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Australia news live: Angus Taylor criticises PM for not condemning Grace Tame’s Sydney protest chant; Sussan Ley formally quits parliament
Angus Taylor says Grace Tame ‘got it wrong’ and it’s ‘not good enough’ that PM could not condemn her
Natasha May
Opposition leader Angus Taylor says Grace Tame “got it wrong” when the former Australian of the Year chanted “globalise the intifada” at a protest against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Asked on 2GB this morning about whether he believed the prime minister, Anthony Albanese’s, explanation of why he called Tame “difficult” at a News Corp event, where he was asked to describe public figures in one word, he said he meant that her life had been “difficult” – Taylor somewhat sidestepped the question.
Taylor said:
At the end of the day, she said that, she was chanting, globalise the intifada. Now, globalise the intifada is a call to violence. That’s what it is. She said it unambiguously, and the prime minister could not condemn her – and frankly, that’s not good enough. He lacks moral clarity in the way he approaches these issues. It’s simple, if someone calls for violence, you condemn it.
Asked to play his own word association game, Taylor responded to Tame’s name:
She got it wrong. Globalise the intifada. It should be condemned by all of us.
On Thursday, Albanese said: “Now there are other issues, such as the language that Grace Tame used, that I disagree with, at the demonstration that was held in Sydney.”
Key events
Jordyn Beazley
NSW counter-terrorism minister unaware where women and children linked to Islamic State will reside
The counter-terrorism minister for New South Wales said she was unaware where the women and children detained in Syria over links to Islamic State fighters will be residing when those that are from the state return.
Yasmin Catley, who is also the minister for police, said while under questioning in budget estimates earlier today that she had been briefed by the senior police officer David Hudson and the departments handling the matter but is not an active decision-maker in the process.
Catley said the matter is being handled by the premier’s department, and the department of communities and justice.
The shadow minister for counter-terrorism, Anthony Roberts, said after the comments were made that Catley being briefed was not enough. He said:
It beggars belief that the police minister does not know where these individuals will be settled, or which communities will be directly impacted.
ASIC sues Budget Direct, alleging insurer overcharged thousands of customers
Tens of thousands of Budget Direct customers lost promised insurance discounts worth a total of $3.3m in savings, the corporate regulator claims in a new lawsuit.
AAP reports ASIC launched legal action against Auto & General Services Pty Ltd, the insurer managing Budget Direct products, after 39,000 customers were alleged to have been overcharged for premiums over several years.
The misconduct occurred between March 2020 and July 2024, the regulator says. It is seeking declarations and fines from the court.
Budget Direct allegedly promoted significant discounts of up to 30% for customers who purchased car, home or motorbike insurance policies online.
ASIC alleges the advertising was misleading because customers were not told the online discounts would be removed following any changes made to their policies, such as a change in address.
The average premium discount loss amounted to almost $100. ASIC claims Auto & General first became aware of the problem as early as 2016, but failed to inform affected customers for years.
Sarah Court, the ASIC deputy chair, said in a statement:
Australians should be able to take insurers at their word, especially when it comes to discounts that influence their decision to take up a policy and compare it to other products in the market.
We allege Budget Direct’s conduct was misleading and deprived tens of thousands of Australians millions of dollars in savings they were promised.
Ima Caldwell
Sinkhole appears in Sydney CBD, prompting one school to close
A large hole has appeared at an intersection in Sydney’s CBD after flash flooding on Thursday evening.
It is located next to Hyde Park and St Mary’s Cathedral, at a busy intersection between College Street and Prince Albert Road.
The front wheels of a Coles delivery truck fell into the hole on Friday morning, prompting an emergency response involving at least two tow trucks, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
A burst water pipe may be responsible, with Sydney Water cutting off the supply for nearby buildings. A spokesperson for St Mary’s Cathedral said it remains open for “business as usual”, but its toilets have been closed.
However, the adjoining St Mary’s Cathedral College confirmed that high school students had been sent home. “Primary students, kindergarten to year six, are being collected by parents and carers,” a college spokesperson said, noting the school should reopen on Monday.
Sydney’s Inner West council will march in the Mardi Gras parade
Sydney’s Inner West council will march for the first time on Saturday during the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade.
The council, including about 80 people, will march under a banner reading “Lots of love from the Inner West”. The float will celebrate programs to support LGBTQI+ residents, including the opening of Newtown’s pride centre, support for drag story time and the new pride history walk.
The mayor, Darcy Byrne, said in a statement:
The Inner West has long been a place where diversity is celebrated and equality is fought for. This year, we are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with our community in one of the most powerful public displays of solidarity.
This partnership is just the start. We’re committed to working with Mardi Gras on a longer-term relationship, as we look towards the festival’s 50-year anniversary in 2028.
Andrew Messenger
Brisbane childcare centre fined $14,500 for losing three-year-old for 30 minutes
A Brisbane childcare centre has been fined $14,500 after losing track of a three-year-old student for nearly 30 minutes, according to the department of education.
The incident took place on 23 June 2023 at Only About Children Morningside, in south Brisbane. The Early Childhood Regulatory Authority took action against the service’s approved provider for failing to adequately supervise children at all times, protect children from harm and hazards, and ensure a child did not leave the premises.
According to a spokesperson for the department, the three-year-old left the premises unnoticed before a member of the public alerted the service after observing the child outside.
The child was located about 20 minutes later.
The case was heard in the Brisbane magistrates court on Friday.
Magistrate Lewis Shillito issued a $14,500 fine on the provider plus $2,500 in costs paid to the department. He said it was “good luck, not good management” that the child was not harmed, according to a department spokesperson.
The provider had no previous convictions and accepted responsibility, the spokesperson said.
Jordyn Beazley
NSW police minister said state likely to see police using more drones
The police minister has said she will be advocating for police to use more drones to respond to crime across state after a trial, the first of its kind in Australia, which is underway in the rural town of Moree.
The police commissioner Mal Lanyon has said that the trial, which will run for six months, is not about surveillance but about increasing capability in an emergency such as “an operational matter like a break and enter”.
Police minister Yasmin Catley was asked about the trial during budget estimates. She said:
It’s excellent technology, and remarkably cheaper than a helicopter, for instance. So I think going into the future, this is the sort of technology that police will be able to use very successfully as another tool, if you like, in their toolbox.
It’s top notch. It’s excellent. And I think that we will see more of this, and I’ll certainly be advocating for more of it across the state and regional areas.
Melissa Davey
BetStop report finds people can gamble while self-excluded
The report Statutory Review of BetStop – the National Self-Exclusion Register, tabled to parliament on Thursday, found that people can gamble while self-excluded in a number of ways, by changing names, using other accounts or due to mismatched data.
One person lost $70,000 while supposedly excluded by registering to gamble using a different first name, email address and phone number, the report found.
While gambling industry stakeholders consider circumvention of the register to be low, the report found “actual numbers are unclear”.
Keno is not part of the self-exclusion register, despite the report finding that some online Keno offerings allow consumers to spend up to $1,000 every three minutes. The report recommended that these products be covered by the exclusion register as soon as possible.
The report also found the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) received 669 complaints related to the register between 2023 and 31 August 2025.
Just 21 of these were investigated, with 12 of those investigations complete by 31 August 2025.
A “worryingly low” 33.5% of gamblers were aware of the self-exclusion register, the report found, while awareness levels among the broader community were even lower.
Responding to the report, the minister for communications, Anika Wells, said: “It’s fantastic that the independent review has confirmed BetStop is making a meaningful difference in protecting vulnerable Australians from gambling harm”.
Jordyn Beazley
NSW responds to Labor backbenchers attending anti-Herzog protest
Returning to NSW budget estimates, where police minister Yasmin Catley has again been asked about Sydney’s anti-Herzog rally.
Catley was asked if she supported the actions of the four Labor backbenchers that attended the protest. She said:
I think people have the right to protest, and I should say they have the right to peacefully protest. I myself have peacefully protested, as many of your colleagues have.
But to go on then and to be part of that antagonism and violence that we saw, no, I do not agree with that. I do not think that community leaders should be part of that.
Liberal MP Damien Tudehope asked Catley if the MPs acted in a manner that “incited violent action” and she said she didn’t notice any evidence of that.
Tudehope noted that two of those backbenchers who attended the protest – Stephen Lawrence and Cameron Murphy – were not present at the budget estimates today despite being members of the committee.
Asked if she made requests for them to not be present, Catley said she hadn’t.
Josh Taylor
Meta takes another swipe at social media ban
Instagram overnight announced new features that will alert parents if teens are repeatedly searching for suicide or self-harm-related terms. However, the company said that due to the social media ban in Australia, this tool will only be available for parents of teens aged 16 and 17.
Under the changes, parents will receive alerts via app notifications, email, SMS and WhatsApp. The company is also developing ways for AI interactions to alert parents.
This comes as the company faces a trial in the US over allegations that Meta deliberately addicts and harms minors.
In the Australian announcement, Instagram noted the limitations the social media ban would impose on this new feature.
Given Australia’s social media ban, teens aged 13-15 are not able to have a social media account and therefore there are no parental supervision tools available for this age group. Rather than blanket bans, we believe tools like this demonstrate the value of giving parents more visibility and partnership online where safeguards, supervision features, and crisis interventions can be put in place.
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In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
Angus Taylor says Grace Tame ‘got it wrong’ and it’s ‘not good enough’ that PM could not condemn her
Natasha May
Opposition leader Angus Taylor says Grace Tame “got it wrong” when the former Australian of the Year chanted “globalise the intifada” at a protest against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Asked on 2GB this morning about whether he believed the prime minister, Anthony Albanese’s, explanation of why he called Tame “difficult” at a News Corp event, where he was asked to describe public figures in one word, he said he meant that her life had been “difficult” – Taylor somewhat sidestepped the question.
Taylor said:
At the end of the day, she said that, she was chanting, globalise the intifada. Now, globalise the intifada is a call to violence. That’s what it is. She said it unambiguously, and the prime minister could not condemn her – and frankly, that’s not good enough. He lacks moral clarity in the way he approaches these issues. It’s simple, if someone calls for violence, you condemn it.
Asked to play his own word association game, Taylor responded to Tame’s name:
She got it wrong. Globalise the intifada. It should be condemned by all of us.
On Thursday, Albanese said: “Now there are other issues, such as the language that Grace Tame used, that I disagree with, at the demonstration that was held in Sydney.”
Man trapped after crane tipped over in Brisbane
A man is trapped inside a crane that has tipped over and struck a power pole in east Brisbane.
Police are on the scene of the incident in Hemmant, after being called at about 8.25am to reports a crane had tipped over and struck a power pole. In a statement they said:
The male driver of the crane remains trapped and emergency services are working to extract him from the vehicle.
Guardian Australia understands the man’s condition could be serious but he has yet to be formally assessed as the scene needs to be made safe so paramedics can do so.
Josh Butler
Monique Ryan wants gambling harm classified as a public health issue
Independent MP Monique Ryan will introduce a private member’s bill to federal parliament next week, seeking to have gambling classified as a public health issue.
In a proposed amendment to the Centre for Disease Control Act, Ryan’s bill would seek to broaden the definition of public health matters to include the impacts of gambling harm, such as financial distress, mental health and impacts on families.
Coming as the NRL and AFL kick off their new football seasons, Ryan’s bill will be supported by members of the cross bench who have been agitating for further reforms to wagering laws, including around advertising of gambling products. It is unclear if the bill will receive wider support in parliament.
“Experts have repeatedly documented the health impacts of problem gambling, but no Australian jurisdiction gives its health authorities responsibility for managing these issues,” Ryan said.
Classifying gambling as a ‘public health matter’ under the remit of the Australian Centre for Disease Control will kick off national action on a health emergency that demands the Albanese government’s full attention.
Ryan said classifying gambling harm as a public health issue would lead to better national action, including data collection and strategies to address the issue.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
AEC proposes major changes for Tasmanian’s federal seats
More than a quarter of Tasmanian voters would be shifted to a new federal seat under a proposed redrawing of the state’s electoral boundaries.
The Australian Electoral Commission released the redrawn maps for public consultation on Friday, proposing changes in four of the state’s five federal seats.
The electoral commissioner, Jeff Pope, said about 27% of Tasmanians would change electorates with the vast majority coming from adjustments to the seats of Clark, Franklin and Lyons.
The seat of Bass in the state’s north would also be drawn while the electorate of Braddon, which covers the north-west and west coast, would remain unchanged.
Pope said:
All proposed changes are driven by the need to balance current and projected enrolment across electorates but also to have electorates that reflect connected communities of interest and natural boundaries wherever possible.
Feedback on the proposed redistribution is open until 27 March.
The commission is also seeking feedback on a potential renaming of the seat of Franklin, which was named after Sir John Franklin, the lieutenant-governor of Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen’s Land) from 1837-1843.
Tasmania swung behind Anthony Albanese’s team at the 2025 election, with Labor picking up Bass and Braddon and retaining Franklin and Lyons.
The independent MP, Andrew Wilkie, comfortably held Clark.
Jordyn Beazley
Police have new system to flag neo-Nazi groups’ use of form one system
NSW police minister Yasmin Catley said the police have implemented a new system that would better flag any potential neo-Nazi rallies if they seek authorisation from police.
Last November, the police came under fire after a neo-Nazi group gained police authorisation via the form one process to hold a rally outside NSW parliament.
The NSW police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, said that while police had allowed the protest, neither he nor the NSW premier knew it was taking place, and blamed a breakdown in communication.
Catley told budget estimates a short time ago:
They’re implementing a new system when it comes to form ones, and it would have been picked up on the way through when they lodge it in the first place.
