matter.
She referred herself to it which was appropriate and it was appropriate that she paid back the money … in accordance with the rules.
She has done what the rules require. Anika Wells is a very good minister doing extraordinary work … and Anika Wells has apologised.
Asked if she should resign, he reiterated that she had apologised and paid back the money.
Bridget McKenzie breached a range of flights while campaigning about people not making declarations. There were more than a dozen that she made. She did that and she remains a shadow minister in a senior position; indeed, she is deputy leader of the Nationals in the Senate.
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Wells repays more than $10,000 for travel breaches
The communications minister, Anika Wells, has repaid more than $10,000 for incorrect travel claims, identified after controversy about her use of taxpayer-funded entitlements.
In a statement released on Friday morning, Wells said an audit by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority identified four mistakes in her claims since Labor’s 2022 election victory.
As a result she has repaid $10,116.11, including a 25% penalty loading.
Her official travel attracted criticism in late 2025, sparked by figures showing she spent $100,000 to fly with a staffer to New York to promote the government’s social media ban for under 16s at a United Nations event. Wells faced criticism for using family travel entitlements to take her children and husband to official events, including the AFL grand final and a ski event in Thredbo.
“The publicly available audit found no misconduct or ethical breaches,” Wells said on Friday.
The audit found, over four years of travel, involving nearly 250 separate trips, I made four mistakes.
These were four cases where I chose what I thought was the more sensible, cheaper option, but those choices were not allowed according to the rules, which I accept and respect.
Wells said she accepted the decision by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority and apologised for “honest mistakes”.
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‘I have sympathy for the children’, PM says on return of Australians from Syria
Asked about the return of 13 women and children linked to IS who arrived back in Australia today, the prime minister says the government will “deal with these issues in an appropriate way” and adds that he has sympathy for the children who are “victims of the decisions their parents have made”.
One of the things that divides our society from the lawless barbarity of Isis is we believe in the rule of law and that means if you are an Australian citizen, you have some entitlements.
I have seen comments from various Coalition figures and some in the media that they know are simply not true. We provided no support for these people. They were not brought back.
It is correct the US government and others urged us to do so. We chose to make our own decisions as a sovereign state and not provide them with any support because I have absolutely zero sympathy for these people. I have sympathy for the children, who are victims of decisions their parents have made.
Albanese says it is appropriate the children undergo support after being exposed to “all sorts of horrors” in the camps.
On three women who arrived back in Australia after spending years in Syrian detention camps, he says: “they are in the clink, got arrested and they will be charged today”.
I have faith in our authorities, in the Australian Federal Police, Asio, I will back them, allow them to do the job and that is what they have done … Australian citizens have rights, but we have a right as a government to ensure the law is upheld and these people will face the full force of the law.
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Albanese touts $3.8bn in budget funding towards Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is addressing media from Melbourne in his high vis. It comes after it was revealed the federal government would spend another $3.8bn for the Suburban Rail Loop, Melbourne’s controversial and costly 90km public transport project.
He takes the time to plug this coming budget, telling reporters they will “see all of the money flow on Tuesday night”.
Jim Chalmers, tune in.
Asked if the Victorian government asked for more funding, he says they “negotiated, as we always do, constructively, in order to deliver what was necessary to make sure that this project is full-steam ahead”.
This will flow. You will see that on Tuesday night.
What costs money is not building proper infrastructure. What costs money [is] through urban congestion, through people not having homes to live in close to public transport.
We are committed to investment in infrastructure because that is how you grow an economy, that is one of the best things you can do to boost productivity … Whether it’s Paris, New York, London, they all have not rail networks that go all to one point at the equivalent of Central Station.
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Julie Bishop’s resignation latest in tumultuous time at Australian National University
Julie Bishop’s resignation comes less than a year after the exit of the Australian National University’s vice chancellor, Prof Genevieve Bell, and continues a tumultuous three years for the institution marred by redundancies, proposed course closures and allegations of a toxic work culture.
When Bell tendered her resignation in September last year, Bishop vowed to stay on as chancellor despite pressure from the union, student groups, sectors of the academic community and independent senator David Pocock questioning her future.
Labor senator Tony Sheldon was among the former foreign minister’s critics, pointing to “sweeping restructures … rising dissatisfaction among students and staff” and a failure to “provide transparency around serious governance concerns” during her tenure.
The forced job cuts and restructure have since been walked back under the leadership of the interim vice-chancellor, provost Rebekah Brown. At least 399 redundancies have been taken since the restructure began in 2024.
At the time of Bell’s resignation, Bishop said there were “no grounds” for her to step aside and she had the full backing of council to continue her tenure until 2026. She said at a press conference last September:
The university’s financial situation … began a very long time ago. We’re not the only university that has found itself in this kind of difficulty.
ANU remains under scrutiny, with a review ongoing by the higher education regulator, TEQSA, into its governance, financial sustainability and institutional culture.
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Julie Bishop acting in ‘best interests’ of ANU, David Pocock says
The independent senator for the ACT David Pocock has praised staff and students at the Australian National University (ANU) for standing together in the “face of poor leadership and governance” after the revelation that the former foreign minister Julie Bishop has resigned as chancellor from the institution.
In a statement this morning, Pocock said ANU was founded 80 years ago “as a beacon of hope, of working together and striving for better as a country”.
After an incredibly difficult few years, now is the time to recommit to that mission, that optimism and that vision for what the ANU can be. Staff and students at the ANU and our community have stood together in the face of poor leadership and governance in recent times.
Pocock said it had been “scary and difficult” for staff and students to do so, pointing to evidence given in a Senate inquiry last year, “at great personal cost”.
We’ve seen dozens of professors, emeriti and alumni put their name to letters over the years, and as recently as this week, demanding better governance of our national university … The bravery of all these people, backed by the support of our broader community, has forced ANU leaders to take responsibility for these governance and leadership failures. In stepping aside, the chancellor is acting in the best interests of the ANU …
A number of processes, including a review by the higher education regulator TEQSA, are yet to conclude and need to be allowed to run their course. The voluntary undertaking to conduct an independent process to appoint the next chancellor is very welcome and will hopefully help rebuild trust, confidence and better governance at our national university.
Bishop and ANU have been approached for comment.
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NSW police arrest 62nd person in long-running investigation into child abuse material
Officials with NSW police’s sex crimes squad arrested a 62nd person in a long-running investigation that saw the largest seizure of child abuse material in the state’s history.
Police said the arrest was made under strike force Glandore, established in 2023, to investigate the online distribution, supply and access of child abuse material. Detectives said the investigation began after police discovered an Australian network of more than 700 alleged offenders using a cloud-based storage platform to allegedly access and share the offending material.
62 of those alleged offenders were found to reside in NSW, all of whom have since been arrested and charged with a total of 400 offences.
The man arrested yesterday was taken into custody in Corrimal. He was refused bail and will appear before court today.
Adam Powderly, a detective acting supt with NSW police, said:
Every image shared, every file accessed, represents a real child who has been harmed. Today’s final arrest closes one of the biggest CEIU strike forces to date and has made a significant dent in the number of paedophiles operating in NSW, disrupting a key part of Australia’s online child abuse network.
Julie Bishop has resigned as chancellor of ANU
Julie Bishop has resigned as the chancellor of the Australian National University, finance minister Katy Gallagher confirmed this morning.
Gallagher said in a statement:
I note the resignation of ANU Chancellor Julie Bishop.
The challenges facing ANU did not arise overnight, and rebuilding trust and confidence across the university community will take time and careful work.
I have consistently said the university leadership and Council need to work openly and constructively with staff, students and the broader community to rebuild confidence and agree on a path forward.
That remains the task ahead for the university.
Barnaby Joyce says Farrer voters can send a message to Canberra in byelection
The One Nation MP, Barnaby Joyce, says voters in Farrer can be at the “forefront of the change in politics in Australia” by supporting the right-wing party in Saturday’s federal byelection.
Joyce appeared at a press conference in Albury with the One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, and Farrer candidate, David Farley, on the eve of the highly anticipated byelection.
The contest – which was triggered by former Liberal leader Sussan Ley’s resignation from parliament – is expected to be a race between Farley and the independent Michelle Milthorpe.
Joyce said:
You have the opportunity to say to Canberra, to say to parliament, no, you’re not doing a good enough job. We’re not just going to accept what you’ve delivered.
Joyce said One Nation was already “changing the direction of this nation”, claiming credit for the Coalition’s decision to dump a net zero emissions target and pursue a hardline immigration policy.
Australia has so much potential, so much potential. We could be a powerhouse for good in the world, but we have to first of all become the powerhouse.
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Employment effect of datacentres ‘relatively small’
The NSW inquiry into datacentres has heard evidence downplaying industry claims of the potential growth in employment in the datacentres sector with more centres being built across the country.
A Mandala 2024 report commissioned by the datacentre industry claimed by 2030 there will be 17,900 people employed in datacentre operations in Australia.
Dr Riki Scanlan, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Sydney, told the NSW inquiry that this would represent less than 1% of people in NSW and datacentres fall “well below” employment targets for industrial areas in Western Sydney.
These are highly, capital-intensive and not labour-intensive, workforces and sectors … we also have to … take into account that these are datacentres that are substituting from the existing datacentres in Commonwealth bank basements.
And so if you’ve got three people employed to manage a Commonwealth Bank datacentre, who are now being laid off because Commonwealth Bank has got rid of it, and now it’s a quarter of a person for the Commonwealth Bank [in a] datacentre operation in a large hyperscale or co-located datacentre somewhere else, perhaps is actually a net drop in employment overall.
He said that employment effects of datacentres are “relatively small, if not negative”.
Academics giving evidence to the committee argued that planning should be handled more delicately, noting the potential cumulative environmental impact of clusters of datacentres emerging in areas such as Lane Cove.
Lane Cove council and the City of Sydney will give evidence this afternoon.
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More on Janai Safar, whose lawyers will make an application for her bail before a NSW court at some point today.
Commonwealth prosecutors have just appeared briefly again to tell judge Daniel Convington that they’ve heard from one of Safar’s lawyers that she won’t be able to appear until after midday.
Lawyers seeking ‘urgent psychologist report’ for arrested returnee from Syria Janai Safar
Lawyers acting on behalf of the Sydney women who returned to Australia last night after spending years in Syrian detention camps have told prosecutors they are seeking an “urgent psychologist report” before making an application for her release, a court has heard.
Janai Safar, 32, was one of four women who returned to Australia with children on Thursday who were allegedly linked to Islamic State fighters. Three of those women have been charged, including Safar who faces one country of entering, or remaining in, declared areas, and another charge being a member of a terrorist organisation. Each offence she faces carries a maximum of ten years in prison.
Safar’s application for bail is due to be heard before NSW bail court today. She is yet to appear, but prosecutors from the commonwealth department of public prosecution made a brief appearance a short time ago. One prosecutor told judge Daniel Convington they understand an application for her release will be made today.
The prosecutor said:
I understand that there will be a release application today. However, I’m informed by email that the defense are seeking an urgent psychologist report.
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First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria elects co-chair to lead Australia’s first formal Treaty body
Australia’s first formal Treaty body, Gellung Warl, appointed its inaugural co-chairs in Bendigo this week, marking a landmark step for the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria.
Dja Dja Wurrung, Wamba Wamba, Yorta Yorta, Dhudhuroa, Waywurru, Barapa Barapa, Wergaia and Wiradjuri man Djaran Murray-Jackson, will serve alongside Meriki Onus from the Gunnai and Gunditjmara clan as co-chairs for Gellung Warl.
Established on 1 May, Gellung Warl is the formal Treaty body represented by the First Peoples’ Assembly – a democratically elected group of traditional owners empowered to make decisions for First Peoples across Victoria.
Onus said Gellung Warl would work to deliver better outcomes across a range of areas.
We have walked a decade-long journey and negotiated and signed Australia’s first Treaty, now we must make sure that Treaty delivers real change for us,” she said.
“Our first priority is working with our communities on how we can use Gellung Warl’s new powers and responsibilities to secure better outcomes across health, education and employment for our people.
Murray-Jackson said First Nations peoples were the “experts on our own lives”, and that they “know what does and doesn’t work for our communities”.
Treaty is how we make the most of our local knowledge to get better outcomes for our people.
We’ve just had our third Treaty elections and we’re really proud of the results.
Our elections are non-compulsory, yet over 10,000 First Peoples enrolled for the elections, showing how deeply our people are committed to Treaty.
Golf Australia reveals plan to combat re-zoning of public courses
Golf Australia is preparing to defend the country’s public courses against re-zoning attempts as part of its five-year strategy released on Friday, even as participation growth skews towards non-traditional venues like simulators and driving ranges.
The sport reported annual growth in adult participation of 10% over the past five years, sustaining a boom that began during the Covid pandemic.
The greens and fairways at Moore Park in inner Sydney have been the highest-profile target for downsizing, with the NSW government confirming on Thursday the 18-hole course would be configured into a 12-hole layout, despite opposition from golfers. Venues on defence land are also earmarked for sale under the federal government’s defence sell-off.
Read more here:
Hantavirus update: risk to Australia ‘very low’, health department says
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) said yesterday that it is aware of four Australians aboard the MV Hondius, the ship at the centre of the hantavirus outbreak.
A spokesperson told the Guardian that it is not aware of any Australians affected by the reported outbreak, but said Dfat remains ready to provide consular assistance if needed.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health added that the risk to human health in Australia from the outbreak remained low. In a statement, the spokesperson added:
There are no reports of hantavirus infection in humans in Australia, and the risk to Australia remains very low. The World Health Organization has assessed the global risk from this outbreak as low.
Hantavirus is a serious infection but transmission between humans is rare and only observed where there is close and prolonged contact.
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Chalmers added that, in nominal terms, the savings levels are “much bigger than normal when it comes to budgets”.
This is a historically large gross savings figure. It is also exceedingly rare that a government will be landing down two budget updates in a row where there’s a net save.
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Chalmers promises ‘especially responsible budget’
Chalmers said the number reflects “64 billion reasons why this is an especially responsible budget”.
There are big pressures in our economy and in our budget, and despite all of these pressures we will be saving more than we spend in the budget that Katy and I hand down on Tuesday night.
That’s because we take this inflation challenge in our economy very seriously.
The budget will focus on fuel security, cost of living and housing, productivity, tax reform and a “very substantial” savings package.
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Budget to include $64bn in savings and ‘reprioritisations’
The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, and the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, are speaking in Canberra ahead of next week’s federal budget.
Gallagher said the budget is ambitious and “all about reform” and looking at savings “right across government”. She said:
We have spent months working across government to find responsible savings, to be able to repair the budget but also to reprioritise, to deal with some of the spending pressures that are coming at us.
She said there are pressures across the board, including in defence, within the NDIS, in health and beyond.
The budget will include savings of $64bn in “reprioritisations and savings”.
In every single budget we have found savings to return to budget, to reprioritise, to meet those increasing pressures across the government, and this gross savings figure is much bigger than those that have come before.
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Housing downturn looms as rate hikes bite, data suggests
Australia is on the cusp of a housing market downturn as interest rates and affordability woes sap buyer demand, new data suggests.
AAP reports Sydney and Melbourne are already in the early stages of decline while price growth across the mid-sized capitals is losing momentum, Cotality’s latest Housing Chart Pack found.
Combined capital city home values rose just 0.2% in April, with the property analytics firm’s research director, Tim Lawless, warning the national market could dip into negative territory within months. Lawless said:
Sydney and Melbourne are already five months into the early phases of decline, while price growth is slowing across the mid-sized capitals.
Listings are picking up as demand softens, interest rates are rising, while affordability and serviceability pressures are biting.
A significant increase in distressed sales or mortgage arrears wasn’t expected, Lawless told AAP.
The forecast comes after the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate to 4.35%, the third hike so far in 2026 that have fully reversed cuts in 2025.
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David Attenborough at 100: ‘I had thought I would celebrate quietly’
In a dose of good news, Sir David Attenborough is 100 today. The veteran broadcaster said he expected to celebrate quietly, but expressed gratitude for the well-wishes he had received.
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Hume says leaked Coalition immigration plans could be ‘made up’ but maintains migration ‘too high’
Jane Hume, the deputy opposition leader, was asked on RN Breakfast earlier about Guardian Australia’s report yesterday that the Coalition is planning to cut Australia’s annual net overseas migration levels to 150,000-200,000, part of a confidential policy roadmap.
Hume told RN she hadn’t seen those documents or heard those numbers discussed in “any official circumstances”. She added:
But what I can say is that we should, we all know that the numbers of migrants has been too high in the last four years, 1.6 million people to our shores. And that has pushed up the prices of housing. It’s put pressure on our infrastructure. It’s put pressure on our healthcare system.
Hume declined to say what specific types of visas the Coalition would look to target if the plan were true, saying again she hadn’t seen the figures and they “could well be made up”.
But we can safely say that the numbers of migrants to Australia have been too high recently and the standards have been too low. That needs to change.
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Two women arrested in Melbourne charged with multiple crimes against humanity
The two women arrested in Melbourne yesterday after their return from Syria have now been charged by the Australian Federal Police.
A woman, 53, was charged with multiple crimes against humanity, including enslavement, possessing a slave, using a slave and engaging in slave trading. Each offence carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
The second woman, 31, was also charged with a pair of crimes against humanity, including enslavement and using a slave.
The pair will appear before court today.
Stephen Nutt, the AFP assistant commissioner of counter terrorism, said in a statement planning for a potential return of such individuals had begun in 2015:
Australian JCTTs (Joint Counter Terrorism Teams) methodically investigated all Australians who travelled to declared conflict areas and will ensure those who are alleged to have committed a criminal offence are put before the courts.
JCTTs include some of the most experienced national security investigators and analysts in our country. This remains an active investigation into very serious allegations.
Deputy opposition leader also critical of Albanese government
Jane Hume, the deputy leader of the opposition, said while the Coalition has great faith in the authorities when it came to the group of women and children with links to the Islamic State, concerns remained with the Albanese government.
Hume told RN:
They’ve said one thing and done the other. They said they didn’t want these people to return to Australia, and yet at the same time, they didn’t stop them getting passports … They didn’t use temporary exclusion orders …
I think the Australian taxpayer has the right to know that the government has done everything in its power to prevent them coming here, to prevent that cost occurring and to keep Australians safe.
Gallagher says Australia will ‘spend what we need to’ regarding Syrian returnees
Katy Gallagher, the finance minister, is speaking about the Syrian returnee cohort now on RN. She said the arrests yesterday and the government response to the women’s return had been managed “absolutely appropriately by the police and by our intelligence agencies”.
Gallagher was asked about the children in the group and if they were responsible for their situation. She had this to say:
The parents of these children have made a terrible decision to either take those children or have children in these camps or in these war zones. And those children I think are going to need a lot of assistance to reintegrate into Australia.
They are Australian citizens. They obviously have entitlement to Australian citizenship. But we would support the efforts of the state governments, the police, and the intelligence agencies to make sure those children are supported and managed appropriately.
Gallagher was also asked about reported figures that it could cost up to $2m per person to provide monitoring and countering violent extremism programs to those in the cohort. Gallagher responded:
We will spend what we need to spend to keep Australians safe. I would suggest that the opposition would have done exactly the same when they were in government.
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‘There’s a concern, obviously’: Canavan critical after women and children with links to Islamic State return
Nationals leader Matt Canavan said concerns remained after a cohort of 13 women and children with links to the Islamic State returned to Australia yesterday, pointing to the three arrests of women at airports in Sydney and Melbourne on arrival.
Canavan spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying the government should have used all the powers it had to “slow this process down”:
I think there’s a concern, obviously, there’s a risk here. That risk is clearly demonstrated by the fact that the government has charged three of these returning people.
I’m not exactly sure why the government wouldn’t use the powers that exist, the temporary exclusion orders, if these people are big enough risks to be charged in the way they have … last night, why wouldn’t you use the powers to keep Australians safe, to keep them out of this country for a bit longer while we work?
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, maintained that the standard to impose a temporary exclusion order was extremely high and just one woman had been barred from returning to Australia back in February. The government said repeatedly it did not help with any repatriation efforts for the cohort that returned yesterday. Canavan added:
I think what’s really important now is that the prime minister come out today and explain how this has helped [the] safety of Australians.
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Good morning
Nick Visser here to pick up the blog. Let’s see what Friday holds for us.
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Victorian opposition proposes hiring freeze to tackle state debt
The Victorian opposition leader, Jess Wilson, will announce a plan to implement an indefinite hiring freeze across all back-office public service roles if elected in November, in an effort to bring down the state’s ballooning debt.
Wilson will announce the plan at a Liberal party fundraiser today, which she will say could save taxpayers $22bn over a decade.
She said the hiring freeze would affect 46 government departments and agencies but excludes frontline roles such as teachers, nurses and police. She said the savings would be achieved through “natural attrition,” which involves not hiring replacements when people leave their positions.
The opposition said the hiring freeze will remain in effect until Victorian public service staffing levels return to the population-adjusted equivalent of 2014-15 levels.
Wilson said in a statement:
Rightsizing back-office public service roles is a difficult, but necessary measure I am willing to take to guarantee essential services and repair Victoria’s finances.
Tuesday’s budget showed a $727m operating surplus this financial year and forecasts further surpluses each year across the forward estimates.
But it also forecasts that debt will grow from $165.3bn in June 2026 to $199.3bn in 2029-30. By then, interest payments on state debt are forecast to total $11.82bn – or $32m a day.
About 35% of the government’s revenue in the coming financial year – $41.13bn – is expected to be spent on public sector wages. This is despite the government committing in December to a plan to slash 1,000 public sector jobs in December, including 300 executives, and merge several entities.
Woman in court over alleged membership of Islamic State
A 32-year-old woman will appear in court in Sydney this morning after being charged on her arrival back in Australia last night with being a member of Islamic State.
Janai Safar was part of a group of 13 women and children who arrived back in separate flights – one into Sydney and one into Melbourne – last night.
She was escorted off the plane by police officers and later charged with entering, or remaining in, declared areas, and being a member of a terrorist organisation, Australian federal police said on Thursday night.
Both offences carry a maximum penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Two other women from the group – Kawsar Abbas, 53, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmad, 31 – were arrested by officers from the Victorian joint counter-terrorism team at Melbourne airport. Abbas’ other daughter, 33-year-old Zahra Ahmad, was not arrested or charged. The women arrived with eight children.
Here’s our full story:
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.
A woman who arrived back in Australia last night after spending more than seven years in Syrian detention camps will appear at Downing Centre local court this morning charged with allegedly entering a declared conflict zone and joining Islamic State. More coming up.
