NSW Greens senator David Shoebridge has posted this disturbing video:
NSW police has been contacted for comment.
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Here’s a quick video of the scene on George Street in Sydney taken by Blake Sharp-Wiggins:
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Heated scenes in Melbourne
Protesters have been clashing with police in Melbourne.
At least three protesters have been carried off. Police have used some spray on at least one person.
Only a few protesters – mostly organisers and marshalls – remain, with the roads now open again.
There were heated scenes at the end with protesters dragged away and fabric set on fire.
Protesters have promised to organise every day of Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s visit.
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Allegations of police throwing punches
Labor backbencher Anthony D’Adam says he saw police punching people and throwing someone to the ground, as tensions heated up at the Sydney protest.
He said initially police were “getting good cooperation from the crowd”, but then an officer pushed his bike into a woman and “clearly hurt her”. When she got angry, another officer pushed her into the crowd and other bystanders, who fell over, were shocked and angry, and started yelling. He said:
That then resulted in a number of other officers joining the fray. They grabbed someone and threw them on to the ground, and then they were just throwing punch after punch at this person.
It just seemed totally over the top in terms of the police reaction.
D’Adam went on to say that it was because the police didn’t have enough “scope” to manage the crowd and disperse people, and said if the government had allowed the protesters to march up George Street it wouldn’t have happened.
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Organisers don’t want ‘red carpet’ for Herzog
Just back to Melbourne quickly where the protest is wrapping up outside the state library.
Organisers have said:
We’re going to take out the red carpet [from] under their toes.
They are going to protest every day while the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, is here, they’ve said, but are encouraging the crowd to join them on Thursday at 3pm after he lands in Melbourne.
They’re ending with the chant:
We are the people. We won’t be silenced. Kick Herzog out, out, out.
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It’s all about hard work, Liberal shadow minister says
The shadow energy minister, Dan Tehan, has been on ABC’s 7.30 program talking about the ongoing issues plaguing the Coalition.
He said he hasn’t been canvassed for any leadership vote, that he is delighted with the two parties’ reunification, and that the critical things to focus on now are to hold the government to account and to offer an alternative.
He spoke very earnestly about the hard work that has been done and the hard work there is yet to do. He said:
What we’re doing is we’re beginning to do the work that’s required. But we’ve got to continue to do it, and I think we’ve got to now continue to do it at speed.
Now, we’ve had the distraction of the Liberal Party and the National Party splitting, only for a brief period of time. A lot of work and a lot of effort went into bringing them back together.
And that was incredibly important, because if we hadn’t been able to do that, then our electoral consequences could have been dire. But we’ve done that hard work. We’ve got everyone back together.
“Dan Tehan, valiant!” host Sarah Ferguson said, closing out the interview.
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Police pepper spray demonstrators at Sydney Town Hall
The police have just pepper sprayed the crowd as protesters attempt to march.
People who were near the front ran back into the crowd coughing and spluttering.
People who were sprayed are pouring water over their eyes.
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Protest negotiations continuing in Sydney
Assistant police commissioner Paul Dunstan is now having a heated conversation on the stairs with a protest organiser, as the crowd becomes increasingly restless.
He has told the organiser:
You need to tell these people to disperse in an orderly manner. Show some leadership as the organiser of this event and tell them to disperse.
You brought them here, you need to get them away. You do not have a right to go on the roadway under the [public assembly restriction designation] – you know that.
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Sydney rally grows heated as protesters attempt to defy restriction on marching
The protest in Sydney is beginning to become heated as hundreds attempt to defy a restriction on marching and head to state parliament.
Many protesters have started to head out of the Town Hall area in an attempt to march before speeches have even finished.
Police officers are standing on the Town Hall stairs near where the protesters are gathering and preparing to march, and calling for the protesters to disperse. They are telling protesters that they are breaching the major event designation.
Protesters are beating drums and loudly yelling “let us march”.
You can read all the details about the negotiations over the protest here:
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In Melbourne, protesters have marched to the middle of the CBD, at the intersection of Bourke and Swanston.
The rally stretches down the mall, the crowd is chanting “we are all Palestinians” and waving their keffiyehs in the air.
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Organisers and Greens MPs attempt to negotiate with police over protest march
There was just a tense conversation between senior police officers, protest organisers, and two Greens MPs to the side of the stage of the Sydney protest.
Organiser Josh Lees and Greens MPs Jenny Leong and Sue Higginson were attempting to negotiate with assistant police commissioner Paul Dunstan and another officer to allow the thousands of people here to march.
Higginson told Guardian Australia after the conversation that she urged Dunstan to call police commissioner Mal Lanyon and request a change in police tactics given the amount of people at the protest.
She said she had told him that:
People want to march, people should be able to march, and police now have a choice to facilitate that or cause conflict.
She said that they did not come to a resolution.
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I’ll hand over the blog to my colleague, Tory Shepherd. The protests against Israeli president Isaac Herzog are still going in Melbourne and Sydney, so she’ll bring you any further updates. Have a good night, and thanks for reading.
Mehreen Faruqi tells Sydney crowd Isaac Herzog should have been arrested
Back in Sydney, the Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi has just spoken at the protest here. She waved handcuffs in the air while saying that Herzog should have been arrested “the moment he set foot on this land”.
She referred to Herzog’s visit as a “normalisation tour”. She continued:
I have long lost respect for the Albanese government. Never even but never even in my wildest nightmares would I have thought that we would reach this level of depravity and immorality.
Shortly after she finished her speech, the crowd began to chant “let us march”.
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Mai Saif tells Melbourne protest: ‘You are the voices who are refusing to be cowed’
In Melbourne, the last speaker, Mai Saif, a Palestinian community activist has told the crowd they “are the voice our government tried to silence”, saying that:
You are the voices who are refusing to be cowed and silenced by our government.
You are the voices willing to come out for over two years to say no, no, no we do not stand with genocide.
We stand with life.
When you come out remember we are not just fighting for Palestine. Palestine is not just a place, it is an idea, it is a dream. A dream where every single one of us is equal. No racism; no destruction.
We will match these streets. We will not be cowered in silence.
The rally is about to march up Swanston street, away from a small counter protest at the NGV.
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Police preventing more protesters from entering Sydney Town Hall precinct
There are more protesters trying to get into the Town Hall precinct, where thousands have gathered, but reportedly police aren’t letting any more people into the area.
Protester Josh Pallas, who is stuck on Kent Street, said at least 100 people were cut off from the area by a line of police. Some were chanting “let us in”.
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Three Labor MPs defy NSW premier to attend protest against Israeli president’s visit
On the steps of Town Hall are the three NSW Labor backbenchers who defied the premier and vowed to attend the protest.
Stephen Lawrence, Cameron Murphy and Sarah Kaine all confirmed last week they would attend the event.
Kaine is due to speak soon. So is Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi.
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Grace Tame addresses crowd at Sydney protest against Israeli president’s visit
Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame is speaking to the thousands of people that are now demonstrating against Herzog’s visit at Sydney’s Town Hall.
She has said:
What a backwards world is it when a so-called democracy silences and surveils academic research, art, music and sports and funds genocide.
Tame urged protesters to continue to mobilise:
What I want you to do after you leave here today is look around you, amongst your colleagues, amongst your friends and your family, and find as many people as you can who have not come to a protest, and bring them along next time because we need everyone.
We have to continue to mobilise, and we have to continue to globalise. Say it with me, from Gadigal to Gaza, globalise the intifada.
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Optus says some customers’ mobile services down but triple zero calls still working
Optus says it is aware of an issue affecting mobile services for some customers.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the telco has said:
If customers see “No Service” or “SOS” on their device, they are advised to restart their phone, to restore service.
We are actively working with our partner Ericsson and have noticed a significant decline in the number of customers impacted.
Customers are able to make emergency calls to Triple Zero.
We apologise for the inconvenience and thank our customers for their patience while we continue to investigate.
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Australian government ‘gravely concerned’ by Jimmy Lai’s prison sentencing
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, has released a statement criticising the sentencing of pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong.
The 78-year-old media mogul was today sentenced to 20 years in prison for national security offences, a punishment his daughter said could mean “he will die a martyr behind bars”.
Wong said:
The Australian government is gravely concerned by the sentences handed down to Jimmy Lai and his co-defendants in Hong Kong today.
Our thoughts are with their family members and supporters at this difficult time.
The prosecution of Mr Lai and his co-defendants has had a chilling effect on free speech in Hong Kong.
We continue to call on China to cease suppression of freedoms of expression, assembly, media and civil society, consistent with UN Human Rights Committee recommendations, and to call for the repeal of the National Security Law in Hong Kong.
Australia has consistently raised human rights concerns directly with the Hong Kong and Chinese governments at the highest levels. We will continue to do so.
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Large crowd gathers in Sydney to protest Israeli president’s Australia trip
Meanwhile, at least a thousand people have gathered outside Sydney’s town hall to protest against Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s visit, with more pouring into the area.
The organisers had pushed police to vary a protest restriction made in the wake of the Bondi terror attack so they could march to state parliament without risk of arrest.
There is a significant police presence at the event. Police commissioner Mal Lanyon told reporters on Friday that 500 officers would police the protest.
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Lidia Thorpe addresses rally protesting against Isaac Herzog’s visit in Melbourne
Senator Lidia Thorpe has just addressed the crowd at the protest in Melbourne, where she said:
We’ve all been witnessing atrocities. Starvation. Mass murder in real time. And we are asked to have respect.
As I said before, I stand against violence of all forms, particularly genocide. I stand in solidarity [with] the victims in Bondi.
As she says this, the crowd claps.
Thorpe adds:
But I also stand with my Palestinian brothers and sisters. And that’s not antisemitic.
The crowd is big now, sweeping across the intersection near Flinders street station.
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Melbourne protesters gathering for rally against Israeli president’s visit
In Melbourne, hundreds of protesters have started gathering outside Flinders Street station. A sea of “free Palestine” flags are being flown outside the station, with the entrance already completely blocked off despite it not officially starting for another 30 minutes.
The MC has told the crowd:
Come on guys, it’s going to be a long night.
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Queensland to introduce new gun restrictions after Bondi shooting
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, is announcing a gun crackdown, in response to the Bondi terror attack.
His government will introduce legislation into parliament tomorrow making five changes, which do not include setting a maximum number of firearms per person.
Under the laws, only citizens will be allowed a weapons licence.
The government will also increase penalties for improper gun ownership, and clear up what the premier called a “loophole” preventing police from acting when a person was planning a terror attack, as opposed to after carrying one out.
They will also allow police to better take into account violence or firearms offences and increase penalties for drive-by shootings.
The police minister, Dan Purdie, said there would be carve-outs for sporting shooters and primary producers for the ban on non-citizens owning firearms.
New South Wales passed laws limiting gun ownership to four per person, except for farmers, and restricting licences to Australian citizens.
An inquest into the shooting murder of two police and a bystander at Wieambilla in 2022 recommended mental health checks for all firearms licence holders. The government will announce its response tomorrow.
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Police move on Bondi protesters using challenged protest powers
Returning to the reports of an arrest outside Bondi Pavilion where the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, laid a wreath to the victims of the Bondi attack and addressed media this morning, as New South Wales police have provided more detail on the incident.
Police earlier said there had been an arrest, but have clarified that a move on order was issued to a 24-year-old man, who was spoken to by officers on Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach after climbing on an electrical box and yelling at the passing motorcade of the president.
The force said:
The man was issued a move on direction under the Major Events Act, which was complied with.
The “major events” powers have been unsuccessfully challenged by the Palestine Action Group today.
Police said two additional people holding placards outside the event at Bondi Pavilion were issued move on directions under the Summary Offences Act, which were complied with.
Under the public assembly restriction declaration currently in place in Sydney, which is subject to a separate supreme court challenge, police have the discretion to use “move on” powers at unauthorised protests.
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Pro-Palestine group loses legal challenge against sweeping anti-protest powers
The Palestine Action Group has lost its legal challenge against sweeping powers handed to police by the Minns government for the duration of Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s visit.
This means that police, under the state “major event” legislation which is typically used for sporting events, may search anyone inside sections of the CBD and eastern suburbs until Thursday. Police will also have the power to move people on, close specific locations and issue orders to prevent disruption or risks to public safety.
Anyone who fails to comply with directions may face penalties, including fines of up to $5,500.
The group faced the state in court before Justice Robertson Wright after they launched an urgent challenge to the powers ahead of a protest planned at Sydney’s town hall on Monday evening.
The protesters will still potentially breach another anti-protest restriction passed in the wake of the Bondi terror attack and march to state parliament. Known as the public assembly restriction declaration, the restrictions give police the full suite of their move on powers under the summary offences act for offences like obstructing traffic.
On Saturday, the Minns government expanded police powers further by declaring Herzog’s visit a major event, prompting the group to lodge a challenge against the decision on Sunday.
Barrister Felicity Graham, who acted on behalf of the group alongside Peter Lange SC, had argued that the government had improperly used the act to curtail protests.
Brendan Lim SC, on behalf of the government, rebutted this argument, saying the purpose was not to suppress protests but for security reasons.
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Tropical Cyclone Mitchell currently on track to hit Carnarvon on Monday evening
Tropical Cyclone Mitchell has continued its turbulent path along Western Australia’s Ningaloo coast, and was expected to make landfall on Monday evening.
The category 1 cyclone is now expected to cross land near Carnarvon, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Senior meteorologist Jonathan How said Mitchell was “hugging the coastline” about 20km offshore:
So expect to see damaging to locally destructive winds, heavy rainfall linked to flash flooding, and abnormally high tides.
So far the cyclone’s strongest winds had been recorded offshore, reaching 135km/h at Varanus Island on Sunday. On Monday, Learmonth had gusts up to 113km/h.
Many locations have seen 50-100mm of rain. The rain might be welcome, with areas between Ningaloo and Shark Bay having no rainfall for the past three months, How said.
A warning zone was in place from Ningaloo to Overlander Roadhouse, including Carnarvon. Evacuation centres were open at Onslow, Exmouth, Carnarvon and Shark Bay.
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Queensland Olympic minister denies Rocky row ahead of 2032 Olympics
The Queensland government has denied reports Olympic rowing and canoeing will be shifted from Rockhampton for the 2032 Games.
That venue made international headlines when announced last March, given its Fitzroy River is the natural habitat of the saltwater crocodile, the largest reptile and one of the most dangerous animals on earth.
But it is not necessarily the “saltie” which could spell the end for Rocky’s Olympic rowing dream. Rowing and canoeing are regularly held on the river above the barrage that divides the Fitzroy between its salt and freshwater reaches – and marks the point from which park rangers are tasked with removing “all large crocodiles”.
Instead, World Rowing has raised concerns with a lack of technical feasibility studies into its suitability for rowing at the highest level.
The Australian newspaper reports Olympic power brokers are now holding behind-the-scenes negotiations at the Milan Cortina Winter Games to move rowing and canoeing further south in 2032.
But Queensland’s Olympic and Paralympic Games minister, Tim Mander, poured cold water on those claims on Monday, saying that:
Rowing will be in Rockhampton, as per the 2032 Delivery Plan.
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Government allocates about $131m for antisemitism royal commission
The federal government has allocated around $131m for the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion after the Bondi shooting massacre, the attorney general’s department has revealed.
In answers to Liberal senator Paul Scarr in Senate estimates today, AG’s department staff said there had been $91m allocated to the royal commission itself (for costs like staff, counsel and solicitors, property and office costs, IT and security) and another $39m for the department to support the royal commission.
The inquiry has been allocated 89 staff in total – 64 for the royal commission itself, and 25 inside the department.
AG’s department officials said the commission’s office in Sydney had been found, and would be fully furnished and set up soon.
Scarr called the December reporting deadline an “aggressive” timeframe to get the commission’s work done.
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Hi, I hope you have had a nice day so far. I’ll be with you on the blog until this evening.
That’s all from me today, thanks for sticking with me on the blog!
I’ll leave you with the wonderful Catie McLeod for the afternoon and will see you here bright and early tomorrow morning.
Protest group considering legal challenge to Queensland ban on pro-Palestine slogans
Justice for Palestine is considering a legal challenge against Queensland’s new hate speech legislation which would ban a number of pro-Palestinian protest phrases.
Spokesperson Remah Naji said the group hadn’t been consulted on the legislation.
We’re considering a legal challenge. I’m not going to make confirmation now, but we’re certainly seeking legal advice because we as a community have not been consulted.
The attorney general, Deb Frecklington, said on Sunday the legislation would give her the power to prescribe particular phrases, making “public recitation of a prescribed phrase to cause menace, harassment or offence” an offence punishable by two years’ jail.
Frecklington said she intended to ban the common pro-Palestinian slogan “from the river to the sea”, and also “globalise the intifada”.
We’re not going to stop communicating the message of peace and justice that this movement has been advocating for, and the premier can ban slogans as he wants, we’re not going to stop advocating for Palestine.
He’s talking about words that effectively call for freedom of people living between that geographical area.
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TLDR: here’s what happened in question time
Despite the Coalition reunion, the Nationals technically still sat on the crossbench for today’s QT, because the government has not yet reversed a change that gave the crossbench more questions. It also made for a longer than normal question time once again.
The Liberals focused again on inflation and tried to get Labor to admit government spending was having an impact on rising inflation.
The government tried stand firm against the attacks, and accused the opposition of being “dishonest” and of verballing RBA governor Michele Bullock over her comments on aggregate demand and government spending.
Independent Sophie Scamps asked the government if it would introduce more sanctions over Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank – Richard Marles said there were already existing sanctions.
Independent Monique Ryan asked the government about long waiting lists in aged care and concerns that experienced clinicians were not able to override the automated system.
And the Nationals hammered Labor on its broken 2022 promise to deliver $275 energy bill deductions for households by 2025. Chris Bowen said some households now have “zero” energy bills due to the government’s cheaper home battery scheme.
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Court hearing over Sydney march against Herzog continues
Returning for a moment to the Palestine Action Group’s urgent hearing in the NSW supreme court over powers handed to police for the duration of Isaac Herzog’s visit.
Felicity Graham, who is acting on behalf of the group, said “there does remain a live issue whether anyone marching on a road tonight would be acting outside” the law.
She noted that section 6 of the Summary Offences Act creates an offence to obstruct traffic where a person does not have “reasonable excuse”:
What they’re doing by expressing themselves marching down the road as part of a peaceful protest, may well be a reasonable excuse under section 6 of the Summary Offences Act.
The reality is that marches as a part of protests are commonly accommodated and negotiated peacefully and sensibly with police on the ground, with protest organisers, even where there is no form 1 and before the world of PARDs.
PARD refers to the public assembly restriction declaration which was extended by police on Tuesday and prevents the use of a form 1 in sections of the CBD and eastern suburbs.
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After a final dixer to Catherine King, question time is over for another day.
Government considering private options for Airservices Australia
Greens MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown asks the transport minister, Catherine King, why the government is considering privatising Airservices Australia and allowing it to sell off billions in firefighting assets, which the government would have to lease back.
Previous governments have already privatised Qantas, CSL and the Commonwealth Bank – why Airservices Australia as well, she asks, which would “sell out our hard-working aviation firefighters and risk aviation safety”?
King says Australia’s firefighting assets are old and about $8bn worth of equipment and infrastructure needs replacing.
The government has made no decisions about how it is going to fund the replacement of those assets. Airservices has requested to [examine] whether there are opportunities for Australian super funds to invest in these assets, and I have suggested that that can continue …
I want to make sure that our firefighters … continue to be government employees always.
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Chalmers accuses Coalition of trying to ‘drag’ RBA governor
Liberal MP Aaron Violi tries again to needle Jim Chalmers on the impact of government spending on rising inflation, which saw interest rates rise last week.
There was a bit of confusion in there on whose question it was – Michael McCormack tried to stand up again for a second before sitting down (“stand up for yourself, Michael”, laughed the PM).
Violi says the RBA governor, Michele Bullock, confirmed that government spending is part of aggregate demand and which Bullock said is “contributing to inflationary pressures and that’s why we’ve decided to raise interest rates”.
Chalmers accuses Violi of also “conflate two very different things” and accuses the Coalition of trying to “drag” Bullock.
It is a shambolic opposition and more the divided they are, the more desperate they become in trying to verbal the Reserve Bank governor …
It is possible to understand, as I do, as the Reserve Bank governor does, that public demand is part of aggregate demand, and also to again, as I have and as the governor of the Reserve Bank has, that the tick-up in inflation towards the end of last year, which was unwelcomed and led to the interest rate decision last week, was primarily because of the uptick in private demand.
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Once again the Nationals are trying to revive debate on the $275 energy bill discount that Labor had promised in 2022.
This time it’s Nationals MP Michael McCormack, who picks up that baton, and tries to fling it at Chris Bowen.
Bowen says there are 2,390 households in McCormack’s electorate who have made use of the cheaper home battery scheme.
We’ve seen so many Australians reduce their bills permanently after the 2025 election. We’ve seen so many Australians, 225,000 Australian households … reduce their bills permanently, in many cases to zero.
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Chalmers accuses Coalition of ‘dishonest’ attacks over government spending and inflation
Liberal MP Simon Kennedy gets the next question, and puts to the treasurer that the Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock, acknowledged government spending contributes to inflation – so why can’t the treasurer, he asks?
Jim Chalmers says that Kennedy is “dishonestly conflating two different things”. The quickly opposition complains about that language and Milton Dick tells Chalmers to rephrase his answer. Chalmers’ new answer isn’t much nicer:
The more divided they get, the more desperate they get …
The question isn’t whether public demand is part of aggregate demand, it is whether public demand was responsible for the bigger than expected tick up at the end of the last year and plainly it wasn’t, Mr Speaker. Now, those opposite should stop verballing the governor of the Reserve Bank.
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Independent MP calls on Labor to sanction Israeli institutions and officials involved in illegal West Bank settlements
Back to the crossbench, Sophie Scamps asks if the government will sanction Israeli institutions and officials linked to a settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, after Israel overnight approved new measures that attempt to legalise settlement expansion and land confiscation.
She asks also whether the government will reiterate Australia’s commitment to a two-state solution.
The deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, takes the question and says there are already some sanctions in place and that the government does support a two-state solution.
In the face of the very complex situation which has evidently played out in the Middle East, every step that we’ve taken as a government has been underpinned by that very clear position. Now, in saying that, it is also important for me to acknowledge on this day that we have in this country the head of state of one of those states, the state of Israel. And his visit to our country is an important visit.
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Bowen takes another dig at Taylor
Goading the Coalition to replace Sussan Ley with Angus Taylor during a dixer, Chris Bowen says Labor “fully has his back”.
He says is it “any wonder” that anonymous Liberal MPs say that everything Taylor has touched “turns to custard” – which he says has been “sanitised” so as to not use unparliamentary language.
He [Taylor] was a disaster as energy minister and shadow treasurer and the definition of insanity would be to put someone with a disastrous track record in a top job hoping things will be different …
The member himself said at the election campaign, the best indicator of fiscal performance is past performance – that’s 100% right, which is why we on this side of the house wish the member for Hume the best wishes for this week, we have fully got his back.
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Are aged care reforms just robo-aged-care?
Independent MP Monique Ryan asks the aged care minister, Sam Rae (who’s had some time out of the spotlight lately), about the long wait times for assessments and why “experienced clinicians are unable to override algorithmic decision-making”.
Are these once in a generation reforms just robo-aged-care? she asks, referencing robodebt, which receives a long groan from the Labor benches.
Rae says he respectfully disagrees with the premise of Ryan’s question, and says that wait times are coming down.
Can I assure that assessors still play a critical role in achieving high-quality outcomes by using their clinical judgment and strong communication and engagement stills to complete the [integrated assessment tool] during the assessment. The IAT classification algorithm does not replace assessor input.
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Ed Husic booted from the chamber
Back to the Liberals, and Tim Wilson changes tack slightly, to push Jim Chalmers on small business insolvencies.
He claims Treasury has said that the government’s small business incentive has just a 23% take-up rate, while last year a record 41,000 small businesses collapsed. Wilson takes aim at the minister for small business, Anne Aly, who in parliament last week was overheard saying that perhaps some of the businesses that were shut down were “dodgy”.
Before Chalmers can even stand up, Labor MP Ed Husic is booted out of the chamber under 94a. He is our first ejectee from the chamber this week.
Chalmers says that everyone should “tread carefully” around the opposition when it comes to them “verballing people’s comments”.
He then defends the government’s support of small businesses and defends Aly.
Insolvencies as a proportion of companies under the Albanese government have been the lowest for any government on record. They are lower, business insolvencies are lower than they were under prime minister [John] Howard …
The small business minister is an extraordinarily dedicated minister to the small businesses of this country.
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Nationals ask about broken $275 energy bill promise
Someone tell the Nationals that the 2022 election wants its fight back.
Since the government had to abandon its promise that household energy bills would be reduced by $275 under its energy plan, the Coalition continued to press Labor on the broken promise.
We’re now past when the bill relief was due to be delivered (which was the end of 2025).
But the Nats are still on a tear to hold the government to account on it (again, Labor had already admitted that the election commitment wasn’t going to happen). This time the Hinkler MP, David Batt, puts the question to the energy minister, Chris Bowen.
Bowen in what feels like a record 30 seconds, gives his answer at lightning speed. He says he can name all the households whose bills have gone to “zero” because of the cheaper home battery scheme:
I can name every single Australian household that’s seen their energy prices fall by 44% in the last quarter, thanks to record renewable rates that have been introduced by this government’s policies.
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Arrest at Bondi Pavilion while anti-Herzog banner unfurled at Opera House
Leaving question time for a moment, NSW police have told Guardian Australia a person has been arrested at the Bondi pavilion, where the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, laid a wreath to the victims of the Bondi attack and addressed media this morning. We’ll bring you the details as soon as we know more.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for NSW police said at about 11.45am two people affixed a banner at the top of the Tarpeian steps, overlooking the Sydney Opera House while police in the area were responding to a separate, unrelated incident. An image of the banner seen by Guardian Australia shows it reads: “Herzog war criminal”
“Opera house security promptly took that down,” the police spokesperson said. The incident was captured on CCTV, and police are making inquiries.
A UN commission, which does not speak on behalf of the UN, found that Herzog, along with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and then defence minister, Yoav Gallant, had “incited the commission of genocide”.
Herzog has called the genocide case against Israel in the international court of justice a “form of blood libel” and pushed back on criticism of his 2023 statement that “it is an entire nation out there that is responsible” for the 7 October attacks on Israel.
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Ley tries to corner Albanese on interest rates
Can the prime minister confirm that interest rates have gone up 13 times on his watch, and the average mortgage holder is now paying $23,000 more every year in repayments, asks Sussan Ley.
Ley is going for a more straight down the line question in the hope that it’ll back Albanese into a corner.
Anthony Albanese still manages to turn that spotlight back on to the opposition.
He says when Labor came into office inflation had a “six” in front of it.
Ley is unsurprisingly unhappy with the answer, and tries to get the PM to stick to her question, but the speaker, Milton Dick, says Albanese was being relevant by talking about inflation and interest rates.
Albanese continues and defends the government’s spending again, saying it’s private demand that has been rising, and attacks the Coalition’s internal fighting.
Those opposite … whose energy for opposing our cost-of-living measures is only exceeded by their energy with fighting each other.
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Nationals ‘out of touch’ on energy prices: Bowen
Despite returning to the Coalition, the National are still part of the crossbench under question time today, with Nationals MP Jamie Chaffey getting the next question.
They’re also following last week’s play book, asking energy minister Chris Bowen when Australians will get their $275 energy bill discount promised by Labor in the 2022 election (that was abandoned soon after).
Bowen says the government is fulfilling its mandate with wholesale prices going down and policies like discounted home batteries which has “reduced their energy prices”.
Someone interjects from the opposition benches saying the government’s solar batteries scheme is being used by “rich people”, which Bowen quickly addresses.
They say “rich people” really? When 44% of cheaper home batteries that have been installed are in regional New South Wales.
The Nats try to intervene but get shut down by Milton Dick. Bowen ends his answer saying that the Nationals are “out of touch with their constituents”.
Coalition a ‘three ringed circus’, says Chalmers
Back to the opposition, the shadow treasurer (and for now shadow assistant treasurer), Ted O’Brien, invokes the words of “respected TV finance guru” David Koch, to tell Jim Chalmers to “tighten his belt”.
O’Brien quotes Kochie saying “You’ve told all of us to tighten our belts to fight inflation. You didn’t, and so you are responsible for this interest rate rise.”
Chalmers tells O’Brien that he is being “deliberately dishonest”.
There’s a bit of drama here – the opposition stands up saying that Chalmers can’t say “deliberately”, so he’s forced to withdraw. Chalmers then continues:
If we pick up and run with the shadow treasurer’s own logic, then the fact that they just took to the election a policy for bigger deficits and more debt means they are conceding that if they had won the election, inflation would be higher and interest rates would be higher and interest rates would be higher as well.
Chalmers there is referring to the opposition’s election costings released before the May poll, which showed under the Coalition’s policy the budget deficit would get bigger for two years before coming back down.
Chalmers then sticks the knife in.
The more divided they get, the more dishonest and desperate they get, over there. I saw Senator [Jane] Hume say this morning that they had to reach for the rabbit, in her words. There he is over there, Mr Speaker. That three-ringed circus already has a clown, and now it has a bunny as well, and they are the two reasons why nobody takes them seriously on the economy any more.
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Albanese skirts question on providing additional rental assistance
Because the sessional orders haven’t changed, independent MP Dai Le gets the next question from the crossbench.
She asks the prime minister what the government will do specifically for renters. She says her seat of Fowler, in western Sydney, has the highest level of rental stress in the country, “with almost half the renters in housing stress”, but most don’t qualify for the current commonwealth rental assistance.
Albanese doesn’t really answer the question, and instead pivots to other cost-of-living measures like student debt relief, the tax cuts coming into effect on 1 July and changes to the pharmaceutical benefits scheme that make medicines cheaper. But he doesn’t mention greater rental relief or anything on housing.
As of the changes that we made on 1 November, to have the tripling of the bulk billing incentive, nine additional practices in that electorate have converted to fully bulk billing … making an enormous difference to cost of living in the member’s electorate.
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Albanese accuses opposition of ‘verballing’ RBA governor
The Winter Olympics niceties are over, and like the skeleton, we’re barrelling headfirst into questions (sorry, had to).
The Coalition are going hard on inflation and government spending again, and Sussan Ley asks the PM about comments from Jim Chalmers that government spending was “not a factor” in the interest rate rise. She says when the RBA governor, Michele Bullock, was asked about it at a parliamentary hearing on Friday, she said “it’s factual, it’s not an opinion, it’s not a judgment”.
The PM repeats what he said during question time last week, that the share of public demand has slowed, while private demand in the economy is rising.
Albanese says more cost-of-living relief is coming for households, with new tax cuts coming into effect on 1 July, and he accuses the opposition of “verballing” the governor.
And now when the income tax cuts comes in on 1 July, they’ll be very depressed about that, Mr Speaker. And then when it happens next year, they’ll be even more depressed about that, Mr Speaker. What drives us each and every day is making a positive difference to people’s lives, we’ll continue to do it, and no amount of verballing of the RBA governor will change that.
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Question time begins
David Littleproud and Kevin Hogan (the Nationals leader and deputy leader) have resumed their spots on the opposition frontbench after yesterday’s reunion.
But the other former frontbenchers will have to wait until 1 March to get their spots back.
Before the questions start, the PM makes a statement about the Winter Olympics being held in Italy (where I’m sure a lot of us would rather be right now).
Anthony Albanese says:
You can instantly recognise the skill and indeed, the bravery of people going downhill on a bit of metal at over 100km/h, it’s pretty extraordinary. And they’re representing us when they do it. They show skill, passion, and of course, national pride.
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, also stands up to pay tribute to the Australian team.
Team Australia is turning up with skill and grit.
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Palestine Action Group’s lawyers argue NSW anti-protest laws are too broad and were made for an ‘improper purpose’
Lawyers have argued that the Minns government handed special powers to police for the duration of Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s visit in order to to suppress protest, and therefore did so for an “improper purpose”.
The Palestine Action Group is currently facing an urgent hearing against the state of NSW in the supreme court before Justice Robertson Wright after the group launched a challenge to the New South Wales government’s use of powers, which are generally used to facilitate major events in the state and includes the ability for police to search people.
Felicity Graham – acting on behalf of the Palestine Action Group alongside Peter Lange SC – raised comments made by NSW’s minister for sport, Steve Kamper, when declaring the visit a major event. She told the court that Kamper had noted that confrontation between protesters and officials could make world news and impact the reputation of the state and Australia.
Graham said: “One might say the quiet part has been said out loud”:
This is about stopping legitimate political expression in the public square against a controversial visiting head of state, from a country that is before the International Court of Justice on a charge of genocide.
Wright questioned this, saying the motivation of the government appeared to be to keep opposing groups separated. He said:
The government is clear that we cannot allow a situation where mourners, visitors and protesters are brought into close proximity in a way that [creates] conflicts, violence or public disorder.
Graham noted that one of the locations that Herzog is known to be visiting in Sydney does not fall within the area the government has handed police additional powers.
The cabinet office has been advised that President Herzog will be attending an event at the an event at the International Convention and Exhibition Center in Darling Harbour.... as well as various events in Kirribilli.
“That’s notably outside the major event declaration area, and the eastern suburbs of Sydney.”
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Continuing from our last post …
Julie-Ann Guivarra said given the terms of reference included social cohesion, her agency and a number of other commonwealth agencies had been invited to attend meetings.
On the royal commission, obviously the letters patent had been set for the royal commission, it does of course within the scope of it include social cohesion issues.
We have been invited as have a number of other public services agencies to attend regular RDC process on the RC.
One of the four key areas for the terms of reference for the RCASC includes developing recommendations to enhance social cohesion and counter religiously and ideologically motivated extremism.
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Racism and hatred towards First Nations people to be included in Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion
The minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, says she spoke to the attorney general about including racism and hatred towards First Nations people in the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion (RCASC).
During Senate estimates on Monday, Greens senator Larissa Waters asked McCarthy and the chief executive of the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA), Julie-Ann Guivarra, if either had asked the attorney general to extend the RCASC terms of reference.
McCarthy said she had raised the issue “over a period of time” since the RCASC was established, with concerns that racism and hatred against Indigenous people is on the rise. McCarthy said:
I am very concerned about the increase, online hatred and racism in particular towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people … I am also looking very closely at what possibilities there are with the royal commission.
I certainly understand in terms of the terms of reference, there is an avenue there.
I will be encouraging people to put in their submissions in particular, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people submissions to the Royal Commission about their concerns about racism and hatred.
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‘Something has to change’ says Liberal senator on leadership
Liberal senator Sarah Henderson says the Liberal party is in an existential crisis (following Jane Hume’s similar comments this morning).
Henderson is an ally of Taylor and has been an outspoken critic of Ley, so her coming out today means things are definitely moving behind the scenes. She tells Sky News:
At a primary vote of 18%, this is a disaster, and something has to change. Senators and members of parliament in our party room have responsibility to act in the national interest. We have to be a credible opposition we need to deliver credible policies, we need to be aggressive. We need to hold this terrible government to account.
All we’re doing is talking about ourselves as we see the polls slide and we are in an uncharted territory. This is a true crisis.
And I think every Liberal member and senator needs to consider these matters very quickly, this week.
Asked by host Kieran Gilbert how rolling the first female leader of the party will play out with women voters, Henderson just repeats that something has to change.
In November of last year, I said very clearly, I don’t support the way things are, and I maintain that position.
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Crossbench keeps their extra questions (for now)
Despite reuniting yesterday, the Coalition might feel a bit shortchanged during question time today, because the government has not yet brought a motion to change the number of questions the opposition and crossbench get.
You might remember that last week Tony Burke put forward a motion which gave the crossbench more questions, due to the Nationals temporarily joining their ranks.
But there’s been no motion reversing that and taking us back to the status quo – which means we could be in for another mammoth question time today.
Burke has just told us:
We can’t be having an hour of debate on sessional orders every time the Liberal and National parties have a press conference telling us how much they love or hate each other this week.
Take a deep breath and buckle yourselves in – T minus 36 minutes until it begins!
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Greens call LNP move to ban ‘river to the sea’ phrase ‘Orwellian’ attack on freedom of speech
Civil liberties groups and the Greens have slammed the government’s announcement that they intend to legislate to give the Queensland attorney general the power to ban certain phrases as “Orwellian” and an attack on freedom of speech.
The legislation is yet to be made public, but the attorney general, Deb Frecklington, yesterday said it would give her the power to prescribe specific phrases, making causing offence by uttering them an offence attracting a two year jail sentence.
She said on Sunday that she intends to ban the common slogan “from the river to the sea” and also prohibit “globalise the intifada”.
Michael Berkman, a state Greens MP, said: “The government is making itself the thought police. If they decide your words are offensive, you can go to jail for them. Is that the kind of democracy we want to live in?”:
The best tool against extremists, racists and bigots is a strong, diverse community that looks after its people, especially the most vulnerable.
You can’t legislate away hatred or discrimination. This is just kneejerk authoritarianism from politicians who want to look like they’re doing something.
The vice-president of the Queensland council of civil liberties, Terry O’Gorman, said causing offence is an inevitable result of maintaining freedom of speech principles and rights:
Banning any slogan in public protests particularly gatherings that does not contain an immediate incitement to violence is an unjustified attack and limitation on freedom of speech.
Particularly banning or criminalising a catch cry especially in public protest situations merely because it may “cause offence” is an affront to free speech rights which have quite properly been protected in Queensland since the dark days of the Bjelke-Peterson street march ban in 1977.
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Steggall calls out ‘highly damaging’ rhetoric on migration
Independent MP Zali Steggall has introduced a motion into the Parliament calling on her colleagues to tone down the rhetoric around immigration.
Steggall said politicians should engage in “respectful” and “evidence-based” debate on the issue and that immigration is a “a fundamental contributor to Australia’s economic strength, social fabric, and national resilience”.
She called out One Nation specifically for its anti-migrant rhetoric.
It’s highly damaging when fringe right wing parties like One Nation– instead of having any form of rational policy – seek to instil hate and blame on other communities rather than taking responsibility on evidence-based policymaking.
Claims that migration is “out of control” are inconsistent with evidence showing net overseas migration moderating from post-pandemic highs and remaining within expected volume.
The statement follows Nationals-turned-One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce’s comments to Karl Stefanovic about migration in Australia, though Steggall did not reference them.
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Alex Hawke reaffirms support for Ley despite leadership speculation
Alex Hawke says Sussan Ley’s colleague “fully support her”, as speculation of a spill by leadership contender Angus Taylor escalates, and could happen this week.
The centre-right factional powerbroker, and Ley supporter, told Sky News a bit earlier he doesn’t “feel sorry” for Ley, despite some critics saying the party hasn’t given her any space to be the leader.
He says Ley is “one of the most experienced people in parliament” and hasn’t complained about her treatment by the party.
I and my colleagues fully support their leader. I know there’s a lot of speculation, including on your channel, about it right now, but you know, I’ve looked at my colleagues this morning, I’ve looked them in the eye, sat around leadership table with Angus Taylor.
If someone wants to challenge for the leadership they challenge, and that isn’t happening at the moment.
On what the latest polling means for the Liberal party, and whether they’re facing an existential crisis, Hawke says there have been times previously where Labor has faced similar questions and today hold a supermajority.
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Attorney general’s department says it wasn’t consulted on royal commission decision
The secretary of the attorney general’s department says she wasn’t consulted about the Labor government’s earlier reticence to call a royal commission after the Bondi terror attack, and minister Don Farrell says he doesn’t know who the “actual experts” were who Anthony Albanese said had advised against such an inquiry.
In the legal and constitutional affairs committee hearing this morning, Liberal senator Paul Scarr asked representatives of the AG’s department about the royal commission, which Labor had initially resisted calling, but later convened in early January.
Farrell, the trade minister, is the minister representing the attorney general in this hearing. Scarr referenced Albanese’s earlier comments that “the actual experts, who are the current experts, have all recommended” a review of intelligence and policing services, rather than a royal commission - but Albanese later declined to say exactly who those experts were.
Asked who the experts were, Farrell replied: “I don’t know, but I’ll ask and come back to you”.
Katherine Jones, the secretary of the attorney general’s department, said she was not consulted about the decision. She said the department was consulted on a draft letters patent, “once the decision had been taken to establish a royal commission, but we had not provided advice previously”.
Jones said a specific branch of the AG’s department, which particularly dealt with royal commissions, had been “until recently” disbanded, because recent royal commissions had been finalised. That branch has now been re-established, she said.
Farrell noted the government had “very quickly” set up an intelligence review after Bondi, which had now been rolled into the royal commission called by the Labor government. Farrell claimed the “relevant point” about such questions was that the government had now called a royal commission.
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Herzog says he visted Australia 'in goodwill'
The Israeli president has said he is travelled to Australia “in goodwill” when asked if he had a message for the pro-Palestinian supporters rallying against his visit today.
Herzog said:
I have come here in goodwill and in a message that people of Australia – Australia and Israel are close friends and allies since the days of old.
It was Australia who was the first nation to declare Israel at the United Nations, and Australia is a close ally for years and Israel was always a issue in Australia.
Herzog said “in most cases” the pro-Palestinian demonstrations “undermine and delegitimise” Israel and his nation’s “right” to its “mere existence”.
He continued:
And we did not seek that war on 7 October [2023] ... people were butchered, murdered, raped and burnt and abducted.
We have here bereaved Israeli families who came from the Kibbutz ... and from the war in order to express their condolences here at Bondi, but also to create ... a clear statement and a message – we should all fight together.
Terror is what undermines all the availability of peace and the notion of peace in our region. It was always the case and is always the case and, therefore, terror is unacceptable by any means.
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Herzog says he understands frustration that more wasn’t done to prevent Bondi attack
The Israeli president took just four questions from journalists who gathered at the wreath laying ceremony in Bondi to hear him speak.
In response to one of the questions, Herzog said he shared the frustrations of the victims’ families that more could have been done to prevent the attack.
Herzog said:
These frustrations were shared by many, many of us, including myself where I alerted, as I have seen this wave surge all over the world, and I have seen it in many countries, including Canada, Great Britain, the US, and Australia – all English-speaking countries.
I have alerted way in advance as well as many others and that is why I understand this frustration and I hope the steps that were recently taken will bring change. This has to be a consistent ongoing effort to change reality.
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Palestine Action Group’s lawyers say powers given to NSW police are unreasonable
Lawyers have argued that special powers handed to police by the Minns government for the duration of Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s visit are so broad that it will apply to people living in areas “wholly irrelevant” to his visit.
The Palestine Action Group is currently facing an urgent hearing against the State of NSW in the supreme court before justice Robertson Wright after the group launched a challenge to the New South Wales government’s use of powers generally used to facilitate major events in the state, and which includes the ability for police to search people.
The Minns government invoked the powers on Saturday under the state’s “major event” legislation, applying it to sections of the CBD and the Eastern suburbs. It grants police additional powers until Thursday in this area to move people on, close specific locations and issue orders to prevent disruption or risks to public safety. Police may search anyone inside the area or as a condition of entry, and anyone who fails to comply with directions may face penalties, including fines of up to $5,500.
Peter Lange SC, who is acting on behalf of the Palestine Action Group, told the court that Herzog’s visit is not an appropriate event under the legislation because it lacks “specificity”.
He said the legislation requires events to be limited geographically, temporally, and to a group of participants. The power is generally used for sporting or cultural events that are ticketed or have a permit.
Lange argued the extent of the power in this instance was unreasonable. He said the power gave police the power to ask anyone living in the eastern suburbs over the next four days to open their bag, container, or “any other thing” in their possession. He said:
There must be specificity of groups of individuals or spectators who can be identified in a coherent fashion so as to give rise to an event under the legislation.
The Palestine Action Group launched the challenge in an 11th-hour bid ahead of a march planned against Herzog’s visit on Monday evening from town hall to state parliament.
Lawyers acting on behalf of the group continue their arguments.
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NSW premier rejects the idea he has sought to curtail protests
Returning to the NSW premier, Chris Minns has rejected the idea he has sought to curtail protests against Isaac Herzog’s visit by invoking special “major event” powers, the subject of a supreme court challenge this morning.
Minns told reporters this morning he did not want to “frontrun” the judgment, but rejected the idea that the government had invoked the additional powers – allowing police to move people on, close specific locations and conduct searches – against the purpose of legislation which is often used for sporting and cultural events.
If you look at the history of designation, in the past it’s applied to Apec, when leaders came to Sydney, that wasn’t a major cultural event, it wasn’t a sporting event, so it’s been mischaracterised by those that want to topple the regulation as it applies to Sydney ...
It’s also completely unfair and untrue to say that police and the government have not facilitated a protest. We have.
Minns, who advised of a “massive police operation” during Herzog’s visit, including 500 officers in Sydney’s inner ring, and officers carrying long-arm rifles in “various areas”, said police continued to negotiate with protesters for them to march south from Hyde Park instead.
Herzog says antisemitism is a 'global emergency’
Isaac Herzog has said antisemitism in Australia is “not a Jewish problem” and more must be done to tackle it. In his statement, the president said:
It is an Australian problem and a global problem.
Over the generations, one thing has become clear - hatred that starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews.
This is why the current rise in antisemitism around the world is a global emergency and we must all act to fight against it.
I welcome the positive steps taken by the Australian Government to tackle antisemitism since the Bondi attack.
Leaders across all sectors of society must speak out clearly and consistently against antisemitism because silence in the face of hatred is complicity.
Let me end by praying for the souls of the victims and the speedy recovery of the wounded, some of whom we have seen here.
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Isaac Herzog: 'In the face of this evil, we saw the very best of humanity'
Staying with Isaac Herzog’s statement, the president has said Israel has “faced the deadly threat of terror for many, many years” but the Bondi attack brought out the best in people who rushed to help others.
In the face of this evil, we saw the very best of humanity. Suddenly, here, on Bondi, surfboards became trenches and stretchers as extraordinary ordinary people ran into the danger and saved innocent lives.
Herzog said the state of Israel “stood together” with Australians after the attack and that:
And in the aftermath of the attack, the people of Australia stood together in grief and solidarity with the Jewish community.
The world’s only Jewish state - the state of Israel and the nation of Israel - stood together with the Australian people.
We stood with Australian Jews for we are one big family and when one Jew is hurt, all Jews feel their pain. That is why I’m here today - to embrace and console the bereaved families.
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Isaac Herzog speaks about Bondi attack: ‘They attacked the values that our democracies treasure’
The Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, has paid tribute to the victims of the Bondi terror attack and said the event was an attack on all Australians.
Herzog has been speaking at the Bondi memorial site, where he said of the “horrific antisemitic terror attack”:
This very beach, beloved by the Australian people, and symbolic of all that’s great about this beautiful nation, became the scene of the deadliest terror attack in Australia’s history. Fifteen innocent souls who gathered to celebrate Hanukkah, the Festival of Light, were massacred in cold blood by Islamic terrorists.
The youngest victim – sweet Matilda, was just 10 years’ old. The 87-year-old Alex Kleytman who survived the extermination of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust only to be murdered for being a Jew on the beaches of Sydney, Australia.
These vile terrorists specifically and deliberately [attacked] our brothers – Australian Jews. Yet this was also an attack on Australians.
They attacked the values that our democracies treasure.
The sanctity of human life, the freedom of religion, tolerance, dignity and respect. This is how terror operates all around the world, and sadly, Israel has faced a deadly threat of terror for many, many years.
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Isaac Herzog lays wreath at Bondi beach memorial site
The Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, has laid a wreath at the Bondi memorial site after arriving in Sydney earlier today.
Herzog is at the Bondi pavilion with the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, who followed the president in laying wreaths to commemorate the 15 victims of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack in December.
The chairman of the World Zionist Organisation, Yaakov Hagoel, and the chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Doron Almog, are among the other participants of the ceremony, which is being broadcast live on the ABC.
Herzog, who has begun his four-day Australian tour with the wreath laying ceremony on this drizzly, grey morning in Sydney, is about to make a statement.
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Senate president says she is unaware of a lobbying firm sponsoring event linked to Aukus deal
The Senate president and the department that manages Parliament House say they are unaware of a lobbying firm with high-profile defence industry clients sponsoring an event linked to the Aukus nuclear agreement.
Guardian Australia revealed in December that federal MPs were invited to attend the launch of the newly formed Parliamentary Friends of Aukus event, featuring the defence minister, Richard Marles, as the “special guest”. It took place last week.
The Canberra-based firm Precision Public Affairs sponsored the event. The partner of Marles’ chief of staff, Lucien Wells, is one of the firm’s registered lobbyists. Marles said on Sunday that Wells has disclosed and managed his relationship with lobbyist Sacha Fenton appropriately.
ACT independent senator David Pocock raised the story on Monday, the first day of Senate estimates hearings. Sue Lines, the Senate president, said she had signed off on the establishment of the new parliamentary friends group, but was unaware of the event, and reports that invitees were charged $100 each to attend the function.
Lines and the Department of Parliamentary Services agreed to take on notice questions from Pocock about whether charging for admissions to an event in the Mural Hall at Parliament House would represent a breach of rules banning fundraising inside the building.
“I’d need to have a look at what’s actually happened in this situation and consider that in line with the events policy and with what was provided with the form to hire the venue,” DPS secretary Jaala Hinchcliffe said.
On Sunday, Marles said the event wasn’t unusual:
You will see government affairs bodies such as Precision supporting events of this kind throughout the Parliament. So, I mean there’s nothing unusual about that. But you know, this is a really important group.
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Minns defends protest restrictions: ‘Sydney’s on the international stage here’
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has repeated calls for calm ahead of planned protests against the visit by Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, who has arrived in Sydney today.
Speaking at a press conference earlier, Minns defended restrictions on public assemblies, including special “major event” powers invoked for the visit, which are the subject of a supreme court challenge by the Palestine Action Group this morning. He said:
We’ve got a responsibility to keep everybody in Sydney safe over the next 48 hours, whether that’s a visiting dignitary, whether that’s mourners who want to gather, weeks after Australia’s worst terrorism event in its history, or whether it’s protesters themselves, so I’m calling on everybody involved in the protest to show some respect, and calmness as they demonstrate their freedom of speech.
It’s hugely important, Sydney’s on the international stage here, and we want this 48 hour period to go off without incident, that’s hugely important for our reputation but also in terms of unity and civility in the weeks and months and years ahead, long after the president has left our shores.
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Condoms for sale in women’s changing rooms at parliament gym but not men’s, Senate told
Over at estimates this morning, Jane Hume, who was on a tirade against Sussan Ley and David Littleproud this morning, has been asking public servants why condoms are currently for sale in women’s bathrooms at the Parliament House gym but not the men’s.
The things we learn in estimates!
Jason Lucas from the Department of Parliamentary Services says he was “not aware” of the condoms available in the women’s changing rooms, and similarly “not aware” that they were not for sale in the men’s.
The deputy secretary of DPS, Nicola Hinder, says: “I believe its absolutely wonderful that women are taking care of their sexual health.”
Hume retorts: “I just wonder why men aren’t taking responsibility as well.”
Senate president Sue Lines says she’ll bring it up further with the department.
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Barnaby Joyce unleashes on immigration as One Nation gains popularity
Barnaby Joyce says Australians are reaching a “snapping point” on immigration, as One Nation and its anti-immigration stance surges in the polls.
The right-wing minor party recorded a 27% primary vote in today’s Newspoll.
Joyce, who defected to One Nation in December, told the Karl Stefanovic podcast that migrants who want to “cause trouble” should “stay where they are”.
He said the government needs to consider “how many houses have you got free, how many hospitals have you got working well” before deciding how many migrants should be allowed in Australia.
The high profile politician and former deputy prime minister is no stranger to controversy, and said:
What sort of people do you need, do you need unemployed people having babies or do you need builders?
We’ve got to look for the skill sets of the people we need, and we’re gonna say here’s the contract, you want to live in Australia there’s two things you cannot be – in the crime pages or on social security.
I don’t care if you’re coming from the Vatican, central America, central Africa or the middle of Europe. If you’re gonna turn up and yak on, cause problems then you stay where you are. If you pine for where you came from and say ‘I really want Australia to be just like the shithole I came from’ then go back there.
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What’s happening in parliament today?
Senators are grilling public servants and the government today in Senate estimates – we’ll bring anything juicy we hear right to you!
And over in the House, it’s our first Monday sitting of the year, which means it’s time for private members’ bills.
This morning, the Nationals MP Pat Conaghan is putting forward a private member’s bill to ban burning or desecrating the Australian flag. Sound a bit familiar? There’s a bit of lore to this one.
It’s an issue that One Nation has been pushing, and that the Liberal MP Phil Thompson subsequently tried to introduce when the government was debating the antisemitism bill.
Since that failed (because Labor has a majority in the House), Conaghan is trying again to debate it in the House. He says:
We can and must, without apology, say that those who burn our flag are wrong their actions are divisive, disrespectful and damaging to out social cohesion.
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ABC defends Four Corners episode after Asio criticism
Further to the last post, an ABC spokesperson has defended the episode.
“The Four Corners program is a comprehensive investigation examining the events that led to the worst terrorist attack on Australian soil,” they told Guardian Australia.
Four Corners spoke to numerous people and provides a number of sources of information for a detailed picture of the Akrams’ actions and associations in the years leading up to the Bondi attack.
Detailed questions were put to ASIO and its response is reflected in the story. The public will be able to watch the full investigation tonight.
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Asio raises concerns over Four Corners episode on Bondi terror attack
The intelligence agency Asio says it has serious concerns about an episode of Four Corners on the Bondi beach terror attack, due to air tonight.
In a lengthy statement, which Asio said was issued in response to questions from the ABC, Asio warned the ABC it could take further action if the broadcast includes claims the broadcaster cannot substantiate.
The full statement is here.
The episode focuses on the Bondi gunmen, father and son Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram, examining their “histories and their associations with an Islamic State terrorist network in Australia”.
The statement says Asio investigated Naveed Akram in 2019, finding he did not intend to engage in violent extremism at that time, and that they stand by that finding in respect of that time.
Four Corners’ questions about the investigation appear to be based on the uncorroborated claims of a single, unreliable and disgruntled source.
Asio claims Naveed Akram has been misidentified by a source, even alleging that person has a “track record of making statements that are untrue.”
Asio also rejected ABC claims about resourcing of the organisation. The statement says:
ASIO is constrained in our ability to respond to specific questions because there is an ongoing investigation, the matter is before the courts and we now have the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.
It would not be responsible to risk prejudicing the Royal Commission, any criminal proceedings, and the ongoing investigations.
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Independents decry ‘placement poverty’ for health students as data shows 42% going hungry
Independents Helen Haines, David Pocock, Sophie Scamps, Monique Ryan and Fatima Payman are pushing the government to end “placement poverty” for health students doing their university degree placements.
New survey data from the Health Students Alliance found 42% of health students are going hungry during placements.
The Parliamentary Budget Office, commissioned by Haines and Pocock, costed the expansion and found that it would cost the budget $290m to include medical and allied health students within the existing commonwealth prac payment scheme.
Haines said:
Unpaid mandatory placements are pushing thousands of students into financial hardship at a time of acute workforce shortages and a cost-of-living crisis.
These costings show that ending placement poverty is both achievable and affordable. Failing to act is a political choice, not a budget constraint.
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Albanese on Coalition chaos: 'I just sit back and watch with some incredulity'
The prime minister has done a couple of commercial radio interviews this morning, and dug in to the Coalition’s electoral woes.
Anthony Albanese tells Nova Sydney that David Littleproud looked “like a hostage” next to Sussan Ley at their joint press conference on Sunday announcing that the two parties would reunite.
Albanese says:
I just sit back and watch with some incredulity, I’ve got to say, at their carry on. They really don’t like each other and I think yesterday, having a look at them, you know, David Littleproud looked like a hostage at that press conference.
Asked whether Australia could see One Nation leader Pauline Hanson as a future prime minister, Albanese says “no”, and tells the Coalition to get their act together to fend the minor right-wing party off.
Pauline Hanson and One Nation are all about grievance and identifying problems, not providing solutions and dividing people. So, I think it’s unfortunate the state of the traditional conservative parties in Australia at the moment. I hope they get their act together because I think that’s good for the country to have a strong government, and a strong Opposition, but I don’t think Pauline Hanson is the answer to anything.
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Littleproud defends Nationals, saying his party has been ‘reasonable’
David Littleproud says the National party has handled negotiations with the Liberal party with “dignity”, after making a deal on Sunday to reunite the Coalition.
Speaking to Sky News, the Nationals leader says his party left on principle and returned to the Coalition on principle.
We lived by our principles as a National party through difficult times, but we’ve done it with dignity, and with respect and integrity all the way.
He adds that the Nationals have been “reasonable all the way through”.
Littleproud initially said his party wouldn’t sit under Sussan Ley’s leadership but since changed his story.
To Sky he said that it would have been “hypocritical” if the Coalition wasn’t reunited after Ley granted the Nats’ request to have the three senators reinstated to the frontbench within six weeks rather than six months.
We’d be hypocritical if we stayed out of the Coalition after Sussan Ley granted all that. So we did the right thing.
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ASX to rebound as sentiment improves
Australian shares are set to reverse some of the steep losses suffered late last week when the market opens this morning amid improved investor sentiment.
Futures pricing indicates the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 will open more than 1% higher this morning to around the 8,780 point mark, following a strong session on Wall Street on Friday.
Today’s anticipated strong gains follow a 2% dive on the ASX on Friday, which represented the worst single trading day since Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs were revealed last April.
Global share markets have been hit by bouts of risk aversion, fears of an artificial intelligence bubble, falling commodity prices and signs of inflation reigniting, which has subdued equity returns in Australia.
At the same time, many traders have used sell-downs to top up their holdings, leading to quick rebounds. Australia’s benchmark index is down just over 4% from highs struck in October last year.
Michael McCarthy, market strategist at trading platform Moomoo, says recent volatility and price pressure in gold, silver, cryptocurrencies and technology stocks means investors are on edge.
Company results in Australia and the US could once again drive big single stock reactions, pushing stocks to soar on strong numbers and sink on less than perfect results.
Newspoll an ‘existential crisis’ for Liberals and 'we are now at irrelevance', Hume says
Jane Hume has not minced her words this morning, and after telling Sky News this morning the Coalition needed a “reset”, she spoke to reporters in the press gallery and called this morning’s Newspoll an “existential crisis”.
The Liberal senator and former frontbencher said there wouldn’t be a single Liberal elected to the House of Representatives if the poll results continued.
Hume dances around the question of whether the reset means a leadership change in both parties, saying that’s a decision for both party rooms, “not just me”.
We’re talking about a leadership contest between Sussan Ley and Andrew Hastie and Angus Taylor. None of them will have seats after the next election, if these polls continue, so something’s got to give.
I’m not casting aspersions on any one particular leader or leadership aspirant, but at some stage we need to do something very, very different, because this is so much worse than it was just in May last year, when we had our worst election defeat in history …
We are now at irrelevance.
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‘We didn’t do it out of spite’, Littleproud says of split
After 17 days in the wilderness, the Nationals have returned to the Coalition.
David Littleproud has had to explain his change in tune on his previous comments that his party would not serve under Ley’s leadership.
Speaking to the Today Show earlier, he said the “only assurance” he wanted was that the three sacked shadow ministers – Bridget McKenzie, Ross Cadell and Susan McDonald – wouldn’t remain on the backbench.
Under the negotiated deal, the three will spend six weeks iced out instead of six months and then get their positions back (along with the additional pay and staff allocations).
Littleproud said:
We didn’t do this out of spite. It was out of principle.
The only assurance that the National party wanted was that those three ministers that were sacked for voting against it, we were all going to be sacked had we all been given the chance, and process that would never let this happen again, that’s the comfort that we needed and that’s what we were able to achieve.
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Liberal party in ‘chaos’, Plibersek says
We haven’t heard a whole lot from the government this morning, while the Coalition drama continues to play out on our screens and airwaves.
Earlier this morning, the Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek says it’s “no wonder” the public say they won’t vote for the Coalition when they’re in chaos.
On a Sunrise panel with Barnaby Joyce, she blames the former Nationals MP in part for kicking the whole saga off.
I don’t really think they’ve given Sussan Ley a fair chance. You know that Angus Taylor was snapping at her heels at the time of their party election at the very beginning. He’s never really let up.
Barnaby started it by leaving, and they’ve kept it going with the sort of chaos and speculation about leadership. And no wonder people say they’re not going to vote Liberal or National while they’re all fighting each other instead of focusing on the Australian people. But to cause the chaos and then use the chaos as an excuse to knock off their first woman leader, I mean, I think people will see that for what it is. It’s pretty shallow and pretty cynical.
Joyce says he wondered how Plibersek was going to “stitch me into that” but says the polling is also “diabolical” for Labor who recorded a primary vote of 33%. Labor reached a post election high of 37% primary in late September.
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‘Yes it is’: Ley says her job is safe
Sussan Ley is being pressed hard this morning on whether she’ll still be leader by the end of this week - she says she will, and is not expecting a spill.
Speaking to Sky News, Ley again tries to skirt around questions on when Angus Taylor will make a move, and square the focus back onto interest rates and the economy.
But a couple of quick yes/no questions gets some answers.
Pete Stefanovic: “Is your job safe?”
Ley: “Yes, it is.”
Stefanovic: “Are you expecting a spill?”
Ley: “No.”
She also warned her colleagues to stop airing their dirty laundry and venting frustrations publicly.
In any political party there is different views and characterisation about direction and the proper place to have that discussion is inside the party room. In public, we must present a credible alternative to the Australian people.
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More than 660,000 women accessed cheaper contraceptives and other medicines listed on the PBS
More than 660,000 women have accessed cheaper contraceptives, menopausal hormone therapies and endometriosis treatments, since they were listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
Twelve months after the federal government’s $792.9m women’s health package, more than 2 million scripts have been filled, collectively saving women more than $73m, according to government statistics.
From January 2026, Medicare card holders would access further savings with the reduction in maximum out-of-pocket costs for PBS prescription medicines from $31.60 to $25.
Minister for Finance and Minister for Women, Katy Gallagher said:
Women asked the government to take their health seriously, and we’ve delivered. In just the first year, hundreds of thousands of women have saved money on essential medicines, more are getting dedicated menopause care through Medicare, and access to long-acting contraception is easier and more affordable.
This is a practical change that shows up at the pharmacy counter and in the GP clinic. With $25 PBS scripts now in place, costs are coming down even further in 2026.
Herzog’s visit will ‘lift the spirits of a pained community’, peak Jewish body says
Other Jewish peak bodies have welcomed the visit by Isaac Herzog, who arrived in Sydney earlier this morning.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry said the Jewish community “warmly welcomes” the arrival.
Herzog is due to address community events and visit survivors of the Bondi terror attack. He will also travel to Canberra and Melbourne.
The co-chief executive of the ECAJ Alex Ryvchin said the visit will mean “a great deal” for victim families and survivors.
His visit will lift the spirits of a pained community and we hope will lead to a much-needed recalibration of bilateral relations between two historic allies.
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Members of Jewish community take out full-page newspaper ads condemning Herzog visit
Members of Australia’s Jewish community have signed a letter saying Israeli president Isaac Herzog is not welcome in Australia, taking out full page ads in the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald newspapers.
The ads are organised by the Jewish Council of Australia, which has been a vocal critic of the Israeli government.
The letter states:
Welcoming [Herzog] in the aftermath of the Bondi massacre betrays Jewish communities, multicultural Australia and everyone who stands for Palestinian human rights and international law.
We, the undersigned Australian Jews, say Israeli President Herzog does not speak for us and is NOT WELCOME HERE.
The letter has been signed by more than 600 members of the Jewish community.
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Israeli officials outline plan for Isaac Herzog’s visit
Israel’s government press office has shared a little more public information about Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia, as he touched down in Sydney this morning.
In a post on X, Herzog’s spokesperson said their visit would include visiting “Jewish communities across Australia to express solidarity and offer strength to the community in the aftermath of the [Bondi beach] attack”.
President Herzog will also attend and address major communal events together with the leaders of the Australian Jewish community.
A central part of the visit will be dedicated to official meetings with senior Australian leaders, including the Governor-General and the Prime Minister of Australia, as well as with leaders from across the political spectrum. President Herzog will also conduct interviews with the media during the visit.
Herzog will visit Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne on his trip.
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Newspoll figures are ‘distorted’, Nationals MP says
Asked about the pretty dire polling in the Australian newspaper this morning, which shows the Coalition primary vote sits at 18%, and within that the Nationals primary vote at just 3%, Kevin Hogan tells RN Breakfast those figures are “distorted”.
Hogan says that because the Nationals don’t run in all 151 seats across Australia they would be voting at zero in some seats, particularly in inner metropolitan areas.
That’s a really distorted figure. And why I say that is that figure comes across 150 electorates from around the country. And as Nationals, we only stand in about 20 to 30 seats. So we don’t run in any city seats. [In] a lot of cities, we wouldn’t poll at all. We’d poll zero in Wentworth. We’d poll zero in Kooyong. We’d poll zero in Perth because we don’t stand candidates there.
On the rise of One Nation, which received a 27% primary vote in the latest Newspoll, Hogan says there’s no comparison between the right-wing party and the Nationals.
One Nation aren’t a regional party. I mean, One Nation are running across every seat across the whole country. So I mean it’s not even comparable in that sense. But you know obviously their figures have gone up very much since post-Bondi, and that has to be noted.
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Deputy Nationals leader defends negotiations with Ley to reform Coalition
The Nationals have got themselves into a bit of a knot after reuniting with the Liberals despite David Littleproud last month saying his party would not sit in a Coalition with Sussan Ley as leader.
On 22 January, after announcing the split, Littleproud put out a statement. This was the very first line:
The Nationals’ Party Room has determined that remaining in a Coalition with the Liberal Party under the leadership of Sussan Ley has become untenable and cannot continue.
Littleproud has attempted some revisionist history in the days since, softening his language and trying to deny the split was about Ley’s leadership specifically.
This morning, deputy Nationals leader Kevin Hogan also tried to answer the about-turn from the Nationals to come back to the negotiating table with Ley.
He told RN Breakfast:
I was with David when he did that presser in Brisbane, and the question before that was around the context that Sussan at the time was saying that our senators who’d crossed the floor on the hate speech laws could not come back and they’d have to, you know, that that was it, they were out. So that was unacceptable to us because it was a party position. So in the context of the fact that Sussan was not going to let our senators come back into their shadow cabinet positions that we couldn’t serve under her.
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Ley says she can keep her job after poor polling
Staying in the hotseat, Sussan Ley speaks to ABC News Breakfast where again she faces questions on whether she will be able to hold on to her leadership of the opposition.
Ley tries to avert the question several times, and says she spoke to leadership contender Angus Taylor over the weekend and will speak to him again this morning.
Asked again point blank if she can keep the job when the Coalition’s situation has been described as “disastrous”, she says:
Yes, I can, in answer to your question. Polls are a point in time. And they do reflect the fact that people are frustrated. People are angry. They want us to be a strong opposition. And to be there for them. And I understand that.
Ley says her relationship with Nationals leader David Littleproud is not toxic, and says the negotiations have “strengthened our processes”.
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Calm down and have a cup of tea, says McGrath
Like his colleagues, James McGrath tells RN Breakfast that the Coalition needs to focus on the government and land some blows rather than talking about internal divisions.
He acknowledges the damage done to their voter base, but says the “past is the past” and the party should try and focus on the future.
On whose fault the split is, McGrath won’t ascribe blame, and asked how long it will take to win back the trust of voters, he says:
I don’t know. If I could predict the future, I would give one of those glass crystal balls a go, they can go to a circus fair and they predict the future and charge people money. Look, what we need to do is everybody just needs to calm down, have a cup of tea or a coffee and just work out that what unites us is more important than what may divide us in terms of any policy differences.
He says the Coalition continuing to whisper about itself is “boring”.
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‘I’m not going to sprinkle gold dust on a cow pat’, McGrath says on Newspoll
The Liberal party is on some serious damage control this morning, with that tough Newspoll this morning showing the Coalition primary vote on just 18%.
The shadow special minister for state, James McGrath, a Queensland senator, has some pretty choice words for the situation, but says he’s “not surprised” at just how bad it is.
He tells RN Breakfast:
I’m not going to sprinkle gold dust on a cow pat. The polling is dire. It is horrible. It is terrible. But speaking as a former campaign director, I’m not surprised it’s this bad because we’ve spent three weeks having a very public discussion talking about ourselves.
Of course I’m angry about that. I’ve just spent the weekend going back home. I live out in the Darling Downs and wandering through the shops on Saturday … our people are angry because we’ve been talking about ourselves. And what we’ve got to do, and look, I’m guilty of this crime at the moment. I’m talking about ourselves on Radio National.
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Coalition marked down for ‘talking about ourselves’, Ley says
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, says she understands why the public have marked her party down, as it struggles to land significant blows on the government.
Speaking to Seven’s Sunrise program, Ley is asked whether the latest Newspoll has her more concerned about the leadership threat from Angus Taylor. Ley says she’s not looking at the “optics” and will focus on the public.
I’m not concerned about the optics of what people commentate on in this building.
Millions of Australians are frustrated … And when they don’t see a clear united message coming out of Canberra, they mark us down.
[They’ve] looked at the disunity and the back and forwards, and they marked us down because they saw us talking about ourselves. But yesterday we drew a line under that. We we’ve resolved our differences, we’ve strengthened our processes, and we’re squarely focused Australians.
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Israeli president Isaac Herzog arrives in Sydney
Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, has arrived in Sydney for a four-day trip to Australia to speak to survivors of the Bondi terror attack and their families.
Herzog touched down this morning with his wife, Michal Herzog, according to the Israeli embassy. Israel’s ambassador Amir Maimon met Herzog at the airport.
The assistant minister to the prime minister, Patrick Gorman, was also there to receive Herzog at Sydney airport.
Welcome to Australia, President Isaac Herzog! 🇮🇱🇦🇺
— Israel in Australia (@IsraelinOZ) February 8, 2026
Ambassador Amir Maimon and his wife, Tal received President Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog as they arrived in Sydney this morning. pic.twitter.com/RJUxDHYzJF
A court hearing this morning will determine whether planned marches against the visit can go ahead at Sydney Town Hall and if they contravene the New South Wales government’s public assembly declaration.
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Amid bad polling figures, Jane Hume asks: what does the Coalition stand for?
It’s a question former frontbencher Jane Hume is grappling with this morning after the Coalition reformed on Sunday.
The Coalition has been hit with some tough polling numbers on Monday. Hume says the party is a “rabble”.
This morning’s Newspoll shows the Coalition is down to just an 18% primary vote, while One Nation skyrockets to 27%. The breakdown of that is 15% to the Liberal party and just 3% to the Nationals.
Hume tells Sky News this morning that Sussan Ley and David Littleproud are going to need to figure out how to get the opposition out of the “hole” they’re stuck in, and deliver a message that resonates with the public.
My message to my leaders, both Liberal and National, is, please, time to express what it is that we’re fighting for. Time to express who it is that we’re fighting for. Because this Newspoll is so bad that we haven’t even been compared to Labor. They haven’t even bothered to do a two party preferred number.
I do believe that it’s time for the leaders to take a look like good, hard look at themselves, and decide what it is that they’re going to do to get us out of this hole.
Hume says the party needs a “reset”, and host Pete Stefanovic asks Hume whether this means a leadership reset. She says:
I can’t answer that question. What I can only say is that at some point we need to do a reset and say, what is it that we stand for? Who is it that we’re fighting for, and what policies are we presenting? Because the more we talk about ourselves, the less people listen to us.
Updated
Good morning
Good morning. Krishani Dhanji here with you for another sitting week, and there is so. much. going. on.
The Coalition have reunited after a near three week split this time, and will sit together on the opposition benches again. This also means they’ll get back all their extra questions that were given to the crossbench, but not everyone in the Liberal party is happy with the concessions made to the Nationals.
Sussan Ley is doing the media rounds to explain how they’ll remain together and while the Coalition faces some pretty dire polling it’s opening up speculation even further about a potential leadership spill. There will be plenty of reaction to that.
The Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, has arrived in Sydney this morning, with a rally to go ahead there. Within Labor’s own ranks Ed Husic said last week he had “deep concerns” about the visit.
Meanwhile the Labor government will continue trudging along after the PM returned from Indonesia on the weekend to sign a defence pact.
Stick with us, it’s going to be a busy one!
