Hanson-Young brands Pauline Hanson ‘coward’ for barring media from presser
Josh Butler
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has rubbished Pauline Hanson’s decision to bar the Guardian, the Age and the ABC from a One Nation press conference today.
Hanson-Young claimed Hanson was “running scared of scrutiny”, calling her “a politician who thinks that she should have the right to say whatever she wants, but no one else should have the right to ask questions”.
“Pauline Hanson is showing herself to be a political coward by hiding from certain media because she doesn’t like questions from journalists, and this is a very very bad start to any political campaign,” the Greens senator told a press conference in Parliament House this afternoon.
As we reported earlier, reporters from the ABC, the Age and the Guardian were not provided with the time or location of the press conference to announce One Nation’s Victorian state election candidates.
“I’m not putting up with the spin, gotcha moments, wanting to have a go at me … [and] treat us totally different to what you do the other major political parties. Enough is enough,” Hanson said of her decision at the press conference.
Key events
SA minister concerned about bird flu case in Coorong – a ‘safe haven’ for water birds
Lisa Cox
South Australia’s environment minister says she is concerned about a confirmed case of H5 bird flu in a petrel found in the Coorong, one of several new locations where the deadly disease has been detected in the state.
The migratory petrel is one of 18 confirmed new cases in SA. The new cases include a silver gull in Glenelg, two greater crested terns at Troubridge Island, a silver gull at Southend, a greater crested tern at Monarto and six greater crested terns on Pages Islands.
Five greater crested terns and a silver gull at Baudin Rocks also returned positive results. Those birds were a sample from about 50 dead and 30 sick birds found by aerial surveillance at Baudin Rocks in what has been confirmed as Australia’s first H5 mass mortality event.
The Coorong is a large area that is home to internationally significant wetlands that support populations of waterbirds and migratory species.
SA environment minister Emily Bourke said:
That confirmed location is of concern because it is where waterbirds are also located.
So it’s going from seabirds, but also potentially now into where we know a lot of water birds are nesting and using this space as a safe haven.
Media freedom alliance condemns Pauline Hanson’s press conference bans
The Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom has condemned One Nation’s Pauline Hanson for barring the Guardian, the Age and the ABC from a press conference today.
Executive director Peter Greste said “no political party should have the right to pick and choose the news outlets who ask them questions”.
In a statement, he said:
One of the strengths of our democracy is the ability of all journalists to robustly interrogate politicians on behalf of the people who hire them – the voters. It isn’t always comfortable, but that freedom is one of the reasons our political system is one of the world’s most stable and effective.
By locking out the ABC, The Age and The Guardian, One Nation is directly weakening our democratic system.
Two men sustain neck and leg injuries after building collapse in Sydney
Two people are being treated for leg and neck injuries after a partial collapse of a seven-metre-high building in inner Sydney, according to Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW).
FRNSW said emergency services responded to the incident around 11am on Wattle Street in Ultimo, where a total of seven people were assessed by paramedics.
Ambulance NSW say the two men, both in their 60s, were taken to Royal Prince Alfred hospital and St Vincent’s hospital, where they are now in stable conditions.
Earlier we incorrectly reported that one of the men was in his 30s.
FRNSW said the wall collapsed on to an adjoining service station, where debris damaged several parked cars.
The service station remains closed as a precaution, and its employees have been evacuated. Some neighbouring buildings have also been cleared.
Read more:
Josh Butler
News Corp claims media bargaining changes ‘gut’ scheme
The government’s changes to the News Bargaining Incentive have also not impressed News Corp, with the publisher claiming the updates would harm Australian media outlets.
News Corp’s Australian chair, Michael Miller, was unhappy with the changes to settings which would see narrow the charge base of how the fee is calculated on big tech companies, but increase the rate of charge. He said:
These changes gut the incentive for tech platforms to strike fair deals with Australian media, right when those rules need strengthening, not softening.
On an already uneven playing field, getting this wrong won’t just hurt Australian media. It will erode the quality and independence of news every Australian relies on.
Tech giants cannot keep dodging their obligations. Australia deserves full revenue transparency, backed by severe, non-negotiable penalties for any platform that flouts local law.
Josh Butler
News code changes will ‘short-change’ Australian media, Coalition says
The Coalition claims Australian journalists will be “dudded” by the government’s changes to the News Bargaining Incentive, and that the new framework will not collect enough money from big tech platforms.
Shadow communications minister Sarah Henderson and shadow assistant treasurer Kevin Hogan have released a statement on today’s announcement, calling it “a concerning free kick to the multinational tech giants at the expense of Australian news outlets” and raising concerns it would lead to “dramatically short-changing Australian media companies.” They said:
While the government has increased the charge rate to 2.5 per cent, it is estimated this about-face will mean billions of dollars of revenues earned by the tech giants will not be included in the scheme.
Henderson accused Labor of letting big tech “off the hook” with the changes. She said:
Not only will Labor’s scheme mean less money for Australian journalism, the government is now doing even less to encourage commercial deals with big tech which is extremely disappointing.
Labor’s dithering and delay on a promised replacement scheme has left tech giants unaccountable for their use of Australian copyrighted news content, while newsrooms and regional newspapers face uncertainty about their future.
Hogan said the Coalition welcomed the inclusion of LinkedIn in the scheme – which had previously been given a carveout under the draft framework.
Penry Buckley
NSW Icac hears of potentially illegal meetings between Reformers after summons
The NSW Icac has adjourned early for the rest of the day. Not long before lunch, Reformers witness Robert Assaf admitted to having three meetings with another person named in allegations, Jeremy Greenwood, after receiving a summons to appear at a private hearing before the inquiry this year.
Under section 114 of NSW’s Icac Act, it can be a criminal offence if a person discloses any information about a summons from the watchdog “that is likely to prejudice the investigation to which it relates”, punishable by up to 12 months imprisonment.
Asked about meetings at a cafe in Belfield and another on the Cooks river track in Sydney, Assaf admitted the men left their phones and laptops in Greenwood’s car before going for a walk so their conversations could not be traced.
Assaf said during the meetings they discussed the nature of evidence they would give to Icac, including potential vulnerabilities for the group at the inquiry.
Counsel assisting, Peggy Dwyer SC, asked: “Did you understand at that point in time, given what you were told when you received the summons, that it was important not to discuss your evidence?”
Assaf, who has described being stressed and nervous after receiving communication from Icac, admitted that he did.
The inquiry will return tomorrow with the NSW shadow attorney general, Damien Tudehope, and businessman Frits Maré expected to give evidence first.
Nick Visser
That’s all for me. Achol Arok will take things from here, take care.
Garma festival 2026 in pictures
The theme of the 26th Garma festival was Bukmak, meaning all of us, everyone together in Yolngu language. The four-day gathering at the Gulkula ceremonial grounds in Arnhem Land is the largest First Nations cultural event in Australia.
See more here:
Aerial surveillance has detected a suspected H5 bird flu mortality event in Victoria
Lisa Cox
The Victorian government said a cluster of dead and sick greater crested terns had been identified through aerial surveillance in the Glenelg River estuary near Nelson and across Lawrence Rocks over the weekend.
The government has not yet provided the number of birds observed but state authorities will speak to media later this afternoon.
Victoria’s chief biodiversity officer, James Todd, said the observations were consistent with what was recently reported in South Australia, where mass deaths of crested terns at Baudin Rocks were confirmed earlier today as Australia’s first mass mortality event from the deadly disease.
Victoria’s chief veterinary officer, Dr Graeme Cooke, said investigations were under way to better understand the progression of the virus in wildlife.
This event is consistent with the type of wildlife impacts we have been preparing for as H5 bird flu becomes established in a bird population.
Sampling has taken place today, along with further aerial surveillance, to determine any further impacts in other species.
There have so far been seven confirmed positive H5 bird flu cases in Victoria in crested terns, five in Portland and two in Nelson.
‘Holding public figures to account is the role of a free press,’ Guardian Australia says after blockage from One Nation press conference
Guardian Australia has released a statement after being barred from Pauline Hanson’s press conference earlier today.
As reported earlier, reporters from the ABC, the Age and the Guardian were not provided with the time or location of a press conference to announced One Nation’s Victorian state election candidates.
A Guardian spokesperson says:
Holding public figures to account is the role of a free press and an essential part of the democratic process. It is disappointing that One Nation continues to prevent the Guardian and other news outlets from reporting on its press conferences. Our journalists should be able to ask questions in the public interest and not be deterred from doing their job.
The Guardian has published important public interest journalism on Pauline Hanson and One Nation and stands by the rigour of its work.
