Wed 23 Sep 2026 at 9:40amWed 23 Sep 2026 at 9:40am
Libs dismiss One Nation deal as ‘figment’ of Joyce’s imagination
So how have Liberal MPs responded to Barnaby Joyce’s claim the party is in talks with One Nation for a confidence and supply deal?
Well, Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson dismissed it as a figment of Joyce’s imagination.
“I know that Angus Taylor and Matt Canavan have confirmed that that’s not the case. So, I think it’s a figment of his imagination,” he told News24.
“I get that he’s got regrets about joining One Nation. I do understand that. After betraying his community, his party, and his leader, I understand that.”
Liberal backbencher Simon Kennedy said he was willing to work with anyone to get rid of Labor but he did not think the opposition would formalise a coalition with One Nation.
Shadow Housing Minister Andrew Bragg doesn’t think so either.
“I don’t think we’re seeking to have any formal alliances with anyone else,” he told ABC’s Radio National Breakfast.
Wed 23 Sep 2026 at 9:07amWed 23 Sep 2026 at 9:07am
Bragg defends decision to go it alone on call for super rethink
(ABC News: Matt Roberts)
Liberal frontbencher Andrew Bragg has defended his call for a superannuation rethink after suggesting retirement savings should be able to used as collateral for a mortgage.
The shadow housing minister pushed the idea, among others, in a speech yesterday where he called for a debate about super being used for home ownership.
Such a proposal has not been adopted by the shadow cabinet. Bragg says the debate is occurring internally within the Coalition but that shouldn’t stop him.
“It’s important in public life not to waste the time you’ve been given by the people. And I think it’s critical that we gets the facts out there because, as I say, the Labor Party is desperate to run a scare campaign.”
Wed 23 Sep 2026 at 8:53amWed 23 Sep 2026 at 8:53am
‘We live in a free society’: Bragg fine with US intervention in algorithm reforms
Coalition frontbencher Andrew Bragg has echoed the Trump administration’s “censorship” concerns, after the US embassy’s rare submission to the government’s draft duty of care laws.
“I think there is a risk of censorship. There is a risk of bestowing too much power onto unelected bureaucrats,” Bragg told ABC Radio National Breakfast.
“There is a risk of too much regulation, which may not actually have any great impact on our economy or our society. So I have to say I share some of the concerns, but obviously Australia will make its own judgments on these things.”
The Coalition has previously aired concerns about the proposed changes, saying they give a “blank cheque for political censorship” to the minister in charge, and warning they pose a threat to free speech.
When asked if it was appropriate for the US to be weighing in on our domestic laws, Bragg said it wasn’t unusual for Australia to hear from other countries in relation to legislative reform.
“I think it’s fine. I mean, we live in a free society, or at least we used to, and people are allowed to express a view. Maybe they’ll be censored by the new laws,” he said.
Wed 23 Sep 2026 at 8:49amWed 23 Sep 2026 at 8:49am
Was the government’s migration policy modelled?
Daniel Mulino was unable to say whether the government modelled the impact of the government’s migration re-think on wages and employment.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke last week released the long-awaited plan to tighten visa rules for international students and backpackers while cracking down on efforts to remove overstayers.
The assistant treasurer told ABC’s Radio National Breakfast there was “rigorous” consideration to the impact of the policy as he sidestepped repeated questions on if the policy had been modelled.
“What I would say is that this is a policy that balances the need to bring migration down to sustainable levels with the broader economic impacts,” he says.
“And that’s the appropriate frame in which this should be considered.”
Wed 23 Sep 2026 at 8:34amWed 23 Sep 2026 at 8:34am
Housing needs own policy not just a super re-think: Mulino
Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino has taken a whack at the opposition’s “strange” policy process after the shadow housing minister floated using super as collateral for a mortgage.
Liberal frontbencher Andrew Bragg set the cat among the pigeons yesterday with the idea, something both he and leader Angus Taylor clarified was not opposition policy.
Speaking with ABC’s Radio National Breakfast this morning, Mulino said he was “not impressed” with Bragg’s latest thought bubble.
“But interestingly with all of these ideas, Angus Taylor is sitting on the sidelines, saying he’s got an open mind. So none of these ideas seem to come forward with any official support or sanction from shadow cabinet or leadership,” he says.
“It’s a very strange process. There’s very little modelling, there’s very little process, there’s very little genuine policy rigour, but there’s also — it doesn’t seem to be any kind of authorisation from the top.
“I’m not impressed at all with the latest round of ideas.”
Mulino says the issue of housing and homeownership needs to be dealt with through dedicated policy, not through a rethink of retirement savings.
Wed 23 Sep 2026 at 8:21amWed 23 Sep 2026 at 8:21am
Mulino doesn’t see problem with US intervention in digital duty of care
Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino has been asked about the United States’s rare intervention over draft digital duty of care legislation.
Late yesterday the Trump administration warned the legislation would be an “extraterritorial censorship of protected speech” and called on Australia to exclude US social media companies from plans to give users more choice about their algorithms.
“I would expect … that we would apply this to digital platforms no matter where their origin is,” Mulino told ABC Radio National Breakfast.
“I certainly don’t see a problem with the US or other governments expressing views around novel policy developments.”
He said some of the criticism about the proposed reforms didn’t acknowledge that social media users would be given a choice to opt in or out of the algorithm.
“We have highlighted the need for protections in relation to what can at times be addictive algorithms, algorithms that can create harm,” he said.
Wed 23 Sep 2026 at 8:17amWed 23 Sep 2026 at 8:17am
Albanese declines to directly respond to Trump’s speech
US President Donald Trump rejected a push from a coalition of middle powers, including Australia, for tougher AI controls.
In a speech to the UN General Assembly, Trump declared the US would not stifle the development of the technology.
Asked what he made of the address, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese didn’t want to directly respond to the speech.
“We have put forward a strong position … I’m proud of what we have done on social media and the fact that the European Union have now announced major reform as well, joining the more than 20 countries who’ve taken action,” he says.
Pressed if he was disappointed by Trump’s rejection for internationally coordinated safeguards, Albanese took a wait and see approach.
“We’ll wait and see what comes out of the meeting between President Trump and President Xi [Jinping]. It’s good that they’re meeting and it’s good that this is on the agenda.”
Albanese will attend a welcome reception hosted by Trump shortly. The PM says he looks forward to engaging with the president there.
Wed 23 Sep 2026 at 7:26amWed 23 Sep 2026 at 7:26am
Albanese meets with UK PM Andy Burnham
By pool reporter Andrew Brown in New York
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has held his first face-to-face meeting with British counterpart Andy Burnham, who took the top job in July.
Meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Albanese joked that he was pleased Burnham had made good on his agreement to become a South Sydney NRL supporter.
Onto more serious matters, he also noted AUKUS was central to ties between the two countries.
Burnham complimented Albanese for the work he’d done on the teen social media ban, noting the UK would take its own approach to getting teens off the platforms.
Albanese developed a close relationship with Burnham’s predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer, during his time in office.
Wed 23 Sep 2026 at 7:14amWed 23 Sep 2026 at 7:14am
Trump weighs ‘big decision’ on Iran, rejects AI push in major UN speech on ‘American power’
US President Donald Trump has used a speech at the UN to portray “American power” as the solution to the world’s problems, defending his ongoing war with Iran and declaring he now must decide whether to “annihilate” the Islamic Republic.
Trump also said the US would reject any international scheme to put controls on artificial intelligence.
The comment came just a day after 22 world leaders, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, signed a statement calling for global guardrails.
You can read the rest of Brad Ryan’s report of Trump’s address to the UN at the link below.
Wed 23 Sep 2026 at 7:08amWed 23 Sep 2026 at 7:08am
Opening of UNGA is people watching on steroids as world leaders roll in
On the floor of the iconic United Nations General Assembly hall, the world’s most powerful people and their aides are brought to attention by a man carving his way through the crowd enthusiastically, waving a brass handbell above his head.
The opening session of the 81st General Assembly has begun. It is the largest gathering of leaders in one place and was set up to maintain and enforce international rules in the aftermath of World War II. In 2026, it’s under serious strain from superpowers rewriting the rules in their favour.
From the gallery overlooking the circular hall — for the journalists (including this correspondent) lucky enough to have secured a ticket — it’s people watching on steroids.
(ABC News: Jane Norman)
Anthony Albanese shakes hands with Canada’s Mark Carney before Julie Bishop — former foreign minister and now special envoy on Myanmar — makes a surprise appearance and sidles up beside him for a chat.
Once seated (on the same table as Austria and two rows behind Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine), Albanese and Penny Wong are joined by Australia’s ambassador to the UN, James Larsson, ambassador to the US Greg Moriarty, the PM’s international adviser Rod Hilton and DFAT boss Jan Adams.
Everyone patiently listens to UN secretary-general António Guterres’s defiant final address (for which he was given a standing ovation), and then Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, (who gets top billing due to longstanding tradition) before the man everyone is here for, Donald Trump, enters the room.
Ninety minutes late, he walks straight up to the rostrum. And now, the show begins.
Wed 23 Sep 2026 at 7:02amWed 23 Sep 2026 at 7:02am
Albanese meets with Korean counterpart
Reporting by pool reporter Katina Curtis in New York.
Anthony Albanese has met Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the Korean Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
The meeting was preceded by an extended negotiation between officials over whether the leaders would shake hands twice or once for media and protocol purposes.
Lee greeted Albanese by asking when he had arrived in New York.
Speaking via a translator, Lee then noted that due to the ongoing conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, Korea had faced “various challenges” with energy supply chain disruptions.
“But thanks to the help and cooperation of Australia, our energy market has been stabilised,” he said.
(Supplied: Katina Curtis)
Albanese thanked him for the warm welcome and said Australia and Korea were “great friends” who shared a similar world view of support for multilateral institutions, security and stability.
“We rely upon each other as well for economic security. Particularly, we regard the role that we play in supplying secure energy to Korea as being very important,” he said.
Albanese ended his remarks by saying he looked forward to welcoming Lee to Australia early next year.
They shook hands twice.
Wed 23 Sep 2026 at 6:53amWed 23 Sep 2026 at 6:53am
Good morning 👋
Hi friends. Welcome to our politics live blog. I’m Courtney Gould from the ABC’s Parliament House team, here to guide you through the day.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended the opening of the UN General Assembly overnight. On the sidelines, he just delivered a speech pushing Australia’s role as a “world leader” on digital regulation. He’s also met with several world leaders. More on that shortly.
Back at home, expect more reaction to the reignition of the superannuation battle this morning following Liberal frontbencher Andrew Bragg floating the possibility of people being able to use retirement savings as collateral for a mortgage.
It’s all happening, so let’s just jump in.
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