What we learned today, Wednesday 21 January
We are closing the blog, but we’ll bring you the news out of the Nationals party room later tonight.
Before we go, let’s recap the big headlines:
The former prime minister Scott Morrison fired back over comments Anthony Albanese made in question time on Tuesday after the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, asked if he would apologise for not acting on antisemitism sooner. On X, Morrison posted: “Hamas never praised the actions of my Government @AlboMP, but they did praise yours.”
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said the new hate speech laws would tackle the spread of hate and access to guns, despite the changes made to get Coalition support. The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said he believed Jewish Australians were safer after they passed in parliament last night.
David Shoebridge, the Greens’ justice spokesperson, said the party remained concerned about what groups could be targeted with the hate speech laws, saying lawmakers struggled to get answers about the bill’s scope in the short timeline before it was presented to parliament.
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, accepted the resignation of three Nationals MPs – Bridget McKenzie, Ross Caddell and Susan McDonald – over their decision to split with the shadow cabinet on Labor’s hate speech bill. They will all move to the backbench after voting against the legislation on Tuesday night.
NSW will officially end the final major provisions of the state’s controversial lockout laws, 12 years after they were first established. The NSW government said it would remove remaining restrictions, including the 3.30am “last drinks” rule, the mandated use of plastic cups and the requirement for RSA marshals after midnight at some venues.
NSW police confirmed it has banned some individuals from entering Sydney’s CBD on 26 January. Jack Eltis, former NSW leader of the now disbanded neo-Nazi group the National Socialist Network, posted to his Telegram channel on Tuesday evening that he had been issued an order.
The Queensland government rejected a series of recommendations from the state productivity commission, which it says would reduce rents and house price growth by up to 64% and deliver 660,000 new homes.
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, confirmed the state won’t back the federal gun buy-back scheme at a press conference in Rockhampton this morning.
Thank you for spending part of your day with us.
Updated
Family of Manly shark attack victim confirms ‘compassionate, talented’ surfer is stable
The mother of shark attack victim Andre de Ruyter has shared a photo and statement on behalf of the family on Instagram.
On Wednesday, the surfer’s family confirmed he was now in a stable condition and thanked those who rushed to his aid.
We would like to express our gratitude to all the brave first responders to our son Andre relating to the shark attack at Manly Beach yesterday.
Andre de Ruyter, our compassionate, talented musician, graphic artist and lover of surfing has been placed in a stable condition with wonderful attentive medical staff.
We ask for positive energy around his recovery and will give more information when he is ready. We ask for mindful care and respect of our son’s privacy till the path forward is clearer. Thank you so much. Kindly, Lisa, Olaf and Alysha, his direct family.
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