![\"Canada's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/5265.jpg\")
Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney, left, and Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese shake hands as they leave parliament, Thursday, 5 March, 2026. Photograph: Adrian Wyld\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\nUpdated at\u00a020.02 EST<\/p>\n
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Canada \u201caspires\u201d for a ceasefire<\/p>\n
Will the leaders call for a ceasefire, asks a Canadian journalist? Today\u2019s press conference only allows three questions from Australian journalists and three from Canadian journalists travelling with Carney.<\/p>\n
Both leaders say that before a ceasefire can occur, attacks on civilians and on civil infrastructure have to stop.<\/p>\n
Carney says that the government \u201caspires\u201d for a ceasefire but that it\u2019s not yet the time for it.<\/p>\n
double quotation markTo see a situation where all the parties in this conflict must recognise the necessity, necessity to avoid attacks on civilians and on civil infrastructure, that is not given this stage.<\/p>\n
Albanese gives a similar answer and adds that there needs to be a \u201cde escalation of hostilities. Right now we have a spreading of hostilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Carney and Albanese questioned on escalation of Iran war<\/p>\n Onto questions, the ABC\u2019s Stephen Dziedzic asks the leaders how concerned they are about the escalation of war, and whether they\u2019re concerned about the actions of the US navy, after Carney called for a deescalation of conflict.<\/p>\n Albanese says the world wants to see a de-escalation, for Iran to stop its attacks over an increasing number of countries.<\/p>\n But he says that Australia wants to see the \u201cobjectives\u201d of the strikes by the US and Israel achieved.<\/p>\n double quotation markWe\u2019re seeing Gulf states that have not been involved attacked across the board, including the attacks on civilian and tourist areas as well. We also want to see the objectives achieved. I want to see the possibility of Iran getting a nuclear weapon removed once and for all. And I also want to see a removal of the ongoing threat that has been there for such a long period of time of Iran endangering peace and security and stability, not just in its own region but here in Australia.<\/p>\n Carney says he associates himself with Albanese\u2019s remarks, and points to the brutality of the Iranian regime, which has killed \u201cscores of Canadians\u201d.<\/p>\n The Canadian PM says he wants to see de-escalation but also says that has to come after those outcomes are achieved.<\/p>\n double quotation markWe want to see a broader de-escalation of these hostilities with a broader group of countries than just the direct belligerence involved. We recognise, we stress, that cannot be achieved unless we\u2019re in a position that Iran\u2019s ability to acquire a nuclear weapon, develop a nuclear weapon, and to export terrorism is ended. So that process must lead to those outcomes.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.12 EST<\/p>\n Albanese jokes that he looks forward to hosting Carney at The Lodge, and to look out for his dog, Toto, who \u201cwill hunt down who the weakest is in your pack to beg for food. I assure you she is not starving.\u201d<\/p>\n Carney responds that he too, after 48 hours in Australia, is also very much not starving, cue some diplomatic chuckles.<\/p>\n More seriously, Carney restates the cooperation and friendship between the two nations.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.04 EST<\/p>\n Albanese and Carney hold joint press conference<\/p>\n Fresh off his address to parliament, Carney joins Anthony Albanese for a press conference.<\/p>\n Albanese says the two countries have agreed to deepen ties on critical minerals, defence and security and AI.<\/p>\n Albanese points to:<\/p>\n double quotation markPursuing common positions on key critical minerals issues, increasing alignment between Australia\u2019s critical mineral strategic reserve and Canada\u2019s defence stockpiling regime, working together to shape emerging markets, as well as Australia joining Canada\u2019s G7 critical minerals production alliance.<\/p>\n He also announces a new annual emergency ministers meeting to boost cooperation on natural disasters.<\/p>\n During his address Carney earlier paid tribute to Australian firefighters who flew to Canada to help with wildfires in Alberta.<\/p>\n Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney, left, and Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese shake hands as they leave parliament, Thursday, 5 March, 2026. Photograph: Adrian Wyld\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.02 EST<\/p>\n Victorian minister says 140 labour hire companies issued notice to cancel licences<\/p>\n The Victorian transport infrastructure minister, Gabrielle Williams, says 140 labour hire companies have been issued notices to cancel their licences.<\/p>\n Speaking outside parliament this morning, she confirmed Victoria\u2019s Labour Hire Authority had issued a notice to an M Group subsidiary on Wednesday, flagging its intention to cancel the firm\u2019s labour hire licence:<\/p>\n double quotation markThat sets in train a process and if that final determination is upheld, M Group will be walked off any sites that they\u2019re on. I\u2019m advised that they are currently have a presence on the North East Link project. Obviously, the notification that was issued yesterday is a very meaningful step, and with a final determination come in, which may well change the presence of M Group on that site.<\/p>\n M Group was named in a report by corruption fighter Geoffrey Watson, tabled in the Queensland royal commission inquiry into the CFMEU. The report said gangland figure Mick Gatto owned several companies within the M Group and that it received favourable treatment from the construction union:<\/p>\n double quotation markGatto, of course, denies he owns the M Group companies, but that is transparently false. The attempts to conceal Gatto\u2019s involvement are crude.<\/p>\n The report described Gatto as a \u201cmalignant influence\u201d on the CFMEU for decades.<\/p>\n Earlier on Wednesday, another M Group company had its Gold Coast-based operation called out by the Queensland royal commission.<\/p>\n Williams denied that the Queensland inquiry influenced the Victorian Labour Hire Authority\u2019s actions:<\/p>\n double quotation markLet\u2019s be clear, the Labour Hire Authority has been squirreling away across a number of investigations, and we\u2019ve seen in recent days and weeks that bear fruit with the cancellation of now, I believe, over 140 licences .. the issuing of that notice yesterday was a part of a broader investigation that\u2019s been taking place over many months.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.47 EST<\/p>\n Privacy commissioner won\u2019t appeal Bunnings facial recognition ruling<\/p>\n Last month, the administrative review tribunal gave Bunnings the green light to use facial recognition technology<\/a> to detect previously banned people entering its stores, overturning a decision of the privacy commissioner.<\/p>\n The privacy commissioner, Carly Kind, confirmed today that she had not appealed the ruling (before the time to appeal expired), but said it\u2019s not a green light for every other business to rush out the technology.<\/p>\n Photograph: Stephen Coates\/Reuters<\/p>\n She said retailers have expressed a desire to deploy this technology, and had sought more certainty on how the Privacy Act operates with this emerging technology.<\/p>\n Kind said the ART decision provides clarity:<\/p>\n double quotation markThe tribunal\u2019s decision shows that Australian privacy law allows for the balancing of competing interests \u2013 the individual and public interests in privacy, on the one hand, and the need to protect public safety and address unlawful activity on the other.<\/p>\n Specific updates to existing guidance will be made to reflect the tribunal\u2019s decision and ensure that retailers have up-to-date information about our regulatory application of the law.<\/p>\n She said there will still be a \u201chigh bar\u201d for using facial recognition technology in Australia, and companies will need to undertake a detailed risk assessment before deploying it:<\/p>\n double quotation markRetailers should view the decision as a useful case study, rather than a green light for deployment of biometric technologies.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Minns tells budget estimates hearing pro-Palestine protests \u2018organised by a pack of communists\u2019<\/p>\n Returning to NSW budget estimates, the premier, Chris Minns, has lashed out at the organisers of a protest against a visit by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, which saw multiple protesters charged, and following which alleged police brutality is being investigated<\/a> by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (Lecc).<\/p>\n Upper house Labor members Sarah Kaine and Stephen Lawrence, among government MPs who attended the protest last month, as well as a pro-Palestine march on the Harbour Bridge last year, are on the estimates committee responsible for the premier\u2019s portfolio but have been absent from today\u2019s hearing. Lawrence has said conflict with police at the Herzog protest was \u201calmost inevitable\u201d<\/a> following protest laws enacted by the government.<\/p>\n NSW premier Chris Minns. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi\/AAP<\/p>\n Asked what advice was given to Labor MPs about attending rallies, Minns said at the committee hearing this morning he does not know whether advice was issued, but said members who attended the protest against Herzog had followed the law.<\/p>\n double quotation markI\u2019ve sort of grappled with this a lot over the last three years or two and a bit years. In my view, a lot of the protests that have taken place \u2013 I assume you\u2019re referring to the Palestinian Action Group protests \u2013 a lot of those protests have resulted in violent behavior, terrorist symbols, hate speech on Sydney streets. <\/p>\n But I also believe, I genuinely believe, that a lot of people have attended those marches with none of those intentions in place, that they\u2019ve tried to exercise their democratic right to freedom of speech and expression, and they\u2019re concerned about the circumstances relating to civilians in Gaza \u2026 They\u2019re not part of the Palestinian Action Group leadership. My dilemma is that those protests are organised by a pack of communists \u2026 intent on having a confrontation with police.<\/p>\n The Palestine Action Group has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.51 EST<\/p>\n We must build sovereign AI capability, Carney says<\/p>\n Continuing his address, Carney says AI is transforming economies and our lives and it will be crucial to develop sovereign AI and intelligence infrastructure.<\/p>\n He says Australia and Canada can work together on this, as Canada also partners with like-minded nations in Europe, and has a trilateral AI initiative with India.<\/p>\n double quotation markStrategic autonomy will require sovereign intelligence infrastructure, including secure clouds data, LLM models, enterprise applications. Canada can contribute here as well \u2026 We know we must work with others who share our values to build sovereign AI capabilities so we are not caught between the hyperscalers and the hegemons.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.15 EST<\/p>\n World can be shaped by middle powers, Carney says<\/p>\n Carney has been heralded for his speech about the rupture in the world order, which he made at Davos in Switzerland earlier this year.<\/p>\n He tells the parliament that middle powers can shape the world when they trust each other and that Australia and Canada are right to build up their defence and strategic capabilities, as well as sovereign AI.<\/p>\n He says Canada is building a \u201cdense web of connections to build our resilience\u201d, and that this is not a retreat from multilateralism but an \u201cevolution of it\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markMiddle powers like Australia and Canada hold this rare convening power, because others know we mean what we say, and we will match our values with our actions. This has been earned by those before us, throughout our history, and the question is now what do we do with it.<\/p>\n The world will always be shaped by great powers. But it can also be shaped by middle powers that trust each other enough to act with speed and purpose.<\/p>\n We need coalitions now to address immediate challenges, and as those coalitions work, they will help demonstrate the power of multilateralism and reinvigorate it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.04 EST<\/p>\n In pictures: Mark Carney addresses the parliament<\/p>\n Canadian prime minister Mark Carney delivers an address to members and senators in the House of Representatives. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAPAustralia and Canada are \u2018strategic cousins\u2019, says Carney. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAPBoth houses of parliament sit in the House of Representatives for Mark Carney\u2019s address. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.00 EST<\/p>\n Australia and Canada are \u2018strategic cousins\u2019, not competitors, Carney says<\/p>\n Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, says Australia and Canada will be stronger negotiating with major powers together, acting as \u201cstrategic cousins\u201d rather than competitors.<\/p>\n Carney is addressing the parliament, and begins by acknowledging the firefighters in the chamber who battled wildfires in his home state of Alberta in Canada last year, and says it\u2019s one of many testaments to the \u201cprofound friendship\u201d of the two countries.<\/p>\n Carney calls for greater cooperation on critical minerals, defence and trade and announces Australia would join the G7 critical minerals alliance.<\/p>\n double quotation markWith that global architecture now breaking down from consecutive crises, I have come to Australia to reaffirm our alliance and to suggest where we can go next. Because it is my fundamental belief \u2013 the result of an optimism I may have picked up from this great country \u2013 that from this rupture we can build something better, more prosperous, more resilient, more just \u2026<\/p>\n In the old world, and even to a degree today, the temptation has been to see ourselves as competitors. In this new world, we should be strategic collaborators.<\/p>\n![\"Benita](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772673249_575_Benita_Kolovos.png\")
Benita Kolovos<\/p>\n![\"Josh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Josh_Taylor.png\")
Josh Taylor<\/p>\n![\"Penry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772673249_901_Penry_Buckley.png\")
Penry Buckley<\/p>\n