What we learned: Thursday, 15 January
With that, we will wrap the blog for the evening. We’ll be back first thing tomorrow – take care of yourselves.
Until then, these were today’s biggest news headlines:
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has said the Albanese government’s proposed hate speech and anti-vilification legislation appears “pretty unsalvageable” and rejected suggestions of hypocrisy by the Coalition after weeks of calls for new laws to tackle antisemitism.
The Greens have said the party will not support the government’s hate speech bill “in its current form”.
The head of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry has called on the opposition to rethink its opposition to the government’s hate speech laws and seek amendments from Labor.
Allegra Spender has urged the Coalition to follow through on their calls for “urgent action” in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.
The Adelaide festival has reinstated its invitation to Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah to Adelaide writers’ week for 2027 and issued an unreserved apology amid the firestorm over the decision to remove her from its program.
Abdel-Fattah said she accepts the apology, but says it won’t be a “quick fix” to repair damage done.
The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, said he was informed of the new board’s decision to apologise to Abdel-Fattah, but he did not agree with that decision.
Major demonstrations in Sydney planned for 26 January could still go ahead even if a declaration restricting protests is extended beyond that date, as police confirm they are working with different organisers on contingencies.
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‘Hastily’ developed hate speech bill is ‘what the opposition demanded’, Monique Ryan says
Monique Ryan has said the federal government’s hate speech legislation has been “developed hastily”, but that’s “what the opposition demanded”.
The independent member for Kooyong said she hoped politicians would put politics aside next week and “work constructively on how best to protect all Australians’ security and freedom.”
Ryan said:
The Coalition has spent the past four weeks demanding action in response to the Bondi terrorist attacks, even calling for parliament to return before Christmas. But now, as laws in response to those attacks are being introduced, the Coalition is reportedly set to oppose them, claiming they’ve been developed too quickly.
Australians want their leaders to work together in matters of national security.The legislation we’re debating has been developed hastily: that’s what the opposition demanded. I’d be prepared to stay in Canberra for long as needed for us all to work together to make it better.
But it would be a very sad reflection on this country if our parliament can’t bring itself to agree to start working together to better address extremism, racial and religious hatred, and vilification, in the face of the trauma of the Bondi massacre. I hope that that’s not who we have become.
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Shortage of air traffic controllers leads to 30 flight cancellations at Sydney airport
Thirty Qantas and Jetstar flights have been cancelled and a number of Virgin Australia flights have been delayed at Sydney airport due to a shortage in air traffic controllers.
A spokesperson for Airservices Australia said:
Airservices has briefed airlines on the need for air traffic controllers to implement spacing intervals for aircraft arriving and departing Sydney today to safely manage operations while a number of our local staff are on short-notice sick and carers leave, some of whom have been covered through our resilience measures.
We will keep delays to a minimum and apologise for any impact to our customers and the travelling public.
Passengers are advised to check the status of their flight with their chosen airline.
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Motorists urged to avoid section of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road
A section of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road has been closed due to extreme weather, flooding and possible land slips.
The state’s Department of Transport and Planning said the closure was between Fairhaven and Skenes Creek.
The closure is under the control of emergency services. Closure points may change with little or no notice.
Motorists are urged to avoid the area. Conditions are changing rapidly and are dangerous.
If travel is essential in the area, please obey all directions of emergency services.
V/Line coach services that normally run along the Great Ocean Road are detouring inland, and will skip Kennet River and Wye River stops.
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Peter Malinauskas stands by position on Abdel-Fattah criticism
The South Australian premier said he was informed of the new board’s decision to apologise to Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, but he did not agree with that decision.
Peter Malinauskas said:
My position is consistent.
I thought it through very carefully before I made a decision, based on facts and principles, and the facts that informed my decision have now been proven…other people can explain why they’ve changed their position. I certainly don’t feel the need to change mine. I’m in favor of inclusivity. I’m in favor of consistency, making sure that all voices are heard.
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Member for Wentworth calls for all parties to work together to pass hate speech laws
Allegra Spender has urged the Coalition to follow through on their calls for “urgent action” in the wake of the Bondi terror attack after leader Sussan Ley flagged the opposition would oppose new hate speech laws.
The member for the federal seat of Wentworth – which takes in Bondi – said:
The Liberals and Nationals called for urgent action, now they must follow through. If there are differences within the Coalition, then at the very least they must give their MPs the opportunity for a conscience vote.
The independent MP said the Greens also have the “opportunity to help shape laws to tackle these issues” after they flagged concerns about the laws.
Spender said:
The horrific antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach demands national action and it’s time all parties and MPs delivered.
The victims, families and Jewish community leaders have been united in their calls for a strong response. The Royal Commission is part of it, but we also need urgent action on the issues that can be addressed quickly to ensure safety of the Jewish community, and give greater safety to all Australians.
This includes stronger hate speech laws and tougher gun laws.
We have a package of bills being introduced next week - they are imperfect but we can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
As MPs we have a responsibility to work on this legislation to deliver the urgent action that is required.
That means all parliamentarians working together.
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Adelaide festival will still pay appearance fees to writers
The festival’s executive director, Julian Hobba, has said the festival will still pay the fee writers would have received had their appearances not been cancelled.
However, he said this would not be extended to those who voluntarily pulled out.
Potter was asked during the press conference why the writers festival can’t go ahead now there has been an apology.
Potter said:
The reality is, whilst there is an apology now, international artists and others have cancelled, made other arrangements.
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Adelaide festival must look at ‘what brought on this situation’, says board chair
Potter was asked during the press conference if she supports calls by the South Australian opposition for an independent review into the dumping of Randa Abdel-Fattah.
She said she couldn’t say if she does support it without “knowing what they mean by an independent review, and what are the terms of reference”.
Potter said:
I fully support looking at it, but I think the first thing, the best thing to look at it, is us.
She said the new board had joined “for the love of the festival”:
That’s why we’re here. We believe in the festival. It’s in our core DNA, and we want it to be the international, national festival of Australia.
Potter said earlier during the press conference:
We are going to need to look at, well, what brought on this situation and what’s going to be best to ensure we don’t get into this situation again.
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Adelaide festival board chair tried to speak to Randa Abdel-Fattah
The Adelaide festival board chair Judy Potter and executive director Julian Hobba are speaking now, after the board released a statement apologising to Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah.
Potter said they had tried to speak to Abdel-Fattah, but she “was actually feeling she couldn’t deal with it this time”.
Potter said:
We did try to achieve that. I can understand why she didn’t, and we were directed to go through her lawyer.
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MEAA calls proposed hate speech laws ‘a threat to our democracy’
The union representing journalists and creative industry workers has come out in opposition to the Albanese government’s hate speech and anti-vilification laws, warning the draft legislation undermines core principles of press freedom and freedom of artistic expression.
In a statement, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance called the legislation “a threat to our democracy” and says it should not pass parliament.
The union said:
Journalists, creative workers, and members of our society must be free to provide criticism and commentary on the policies and actions of their own or any other state, or the actions of those who do so in the name of any religion.
We express our deepest condolences for and solidarity with the victims, families and communities impacted by the horrific terrorist attack at a Jewish Hannukkah celebration at Bondi Beach.
Stifling public conversation, reducing press freedom, and dampening creative expression is not a path to either healing or justice.
Our democracy needs honesty, accountability, and robust debate in order to thrive. Speech prohibition laws should not be expanded; they should be confined. Journalists, artists, and creative workers need to be supported in telling stories and giving commentary without fear or favour.
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‘Smiling assassin’ Jordan Smith basks in spotlight after hitting $1m tennis jackpot
Pending tax advice, tennis coach Jordan Smith is Australia’s newest millionaire, thrust into the global spotlight after beating top professionals in the One Point Slam on Wednesday night.
Smith’s improbable run to the $1m prize made him a magnet on Thursday morning at Melbourne Park, amid more than a dozen local and international interviews, selfies, promotions and autographs.
At 10.30am, having slept for less than three hours and with no food in his stomach, Smith was just trying to do his best with all the attention. “No one’s really experienced this before, right?” he said. “So waking up, yeah, I didn’t really know what to expect.”
Smith was standing just outside Rod Laver Arena, the location where 13 hours earlier he had lived the ultimate amateur sporting dream. AFL icon Bailey Smith was his first scalp, after a solid serve forced an error on the Geelong footballer’s return. Next was Laura Pigossi, the world No 86 who he ousted in a tight rally.
Read more here:
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Hi there, I’ll now be with you until this evening.
That’s all from me, folks. Jordyn Beazley will take the reins from here. Take care!
More on the ‘dangerous’ pipe bombs found detonated on Canberra footpaths
Nearly a dozen pipe bombs, some of them already detonated, have been found on footpaths and in parks in the nation’s capital, sparking a major police investigation and warnings not to touch the potentially explosive items.
ACT police Det Acting Insp Anna Wronski couldn’t say where the pipe bombs came from or who was behind them, but said the matter was being taken extremely seriously.
“We do not want members of the public to pick them up. We do not want members of the public to bring them to police stations. We want them to call triple zero immediately,” Wronski told reporters on Thursday.
As of Thursday morning, 11 pipe bombs have been found along a one-kilometre stretch of footpath near Lake Ginninderra in Canberra’s north-west.
Read more:
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PM criticises Coalition and calls for ‘unity’ on hate speech bill
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, just spoke in Queensland amid flooding in the state, where he is repeating his criticisms of the Coalition, saying the government is set on working constructively across party lines to pass legislation after the Bondi attack.
He repeated his calls from earlier in the day that it should be a moment of “national unity” to address hate speech and gun reform, while lambasting the opposition’s claims that the government was moving too quickly:
We are up for engaging with the Coalition. But people have dismissed this legislation that they called for, without even reading it. They made comments about what is not right. …
People will have a look at what’s going on and scratch their head and say: how it is, after calling for parliament to be brought back, they’re now saying, what’s the rush, parliament can wait into the never-never before we act on these important issues.
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Without Greens’ support, the hate speech bill is in dire straits
The government’s hate speech bill is on a path to defeat in parliament, with the Greens announcing they will not support the bill “in its current form”, while the Coalition has labelled the reforms “pretty unsalvageable”.
Speaking to reporters in Parliament House, the deputy Greens leader, Mehreen Faruqi, said the legacy of the horrific Bondi terror attack cannot “be the undermining of political, civil and human rights”.
While the government has a majority in the House of Representatives, it needs support from either the Coalition or the Greens to pass a bill in the Senate.
The Greens say the bill should be properly scrutinised, and have also called for other groups, like the LGBTQ+ community to be protected from hatred.
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‘Everybody needs protection’: Greens outline issues with hate speech bill
David Shoebridge, the Greens’ spokesperson for justice, is detailing the party’s issues with the bill. He said:
The Greens are approaching this legislation from a starting point, which is: everybody needs to have equal protection. It’s clearly divisive for the government to bring legislation into the parliament that protects only one religion, while leaving other religions without equal protection.
You cannot have national legislation that privileges one religion over others, that’s not a starting point for fair, frank, genuine reform in this space. Everybody needs protection.
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Greens won’t support hate speech bill ‘in its current form’
The Greens deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi, said the party will not support the government’s hate speech bill.
She just said:
The legacy of the horrific and appalling violence in Bondi cannot be the undermining of political, civil and human rights or a law that can be weaponised against people who use their conscience to speak out against human rights abuses and atrocities in this country, or overseas.
This bill is broad, it is vast, and it is really complex. And we need to make sure that it is scrutinised and we do our due diligence on this bill.
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NYT columnist Thomas Friedman says he was uninvited from Adelaide festival over ‘timing’
Thomas Friedman, a Pulitzer prize-winning columnist at the New York Times, said his invitation to the Adelaide writers’ festival two years ago was pulled because of “timing”, nothing more.
Friedman told the Sydney Morning Herald today that he was invited to the festival, an offer he accepted:
I agreed. A few days later, I was told by email that the timing would not work out. I said, no problem. End of story. That is all I know.
The columnist’s name has been thrown around amid the saga over the disinvitation of Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah. The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, claimed recently the board of the festival had dumped Friedman, who is Jewish, amid a pressure campaign from Abdel-Fattah and others at the time.
The premier pointed to the Friedman episode in his attempts to defend the recent decision to rescind Abdel-Fattah’s invitation, which was reversed earlier today. Abdel-Fattah was reinvited to next years’ event, with the Adelaide festival issuing her a full apology.
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Queensland yet to commit to gun buyback scheme, health minister says
Queensland’s government hasn’t made its mind up on a federally led gun buyback scheme proposed in response to the Bondi terror attack, according to the state health minister.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has asked the states to jointly fund the scheme with the Commonwealth.
Queensland’s health minister, Tim Nicholls, said the state police minister and attorney general have yet to bring a proposal to cabinet:
Here in Queensland we have some pretty strict gun laws already in place. Can they be made better? Perhaps. We’ll have that discussion.
The Queensland government has also not yet responded to a coroner’s recommendation that it adopt mandatory mental health assessments for weapons licence holders.
Asked if gun reform was a priority, Nicholls said:
The priority for the government has been addressing the root causes of what happened at Bondi, the antisemitism, the failure to call out the behaviour that led people to think that what happened at Bondi was something that could occur in Australia.
We’ve been focused very strongly on calling out antisemitism, on hate speech, on those divisive issues.
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Environment campaigners welcome greater protection for lower Murray River
Humane World for Animals Australia, which nominated Murray River wetland ecosystems for listing under national environment laws, said it was proud to have secured protection for the lower Murray River today, following the government’s announcement that the lower river would be listed as critically endangered.
Campaign director Nicola Beynon said:
When the Macquarie Marshes are thriving, the sky is filled with internationally important water birds. The river Murray downstream of the Darling River is a one-of-a-kind ecosystem covering one of the most unique and biodiverse sections of the Murray-Darling Basin system.
Yet these ecosystems have been so deteriorated by catchment degradation and water extraction, exacerbated by climate change, they have been identified as being at risk of ecological collapse.
The organisation worked with Prof Richard Kingsford at the University of New South Wales to nominate parts of the river for protection under national environment laws.
It said the listings were a “long overdue course correction” with both ecosystems briefly listed as critically endangered by the Rudd government in 2013, but the status was removed under the Abbott government.
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S&P Global says Aussie states’ debt ratings worst since 2000
The credit ratings of state governments are the weakest in 25 years and are getting worse, according to a new report by S&P Global that warns of further downgrades in 2026.
While attention usually focuses on the state of the Commonwealth finances, most of Australia’s state and territory budgets have deteriorated substantially over recent years, the new report says.
Martin Foo, an analyst at S&P Global Ratings, said in his report:
The Covid-19 emergency in Australia ended years ago, but some state governments are spending like they’re still in lockdown.
The average state credit rating remains relatively high at AA+, but it’s the lowest since 2000. Foo warned that New South Wales and Queensland could suffer another downgrade this year.
The states’ combined cash deficit “ballooned” in 2025 to be as big as it was at the pandemic nadir in 2021. The analysis projects combined state-level debt will triple between 2019 and 2027 as states spend big on infrastructure projects.
Foo said:
Common obstacles facing Australian states include combative public-sector wage negotiations, widespread community demands for more entitlement spending, and a broad aversion to tax increases or economic reform.
Tasmania and the ACT’s debt ratings – where a lower rating translates to higher borrowing costs – were downgraded last year.
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Nearly 900 structures damaged or destroyed in Victoria fires
Wiebusch says there are now a total of almost 900 structures either damaged or destroyed as a result of the fires across the state – an increase of 200 since yesterday:
Of those, 259 are destroyed homes, 17 homes are significantly damaged, and 522 outbuildings that have been damaged or lost through these devastating fires.
He also said the Longwood blaze, which burned through 137,000ha of central Victoria including parts of Euroa and Yarck, has lost 173 homes, up from 142 yesterday. A further 12 homes are also significantly damaged, as well as agricultural and infrastructure impacts.
He warned residents in Bonnie Doon, south of Euroa, they may see increased smoke in the area as firefighters continue burnout operations.
Wiebusch says aerial firedrops are also under way to ensure fodder is getting to animals where road closures are in place. He says:
Agriculture Victoria are making those contacts with land holders to make sure that we’re getting the fodder where it’s needed the most.
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Vic emergency services commissioner provides bushfire update
Victoria’s emergency services commissioner, Tim Wiebusch, provided an update earlier on the state’s bushfires. He said three further major fires have been controlled, bringing the total of active fires to nine.
He says there are 10 watch and act and 17 advice warnings in place across the state related to the nine fires, with the Wonnangatta fire particularly difficult for firefighters in the last few hours, although he was hopeful rain forecast for this afternoon would reach it.
Wiebusch says:
Over the next 24 hours we have the potential for storms, particularly in the north of the state, through into the east. Whilst they will bring showers, we expect to see some decent rainfall, particularly over the Wonnangatta-Dargo fire – 40-50mm is what the bureau says – and on the eastern Gippsland fires, 60-80mm is possible over the next 24 hours.
Whilst that will be welcome rainfall for those fires and will help suppression efforts, there is also wind with the storms. There is a lot of debris from sheds or homes damaged or destroyed in these fires. That can become a missile in these storms. We are alerting communities that if you are cleaning up your properties, please be aware that those winds will pick up when we have that storm activity.
He urged motorists in the fire-affected regions to also be aware of tree hazards in the weather.
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Environment groups from river states welcome Murray listing
The Murray-Darling Conservation Alliance, comprising environment groups from river states, welcomed additional protections for the river and its ecosystems following the decision to list its lower reaches as critically endangered under national environment laws.
Char Nitschke, campaigns coordinator at the Conservation Council of SA, said:
This historic listing recognises what First Nations, scientists, conservation groups and river communities have long warned: Australia’s greatest river system is in crisis, and without strong protection, faces continued ecological decline.
Over the last decade conditions across the river Murray system have only worsened.
Repeated toxic algal blooms, mass fish kills, declining flows, rising salinity and intensifying climate stress have pushed the system closer to collapse. Across the Murray-Darling Basin, 286 species are now threatened with extinction.
Today’s recognition of the true state of the river is the first step. Restoring the river to health – for wildlife, communities and future generations – is the goal.
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Organisers behind upcoming Sydney protest confirm plan to remain static
An organiser of a protest in Sydney against the Minns government’s anti-protest laws has said that they don’t intend to march through the city, and plan to remain static outside Town Hall.
The confirmation comes after assistant police commissioner, Peter McKenna, warned on Thursday that if organisers were to choose to march it could result in arrests under the summary offences act.
Adam Adelpour, one of the organisers of the rally – which is also calling for the Albanese government to cancel Israeli president, Isaac Herzog’s, planned visit to Australia, said:
The government has tried to intimidate people by giving the impression they can’t even assemble. Part of what our action does is remind people that it’s not within the rights of police to prevent a static assembly, even under these draconian laws.
A ban on authorising public assemblies via the form 1 system – which would protect protesters from being charged for offences like obstructing traffic of a footpath in certain areas – was enforced in the wake of the Bondi terror attack. People can still protest without risk of being moved on by police, so long as they don’t commit any offences.
The ban on authorised public assemblies, which was met with fierce backlash by civil liberty groups, is now in place until 20 January however can be extended for 14-day increments for up to three months.
The rally on Friday night is being organised by Stop the War on Palestine and Jews Against the Occupation 48’.
It has been endorsed by a number of organisations, including the NSW Greens and Labor Friends of Palestine.
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Executive Council of Australian Jewry urges Coalition to support hate speech bill
The head of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) has called on the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, to rethink her opposition to the government’s hate speech laws and seek amendments from Labor.
Ley has signalled the Coalition is likely to oppose the bill when parliament resumes on Monday, prompting claims of hypocrisy from the government.
ECAJ co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said on Thursday that the bill failing to pass would be a “retrograde step”.
He said:
Some of the opposition’s criticisms of the bill are valid and repeat concerns which we ourselves have expressed about the bill’s shortcomings. However, there are also some important positives in the bill, including the introduction of a new listing regime to proscribe extremist hate organisations.
The ECAJ would urge the Coalition not to allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good. By all means seek to amend the bill to remove its shortcomings, but a wholesale rejection of the bill would not at all be warranted. In our view, the defeat of the bill would be a retrograde step.
The entire history of legislative reform concerning this issue has been one of incremental steps towards achieving the effective proscription of speech that deliberately promotes hatred of people based on their race, nationality or ethnic origin. The current bill would represent a significant further step towards that destination even if it does not completely get us there.
Wertheim said the status quo is no longer tolerable after the antisemitic terrorist attack in Bondi.
He said:
We need legislative reform now even if it is less than ideal.
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Adelaide festival organisers ‘fully focused on and committed’ to other sections of festival
The chief executive of the Adelaide Festival Corporation, Julian Hobba, has said the new board is now “fully focused on and committed” to other sections of the festival which will still go ahead for 2026.
Hobba said:
I, alongside Artistic Director Matt Lutton, the Festival team and our new Board are now fully focused on and committed to the successful presentation of Adelaide Festival 2026.
We are grateful for the patience of many Festival artists who have been deeply concerned by the events ofthe last week.
We acknowledge and are grateful that the Premier Peter Malinauskas and Minister for Arts Andrea Michaels have taken swift action to appoint a new Board enabling us to rapidly re-set and continue our work in delivering Matt’s outstanding program. We also appreciate the Premier’s consistent position that the curatorial choices of Adelaide
Festival, including Adelaide Writers’ Week, are at the discretion of the organisation.
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New Adelaide festival board commits to ‘curatorial independence’ of festival director
Potter also announced that the festival has rescinded a plan to establish a subcommittee of the board to review Adelaide writers’ week operational decisions.
She said:
We commit to the curatorial independence of the Director of Adelaide Writers’ Week while noting the Board’s overarching responsibility for a well-delivered event of the highest quality.
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Reinstating 2026 writers’ festival not viable, says Potter
Potter has said the board “fervently” shares the desire of many in the community for the 2026 festival to be reinstated, but she said “our informed assessment of the situation is that it is simply no longer viable for it to proceed”.
She said:
We are determined that Adelaide Writers’ Week will rise again and our energies will be directed to that mission. We are thankful for the many messages of support from within the Adelaide Festival community to assist in the coming weeks and months.
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Adelaide festival apologises to ‘revered’ former director Louise Adler
The new chair of the Adelaide festival, Judy Potter, has apologised to Louise Adler on behalf of the festival, saying Adler had worked so hard to curate the now cancelled 2026 program.
Adler had been the director of Adelaide writers festival for three years until she announced her resignation on Tuesday over the dumping of Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah from the event.
Potter said:
We also wish to apologise to Louise Adler AM that the incredible Adelaide Writers Week program she had worked so hard to curate for 2026 has been cancelled as a result of the events that have unfolded over the last week after the announcement of the decision to rescind the invitation to Dr Abdel-Fattah.
We acknowledge the principled stand she took in the extremely difficult decision to resign from her role as Director.
Louise is a revered figure of Australian literature who we hold in the highest regard. Her contributions to, and stewardship of, Adelaide Writers’ Week in the time she has been the Director (2023 – 2025) have been outstanding.
We wish also to convey the warm affection of the staff for Louise and their gratitude for her strong convictions.
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Abdel-Fattah accepts apology, but says it won’t be a ‘quick fix’ to repair damage done
Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah has already responded to the Adelaide festival, saying she accepts the apology in a comment on Instagram.
I accept this apology as acknowledgment of our right to speak publicly and truthfully about the atrocities that have been committed against the Palestinian people.
I accept this apology as a vindication of our collective solidarity and mobilisation against anti-Palestinian racism, bullying and censorship.
She said she would consider the invitation to speak at the 2027 event, but said she would be there in a “heartbeat if Louise Adler was the director again”. Abdel-Fattah added it was not a “quick fix to repair the damage and injury inflicted,” however.
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Adelaide festival reinstates invitation to Randa Abdel-Fattah to speak at writers’ week
The Adelaide festival has reinstated its invitation to Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah to Adelaide writers’ week and issued an unreserved apology amid the firestorm over the decision to remove her from its program.
The festival said in a statement:
On 8 January 2026 the Adelaide Festival Corporation published a statement announcing that it had decided to exclude Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah from participating as a speaker at Adelaide Writers’ Week this year. We stated that this was because it would be culturally insensitive to allow her to participate.
We retract that statement. We have reversed the decision and will reinstate Dr Abdel-Fattah’s invitation to speak at the next Adelaide Writers’ Week in 2027. We apologise to Dr Abdel-Fattah unreservedly for the harm the Adelaide Festival Corporation has caused her.
Intellectual and artistic freedom is a powerful human right. Our goal is to uphold it, and in this instance Adelaide Festival Corporation fell well short.
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NSW police have ‘contingencies in place’ for Australia Day protests
Returning to the NSW police assistant commissioner, Peter McKenna, for a moment, who spoke earlier about the protest restrictions currently in place.
He has said that police will have “contingencies in place” to work with “various public assemblies on Australia Day”, regardless of whether there is a declaration still in place banning the form 1 system.
He said that the police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, will make a decision closer to the 20 January when that declaration due to expire, if it should be extended for another 14 days. The commissioner has the power to extend the declaration for 14 days increments for up to three months.
McKenna said:
I can’t talk for what the commissioner will do at the end of this 14 day mark, which is the 20th of January, and I’m sure the commissioner himself will be waiting until right up until that point, just to see and assess the community tension, the social cohesion.
Australia Day falls outside of that. At the moment, we are working with the organisers for various public assemblies on Australia Day, and we’ll have different contingencies in place to work with them, regardless of whether there is a declaration. So I know it’s not exactly the most clear cut legislation, but we’ve worked with it. We’re working the legislation we’re given right now.
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Lower river Murray listed as critically endangered under national environment laws
The federal government has listed the lower reaches of the Murray river, including the Coorong, as critically endangered under Australia’s national environment laws – the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
The environment minister, Murray Watt, said:
This listing covers the waterways, the wetlands, floodplains, and vegetation of the River Murray, downstream from its intersection with the Darling River in New South Wales, and includes the iconic Coorong lagoon.
The listing provides important recognition that despite the efforts of governments and communities, the lower Murray remains under great stress, and that we need to do more to protect it and restore it.
A healthy Murray river is crucial for our environment, for agriculture, tourism and local communities.
The listing will require government action to restore the river, and greater assessment of new developments that could impact on the river environment.
Watt also announced the first round of a $20m grants program to support river communities in South Australia.
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Wong says Australians can see ‘the Liberals and the Nationals never put Australia first’
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, is speaking in South Australia. She said the proposed legislation after the Bondi attack addressed both hate speech and gun control, calling it legislation that has been subject to a “great deal of attention”.
Wong pointed to Ley’s insistence for weeks that parliament be recalled, saying her concerns now reflected a changing of tune:
It’s important. We know why it’s important. Yet we see from the Liberal and National parties nothing more than weakness, nothing more than hypocrisy.
Now we have legislation that is directly addressing what we know was part of the call from the Jewish community and others for stronger protections in the aftermath of Bondi. And now, the Liberal Party and the National Party have changed their tune. Instead, they want to delay. Well, I think Australians can see what is happening and Australians can see that the Liberals and the Nationals never put Australia first.
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NSW Health issues immediate recall for hand sanitiser containing toxic methanol
NSW Health said people must immediately stop using Dr Schwartz Hand Sanitiser after a product recall by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Dr Schwartz Hand Sanitiser contains methanol, which is highly toxic if ingested, causing serious and irreversible injuries or death, prompting the recall. Significant toxicity from skin exposure is unlikely.
High concentrations of methanol are not permitted in alcohol-based hand sanitiser or any product used by the public.
The product was supplied to guests as a complimentary hand sanitiser at the Paradise Resort, Gold Coast, Queensland from 31 August 2020 to 6 January 2026.
NSW Health said if it is suspected someone has swallowed the hand sanitiser, the Poisons Information Centre should be called immediately on 13 11 26.
NSW Health said it can be disposed of in the general waste.
“NSW Health recommends all alcohol-based hand sanitiser products are stored safely and out of reach of children,” the department of health said in a statement. “Additionally, when these products are used by young children, it should be under the supervision of an adult.”
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Carveout for quoting religious texts among Coalition’s main concerns
Ley said one of her main concerns is the carveout for quoting religious texts, which could become a defence for those accused of breaching the new hate speech laws.
The opposition leader characterised the inclusion as a loophole that would become a “carefully planned excuse for hate preachers”.
Guardian Australia’s Krishani Dhanji has more on that proposal here:
Updated
Ley: ‘They have taken a month to deliver this bad bill’
Ley is both criticising the government for taking too long to recall parliament – noting she wanted lawmakers back before Christmas – and saying Albanese is rushing too quickly into the proposed legislation:
They have taken a month to deliver this bad bill. Now, had they listened to us which they should have in the weeks after Bondi, we could already have had a package introduced into the parliament with the necessary parliamentary scrutiny already under way with a month to have had that inquiry, that scrutiny, and that submission.
We should have had the opportunity to introduce our measures which we will seek to do when the parliament does return and which we announced weeks ago and we know are the best response to the Bondi terror attack.
Ley said the Coalition was not consulted in the lead-up to the legislation’s introduction. Albanese said this morning he has met with her weekly.
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Ley says legislation looks ‘unsalvageable’
Ley said the opposition would continue to look at the proposed legislation, but said from the Coalition’s eyes, it didn’t look good:
Now, the opposition will continue to scrutinise this legislation carefully, but from what we have seen so far, it looks pretty unsalvageable. As it stands, the government’s proposal is half-baked and Australians deserve far better.
She said the Coalition would work to advance its own package of “practical” measures.
‘Community cannot possibly have confidence’ in hate speech bill, says Ley
Ley is pointing to concerns with what she calls “flaws” in the bill, saying it would not adequately address antisemitism and include loopholes by including carveouts for the reading of religious text.
She said:
What the bill does is clumsily try to address hate speech and control firearms.
Our job is to pass laws that contain clear offences for courts and police to use. Instead, the flaws in this bill will add confusion and delay in the charging and sentencing of terrorist offenders. We are being asked to consider sweeping powers, yet the government has not been able to explain how key provisions would operate in practice and what conduct would actually be captured.
If the government can’t explain how the legislation will work, the parliament can’t be expected to vote for it and the community cannot possibly have confidence in it.
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Opposition leader has ‘extremely serious concerns’ about hate speech legislation
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, is speaking now in Melbourne, saying the Coalition had “extremely serious concerns” about the government’s legislation on hate speech and gun reform.
She said:
I want to be extremely clear today: the opposition has extremely serious concerns about the government’s legislation. The legislation does not address the real issues that gave rise to the Bondi attack.
It doesn’t address Islamic extremism. It doesn’t address Isis influence. And it doesn’t address the rise of antisemitism and the terrorist threat in Australia.
Updated
NSW police will have ‘a few hundred police ready to go tomorrow’ amid anticipated protest
The NSW police assistant commissioner, Peter McKenna, is speaking in Sydney, confirming what the anti-protest declaration – made in the wake of the Bondi terror attack – means for two protests that are planned to take place this weekend.
Pro-Palestine groups are planning an event at Sydney Town Hall on Friday at 6pm. Another protest is being planned in Hyde Park on Sunday against Aboriginal deaths in custody.
McKenna said police will only be able to exercise their move on powers if the protesters do not remain static in those locations, and commit an offence under the summary offences act such as obstructing traffic if they choose to march along the street. It’s unclear if the protesters plan to march or will remain static.
McKenna said:
So what the declaration means is that we’re not accepting form 1s at the moment. Form 1s give people protection from the summary offenses [act]. That means that people can’t be prosecuted for impeding vehicles, blocking roadways, people on the footpaths, those sort of things. When there’s no form 1s in place. It means you cannot block pedestrians, block footpaths, block roadways, march down streets, that sort of thing.
So it really does mean that people can still have free speech, people can still gather in a park or somewhere that they’re not impeding people, and have free speech as they’ve always been able to do.
Since these declarations have come into place, we’ve had 25 static protests.
Asked how police would react if the protesters do “break the law by marching in the streets” he said:
I’m hoping that people don’t do that, I’m hoping that they understand that it is illegal at the moment … having said that, we will be there in forces … and if we have to make arrests, we will make arrests, but that’s not what we’re looking for.
The Sydney CBD, we expect protest activity, we’ve always said that. We will have a few hundred police ready to go tomorrow, and we can surge and pivot resources from wherever we need to.
McKenna maintained that the NSW police force was not a political organisation, but said the agency was focused on safety:
At the end of the day it is all about public safety for us, bus also understanding we have just come off the back of the most horrific terrorist incident that Australia has ever seen and it’s time to bring that community tension down.
We’re empathetic to people’s views and understand they still want to come out and have free speech. That can be achieved but just have to listen to us, work with us.
Updated
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, is expected to speak any moment. We’ll bring you live updates from that event.
Updated
ACT police warn multiple pipe bombs found on public paths
ACT police issued warnings last night that multiple dangerous pipe bombs have been found on public paths in the Belconnen area this week.
Officials said over the last two days, police responded to reports of several pipe bombs in the vicinity of Lake Ginninderra in Belconnen. The ABC reports police have found 11 of the devices so far.
Anyone who finds a suspicious item should not touch it and immediately call triple zero.
While there is no information or reports to suggest that these pipe bombs are currently in other parts of Canberra, police are urging any Canberrans to report suspicious items that match the description of a pipe bomb to police.
Updated
Greens look to be key in any hate speech and gun reforms
The Greens look set to be in the hot seat when parliament resumes on Monday to consider the government’s hate speech and gun law reform plans.
Concerns from the Coalition about the plan mean Labor will need a deal with the minor party to progress the legislation through the Senate on Tuesday.
Any legislation that does not have Coalition support needs votes from the Greens’ 10 senators to pass the upper house.
Greens MPs met on Wednesday to start considering the bill but they are yet to finalise scrutiny of all its provisions and have flagged plans to move amendments, including possibly to protect freedom of political expression.
While prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has slammed the Coalition for opposing laws they demanded be urgently passed in the wake of the Bondi terror attack on 14 December, he said on Thursday the government was serious about considering amendments from other parties to get the bill through as soon as possible.
The Greens say they also want to be constructive in negotiations with the government.
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, is due to speak about the bill from Melbourne at 10am.
Updated
Shadow home affairs minister details Coalition’s concerns with hate speech bills
Jonno Duniam, the shadow home affairs minister, spent the morning justifying the Coalition’s frustration with the “rushed” timeline behind the hate speech legislation and proposed gun reforms.
Duniam spoke to ABC News Breakfast saying:
The first concern we have is the fact that this is a rushed process. … This is one of the biggest changes to free speech laws in the last 50 or 60 years. So we can’t take this lightly, we have to take it seriously.
Doing this within a seven day period, because we only received the legislation Monday night, the government want this legislation that they drafted with no input from anyone else outside of government passed by next Wednesday. It’s a very short turnaround for massive changes which will have massive consequences for freedom of speech.
He went on to say that as far as the opposition can tell, the bill does not go far enough to address antisemitism and “stamping out Islamic extremism”.
The government have dropped the ball here. Yes, get it done urgently, but do it properly and make sure the provisions actually work out. Sadly, it appears they are failing on that.
Updated
Albanese says proposed gun reforms a ‘commonsense approach’
The prime minister was asked about some of the proposed reforms, including one that would limit licensed gun owners to four firearms.
The legislation would also deny all non-citizens from owning a gun, implement customs changes for some dangerous weapons and set up a new gun buyback scheme.
Albanese said:
This is a commonsense approach. … There is nothing in this bill that should be opposed by people on the basis of the guns issue. It’s just making sure that these laws are kept up-to-date, which is what you would expect after an event such as 14 December.
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‘This should have been a moment of national unity’, Albanese says
The prime minister is lambasting the Coalition, saying the federal government has tried to consult with all parties, including the opposition and the Greens, to move forward.
He said:
This should have been a moment of national unity. As opposition leader of the Labor party, we engaged constructively. We voted for legislation even where our amendments weren’t successful. We said we weren’t going to allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. And we knew what was required in a national moment …
These laws should be supported by every single member of the House of Representatives and the Senate, because you can’t just identify issues and problems without trying to work through solutions.
Updated
Albanese ‘stunned’ Coalition complaining about being rushed into post-Bondi legislation
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking on ABC Sydney radio, saying he is stunned the Coalition continues to criticise an early return to parliament after calling for just that in the immediate aftermath of the Bondi attack.
He said:
[It] is somewhat stunning, frankly. The Coalition, day after day, very clearly called for parliament to be recalled, not on Monday 19 January, but during Christmas week.
They were calling for parliament to be resumed immediately, to use their words. Now they’re saying that this is somehow rushed.
Albanese said he has met with Sussan Ley on a weekly basis and provided advance notice that he would recall parliament, adding the government had consulted with many groups including the Jewish community.
We’ve said we’re open to amendments in order to make sure that we get this right. And we haven’t heard any proposed amendments. What we’ve had is people who haven’t even looked at the legislation declaring that it should be opposed …
They’re still playing politics. And I’m just stunned that they are saying they will vote against legislation, a number of their members, without even looking at it.
Updated
Iranian Australians left distraught with no confirmation their family is safe
Almost a week into Iran’s communication blackout, Iranian Australian activist Mohammad Hashemi received a call from his home country.
His brother, late on Tuesday, relayed that his family were safe. But relief receded quickly as he detailed the horror of the Iranian authorities’ response to the country’s escalating mass anti-regime demonstrations.
“He saw with his eyes, many people were killed in front of him and how they were just shooting everyone,” Hashemi told Guardian Australia.
When I heard the stories, what happened to people, I was crying about the situation and what’s going on in our country.
Read more here:
Follow along with our Iran live blog for updates
The situation in Iran continues to develop today. Follow along with our Iran live blog at the link below.
Earlier this week, the Australian government advised any citizens in the country to leave Iran immediately as commercial options to depart become more limited. The Australian embassy’s operations there are suspended:
We continue to advise do not travel to Iran. If you choose to remain in Iran, you’re responsible for your own safety. Be prepared to shelter in place for an extended period. Make sure you have supplies of water, food and medication.
Updated
Barnaby Joyce says One Nation won’t support gun reforms, calling proposals ‘obnoxious’
One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce is speaking on RN now, saying the party will not support legislation before parliament next week. He said the gun reform legislation would punish “recreational pig shooters in country areas” that had nothing to do with the Bondi attack.
He said:
This is not so much an omnibus but a bus crash. It is a combination and permutation of a whole range of issues …
I think that there is something quite obnoxious with dragging them into it when they have done nothing but obeyed the law. And that is how we see it out here.
Joyce said residents in city centres like Sydney would not be affected by gun legislation as they don’t generally own guns, “so they can be easily cajoled into thinking this is a solution”.
He also lamented that for many people who owned multiple guns, they were family heirlooms handed down generation to generation, “like your lounge suite”.
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Shadow minister maintains proposed hate speech laws ‘rushed’, but rejects claim of hypocrisy
Susan McDonald, the shadow minister for resources, said the Coalition has not yet decided on its support for the hate speech laws and gun reform, but maintained that the effort had been “so rushed and so little consulted on”.
McDonald spoke to RN Breakfast, saying Tony Burke’s claims that the opposition had been hypocritical were “ridiculous”. She said:
Absolutely we’ve called for legislation to be brought forward. We’ve called for the parliament to be reformed because it is absolutely critical that we eradicate antisemitism in this country and that we remove radical Islam. That should be our laser-like focus.
This legislation does neither of those things, and recalling parliament is not a free pass to passing bad legislation.
She added she had criticisms of gun reform legislation, saying the broad scope of the proposed bills were an “omnibus bill” that was seeking “to do too much”.
These laws are nationally significant. They will impact every Australian. So we think that it’s reasonable that more time be taken to make sure that they are fit for purpose and that there are no unintended consequences.
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Burke says he will accept families’ wishes on Bondi footbridge, but thought it would be removed
Tony Burke added that he supported families’ and victims’ wishes regarding the footbridge used in the Bondi attack, but said his feelings early on were that the bridge would be removed.
He told RN:
I accept whatever the families want, but I’ve got to say that I actually had remarked to some people very early on following the attack that I thought we would end up with that bridge being removed.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said yesterday he thought the bridge would be a “ghoulish reminder” if it’s left standing, saying he believes it should be torn down. Waverley council will debate the structure’s future at a meeting later tonight.
Updated
‘Ridiculous’ for Coalition to oppose hate speech legislation in wake of Bondi attack, Burke says
Home affairs minister Tony Burke said the government could not have a “more serious impetus for action” on hate speech laws after the Bondi terror attack, saying lawmakers in Canberra should not be wasting time to act.
Burke spoke to RN Breakfast just days before the Labor government is set to introduce new legislation in the wake of the mass shooting. The Coalition has said that timeline is too rushed, expressing significant reservations about the bill despite calling for an early return to parliament for weeks.
Burke the about-face was “ridiculous” this morning:
These arguments that are coming from the Liberal party now, having spent … week after week calling for the early return of parliament and saying how urgently we need to legislate, to now say, ‘oh no, you’re rushing us’, is just ridiculous. …
I can’t for the life of me see how the Liberal party have got themselves to the point where they’re now effectively opposing the legislation.
Burke was asked about a neo-Nazi group, the National Socialist Network, that claimed it would disband before the hate speech legislation is brought to parliament. The home affairs minister said:
Any day the Nazis take a step backwards is a good day. And if there was ever evidence that this legislation is urgent and that we’ve got the balance right in what we’ve put forward, it’s that immediately on seeing it, the Nazis announced that they’re going to disband …
None of this means that the hate in these individuals goes away, but it is making it more and more difficult for them to organise.
Updated
Good morning
Nick Visser here to take you through the morning’s news. Let’s dive in.
Updated
Peter Malinauskas defends criticism of Randa Abdel-Fattah
The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, says his criticism of Palestinian writer and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah is “not about politics” but “examining your conscience and doing what you think is right, consistent with a few basic principles”.
On Wednesday, lawyers acting for Abdel-Fattah served a formal concerns notice for defamation on the premier, suggesting the fallout from her cancellation from the 2026 event – which is itself is now cancelled – is far from over.
Appearing on the ABC’s 7.30 program on Wednesday evening, the premier took particular aim at Abdel-Fattah’s comments on social media in 2024 that Zionists had “no right” to cultural safety, describing it as a “pretty extraordinary opinion for someone to have when they also seek to be able to have freedom of speech for themselves”.
Malinauskas said he began to lobby for Abdel-Fattah’s removal from the festival around Christmas, when he had “a number” of conversations with the board chair, leading to him penning a letter to the board on 2 January, “advocating” his point of view.
Asked if he would be prepared to go to court over his comments on Abdel-Fattah, the premier said he had to “examine my conscience and do what I believe is right”.
Ms Randa Abdel-Fattah will do what she will do and she’s entitled to take whatever action she likes but my responsibilities is to make sure that particularly in a time like this post-Bondi, we aren’t escalating tensions in this country unnecessarily and more than that, when we express opinions we’re able to do so respectfully.
Read our full story here:
Victorian student data exposed in hack
The personal data of current and former Victorian students has been exposed in a cyber-attack, the state’s department of education has confirmed.
On Wednesday, an external actor gained access to the information of Victorian public school students via a school’s network, including their name, email address, school name, year level and encrypted password.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the department said it was working with cyber experts and government agencies to investigate the breach, as well as communicating with schools “to ensure this does not disrupt students when they start the 2026 school year”.
The safety and privacy of students is our top priority, we have identified the point of the breach and have put safeguards in place, including the temporary disabling of systems to ensure no further data is able to be accessed.
There is no evidence to suggest that the data accessed has been released publicly or shared with other third parties.
The incident has been reported to the relevant commonwealth government agencies.
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 shortly.
The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, told ABC’s 7.30 last night that his criticism of Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah is “not about politics” but “examining your conscience and doing what you think is right, consistent with a few basic principles”. The Palestinian Australian writer and academic has threatened to sue Malinauskas for defamation in the fallout from the cancellation of the Adelaide writers’ festival. More coming up.
The personal data of current and former Victorian students – including names, email addresses, school names, year levels and encrypted passwords – has been exposed in a cyber attack, the state’s department of education confirmed last night.
Let’s get into it.
