Category Archives: Coalition

Third arrest after alleged assault on police officers in Sydney – as it happened

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AFP warns parents over rise in AI-generated child abuse material

There has been an increase in the use of AI-generated child abuse material in the past year, including students creating material like deepfakes to harass or embarrass classmates, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation has said.

Children and young people are curious by nature, however, anything that depicts the abuse of someone under the age of 18 – whether that’s videos, images, drawings or stories – is child abuse material, irrespective of whether it is ‘real’ or not.

The AFP encourages all parents and guardians to have open and honest conversations with their child on this topic, particularly as AI technology continues to become increasingly accessible and integrated into platforms and products.

As a society, I think that it demonstrates the need for us to place a high value collectively on a civil political discourse, rather than an extreme one.

I wasn’t surprised to learn that of the 16 arrests, only one person was from South Australia and the rest were scattered from all over the country and for whatever reason, decided to convene in Adelaide.

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Peter Dutton’s boilerplate campaign video is most interesting for what it omits

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The shots of sharing cuppas with constituents and laughing with his kids skates over the details of his ‘small family business’

Election season officially begins when the prime minister drives in the back of C1 to visit the governor general – but its unofficial commencement is when leaders start releasing soft-focus profile videos with their log cabin story, surrounded by family and backed by twinkling music.

For an opposition leader especially, whose contributions can often be overshadowed by the prime minister whose job they covet, the productions – often short yet packed with meaning – are a vital chance to re-introduce or repackage themselves to a public who might not know much about them.

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Australia news live: PM ridicules Sussan Ley’s ‘Mars’ analogy and calls out Grace Tame’s ‘disrespectful’ T-shirt

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Albanese calls Ley’s comparison of First Fleet to SpaceX ‘very strange’. Follow today’s news live

For people with disability, the end of 2024 was a rollercoaster.

New legislation for the National Disability Insurance Scheme started coming into effect in October, with new lists of what can and cannot be funded, changes to early intervention requirements and more, already altering the way 646,000 people receive support from the $35bn program.

I’m just so appalled by it. I can’t believe someone should be so heartless that they could do this.

It’s also about, I guess, community standards. Look, it’s a big city. There’s some bad people that live in it. I am appalled by this. I just can’t believe someone would be so heartless to do it in such a special part of the city. We deliberately put the police memorial in the middle of Sydney in the Domain. It’s not parked away in the back lots somewhere, because it needs to be said that if someone loses their life serving the people of NSW, they won’t be forgotten.

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From Doge to Smoge, Peter Dutton’s Coalition is an eerie echo of Trump (and Musk’s) America

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Dutton’s cabinet reshuffle added the shadow minister of government efficiency role to Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s position – but it sounds a bit familiar

On 22 January, Gina Rinehart said: “If we are sensible, we should set up a Doge [Department of Government Efficiency] immediately, reduce government waste, gov­ernment tape and regulations.”

Mere days later, on 25 January, Peter Dutton appointed Jacinta Nampijinpa Price as the shadow minister for government efficiency (Smoge?), describing her new job as to cut “wasteful spending”.

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‘They did not come to destroy’: Sussan Ley praises First Fleet and likens it to Elon Musk’s Mars mission

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It’s the latest example of the Coalition appearing to echo or praise US president Donald Trump’s new administration

Deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley has compared the arrival of the First Fleet to Elon Musk’s SpaceX seeking to reach Mars, in an Australia Day address.

Her comments come a day after opposition leader Peter Dutton announced a newly created role of shadow minister for government efficiency – replicating Musk’s idea of a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

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Second man charged over attempted arson of Sydney synagogue – as it happened

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The anti-fracking group Lock the Gate Alliance has launched a legal challenge to a Northern Territory government decision to approve another gas exploration project in the Beetaloo basin.

The case in the territory’s civil and administrative tribunal is challenging the merits of the government’s approval of the environment management plan for Empire Energy’s “Larrimah” exploration project.

Our robust regulation of the onshore petroleum industry is informed by the best available science. As the project is before the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, it would be premature to make any further comment on the matter.

For too long, vice-chancellors and senior executives have escaped any real accountability for some of the terrible decisions that have damaged our public universities. An inquiry would be a golden opportunity to get to the bottom of what’s allowing the wage theft epidemic, rampant casualisation and a raft of other serious problems to flourish in our sector.

This is the path to lasting reform that will ensure staff can deliver the world-class teaching and research our students and community deserve.

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Australia news live: Bruce Lehrmann seeks judge-only trial on rape charges; off-duty police officer in hospital after Sydney attack

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Asked about the future of the weekly pro-Palestinian protests across Australia, Malarndirri McCarthy said as long as they are respectful and peaceful, “they are part of our democratic way”.

It’s interesting, isn’t it? I mean, we are a democracy. Whatever the rally or protest is, we enable that. We allow that so long as it’s peaceful and respectful.

Police across every jurisdiction in the country know they have to be prepared. Rally organisers, whoever they may be, also know they need to consult to be able to have access to those streets. Come on, let’s be mindful that these rallies, so long as they are held in a respectful manner, in a peaceful manner, they are part of our democratic way.

I think when I look at the polls, Karl – and I think I’ve talked to you about this over the years, you know, when we went into the 2019 election – every poll said we were going to win. The reality is, you have to work every single day right up – and the only poll that does really count, and I believe that especially after that loss, is the one on election day.

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Housing completions fall behind accord target – as it happened

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Watt defends government response to antisemitism as ‘very strong’

Asked if the federal government has been going enough to combat antisemitism, Murray Watt said it had responded “very strongly here”.

Unfortunately, there are some people in the community who are engaging is disgusting behaviour and the AFP and state police have demonstrated they will be caught and go to jail, which is where they belong.

I [will] leave it to the AFP to confirm some of the details about this, but I think this demonstrates exactly how far our police authorities are going to try to crack down on the shocking behaviour …

[The number of arrests made] sends a really clear message from the whole community that there is no tolerance that this kind of hate, and you will be caught if you do these kind of disgusting attacks.

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Anthony Albanese has pledged action on antisemitism – but Peter Dutton is still setting the agenda | Josh Butler

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The prime minister’s about-face after attack on Sydney childcare centre has left him once again looking like he’s playing catchup

Anthony Albanese has pledged action on antisemitic attacks – but his decision to call a snap national cabinet meeting less than a day after rebuffing that suggestion has left him once again looking like he’s playing catchup.

The prime minister condemned an arson and graffiti attack on a childcare centre in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra this week as a hate crime and “vile, antisemitic violence”. Scheduled to hold a press conference in western Sydney on Tuesday morning, he rerouted to the city’s east instead, visiting the site of the attack and then holding a press conference with the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns.

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Australia news live: second child dies after Tasmania house fire; mental health ward closures begin in NSW after mass resignation of psychiatrists

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The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says it was a “privilege and honour” to be the first Australian foreign minister to “be invited and to attend an inauguration on behalf of our country”.

She spoke with the Today show from Washington DC, where she attended Donald Trump’s inauguration.

My message here in Washington to those I meet is to point out the reality of the economic relationship between Australia and the United States, that there is a surplus in America’s favour. There has been for decades. In fact, it’s about two to one. And of those exports from Australia that come here, about half of them go into the US production.

As we know, the Wall Street Journal is obviously reporting, now [Trump is] going to review the trade situation and then look at what sort of tariff changes need to be made.

We need to make sure that our foreign affairs ministry, our trade minister and our ambassador are deeply engaged in that review process to make sure our national interest is upheld.

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Smelters will close without green aluminium funding, Albanese warns as Dutton labels $2bn pledge a ‘con job’

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Federal government aims to encourage power-intensive producers to switch to renewables by 2036

Anthony Albanese says smelters will close and cost many jobs without their newly announced aluminium production incentive, which opposition leader Peter Dutton has labelled a “con job”.

The mining industry welcomed $2bn in federal funding to incentivise power-intensive aluminium producers to switch to renewables by 2036, with Rio Tinto calling it a “critical piece in helping future-proof the industry”.

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Australia news live: relief for Sydney morning commuters as train unions ordered to halt action; man charged over death threats to Jewish group

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First charge by AFP’s Special Operation Avalite established in December. Follow today’s news headlines live

Richard Marles will become the first minister to visit Kiribati in almost two years, AAP reports.

The deputy prime minister and defence minister is travelling to Kiribati for high-level talks with the nation’s re-elected government, which closed its country’s borders in 2024 while national elections were held.

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Australia news live: delays up to 70 minutes on Sydney trains as industrial action begins; Hume says Coalition would cut ‘bloated bureaucracy’

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‘Passengers should expect delays, service cancellations and large service gaps’ across Sydney today, NSW TrainLink warns. Follow today’s news live

Wong ‘absolutely confident’ government can work with Trump as US president

Moving to another topic, Penny Wong was asked about her invite to Donald Trump’s inauguration in the US, and responded:

Donald Trump has been elected President of the United States, and I’m honoured, on behalf of the country, to have been invited to his inauguration.

This includes humane treatment and the right to a fair trial. So that is their obligation, [and] we will look at the facts when they have been ascertained.

But I want to be clear, all options are on the table. Those options include expelling the ambassador and recalling Australia’s ambassador in Russia … I need, as the foreign minister, to identify and ascertain the facts beforehand.

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Australia news live: SpaceX debris disrupts Qantas flights from Sydney to South Africa

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Rowland reacts to number of women preselected by Liberal party to replace retiring MPs

Michelle Rowland was also asked about the fact just one woman has been preselected to replace eight Liberal MPs who are retiring at the next election. Is she disappointed by this?

Clearly, Peter Dutton talks a big game when it comes to these issues, but the reality is borne out by the fact that they continue to overlook women for public office … For my mind, that says everything about Peter Dutton being stuck in the past, just as he’s stuck in the past around the national broadband network, his response to this announcement is to call it a joke, which is an insult to regional communities.

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Albanese says Coalition ‘more conservative than they have ever been’ as Dutton labels him ‘weakest’ prime minister

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Prime minister and opposition leader start election bids with early campaigning and funding announcements

Anthony Albanese has launched a stinging attack on Peter Dutton, accusing the opposition leader of a “cold-hearted, mean-spirited” politics that has targeted vulnerable people and skewed the Coalition “more conservative than they’ve ever been”.

As both men started their election bids with early January campaigning, Dutton brushed off the prime minister’s criticisms as “mud” and “lies”. The opposition leader is under pressure to announce some new substantial policies and a long-awaited reshuffle of his shadow ministry, just months out from the election – a fact Albanese highlighted, calling the Coalition’s weekend campaign rally a “damp squib”.

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Butler urges NSW psychiatrists ‘come back to the table’ – as it happened

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Dutton continues rounds on breakfast television

The opposition leader Peter Dutton has been making the rounds this morning, also speaking with the Today Show.

We need to do what is right in our country’s economic interests. We have to have the settings so that people can invest here. And at the moment, when we speak to CEOs and chairs of companies … what they’re doing is moving capital away from Australia into south-east Asia, into Africa, into North America, and we’re missing out on the tax dollars and the jobs here in Australia.

It’s a question of how much money is in the bank and how much can we responsibly give back, because in the end, it’s people’s money. People are working hard for it.

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Falsely labelled ‘organic’ products rife on Australian shelves, shoppers warned

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Organic farmers sound alarm about greenwashing amid push to introduce national domestic standard

Organic farmers and retailers have warned that Australians are being misled by producers who engage in a form of greenwashing by falsely labelling their products “organic”.

Australian consumers may be happy to pay higher prices for meat, cheese, cosmetics and other goods marked “organic” but producers can use the term without meeting any particular standards or being certified.

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Australia news live: Dreyfus to spend a week in Israel, PM says; SA police shoot man dead during mental health incident

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The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, says “the firing gun has started” for this year’s federal election, which he predicts will be in March or April.

Speaking to ABC News Breakfast just earlier, he said he doesn’t think the government will deliver a budget this year:

I think we’re all ready for it. I think it will be in March, April, I don’t think they’ll do a budget, they don’t want to remind the Australian people with the sea of red ink in the budget. That’s my punt.

This road is of national significance but it’s also one of the most dangerous in our country. And I think it just needs a commitment, and we’re glad to see the government has finally adopted that, one we had, and one the state government can now get on with the job of delivering.

Labor can make up all the nonsense they like. They’re desperate. I mean, this is a government that’s been on the back foot, that got things wrong, that is sending Australians on a pathway to poverty, not a pathway to prosperity. And so they’re in a state of desperation, saying these sorts of things.

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Peter Dutton would need to cap partner visas to make his migration cuts, expert warns

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Former immigration official Abul Rizvi believes the current planning level for partner visas is acting as an ‘illegal’ de facto cap

The Coalition’s proposed cuts to Australia’s permanent migration would require Peter Dutton to legislate to allow a cap on partner visas, a migration expert has warned.

Abul Rizvi, a former deputy secretary of immigration, believes the current planning level for partner visas, introduced by the Coalition and continued by Labor, is acting as an “illegal” de facto cap and would need to be removed.

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Australia news live: Gallagher says she expects Pocock to trump her in ACT Senate race; more ball-shaped ‘debris’ on Sydney beach

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Detectives investigating four separate incidents of children being approached by drivers in white vans in Melbourne

Victoria police detectives are investigating four separate incidents in Melbourne in the last month of children being approached by drivers in white vans.

People like Mr Rogan prey on people’s vulnerabilities: they prey on fear, they prey on anxiety, they prey on all of the elements that contribute to uncertainty in society.

They entrepreneur fantasy outcomes and conspiracy outcomes as being a normal part of social narrative – I personally find it deeply repulsive.

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