Sussan Ley ‘undermined’ by colleagues, Albanese says
Sarah Basford Canales
Anthony Albanese says former opposition leader, Sussan Ley was “undermined” by conservative colleagues, Angus Taylor and Andrew Hastie, during her 276-day tenure in the seat.
Speaking to Hit 104.9, which covers Ley’s southern NSW electorate of Farrer, the prime minister criticised the Coalition’s recent internal turmoil while praising his own side of politics. Albanese said:
double quotation markFrom day one, she was undermined by Angus Taylor and Andrew Hastie and a range of them who weren’t really working to try to get her success in the party. …
It’s, I think, unfortunate that politics can be a pretty rough game, and that [Ley] was elected by the Liberal party caucus, fair and square, she was the leader, but never even got to give a budget reply. I don’t know if that’s happened before. I’m not sure, but certainly she didn’t even get one year in the office, which is pretty rough.
Sussan Ley and Anthony Albanese. Photograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 17.49 EST
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Butler criticises Coalition push to criminalise assistance for families linked to Islamic State
Health minister Mark Butler said the opposition’s policy to criminalise any assistance granted to the women and children of Islamic State fighters in Syria wasn’t serious, labelling it a “grab for a headline” that could potentially punish aid workers, AAP reports.
Butler told ABC TV this morning “all we’ve seen is newspaper articles about (the policy)”, adding:
double quotation markNo serious content about what appears to be some plans to try and criminalise the work of aid organisations like Save the Children.
We’re focused instead on applying the strict letter of the law.
The opposition’s proposal would apply in circumstances where the government has given “express permission” for repatriation to occur.
The federal government has ruled out any efforts to repatriate the group.
ShareSussan Ley ‘undermined’ by colleagues, Albanese saysSarah Basford Canales
Anthony Albanese says former opposition leader, Sussan Ley was “undermined” by conservative colleagues, Angus Taylor and Andrew Hastie, during her 276-day tenure in the seat.
Speaking to Hit 104.9, which covers Ley’s southern NSW electorate of Farrer, the prime minister criticised the Coalition’s recent internal turmoil while praising his own side of politics. Albanese said:
double quotation markFrom day one, she was undermined by Angus Taylor and Andrew Hastie and a range of them who weren’t really working to try to get her success in the party. …
It’s, I think, unfortunate that politics can be a pretty rough game, and that [Ley] was elected by the Liberal party caucus, fair and square, she was the leader, but never even got to give a budget reply. I don’t know if that’s happened before. I’m not sure, but certainly she didn’t even get one year in the office, which is pretty rough.
Sussan Ley and Anthony Albanese. Photograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 17.49 EST
Liberal senator says government should change laws to restrict some Australian citizens from coming home
Liberal senator Maria Kovacic says the Albanese government should do more to be able to restrict Australian citizens returning to Australia.
The senator’s comments come amid the new Coalition call to criminalise any assistance given to those with links to the Islamic State.
Kovacic told Sky News this morning:
double quotation markWe want to ensure that people who leave our country and go to terrorist hotspots, people who go there to support terrorist organisations or to support Islamic State or organisations or other terror listed organisations, and then who actually commit crimes over there … they can’t come back to Australia.
I’ve got a newsflash for the government. They are the government. They can change the law. If the law is not strong enough to keep Australians safe and to keep people out who actually hate Australian values and hate the Australian way of life, and who have left our country to fight for an alternate way of life, then we should change those laws.
Liberal senator Maria Kovacic. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShare
Updated at 17.35 EST
Petra Stock
Pollution from trucks and buses costs Australians $6.2bn in health effects each year, study finds
Air pollution from trucks and buses is costing Australians about $6.2bn each year due to the health effects of exposure to vehicle exhaust, a University of Melbourne study has found.
Like cigarette smoke, heavy vehicle exhaust is a mixture of tiny toxic carbon particles and gases that cause inflammation when inhaled, and is associated with a wide range of respiratory, heart and other health impacts, according to Dr Clare Walter a health and policy researcher and an author of the study.
Photograph: 3dan3/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Most Australians are exposed to traffic pollution on a daily basis. Proximity to roads and truck routes increases the health risks and some groups, like children, elderly people and disadvantaged populations, are more vulnerable, especially if they live, work or attend school or childcare near major truck routes.
Heavy diesel vehicles like trucks and buses account for a disproportionate share of the problem, making up about 4% of the vehicle fleet but one quarter of exhaust-related pollution.
Read more here:
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Amanda Meade
Here’s a tribute to Rowland from the ABC
ShareABC veteran Michael Rowland to leave broadcasterAmanda Meade
Michael Rowland has announced he is leaving the ABC after almost four decades on air, with 15 of those spent hosting ABC News Breakfast.
At the end of 2024 Rowland quit News Breakfast and has spent his final year as 7.30’s national affairs reporter, including as a fill-in host for Sarah Ferguson.
“I’ve marked 39 years in the last couple of weeks or so, and when you know, you know,” Rowland said on News Breakfast.
double quotation markI’ve had a great ride of the ABC, a charmed career, including back in the early days there at News Breakfast with Virginia [Trioli].
It’s just the right time for my family, my friends, just to step back from full-time work [and] move on to the next stage in life.
Michael Rowland. Photograph: ABC
Rowland joined the ABC in Sydney in February 1987 as a radio news cadet and covered state and federal politics. He was Washington correspondent and has anchored four presidential elections and multiple major events, including the death of Queen Elizabeth.
Updated at 16.42 EST
Major rail corridor connecting WA to South Australia and eastern states closed for at least a week
The East West rail line, a major outback transport network that connects South Australia and Western Australia, will be closed for at least seven days after heavy rain and flooding.
The rail corridor, which also provides a rail link between WA and the eastern states, was significantly affected by flooding, with track washaways of up to 100 metres in some areas, the Australian Rail Track Corporation said yesterday.
The body warned that while weather systems were slowly dissipating, heavy rain in the area could further affect part of the network and “may exacerbate existing damage and recovery efforts”.
Updated at 16.30 EST
Large parts of the country in for stormy, wet start to the week
Communities could be cut off and large parts of Australia disrupted by severe thunderstorms forecast to dump hundreds of millimetres of rain, but the big wet is not all bad news, AAP reports.
A low-pressure system sitting over central Australia is brewing a significant rain event expected to drag into the middle of the week, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned.
Across the four days until Wednesday, Sarah Scully, a BoM meteorologist, said the heaviest rainfall totals of between 150mm and more than 300mm were expected throughout central Australia, South Australia’s border district, Queensland and NSW.
But a “bull’s eye” around central Melbourne, with possible falls of more than 75mm, could potentially put out fires burning in Victoria, she said.
Severe thunderstorms and heavy rain are likely in central parts of Australia and north-west NSW on Monday, with flood warnings in place from northern Australia to northern parts of South Australia, extending into Queensland.
Severe Weather Update: Multi-day heavy rainfall event across large parts of Aus.
Video current as of 2:30pm AEDT 22 February 2026.
Know your weather. Know your risk.
For the latest forecasts and warnings, go to our website https://t.co/4W35o8iFmh or the BOM Weather app. pic.twitter.com/zFRxfYVg5i
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) February 22, 2026Share
Updated at 16.10 EST
Coalition details plan to criminalise assisting people with links to Islamic State
Ted O’Brien, the shadow minister for foreign affairs, is speaking this morning about a new opposition plan to make it a criminal offence to help Australians with links to the Islamic State to return home.
The proposal comes as lawmakers wrangle over the future of 34 women and children stuck in Syria with links to dead or detained Islamic State fighters.
The Albanese government said the country will not assist in repatriation efforts, but those in the group have been issued passports and travel documents as is required by law.
O’Brien told RN Breakfast the plan would close a loophole in the law, saying it would bar the government from “outsourcing the repatriation of terror sympathisers back to Australia”.
He said the proposal should apply “across the board”. When pressed if a new law would include barring anyone from helping children come home to Australia, O’Brien said there would be no “automatic exemption” for kids.
The shadow minister also said the law could penalise non-governmental organisations like Save the Children if they were “assisting foreign fighters, families or sympathisers of terrorists”.
Updated at 15.52 EST
Victoria warns residents to be on alert for measles
Victorian health officials are warning of an increased risk of measles in the state, especially metropolitan Melbourne, after local transmission of the virus in the city among people with no recent travel or known public exposure.
Vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself against measles.
Victoria’s acting chief health officer has pointed to a long list of public exposure sites, saying anyone who visited one during the times listed should monitor for symptoms for up to 18 days. Measles usually starts with fever, cough, a runny nose, sore eyes and a general feeling of being unwell. That’s usually followed by a rash that often starts on the face before spreading around the body.
A spate of summer international travel and a decline in childhood vaccination rates has seen cases rise around the country. Read more here:
Updated at 15.51 EST
Good morning
Nick Visser
Good morning, and happy Monday. Nick Visser here to get things started this week. Here’s what’s on deck:
Victoria is warning residents of an increased risk of measles in the state after local transmission of the virus in Melbourne among people with no recent travel or public exposure. Health officials have published a long list of exposure sites, warning people to monitor for symptoms.
Communities could be cut off and large parts of Australia disrupted by severe thunderstorms forecast to dump large amounts of rain. A weather system sitting over central Australia is expected to drag into the middle of the week, the Bureau of Meteorology warns.
The East West rail line, a major outback transport network, is currently closed after 24 hours of heavy rain and flooding caused track washaways of up to 100 metres in some places. The rail corridor connects South Australia with Western Australia and provides a rail link between WA with the eastern states.
Stick with us.