Updated at\u00a020.19 EDT<\/p>\n
Key events<\/p>\n
\u2018Wilful ignorance\u2019: Nampijinpa Price slams Hanson comments<\/p>\n
Northern Territory senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has accused Pauline Hanson of \u201cwilful ignorance\u201d after the One Nation leader labelled Indigenous Australians \u201cthe most primitive race on Earth\u201d, AAP reports.<\/p>\n
The prominent Indigenous conservative rebuked Hanson\u2019s comments, saying making Australia better was about working together rather than tearing people down on the basis of race.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you say \u2018the most primitive race on Earth,\u2019 you are speaking about a race of people,\u201d Pampijinpa Price told 2GB radio on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
double quotation markI don\u2019t care what excuses are being made. She did absolutely demonstrate wilful ignorance because there\u2019s a hell of a lot more to Australia\u2019s First people than simply what her remarks suggest.<\/p>\n
The One Nation leader made the comments during an interview with the Jamie J podcast in 2025, when she criticised the study of Indigenous history and culture in schools.<\/p>\n
Earlier this morning, the minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy said it was notable that she, Nampijinpa Price, Liberal senator Kerrynne Liddle and independent senator, Lidia Thorpe had all spoken out against these comments.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a>Queensland to ban \u2018activists\u2019 and \u2018green groups\u2019 from objecting to mining projects \u201cActivists\u201d and \u201cgreen groups\u201d will be banned from objecting to Queensland mining projects, under new legislation to be introduced into parliament today.<\/p>\n Queensland\u2019s minister for natural resources, Dale Last, announced the move this morning.<\/p>\n He said it will amend the objection process so that \u201cactivists, often based thousands of kilometres away in green groups, many funded by foreign overseas entities,\u201d will no longer be eligible to have a say under the act. Last told Queensland parliament:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe made a commitment that we would streamline approvals, restore confidence, and provide certainty \u2013 certainty for proponents, communities, local landholders, businesses, and workers. It\u2019s about getting to a yes or a no faster, and we\u2019re doing just that.<\/p>\n The bill will also put a stop to vexatious claims and remove regulatory duplication between mining and environmental legislation, he said.<\/p>\n double quotation markYou only need to look at the debacle of the long-running legal battle that the New Ackland coalmine expansion<\/a> experienced to understand that this process has to change.<\/p>\n The bill has yet to be tabled.<\/p>\n The LNP cancelled a review<\/a> of the system by the Queensland Law Reform Commission last year. It has also cracked down on the planning approvals system for windfarms<\/a>.<\/p>\n Queensland minister for natural resources and mines, Dale Last. Photograph: Jono Searle\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.53 EDT<\/p>\n Ask us anything! <\/p>\n Do you have a question you\u2019d like to ask political editor Tom McIlroy this week?<\/p>\n Send us a question and get your answer in our brand new newsletter, Politics, really.<\/p>\n Email your question to Politicsreally@theguardian.com<\/a>, and don\u2019t forget to sign up for the newsletter here.<\/a><\/p>\n Trust me, it\u2019s great!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.46 EDT<\/p>\n National framework for defining affordable housing supported by advocates<\/p>\n Advocacy group National Shelter has welcomed a move to establish a nationally consistent definition of \u201caffordable housing\u201d, but says a definition won\u2019t solve the housing crisis.<\/p>\n On Monday, the member for Bradfield, Nicolette Boele, introduced a bill that would tie the definition of affordable housing to what households actually earn, and attach it to commonwealth housing programs and funding agreements.<\/p>\n CEO of National Shelter, Jackson Hills, said the organisation supported the bill:<\/p>\n double quotation markFor too long, affordable housing has been defined differently across programs, jurisdictions, and policy settings. Establishing a consistent framework would strengthen policy development, improve transparency and support more effective measurement of housing outcomes over time.<\/p>\n While a nationally recognised definition is an important foundation, definitions alone will not solve the housing crisis. Affordable rental housing delivered at scale can reduce pressure on overstretched social housing waiting lists by providing viable housing options for low- and moderate-income households.<\/p>\n Over the next two decades, Australia must move beyond definitions and accelerate the policies, programs and investments needed to grow Affordable Rental Housing at scale across the country.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.40 EDT<\/p>\n Queensland to introduce new crackdown on parole Queensland\u2019s state government has flagged a new crackdown in the state\u2019s parole system.<\/p>\n The legislation is set to be introduced into state parliament today by the minister for corrective services, Laura Gerber.<\/p>\n Gerber said it will expand the type of people who can be covered by the state\u2019s restricted prisoner laws, which permit a person serving a life sentence to be banned from release for a decade.<\/p>\n At the moment the parole board can only issue a ban to a person who murders more than one person, or a child. Gerber told parliament they will now apply to all people sentenced to life, an unlimited number of times.<\/p>\n double quotation markUnder our laws, the rights of victims and community safety will be the paramount consideration for all parole decisions, as it always should have been.<\/p>\n The parole board must be empowered to deliver decisions in line with community expectations that put victims and the safety of Queenslanders first, and that is exactly what these laws will deliver.<\/p>\n The legislation comes on new legislation making it more difficult<\/a> for some people accused of crimes to get bail.<\/p>\n Queensland MP Laura Gerber. Photograph: Darren England\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.38 EDT<\/p>\n Australia rises as US plunges in world democracy report<\/p>\n The rise of independents and teals and an underage social media ban have helped boost Australia\u2019s ranking in one of the world\u2019s leading democracy indexes, AAP reports.<\/p>\n At the same time, the United States\u2019 standing has plummeted, with the Trump-era ransacking of institutions and standards dropping one of democracy\u2019s leading lights to the ranks of also-rans.<\/p>\n The annual Global State of Democracy report, released on Tuesday, rates Australia very well across its assessment matrix.<\/p>\n Sweden-based organisation International IDEA charts nations across four main categories \u2013 representation, rights, rule of law, and participation \u2013 to assess their democratic health.<\/p>\n Overall, it\u2019s ugly reading \u2013 autocracies and repressive forces appear to be winning. For the 11th straight year, the report finds more countries recorded declines rather than improvements.<\/p>\n The most extensive global decline was in freedom of expression, with drops in a quarter of the 173 surveyed countries.<\/p>\n Judicial independence is at a 36-year-low globally, while press freedom and access to justice are at their lowest levels this century.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.33 EDT<\/p>\n In pics: boy meets the PM after walking 500km for rural paediatric care<\/p>\n There are some genuinely inspiring and incredible people that walk through the halls of parliament, and today that\u2019s 12-year-old Dusty Langby with his mum, Sarah, who have just completed a more than 540km walk to Canberra.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve been raising money for charity Little Wings and awareness to deliver paediatric care to bush communities, walking from the town of Warren, north-west of Dubbo in New South Wales to Capital Hill. Little Wings provides free flights and transportation for seriously ill children and their families in regional and remote areas.<\/p>\n Dusty, his mum, and nurses Christine Letton and Nichole Callan (who also made the journey by foot) met with Anthony Albanese in his office.<\/p>\n The government has this morning committed more than $1m to the charity.<\/p>\n In a statement, Albanese said Dusty\u2019s journey has been \u201cextraordinary\u201d:<\/p>\n double quotation markMy government will match every dollar Dusty has raised so his incredible effort can make an even bigger difference. On top of that, my Government will invest another $1 million to keep Little Wings flying and help regional families get their children the care they need. Dusty has shown that you\u2019re never too young to make a difference and we\u2019re proud to back Little Wings and the work they do.<\/p>\n Anthony Albanese meets with Sarah Langby (mum), Dusty Langby and Nichole Callan (nurse) at Parliament House in Canberra. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAPDusty Langby, Sarah Langby and registered nurses Nichole Callan and Christine Letton walked more than 500km from Warren in regional north-west NSW. Photograph: Hilary Wardhaugh\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.20 EDT<\/p>\n People over 40 the largest single age group in share house accommodation<\/p>\n Share housing has stopped being a stage people pass through, with people in their early 20s now in the minority, according to research conducted by Homerun, an app that manages share house expenditure.<\/p>\n The study of 3,562 Australians living in or hosting a share house revealed that the largest single age group in Australian share accommodation is people aged 40 and over, who make up 44% of respondents.<\/p>\n Key findings were:<\/p>\n 17% already own a home and let rooms in it, rising to 26% of the over 40s.<\/p>\n 35% have shared for five years or more, and 18% for more than 10.<\/p>\n 69% did not expect, at 20, to still be share housing at their current age.<\/p>\n 31% never expect to own a home. A further 11% put ownership more than a decade away.<\/p>\n 75% say the high cost of housing has extended how long they will keep sharing.<\/p>\n Scott Mckeon, founder of Homerun said:<\/p>\n double quotation markSharehouses are underrepresented and underserviced. Co-living with people you are not related to comes with its own problems, and very little is built for them.<\/p>\n Running a household is work, and it is harder between independent adults. Splitting the finances, agreeing on what clean means, keeping the shared things stocked, and finding someone new when a housemate moves out.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.20 EDT<\/p>\n Drug dogs on Oxford Street causing risks for LGBTQ+, advocates say<\/p>\n Redfern Legal Centre has condemned repeated raids by NSW police on Oxford Street venues as alleged harassment of the LGBTQ+ community that fails to disrupt drug supply while causing real social harm and health risks.<\/p>\n Over the weekend, police with drug-detection dogs were seen at several venues with people asked to remove clothing and questions about why people were in bathrooms.<\/p>\n RLC\u2019s police accountability practice lead, Rian Terrell, said:<\/p>\n double quotation markNSW police\u2019s repeated decisions by NSW Police to deploy drug dogs to target patrons of venues on Oxford Street amount to [alleged] targeted harassment of the LGBTQIA+ community.<\/p>\n This is particularly concerning given the police watchdog, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, directed NSW Police to reopen a misconduct investigation into its actions targeting Sydney LGBTQIA+ venues just last month.<\/p>\n That NSW Police chose to raid Oxford Street again, when that investigation has not concluded, raises further concerns about NSW Police lack of accountability.<\/p>\n Use of drug dogs, wide scale strip searches and searches do little to disrupt drug supply and deter drug use.<\/p>\n The 2024 NSW Drug Summit made several recommendations, including related to the use of drug dogs, many of which have not been accepted or implemented by the NSW Government.<\/p>\n Oxford Street, Sydney, Australia. Photograph: Blake Sharp-WIggins\/The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.20 EDT<\/p>\n \u2018No plans\u2019 for further fuel excise cut, says Marles<\/p>\n The calls for another cut to the fuel excise are again growing as petrol prices continue growing, but the government is hosing down speculation of price relief.<\/p>\n Labor said the previous cuts to the excise were always designed to be temporary.<\/p>\n The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, told News24 earlier:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe don\u2019t have plans for it. We are watching what\u2019s playing out in the Middle East, clearly \u2026 Our focus has been in respect of ensuring fuel supply in Australia, and we\u2019ve been able to do that from the moment that this conflict broke out.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> One Nation abandons gas plan in favour of policy benefiting Rinehart<\/p>\n One Nation has come under fire for quietly shelving support for a new domestic gas reservation policy in preference for a policy that favours the party\u2019s billionaire patron, Gina Rinehart<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Albanese government has announced it will establish a new reservation policy<\/a> for Australia\u2019s east coast, requiring gas exporters to supply a portion of the gas they produce to the domestic market. The policy is aimed at \u201cmodestly\u201d supplying the domestic market to put downward pressure on prices for consumers.<\/p>\n Pauline Hanson moved a Senate motion as recently as March in support of a domestic gas reserve, saying it would \u201cincrease the supply of gas and lower the price of electricity directly\u201d.<\/p>\n But the reservation plan has been vehemently opposed by Senex, a $900m company that is 49% owned by Rinehart\u2019s Hancock Prospecting, and 51% owned by the Korean company Posco.<\/p>\n In June, One Nation<\/a> abandoned its longstanding support when it unveiled its gas plans after \u201cconsultation with industry and stakeholders\u201d, saying the policy risked \u201ckilling domestic Australian gas companies\u201d.<\/p>\n Read the full story here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.21 EDT<\/p>\n \u2018Up to the Coalition\u2019 to team up with Labor on immigration, Chris Bowen says Chris Bowen says that Labor is willing to work with the opposition to bring down immigration levels, while adding it was \u201cup to the Coalition\u201d to pass legislation on it.<\/p>\n The energy minister was asked on Monday\u2019s 7.30 program about reports that the prime minister and opposition leader, Angus Taylor, had met last week to discuss a Coalition proposal to link net overseas migration to housing completion<\/a>.<\/p>\n Immigration has been a hotly contested issue within the Labor party, which culminated late last month when the prime minister announced a backflip<\/a> on proposed cuts to Australia\u2019s refugee intake.<\/p>\n Bowen said if the Coalition wanted to see immigration settings \u201cbrought down and improved, we are happy to work with them\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markWe need the legislative pathway through the Senate in particular to get that done \u2026 Ultimately, the Coalition has to decide. Do they really just want to talk about immigration or do they want to actually vote for improvements to immigration? \u2026 If you want to be a party of government, it does need coming together from time to time to work on difficult issues.<\/p>\n Pressed on whether Labor backed the housing idea, Bowen maintained \u201cwhat we need to do is get immigration down\u201d after post-Covid peaks and said there was \u201cmore work to do\u201d.<\/p>\n Chris Bowen. Photograph: Hollie Adams\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.14 EDT<\/p>\n Campuses would shut down under One Nation plan, university peak body warns<\/p>\n Universities Australia warns One Nation\u2019s plan to drastically cut down international students will lead to campuses shutting down, and domestic students missing out.<\/p>\n Pauline Hanson\u2019s plan, released yesterday, suggested cutting the international student intake down to 100,000 visas per year and graduate visas down to 20,000 \u2013 a cut of more than 200,000 on current levels.<\/p>\n The Universities Australia boss, Luke Sheehy, accused One Nation of \u201cjoining the conga line in this furphy\u201d and blaming international students in the migration debate.<\/p>\n He told ABC News:<\/p>\n double quotation markIf numbers actually materialised as One Nation proposed \u2026 you would see university campuses shut down, Australian students unable to get a place at university and thousands of university workers have their jobs put at risk.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.19 EDT<\/p>\n Marles downplays reports of OpenAI ultimatum over copyright<\/p>\n Richard Marles says reporting that OpenAI has issued an ultimatum to Australia \u2013 that the government must water down copyright protections or the company will refuse to invest in domestic AI training or renewable energy \u2013 is overstated.<\/p>\n Marles says he recently met OpenAI\u2019s Sam Altman and Anthropic\u2019s Dario Amodei in San Francisco and the fact that they want copyright protection for creatives watered down is \u201cnot news\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markI think that\u2019s overstating, actually, the comments that have been made \u2026 It\u2019s not new that there are challenges in respect of copyright, which has been raised by those companies. All of this was articulated by the prime minister in his speech in July.<\/p>\n We do want to see our country take this opportunity. It\u2019s a historic opportunity for our nation, but we need to be doing it in a way which protects rights holders \u2013 and that means news organisations, it means creatives. But actually, I think you can do both.<\/p>\n Asked if that language used was \u201cthreatening\u201d the government, Marles replies:<\/p>\n double quotation markWell, I actually don\u2019t think it\u2019s at the level that you\u2019ve described it. I mean, I think the person in question was making the point that copyright is an issue which needs to be looked at in the context of OpenAI doing training in Australia. That\u2019s not news.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.21 EDT<\/p>\n Defence recruitment goes online and reaches a 16-year high in Australia<\/p>\n Recruit smarter, not harder, says the deputy PM and defence minister, Richard Marles, announcing the highest defence recruitment intake in 16 years.<\/p>\n He credits a lot of it to meeting young people where they\u2019re at \u2013 which is of course, online.<\/p>\n (I guess the release of Top Gun: Maverick itself in 2022 didn\u2019t do enough to cajole people to join the air force.)<\/p>\n Marles tells News24:<\/p>\n double quotation markIt\u2019s the largest defence force we\u2019ve now operated in a quarter of a century, and recruiting 8,100 people in a year as the largest intake in 16 years. And when we came to government, the defence force was shrinking \u2013 in the last year of the Coalition government it actually shrank by 1,400 people. So it is a big turnaround.<\/p>\n We are recruiting much smarter, we are doing our advertisements where young people actually are online \u2013 so we\u2019re doing less on TV, but more online, very much targeting young people where they are.<\/p>\n Marles adds that the time it takes to be recruited \u2013 between expressing interest and putting on a uniform \u2013 is also decreasing, though he says it\u2019s still too long.<\/p>\n Richard Marles. Photograph: Kent Nishimura\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.38 EDT<\/p>\n Hanson should apologise for \u2018deeply hurtful\u2019 comments, says McCarthy<\/p>\n Malarndirri McCarthy says Pauline Hanson should apologise for resurfaced comments calling First Nations Australians \u201cprimitive\u201d.<\/p>\n The minister for Indigenous Australians says the condemnation of Hanson from across the political spectrum \u2013 including Indigenous Coalition senators Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Kerrynne Liddle, as well as independent Lidia Thorpe shows the breadth of hurt.<\/p>\n Asked whether the Senate would censure Hanson for the comments (something it has done previously), McCarthy says the One Nation leader should be upfront and apologise.<\/p>\n double quotation markI want to put it on the record that for the first time you have seen all four Indigenous senators from across the aisles come together united on this, and I think that speaks volumes as to why Senator Hanson should apologise.<\/p>\n Clearly the Senate can act, but I am personally calling out to Senator Hanson saying this is important. What you said is deeply hurtful. It\u2019s completely wrong. We have First Nations people right across Australia who have achieved tremendous skills, who have run for Australia, fought for Australia in the wars, who have excelled in the arts, in the music, in all sorts of spheres \u2026<\/p>\n Those comments were completely baseless. They harm. They dehumanise First Nations people in Australia.<\/p>\n Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy. Photograph: Hilary Wardhaugh\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.21 EDT<\/p>\n Whyalla closure \u2018nothing to do with energy prices\u2019, says Ayres<\/p>\n The industry minister, Tim Ayres has defended the government\u2019s energy transition, and swatted away criticisms from the opposition that the blast furnace failure at Whyalla is a result of high electricity prices.<\/p>\n He tells ABC\u2019s RN Breakfast:<\/p>\n double quotation markYesterday Matt Canavan and Andrew Hastie pointing to energy prices as a problem with the blast furnace, it\u2019s got nothing to do with that, it\u2019s got nothing to do with the regulatory framework. It\u2019s got everything to do with the previous owner who has underinvested in that facility.<\/p>\n Ayres is also asked how much money was spent to fix the blast furnace whose closure was announced yesterday \u2013 resulting in the loss of more than 500 jobs. He doesn\u2019t have an answer but says it would be in the \u201cmany millions\u201d.<\/p>\n Ayres says it\u2019s hard to separate at this point how much taxpayer money was spent to keep it afloat against the money supporting the rest of the operation.<\/p>\n double quotation markIn terms of fixing the old furnace, it would be many millions of dollars have gone into \u2026 I don\u2019t have the number pulled out of the funding for the administration, because of course, the administration supports all of the workers\u2019 wages as well. And it\u2019s pretty hard, I think, today to disaggregate that expenditure.<\/p>\n There have been hundreds of safety and engineering failures as a consequence of the previous owners\u2019 maladministration and underinvestment. It has been all hands to the pump here since February, and in particular over the last six months or so, these efforts around the blast furnace, when everybody knew that there wasn\u2019t a forever future for the blast furnace, this has been a heroic effort.<\/p>\n Tim Ayres. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.21 EDT<\/p>\n Hanson comments about Indigenous Australians \u2018appalling\u2019, says Duniam<\/p>\n Jonno Duniam has also been asked to weigh in on resurfaced comments by Pauline Hanson about Indigenous Australians.<\/p>\n Duniam tells RN Breakfast the comments are \u201cappalling\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markWhat an appalling comment to make, frankly, to lump an entire group of people together and just cast them in that way. I don\u2019t know who in a leadership position in this country thinks that\u2019s okay \u2026 But Pauline Hanson, in one fell swoop, has decided to say everyone who is of Indigenous heritage is primitive.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t see how that is a conclusion you can reach. And I think it says more about Pauline than we had previously realised.<\/p>\n![\"Andrew](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789434499_435_Andrew_Messenger.png\")
Andrew Messenger<\/p>\n![\"Cait](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Cait_Kelly.png\")
Cait Kelly<\/p>\nAndrew Messenger<\/p>\nCait Kelly<\/p>\nCait Kelly<\/p>\n![\"Sarah](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Sarah_Martin_V2.png\")
Sarah Martin<\/p>\n![\"Caitlin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Caitlin_Cassidy.png\")
Caitlin Cassidy<\/p>\n