source : the age
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of national news for Thursday, September 10. Here’s what is making headlines today.
Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has broadened his attack on One Nation leader Pauline Hanson this morning, after she labelled the former SAS soldier a “traitor” for testifying in the defamation case against Ben Roberts-Smith.
Hanson refused to delete or apologise for satirical cartoons commissioned by her party that called Hastie a “traitor” and a “gutless maggot”.
During a fiery interview on News24 last night, she was repeatedly pressed to distance herself from the comments but declined to do so, arguing “it’s a satirical cartoon, for Christ’s sake”.
“I gave her the opportunity to either own her words publicly, or to take it down. She chose neither, and in fact, rather than stepping up as a leader, she claims she could be prime minister,” Hastie told ABC Radio National a few minutes ago.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has taken aim at both major parties for pandering to One Nation as he described a “political race to the bottom” on migration.
Speaking to the Sydney Institute last night, Malinauskas said labelling people who were anxious about immigration as racists was “just plain daft”, and said most of the concern surrounding immigration was about its perceived economic impacts.
The premier said it was the responsibility of those in power to make the economic case for a strong, balanced migration program without trying to appease the far-right.
“In my view, people on the far left who are understandably utterly horrified about the extraordinary rise of far-right politics in Australia and around the world would do well to engage in a moment of self-reflection,” Malinauskas told the institute.
“Maybe, just maybe, the intense self-righteousness, sanctimony, and piety that underpinned the ‘great awokening’ may have tilled the soil for the inevitable countercultural movement that has now found a home for itself in the far right.”
Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate must remain in custody as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom, where the brothers are accused of rape and sex trafficking, a federal judge in Miami ruled on Wednesday (US time).
US Magistrate Lauren Louis denied a defence motion for release, meaning the Tates will remain jailed during what could be a months-long extradition process.
The Tates “have failed to meet their burden to demonstrate that they do not present a risk of flight or danger to the community, or that special circumstances warrant their release. Respondents have failed to demonstrate that special circumstances here warrant relief, whether their proposed special circumstances are considered singly or together,” Louis said in her ruling. “Having failed to meet these three factors, Respondents’ Motion for Release Pending Extradition Proceedings is DENIED”.
The Tates have become among the world’s most polarising internet personalities with their promotion of wealth, male dominance and misogyny through their social media empire. Prosecutors say the brothers are a flight risk because they appear to have money and have bragged about multiple passports.
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie says this morning Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has “really serious questions to answer” over revelations he was an honorary member of a golf club in his Sydney electorate that received $6 million in funding.
Crossbench MPs and senators are pushing for the Albanese government to overhaul the Commonwealth grants system as scrutiny intensifies over its distribution of $560 million to key Labor seats through an invitation-only community infrastructure program that they say is “pork barrelling by design”.
Senator McKenzie is no stranger to pork barrelling accusations. She resigned from cabinet and leadership positions in February 2020 after an investigation revealed she breached ministerial standards by failing to declare her membership in a gun club that received a government grant.
She said the PM should face similar consequences.
“This is a club that claims he’s their most famous patron. There’s numerous examples over previous decades of attending the club, organising Labor Party functions at the club,” she told Nine’s Today show.
During a fiery exchange on ABC TV yesterday, Albanese said he would make “no apologies” for the grants and defended the funding. He also rejected the suggestion his honorary membership of the golf club created a conflict of interest.
British police have widened a criminal investigation into the populist Reform UK party to include allegations made in a documentary that officials planned to break electoral law on foreign funding.
Reform, led by veteran Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, denied any wrongdoing and a spokesman for the party said it would “fully cooperate” with the investigation.
Farage, under investigation by a parliamentary watchdog about earlier donations, was forced to sack two of his closest aides last week, after the undercover investigation was aired by Channel 4 News.
It showed two senior officials in Reform – then head of policy James Orr and Farage’s former right-hand man, Dan Jukes – speaking about funding with a supposed US businessman and his British-based son, including conversations about a payment for three opinion polls commissioned by the party.
Adding to the flurry of new route announcements in Sydney this week, Shenzhen Airlines said it will begin flying from Sydney Kingsford Airport in December.
The airline will launch its inaugural four-times-weekly service between the Chinese city of Shenzhen and Sydney starting on December 14.
It adds to the stable of Chinese carriers serving Australian cities, capitalising on Australians’ visa-free travel to China. Flying through China has also emerged as an alternative route for Australians reaching Europe since the US-Israel war on Iran kicked off in February.
Shenzhen’s announcement comes one day after Sydney Airport said EgyptAir would begin flying to Cairo via Singapore from 2027. On Tuesday, Fiji Airways said on Tuesday it will begin serving Western Sydney International from next year.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of national news for Thursday, September 10. Here’s what is making headlines today.
