What we learned today, Friday 10 October
That’s all for today. Thanks for joining and have a lovely weekend. Here’s the day’s main news stories:
Independent MPs Allegra Spender and Sophie Scamps have quit federal parliament’s social sports club following ACT senator David Pocock’s ban after he raised concerns about its sponsorship associations with the gambling industry;
Anthony Albanese has said US president Donald Trump deserves to be congratulated after securing agreement on the first phase of the Gaza peace plan;
The prime minister has said Australians need to “turn down the temperature” in politics after a man was charged with allegedly making death threats against him;
Independent MP Zali Steggall has warned against a crackdown on the right to protest and free speech after the court ruling against pro-Palestinian protesters who had planned a demonstration outside the Sydney Opera House on the weekend;
The Coalition’s immigration spokesperson, Paul Scarr, has taken a thinly veiled swipe at Andrew Hastie in a speech to the Migration Institute of Australia this afternoon.
Former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas’s legal team has begun court proceedings against the state of New South Wales;
The head of the Australian Submarine Agency has defended a consultancy contract that grew from $2.8m to $12.1m over the course of a year, saying it was “value for money”;
Scattered Lapsus$ hunters, the hackers claiming to hold troves of Qantas customer data, suggest the deadline to post the data if a ransom is not paid has been moved back to Saturday afternoon;
Two people have died on a private property in Tasmania’s north-west after a tree fell in wild winds;
Victoria police says an additional 33 officers from the Public Order Response Team were involved in the search for fugitive Dezi Freeman in Porepunkah today.
Updated
Bishop says ANU staff and students ‘accept’ she won’t resign
Julie Bishop has claimed community support for her to stay on as chancellor at the Australian National University after announcing the institution will break even in 2026.
The former politician has resisted calls to follow ANU’s former vice-chancellor, Prof Genevieve Bell, who resigned in September amid widespread concerns over a controversial restructure program. More than 2,000 staff and students signed a union-led petition demanding Bishop’s resignation earlier this year.
Bishop defended her record as chancellor of the ANU, saying she had community support. Asked about staff and student calls for her to resign, Bishop told Senate estimates:
That’s not the feedback that I’ve been getting, senator. In fact, the deans have confirmed their support for me. The council has confirmed their support for me …
I have met with many staff and students. I’ve met with the [staff union] representatives. I’ve met with the [student association] representatives, and they accept the council’s position in relation to my role.
She said the organisation expected to return to a break-even financial position at the end of 2026, after record years of operating losses and budget deficits.
Budget balance was the aim of ANU’s restructure program, which has seen course cuts, allegations of toxic work culture and at least 399 redundancies since it began in 2024.
Updated
