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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Nick Visser

Australia news live: AFL greats arrive for Neale Daniher’s state funeral; One Nation says it will ‘target Labor-held seats’

Attendees watch the Neale Daniher state funeral at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Attendees watch the Neale Daniher state funeral at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Photograph: James Wiltshire/AFL Photos/Getty Images

No indication yet of how alleged Bondi attacker will plead

Returning to news that the alleged Bondi attacker will officially face 19 fresh charges.

Outside court earlier today, Leonie Gittani, one of Naveed Akram’s lawyers, gave no indication of how her client will plead when she spoke to reporters.

Prosecutors are yet to file the brief of evidence which Akram’s lawyers will view and may inform how Akram pleads.

Deputy chief judge Michael Antrum approved a request by prosecutors on Wednesday to extend the deadline for the brief of evidence to 12 August, taking it two months beyond the usual six-month time limit for briefs to be served.

Antrum said:

I’m sure there’s a significant volume of material.

Gittani said outside court the case was “unprecedented” and “there’s still a way to go”.

She also said it wasn’t unexpected that additional charges would be laid given the “magnitude” of the case.

Updated

Australia’s AI regulation to face scrutiny in new inquiry

Submissions have opened for a Senate inquiry into AI datacentres in Australia.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young will chair the body, which will look into the economic, environmental and social impacts of the surge in AI infrastructure, including questions around energy and water use and their effects on local communities.

Hanson-Young said in a statement today:

AI is the new extractive industry and Australia’s regulations are lagging behind. Like the gas industry, these massive data miners want to extract Australia’s resources for free, paying very little for the data, water and energy all used to make their huge corporate profits …

If we don’t put the handbrakes on this rapid datacentre development our communities, energy and water resources will be at risk.

Updated

AFL greats arrive for Daniher state funeral

There are a few AFL greats arriving at the MCG for the state funeral of Neale Daniher.

They include Essendon player and former Fremantle coach Mark Harvey, Brisbane coach Chris Fagan, and Daniher’s brothers, Terry and Anthony, who also played alongside him on the same Essendon team.

David Neitz and Paul Hopgood, former Melbourne players and close friends of Daniher have also arrived, as has former footballer and commentator, Rex Hunt, Scott Selwood, who played at West Coast when Daniher was the club’s football manager, and former Nationals MP Damian Drum, who also used to play and coach AFL.

According to the order of service, after the Welcome to Country and national anthem, we’ll hear from Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, the prime minister Anthony Albanese and then Daniher’s wife, Jan, and four children: Loz, Luke, Bec and Ben.

Anthony Daniher, Neitz, Hopgood and Fagan will also make a tribute, along with Daniher’s close friend, Cam Taylor.

Singer-songwriter Gary Pinto will perform between the tributes.

The back of the order of service booklet features a quote from Daniher himself:

I hope to leave a legacy that says this: no matter the odds, no matter the diagnosis, we all have the power to fight, to smile, and to do. Because the mark of a person isn’t what they say; it’s what they do.

The funeral service begins at 1pm.

Updated

Funding lifeline saves Tasmanian and SA smelters, including more than 1,000 jobs

More than 1,000 workers at two major smelters have been given a lifeline after a metals producer received a $105m government boost, AAP reports.

The joint federal and state funding will keep Nyrstar’s Hobart and Port Pirie, South Australia plants running through 2026 while the international company weighs up major investments in critical minerals production.

The agreement follows the expiry of a $135m rescue package in May and weeks of tense talks over how much taxpayer money would be put on the table to secure the sites.

The new deal would keep workers in jobs and protect Australia’s ability to process minerals vital to defence, semiconductor, energy and automotive industries, industry and innovation minister, Tim Ayres, said.

Nyrstar, headquartered in the Netherlands, is a major producer of lead, silver, zinc and other critical minerals at the Port Pirie and Hobart smelters.

Updated

Homeless man found dead with burn injuries in Melbourne’s east

A man believed to be homeless has been found dead with burn injuries in a park on a quiet street in Melbourne’s east.

Police said a passerby found the man in parkland in Donvale about 4.20pm on Tuesday. The man was yet to be identified this morning but it appeared he had no fixed address and may have been sleeping rough in the area.

Arson squad detectives attended the scene but not homicide detectives, a police spokesperson said. They declined to share further detail on the suspected burns.

An autopsy will be carried out and a report prepared for the coroner to determine whether the man’s death was suspicious, police said.

Officers are making further inquiries into the man’s identity. Police urged anyone who may have seen him in the area, knows the man’s identity or has other information to contact Crime Stoppers.

Updated

Crowds gather for Neale Daniher’s funeral at MCG

Here are some more images coming from Neale Daniher’s state funeral at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, as crowds continue to gather:

Updated

Mourners arrive at MCG for state funeral of Neale Daniher

Mourners have begun arriving at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the state funeral of AFL great and motor neurone disease crusader Neale Daniher, who died at home on 25 May, aged 65.

Daniher, the 2025 Australian of the Year, became the symbol of the fight against MND after his 2013 diagnosis with the incurable and fatal disease, which he dubbed “The Beast”.

He defied the odds, battling MND for 13 years when the average life expectancy is 27 months.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will lead tributes at the funeral – on the hallowed grounds where Daniher played for Essendon and coached Melbourne.

The state funeral comes just two days after the annual Big Freeze match between Collingwood and Melbourne, which raised $2.5m for FightMND. The governor-general, Sam Mostyn, was among the high-profile figures who slid into an ice bath as part of the festivities.

- Australian Associated Press

Updated

Government R&D spending falls when adjusted for inflation

Government spending on research and development (R&D) has fallen in real terms in the latest financial year, new Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data shows.

Spending was $4.4bn in 2024-25, up 1% from 2022-23 before adjusted for inflation.

The head of business statistics at the ABS, Tom Lay, said the increase was the “lowest since 2018-19, when it grew 2 per cent”.

When adjusted for the impacts of inflation, government spending on R&D declined by 4 per cent in 2024-25 in real terms.

Government spending on R&D as a proportion of GDP fell from 0.17% in 2022-23 to 0.16% in 2024-25, the ABS data showed, well below the OECD average of 2.73%.

The largest rise was for environmental sciences, up $224m or 55%, followed by biomedical and clinical sciences.

University and science bodies have consistently lobbied governments to increase R&D spending to 3% of GDP in line with global competitors, arguing it drives productivity and economic growth.

Updated

One Nation says it will ‘target Labor held seats’ as rightwing party seeks supporter donations

In a donation drive email today seeking contributions from supporters, Pauline Hanson’s party claims Labor is “destroying the Australia we know”, branding prime minister Anthony Albanese a “liar”.

“One Nation has proven we can win lower house seats – so it’s time to target Labor held seats,” the email says.

One Nation’s polling surge, now outperforming both Labor and Liberal on primary votes, has previously been seen as a threat to conservative parties – but outer suburban or regional Labor-held seats could also come under threat if current polling levels hold until the next election.

In a campaign they’re calling “fire the liar”, One Nation references a donation drive from Labor to its supporters, in which the government party sought funds from its backers to “prevent One Nation from turning polling momentum into seats”.

It is commonplace for politicians and parties of all stripes – Labor, Liberal, One Nation, independent and more – to regularly seek donations from supporters in email fundraising campaigns.

Hanson on Tuesday had claimed it was “disgusting” for Labor to seek donations:

I just can’t believe that they are brave enough to ask poor Australians to give over their money to fund their campaigns. It’s just disgusting.

One Nation has sent at least weekly emails to subscribers, suggesting donation amounts of between $5 and $100 to “support our fight to challenge the two-party system – fund ads, materials, and campaigning on the ground”. The emails direct supporters to the party’s website, where a blurb states: “One Nation needs your help to break the party system.”

Updated

Government loses indefinite detention case in high court, liable for damages

The Australian government is liable for paying damages to a man it unlawfully held in immigration detention for 18 months because he could not be removed to another country, the high court has ruled.

The case of Safwat Abdel-Hady could be a watershed moment on whether the government could be liable for damages for more than 350 unlawful non-citizens released after the high court ruled against indefinite detention in 2023.

The Austrian citizen was unlawfully held in immigration detention for a period of 18 months because his health conditions restricted his travel, and meant he had no real prospect of removal to another country.

The high court’s ruling this morning means the government cannot defend against damages claims on the basis that it relied on the high court’s previous 2004 ruling in Al-Kateb – which was overruled in 2023 – allowing non-citizens without a visa who cannot be removed to another country to remain in indefinite detention.

Abdel-Hady’s matter will now be heard in the federal circuit court, which will determine whether he is liable for damages.

We’ll bring you more once we work through the reasons.

Read more:

Updated

Bondi terror accused Naveed Akram formally charged with 19 new offences

Prosecutors have filed court attendance notices today for 19 fresh charges laid against Naveed Akram for his alleged role as a gunman in the Bondi terror attack, taking the total number of charges against him to 78.

A commonwealth prosecutor told Downing Centre local court on Wednesday that the documents had been filed today after the new charges against Akram were first revealed last month.

Akram, 24, and his father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, allegedly killed 15 people after opening fire at a Hanukah festival at Bondi beach on 14 December.

Akram, who survived a shootout with police, was charged in December with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act that investigators allege may have been “inspired by Isis”. Sajid Akram was shot and killed by police at the scene.

The new charges include 10 counts of shooting with intent to murder and six charges of discharging a firearm with intent to resist arrest.

Prosecutors sought another extension on Wednesday to file the brief of evidence, with the court setting a new due date of 12 August. The prosecutor said they were still working through about 230,000 CCTV images and numerous devices “from other persons purportedly linked to the defendant” that required translation. She told the court:

We are progressing really steadily and well through the preparation of this matter towards charged verification.

An interim suppression order was placed over a number of the victims and complainants named in the fresh charges, which the court heard included police officers.

Updated

ACT will move to abolish stamp duty for first home buyers

First home buyers in the ACT will no longer have to pay stamp duty, the territory government will reveal, as it hands down a budget mired in debt, AAP reports.

Housing is central to ACT treasurer Chris Steel’s second budget, to be unveiled on Wednesday.

The latest milestone in ACT Labor’s long-term project to abolish stamp duty in favour of higher property rates will extend the exemption to all first home buyers from 1 July.

Currently, only homes under $1m are exempt and purchasers must be below income eligibility thresholds.

The ACT will become the first jurisdiction in Australia to fully abolish stamp duty for people entering the property market.

Updated

First test of national emergency warning alert system coming today in Canberra suburb

Australia’s emergency warning system will get its first test today, in the Canberra suburb of Duffy, with the federal government advising it is only a trial run and recipients of alerts don’t need to do anything.

The AusAlert system will see text messages sent to all mobile phones in each area, accompanied by a siren warning. The system is to warn Australians about natural hazards like bushfires and floods, security threats like public safety events or terrorism, and biosecurity or health emergencies.

The system will be operational later this year, with a nationwide test on 27 July, but small local tests will be carried out in the coming weeks.

Duffy is the first test site, with more scheduled in Launceston on 15 June, Cooya Beach in Queensland on 16 June, Liverpool in New South Wales on 17 June, and Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory and Victoria’s Geelong on 18 June, with more tests in following days.

The government is saying that people who receive a test alert don’t need to do anything, because it is just a test.

“A test alert will be sent to all mobile devices in the selected testing area at the time of the test. If you are in the test area with a compatible mobile device you may receive the alert,” the government website states.

Devices may vibrate and play a siren-like warning sound for about 10 seconds. An AusAlert message may appear on device screens. It will clearly say it is a test. Exactly how it appears will depend on your device type and operating system.

Updated

Disability discrimination commissioner warns NDIS changes will leave participants in ‘unsafe situations’

The disability discrimination commissioner, Rosemary Kayess, has called for a halt to the Albanese government’s planned overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) as she warns proposed participant budget cuts will leave “people in unsafe situations”.

Kayess is appearing on the second day of a Senate inquiry into Labor’s sweeping changes to the NDIS, which are designed to save $37.8bn over four years.

Among the changes are new powers that would allow the federal minister to make cuts to entire categories of support.

The health minister, Mark Butler, intends to use that power to order cuts of 50% to funding for social and community participation activities. Participants use the funding to hire support workers to accompany them into public, helping to build independence and reduce social isolation.

Under questioning from the independent senator, David Pocock, Kayess warned the cuts could cause significant harm to participants.

She said:

We know it will leave people in unsafe situations. We had four-and-a-half years of evidence given to the disability royal commission. People with disability in 2009, 2010 after the first round for a disability strategy identified the way that the vulnerability that is created when people are isolated and that’s how they become vulnerable, they end up in either closed environments or isolated environments and they are at risk of violence, abuse, and exploitation.

Asked if the bill should pass in its current form, Kayess said:

No, I think it needs to stop and slow down so there can be far more analysis. I feel the analysis we’ve been able to do over the last couple of weeks is still inadequate.

Updated

Western Sydney airport opening date set for 25 October

Western Sydney international airport’s inaugural flight will take off on 25 October, with its executives pledging to help ease demand on some of Australia’s busiest domestic routes, AAP reports.

Jetstar and Qantas tickets go on sale from Wednesday morning, with the budget carrier to run a combined 21 services a week to Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Qantas will begin flying to and from the airport in March 2027.

The first flight out of Sydney’s second airport will be a Jetstar service to the Gold Coast at 11am on 25 October.

Two international routes – Auckland and Changi – had previously been announced.

Updated

KPMG loses contracts and leaders amid scandal over alleged confidential leaks

The Australian chief executive of global accounting firm KPMG has resigned and its lucrative government contracts are under threat amid a growing scandal over alleged leaks of clients’ confidential information.

The London-headquartered company allegedly leaked secret documents and breached independence rules, around the same time its competitor PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was banned from working for the Australian government for leaking confidential tax information for commercial gain.

KPMG has already lost at least one $10m-a-year contract and will face two inquiries.

Here’s what you need to know:

Updated

Albanese urges ‘civil’ discourse on immigration debate amid One Nation rise

Anthony Albanese says he wants to dial down the temperature on the immigration debate, refusing to launch attacks against the opposition and One Nation’s policies.

The prime minister joined ABC Melbourne this morning but was hesitant to label the opposition’s policy to remove welfare access for permanent residents as “racist”.

He said:

Quite clearly, [Angus Taylor] has decided to compete with One Nation in that sphere … I’m not about using slogans. I’m saying that it’s not factually correct to say that someone who is an Australian permanent resident from a place, like India or China, where you can’t have dual citizenship, who, for practical reasons, or indeed there are so many people from the United Kingdom and from a range of countries who’ve been here almost their whole life who aren’t citizens …

We need to be able to have discourse, which is civil, where people are able to discuss things in a factual way, put different views, sure, but do it in a way that has some respect rather than the way that discourse is occurring.

Albanese was also asked by a listener whether the immigration debate occurring is due to higher levels of non-white migrants entering the country.

There are a range of factors which will drive people’s views, and I don’t think Australians aren’t homogenous. They don’t have one view, people will have a range of different views, but what I say is that we are stronger because of the diversity that is here in this country.

Read more:

Updated

Disability workers will push for 35% pay rise

Community and disability workers are pursuing the largest pay rise in decades in an historic claim, as the government continues to defend significant cuts to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, AAP reports.

The Australian Services Union will push for a 35% wage increase for 300,000 workers in the claim, citing the growing demands and complexity of their roles.

Emeline Gaske, the ASU’s national secretary, said the workforce, which is overwhelmingly made up of women, has been undervalued and underpaid for decades.

“We surveyed our members and what they told us was stark. More than half say they cannot get ahead financially. One in three won’t have enough to retire on,” she said ahead of the claim being filed on Wednesday.

As the sector continues to grow and demand for workers is surging, we cannot afford to lose workers because pay is failing to keep up with the cost of living. Something has to give, and that something is pay.

Updated

How the war in Iran could leave one Australian farmer $600,000 out of pocket

John Bennett’s farm is more than 11,000km from the strait of Hormuz, yet the war in the Middle East is having a daily impact on the grain grower’s life. He estimates increased fertiliser costs could strip about $600,000 from his farm’s bottom line this season.

“Numbers are big in farming,” Bennett says. “And in the end not a lot comes out at the end of the pipe.”

Albanese says ‘we need to do more’ on house prices

Albanese was asked if he’s been surprised by any backlash to the changes to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing.

“Tax reform’s hard … We’re working through these issues,” the prime minister said, pointing to efforts to support first home buyers. “The changes that we’ve made are modest.”

He went on to note the changes include grandfathering provisions that won’t hurt those already with negatively geared assets.

Albanese maintained that Treasury forecasts on house prices don’t show falls, but rather a much smaller increase over time rather than large gains.

It is certainly the case that since the changes were made in 1999, house prices have increased by 400%. That’s more than double the increase in incomes, and that’s what leads and explains the gap that’s there in affordability.

What we’ve done is thrown everything at supply … But we need to do more. Which is why these changes are aimed at boosting supply as well as giving first home buyers a fair crack.

Updated

Albanese says Australia still impacted by Middle East conflict ‘each and every day’

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is now on the ABC News Breakfast couch. He said Australia remains concerned about the economic impact of the turmoil in the Middle East.

“We’re a long way away, but we’re impacted here each and every day,” he said.

Albanese went on to say the government would make an assessment on the fuel excise cut as the conflict continues. The cut is set to expire at the end of June.

The prime minister said fuel shipments are continuing due to the work of the government.

Updated

Coalition needs to convince Australians it is a ‘genuine and credible’ alternative, Hume says

Jane Hume, the deputy opposition leader, said while she believes the Labor government had broken trust with voters, the Coalition had done so too, after fracturing and reuniting multiple times in recent months.

Hume spoke to ABC News Breakfast saying the opposition had to rebuild trust with Australians, adding:

Our job now is to demonstrate that we are a genuine and credible alternative to this terrible Labor government.

Hume added she thinks Tony Abbott’s presidency of the Liberal party is “terrific” and an opportunity for the Coalition.

He’s a great supporter of the party, he’s a great supporter of Angus Taylor, I think this is a great opportunity. The Liberal party has always been what John Howard called the broad church: we like having different opinions.

We listen to everybody’s views, and we represent them.

Updated

Clean energy advocates say it’s great to see ‘green energy statecraft’ at play after Bowen’s remarks in Germany

Clean energy advocates have cheered Chris Bowen’s remarks about electrification at a climate change conference in Bonn, Germany.

Melissa Conley Tyler, an honorary fellow at the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne, said it was “great to see green energy statecraft in practice”, adding:

As new president of negotiations for COP31, Australia will play a crucial role in setting the agenda and bringing countries together to agree on action.

Patrick Veyret, the spokesperson for Energy Consumers Australia, said:

The benefits of going all-electric are clear: cheaper bills, predictable energy costs, energy sovereignty and healthier environments to live and work in. …

As Australia steps up to lead negotiations for COP31, the federal government must back its international climate ambition with concrete domestic action. We need a clear, national roadmap and ambitious electrification targets to help households and small businesses to become all-electric.”

Updated

Australians should expect fuel excise cut to expire at end of June, transport minister says

Catherine King, the federal transport minister, said the Australian government maintains a diplomatic solution is needed amid renewed tensions in the Middle East surrounding the strait of Hormuz.

King spoke to ABC News Breakfast this morning, saying:

Obviously we know that we need diplomatic solutions to the conflict in the strait of Hormuz, and we want to urge all parties to continue to negotiate that.

I understand this is a pretty fragile ceasefire, and you’re seeing that borne out, unfortunately, this morning.

King was asked about any extension of the fuel excise cut, which ends at the end of this month. She said the government is still talking to industry, including trucking companies, about the impacts of continued spikes in fuel prices, but said Australians should expect that cut to expire at the end of June:

Obviously we are doing everything we can to shield Australians from this conflict in the Middle East. … But people should, at this stage, expect that it’s coming off at the end of June.

Updated

Climate change minister says world is having an ‘electrification moment’ at major conference

The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, said he thinks the world is having an “electrification moment” during a climate change conference in Bonn, Germany this week.

Turkey, the incoming presidency of the next UN climate summit, known as the COP, announced new targets calling for the global electrification target to rise to 35% by 2035.

Bowen said during the climate meeting Australia had done a lot of things “right” to meet that moment and confront the climate crisis, saying:

One thing that we have been getting right in Australia is that the journey to net zero runs through households, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy in many ways.

I think what’s happening is this: a lot of households are saying, well, now that we have solar panels on the roof and a battery in the garage, why don’t we get an EV? Because we can charge that EV at night off our battery and pay nothing. And I think these things become self-fulfilling and self-reinforcing.

This is something that we’ve learned along the way in Australia, and we’re sharing those thoughts, and we’re learning from others, of course, here in Bonn.

Updated

Good morning

It’s Nick Visser here to take over the blog. Let’s get to it.

Updated

Barbeques Galore goes bust with 62 stores to close

Australian retail chain Barbecues Galore will wind up its operations in the coming weeks after failing to negotiate a rescue deal, affecting 500 jobs.

Receivers confirmed on Tuesday that 62 company-owned stores will close, with staff facing redundancies. The brand’s other 27 franchise-owned stores are expected to work through “transitional arrangements” during the wind-up period.

The retailer, operational since the 1970s, entered voluntary administration in February. Management had been working on a conditional recapitalisation deal with major creditor Gordon Brothers, but negotiations with landlords and suppliers collapsed.

In a statement Tuesday, the receivers said staff will continue to be employed during the immediate receivership process before being made redundant:

All employees will be paid their full accrued redundancies and termination payments in the ordinary course of separation.”

Customers with a Barbequres Galore gift card will be able to use it until 30 June. However, in an arrangement first announced in February, for every $1 redeemed on a gift card, the shopper must spend $2. The receivers said in a statement:

Unredeemed gift cards will be treated as unsecured creditors after the 30 June deadline, so customers are encouraged to use their gift cards while they can do so.

Updated

Australia joins sanctions against 'extremist settlers'

Australia has joined the UK and other western allies in introducing sanctions against “extremist settlers” accountable for the “horrific levels of settler violence against Palestinian civilians”.

The announcement was made overnight by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and will see sanctions imposed on six firms and one individual involved in enabling and financing the recent upsurge in settler violence in the West Bank.

A statement released by Dfat said:

In response to the deteriorating situation in the West Bank, we the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, France, Norway and the United Kingdom, have taken coordinated action to introduce sanctions and other measures to hold extremist settlers accountable for the horrific levels of settler violence against Palestinian civilians.

Extremist violent settlers, with the backing of their supporters, continue to attack Palestinians and abuse their human rights. They use violence to displace Palestinians, destroy property and perpetuate the illegal settlement enterprise, undermining the viability of the State of Palestine and the prospects for peaceful coexistence.

For too long, violent settlers have been able to act with near impunity, and settlement expansion and creation of outposts continue with the support and facilitation of the Government of Israel. In some cases, settler violence takes place under the protection of Israel’s security forces. We continue to urge the Government of Israel to take action to ensure meaningful accountability for violence in the West Bank. The Government of Israel should ensure every attack is swiftly and thoroughly investigated, take action against the outposts and organisations that allow violence to flourish, and stop the incitement of violence.

We believe that peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians can only be achieved through the implementation of the two-state solution. Together, we will continue to work towards this goal.

We Australia, Canada, France, Norway, and the United Kingdom have all taken the historic decision to recognise the State of Palestine, reflecting the rights of the Palestinian people and as part of our common efforts to protect the viability of the two-state solution. Today, we are acting together again in support of the same objectives.

We stand ready to take more action if the Government of Israel does not take urgent steps to address the situation on the ground.

Read more:

Updated

High court to rule on indefinite detention damages claim

The high court will today rule on whether the Australian government should pay damages to a man it held in indefinite immigration detention for 18 months despite there being “no real prospect of [his] removal”.

Safwat Abdel-Hady’s case could determine whether the 350-or-so non-citizens affected by the high court’s ruling against indefinite detention in November 2023, known as the NZYQ cohort, are liable for damages for false imprisonment.

The Austrian citizen was placed in immigration detention in 2017 after his visa was cancelled by then home affairs minister Peter Dutton for pleading guilty to poisoning to endanger life or inflicting grievous bodily harm in 2012.

The federal circuit court ruled in June 2024 Abdel-Hady was declared not medically fit to travel for an 18-month period between July 2022 and February 2024 due to his medical conditions, and therefore there were no real prospects of removing him from Australia.

Abdel-Hady’s lawyers argued last November he should not have been detained by authorities using the precedent established in the 2004 case of Al-Kateb.

Lawyers acting for the government did not dispute that Abdel-Hady was wrongfully detained but argued the high court’s 2004 ruling had allowed authorities to detain someone indefinitely under the Migration Act before it was later ruled unlawful in 2023 in the NZYQ case.

We’ll bring you the judgment once it’s delivered after 10am.

Read more here:

Updated

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.

Australia has joined the UK and other western allies in introducing sanctions against “extremist settlers” accountable for the “horrific levels of settler violence against Palestinian civilians”. More coming up.

The high court will today rule on whether the Australian government should pay damages to a man it held in indefinite immigration detention for 18 months despite there being “no real prospect of [his] removal”.

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