Category Archives: Australian politics

One Nation boss called David Farley an ‘asshole’ in lead-up to Farrer byelection, text messages reveal

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Exclusive: Documents seen by Guardian Australia show that Kelvin Morton has also clashed with party HQ staff and Brisbane volunteers

One Nation’s general manager, Kelvin Morton – brought in by the party to improve its vetting processes – referred to David Farley as an “asshole” just days before Farley’s historic Farrer byelection win for the party in May.

In a series of text messages seen by Guardian Australia, Morton responds to a news article published in the Sydney Morning Herald about infighting among senior party figures over Farley’s previously undeclared support for the Labor party.

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British celebrities beat AI companies lobbying to get free use of their work. They have a warning for Australia

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‘People care about the songs, books and pictures that influence the critical moments in their lives,’ says the architect of the fightback in the UK

If you want to state the case against copyright reform in Australia, get Kylie Minogue’s phone number.

If there is one lesson to be learned from a similar battle in the UK, high-profile members of the creative industries make a difference. They get your argument on the front of newspapers, in the news bulletins and on social media.

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OpenAI hack on Australian government reveals anxiety at heart of global artificial intelligence dilemma

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As the UN warns traditional safeguards are ‘unravelling’, Donald Trump says he will encourage, not restrain, the AI race

When the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, sat down for an interview in the heart of Silicon Valley at the weekend he had known for two days that his was the first government known to have been attacked by a rogue AI agent.

He didn’t reveal the attack then, but he sounded a warning about the march of AI: “the risk is that AI develops in a way in which humans are no longer in control of what AI is producing.”

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Australia news live: Anthony Albanese says OpenAI agent hacked Medicare

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Follow the day’s news live

Anthony Albanese has revealed an artificial intelligence agent developed by OpenAI hacked Medicare in June.

The prime minister made the comments at the UN summit in New York.

This incident occurred in June this year and involved an Open AI agent gaining unauthorised access into the public-facing Medicare statistics reporting service portal, which is administered by Services Australia.

The AI agent accessed both public and non-public files.

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Property investors may pay less capital gains tax under Labor’s reforms, analysis suggests

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Researcher says public debate since May budget has overstated how much reforms will cost landlords and investors

Most property investors may end up paying less capital gains tax after Labor’s budget reforms, research based on an analysis of historical data suggests.

The e61 Institute’s analysis also found half of all landlords would have faced higher costs from the loss of negative gearing over the period from 2008 to 2025 if the new system had been in place, suggesting the tax reforms alone cannot explain a slump in investment demand.

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Australia investigating how F-35 fighter jet parts bound for US went missing in Hong Kong

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Disappearance of jet components sparks concern some of the program’s technology secrets could have been exposed

The Department of Defence is examining how F-35 fighter jet parts bound for the US from Australia were unexpectedly diverted to Hong Kong, the acting prime minister, Richard Marles, has said.

Marles said “very much everything that has occurred at the Australian end” would be reviewed, but claimed the technology parts were not “sensitive”, as first reported by Politico over the weekend.

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Australia news live: Chalmers says ‘monetised misogyny’ online fuelling DV; Greens say triple-zero run for ‘profits of corporations’

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Follow the day’s news live

Jim Chalmers was also asked earlier if the government would support a national royal commission into violence against women and children. He said the government had chosen to increase resourcing for child and family violence and domestic violence, adding to the ABC:

We’re trying to deal with the sources of all of this violence, whether it be more security in the housing system, whether it be the monetised misogyny that we see online – there are a whole range of factors feeding in here.

We do acknowledge that all of this violence is obviously entirely unacceptable. It’s horrific in every way. That’s why we’ve increased the resources and that’s why we all need to do better to do everything we can to make a difference here.

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Andrew Hastie says AI advised him to reply ‘congratulations!’ to man who planned to end life with assisted dying

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Liberal MP speaks of AI’s shortcomings as cyber chief tells inquiry the tech is needed to fend off ‘highly capable malicious cyber actors’

When a man with a terminal illness wrote to his local MP Andrew Hastie, telling him he planned on ending his own life with voluntary assisted dying, Microsoft Copilot suggested Hastie reply with “congratulations!”, “great to hear from you” or “that is wonderful news!”.

Hastie shared the episode at a parliamentary inquiry on Friday to underline the shortcomings of the American-run software as he called for AI run by Australians.

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Albanese government considers ‘world-leading’ ban on smart glasses in public offices and buildings

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Minister for public service says the devices pose ‘legitimate privacy and security concerns’ in commonwealth-run workplaces

The Albanese government is considering a “world-leading” ban on smart glasses in its offices and service centres as councils around Australia push the technology out of public spaces over privacy fears.

The government has avoided a sweeping ban on the import of the camera-equipped technology and encouraged individual workplaces to set their own rules.

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Health officials in turmoil over 11th-hour backflip on aged care algorithm override powers, emails reveal

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Ministers given emergency briefing about changes to algorithm decisions just three days before tool rollout

Senior health department officials were in turmoil before the rollout of an algorithm to determine funding packages for older Australians, after discovering legislation had been drafted so rigidly that the tool could not legally be overridden by aged care assessors.

Emails published under freedom of information (FoI) by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing show that, despite assessors long receiving reassurance from the department that they would have powers to change incorrect algorithm decisions, officials realised at the 11th hour this would violate proposed regulations.

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Pauline Hanson says she’s sorry ‘if I offended people’ with Indigenous Australians remarks

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One Nation leader had been condemned by figures from across the political spectrum over the resurfaced podcast comments

Pauline Hanson has made a qualified apology after describing Indigenous Australians as the “most primitive race on Earth”, saying she did not intend to upset people and said she was sorry “if I offended people”.

The One Nation leader has been under fire from figures across the political spectrum after the comments from a podcast released in September 2025 resurfaced.

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Pauline Hanson’s comments about Indigenous Australians condemned as ‘nasty’ and ‘derogatory’

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Indigenous senators have criticised One Nation leader saying the comments showed ‘wilful ignorance’

Federal parliamentarians from across the political spectrum have joined in condemning resurfaced comments by Pauline Hanson as “nasty” and “derogatory”, after she labelled Indigenous Australians the “most primitive race on Earth”.

The Indigenous affairs minister, Malarndirri McCarthy, a Yanyuwa and Garrwa woman, described the One Nation senator’s comments as “totally outrageous” while her opposition counterpart, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, said Hanson’s comments showed “wilful ignorance” and had “dragged the conversation into appalling territory”.

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Do not call her a racist: anti-Pauline Hanson strategists tell campaigners character attacks won’t work in Victoria

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Exclusive: strategic rethink urges progressive activists to respectfully steer one-on-one conversations with One Nation supporters towards economic concerns

The message from strategists was blunt: do not, however tempting, personally attack Pauline Hanson or call her a racist.

The request has been made to progressive campaigners and unionists who have been asked to start one-on-one conversations with One Nation supporters before the Victorian election in November.

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As China rises, Australia is increasingly enmeshed in the US war machine. Is the alliance still worth the risk?

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Australia is being exploited by an ally that could draw it, however unwillingly, into war with China, experts warn

“Physical security matters,” said Kevin Rudd, at his axiomatic best before the National Press Club this week.

“Our first responsibility is to secure our people’s future in this most contested region of the world.”

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Dementia patients warned off seeking home care in case Australia’s aged care algorithm cuts funding

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Exclusive: FoI documents show senior health officials were warned of concerns about assessment tool weeks after it launched

People with dementia were warned not to apply for home support because of fears their care would be downgraded by the government’s aged care algorithm.

Documents released to Guardian Australia under freedom of information (FoI) laws reveal the warnings came within weeks of the November rollout of the algorithm, which is used to determine funding packages and priority of need for older Australians requiring home support.

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‘I don’t want to be here’: Andrew Hastie was a reluctant but ‘straightforward’ witness in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case

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The Liberal MP and former SAS soldier is under attack from One Nation after complying with a subpoena to give evidence in the failed 2022 civil case

“I don’t dislike Mr Roberts-Smith at all. I pity Mr Roberts-Smith. I pity this whole process. I don’t want to be here.”

Andrew Hastie was a reluctant witness in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case. Hastie appeared only under force of subpoena in 2022: compelled to attend court, obliged to swear an oath, and to tell “the whole truth and nothing but the truth”.

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White Australia party is ‘modern manifestation’ of Nazi movement and should be banned, commonwealth tells high court

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The former National Socialist Network is challenging ban in high court, arguing law breaches implied freedom of political communication

The White Australia party is a “modern manifestation” of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi movement and would motivate hate crimes against sections of the country, the high court has heard.

The White Australia party, formerly known as the National Socialist Network (NSN), was designated as an illegal hate group in May after the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (Asio) passed on its recommendation to the home affairs minister, Tony Burke.

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Albanese says ABC ‘should do better’ after it revealed his membership of golf club given $6m grant

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Funding from $560m invitation-only scheme prompts calls to make grant rules more transparent

Anthony Albanese has claimed he did not know he was a member of his local golf club when his government gave it $6m for renovations, accusing the ABC of inappropriate reporting.

The money came from an opaque $560m invitation-only grants scheme to fund projects Labor promised at the 2025 election, largely for Labor-held seats, prompting calls to make grant rules more transparent.

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One Nation’s Warren Pickering admits to illegal drug use and says he is ‘no angel’ in extraordinary press conference

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Victorian One Nation leader says his actions ‘hurt people I loved, and I will live with that forever’

The Victorian One Nation leader, Warren Pickering, has admitted he “made mistakes” in his 20s, including using ecstasy, methamphetamines and marijuana, losing his licence multiple times for drink driving and hurting people he loved.

But he has denied claims by his ex-partner, published by The Australian, that he smoked ice – also known as crystal meth – in front of children and said he was considering legal action against the publication at a press conference on Tuesday. Guardian Australia and the ABC were barred from attending the press conference.

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NSW Greens MP pleads with federal colleagues not to back National party motion to block koala park deal

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Federal Greens partyroom split over plan for NSW to get millions of dollars’ worth in carbon credits for creating a koala national park

A New South Wales Greens MP has pleaded with her federal colleagues not to vote with the Coalition and One Nation to block a plan for the NSW government to get millions of dollars’ worth in carbon credits for creating a koala national park.

Sue Higginson, a former lawyer and forest campaigner turned NSW upper house MP, is the first member of the minor party to speak in detail about a dispute that has split the Greens and environmentalists.

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