Category: Australian News

I congratulate Matt Canavan on his election as Leader of The Nationals and Darren Chester as Deputy Leader.

I have worked closely with Matt and Darren for many years and know the conviction they bring to the Australians they represent. They understand regional and rural Australia. They understand the pressures facing families, farmers and small businesses. And they will provide strong leadership for The Nationals at an important moment for our country.

The partnership between The Nationals and Liberals has always been built on shared values and a deep belief in the Australian way of life. Together we are focused on ensuring our country remains a place of opportunity and aspiration, where hard work is rewarded, communities are safe, and future generations can look ahead with confidence.

Under the Coalition, Australians will know exactly what we stand for.

We stand for rewarding aspiration and hard work.

We stand for backing families, farmers and small businesses.

We stand for a stronger economy that restores living standards.

And we stand for protecting Australia’s way of life.

Together with Matt and Darren, we will keep fighting every day for the country we believe in, because Australia is worth fighting for.

Iran’s reprisal attacks continue to escalate, already at a scale and depth we have not seen before; 12 countries in the region are continuing to be targeted.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) alone has been forced to shoot down over 1,500 rockets and drones. This growing wave of dangerous and destabilising attacks from Iran puts civilian lives at risk, including Australian lives.  

In responding to requests, Australia will deploy an E-7A Wedgetail to the Gulf to help protect and defend Australians and other civilians.  

Australians will remember the E-7A Wedgetail was recently deployed to Europe as part of Australia’s assistance to Ukraine.

As it did there, the E-7A Wedgetail will provide long range reconnaissance capability which will help secure the airspace above the Gulf.

The E-7A Wedgetail and supporting Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel will be deployed for an initial four weeks in support of the collective self-defence of Gulf nations.

Additionally, in response to a request, the Albanese Government intends to provide Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) to the UAE.

The Albanese Government has been clear that we are not taking offensive action against Iran and we have been clear that we are not deploying Australian troops on the ground in Iran.

The first priority of the Albanese Government is, and always will be, to keep Australians safe.

There are around 115,000 Australians in the Middle East – around 24,000 in the UAE.

Helping Australians means also helping the UAE and other Gulf nations to defend themselves.     

It is important to recognise the assistance and support the Gulf is providing to thousands of Australians at this time.

We continue to work on contingencies – to keep Australians safe and to help travellers leave the Middle East. 

We have already sent DFAT personnel to the region as part of Crisis Response Teams. They are on the ground providing consular support.  

More than 2,600 Australians have now returned home but significant challenges remain and further work is underway to support those still seeking to leave.  

Australia supported action aimed at preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and preventing Iran from continuing to threaten international peace and security.  

Our position remains that we do not want to see the conflict continue to escalate.  

We call on all parties to uphold international humanitarian law and to protect civilian life.  

We are taking defensive action to support our partners’ efforts to keep Australians safe.  

As always, deployed ADF assets will operate according to Australian law, Australian policy, and Australian directives.

The Government will notify the United Nations Security Council of relevant actions taken under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.

Police are appealing for public assistance to help locate a teenage girl missing from the Hunter Region.

Grace Bhullar, aged 14, was last seen in Raymond Terrace, about 10pm yesterday (Monday 9 March 2026).

When she was unable to be located or contacted officers attached to Port Stephens-Hunter Police District were notified and commenced inquiries into her whereabouts.

Family and police hold concerns for Grace’s welfare due to her age.

Grace is described as being of Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander appearance, about 152cm tall, slim build with brown hair bleached on the sides and underneath.

She was last seen wearing black hooded jumper.

Grace is known to frequent the Raymond Terrace and surrounding areas.

The Albanese Government has taken the next step in establishing a consolidated defence precinct at Henderson to support sovereign shipbuilding and sustainment in Western Australia.

Bechtel Infrastructure Australia (Bechtel) has been appointed as the design services consultancy to undertake master planning of the defence precinct.

Bechtel will provide specialist infrastructure design advice and work with a range of stakeholders to create the plan.

In 2024, the Albanese Government announced $127 million to progress planning for the defence precinct.

Last year, the Albanese Government backed this commitment with an additional $12 billion to support the delivery phase for the long-term development of the defence precinct.

This contract is the next step in realising these investments in the west.

The defence precinct will play a vital role in securing continuous naval shipbuilding and sustainment in Australia, delivering critical capabilities for the Australian Defence Force, and contributing to the support of about 10,000 direct jobs in the west over the next two decades.

The Commonwealth is working hand in glove with the West Australian Government to deliver the defence precinct.

The defence precinct will include:

• Construction facilities for the Royal Australian Army’s landing craft and Australia’s future Mogami‑class frigates following successful consolidation of the Henderson precinct;
• Support infrastructure for conventional submarines and surface combatant vessels;
• Contingency docking capabilities for Australia’s future conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines; and
• Depot-level maintenance capabilities.

Planning and feasibility studies have already commenced and will continue throughout 2026.

Establishment of the defence precinct will occur over the next decade to align with defence capability needs and minimise disruption to local industry and communities.

Alongside the Albanese Government’s record investments across shipbuilding and AUKUS in the west, these commitments will support 10,000 direct jobs over the next two decades as well as providing opportunities for small and medium sized businesses across the state.

For more information visit: Henderson Defence Precinct | Business & Industry | Defence

Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Pat Conroy MP:

“Awarding this contract moves us closer to making the Henderson Defence Precinct the home of continuous naval shipbuilding and sustainment, and a critical sustainment site for our future submarine capability.

“The master planning stage is an important step in shaping the defence precinct’s future capability needs and supporting a strong, sovereign industrial base.

“This contract reflects our commitment to partnering with industry to build a smarter, faster and more innovative maritime capability hub.

“Input and insights from industry and other stakeholders will lay the groundwork for defence industrial depth and long-term national resilience.”

WA Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Paul Papalia CSC MLA:

“The Cook Government welcomes the appointment of Bechtel Infrastructure Australia to complete master planning of the Henderson Defence Precinct.

“This project will support thousands of highly skilled jobs and ensure Western Australia is home to the largest naval maintenance hub in the southern hemisphere.

“The WA Government is working closely with the Albanese Government to help local industry and workers to take advantage of the enormous opportunities this investment will create.”

Australian Greens spokesperson for resources, Senator Steph Hodgins-May: 

“The last time the world saw a major conflict in 2022, the global price of gas surged to record highs. 

“Because our gas system is still rigged in favour of massive exporters, increases in the global market price are also dumped straight onto households back home.

“Australia doesn’t have a gas shortage. We have an export problem.

“We export such enormous volumes of gas that if the government had implemented a 25 per cent export tax when it was first proposed at the end of last year, Australians would already have collected billions in extra revenue.

“With prices likely to surge again due to the illegal war in the Middle East, and with a cost-of-living crisis at home, Labor must act now to cushion the blow.

“A tax on exports would help decouple Australia’s domestic market from volatile global prices.

“A 25 per cent tax is a step towards fair compensation. Gas companies have pillaged Australia’s resources for decades and now stand to make billions more in blood money from war-driven price spikes.

“These corporations salivate at the prospect of global conflict because it lets them gouge prices overseas and here at home.

“It’s Australian households and businesses who will pay the price for decisions made in boardrooms and war rooms from Washington to Canberra.

Audiences in Timor-Leste can now enjoy Australian content thanks to the Albanese Government’s PacificAus TV, increasing access to reliable news, delivering high-quality content and fostering greater engagement across the region.

PacificAus TV provides broadcasters in the Pacific and Timor-Leste with free access to Australian content – from drama and children’s programming to lifestyle, current affairs and sport.

Public broadcaster Radio e Televisão de Timor-Leste (RTTL) joins 17 free-to-air broadcasters across 11 Pacific countries already accessing Australian content through PacificAus TV.

PacificAus TV is a key initiative of the Albanese Government’s Indo-Pacific Broadcasting Strategy, which helps to foster a vibrant and independent media sector, counter misinformation, present modern multicultural Australia, and support deeper people-to-people engagement across the region.

The first program being provided to Timor-Leste is the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026, featuring the Matildas.

Sports fans will also be able to view NRL matches in Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu, Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue and Timor-Leste in 2026.

Delivered by Free TV Australia, PacificAus TV receives $5.68 million per year under the Government’s Indo-Pacific Broadcasting Strategy to expand access to Australian television programs.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong:

“The start of PacificAus TV in Timor-Leste is another step in strengthening our already close partnership.

“By expanding access to trusted news, sport and entertainment, we’re building greater connections between communities and encouraging a deeper understanding of each other.

“Supporting local broadcasters with content, training and collaboration opportunities helps strengthen a vibrant, resilient and independent media sector in Timor-Leste and across the region.”

Minister for Communications, Anika Wells:

“The launch of PacificAus TV in Timor-Leste means fans can tune in to watch some of the world’s best football talent in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

“It’s also fantastic to see live and free-to-air coverage of NRL matches now available through the initiative – providing greater access for Pacific communities who have made such a strong contribution to the game.

“The expansion of PacificAus TV to Timor-Leste means 18 free-to-air broadcasters across 12 nations now have access to quality Australian content at no cost – promoting greater understanding and connection across our region.

“We are pleased to see Free TV Australia continue to deliver this important initiative, bringing communities in our region together while fostering a diverse, resilient and trustworthy regional media landscape.”

Minister for Pacific Island Affairs, Pat Conroy:

“Timor-Leste and Australia enjoy a strong partnership and close friendship, underpinned by deep historical and cultural links. The expansion of PacificAus TV into Timor-Leste will only deepen familiarity and ties between our two nations.

“By giving people in Timor-Leste as well as Pacific Islands access to elite competitions such as the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and NRL, we are strengthening people-to-people links through sports. The more we understand and relate to each other, the more safe, stable and prosperous our region will be.”

Prime Minister Albanese has finally admitted that there were three Australians on the US nuclear submarines that sank an Iranian frigate in International waters off Sri Lanka.

The IRIS Dena, an Iranian frigate, was returning from India when a US nuclear-powered attack submarine shot a torpedo and sank the vessel off the coast of Sri Lanka in international waters. The US, and the Australian crew members, then left the crew to drown.

These actions were in breach of the Second Geneva Convention, which requires, after a maritime engagement, parties to immediately search for and collect the wounded, sick, and shipwrecked.

The Albanese Government has been lying to the Australian public about its role in the illegal US and Israeli war in Iran. Those lies have consequences and have already implicated Australia in US war crimes.

Senator David Shoebridge, Greens spokesperson on Defence and Foreign Affairs, said

“This was an inevitability of AUKUS. From the start, the Greens warned the Government that AUKUS would chain us to the US military and drag us into whatever war they chose. That is what is happening now in real time.

“We know there are a minimum of 50 Australian personnel on US nuclear attack-class submarines, mostly operating in the Indo-Pacific. Albanese, after questioning from the Greens, has finally confirmed that it includes three Australian troops on the US submarine that sank the Iranian vessel.

“The Albanese Labor Government was the first in the world to back Trump and Netanyahu’s illegal war in Iran. The truth is, the decision to enter this latest US war wasn’t made when the bombing began this week, it was made years ago when Labor backed in AUKUS.

“This is about a lot more than three ADF personnel on one US submarine. Australia has a host of US military bases and deployments, including Pine Gap and multiple RAAF bases open to the US military.

“For the Prime Minister, in the same breath, to admit Australian personnel were serving on the US nuclear submarine when it sank the Iranian frigate and then that Australia is not involved in the war shows how little regard he has for the intelligence of the Australian people.

“The Iranian people have suffered for decades under a brutal regime, they are now suffering under that regime as well as from Israeli and US bombs and missiles.

“The war parties, Labor, Liberal and One Nation have led us down this dangerous path, and the only way back is to end AUKUS and rethink our defence and

The Victorian Greens are thrilled to announce Sianan Healy as the candidate for Nepean in the May by-election, as she puts cost of living, housing and climate action on the top of the agenda.

As a Mornington Peninsula local and a mum, Sianan speaks to locals everyday who are raising children in our public schools, working in local health services, schools, arts and hospitality, sometimes struggling to pay bills or rent.

She says that her community deserves a strong representative who will put their needs ahead of corporate profits, fight for the issues they care about and be their progressive voice in Parliament. 

Locally, Sianan is committed to fighting for:

• Protecting green spaces and local waters from overdevelopment or drilling,
• Properly funding Rosebud Hospital
• More affordable and appropriate housing that meets community needs

Sianan works for a non-profit in women’s health and has a background in research and education in the university sector. 

Sianan says we can’t risk Liberals and One Nation who will work for their corporate donors, not their community.

The Nepean community deserves a progressive voice who will fight for them on the cost of living, housing, health and climate action. 

Greens candidate for Nepean, Sianan Healy:

“I come from a family of teachers and union members who instilled in me the value of service to the community and caring for our environment. These are the values that underpin all that I do and are my motivation for representing the Greens in Nepean.”

“Big corporations are ripping off our community and making massive profits. The Liberals and One Nation won’t stand up to big corporations when they’re funded by them. Victorians deserve better. The Greens know people want change – and we’ll fight for it.”

This week a war started in the Middle East, a war that will pause the importation of 20% of Australia’s oil supplies.

Labor has not increased our reserve oil supplies or prepared our nation for this shock since taking office four years ago.

As the Maritime Union of Australia said this week,

“Australia is an energy exporting nation. It is indefensible that we cannot guarantee our own fuel supply. Fuel sovereignty is a national responsibility. The time for half measures has passed; decisive action is required now.” 

Our oil reserves are running low, primarily because of the idiotic energy policies pushed by Labor and the Greens, and too often implemented by the Liberals, which have shut down our domestic oil refining capabilities.

The United States has been very clear for a long period of time that war with Iran was imminent.

Never once did Labor pause and reflect on their policies or increase our strategic reserves of oil.

Like a tone-deaf school prefect, Labor Minister Tanya Plibersek screeched at Barnaby Joyce on national TV this week that, and we quote, “this is a good reason to have electric vehicles”.

Those outrageous comments drove Barnaby Joyce to despair.

One Nation has long had a raft of policies that would increase our domestic supply of energy, including oil. We would protect our domestic market from shocks like this by increasing our strategic reserves and halving the tax on petrol, which Labor has raised eight times since taking office.

Labor will seek to profit from this war, whereas One Nation would give back to taxpayers and battlers. 

On May 9 the electorate of Farrer will get a chance to vote on the policies that Labor, the Greens, the Teals and the Liberals have been using to damage Australia.

This electoral test will primarily be about energy. The cost of fuel is a primary driver of inflation and increases the cost of everything.

When all is said and done, Australia can walk one of two paths. The left wants energy poverty, no manufacturing, a destroyed rural sector and citizens living in tents.

Or Australians can back a party prepared to rebuild our nation, cut red tape, stop government waste and lower taxes. Most of all we have a plan to make energy, both petrol and electricity, substantially cheaper.

It’s that simple. The Farrer by-election is the choice between One Nation’s offer of hope and better living standards, or more of the radical left’s destruction of Australia. Because remember, the Teals and the Liberal Party vote with Anthony Albanese more often than they oppose him.

The Albanese Government today finally admitted defeat and scrapped its toxic Freedom of Information bill after massive community backlash and almost unanimous opposition from all political parties except Labor.

The Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025 was justified by the Government on a series of false claims about foreign bots abusing FOI and the need for even more secrecy to “protect” government decision-making.

After close scrutiny from parliament and civil society, it was clear that Labor’s FOI “reforms” would only make the FOI system more expensive, more secretive and even slower.

No one outside of the Government supported this Bill, and this backdown from Labor is a recognition of the reality that their FOI reforms had no friends and no supporters inside or outside Parliament.

Greens Senator and Justice Spokesperson David Shoebridge said:

“This Bill was written by a Government high on hubris with an addiction to secrecy. This Bill had no friends inside or outside of Parliament and Labor has finally recognised this.

“Labor’s attack was never about fixing FOI for the public, it was about making it harder to see what the Government was doing.

“The problem with FOIs is not that the public is getting too much information, it’s that the government is spending a million hours of bureaucrats’ time a year refusing and redacting applications.

“The claims from Labor that AI ‘bots’ were to blame for vexatious FOI claims were based on zero evidence. The threat to the public’s right to know isn’t from Russian bots, it’s from the Labor Cabinet.

“The Albanese Labor Government has been one of the most secretive Governments in Australian history. This commitment to keep the public in the dark must end with the death of this Bill.

“Now that this Bill has been withdrawn, it is time for a positive way forward in FOI reform.

“What is now needed is an open public consultation process with public submissions and real transparency that can build public confidence in positive FOI reforms.”