source : the age
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of national news this Wednesday, September 23. Here’s what’s making news today.
- One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce said last night his party has had “discussions with very senior Liberals” about a potential deal guaranteeing confidence and supply to form government after the next election. He was asked on News24 if he felt One Nation could form government given the polling numbers, or whether it would need to be a coalition with the Liberals and Nationals.
- Opposition spokesman for housing Andrew Bragg slated a proposal to let home buyers put up their retirement savings as collateral to access a home loan, an idea Angus Taylor was quick to say was not Coalition policy. Debate over superannuation remains a key theme of political discussion after One Nation announced earlier this month it would allow renters and mortgage holders access to a quarter of their future superannuation contributions over the next three years.
- The US government has raised serious concerns about Australia’s proposed Digital Duty of Care laws and argued the Albanese government’s attempt to tackle social media harm is likely to result in censorship and disproportionately impact American companies.
- And US President Donald Trump told world leaders at the United Nations that he was weighing whether to “annihilate” Iran to end the war, but predicted the two countries would reach a peace deal after the US midterm elections in November.
Swans coach Dean Cox says he expects the club’s five suspended players – Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon – to make their long-awaited return to the club’s Moore Park headquarters today.
The five players have not been back since they were stood down by the club, following a late-night incident at the Pullman Hotel in Melbourne after the club’s round 24 win against Essendon.
The incident is still the subject of an ongoing police investigation.
The Swans were eliminated from the 2026 competition last week by Fremantle, who play the Brisbane Lions in the grand final this weekend, but it is expected the Swans suspended players could address the wider playing group before they all go on break.
Cox confirmed to Channel Nine reporters this morning that the five players were also expected to have exit meetings with the club before the 2026 season officially comes to an end.
New York: Rugby league diplomacy took centre stage as Anthony Albanese and Andy Burnham held their first official meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, with the two leaders haggling over an unlikely sporting alliance.
The prime minister declared Burnham was now a South Sydney Rabbitohs fan, only for his UK counterpart to reveal there was a catch — the Australian PM had to become a fan of British Super League Leigh Leopards in return.
Burnham said he had already proclaimed his allegiance to the Rabbitohs in front of Australian journalists, but insisted the deal came with the Leopards condition, alongside his existing support for Premier League club Everton.
Albanese was not rushing to sign up, warning that his friendship with former Rabbitohs star Sam Burgess, now head coach of the Warrington Wolves, might make the arrangement “problematic”.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron has dismissed US President Donald Trump’s claims of having secured peace in Gaza, saying not a single humanitarian corridor had been reopened in the enclave despite the proclaimed peace.
In his final address to the United Nations General Assembly before leaving office next year, Macron said the world was witnessing a spectacle that should shame everyone, rebuking Trump’s portrayal of his Gaza peace plan as a diplomatic triumph.
He spoke hours after Trump had, from the same rostrum, hailed his Gaza peace plan as a diplomatic triumph.
“A year ago, here in this very hall, about a dozen states had recognised Palestine. I hear the cynicism of some people: ‘Recognition is just a piece of paper, look at the reality’,” Macron said, banging his fist on the podium in his last speech at the assembly before stepping down in May.
Opposition housing spokesman Andrew Bragg says the Coalition is trying to better align the retirement and housing systems after he floated a proposal yesterday to allow superannuation to be used as collateral for a housing loan.
Bragg’s proposal was swiftly dismissed by Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, who said it was not a Coalition policy and that its formal policy position would be unveiled soon.
“It’s not a policy, but it’s certainly an idea. Now, in relation to collateral, you could use some of your money to ultimately reduce the amount of money you need for a first home deposit, or you could use some of the money in cash and super to offset the amount of mortgage you might have to pay in terms of the interest,” Bragg told ABC’s 7.30 last night.
“So what we’re seeing now is high inflation, high interest rates, people paying a lot of interest on their mortgage. So I think a lot of people would be interested in these ideas being further considered.”
A thick blanket of fog shrouding Sydney has prompted warnings for people flying in or out of the city to check with their airline.
“Due to fog this morning, some flights may be impacted with delays and cancellations,” a Sydney Airport spokesperson said.
“We advise passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline.”
The airport’s flight listings showed five domestic departures and four domestic arrivals had been cancelled between 7am and 8am while a few other arrivals had been delayed, though it is not clear if all the cancellations and delays were due to fog.
An international flight from Los Angeles due to land at 7.30am has been diverted.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of national news this Wednesday, September 23. Here’s what’s making news today.
- One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce said last night his party has had “discussions with very senior Liberals” about a potential deal guaranteeing confidence and supply to form government after the next election. He was asked on News24 if he felt One Nation could form government given the polling numbers, or whether it would need to be a coalition with the Liberals and Nationals.
- Opposition spokesman for housing Andrew Bragg slated a proposal to let home buyers put up their retirement savings as collateral to access a home loan, an idea Angus Taylor was quick to say was not Coalition policy. Debate over superannuation remains a key theme of political discussion after One Nation announced earlier this month it would allow renters and mortgage holders access to a quarter of their future superannuation contributions over the next three years.
- The US government has raised serious concerns about Australia’s proposed Digital Duty of Care laws and argued the Albanese government’s attempt to tackle social media harm is likely to result in censorship and disproportionately impact American companies.
- And US President Donald Trump told world leaders at the United Nations that he was weighing whether to “annihilate” Iran to end the war, but predicted the two countries would reach a peace deal after the US midterm elections in November.
