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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National party room to meet this evening
The National party room is expected to meet at 6pm after the resignations of frontbenchers who crossed the floor on the government’s new hate speech laws.
We will bring you updates as we have them.
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Imams council ‘appalled and concerned’ hate speech laws could unfairly target Muslims
The Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) has released a statement saying it is “appalled and concerned” Labor’s hate speech bill poses a “very real risk that it could be applied unfairly against the Australian Muslim community”.
In part of a lengthy statement, the organisation said:
By giving ministers broad powers, lowering legal thresholds, and creating vague offences, the Act puts fundamental freedoms at risk, including the right to practise religion, associate with others, and speak freely.
Laws meant to protect communities should not come at the cost of fairness, trust, and social cohesion. Rushing legislation like this risks fuelling fear, division, and a rising wave of Islamophobia and discrimination in Australia, threatening the safety and dignity of Australian Muslims.
As Australia’s peak national body, ANIC is deeply troubled that the Bill confines aggravating factors for hate-motivated crimes to race while excluding religion, particularly at a time when Australia has witnessed a significant spike in Islamophobic and anti-Muslim incidents. This exclusion fails to reflect the reality that many attacks against Muslim Australians, including recent assaults on Imams, abuse of visibly Muslim women, threats against mosques, and harassment of worshippers, are directly motivated by hostility toward religious belief, religious identity, and religious practice.
Casting suspicion on ordinary religious language because of its misuse by fringe individuals risks politicising faith and unfairly constraining lawful religious practice. Clear distinctions must be maintained between Islam as a religion and terrorist groups that selectively appropriate Islamic language for propaganda.
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NSW housing completions hit five-year high: ABS
NSW has recorded its highest housing completion numbers in five years, with 13,057 homes built from July to September 2025. This is the highest quarter for the state since March 2021.
The state is leading the nation, with more than 75,000 homes under construction. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data shows housing completions in NSW are trending up by 37% in the September quarter compared to the June quarter.
The minister for planning and public space, Paul Scully, said:
In the last term for the Liberals and Nationals government, housing construction collapsed. We’re turning this around.
These figures are an encouraging sign that all the work the Minns Labor government has been doing to turn the planning system around and unlock more homes right across NSW is showing results.
These aren’t just numbers, they are real homes being delivered for the people of NSW. Each completion means a new key in a new door to help address the state’s housing challenges and give people the ability to choose the neighbourhoods they want to live in.
We know there’s still more work to be done, but more houses are being approved, and more houses are being built, and that’s welcome news.
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Palestine group seeks authorised February march as NSW police narrow protest ban
The Palestine Action Group lodged a form 1 with police to carry out a protest in early February after the police commissioner confirmed protests would no longer be restricted on streets south of Hyde Park.
On Tuesday, police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, announced a 14-day extension to the declaration preventing the authorisation of protests under NSW’s form 1 system, but narrowed the area it covers in a bid to get “the balance right between community safety and a right to protest” ahead of Invasion Day.
The Palestine Action Group spokesperson, Josh Lees, said the group submitted a form 1 with the group Jews Against Occupation after the announcement was made. It proposes a march from Hyde Park to Belmore Park on 1 February.
Lees said:
That is a chance for us now to have an authorised protest, and for the thousands and thousands of people in this country to come out yet again peacefully, to express our opposition to the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Lanyon extended the restriction on protests for a third time, with the current one due to end on 4 February. Police were given the controversial power to restrict protests for up to 90 days after a terrorist attack in December after the Minns government rushed laws through parliament in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.
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Jewish group accuses government of ‘Trumpian repression’ over hate laws
The Jewish Council of Australia has accused the Albanese government of a “Trumpian repression of our democratic rights” after the attorney general confirmed new hate group laws could theoretically impact groups who accuse Israel of genocide.
Appearing on ABC’s 7.30 program on Tuesday night, the attorney general, Michelle Rowland, confirmed a group could theoretically be banned under the new hate group legislation if it accused Israel of genocide and rejected its right to exist, and as a result, Jewish Australians felt harassed or intimidated.
But Rowland said other criteria, including breaching relevant state laws dealing with racial vilification, would also have to be met.
The Jewish Council of Australia’s statement, read by the Palestine Action Group spokesperson, Josh Lees, at a press conference on Wednesday, said:
“Not only does this indicate a move towards Trumpian repression of our democratic rights, it also represents an attempt to slander and intimidate hundreds of thousands of Australians who have been protesting against Israel’s genocide and egregious human rights abuses.
Lees said Rowland’s comments should be “deeply disturbing to everyone in this country”.
He said the “accusation that Israel has committed a genocide in Gaza is not a fringe position”, pointing to it being the opinion of genocide scholars and human rights organisations.
Lees said he did not take comfort in Rowland clarifying that a group would have to breach state laws dealing with racial vilification before it could be considered a “hate group”.
He said: “It seems very unclear to us, again, what that is going to mean in practice. And one of the scandalous things we see now is a very determined attempt to try to define criticism of Israel as racial vilification, which, of course, is absurd.”
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EPA waves through WA fracking project that may add up to 2.6% to Australia’s emissions
A controversial fracking proposal in Western Australia’s Kimberley region has been recommended for approval by the state’s Environmental Protection Authority, a move criticised as “outrageous” over the project’s potential climate pollution and environmental impacts.
The EPA on Tuesday recommended that the Valhalla project, which proposes to drill up to 20 gas wells in the Canning basin, proceed subject to certain conditions.
Bennett Resources, a subsidiary of US-based Black Mountain Energy, announced the fracking proposal – located about 123km south-east of the town of Derby – in 2020.
Bill Hare, a climate scientist and the chief executive of Climate Analytics, has estimated that Valhalla, “if developed as planned, would add 1.8–2.6% to Australia’s [greenhouse gas] emissions”.
Read more here:
Nationals MP criticises rushed process around new hate speech laws
Nationals MP Susan McDonald has issued a statement about her decision to quit the shadow ministry, insisting she supports the intent of the legislation she voted against.
McDonald has criticised the rushed process of the new laws and moves to the backbench along with Bridget McKenzie and Ross Cadell.
“Today, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has accepted my offer of resignation from her Shadow Cabinet.
“This follows a decision by the Nationals Party Room yesterday to not support the Government’s rushed Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Bill 2026. I support both the intent of the legislation and the Coalition’s firm stance against antisemitism, hate and extremism.
“Serving as the Shadow Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, and the Shadow Cabinet under both Peter Dutton and Sussan Ley has been a privilege. I thank my leader David Littleproud for entrusting me to serve in this position.
“Australia’s wealth and prosperity is built on the backbone of our resources sector. The 1.1 million direct and indirect employees of this great industry work every day to build a better nation, and deliver the essential minerals and energy resources the world needs.
“Our northern border remains the front line against Australia’s enemies. The men and women of the North are built tough, and as a resident of Northern Australia, I know their challenges first hand.
“Securing the future of Northern Australia, and our resources’ wealth, requires careful planning and considered decision making.
“I remain committed to serving and delivering for Queenslanders.”
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Shares slump and gold hits records for third consecutive day in a row
Australia’s share market is on track to fall for a third day in a row, following US markets downhill as international investors worry about Donald Trump’s Greenland gambit.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 has lost about $36bn since Monday morning, falling from Friday’s close of 8,903 to sit at 8,781 points on Wednesday afternoon.
Commonwealth Bank shares have fallen over that period from $154.30 to $147.88, their lowest since Trump’s Liberation Day tariff announcement in April sent markets spiralling. Australia’s biggest company, once worth $319bn, is now worth $247bn.
Investors sold out of stocks overnight in the US, Europe and Asia as Trump’s war of words escalated with European leaders over his plans to annex Greenland.
Gold prices have hit records three days in a row as investors look for a safe haven, surpassing A$7,000 per ounce for the first time in history, with share prices rising for Australia’s miners as a result.
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Three Nationals frontbenchers resign after breaking ranks to oppose hate speech laws
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has accepted the resignation of three Nationals MPs over their decision to split with shadow cabinet on Labor’s hate speech bill.
Bridget McKenzie, Ross Caddell and Susan McDonald will all move to the backbench after voting against the legislation on Tuesday night, the latest in a series of high profile departures under Ley and Nationals leader, David Littleproud.
Convention requires frontbenchers to vote in line with shadow cabinet’s decision or resign their role on the frontbench.
“Senator Bridget McKenzie, Senator Susan McDonald and Senator Ross Cadell have each offered their resignations from the Shadow Cabinet, as is appropriate, and I have accepted them,” Ley said in a statement.
“All three Senators have written to me confirming that they “remain ready to continue serving the Coalition in whatever capacity you consider appropriate …”
“I have asked each to continue serving in our Coalition team, across their various parliamentary and committee duties, but from outside the Shadow Cabinet.”
Littleproud will nominate new members to fill the vacancies in shadow cabinet.
“Maintaining a strong and functioning Coalition is in the national interest,” Ley said.
“The Coalition exists to serve the Australian people. But shadow cabinet solidarity is not optional. It is the foundation of serious opposition and credible government.”
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Victoria police find man’s body after search for suspect in early morning stabbing
Victoria police said they discovered the body of a man after searching for a suspect in an early morning stabbing of a woman in the Melbourne suburb of Kew.
Officials said the woman, 18, was confronted by a man known to her at around 1am on Wednesday morning outside a home in Kew. She was allegedly stabbed, suffering what was initially believed to be life-threatening injuries. She was taken to hospital and is now in a stable condition.
Police received a triple zero call later that morning and later discovered the body of a man in Antwerp, Victoria, in the state’s west – more than four hours, or about 300kms, from Kew – around 6.15am this morning.
Detectives are continuing their investigations into the incident, but are not looking for anyone else in relation to the alleged attack.
The death of the man is not being treated as suspicious.
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Extreme temperatures recorded in Western Australia
Large parts of Western Australia are experiencing severe to extreme heatwave conditions, with temperatures in the high 40s recorded on Tuesday.
A January heat record was broken at Shark Bay airport, near the popular tourist destination of Monkey Mia. The observation station recorded a temperature of 49.2C at 3.45pm AWST on Tuesday, a Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson said. The maximum was over 2C higher than the previous record, which was set in January 2015.
The BoM spokesperson said:
Across the Gascoyne and Pilbara region, temperatures were slightly below those observed in other extreme heat events in recent years. However, they are exceptional against historical records, being 12 to 16C above the January average.
The spokesperson added that Geraldton airport, which recorded a temperature of 47.1C, was also notable – that maximum is the equal fourth hottest ever recorded in January.
Future of rogue Nationals a test of Ley’s leadership, Watt says
Sussan Ley’s call on whether to sack three Nationals frontbenchers who broke ranks to oppose hate speech laws is a major test of her leadership, according to the senior Labor minister Murray Watt.
Watt said Ley and the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, must come out of “hiding” to explain the fate of Bridget McKenzie, Susan McDonald and Ross Cadell after the trio crossed the floor on Tuesday night.
The three Nationals frontbenchers are prepared to quit the frontbench but are leaving the decision up to Ley. Fronting reporters in Parliament House, the environment minister said:
It’s clearly a test of Sussan Ley’s leadership and David Littleproud’s leadership, whether they are prepared to see shadow ministers thumb their noses at shadow cabinet decisions.
If the Australian people can’t have confidence in the alternative government of Australia being able to reach a decision and stick to it, then they’ve got no ability to serve the Australian people.
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New debris balls on Sydney beaches after revelation of huge fatberg stuck in treatment plant
Debris balls have washed up on Sydney’s beaches after a weekend of heavy rain, with the objects found on Malabar beach next to a sewage treatment works and also in Botany Bay.
Sydney Water erected a sign at Malabar beach warning of the potential pollution.
“This area may be affected by sewage debris balls,” the sign states. “Please do not touch any debris. We are cleaning the area and apologise for any inconvenience.”
On Tuesday evening, there were more than a dozen black and grey blobs among other beach debris. When broken open, they had a foul smell. There were also smaller, grey balls.
Read more here:
Tasmania deploys more firefighters to Victoria to help after bushfires
Tasmania’s fire service has now deployed 51 personnel and 10 vehicles to help Victoria after a raft of bushfires spread across the state earlier this month.
More highly-trained firefighters left today for Victoria, en route to support those working on the Mallee, Walwa and Otway fires.
The fire service said the teams would assist with ongoing firefighting activities, adding Tasmania was doing its part to help the national effort. Matt Lowe, the deputy chief officer of the Tasmania fire service, said in a statement:
The purpose of this deployment is twofold. We send crews over and that’s reciprocated when we get busy, as we saw last year with the west coast fires.
But also it’s a valuable time for our people to obtain skills and to work with other agencies, so that they can bring back that knowledge and those skills and apply it in their own state.
The majority of fires in Victoria are now in [the] mop-up and clean-up stage, but they are conscious that with the upcoming fire weather in Victoria, with significant heat and wind coming, they may get new starts which our people can then be redeployed to.
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‘Shattered’ parents of Canadian backpacker found dead on K’gari island mourn adventurous daughter
“I’m 18, and you can’t stop me!” Piper James told her father before she set off backpacking on the other side of the Pacific Ocean – but the young Canadian woman’s trip to Australia ended in tragedy and trauma.
Early on Monday, the now 19-year-old was found dead on a beach on the world heritage-listed sand island and tourist destination of K’gari off the Queensland coast, surrounded by a pack of dingoes near the Maheno shipwreck.
A postmortem into her death was to begin on Wednesday, with Queensland police saying a coroner would examine whether she drowned in dangerous waters off the island’s eastern beaches or was killed by the wild canids – as well as other “potential possibilities”.
Read more here:
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Aurora australis lights up night sky
Some photos have filtered through of last night’s appearance of the aurora australia, or southern lights, following a major solar storm.
The display was seen across large parts of southern Australia and New Zealand last night.
NSW man charged with possession of child abuse material after returning from Cambodia
A New South Wales man will appear before local court today on charges of possessing and transmitting child abuse material.
The Australian Border Force, in conjunction with the Australian Federal Police, said they intercepted the man, 60, upon his arrival into Sydney on a flight from Cambodia on Tuesday.
During an examination of his mobile phone, ABF officers allegedly found suspected child abuse material, which was referred to the AFP for investigation. AFP investigators said they later identified alleged additional child abuse material and sexualised conversations with and about minors.
A laptop, tablet and USB in the man’s luggage was also seized, and police conducted a search warrant at a home in Leichhardt, where further devices were subject to forensic examination.
The man was arrested and charged with possession or control of child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, the maximum penalty of which is 15 years in prison
He was also charged with intentionally importing prohibited tier 2 goods without approval, the maximum penalty of which is 10 years in prison; and two counts of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material, the maximum penalty of which is 15 years in prison.
Queensland premier declines to back federal buyback scheme he says won’t ‘keep guns out of the hands of terrorists’
The queensland premier, David Crisafulli, has confirmed the state won’t back the federal gun buyback scheme at a press conference in Rockhampton this morning.
State cabinet is considering a two-pronged response to the Bondi massacre. The premier has said it will address antisemitic hate and gun reform.
“Our response is going to focus on the heart of the issue, antisemitism, hatred and guns in the hands of terrorists and criminals,” Crisafulli said:
Queensland won’t be going down the path of gun buybacks because it doesn’t address antisemitism and hate and it doesn’t focus on keeping guns out of the hands of terrorists and criminals.
The details of the legislation remains secret, though the government has committed to introduce it during the first week of parliament, which begins on 10 February.
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Former neo-Nazi group leader banned from Sydney CBD on 26 January
NSW police confirmed it has banned some individuals from entering Sydney’s CBD on 26 January.
Police would not confirm the specific individuals that the “public safety orders” were issued to. However, 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 order issued to Eltis, seen by Guardian Australia, bans him from being within 8km of Sydney Town Hall train station from 12.01am on 26 January until 12.01am on 27 January.
A senior police officer has the power under the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act to issue public safety orders – which can prohibit an individual from attending an event or entering a specified area – if the person poses a serious risk to public safety or the order is “reasonably necessary in the circumstances”.
The maximum penalty for contravening a public safety order is five years in prison.
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Nationals MPs discuss mass exodus from shadow cabinet
The prospect of a mass exodus of Nationals MPs from the shadow cabinet is being actively discussed amid the fallout to the Coalition’’s split over hate speech laws.
Multiple senior Coalition sources confirmed to Guardian Australia that Nationals MPs have discussed a “one-in, all-in” approach in which all of their shadow ministers – including the leader, David Littleproud – quit the frontbench if Sussan Ley sacks the three senators who broke ranks to oppose the bill.
The Nationals frontbenchers Bridget McKenzie, Ross Cadell and Susan McDonald voted against the bill late on Tuesday night, defying a shadow cabinet position agreed on Sunday night.
Such a breach of shadow cabinet convention typically results in a resignation from the frontbench.
As reported, McKenzie and Cadell are prepared to offer their resignation and leave their fate up to Ley. McDonald’s position is less clear.
Other Nationals shadow ministers, including Littleproud and the deputy leader, Kevin Hogan, abstained from the vote in the lower house, which was also technically a breach of the shadow cabinet’s decision to work with Labor to pass the bill.
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Federal agency disclosures on AI use in decision-making found wanting
The Australian information commissioner has found of the 23 agencies allowed to use automated decision making in their work, 43% do not disclose in their information publication schemes online that they can do so, with one agency likely to use it but not disclose it.
One unnamed regulatory agency stated in its AI transparency statement that it does not use AI in compliance or decision-making, but the OAIC found the agency uses automated decision making to calculate fees on its online portal.
Another agency mentions automated decision-making in its data strategy, stating it was embracing automation and artificial intelligence, but the agency had not disclosed on its website if and how it uses automated decision-making.
The OAIC has recommended agencies that have the power to use automated decision making should publish this information, as well as the types used, examples, and policies setting out how it is used and how it affects the public.
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Case involving alleged assault of former Greens candidate in course of arrest adjourned until March
The New South Wales police officer who allegedly assaulted Hannah Thomas had his matter briefly heard before court this morning before it was adjourned to 18 March.
Senior constable Christopher Davis, 33, is facing two charges after Thomas sustained a serious eye injury after she was arrested at a protest in June. Thomas was arrested and charged at a pro-Palestine protest in Sydney on 27 June that was attended by about 60 people at SEC Plating.
Thomas, a former Greens candidate in the prime minister’s seat of Grayndler, was taken to hospital and underwent three rounds of surgery to her right eye. In September, prosecutors dropped all three charges against Thomas, who was later awarded more than $22,000 in legal costs.
Davis was charged after the DPP withdrew the charges against Thomas. He is facing a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm. The latter charge carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison, and the first charge a maximum of five years’ imprisonment.
Davis had his matter heard before Burwood local court this morning and was not required to appear.
The prosecutor requested an adjournment after telling the court they were waiting on an outstanding expert medical report.
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Oil and gas giant withdraws carbon capture plans to wait for environmental law changes
Oil and gas giant Inpex has withdrawn a proposal for Australia’s largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility while the company waits for changes to national environmental laws to take effect.
Inpex submitted plans for the Bonaparte CCS project in waters off the Northern Territory in November last year, about a month before the Albanese government’s changes to Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act were passed by the federal parliament.
It withdrew the proposal this week while it waits for relevant amendments to take effect in February and will resubmit its plans.
A company spokesperson said:
Inpex confirms it has withdrawn its environmental referral submission for the bonaparte carbon capture and storage project while final amendments to the new Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act are being completed.
“As operator of the Bonaparte CCS Project, Inpex remains fully committed to progressing the development and will resubmit the referral once the legislative amendments are finalised, in consultation with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (DCCEEW).
The federal environment department did not specify what changes would be relevant to the project but they relate to whether the project should be assessed by the department or by the national offshore petroleum regulator, t he National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA).
A department spokesperson said the department had suspended the referral decision timeframe for the project on 11 December “to consider whether the referral as submitted should be assessed in full under the EPBC Act, or under a relevant strategic assessment agreement with NOPSEMA”.
They said Inpex withdrew its referral on 19 January and indicated it would resubmit at a later date:
If Inpex resubmit, their proposal will be assessed under the government’s reformed environmental laws.
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Queensland government rejects recommendations aimed at delivering 660,000 homes
The Queensland government has 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.
A productivity commission report released today found that “planning regulation adds over $160,000 to the total cost of a detached house on the urban fringe of Brisbane”.
“Of residential land in Brisbane within 1,000 metres of a train station, 69% is zoned low density or has character protections preventing density,” the productivity commission found, adding:
Regulations that restrict development rights and prevent housing construction primarily benefit existing property owners at the expense of new home buyers and renters (typically younger and less wealthy cohorts).
The modelling shows that adjusting planning constraints that prevent housing is likely to result in transfers of more than $200bn from existing property owners to new home buyers.
It recommended rolling back a swathe of restrictions, including eliminating character zoning, and simplifying the planning system.
The government “noted’ many of its recommendations – neither backing nor opposing them – and outright refused others, such as setting targets for local councils to approve new homes. The government said in its response:
The removal or dilution of character zoning could undermine long-standing planning principles that protect the unique identity and character of the Queenslander built form.
It added that the recommended overhaul would be “contrary to the Queensland government’s commitment to restore the planning partnership with local government”.
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Albanese touts passing of ‘strongest hate laws’ in Australian history – video
Here’s a video of Albanese’s remarks this morning, where he said while the laws were not as strong as the government initially put forward, they were “no doubt” a good thing.
Prime minister won’t put forward additional legislation on protections after hate speech battle
Anthony Albanese says the government won’t bring forward additional legislation providing stronger legal protections for religious groups, people with a disability and LGBTQ+ Australians after a lengthy fight over hate speech laws in parliament this week.
Labor cut hate speech provisions for religious groups from the bill drafted in the wake of the Bondi beach shootings, and which passed the Senate late last night. The Greens and the Coalition did not support the measures, meaning they had no pathway through the Senate.
Albanese and senior Labor ministers had flagged possible further protections for other groups in future legislation as recently as last week.
But the prime minister said on Wednesday the government would not proceed with additional laws, because Labor did not have the numbers to pass them on its own:
I’m not sure how many senators we’ve got, but if you can add another 10 people, get them to join the Labor party, then come back to me, but it’s a matter of maths, and there is not support for it.
And I accept that. I’m a pragmatic political leader. I’m in it getting real things done. We got some real things done last night in the Senate.
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NSW Health issues new measles alert for Sydney
NSW Health has issued a new measles alert for Sydney after another two cases were confirmed as part of the latest outbreak.
One case was acquired locally from a known case earlier this month, official said, and the other is in a traveller who has recently returned from south-east Asia.
The recently confirmed cases visited “many locations” across Sydney while unknowingly infectious, including healthcare facilities. A full list of those locations is available here.
Dr Christine Selvey, the executive director of Health Protection NSW, said people who may have been exposed should monitor for symptoms:
If symptoms develop and you’ve been at one of the locations at the time listed on the website, see your doctor or health service, including an emergency department. Call ahead to let them know that you may have come into contact with measles so you don’t spend time in waiting rooms with other patients.
Symptoms to watch out for include fever, runny nose, sore eyes and a cough, usually followed three or four days later by a red, blotchy rash that spreads from the head to the rest of the body.
NSW Health is advising people to be alert for signs and symptoms of measles after being notified of a confirmed case who was infectious while visiting locations in greater western Sydney.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 19, 2026
The case has returned from Thailand, where there is an ongoing outbreak of measles. pic.twitter.com/ZjpXQKtEAV
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NSW man charged for alleged threats against federal parliamentarian
A New South Wales man will appear before court today on charges he allegedly threatened a federal parliamentarian.
The Australian Federal Police said its national security investigations team investigated a report about a social media post, allegedly linking the man, 45, to the account behind it.
On Tuesday, investigators executed a search warrant at a campsite near Bellingen, NSW, and seized an electronic device.
The man has been charged with one count of using a carriage service to threaten serious harm, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment. He will face Parramatta local court later today.
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Nationals frontbencher who crossed floor says he will step down if asked
The shadow minister Ross Cadell, a Nationals senator who crossed the floor last night to vote against Labor’s hate speech bill, has said he will step down “if it is so requested”.
The fate of three shadow ministers – including Caddell, Bridget McKenzie and Susan McDonald – still hangs in the balance after the National senators last night crossed the floor to vote against Labor’s hate speech bill.
The Nationals party room met this morning in Canberra, but no decision has been made on whether the three will be forced to the backbench. The decision will ultimately be made by the Coalition leader, Sussan Ley.
The Liberal leadership group is meeting currently where the decision could be made. The leadership group includes Jonno Duniam, who negotiated with Labor on the bill, as well as Ley’s deputy, Ted O’Brien, Senate leaders Anne Ruston and Michaelia Cash.
Speaking to Sky News, Cadell says if he survives and remains a shadow minister next week, “it is because of the understanding tolerance and leadership of Sussan Ley”:
If I am still a member of the shadow cabinet next week, it is because of the understanding, the tolerance and the the leadership of Sussan Ley. I understand if you do the crime, you have to take the time, and if it is so requested, I will be stepping down from shadow cabinet.
I am willing to take my medicine.
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Albanese says he’s been focused on politics at home when asked about Trump’s ‘board of peace’
The prime minister was also asked about Donald Trump’s Gaza “board of peace” invitation.
Albanese said:
We’ll give consideration to those issues in line with other countries as well, but we haven’t turned our attention to those issues. We’ve been [prioritising], I think quite rightly, on what do we need to do to keep Australians safe?
Albanese remains aloof after Morrison attacks
At the press conference earlier, Anthony Albanese said Scott Morrison is entitled to make “whatever comments he likes” after the former prime minister released a blistering statement following Albanese’s remarks in parliament this week that antisemitism didn’t start when the Labor government was elected.
Albanese said in parliament on Tuesday:
Let me be very clear. All governments should have done better … the idea that antisemitism began two years ago, with the change of government, is false… Despite the surge in antisemitism on their watch, did the Morrison government appoint a special envoy to combat antisemitism?
Morrison released his own statement later that day, saying Albanese’s remarks about his own government’s actions were a “delusional and cheap diversionary” stunt.
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Nationals holding party room meeting amid anger over hate speech vote
The Nationals are holding another party room meeting this morning, amid anger at a group of frontbenchers who voted against the party’s position on Labor’s hate speech bill last night.
Shadow ministers Bridget McKenzie, Susan McDonald and Ross Cadell voted against the bill, despite the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, and shadow cabinet opting to support Labor’s watered down measure.
Convention requires frontbenchers to vote in line with shadow cabinet or resign their position. It is unclear whether Ley and Nationals leader, David Littleproud, will require the three frontbenchers to resign.
Backbencher Matt Canavan voted against the bill, but he is not bound by conventions of shadow cabinet solidarity.
Some Nationals and some Liberal MPs are angry the trio defied the shadow cabinet, despite days of negotiations about Labor’s bill and amendments agreed by Ley and the Coalition.
The legislation passed the Senate 38 to 22 votes after 11pm.
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PM says Australians are safer because of these bills
Albanese was asked if the bills as passed would make Australian less safe after a deal with the Coalition to see them passed.
He said that was not the case:
Australians are more safe because of these bills being carried.
The racial vilification provisions, I think were, a recommendation of the special envoy’s report. The Coalition said that they supported its adoption in full. It’s up to them to explain that contradiction.
Albanese said he hopes to see Australia come together during national day of mourning
The prime minister said tomorrow’s national day of mourning will be a moment for the country to reflect and unify, saying:
Australia was born out of an instinct to unify.
We need to come together and tomorrow will be another day in which I want to see national unity. The day of mourning will be an opportunity for all Australians to stand with those who are grieving, those who lost loved ones.
This period has been one of the most difficult in our nation’s history, coming to terms with this. We continue to take action required to keep Australians safe.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking in Canberra after the passage of the hate speech laws.
He said the laws were not as strong as the government initially put forward, but said the laws were “no doubt” a good thing.
Albanese said:
What we were able to do, with the support of the Greens, the strengthening of firearms laws, and with the support of the Liberals and some cross-benchers as well the strengthening on hate speech.
Not as strong as we originally put forward, but no doubt, the strongest hate laws that have ever been in place in Australia. A good thing.
Jewish body calls hate speech laws ‘step in the right direction’
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry issued a statement this morning welcoming the passage of the new hate speech laws.
The body’s president, Daniel Aghion, said the bill was “another substantial step towards achieving effective laws against the deliberate promotion of hatred of groups or individuals based on their skin colour or national or ethnic origin”.
In a statement, Aghion said:
No legislation is perfect, but the provisions of this new legislation represent a substantial achievement. The speed of its passage demonstrates that our parliament can work quickly and decisively when faced with urgent necessity and that Australia as a nation will never be dictated to by terror. …
If not addressed robustly, the problem of growing racial hatred will only get worse. Whilst the Jewish community is presently the main target, every group and every individual in society is potentially at risk in the future. We urge all parties to come together without delay to reverse this scourge.
CEO of energy company behind Eraring coal power plant says extra two years will help with ‘smooth transition’
Frank Calabria, the CEO of Origin energy, spoke with RN this morning after an announcement Australia’s largest coal-fired power plant, Eraring in New South Wales, would stay open for an additional two years until 2029.
Calabria said the extension was the result of a “lot of factors,” including engaging with the NSW government, but said the main goal was to make sure “we have a smooth transition”.
Calabria said:
A lot of good progress has been made on the transition, a lot of new infrastructure, a lot of new energy assets behind the meter. This will just enable it [to be a] smoother transition. …
We’ve made lots of investments, as you would imagine, in large batteries. We’ve got large wind farms underway, so do many other players in the sector. So we’re all aligned about making progress here.
Greens say it would have been ‘betrayal’ to support rushed hate speech laws
David Shoebridge, the Greens’ justice spokesperson, detailed his opposition to the hate speech bill in an interview with RN this morning.
He 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. He told RN:
This was legislation that was already extremely expansive, which already had a rushed process when it was presented as draft legislation last week. And then it got radically changed by a deal between the Coalition and Labour in the last 24 hours, substantially expanded. …
I think it would have been beyond reckless. It would have been a sort of betrayal of basic sense of democracy to ram through legislation last night with such broad-ranging impacts when every legal expert we spoke to said it was reckless and dangerous and they didn’t know the scope of it.
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Tony Burke believes Jewish Australians will be safer after passage of hate speech laws
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said he believes Jewish Australians are safer after the government’s hate speech laws passed parliament last night.
“There’s no doubt about that,” Burke told RN Breakfast this morning. He went on:
Part of delivering safety is doing something about bigotry. The laws that have gone through do give us more tools to effectively to be able to combat antisemitism. They don’t give us as many tools as the government would have liked, but we have to deal with the parliament that we have.
And there’s no doubt that we now have the strongest protections Australia has ever had.
Burke was asked about the future of any other hate speech laws, but the minister said the government faced the “parliament that we have”.
If we can’t get those criminal hate speech laws through in the wake of the Bondi massacre, then I just don’t see how the situation in the parliament’s about to change. …
I wish we had tougher laws than we were able to get through, but we have to deal with the parliament that we have.
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Sydney says ‘final farewell’ to remaining lockout laws
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 for certain venues. It will also remove the blanket per person drink limits and a ban on the promotion of shots during late night trading.
The change comes after the state cited a downward trend in alcohol-related violence at night, with a review finding the lockout laws – imposed in 2014 – no longer fit for purpose. The government said the laws had eviscerated Sydney’s live music scene and damaged its reputation as a global city.
John Graham, the NSW minister for music and the night-time economy, said:
Twelve years to the day since they were announced, we are now declaring the lockout laws have been completely abolished. I’m delighted to say goodbye to this chapter of Sydney’s nightlife story.
The lockouts had good intentions but a diabolical impact on the night-time economy and the reputation of our city.
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Penny Wong says Australia must keep going on combatting hate after new laws pass
Foreign minister Penny Wong said the hate speech laws passed by parliament this week will tackle both the spread of hate and access to guns, despite the changes made to get Coalition support.
Wong spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying Australia will have “the strongest hate laws the country has ever passed”. But she said in the wake of the Bondi attack, the country needed to continue to work to address antisemitism and strengthen the response to hate.
She said:
Feedom of expression is important in our country, but I think with the rise of antisemitism and in the wake of the worst terrorist attack that this country has seen on Australian soil, we really do need to continue to strengthen our response to hate and those who seek to spread hate in our society.
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Good morning, Nick Visser here to take you through the morning’s news. Let’s get into it.
Morrison fires back over Albanese comments on when antisemitism started rising
The former prime minister Scott Morrison has fired back over comments Anthony Albanese, made in question time on Tuesday after the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, asked Albanese if he would apologise for not acting on antisemitism sooner.
Albanese told the parliament that antisemitism didn’t start when the Labor government was elected in 2022, pointing to comments from Liberal senator Andrew Bragg that antisemitism began rising in 2019, when Morrison was prime minister.
On X, Morrison posted:
Hamas never praised the actions of my Government @AlboMP, but they did praise yours.
Morrison appeared to be referring to a report in the Nine newspapers last year that co-founder and senior official Hassan Yousef had welcomed the decision of Australia to recognise a Palestinian state. The veracity of the statement, however, was disputed, and Nine later clarified that the statement came from Yousef’s office, not the man himself.
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The head of Australia’s peak body of psychologists and disability experts have warned the NDIS’s new assessment tool hasn’t been tested on a variety of disability types – including diverse autistic needs – which may lead to “tragedies” occurring, if more research is not conducted.
The NDIA called the tool the “gold standard of available, validated needs assessment tools. It has been developed over more than 20 years in the Australian context and tested through multiple research studies across a range of disability groups”.
The president of the Australian Psychological Society, Dr Kelly Gough, which represents more than 25,000 psychologists across Australia, said APS members had raised concerns that the I-CAN is “not particularly good at understanding the sorts of requirements and support needs for people in [some disability] categories” including those with acquired brain injury and psychosocial conditions.
Gough warned that if the I-CAN were to be implemented broadly without further research and validation, there could be consequences.
What will probably happen is that there will just be terrible outcomes for six months or a year and complaints … and people talking to the government and the ombudsman and whatever else and maybe a couple of tragedies and then something will get fixed.
‘Not proposing to look at this again’: Labor backs down from racial vilification laws
The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, has said the government does not plan to try to pass laws targeting racial vilification in Australia after it was removed from hate speech bills in parliament on Tuesday in order to secure Liberal support through the Senate.
Rowland told ABC’s 7.30 program she understood the “frustration” from Jewish experts that those parts of the bill were removed but the government would not return to it later.
The direct response to your question, the prime minister has made it clear the time to have brought this forward and the time to have he had bipartisanship on this matter is now. We are not proposing to look at this again. And we understand the frustrations that are felt around that.
It would be something that the royal commission could examine, Rowland said, but the government would not proceed with a future bill unless there was bipartisan support.
Despite repeated questioning, Rowland would not say what other factors beyond a group accusing Israel of genocide or apartheid, and if that meant Jewish Australians feel intimidated, would lead to that group being banned under the legislation.
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Welcome
Good morning. Nick Visser will be here shortly to guide you through the day’s news.
Laws to ban hate groups and establish a national gun buyback scheme have passed the Senate after the Albanese government struck separate deals with the Liberals and Greens to legislate its response to the Bondi beach massacre.
The two bills were rushed last night at the end of a special two-day sitting to deal with the political fallout of the 14 December shooting.
The hate speech laws divided the Coalition, with the Nationals splitting from the Liberals to oppose what leader David Littleproud described as a “mess” that “over-reached”.
Plus: the head of Australia’s peak body of psychologists and disability experts have warned the NDIS’s new assessment tool hasn’t been tested on a variety of disability types – including diverse autistic needs – which may lead to “tragedies” occurring, if more research is not conducted.
Stay with us.
