Australia news live: Hanson ‘not the person I thought she was’, Hastie says; Labor defends ‘opt out’ push for social media algorithms | Australia news
Hanson ‘started a fight, and I intend to win it’, Hastie says
Krishani Dhanji
It’s the fight that dominated parliament this week – and is still going – with Andrew Hastie this morning challenging Pauline Hanson to explain her stance on executing prisoners on the battlefield.
A brief recap: Hastie has this week feuded with the One Nation leader over a cartoon video by the party released in late July that calls the former SAS captain a “traitor” after he gave evidence against Ben Roberts-Smith in his failed defamation trial.
Hastie then called Hanson a “lying coward” and “weak and glass jawed” for not taking ownership of the animated cartoon (she claimed she hadn’t called Hastie a traitor) or removing it from her social media.
Speaking to News24 this morning, Hastie says Roberts-Smith deserves a fair trial and the presumption of innocence in a separate criminal case currently before the courts.
Zooming out to the political battle, Hastie says he’ll continue the fight with Hanson and One Nation – who have announced they will target his seat of Canning in Western Australia.
I’ve copped it for the last six months, and sometimes you just got to draw a line in the sand, because weakness is provocative. People want strength. These guys thought I was weak …
I’ve always been respectful of Pauline. I’ve tried to build a relationship with her in the past, and it’s been good. And then she came for me and I started to see, OK, this is not the person I thought she was. And now she’s my political opponent, and she started a fight, and I intend to win it.
Key events
Melissa Doyle is up now. She says:
I am honoured. I’m humbled. I’m daunted. I’m excited. I’m every single emotion. But above all, as a journalist, as a storyteller, I have spent my entire career telling the stories of people who inspire us heroes. We all need to hear about extraordinary people doing extraordinary things in our community, advocating for us all in so many fields, be it science, be it sport, be it art, be it community leaders.
I think we all need to hear those stories. And so to be able to play a role with the National Australia Day Council, to work with the board, to work with the executive, to continue to champion these extraordinary Australians and celebrate them and inspire all of us. Look, it’s truly an honour and I’m really excited.”
Albanese:
This is an important role for our nation. For decades, Australians have trusted Mel [Doyle] to tell Australian stories and now she will take that to the next level in the national interest. Australia Day is an important day where we come together.
Melissa Doyle appointed chair of Australia Day Council board
Anthony Albanese is speaking in Sydney, where he has just announced that television presenter Melissa Doyle has been appointed chair of the Australia Day Council board.
People in western NSW developing MND at four times global average
People across a vast swathe of Australia are developing a deadly disease at more than four times the global average, AAP has reported.
Researchers found a motor neurone disease (MND) incidence rate of 3.72 cases per 100,000 people annually across western NSW.
In some areas, the prevalence of MND was up to seven times higher than expected, with several higher-incidence regions overlapping with areas of more intensive agricultural activity.
The global burden of MND is increasing, and in 2021 the age-standardised prevalence and incidence were estimated at 0.77 cases per 100,000 people.
MND was also observed to be occurring at higher rates in women than in other areas, and the incidence of bulbar-onset MND was unusually high.
Joyce and Farley having ‘buyer’s remorse’, Hastie suggests
Krishani Dhanji
Andrew Hastie says he “feels sorry” for Barnaby Joyce and that he and One Nation MP David Farley probably have “buyers remorse” after joining the rightwing party.
Hastie has been feuding with Pauline Hanson this week over a One Nation animated cartoon which labelled him a “traitor” after he gave evidence against Ben Roberts-Smith in his failed defamation trial.
Hastie tells News24 Hanson has “clung to childish cartoons” instead of taking responsibility for the cartoon – she claims she hasn’t called Hastie a traitor, but has kept the video at the top of her X account since it was released in late July.
If she were to be prime minister, is she going to run cartoons about all her political opponents? How’s she going to devote her time? Is she serious? Does she have a worldview that we can actually understand? These are all legitimate questions for One Nation …
The whole party centres on her. I think this is why Barnaby Joyce and I reckon David Farley are probably having buyer’s remorse. They’re thinking, “what did I get myself into?”
Hastie earlier this week said he’d accepted Joyce’s apology that he wasn’t aware of the cartoon video and did not believe Hastie was a “traitor”. Hastie says Joyce has “always been a mate”.
Look, I’ll say this about Barnaby Joyce. I feel sorry for the bloke, all right? He left a party that made him deputy prime minister twice, to jump in with this rabble, there’s no principles, they’re all over the shop, and he’s out there every week cleaning up after them.”
Hanson ‘started a fight, and I intend to win it’, Hastie says
Krishani Dhanji
It’s the fight that dominated parliament this week – and is still going – with Andrew Hastie this morning challenging Pauline Hanson to explain her stance on executing prisoners on the battlefield.
A brief recap: Hastie has this week feuded with the One Nation leader over a cartoon video by the party released in late July that calls the former SAS captain a “traitor” after he gave evidence against Ben Roberts-Smith in his failed defamation trial.
Hastie then called Hanson a “lying coward” and “weak and glass jawed” for not taking ownership of the animated cartoon (she claimed she hadn’t called Hastie a traitor) or removing it from her social media.
Speaking to News24 this morning, Hastie says Roberts-Smith deserves a fair trial and the presumption of innocence in a separate criminal case currently before the courts.
Zooming out to the political battle, Hastie says he’ll continue the fight with Hanson and One Nation – who have announced they will target his seat of Canning in Western Australia.
I’ve copped it for the last six months, and sometimes you just got to draw a line in the sand, because weakness is provocative. People want strength. These guys thought I was weak …
I’ve always been respectful of Pauline. I’ve tried to build a relationship with her in the past, and it’s been good. And then she came for me and I started to see, OK, this is not the person I thought she was. And now she’s my political opponent, and she started a fight, and I intend to win it.
Penalties for tech platforms about incentivising ‘change in behaviour’: Wells
Asked about Greens concerns that the penalties for breaching the bill are $100m for companies, which is not a lot for massive tech companies. Asked why the government won’t fine them a percentage of their global revenue like Europe does, she said:
I think the Greens and I agree on the fact that this is about changing the behaviour of big tech, and ultimately this is about the social licence, and no particular figure that we mandate in Australia is going to be enough for the world’s richest companies.
It’s got to be about what incentivises the change in behaviour and what gives them back the social licence that they are losing in Australia.”
Extending legislation to online misinformation a ‘hypothetical’: Wells
Asked if the government will look at combating misinformation online beyond the next election, Wells said:
That’s a hypothetical, David, and I tell you what, I’m up to pussy’s bow delivering all the other parts of the portfolio.
We just passed news media incentive, the gambling reforms, eight bills last fortnight. This week, we’ve passed the social media minimum age laws, and we’ve introduced the exposure draft for the digital duty of care.
Wells:
This is about giving you choice back over your feed. This is about trying to get rid of the illegal content that is being beamed into your eyeballs against your will. And this is about keeping children more safe online than they have been, as we get more and more evidence around the psychosocial harms that they are experiencing.
Like AI chatbots telling girls how to subsist on only 600 calories a day. Like grooming occurring on Roblox, a gaming platform that many, many Australian children use. This is about trying to give Australian parents confidence that we are doing everything we can to make it safer online for their children.”
Anika Wells defends opt-out push for social media algorithms
The communications minister, Anika Wells, has been on Insiders, where she has been asked about the government’s digital duty of care bill, which could let Australians opt in or out of algorithmically recommended social media content.
The Coalition has called it censorship. In response, she said:
We think this is a sensible measure to try and deal with these emerging harms that are coming online every single day.
And when it happens to your child and you’re the parent, you want the government to act as swiftly as possible. Now, if the Coalition has a different way of meeting that intent of dealing with urgency to address new serious harms, I’d love to hear it.
But I haven’t had so much as a phone call from the shadow communications minister on the exposure draft.
Two men restrained after altercation on international flight from Melbourne
Two men have been restrained on a flight from Melbourne to Doha after being involved in a physical altercation, AAP has reported.
Qatar Airways, which operated the flight, confirmed the men were handed over to local authorities on arrival.
“We can confirm that two male passengers were involved in a physical altercation on board flight VA7 from Melbourne to Doha on Friday,” the airline said in a statement.
“Both passengers were restrained and, upon arrival in Doha, were handed over to local authorities.”
Media reports said the men made violent threats towards passengers and crew, including claiming they had a gun.
A passenger on the plane told Nine newspapers the men were repeatedly getting in and out of their seats and later began arguing and fighting.
WA police hunting for two men after shooting in Perth’s south-western suburbs
Western Australian police have said a man had been shot at a residence on Owen Place in Hamilton Hill, around 4.35am this morning.
In a statement, police and St John WA responded and provided emergency first aid to the victim.
The man has been conveyed by St John WA to hospital with serious injuries. Police believe two males, dressed in all black clothing, were involved in the shooting.
Significant police resources have been deployed and are conducting a thorough search of the area.
Members of the public are asked to stay away from the area. Those in the area are advised to lock their doors and windows and remain inside.
Police said anyone who sights the two men or sees any suspicious behaviour is urged not to approach the men, but to call police via Triple Zero immediately.
We will update when we have more information.
Bowen: Conflict in Middle East will impact fuel prices in Australia
We’ll be hearing from federal politicians later this morning but before we do, a quick update on one of the big challenges to the global economy: fuel security.
Conflict in the Middle East is again placing pressure on the supply of crucial oil exports. On Friday, Saudi authorities said drones launched from Iraq led to a temporary closure of a crucial oil export route used to bypass the lockdown of the strait of Hormuz.
Nearly 50,000 people have also fled a sudden advance by Houthi forces in western Yemen, with entire villages emptied and families trapped near frontline fighting with depleting food supplies, according to aid workers.
On Saturday, the energy minister, Chris Bowen, sought to reassure Australians about the nation’s supply reserves. He said Australia had 41 days worth of petrol in strategic reserve and 42 days worth of diesel:
The situation is getting worse in the Middle East. The dispute involving Saudi Arabia and the Houthis and the ongoing war in Iran is doing nothing to improve the fuel supply around the world and is pushing up prices of oil.
We’re seeing that in the markets even overnight, and that will inevitably also flow through to Australia. However, the Australian government will remain firmly focused on ensuring our fuel security, just as we have for the last more than six months since this crisis began.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. Cait Kelly with you for the day.
