Taylor hoses down talk of One Nation merger

Kye Halford

Opposition leader Angus Taylor has dismissed Liberal senator Alex Antic’s talks of a merger with One Nation in South Australia, as footage has surfaced of One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts claiming Covid-19 deaths were “staged”.

What we know:

• “That that will not be happening – I can assure you of that,” Taylor said when questioned about a potential merger on Tuesday night, adding that “the Liberal Party is strong in South Australia” and that “there won’t be any kind of movement or coalition” (Nine).
• The comments come as video footage has surfaced of One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts claiming deaths were “staged” during the Covid-19 pandemic (The Canberra Times).
• Roberts’s latest comments have arrived at a time when the Liberals were already hoping Pauline Hanson’s most paranoid senator will help reframe her party’s appeal (The Saturday Paper)
• While Taylor targeted Roberts for his fringe conspiracy theories, Antic undermined his party leader’s tactics by describing Roberts as a “clear thinker” and a “decent bloke” (Nine).
• Taylor also rejected the views of Sam Bamford, a podcaster who is in favour of large-scale deportations of non-white populations in Australia, and who Antic is hosting in Adelaide later this month (SMH).
• “That is not our position and I’m sure Alex knows what our position is well,” Taylor said (SMH).

Kumanjayi Little Baby failed by child services

Kye Halford

An interim review into the death of five-year-old girl Kumanjayi Little Baby has found failures in how the Northern Territory’s child protection department responded to reports of violence within her family.

What we know:

• The report, published on Tuesday and led by former NSW police commissioner Karen Webb and public servant Greg Shanahan, identified “systemic issues which have broader implications for the Department of Children and Family’s operations” (The New Daily).
• It reveals a domestic and family violence risk assessment was not undertaken after domestic and family violence was identified in documents across every referral the department received (The New Daily).
• The report includes seven recommendations for the NT’s child protection system aimed at strengthening responses to children at risk, and increasing the capacity of the system designed to keep them safe (The Canberra Times). 
• But strong opposition to changes in child protection laws remains, including concerns the reforms will weaken the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle, a protection introduced in response to the failures of the Stolen Generations (SBS).

Read more: Marcia Langton interviews the grandfather of Kumanjayi Little Baby (The Saturday Paper)

Nine Entertainment to slash 30 newsroom jobs

Kye Halford

Nine Entertainment has blamed the “extreme state of disruption” caused by artificial intelligence for its decision to axe 30 jobs at the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Managing director of publishing at Nine, Tory Maguire, wrote to staff on Tuesday: “In the last 12 months, as we have discussed many, many times at the publishing town halls, we are in an extreme state of disruption because of AI” (The Guardian).

Maguire said the company will retrain and hire people for “digital-first, reader-savvy, data-informed roles”. She added that The Australian Financial Review won’t be affected by the restructure as it’s more digitally evolved than Nine’s other mastheads, having had a paywall since 2007 (The Guardian).

It comes as Reuters editor-in-chief Alessandra Galloni, in a lecture delivered in Sydney on Tuesday night, stressed the media industry was facing an “existential” crisis as AI companies continue to “plunder” copyrighted content (The Australian).

Google also released three new AI models on Tuesday, which include Gemini 3.6 Flash, its most powerful, and Gemini 3.5 Flash Cyber, which is tailored for cybersecurity (NYTimes).

Read more: Richard Denniss on whether Anthony Albanese be trusted to negotiate on AI (The Saturday Paper)

Trump slaps 50% tariffs on Canada

Kye Halford

US President Donald Trump has imposed a 50% tariff on a wide range of goods imported from Canada in retaliation for what he calls the “unequal treatment” of US cars, dairy and alcohol.

“Canada has been very, very tough on us over the years, for many years, and no other president’s done anything about it,” Trump said. “In all fairness to them, they need us to survive. Without us, there’s no way they can survive” (The Guardian).

Canadian ​Prime Minister Mark ‌Carney has since said that he spoke with Trump on ​Tuesday, and the two leaders agreed to “​intensify negotiations in the coming ‌weeks” (Reuters).

Carney has openly challenged Trump and has sought to develop effective middle power coalitions that involve Canada (The Saturday Paper).

The two leaders had watched the World Cup final alongside each other on Sunday, where Trump said he urged Carney to “stop these fires from coming in and, you know, poisoning our air” (CBC).

Court hears details on Widdecombe’s murder

Kye Halford

Former UK politician Ann Widdecombe was struck 21 times on the head with a hammer as she was eating lunch at home, prosecutors told a London court on Tuesday.

Joshua Kerry, a 28-year-old British national from Rotherham in northern England, more ​than 250 miles from Widdecombe’s home, appeared at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged with murder (Reuters).

Prosecutor Kashif Malik said Kerry arrived at Widdecombe’s house on July 8 and entered through the front door. He was allegedly in the property for two minutes and hit Widdecombe repeatedly with a hammer in her kitchen, before taking her wallet and driving away from the scene (BBC).

Malik also said that police were still investigating whether there was a terrorism connection or political motivation for the attack (BBC).

At a later hearing at the Old Bailey, prosecutor Alistair Richardson called Kerry’s alleged attack a “ferocity of violence”. Kerry was remanded in custody until his next appearance in October (Reuters).

Israel criticises Labor policy

Kye Halford

Israel’s embassy in Australia has publicly criticised Labor’s draft Palestine policy, arguing it places too much responsibility for ongoing conflict on Israel while giving “insufficient attention” to the role of Hamas.

What we know:

• The Israeli embassy issued a four-page media statement on Monday challenging the federal government’s proposed positions on Palestine, Hamas and settler violence in the West Bank, due to be debated at the Labor national conference in Adelaide this week (The Guardian).
• Labor’s draft reportedly takes a more detailed stance on Israel and Palestine compared to the 2023 national platform, including opposition to Israel’s “illegal settlement activity” and settler violence, and condemnation of recent Israeli laws approving the death penalty for Palestinians who murder Israelis (ABC).
• It also includes support for the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (ABC).
• The Israeli embassy noted that “these policy motions are still in draft form, and [we] will continue to engage constructively with the Australian Labor Party through the usual diplomatic channels” (The Guardian).
• The Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network has made its own suggestions for the platform, calling for stronger commitments around Australia’s defence exports to Israel and further action on illegal settlements (ABC).

Brisbane mum gives birth to quads

Kye Halford

A 34-year-old Australian woman has given birth to naturally conceived identical quadruplet daughters, in what is believed to be an Australian first.

What we know:

• Jenitar Na’amoana gave birth to the quadruplet girls through a caesarean at 28 weeks and four days gestation last week at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (ABC).
• Jenitar and her husband Jortham already had four children aged between one and 10 years old (ABC).
• “This is unheard of ... we don’t think it has ever happened in Australia,” said Alexa Bendall, a maternal foetal medicine specialist and obstetrician at the hospital. “There may have been a couple of cases elsewhere in the world and when I say a couple, literally two” (The Guardian).
• Bendall said the girls were expected to spend an extended period in the hospital before they would be allowed home, but their long-term outlook looked “really good” (The Guardian).

Burnham takes office as UK prime minister

Kye Halford

Andy Burnham has officially become the United Kingdom’s seventh prime minister in 10 years, hinting that he would honour the AUKUS alliance in his first speech outside 10 Downing Street.

During his speech on Monday, Burnham said he would honour “defence commitments to international partners” in the clearest sign yet that he plans for the UK to remain in AUKUS pact (ABC).

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese congratulated Burnham via a social media post. He said, “I look forward to working with you to strengthen our partnership and promote security, resilience and prosperity in the years ahead” (ABC).

Burnham also promised a 10-year plan for Britain and said that cost-of-living measures would be outlined from Tuesday. “This moment will be a circuit breaker for Britain,” he said (BBC).

Keir Starmer also gave a speech in Downing Street to mark the end of his run as the UK’s prime minister. He said to the crowd that “my work is done” and offered his “full support” to Burnham (The Age).

Abdel-Fattah sues Bendigo Writers Festival organisers

Kye Halford

Author and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah has launched legal action on Monday against La Trobe University and the City of Greater Bendigo, a year after she withdrew from the Bendigo Writers Festival.

Abdel-Fattah, a Palestinian-Australian, said she was filing the claim “on the grounds of political belief or activity” under Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act “because universities and cultural institutions must be held accountable for their discrimination and anti-Palestinian racism” (SMH).

Abdel-Fattah had been due to speak at the August 2025 festival when a code of conduct sent to authors just days before opening night saw dozens boycott it over censorship concerns (ABC).

After the lodgement of the complaint, Abdel-Fattah’s lawyer Michael Bradley said the code of conduct had been “a mask for getting rid of Randa because they knew she wouldn’t agree to it … [It] was designed to exclude her on the basis of their perception of her political beliefs or potential activity” (ABC).

A La Trobe University spokesperson said it had been notified of the matter today, and “in light of the legal proceedings, the university cannot comment any further”. Greater Bendigo City Council declined to comment (ABC).

Read more: Marcia Langton on what a writers’ festival should be (The Saturday Paper)

Houthis impose Saudi naval blockade

Kye Halford

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia, in response to a recent attack on Yemen’s Sanaa Airport.

The Iran-backed group’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said it would begin immediately, while a Houthi media official said they were closing the Bab al-Mandab Strait: the southern gateway to the Red Sea (BBC).

Saree said the Houthis were acting in response to Saudi Arabia’s “oppressive siege” on Yemen over the past 12 years, and promised the rebels would respond to “any foolish act” by their neighbour to break the restrictions with force (ABC).

The Red Sea has become crucial for oil shipments from Saudi Arabia during the US-Israeli war with Iran, which has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz (BBC).

Hanson’s UK visit stirs criticism

Kye Halford

Australian politicians have condemned One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s statements on far-right UK activist Tommy Robinson’s podcast, along with her speech at a conservative conference in London on Friday night, where she attacked trans rights and told the audience to “not apologise for being white”.

What we know:

• “London, no thank you,” Hanson said at the sparsely attended Conservative Political Action Conference. She flagged the city’s multiculturalism as a major concern, and said that she would “not allow it to happen” in Australia (ABC). 
• Hanson said common sense had been “pushed to one side” in regard to gender. Shadow housing minister Andrew Bragg said Hanson’s views on gender were “insane” and she was going out of her way to make life harder for minorities (ABC).
• Hanson has also come under criticism for using the interview with Tommy Robinson to blame the end of the White Australia policy for creating what she regards as problems with migration (The Guardian).
• Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke condemned the remarks on Saturday. He said, “I never thought when I entered parliament that in my political lifetime anyone who’d been elected to parliament would be calling for White Australia. I thought we were in a country where everybody just accepted that we had moved on” (PM).
• Hanson’s speech was part of a 10-day “fact-finding” mission through Europe that included her podcast with Robinson and a poolside meeting with Gina Rinehart at an Italian luxury resort (AFR).
• National Party senate leader Bridget McKenzie also made a speech at the CPAC conference, where she declared that conservatives are “in a war” against mass immigration, “leftwing globalists” and “woke” institutions (The Guardian).

Read more: One Nation calls for Muslim ban and ‘net zero’ migration (The Saturday Paper)

Albanese responds to Islamophobia envoy report

Kye Halford

The federal government says it has begun to act on 35 of the 54 recommendations made in the report by special envoy to combat Islamophobia Aftab Malik, submitted 10 months ago.

What we know:

• The response includes a review of the education curriculum to strengthen racial and religious tolerance, new multicultural grant programs and additional mental health support, especially for Muslim women (ABC).
• During the announcement on Saturday, Multicultural Affairs Minister Anne Aly siad Islamophobia had reached an alarming point and “it is dangerously close to being normalised” (Nine).
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended his decision not to adopt all of the report’s recommendations, which included weakening the importance of religion and ideology in defining terrorism in federal laws. “We operate our terror laws on the basis of appropriate advice from national security agencies,” he said (ABC).
• The Alliance of Australian Muslims and the Australian National Imams Council has since welcomed the federal government’s announcement, but said “much more remains to be done” (SBS).
• Malik was asked on Saturday about Pauline Hanson’s claims that Islam was “based on terrorism” and said: “These damaging, dehumanising words, not only do they isolate and marginalise Muslims, it lends itself to threatening behaviour, harm … and ultimately, we’ve seen Christchurch” (The Guardian).

Government to curb AI decision-making

Kye Halford

The federal government is set to toughen restrictions around the use of artificial intelligence in automated decision-making as part of a national plan concerning consumer protections, workplace safety and privacy.

A new list of AI consumer priorities, published by the government on Sunday, includes a commitment to revisit personal data protection laws and “better regulate” the use of AI in federal agencies such as Centrelink and Services Australia (ABC).

The federal government announced that Attorney General Michelle Rowland will lead development of the new rules (The Guardian).

The government is also progressing legislation to create a digital duty of care, in an effort to force AI companies into building in safety features and proactively addressing potential harm (The Guardian).

Read more: Unprecedented automation in NDIS decisions (The Saturday Paper)

US and Iran attacks continue

Kye Halford

The United States performed an ​eighth straight night of attacks against Iran after earlier confirming that two US military personnel have been killed in Jordan.

US Central Command said the latest airstrikes were designed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial ​shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan” (Reuters).

Iranian media said on Sunday that an under-construction nuclear power plant in the south-western city of Darkhoveyn had been struck overnight, as well as Qeshm Island. It said more than 50 people had died in US attacks in the past three weeks (BBC).

The US Embassy has warned its citizens to stay away from air and sea ports in the southern Jordanian city of Aqaba. Jordan’s state media said that neither the Aqaba airport or port had been evacuated and there were no potential threats detected in recent hours (ABC).

Elsewhere in the Middle East, Kuwaiti authorities said Iran had hit a power and water plant and caused a fire, while Bahrain also accused Iran of targeting civilian infrastructure (ABC).

Read more: US–Iran ceasefire collapses as fresh strikes halt shipping (The Saturday Paper)

Tate brothers arrested in US

Kye Halford

“Manosphere” influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate have been arrested in Miami after British authorities issued 38 new criminal charges of rape and sex trafficking against them. 

US Marshals have confirmed that the Tates had been taken into custody, while a US Department of Justice spokesperson said the arrests had followed extradition proceedings. The new charges bring the total laid against the brothers to 59 (BBC).

“These charging decisions followed receipt of a further file of evidence from Bedfordshire Police and bring the total number of alleged victims in this case to seven,” said Malcolm McHaffie, Head of the Special Crime Division at the United Kingdom’s Crown Prosecution Service (BBC).

British prosecutors said the new charges against Andrew Tate included seven counts of rape, three counts of sex trafficking, three counts of assault and 19 more charges relating to sexual images of children and “extreme pornography”. Tristan Tate faces two new charges of rape, one count of sexual assault and three counts of sex trafficking (NYTimes).

The lawyer representing the Tate brothers, Joseph McBride, said, “The world knows Andrew and Tristan Tate are innocent. Their enemies know it best of all” (BBC).

Read more: The Tate race (The Monthly)

Charges to be laid over Laos methanol deaths

Kye Halford

The parents of two teenage Australians who were killed in a mass methanol poisoning incident in Laos have been told the perpetrators are unlikely to receive more than a year’s jail time, if any.

What we know:

• Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles, both 19 from Melbourne, died after a mass methanol poisoning incident at the Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng in 2024. Two Danish women, an American man and an English woman also died (The Age).
• Officials in Laos are expected to outline the conclusion of their investigation into the poisoning on Friday afternoon. Lao officials are expected to charge those allegedly responsible with two offences that collectively carry up to one year in jail, and a maximum fine of $1600 (ABC).
• “We recognise how disappointing and frustrating this development will be,”Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade wrote in a letter to the teenagers’ families. “(We) will again convey our strong views about the inadequacy of the charges directly to the Lao authorities” (ABC).
• “It is disgusting that they think our daughters’ lives are only worth a year in jail or collectively a fine,” said Mark Jones, the father of Bianca. Jones has also reportedly implored Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to contact his counterpart in Laos over the sentencing (Herald Sun).
• “It’s very hard putting into words the disappointment we have,” Shaun Bowles, the father of Holly, said on Thursday (The Age).

Liberals to drop Deeming

Kye Halford

The Victorian Liberal Party is set to dismiss Moira Deeming as a candidate at the November state election on Friday after the western suburbs MP abandoned legal action against the party this week.

What we know:

• On Thursday, the Supreme Court of Victoria said that Deeming had dropped proceedings she had initiated to prevent the Liberal Party’s state executive from meeting to revoke her candidacy (The Age).
• The Victorian Liberals have since called the meeting to vote on Deeming’s future for 5.30pm on Friday (The Age).
• The fallout comes after Deeming refused to apologise to her party room colleague Matthew Guy over the allegation he assaulted her. Deeming accused Guy of placing her in a “headlock”, but later admitted that she misunderstood the “technical meaning of the term” (Post).

Wildfires burn across Canada

Kye Halford

More than 800 wildfires are burning across Canada, with dangerous levels of air pollution spreading south to millions of people living in the United States’ Midwest and Northeast regions.

There are currently 858 fires actively burning in Canada according to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System. The vast majority of Canadian wildfires, including the cluster in Ontario, are burning out of control (BBC).

In western regions of New York state, the air quality on Thursday is considered “very unhealthy”, while in the New York City metro area the air quality is “unhealthy” (BBC).

New York’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has urged the eight million city residents to stay indoors. “At unhealthy levels, everyone – not just people with asthma and heart conditions, not just older adults – everyone may feel health effects,” he said (NYTimes).

The air quality could potentially disrupt the World Cup final, which is scheduled to take place at the open-air New York-New Jersey on Sunday at 3pm local time (Reuters).

Zelenskyy dismisses defence minister

Kye Halford

Protests erupted in Ukraine on Thursday after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the country’s defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov only six months after his appointment. 

Hundreds of people took to the streets in Kyiv to demand that Fedorov – a young tech evangelist who has aimed to reshape Ukraine’s army into a more efficient fighting force -– be reappointed (Reuters).

Fedorov's sacking is reported to have stemmed from tensions between him and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. On Thursday, Fedorov revealed he had suggested to Zelensky that Syrskyi and Chief of the General Staff Andrii Hnatov should be replaced (BBC).

“Instead of finding a way of defeating Russia asymmetrically – which is the commander-in-chief’s job – he’s found a way of splitting our country,” Fedorov said of Syrskyi during a press conference (BBC).

Zelenskyy has already appointed Yevhenii Khmara, acting head of Ukraine’s domestic security service, as acting defence ​minister and will ask parliament to approve him permanently for the post (Reuters).