Court hands landmark win for low-paid Domino’s workers in underpayment class action
Domino’s Pizza could pay significant compensation after a landmark Federal Court ruling in favour of franchise workers.
The federal court found the pizza giant misled franchisees when it ordered them to underpay thousands of drivers and in-store staff under outdated employment agreements over five years that excluded key entitlements.
The ruling follows a class action brought by former Domino’s delivery driver Riley Gall in 2019, alleging underpayment of wages under the Australian Consumer Law for loss caused by misleading and deceptive conduct. Gall said:
This isn’t just a win for me. It’s always been about justice for the thousands of others who were exploited and not paid the amount that they deserved under the correct award. Many of them will still be in those positions where the money will really help.
Lawyer for the plaintiff Brett Spiegel said the judgment gave Domino’s franchise employees “the justice they deserve”. Spiegel said:
Riley Gall has shown incredible courage and dedication in bringing this case and persevering over more than six years to get to this day.
This landmark victory highlights the harm widespread and systemic wage underpayment inflicts on a vulnerable labour force. It is a timely reminder for employers to pay their workers what they are owed under the applicable award or agreement.”
The class action covers delivery drivers and in-store workers employed by Domino’s Australian franchisees between 2013 and 2018. A further hearing will be held to decide group member claims.
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What we learned – Wednesday 22 July
That’s where we’ll leave today’s live coverage.
Before we go, let’s recap the day’s top headlines:
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The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, says the state’s Labor party is under threat from One Nation and “we’ve got to fight for those votes”.
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Barnaby Joyce has appeared on the Today Show this morning to the backing track of “who let the dogs out”, to clear the record on a bizarre tirade against his dog on Monday evening during a 7.30 interview.
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A 16-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of his mother after he allegedly stabbed her at a home in Perth, Western Australia, and seriously injured his 12-year-old sister who managed to flee to get help.
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The CEO of Wesnet, the national peak body for specialist women’s domestic and family violence services, provided advice for women and children experiencing domestic and family violence, who may have hidden phones as part of their safety plan ahead of the AusAlert warning system test this coming Monday at 2pm AEST.
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Pauline Hanson has copped backlash from politicians for controversial comments made on domestic violence this morning.
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Millions of Australians may have had data accessed by hackers after Origin Energy confirmed it is investigating a cybersecurity incident.
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Victoria police assistant commissioner Christopher Gilbert told the antisemitism royal commission that police have seen an increase in antisemitic incidents since the Hamas terror attack of 7 October 2023.
Thanks for joining us, see you tomorrow morning!
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Queensland’s domestic violence minister responds to calls to step down over buried report
Queensland’s domestic violence minister Amanda Camm has responded to calls for her to step down amid mounting pressure over revelations the government buried a report by victim-survivors of domestic violence.
Camm commissioned the report, which was heavily critical of police responses and called for a “civilian review mechanism” to escalate complaints about police.
A summary report “developed for broader distribution” was prepared and the working group finished in December. The Guardian has seen the report – you can read our reporting here – and the Labor opposition has called for Camm to be sacked.
Camm responded with a written statement on Wednesday, saying:
The summary report was developed from the final report to protect the identity and safety of working group members.
The intent of the working group was to advise the new government, following the election, and identify and highlight gaps in the system.
The report was released exactly as was promised and intended [sic] to external agencies in May, so they could begin work on delivering reforms to ensure more women are safer sooner.
While Labor had spent a decade failing to deliver real outcomes for domestic violence victims, the intention of the working group was provide victims with a voice directly to a government who for the first time had a focus on delivering genuine outcomes.
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In Australia, domestic and family violence counselling is available from Full Stop Australia on 1800 385 578. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org
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Police database has limitations tracking antisemitic incidents, royal commission told
The inquiry turned to how Victoria police tracks hate crimes, examining whether the force’s primary database (LEAP) adequately flags the specific character of antisemitic or Islamophobic offences.
Assistant commissioner Christopher Gilbert acknowledged that while narrative detail is captured in the system, rapid data extraction remains limited on existing infrastructure.
When asked directly if he believed there was room for improvement in police data collection, Gilbert said:
Yes, I do.
However, he said police do not rely solely on database metrics to assess risk to the public:
I think we’re in a very strong position now …
My view is that we have multiple sources of information relevant to risks to community … Always better data would be an advantage, but I think we have in our possession – in addition to the data that we do have – other material which would actually help us, and it does to this day, to assess risk.
Gilbert highlighted “on the ground relationships” with local synagogues, schools and peak bodies as vital. He said the Community Security Group (CSG) Victoria is a “core community stakeholder” with whom police maintain strong engagement.
Following this public testimony, counsel assisting applied to close the session to discuss confidential details regarding information-sharing protocols between Victoria police and CSG Victoria.
That’s where we’ll leave today’s coverage of the antisemitism royal commission today. We’ll be here to cover tomorrow’s witness testimony.
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Woodside’s North West Shelf extension challenged in federal court
Friends of Australian Rock Art today opened their case challenging the approval of Woodside’s North West Shelf extension in the federal court.
The Australian Conservation Foundation and Fara are this week running concurrent court challenges against the extension’s approval by the federal environment minister, Murray Watt. According to ACF, the project would see about 4bn tonnes of CO2 released into the atmosphere – equivalent to about 10 years of Australia’s annual emissions.
Fara is arguing Watt did not properly identify the risks of the project to the Murujuga Indigenous rock art complex – a landscape of more than a million petroglyphs dating back 50,000 years, including the oldest known image of a human face.
It is also arguing that Watt made errors in the way he considered the economic benefits of the project.
Fara’s legal counsel, Sashi Maharaj KC, told the court that the economic considerations provided by the minister in his statement of reasons for the approval were “shambolic”, and that “the whole statement of reasons is highly unsatisfactory such that the decision is impeachable”.
She said:
This is a clear case where both economic benefits and economic detriments must be considered.
You can’t cherry pick benefits … the balancing exercise is skewed by cherry picking the benefits in the manner the minister has.
The hearing continues.
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Victoria police report rise in antisemitic incidents since 7 October 2023
Victoria police assistant commissioner Christopher Gilbert told the antisemitism royal commission that police have seen an increase in antisemitic incidents since the Hamas terror attack of 7 October 2023.
Asked if there had been a rise in incidents, Gilbert said his “anecdotal observation is yes” and that “there are some data sources that may indicate that’s the case as well”.
Gilbert has led Victoria’s Southern Metro region since December 2023, covering 10 local government areas and roughly a quarter of the state’s population. He told the inquiry that Operation Park – the overarching operational framework for Jewish and Muslim community safety across Victoria – was central to police resourcing.
I would characterise the changes over the last two-and-a-half years as having seen Victoria police deploy far more resources far more often relevant to the safety of the Jewish community.
Gilbert said resourcing has remained high and consistent following major security events.
We were deploying, I think, reasonably against our assessment of threat, but we’ve certainly escalated those deployments … which sees us now deploying [more] than we ever have before.
Since October 2023, police have logged almost 18,000 discrete tasks relevant to community sites of interest – with almost 15,000 of those located in Melbourne’s inner south.
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Josh Burns joins condemnation of Hanson’s domestic violence comments
Labor MP Josh Burns has accused Pauline Hanson of “speaking before thinking” after her controversial comments on domestic violence.
Speaking on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Burns said it was “not good enough” that Hanson was “victim-blaming”.
It is a serious matter that too many Australian women face a wicked choice between remaining in a home that is unsafe, or facing financial destitution, financial uncertainty and homelessness.
For someone who is parading themselves as a leader of this country, I think our country is better than victim-blaming and trying to somehow put this on the victims.
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Privatised job providers failing unemployed Australians, according to new report
A new report into Australia’s employment services sector has revealed that privatised job providers are being used to enrich owners, while failing the very people they are meant to help: unemployed Australians.
An investigation by the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research (CICTAR) into employment services, which receive $5.5bn in public money each year, has revealed huge companies in the sector lack transparency and use aggressive tax minimisation, large dividend payouts, offshore-related party payments, tax havens, and opaque financial reporting to extract profits from the system.
The report said:
It’s no secret that Australia’s system of privatised employment services has failed.
The Howard-era system fills the pockets of private equity and millionaires, while leaving jobseekers without work.
In May, the federal employment minister, Amanda Rishworth, announced changes to the system, but said for-profit service providers would remain a part of it.
Antipoverty Centre spokesperson Jay Coonan said:
This industry has been draining public coffers for decades now with little scrutiny thanks to their deep connections to political parties and powerful people – that is well documented in the media and on their websites.
This is the government’s largest procurement outside of the defence portfolio, with $5bn a year going to companies who are subject to little oversight while they use welfare penalties to extract profit from poor people.
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Duniam backs tougher laws to block return of suspected Islamic State fighter
Jonno Duniam has echoed opposition leader Angus Taylor’s calls for the federal government to issue temporary exclusion orders to prevent an Australian member of Islamic State from returning home.
It comes after The Australian reported that Australian medical doctor Tareq Kamleh, known as “Dr Jihad”, who was presumed dead, is one of 13 Australian men imprisoned in an Iraqi jail and hoping to return home.
Speaking on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, the shadow home affairs minister dismissed the government’s claims that it is “constrained by the powers and limitations of the temporary exclusion orders regime”.
Well, the one option they do have is to revisit the laws we currently have.
“If we need to strengthen the laws to keep someone who, frankly, [made the] decision this individual did to travel to Syria, to support Islamic State, to be a propaganda mouthpiece for them, to, frankly, practice evil in the way he has, I really don’t want him back here. So, I say to the government that if you need to strengthen the laws, bring us into the tent, we will work with you on whatever it takes to strengthen our laws, to keep someone as insidious as that out of our country.
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Duniam condemns Hanson’s domestic violence comments
Shadow home affairs minister, Jonno Duniam, has condemned Pauline Hanson’s comments on domestic violence, calling the interview “rather garbled”.
Appearing on radio in Brisbane this morning, the One Nation leader was asked about men who abuse their partners. She said it was “wrong, but it’s also a two-way street”.
Speaking on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Duniam said:
I think we have to be very careful about how we speak when you’re a community leader, when you’re a lawmaker. You need to demonstrate empathy. You need to understand people’s experiences. And I understand the point she’s making about how different people will be affected in different ways, but her conveying of the message she conveyed was very poor and can have a detrimental impact, in my view.
Asked whether he believed women were more often the victims of domestic violence, he said:
Yes, sure, the stats are there, you can’t argue with those statistics. To try and pretend that it is a case otherwise is a fool’s errand, and doesn’t help deal with the situation.
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All homeless people in Wilks Park camp have been offered accommodation, NSW minister says
Following up on earlier reporting on council rangers in the regional town of Wagga threatening homeless residents with $1,100 eviction notices.
NSW housing and homelessness minister, Rose Jackson said:
Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect regardless of their housing situation.
Our immediate priority is making sure everyone has access to safe accommodation and the support they need.
Every homeless person camped in Wilks Park and Wagga Wagga Beach have been offered accommodation. Not everyone accepts our offers of support, but Homes NSW staff will keep trying.
I’ve always said that hotels and motels should be a last resort. Purpose-built crisis accommodation is always preferable, because it comes with those wraparound supports that help people get back on the path to stable housing.
That’s why we created the $100 million Homelessness Innovation Fund and why we are investing $130 million to build more crisis beds in NSW.
Undoing a decade of neglect in housing and homelessness won’t happen overnight, but we are doing the work, backed by record investment in both housing and homelessness.
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Rebel Wilson wins defamation case brought by co-star after bitter dispute
After a blistering dispute that spanned continents and years, Hollywood A-lister Rebel Wilson has been found not to have defamed her co-star in a series of social media posts, AAP reports.
The Pitch Perfect star was sued by Australian actor Charlotte MacInnes, who played the lead role in Wilson’s directorial debut film The Deb.
After the verdict on Wednesday, Wilson thanked the judge and the Australian legal system, saying the process had tested her and reinforced her belief in “standing up for what I believe is right, while continuing to create work that brings people joy”.
Read more here:
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VicPol counter-terrorism chief questioned on synagogue security and data gaps
Acting Cmdr Kelvin Gale, head of Victoria police’s counter-terrorism group (CTG), has outlined gaps in hate crime data collection and event classification during testimony at the antisemitism royal commission.
Questioned by counsel assisting Richard Lancaster SC, Gale said CTG does not routinely classify synagogues as “crowded places” under national security guidelines, noting external precincts can fit the definition as people gather and move through them.
He said a “state-led” event status, for example, the visit of Israeli president Isaac Herzog, is determined by statewide resourcing demands rather than threat levels alone. “It’s not about the risk or the importance,” Gale testified. “It’s about the resourcing commitment.”
There is no automated data tracker for antisemitic or Islamophobic incidents, though Gale noted the Law Enforcement Assistance Program (LEAP) database has a “prejudice-motivated crime” tag officers can use at their discretion. He said accurate data could give police greater confidence when making resourcing decisions.
Gale added that CTG manages the Victoria Police Shield Network, distributing intelligence updates to about 1,000 security managers, including the Community Security Group (CSG), though he could not recall whether CSG representatives attend CTG’s bi-annual Crowded Places Network Forums. Over the past 12 months, CTG has conducted six active armed defender exercises at major public venues, including GMHBA Stadium and Broadmeadow Shopping Centre.
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Greens join calls for greater whistleblower protection
The Greens justice spokesperson, David Shoebridge, has joined calls for greater protection for witnesses involved in royal commissions after revelations that a key robodebt whistleblower was suing her department over alleged threats.
Jeannie-Marie Blake, a Services Australia employee who repeatedly raised concerns about the robodebt scheme, is suing her department for alleged threats she received from superiors before and after explosive evidence to the robodebt royal commission in 2023.
Her lawyers at the Human Rights Law Centre, which runs a dedicated whistleblower support service, say the case raises broader concerns about gaps in protection for public servants giving evidence to royal commissions. A 2022 government review of the royal commissions act previously found it lacked any power to impose a civil penalty on a person who causes detriment to a witness giving evidence to a royal commission.
Shoebridge said Blake’s case showed the need for greater whistleblower protection. He said:
For over four years now the Greens have been pushing for comprehensive whistleblower protections that apply wherever, and whenever, the truth is told in good faith.
This latest example shows why these laws are more needed than ever. It also shows why we need to stop pretending Labor will be better, and instead build an alternative power base in parliament to replace them.
The office of the attorney general, Michelle Rowland, said current laws governing royal commissions already contained strong protection for witnesses. The spokesperson also pointed to reforms passed this year to improve protection from secrecy offences for those providing intelligence and operational information to a royal commission.
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Labor conference to ‘showcase’ party: Albanese
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says Labor’s national conference will “showcase” what he describes as the “greatest political party” in Australia.
Albanese’s ministry met in Adelaide ahead of the start of the conference on Thursday, where MPs, trade unionists and rank-and-file members will gather to thrash out the party’s policy agenda for the next three years.
Gambling reform, fuel tax credits for miners, taxing gas exports, artificial intelligence and Israel and Palestine are among the most contentious issues up for debate, although Labor power brokers don’t expect any repeats of the major flare-ups of the past conference.
Speaking at the start of Wednesday’s ministry meeting, Albanese said:
We’re bringing the national conference here to Adelaide over the next three days. It’s an opportunity for our party members to have a direct say in the direction of the country and for us to engage. We represent the oldest and greatest political party in Australia. This is our 50th national conference. While other political parties have come and gone, we’ve continued to evolve, develop, we change with the times, and the party conference will reflect that over the coming few days in developing our platform that we’ll continue to take forward.
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Ex-Socceroos captain receives ‘probable CTE’ diagnosis
Former Socceroos captain Paul Wade has revealed he has been diagnosed with probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), leading to renewed calls for all players under the age of 12 to be banned from heading the ball.
CTE is a progressive and neurodegenerative brain disease associated with repeated head impacts that can only be diagnosed after death, by autopsy.
There are criteria used in research that may indicate possible CTE but they are not advised for clinical use – the practice of diagnosing “probable CTE” is considered controversial.
The 64-year-old Wade received a diagnosis of probable CTE in late 2025 following the presentation of neurological symptoms and subsequent testing.
Wade, capped 84 times for Australia, has been told by his neurologist he will likely die because of it. He has spoken up about his experience, saying:
Football gave me so much. It gave me a life, a career, incredible experiences and the privilege of representing Australia.
But I also must be honest about the challenges I now face and the uncertainty that comes with living with a neurodegenerative condition.
I know my memory’s going. And I’ve been told by a number of people I’ve become a little bit short tempered, just snapped a bit.
- AAP
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Domestic violence prevention advocate condemns Hanson’s comments
Nicole Yade, the chief executive of Women’s and Girls’ Emergency Centre (WAGEC), has also criticised Pauline Hanson’s comments, calling them “vile and shameful” in a strongly worded statement.
Appearing on radio in Brisbane this morning, the One Nation leader was asked about men who abused their partners. She said it was “wrong, but it’s also a two-way street”.
WAGEC supports 200 women and children every night who are fleeing domestic violence. Yade said:
[Hanson] is speaking from a position of privilege and complete misunderstanding that characterises practically every word that leaves her mouth. There is no excuse for abuse, no societal or economic conditions that provide a cover of acceptability to abuse … It is extraordinary that anyone needs reminding of this, let alone someone who seeks to be a leader of this nation.
Senator Hanson may never apologise for her senseless comments, but they cannot be allowed to send a message to victim-survivors and those trapped in abusive situations. Instead, they must know that they are not at fault, that leaving is harder than anyone could imagine, and that there is a network of support there for them.
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With that, I will pass you into the capable hands of Achol Arok, who will guide you through the rest of this afternoon’s news. Thanks for reading.
Wagga threatens homeless residents with $1,100 eviction notices
The regional NSW town where a newborn baby was found dead in a tent in May is now evicting its homeless population, threatening them with $1,000 fines.
In May a 37-year-old mother, who had been living on the Murrumbidgee riverbank with her partner, went into labour. Shortly after, police were called to the camp where they found one of her newborns had died. The woman and the other twin were taken to hospital.
Now, council rangers have issued notices to people residing in Wilks Park, informing them they have until Tuesday 28 July to leave or face a $1,100 “or more” fine.
“It is requested that you remove all camping equipment, motor vehicles, trailers, caravans and personal belongings and vacate the area,” the eviction notice reads.
After the baby’s death, NSW housing minister, Rose Jackson, announced “a cross-agency group to support rough sleepers into more permanent forms of housing”.
But housing advocates say more than 50 people have been sent eviction notices, with nowhere else to go.
Rachel Evans, Action for Public Housing said:
[Residents] and others at Wilks Park need housing, not eviction to another homelessness camp where they will be moved on from in a months time.
The government is presiding over a grotesque homelessness crisis, rent increases and a sky-rocketing public housing wait list all while demolishing valuable public housing stock.
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Violent extremists are ‘rational’ actors that balance symbolism and practicalities, expert says
Terrorists primarily act as “rational actors” that select targets by weighing up symbolic impact and practicality, often scouting vulnerable locations online, a counter-terrorism expert has told the antisemitism royal commission.
Dr Josh Roose, an associate professor of politics at Deakin University, discussed findings from a major Victorian Department of Justice report analysing 100 Australian terror plots and attacks between 2004 and 2024 across far-right extremism, Salafi-jihadism, and violent misogyny:
Ultimately, terrorism is a political or religious act, and they’re seeking to broadcast a message through that act. So there’s a symbolic component … There’s also a pragmatic component … Targets are selected on a number of factors including access, familiarity, security, the weapons available, and ultimately their capabilities.
The study, which mapped online forums and conducted field observations at previously targeted sites, found extremists rely heavily on open online resources to scout site vulnerabilities prior to an attack.
Traditional measures like fences or CCTV alone cannot stop determined actors, he said, advocating for dynamic “layered protective security”, incorporating intelligence sharing, protective patrols, and mandated communication networks between community groups and law enforcement.
Securing temporary events is more complex than fixed locations, he added, because non-symbolic spaces can instantly become prime targets depending on who gathers there.
The commission has since entered a closed session to hear sensitive evidence regarding security arrangements and personnel training.
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Queensland opposition calls for minister for the prevention of domestic violence to be sacked
The Queensland opposition says the premier should sack the minister for the prevention of domestic violence, Amanda Camm, after Guardian Australia’s reports that the state government buried a damning report by victim-survivors of domestic violence.
The Guardian’s reporting (which you can read here) followed mounting pressure on Camm over the government’s response to domestic and family violence.
The leaked summary report by the panel of victim survivors hits a particularly sensitive nerve for the state government, which was elected in 2024 on its promises to tackle crime and put victims “at the heart” of the justice system.
Camm’s office refused to release the report on Monday. A copy obtained by the Guardian revealed damning experiences of women seeking support, but made prominent references to issues with policing. It called for the civilian-led oversight of police – something recommended by a 2022 inquiry, but which appears to have stalled.
Labor’s shadow minister for women, Shannon Fentiman, said issues with policing were the “key focus” of the report but that she had “seen nothing from this government that indicates they are committed to a police integrity unit”.
Fentiman said the premier, David Crisafulli needed to “move this minister on and put in place a minister who would give victim-survivors a voice, who would get this report out there”.
The opposition leader, Steven Miles, said:
She has tried to hide the report of her own ministerial family and sexual violence working group, tried to keep their report secret. Tried to silence the victims who bravely shared their stories. And you can see why. The report is damning.
– with Andrew Messenger
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Cost of leaving domestic and family violence hits more than $7,000
The cost for people leaving domestic and family violence has risen by 71% in the last decade, from $4,098 to $7,017 – significantly outpacing inflation.
Anglicare Sydney undertook the comparative analysis to chart the difference in the immediate costs of leaving – including bond, moving truck rental, and temporary accommodation, and the follow-on costs of rebuilding a household and establishing safety in the last decade.
Rent and bond costs have more than doubled. Both fuel and childcare costs are also more than 50% more expensive in 2026 than in 2016.
Claire Dunlop, general manager of relationships and wellbeing at Anglicare said:
For many victim-survivors, leaving already takes enormous courage. What this research shows is that financial barriers are becoming another obstacle to safety. When housing costs, childcare, transport and everyday essentials keep rising, people can feel trapped between violence and financial insecurity.
Beyond the direct costs of leaving violence, victim-survivors are trying to simultaneously find housing, transport, manage childcare, maintain or find employment, and rebuild financial stability.
They are doing this without savings, stable housing, or reliable support networks and in many cases, around the movements or surveillance of an offender, to avoid detection.
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Rohan Pike denies links to novel nicotine institute after calling for lowered tobacco excise at National Press Club
Circling back to the National Press Club, Guardian Australia’s Sarah Basford Canales asked Rohan Pike about his apparent links to the Global Institute for Novel Nicotine.
Pike, who advocated today for a lower tobacco excise, is listed on their website as “GINN’s Focal Point on Anti-Illicit Trade”. GINN describes itself as the “leading industry voice for novel nicotine products”.
Basford Canales asked:
You’re an adviser or a focal point for [GINN], a UK-based trade association representing manufactures of alternative nicotine products. Since joining, you’ve made a few media and public appearances … Do you receive any funding or financial assistance from tobacco or nicotine companies, and do you believe it’s part of your duty to explain your role or your ties with the GINN?
He said he was “far from the focal point” and just “on a group chat”.
That is my only involvement with that group of nicotine producers, and I’ve provided no advice to them for some time … I don’t have a contract with industry. I’ve never had one … I’ve educated myself about harm reduction and I’m completely enamoured with it, and think it’s the best solution for Australia.
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Origin Energy investigating potential security incident
Millions of Australians may have had data accessed by hackers after Origin Energy confirmed it is investigating a cybersecurity incident.
The energy giant is investigating a “potential security incident” that may have breached some customers’ data. In a statement, the leading energy retailer said it didn’t think the affected data included customer credit card or bank details:
We understand an incident like this may raise concerns and acknowledge the impact of this uncertainty on Origin customers.
Our investigations into this incident are occurring as a matter of urgency, and Origin will provide further updates as appropriate.
We have notified the Australian Cyber Security Centre and the Australian Federal Police of this potential incident. We have also engaged with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Origin has 4.8m customer accounts in Australia and provides electricity, natural gas, LPG, and internet services to residential and business customers.
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Socceroo set for move to club that spawned Ronaldo
Nestory Irankunda is in the sights of Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon in a move which has the potential to make the Socceroos attacker the most expensive player in the history of Australian football.
Fresh from making his World Cup debut and scoring in Australia’s only win – their 2-0 group stage victory over Turkey – former Adelaide United star Irankunda is reportedly nearing a permanent transfer to Sporting from English Championship side Watford.
The Lisbon club finished runners-up in last season’s Primeira Liga and were the club where Cristiano Ronaldo began his career.
Sporting have qualified for the UEFA Champions League league phase as a result of their second-placed finish, meaning that should he break through into the first team Irankunda has a chance to test himself against Europe’s best.
Reports in Portugal indicate that in a deal that includes add-ons, Watford could pocket a total of €22m ($A35m) for the 20-year-old’s services. That would mean Irankunda surpasses fellow Socceroos teammate Harry Souttar, who moved from Stoke City to Leicester City in 2023 for €17m ($A27m) as Australia’s most expensive transfer.
– AAP.
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Continued from previous post:
Naomi Levin acknowledged that Victoria police had significantly increased senior operational contact with the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV), noting more than 100 engagements since October 2023.
However, she told the royal commission that this executive-level access failed to translate into a sense of protection for everyday Jewish Victorians.
Highlighting an incident during Melbourne CBD protests in August 2024, Levin said police asked Jewish individuals to vacate public spaces for their own safety while pro-Palestinian demonstrations moved through, which was “not sufficient to create a sense of safety”.
Levin also noted a “chilling” effect on interfaith relationships across the state, telling the commission it was “deeply regrettable that those relationships don’t even appear to be on the path towards being rebuilt”.
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‘An exact flip’: JCCV chief tells royal commission security now consumes 80% of its focus
The Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) said it has had an “exact flip” of its operations since October 2023, with an increased focus on security threats and rising antisemitism.
Its chief executive, Naomi Levin, told the antisemitism royal commission that before October 2023 roughly 80% of the peak body’s time was dedicated to cultural, educational and community programs, with 20% spent on security and antisemitism:
Post-October 2023, there has been an exact flip. I would say 80% of our time is now spent discussing antisemitism or grappling with how to keep our community safe.
Levin described heavy security infrastructure now required at the JCCV’s headquarters in Melbourne. She said the building’s security, including guards and fencing, is often commented on by visitors because they are “unprecedented for a community organisation” but “entirely necessary”:
When I was growing up here in Melbourne, there was a cafe at the bottom of that building. There were no locks, guards, or fences. People just came in and out like you would expect of a community centre. [Now] they’re greeted with fences and guards … it creates literal barriers to our participation in Jewish life.
Levin added that security measures routinely discourage community members from gathering outside synagogues or events.
Continued in next post.
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‘Responsibility isn’t on the victim’: more criticism of Hanson’s domestic violence comments
Hanson’s comments that domestic violence was “wrong, but it’s also a two-way street” and women shouldn’t “put up” with it have also been critiqued by Women’s Agenda and Tarang Chawla.
Women’s Agenda, an Australian media brand, said her “victim-blaming” rhetoric came as new research from Anglicare found the cost of leaving domestic and family violence situations had risen by 71% over the past decade. Its general manager of relationships and wellbeing, Claire Dunlop, said on the new findings that “for many victim-survivors, leaving already takes enormous courage”.
Commenting on Women’s Agenda’s post, Chawla, a writer, lawyer and advocate, said:
My sister Niki tried to do what Ms Hanson suggests. Terrible advice. He murdered her. It is not as simple as ‘don’t put up with it.’ The responsibility isn’t on the victim. It’s on the person who is abusive or violent. Overwhelmingly, that person is a man.
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Brittany Higgins says Pauline Hanson’s comments on domestic violence were ‘atrocious’
Brittany Higgins has condemned comments Pauline Hanson made on domestic violence this morning, describing them as “atrocious” and “normalising” victim-blaming rhetoric.
Appearing on radio in Brisbane this morning, the One Nation leader was asked about men who abused their partners. She said it was “wrong, but it’s also a two-way street”, adding:
Domestic violence is a scourge but look … I’ve been through it myself in my life. And I just feel if you’re not in a house where you feel safe … then you shouldn’t put up with it. If these women are getting abused by men out there, then don’t put up with it.
Posting to social media, Higgins wrote:
‘Mutual abuse’, ‘two way street’, ‘just leave’ – normalising this victim blaming rhetoric in relation to domestic violence when 38 Australian women have already been lost to femicide is atrocious.
You can read details of what Hanson said earlier in this blog post.
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Legal and regulated tobacco market is ‘already lost’, National Press Club hears
Today’s National Press Club address is on illicit tobacco and its impact on public health, featuring former border force officer Rowan Pike, former deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth and Liberal MP Mary Aldred.
It comes as the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, this morning said the tobacco excise was too high and was encouraging illicit operators into Australia’s market.
Pike told the press club that illicit tobacco rates have been “hidden by the health lobby for many years”.
Only in 2023, [with] the gangs now entrenched, did health officials, belatedly and reluctantly, finally admit the problem exists … It was only the criminals themselves who made the issue too obvious to deny … Police did not create this market. Even the criminal gangs did not create the market, government policy did.
The legal and regulated tobacco market is already lost … Today, with illicit products dominating the market, enforcement alone cannot and will not reverse the damage … We need to act now and the most impactful thing we could do in the short term is to lower the excise rate.
He concluded his address by arguing that countries with the lowest smoking rates in the world have achieved it by transitioning smokers to safer nicotine products, citing the United Kingdom and Scandinavia.
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Photographer denies stealing camera from Bondi victim
A photographer has denied using the chaotic aftermath of the Bondi Beach mass shooting to steal valuable camera equipment from one of the deceased victims.
Danny James Ridley formally entered pleas of not guilty to seven charges in the Waverley local court on Wednesday, including stealing $3,500 worth of photographic gear from Peter Meagher.
The 35-year-old is accused of using the ensuing chaos to steal the camera equipment of 61-year-old Meagher, a retired police officer who was one of 15 people killed in the attack at the Jewish festival.
Police allege Ridley pawned the equipment – which was later recovered – along with an SD card containing Meagher’s last photographs.
Ridley’s lawyer, Andrew Dikha, told the court some charges might be resolved through further communication with prosecutors.
He has also been hit with firearm and drug charges after police allegedly found handcuffs and a small white crystalline powder that was allegedly meth.
He will return to court on 23 September.
– AAP.
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Queensland police minister says he supports AusAlert technology
Queensland’s police minister say his state supports the federal government’s AusAlert technology.
At a press conference this morning, Dan Purdie reiterated previous comments made today that he wants answers to questions about the rollout of the technology, particularly how it would work in regional parts of the state where landline phones continue to be popular.
But Purdie said it was “potentially lifesaving technology and we do support that” and wouldn’t rule out rolling it out this fire season. He said:
We need to make sure Queenslanders aren’t put at risk and there are concerns around the gaps as we look to transition the emergency alert system to AusAlert.
We’re looking forward to those questions being answered today [at a meeting of state ministers with federal minister Kirsty McBain].
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‘We would not have a camp without security’: youth leader says programs for Jewish schoolchildren can’t go ahead without safety protocols
A Sydney Jewish youth leader has told the antisemitism royal commission that heightened fears for safety have changed how young Jewish Australians gather, forcing programs out of the public and requiring children to disable location tracking on camps.
Giving evidence under the pseudonym ACV, the witness described the precautions now required to run events for school-age children. Activities previously hosted in public parks and pools have moved to secured venues. Campers travelling on public transport or stopping at service stations are instructed to hide Hebrew lettering and Jewish symbols.
It is a security risk to have any Hebrew or any identifying symbols while we’re in public … We try to be very transparent with [the kids]. We want them to understand the seriousness of why we tell them, ‘You have to go on to your phones and turn off your location services so that no one can come and find the campsite.’
After the Bondi terror attack, youth leaders required support from professional trauma psychologists to support children terrified of being targeted at camp, ACV said.
The volunteer-run movement, led by 18 to 22-year-olds, faced uncertainty over affording physical security for their June 2026 winter camp, receiving grant funding days before departure.
She said the movement’s programs provide a “safe, inclusive Jewish place” for participants, many of whom attend secular or non-Jewish schools where they face traumatic experiences.
She shared an incident involving a year 12 student who became school captain:
Upon receiving her school captaincy, her photograph was Photoshopped by her peers to have payot and to have ‘Jew, Jew, Jew’ written on it … She was almost desensitised to it … She couldn’t understand that what had happened was antisemitic.
“We would not have had a camp without security,” she said, noting that while physical security remains central to running programs today, it is not a solution to social division.
Physical security is not the answer to all of the issues currently being faced … In order to have true social cohesion in Australia, the education system, the curriculum being taught in schools needs to change.
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Diesel over $2.20 as fuel prices rise 40 cents in three weeks
Fuel prices have raced up 40 cents per litre in three weeks, pushing diesel above 220 cents per litre and petrol above 187 cents in some cities.
Oil prices have steadily risen since the US resumed strikes on Iran. Brent crude oil rose from about US$70 on 2 July to US $91.90 today. The Australian government also reduced its fuel excise discount by 16 cents.
That has forced up wholesale fuel prices, with service stations passing the price hike on to customers.
Melbourne is facing diesel prices of 221 cents per litre today, while Canberra is at 220.2 cents, according to Motormouth. Darwin is at 217.7 cents, Hobart is at 217.5, Brisbane is at 216.7 and Sydney is at 214.9.
Adelaide diesel is at 214 cents per litre and Perth at 209.2 cents, both at their highest since late May after rising 40 cents since the start of July.
Unleaded petrol prices have risen to 187.1 cents per litre in Canberra, the highest price in two months. It’s at 184.9 cents in Perth and 181.7 cents in Melbourne, each their highest since late May. Darwin is at 183.2 cents while Sydney is at 176.2 cents per litre.
Luke Yeaman, the Commonwealth Bank chief economist, has predicted the federal government could have to restore the fuel excise discount back to 32 cents, as you can read here:
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Experts warn abortion ‘fear mongering’ risks rural care
More Australian women are accessing medical terminations, but a resurgence in the anti-abortion movement threatens rural patients already forced to seek care on the quiet, experts say.
The number of women accessing abortion pills through GPs rose from one in 10,000 to more than two in 1000 between 2014 and 2021, according to research led by Flinders University. The analysis used data from more than 400 general practices across Australia, tracking more than one million women.
There was greater use of medical abortion, a non-surgical option in early pregnancy, in women aged between 25 and 29. Women in the regions or in lower socio-economic areas also accessed medical abortions at higher rates.
But only one-third of practices provided the service at any point in the study window. More than half of patients were new to the practice where they received care, suggesting they had to find a willing provider, according to the study published in an international journal.
Recent anti-abortion rhetoric, supported by One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce at a NSW rally in June and Katter’s Australia Party in Queensland, only put vulnerable women at risk, a rural gynaecologist, who spoke to AAP anonymously due to their work in the public system, said.
The data revealed continued complexities in abortion access, with higher prescribing rates likely disguising barriers.
–AAP.
Auditors warned to step forward as Asic investigates big four
Australia’s company auditors have been warned to report illegal behaviour as they face growing pressure from the corporate regulator after KPMG’s audit leaks scandal.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is already surveilling KPMG, Deloitte, EY and PwC. Now every audit professional has been told they will face Asic’s scrutiny, with the regulator today writing to all registered company auditors to outline their obligations. There are about 2,900 Australians holding that title, not all of whom work in the big four.
In the letter, seen by Guardian Australia, Kate O’Rourke, an Asic commissioner, has told auditors they must report suspected breaches of the law by audited bodies.
Asic will be reviewing auditors’ routine statements to ensure they’re being open about any findings of failures, O’Rourke wrote.
KPMG on Monday announced seven partners involved in sharing confidential Optus information had received punishments ranging from warnings to fines of up to $180,000. Two of the partners resigned, a KPMG spokesperson said, adding:
The conduct is unacceptable and inconsistent with our values, policies and obligations to protect client information. We have apologised to the clients affected.
The scandal had already seen KPMG fine three audit partners who resigned after sharing confidential information from Lendlease’s audit.
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Judge grants suppression order over identities of Bondi terror attack survivors due to their psychological trauma
A judge has said “the psychological trauma of bearing witness to a mass shooting is real” among her reasons for granting a suppression order over the identities of multiple survivors of the Bondi terror attack in the case against alleged gunman Naveed Akram.
Judge Karen Stafford gave her reasons on Wednesday in the Downing Centre local court for granting an unopposed request by crown prosecutors to protect the identities of a number of survivors and complainants after granting the interim suppression order on 29 June.
The order will last until the case is referred to a higher court, not the 50 years requested in the joint submission by prosecutors and lawyers representing other affected parties.
Stafford said:
The psychological trauma or bearing witness to a mass shooting is real.
She said the order was granted in part to protect the safety of the witnesses, saying “threats continued to be made to Jewish people after shooting”, including at the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion which was launched after the attack.
Akram, 24, and his father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, allegedly killed 15 people after opening fire at a Hanukah festival at Bondi beach on 14 December.
Akram, who survived a shootout with police, has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act that investigators allege may have been “inspired by [Islamic State]”. Sajid Akram was shot and killed by police at the scene.
Akram, who was not required to appear today, has yet to enter a plea to any charges. His matter is due before court again on 12 August.
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David Pocock calls for better protections to public servants put at risk
Independent senator David Pocock has called for stronger protection for public servants giving evidence to royal commissions after revelations of alleged threats to a key robodebt whistleblower.
Guardian Australia revealed on Saturday that Jeannie-Marie Blake, a Services Australia employee who repeatedly raised concerns about the robodebt scheme, was suing her department for alleged threats she received from superiors before and after explosive evidence to the robodebt royal commission in 2023.
The case has raised broader concerns about gaps in protection for public servants to stop them suffering retribution after giving evidence to royal commissions. A 2022 government review of the royal commissions act previously found it lacked any power to impose a civil penalty on a person who causes detriment to a witness giving evidence to a royal commission.
The gaps, Pocock says, could compromise the ability of public servants to give crucial evidence to a range of royal commissions, including the current inquiry into antisemitism.
Pocock said reforms should be pursued with urgency. He said:
These are the people we ask to be frank and fearless, and they should be afforded robust protections when they answer that call. In the context of an ongoing royal commission at present, the government needs to close this gap as soon as possible.
The Albanese government is one of the most secretive on record and not progressing whistleblower reforms that were started under the former Attorney-General is badly letting down public servants and the public.
A spokesperson for the attorney-general, Michelle Rowland, said the laws already contained strong protection for those who appear as a witness or provided evidence to royal commissions.
The spokesperson also pointed to reforms passed this year to improve protection from secrecy offences for those providing intelligence and operational information to a royal commission.
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Queensland government warns regional Australians could be ‘put at risk’ by AusAlert system
Queensland’s state government says residents in regional areas could be “put at risk” by the federal government’s proposed new AusAlert system.
The new national emergency warning system will warn people of an imminent emergency, such as a national disaster, by sending a message to their mobile phone. It was created in response to a recommendation of the 2020 black summer bushfire royal commission.
The minister for police and emergency services, Dan Purdie, said there were still further questions to be answered about the system.
He’s understood to be particularly concerned about how regional Queenslanders still dependent on landlines would access information.
Purdie said:
Queenslanders cannot be put at risk under the rollout of a warning system that doesn’t warn all Queenslanders – there are further questions to be answered here.
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Pauline Hanson says domestic violence is a ‘two-way street’
Pauline Hanson was also asked about domestic violence and men who abuse their partners. She said:
It is wrong, but it’s also a two-way street. I’m not saying that it’s just men, women can lose their cool as well. Society is under so much pressure … The pressures of cost of living, people having to pay the bills … Everyone is under so much pressure and it’s really hard. I don’t think we communicate enough with each other …
Domestic violence is a scourge but look … I’ve been through it myself in my life. And I just feel if you’re not in a house where you feel safe … Then you shouldn’t put up with it. If these women are getting abused by men out there, then don’t put up with it.
In 2019, Hanson secured a controversial inquiry into the family court system which women’s groups warned could become a platform for men’s rights activists who believed the court system was biased against fathers.
Hanson, who claimed credit for the Coalition’s decision to establish an inquiry into the family law system, told the ABC at the time that some women were making up domestic violence claims in custody battles.
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In Australia, domestic and family violence counselling is available from Full Stop Australia on 1800 385 578. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org
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Pauline Hanson says she and Gina Rinehart ‘think so much alike’
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson appeared on 4BC Mornings today where she discussed Barnaby Joyce and his dog, among other matters.
Hanson said she thought Joyce was yelling at the interviewee, Sarah Ferguson, to sit down when she first heard it, which would have been an entirely different matter.
I thought, well, it’s funny. I thought he was talking to Sarah Ferguson [at] first … People are fed up with this, honestly. There’s so much that’s happening out there … people are losing their homes, their mortgages, kids can’t get jobs, no future for themselves, people living in their cars, homeless … And they’re worried about Barnaby telling his dog to sit down.
Hanson was also asked about her trip to Europe with Gina Rinehart, the funding of which remains opaque. She described her as “very passionate” about the country:
We think so much alike in what needs to be done. And you’ve got to give her credit for what she’s done, what she’s achieved with her life. And a lot of people don’t know that she had nothing at one stage … She had to borrow everything … It makes me so mad that people through pure jealousy want to have a go at her.
We have a podcast series about Rinehart where you can assess whether the billionaire did indeed have “nothing” at one stage.
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Some depressing news for your morning. The likelihood of a Reserve Bank interest rate hike has doubled according to market forecasts, as the escalating Middle East crisis once again drives fuel prices higher amid dwindling global oil reserves.
The total breakdown in the fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran has sent the international Brent crude benchmark surging by 23% over the past two weeks and back within reach of $US90 a barrel.
Read the story here:
International student charged over alleged $5m luxury watch fraud
A 28-year-old international student has been charged with allegedly exploiting the Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS) at Australian airports by lodging more than $5m in fraudulent claims on luxury and counterfeit watches.
In Australia, international travellers can claim a GST refund for purchased goods worth more than $300, provided they’re not brought back into Australia.
The Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force allege the man travelled more than 20 times to Chengdu Tianfu Airport in China between February last year and May, often remaining overseas for less than 24 hours, and deposited more than $1.1m in cash into Australian bank accounts.
They allege the man edited bank documents and made repeated claims for items not eligible for the TRS.
Warrants were executed in May and about $270,000 in cash was seized. He was charged with dishonestly intending to obtain a gain, facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if convicted. He is due to appear before Downing Centre Local Court today.
Advocates fear harm to First Nations children as new child protection laws pass NT parliament
Controversial new child protection laws passed by the Northern Territory government have been greeted with dismay by First Nations advocates and concern from other national and state leaders, Australian Associated Press reports.
The NT legislative assembly passed the Every Child Matters bill late Tuesday night, in what it said was the most significant overhaul of its child protection system in a generation. The new law abolishes the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children placement principle, which accords that First Nations people who are removed from their homes are kept within their own culture.
The government claimed that the reforms tackled the root causes of crime, protected children, strengthened families, and would break the cycle that saw young people fall through the cracks of the child protection system.
The children placement principle emerged in recognition of the profound harms caused to the Stolen Generations and has been recognised in child welfare legislation since the early 1980s.
The new laws were passed on the same day as an interim report was handed down into the territory’s child protection laws in response to the death of Kumanjayi Little Baby, who was abducted from a town camp in Alice Springs in April.
The legislation from the ruling Country Liberal party has been condemned by the federal government, state leaders and First Nations leaders. The federal Indigenous Australians minister, Malarndirri McCarthy, said the “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle is based on evidence and partnership and should not be disregarded”.
Catherine Liddle, CEO of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care, said the laws would cause further harm to First Nations children.
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AI an ‘existential challenge’ for journalism, warns Reuters editor-in-chief in Andrew Olle media lecture
Journalism faces an existential challenge from AI as news consumers bypass journalists in favour of chatbots to find information, the editor-in-chief of Reuters, Alessandra Galloni, has warned in her Andrew Olle media lecture.
She said:
After two decades of battling the advertising drain of social media platforms and algorithms, the scourge of misinformation, and the slow creep of news avoidance, we now face a new, potentially existential challenge.
Galloni’s comments came on the same day Australia’s biggest media company, Nine Entertainment, blamed the “extreme state of disruption” from AI for its decision to cut another 30 newsroom jobs at the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age
Galloni, who oversees Reuters’ global editorial operations, said AI is reshaping how we seek, consume and monetise information”
Today, 10% of news consumers globally use AI chatbots to get their news. That is nearly 50% more than a year ago, according to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026. Among people under 35, that figure is 16% – and these numbers are almost certainly undercounts, as they do not include AI-generated summaries in Google, embedded AI in news apps, or the AI your phone surfaces before you even open a browser.
Named in honour of the late ABC broadcaster Andrew Olle, the lecture is an annual forum for examining the role and future of journalism. The 2026 Andrew Olle Media Lecture is available on ABC iview.
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Vulnerable people warned to keep concealed phones turned off for 24 hours during national alert test
Karen Bentley, the CEO of Wesnet, the national peak body for specialist women’s domestic and family violence services, is providing advice for women and children experiencing domestic and family violence, who may have hidden phones as part of their safety plan.
The national test will be a critical alert, meaning it will sound through a device that is on silent or do not disturb.
She says:
Wesnet’s recommendation is that on Monday, if you do have a concealed or hidden phone, to support your safety, that you consider turning that device off or switching it into airplane mode, one hour before the national test on Monday, and to keep it off or in airplane mode for 24 hours …
Once the national emergency alert system is officially in place from October, people using hidden phones, as part of a safety plan, will need to make their own decision about the risks of having their phones on, on a permanent basis or whether it’s safer for them to keep their hidden phones off when they’re not in use.
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Emergency management minister provides update on national AusAlert test
The minister for emergency management, Kristy McBain, is holding a press conference in Melbourne as she meets with her counterparts to discuss the AusAlert warning system test this coming Monday at 2pm AEST.
McBain said AusAlert was a “modern, more capable system that will deliver emergency alerts to more people in a more timely manner than the existing text-based emergency alert system”.
The system was developed in response to the 2020 royal commission into national natural disaster arrangements, which identified the need for a more modern, reliable, and nationally consistent public warning capability. Cell broadcast technology, which is used successfully in 35 other countries, is that technology, especially during fast moving and unpredictable emergencies.
She said nine community-based trials had been undertaken across Australia which had been “successful” and provided “valuable insights”.
The national test is a significant project milestone … The national test will assess system-wide performance, checking the system can broadcast at scale to compatible devices in near real time without network congestion.
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16-year-old WA boy charged with murdering his mother
A 16-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of his mother after he allegedly stabbed her at a home in Perth, Western Australia, and seriously injured his 12-year-old sister who managed to flee to get help.
About 6.15am on Tuesday, WA police were called to a home in Bentley, 8km south-east of the Perth CBD, where they found the deceased woman.
Soon afterwards, the girl was found with serious injuries nearby on the Albany Highway in Cannington, police said. She was given emergency first aid and transported to hospital where she is receiving medical treatment.
WA Police acting inspector Jessica Securo said the incident had shocked the community.
This incident will have a significant impact on the family, friends and loved ones of all those involved. Our thoughts are with them all, particularly the 12-year-old girl.
The boy has been charged with murder and attempted unlawfully to kill. He is due to appear before the Perth children’s court today.
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‘No reason’ for discussions about a Liberal and One Nation coalition, Ted O’Brien says
The shadow foreign affairs minister, Ted O’Brien, has told Sky News that he doesn’t “go to bed every night thinking about One Nation” and said there’d be no deals to form a coalition.
Appearing on the program this morning, O’Brien was asked about the opposition leader, Angus Taylor’s confirmation there would be no cooperation between the two parties. The new Liberal president, Tony Abbott, has backed preference deals.
O’Brien said “there’s no reason for discussions to be had about forming a coalition with One Nation”.
I know that we get asked a lot of questions about One Nation, including in this interview, Pete, and I’d prefer to have fewer questions about One Nation because our focus is the Australian people … People are struggling out there right now, and it’s only going to get worse.
This government has given the Australian people no confidence. And that’s why we need to keep talking about our plan, talking about the team that’s going to deliver it. Sure, other people might want to talk about One Nation, all those sort of things. To be honest, I don’t go to bed every night thinking about One Nation. I think about the Australian people.
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D-day for Rebel Wilson’s fiery court feud with co-star
The stage is set for the final curtain to fall on a fiery defamation battle between A-lister Rebel Wilson and her up-and-coming co-star, Australian Associated Press reports.
The Pitch Perfect star is being sued by Australian actor Charlotte MacInnes, who played the lead role in Wilson’s directorial debut film The Deb. MacInnes claims Wilson defamed her in a series of social media posts that implied she was a liar and a sellout who walked back a sexual harassment complaint to further her career.
The posts claimed the young actor confided in Wilson – and later recanted – that she felt uncomfortable when the film’s co-producer Amanda Ghost asked to have a shower and a bath together. MacInnes denies making or retracting a complaint, insisting she had not been uncomfortable when the pair shared a bath in their swimwear after Ghost suffered a medical episode in September 2023.
Both she and Wilson were branded liars during the fiery weeks-long court battle in the NSW federal court that pitted actor against actor in a fight for their reputations.
More than two months after the hearing concluded, Justice Elizabeth Raper is set to hand down her decision on Wednesday afternoon. Both MacInnes and Wilson denied lying, but Justice Raper will have the final say on credibility.
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Serious assaults on health workers double in a decade
Health care workers are increasingly at risk of being assaulted at work, according to figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare released today.
Over the past decade, the number of health workers admitted to hospital due to an assault has doubled, becoming the second most common cause of workplace injury for those in the field.
The figures don’t include those who didn’t seek treatment or visited a GP, meaning the number of assaults overall is likely much higher. There were 7,416 injury hospitalisations recorded among health care workers in the 10 years between 2015/16 and 2024/25 – with the leading cause being a fall.
Women made up the vast majority of those hospitalised, reflecting their higher representation in the workforce, of which they make up around three-quarters.
The Health Services Union national secretary, Dustin Halse, called the trend concerning:
Violence and injury are often treated as an unavoidable part of caring for others, but they are not – they are workplace risks that can and must be prevented.
– AAP
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Barnaby Joyce rejects Covid misinformation from One Nation senator Malcom Roberts
Barnaby Joyce was also asked about Covid misinformation spread by One Nation senator, Malcom Roberts. In a video interview published in 2025 and first reported by the Nine newspapers, Roberts questions the extent of deaths during the early days of the pandemic.
“Major news broadcasters had these videos of people dying in their droves in makeshift morgues in the streets of New York, the streets of Beijing, the streets of Italy,” Roberts told a forum hosted by podcaster Sam Hope, adding they were “all staged” and “bullshit”.
Joyce said he didn’t think the videos were staged and families had lost loved ones in “tragic circumstances”.
It’s a serious issue and … I believe that people don’t stage their family members’ deaths. And it did bring deaths of masses of people.
He went on to question if the Australian government went “too far” with Covid restrictions at the time and its stimulus package.
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Barnaby Joyce says he is ‘incredibly sorry’ for ‘verbally assaulting’ his dog
Barnaby Joyce has appeared on the Today Show this morning to the backing track of “who let the dogs out”, to clear the record on a bizarre tirade against his dog on Monday evening.
If you missed it, the One Nation MP went viral after beaming into the ABC’s 7.30 program from his home in New South Wales and having an aggressive confrontation with his dog, Stella.
About halfway through the tense interview, Sarah Ferguson put to Joyce that his defection to One Nation was “dragging” him “further into a place of intolerance and racial discrimination”. Joyce’s eyes could be seen darting off-screen during the question. He began answering before suddenly yelling: “Sit down! Sorry. It’s the dog”.
Joyce appeared alongside his dog, Stella, on Wednesday morning, and was treating her remarkably differently, telling her in a high pitched voice: “Oh, Stella, you’re famous darling, aren’t you! Yes. Sit down politely.”
He said Stella had been “right underneath my feet underneath the deck” and “continually barking”.
I’m getting really angry. And then I verbally assaulted the dog, which I’m incredibly sorry for.
PETA was not amused, with its executive agent, Mimi Bekhechi, telling Guardian Australia “dogs bark because it’s how they communicate, and screaming at them for doing so is a form of intimidation”.
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Tobacco excise is ‘too high’, Chris Minns says
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, was also asked about the Australian Border Force’s efforts to disrupt illicit tobacco supply chains when appearing this morning on ABC Radio National.
On Tuesday, NSW Labor’s health minister, Ryan Parks, said the issue had gotten away from authorities and more needed to be done.
Minns said NSW was “doing a lot” and had implemented “massive increases” in fines but the tobacco excise was “too high”.
It feels sometimes like we’re standing on a beach trying to stop the tide from coming in … The drive to illicit tobacco in Australia is being driven by the massive excise on legal cigarettes and it’s … driving otherwise lawful people into an illicit black market. It’s making cheap cigarettes available and plentiful, particularly for young people, and it’s fuelling organised crime in Australia.
So I just think we needed a rethink on the excise. It’s just too high. Before people jump on me and say “that means that you’re pro-smoking”, I’m not – I can’t stand the tobacco companies – but this is just a policy that’s not working.
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Bill Shorten says there’s a ‘national appetite’ for gas export tax
Circling back to last night’s 7.30 program, the former Labor leader and current University of Canberra vice-chancellor, Bill Shorten, also supported the government enacting a tax on gas exports.
Asked about “rumours” Labor may return to the “once very popular issue”, he said the time had arrived to “consider reviewing the taxation on gas”.
I think there’s a national appetite. I mean, the government’s paring back on things like the NDIS … But I think there’s a lot of people saying, what about the gas companies? And I think the timing for a future gas tax, not one which rips up previous contracts, that would be sovereign risk.
But I think in the future, Aussies are saying, how is it fair that gas companies are making such a big profit and why don’t they share more of it with the people? So I think probably the time is right to have that discussion.
You can read more about the issue here:
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Home-building costs rise, but not as much as feared
The Middle East conflict has fuelled a sharp acceleration in construction costs, but price growth remains relatively soft by historical standards. Construction costs increased 1% in the June quarter, according to data firm Cotality’s latest Cordell construction cost index, released on Wednesday.
While steeper than the 0.2% rise recorded in the March quarter, the annual growth rate of 2.8% remained below the 2.9% growth recorded in the March and June quarters of 2025, Cordell costings estimation manager John Bennett said.
After the initial outbreak of fighting between the US and Iran at the end of February halted most shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, analysts predicted huge increases in construction costs due to higher material and fuel prices. Building materials were already 38.2% more expensive than in 2019 and the Middle East conflict could add further cost pressures, Master Builders Australia chief executive Denita Wawn said:
Higher oil prices are driving up the cost of fuel and key products such as PVC, plastics and cabling. We urge the government to support local manufacturing by reducing input costs while maintaining access to high-quality, compliant building products and materials.
- Australian Associated Press.
NSW Labor under threat from One Nation, Chris Minns says
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, says the state’s Labor party is under threat from One Nation and “we’ve got to fight for those votes”.
Appearing on ABC Radio National this morning, Minns was asked if One Nation was a “racist party”. He said people who had concerns about the levels of immigration weren’t necessarily racist but some of the things Pauline Hanson had said were.
Certainly some of the things Pauline Hanson says are definitely racist, when she said there’s no such thing as a good Muslim. I mean, how else do you characterise that? You’ve got to be straight with people. And that clearly is. But I don’t think everyone who’s supporting them currently is racist at all … And we’ve got to fight for those votes.
Asked how NSW Labor would fight for those votes, he said firstly, “pointing out that there are no easy answers in a difficult economic environment, particularly as a result of geopolitical fights around the world”.
I think that we are under threat in a whole bunch of seats as a result of the surge of votes for One Nation … So we’re doing some what we regard as practical commonsense changes to policy in New South Wales.
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TAB fined $2.7m for telemarketing and spam breaches
Tabcorp Holdings Limited (TAB) has paid more than $2.7m in penalties after the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) found multiple breaches of spam and telemarketing laws by the gambling giant.
Between February 2024 and June 2025, TAB made telemarketing calls to VIP customers that included 351 calls to numbers on the Do Not Call register without consent, 82 calls outside permitted hours, and nearly 4,000 calls without properly identifying itself as the caller, Acma found.
The action was taken after TAB self-reported in 2025 that it had sent more than 217,000 marketing emails and texts in just over a fortnight to unsubscribed customers. Authority member Samantha Yorke said the conduct was unacceptable:
When people join the Do Not Call Register or unsubscribe from marketing messages, they are making a clear choice. Those choices must be respected – especially given the heightened risks of financial loss and psychological harm from gambling marketing.
The scale and range of these breaches point to serious weaknesses in TAB’s compliance systems.
It’s Acma’s second spam enforcement action against TAB in less than two years.
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Murray Watt says Pauline Hanson ‘not on the side of working people’
Murray Watt was also asked about Pauline Hanson’s whirlwind trip to Europe and the UK during the northern hemisphere summer, which included a fashion show with billionaire Gina Rinehart and some downtime by the pool in Sicily.
Asked if the One Nation leader should be transparent about who was funding the trip, Watt said:
I think Senator Hanson does owe it to Australians to come clean about who has funded this luxury trip with Gina Rinehart in Sicily in the last couple of weeks. You know, I think that I don’t know what the secret is here … It’s almost as if she’s got a guilty conscience about who has paid for this trip.
I think the broader point though, James, is that this goes to Pauline Hanson and One Nation’s priorities. Her priority has been undertaking a luxury trip overseas with a billionaire at the same time that she’s voting to cut the wages and cut cost-of-living relief for the battler she says she cares about. It’s a really clear demonstration that she’s not on the side of working people.
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Murray Watt says government has taken ‘serious action’ on gambling in defence of response to Murphy report
Minister for the environment and water, Murray Watt, is appearing on ABC News Breakfast from Adelaide this morning ahead of the Labor party’s national conference. Asked if it would be like “WWE wrestling” (frightening imagery), Watt said there would be “a few little stage fights, but ultimately, it’s going to be an endorsement of the federal government’s policy agenda”.
He continued:
We know that many Australians still continue to do it tough, despite the work we’ve done around tax cuts and increased wages and cost of living relief. So I think what you’ll see at this conference is a really big focus on what more we can be doing as a party, and as a government, to deliver that real change.
Pointed to an area where there does seem to be disquiet among the party’s rank and file – gambling reform, where many don’t think the government’s changes have gone far enough – Watt said Labor had proposed the “most far reaching” reform on gambling of any government.
Asked if a national gambling regulator could be enacted, he said:
I don’t want to pre-empt the conference. There’ll be people who’ll say a range of things about these sorts of issues, but I do think it needs to be recognised that the government has taken some very serious action already.
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Good morning
Good morning readers, Caitlin Cassidy here taking the reins from Martin Farrer to guide you through today’s news. I’ll be with you until mid-afternoon – it’s caitlin.cassidy@theguardian.com if you’d like to get in touch.
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Christopher Pyne speculates that Barnaby Joyce could return to Nationals
Christopher Pyne, a minister in several Coalition governments, agreed with Bill Shorten that Pauline Hanson and One Nation were coming under more scrutiny because of their surge in popularity since the Bondi terror attack.
But he said “voters will have the final say”, and that “I don’t believe by election day [people] will be voting for One Nation in the numbers that are currently being seen in the polls”.
After Barnaby Joyce’s colourful appearance on the program on Monday night, there has been speculation about how he can accommodate himself with Hanson in the wake of her cosying up to the UK extremist Tommy Robinson and suggesting that the White Australia policy should not have been scrapped.
Pyne said:
Barnaby can do almost anything. Nothing would surprise me – if he went back to the National party, especially now that David Littleproud is not the leader – I don’t have any inside information, but nothing would surprise me if this continues with some of these less mainstream comments being made.
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Shorten and Pyne cast doubt on One Nation's staying power
Bill Shorten and Christopher Pyne have had their disagreements in the past, but they both agreed last night that voters will not turn out for One Nation at the next election at the levels suggested by recent polls.
Appearing on ABC’s 7.30, the Labor and Liberal veterans were asked about the impact of more scrutiny on the party, Pauline Hanson’s controversial trip to the UK, and possible tensions with Barnaby Joyce.
Shorten, a former Labor leader, said:
I don’t think [voters] are happy with the system, but I don’t think she should assume her 30% of people who say they want to support One Nation are the same as her 6% to 7% rusted-on hardline true believer vote of the past.
Some of the people who are looking to her now are sick of the system, and they’re hurting, but I think they would be perturbed by dusting off the bones of a White Australia policy.
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Wong, Rubio criticise ‘dangerous’ China-Philippines skirmish in South China Sea
Penny Wong also criticised “destabilising and dangerous conduct” by China after a clash at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, AFP reports.
The Philippines and China summoned each other’s ambassadors on Tuesday after the Philippine military accused the China Coast Guard of clubbing a Filipino sailor with a baton on Monday as they approached a grounded vessel that has long served as a Philippine garrison.
The Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos, met with China’s ambassador to Manila on Tuesday after summoning the envoy over the incident at the flashpoint Second Thomas Shoal in the sea.
Multiple nations in the region, including the Philippines, have territorial claims that overlap with China’s, and altercations regularly occur in the heavily patrolled waterway.
Washington also condemned Beijing’s “dangerous and aggressive actions”.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, in an opinion piece published in Philippine media outlets on Tuesday, heralded Washington’s commitment “to freedom of navigation in Southeast Asia” while reaffirming the US defensive umbrella in the region.
“This freedom is by no means guaranteed. If these waters were to fall under the control of a power willing to use trade as a geopolitical weapon, both the United States and the ASEAN states would face serious new threats to their sovereignty, security, and economic future,” he wrote, in an apparent allusion to China.
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Penny Wong and Wang Yi meet in Manila
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, met her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of the Asean foreign ministers’ meeting in Manila last night, a statement from her department said.
In their 12th meeting, the ministers discussed Asean priorities and the importance of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
Wong raised Australia’s concerns about China’s test of a nuclear-capable submarine-launched missile earlier this month – and noted the strong concerns expressed by many Pacific island countries.
Wong also raised a range of consular issues including the case of Dr Yang Jun, respect for Australia’s laws, sovereignty and freedom of expression, the importance of safe and professional maritime conduct, and human rights.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories before your morning blogger arrives with the main action.
We begin with geopolitics: Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has sat across the table from her Chinese counterpart at the Asean meeting in Manila. They talked about peace in the Pacific, and Wong says she brought up China’s recent test of a nuclear-capable submarine-fired missile.
Wong also took aim at China over a recent clash with the Philippines in the South China Sea. More on that soon.
