PM says ‘of course’ there is a link between Pauline Hanson’s rhetoric and threats to Sydney mosque
Anthony Albanese linked a series of threats towards Sydney’s Lakemba mosque with One Nation’s Pauline Hanson’s rhetoric towards the country’s Muslims.
Albanese was asked on ABC Radio Sydney if there was a link in his mind between Hanson’s recent remarks and threats of violence. The prime minister replied:
Of course there is, because it legitimises it. It mainstreams it. And Pauline Hanson is a divisive figure. She’s made a political career out of seeking to divide Australians against each other. And what we need is more unity, not more division.
Pauline Hanson is ready to divide people. She is someone who often doesn’t participate in the Senate but is busy off just campaigning. She’s a negative force in Australian politics.
I understand that people are frustrated and that fear can be a powerful emotion. But what we need in this country is hope, is optimism and is looking forward with a serious positive policy agenda. And Pauline Hanson does not do that.
A number of figures including New South Wales premier Chris Minns have said Hanson’s remarks in recent days amount to a “racist intervention” and the country’s race discrimination commissioner has called on her to apologise.
Key events
Benita Kolovos
Victorian premier dismisses report of internal push for CFMEU royal commission
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, held a press conference at parliament this morning, which she began by dismissing a report in the ABC that suggested Labor MPs were calling for a royal commission into corruption within the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union.
Allan told reporters “no one in the caucus” had raised a royal commission with her. She went on:
I’m just not going to respond this morning to anonymous gossip, but I’ll repeat why I don’t support a royal commission. The claims don’t stack up. There has already been a royal commission that failed. And furthermore, when Liberals call for a royal commission, it’s all about wanting to claw back workers’ wages, go industry by industry, cutting into workers’ wages. And that is absolutely something I do not support.
She also defended comments made by her attorney general, Sonya Kilkenny, and police minister, Anthony Carbines, who launched an attack on anti-corruption lawyer Geoffrey Watson yesterday. Allan said:
I support the work of my police minister, I support the work of the attorney general … The attorney general made a really important statement yesterday, a statement that just shouldn’t apply to people who are people who come from the legal profession. It should apply to all of us – to politicians, to journalists, to anyone who has a position from which they can commentate on these matters. To repeat unfounded claims is reckless. It is reckless behaviour.
Victoria loses MotoGP to South Australia
Tory Shepherd
One of the weird things about South Australia (along with building a one-way expressway, pie floaters, and a half-hour time difference) is how long it’s held a grudge about Victoria stealing the Formula One Grand Prix.
In 1993, then Victorian premier Jeff Kennett presided over the coup that left residents of the middle bottom bit of the nation aggrieved for decades.
Today, South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas announced that, in what will be seen by some as revenge being served cold, Victoria’s MotoGP will move to SA.
After almost 30 years at Phillip Island, the event will run on the original Adelaide grand prix street circuit from 2027.
Before the announcement, Kennett told ABC Adelaide radio he was “both crying and laughing”:
I’m crying because it’s leaving. I’m laughing because your premier has just taken another page from the Jeff Kennett bible.
He’s gone and borrowed the MotoGP … but don’t think it’s in Adelaide forever, because Phillip Island is a most wonderful circuit, and I’ve just got a feeling in my bones we’re going to get it back.
We never stole the Grand Prix. We borrowed it. The only thing is we forgot to give it back. And I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that Peter has borrowed the MotoGP … I’m all for borrowing it back.
Unemployment rate holds at 4.1% in January
Patrick Commins
The unemployment rate remained at 4.1% in January, extending the extraordinary resilience of the post-pandemic jobs market but also underlining the potential for further Reserve Bank rate hikes this year.
The number of employed Australians climbed by 17,800 in January, with a solid 50,500 rise in full-time jobs offset by a 32,700 drop in part-time employment, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The underemployment rate, which measures those with jobs but who are trying to get more hours, lifted from 5.7% in December to 5.9% in the new figures.
The latest jobs numbers come after wages figures on Wednesday showed decent growth in workers’ pay rates were not enough to keep up with resurgent inflation in the back half of last year.
The RBA board, which hiked rates earlier this month, believes the labour market is a “little tight” and so would be contributing to inflationary pressures.
Telstra reports net profit of $1.1bn for second half of 2025
Australia’s biggest telecommunications company has beaten earnings expectations and increased its payout to shareholders after its strong mobile business offset continued weakness in its enterprise division, AAP reports.
Telstra on Thursday delivered a $1.1bn net profit for the six months to 31 December, up 9.4% from the same time in 2024. Revenue climbed 0.3% to $11.6bn.
Chief executive Vicki Brady said it was a strong period for Telstra.
“We delivered ongoing growth in earnings, reflecting momentum across our business, strong cost control and disciplined capital management,” Brady said.
Telstra’s mobile business brought in $2.6bn in earnings. Its average revenue per mobile user rose 5.1% to $45.47 after hiking prices in July, with the cost of most postpaid mobile plans climbing by between $3 and $5 a month.
Despite the price increase, Telstra managed to add another 135,000 mobile customers during the half.
Telstra said it would pay an interim dividend of 10.5 cents per share, with 9.5 cents of that franked and one cent unfranked, up from a fully franked 9.5 cent per share interim dividend a year ago.
Caitlin Cassidy
Linda Burney joins UTS board with a mission to boost Aboriginal participation
Linda Burney has been appointed to her first public role since leaving federal parliament, joining the board of the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in a move the New South Wales government hopes will restore faith in the embattled institution.
Burney, the first Aboriginal woman to be elected to the federal House of Representatives, ended her two-decade career in politics in early 2025, departing as the minister for Indigenous Australians in mid-2024 and formally leaving office at the end of the 47th parliament.
The Wiradjuri woman carried much of the public weight of the failed voice to parliament referendum, even as she faced some private health challenges.
She said it was not the referendum defeat but a desire to “pass on the baton to the next generation” that led to her resignation from political life.
Read more here:
Chris Minns says Hanson should ‘probably’ apologise, but ‘we’re not going to get it’
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, is speaking in Sydney, saying the country needs an emergence in the “normal middle” of politics free from racist rhetoric.
He said he believes Pauline Hanson should issue an apology for her comments about Muslims, but added a major caveat:
Look, probably, but we’re not going to get it, let’s be honest. In my view, there has to be an emergence of people … in the normal middle that have no interest in hurling racist insults at one another, that don’t want to see Australians divided.
We can’t let the public space be taken over by extremists in these debates, who, let’s be honest, will profit politically by letting us be divided against one another.
PM maintains no assistance being offered to repatriate Australians stuck in Syria
Albanese was also asked for further comments about the government’s feeling towards the group of women and children stuck in Syria, who are linked to Islamic State fighters in the region. He has maintained the government will not assist the group in any way, adding:
We followed the law and we followed the advice of the authorities. The government is providing no support for the Repatriation of these people or any support whatsoever. I have nothing but contempt for these people.
I have contempt for their parents who have put these children in that situation.
Albanese added that protections for those children are the responsibility of their parents.
We have a firm position, which is that the mothers in this case who made this decision to travel overseas against Australia’s national Interests are the responsible ones who’ve put their children in this position.
We will do nothing to assist these people coming back to Australia.
Prime minister stresses country needs to ‘turn the temperature’ down
The prime minister added that the recent threats towards Lakemba mosque – there have been three – were “outrageous”.
He said:
It is outrageous that people just going about commemorating their faith, particularly during the holy month for Muslims, of Ramadan, are subject to this sort of intimidation. I have said repeatedly: we need to turn down the temperature of political discourse in this country, and we certainly need to do that. And it is outrageous that at a time like this, three lots of threats are occurring.
PM says ‘of course’ there is a link between Pauline Hanson’s rhetoric and threats to Sydney mosque
Anthony Albanese linked a series of threats towards Sydney’s Lakemba mosque with One Nation’s Pauline Hanson’s rhetoric towards the country’s Muslims.
Albanese was asked on ABC Radio Sydney if there was a link in his mind between Hanson’s recent remarks and threats of violence. The prime minister replied:
Of course there is, because it legitimises it. It mainstreams it. And Pauline Hanson is a divisive figure. She’s made a political career out of seeking to divide Australians against each other. And what we need is more unity, not more division.
Pauline Hanson is ready to divide people. She is someone who often doesn’t participate in the Senate but is busy off just campaigning. She’s a negative force in Australian politics.
I understand that people are frustrated and that fear can be a powerful emotion. But what we need in this country is hope, is optimism and is looking forward with a serious positive policy agenda. And Pauline Hanson does not do that.
A number of figures including New South Wales premier Chris Minns have said Hanson’s remarks in recent days amount to a “racist intervention” and the country’s race discrimination commissioner has called on her to apologise.
Truck carrying molasses overturns south of Sydney in two-truck crash
A truck carrying molasses has overturned in a two-truck crash south of Sydney, spilling syrup on a major highway and leaving both drivers in hospital.
New South Wales police said officials were called to the Princess Motorway near Kanahooka about 10.15pm on Wednesday night after reports two trucks had crashed.
The driver of one truck, a B-double, was treated for serious injuries and airlifted to the hospital in a critical condition.
The driver of a rigid truck was also treated and taken to hospital in a serious condition, where he will undergo mandatory testing.
A crime scene has been established and an investigation opened into the matter.
A spokesperson for NSW police said syrup had spilled in the area and created a sticky mess.
Bridget McKenzie says Australians ‘rightfully concerned’ about women and children in Syrian camp
The Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie was asked about Tony Burke’s indication last night that 34 women and children linked to Islamic State fighters in Syria had been issued travel documents.
McKenzie spoke to the Today Show, saying Australians were “rightfully concerned” that members of the group could return to the country, while pointing to Anthony Albanese’s assertion the government would not assist in any repatriation efforts.
The prime minister has also said anyone who returns to Australian shores would be subject to Australian law.
McKenzie said this morning reports the group have Australian passports were “very, very concerning”, going on:
I think the Labor party and the Labor government is deeply compromised on this issue because Australians are rightfully concerned. The prime minister says we’re going to throw the book at them. Well, what evidence base are they going to use to actually do that?
Burke has maintained that Australian citizens are entitled to passports under the law.
Krishani Dhanji
Children with complex needs being turned away from childcare in Australia
Children with complex needs are being turned away from childcare centres due to funding gaps and staff burnout, with industry leaders warning federal government inclusion rules are having the reverse effect.
The government’s inclusion support program (ISP) is intended to provide additional staff for children with complex needs, but the funding amounts to half of that needed, with centres forced to pay the rest.
While the government moves towards implementing a universal childcare system, industry figures said the ISP needed to be fixed before other structural changes were introduced.
Advocates also warned that a child required a formal diagnosis before a centre could apply for the funding, which could then take between two and five months to come.
Read more here:
Danielle Scott lands aerials silver as family sacrifice pays off at Winter Olympics
Australian freestyle skier Danielle Scott told her family and friends last month to cancel their plans to watch her compete at the Olympics because she was feeling so low about her form, AAP reports.
That meant the aerials veteran’s loved ones, husband Clark aside, weren’t in Livigno to watch the four-time Olympian achieve a lifelong dream when she finally clinched a medal on Wednesday.
An emotional Scott described winning silver as the “best day of my life”, the reward coming after she’d previously been unable to translate her impressive World Cup and world championship form to the Olympics stage, with her best result being a ninth place.
“To finally have this around my neck, I mean, it’s taken four Olympics and it’s been an incredible ride of frustration, a lot of highs, a lot of lows, but today, I just put my heart out there,” the 35-year-old said. “I left everything out there. I jumped the way I wanted to, so this just means everything.
Read more here:
Sydney man charged over alleged death threats to federal parliamentarian
A western Sydney man has been charged after allegedly threatening to kill a federal parliamentarian.
The Australian federal police said the man, 55, was charged after officers executed a search warrant on a residence in Macquarie Fields. During the search, they allegedly found three gel blasters, three slingshot mounts and a pair of metal handcuffs. They also seized electronic devices.
Officials will alleged in court the man was responsible for a number of threatening calls to the parliamentarian’s office this month.
He has been charged with two counts of using a carriage service to make a threat to kill; three counts of possessing an unauthorised prohibited firearm; and one count of possessing a prohibited weapon.
The offences carry maximum penalties of 10 years’ imprisonment.
Melissa Davey
Australian health insurance premiums just had their biggest hike in a decade. Is it time to scrap private health cover?
The government has approved a 4.41% private health insurance premium rise from April – the largest hike in almost 10 years.
With consumers already grappling with cost-of-living pressures, including an interest rate rise earlier in February, more Australians are likely to be wondering whether keeping their private health insurance is worth it.
There have been numerous attempts by the government to make private health insurance more affordable and consumer-friendly since then, including labelling policies as gold, silver, bronze or basic, and introducing reforms to reduce junk products.
Those policies have failed.
The system remains difficult to navigate and questions about value for money persist.
Read more here:
Fair Trading issues warning about business claiming false links to Bondi terror attack
Fair Trading NSW have warned consumers to avoid dealing with a business claiming false links to the Bondi Beach terror attack.
The agency said the clothing and accessories website Bondi United falsely claimed to support the victims of the attack. The company operated two websites, both of which have now been taken down, and has indicated it will offer refunds to customers who contact it asking for one.
Anoulack Chanthivong, the NSW minister for fair trading, said “attempting to profit off this horrific incident is just plain wrong – and it is a breach of Australian Consumer Law”.
The NSW Government strongly condemns any attempts to mislead consumers in the aftermath of this terror event, and we will continue to do everything we can to protect consumers from this behaviour.
I encourage people to buy from reputable sellers, be cautious when dealing with unfamiliar online sellers, and get in contact with NSW Fair Trading if they believe they have been adversely affected by this business.
A separate incident involving a website called Isla & James prompted a Fair Trading warning in January after it cited the Bondi beach shooting as the reason for a fake “closing sale”, falsely claiming one of its cofounders “was shot” in the terror attack. That site has also been taken down.
