Australia news live: ‘ridiculous’ for Coalition to oppose hate speech laws, Burke says; Joyce compares inherited guns to a ‘lounge suite’ | Australia news
Coalition opposition to hate speech law after Bondi attack ‘ridiculous’, says Burke
Minister of Interior Tony Burke Bondi said MPs in Canberra should waste no time in taking action, saying the government would have “no more serious incentive to take action” on hate speech laws in the wake of the terror attack.
Burke spoke to RN Breakfast just days before the Labor government is set to introduce new legislation in the wake of the mass shooting. Despite calling for an early return to parliament for weeks, the coalition expressed significant reservations about the bill, saying the timeline was too rushed.
Burke’s comeback this morning was “ridiculous”:
These arguments are completely ridiculous coming from the Liberal party, who have spent weeks calling for the early return of parliament and how urgently we need to legislate and now say ‘oh no, you’re rushing us’. …
I cannot for the life of me understand how the Liberal party came to actually oppose the legislation.
Burke was asked about the National Socialist Network, a neo-Nazi group that has claimed it will disband before a hate speech bill is introduced to parliament. The interior minister said:
Every day the Nazis back down is a good day. And if there is any evidence that this law is urgent and that we have struck a balance in what we put forward, it is that as soon as they saw this, the Nazis announced they were disbanding…
None of this means that the hatred in these individuals has disappeared, but it makes it increasingly difficult for them to organize.
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Barnaby Joyce says One Nation will not support gun reforms, calling proposals ‘disgusting’
One Nation Member of Parliament Barnaby Joyce He is now talking about the RN and saying that the party will not support the legislation that will be introduced to parliament next week. He said the gun reform bill would penalize “recreational pig hunters in rural areas” who had nothing to do with the Bondi attack.
He said:
This is not a bus accident, it’s a bus accident. It is a combination and permutation of a number of topics…
I think it’s pretty disgusting to drag them into this when they’ve done nothing but obey the law. And that’s how we see it here.
Joyce said people living in urban centers such as Sydney would not be affected by gun legislation because they generally do not own guns, so “they could easily be fooled into thinking this is a solution”.
He also lamented that for many people who own multiple guns, they are family heirlooms passed down from generation to generation, “like your lounge suite.”
Shadow minister argues proposed hate speech laws are ‘rushed’ but rejects hypocrisy
Susan McDonaldThe shadow resources minister said the Coalition had not yet decided on its support for hate speech laws and gun reform, but suggested the effort had been “very rushed and little consulted”.
McDonald told RN Breakfast: Tony Burke‘s claims that the opposition was hypocritical were “ridiculous”. He said:
We definitely called for the enactment of the law. We have called for parliament to be reformed because it is absolutely critical that we eliminate antisemitism and stamp out radical Islam in this country. This should be our laser-like focus.
This law does none of that, and recalling parliament is not a free pass to pass bad legislation.
She added she had criticisms of gun reform legislation, saying the broad scope of the proposed bills were an “omnibus bill” that was seeking “to do too much”.
These laws are important at the national level. They will impact every Australian. Therefore, we think it is reasonable to spend more time ensuring that they are fit for purpose and that there are no unintended consequences.
Burke says he will accept families’ wishes for Bondi footbridge, but thinks it will be removed
Tony Burke He said he supported the wishes of families and victims for the pedestrian bridge used in the Bondi attack, but he had feelings that the bridge should be removed in the first place.
He told RN:
I accept whatever the families want, but I have to say that right after the attack I told some people that I thought it would result in the removal of the bridge.
Premier of NSW, Chris MinnsHe said yesterday that he thought the bridge would be a “horrible reminder” if it remained standing and believed it should be demolished. Waverley council will discuss the development’s future at a meeting tonight.
Coalition opposition to hate speech law after Bondi attack ‘ridiculous’, says Burke
Minister of Interior Tony Burke Bondi said MPs in Canberra should waste no time in taking action, saying the government would have “no more serious incentive to take action” on hate speech laws in the wake of the terror attack.
Burke spoke to RN Breakfast just days before the Labor government is set to introduce new legislation in the wake of the mass shooting. Despite calling for an early return to parliament for weeks, the coalition expressed significant reservations about the bill, saying the timeline was too rushed.
Burke’s comeback this morning was “ridiculous”:
These arguments are completely ridiculous coming from the Liberal party, who have spent weeks calling for the early return of parliament and how urgently we need to legislate and now say ‘oh no, you’re rushing us’. …
I cannot for the life of me understand how the Liberal party came to actually oppose the legislation.
Burke was asked about the National Socialist Network, a neo-Nazi group that has claimed it will disband before a hate speech bill is introduced to parliament. The interior minister said:
Every day the Nazis back down is a good day. And if there is any evidence that this law is urgent and that we have struck a balance in what we put forward, it is that as soon as they saw this, the Nazis announced they were disbanding…
None of this means that the hatred in these individuals has disappeared, but it makes it increasingly difficult for them to organize.
Good morning
Nick Visser I’m here to tell you the news of the morning. Let’s dive in.
Peter Malinauskas defends criticism of Randa Abdel-Fattah
Caitlin Cassidy
Prime Minister of South Australia Peter MalinauskasHe expresses his criticism of the Palestinian writer and academic as follows: Randa Abdülfettah “it’s not about politics” but “it’s about questioning your conscience and doing what you think is right, consistent with a few basic principles.”
On Wednesday, lawyers acting on behalf of Abdülfettah made a speech. official statement of concern Accusing him of insulting the Prime Minister, he claims that the fallout from the cancellation of the 2026 event, which has also now been cancelled, is far from over.
Appearing on the ABC’s 7.30 program on Wednesday evening, the prime minister took particular aim at Abdel-Fattah’s comments on social media in 2024 that Zionists had “no right” to cultural security, describing it as “a pretty extraordinary idea that someone who wants to have freedom of expression for themselves too”.
Malinauskas said he began lobbying for Abdel-Fattah’s removal from the festival around Christmas, then had “a series” of conversations with the chairman of the board, which resulted in him writing a letter to the board on January 2 “defending” his point of view.
Asked if he was ready to go to court over his comments about Abdel Fattah, the prime minister said he “needs to examine my conscience and do what I believe is right”.
Ms. Randa Abdel-Fattah will do what she does and she has the right to take whatever action she wishes, but my responsibilities are to make sure that we do not unnecessarily escalate tensions in this country, especially in a time like post-Bondi, and more than that, to make sure that when we express our views, we do so in a respectful way.
Read our full story here:
Victorian student data hacked
Caitlin Cassidy
The state education department has confirmed that personal data of current and former Victorian students was compromised in a cyber attack.
On Wednesday, an external actor gained access to Victorian public school students’ information, including their names, email addresses, school name, year levels and encrypted passwords, through a school’s network.
A spokesperson for the department said in a statement that it was investigating the breach, working with cyber experts and government agencies, as well as communicating with schools “to ensure this does not disrupt students starting the 2026 school year.”
The safety and privacy of students is our top priority; We identified the point of the breach and implemented security measures, including temporarily disabling systems to ensure no further data could be accessed.
There is no evidence that the accessed data was made public or shared with other third parties.
The incident was reported to the relevant government institutions.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I Martin Farrer with the best night stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action shortly.
Prime Minister of South Australia Peter Malinauskasof his criticism on ABC’s 7.30 last night. Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah “it’s not about politics” but “it’s about questioning your conscience and doing what you think is right, consistent with a few basic principles.” The Palestinian Australian writer and academic has threatened to sue Malinauskas for defamation after the Adelaide writers festival was cancelled. More is coming.
The state’s education department confirmed last night that personal data of current and former Victoria students, including their names, email addresses, school names, year levels and encrypted passwords, had been exposed in a cyber attack.
Let’s get into it.
