Australian news and politics recap: Peter Dutton says Donald Trump got it wrong on Ukraine and Zelensky

Thanks for joining us on the live blog today.

The same day as an Anti-Semitism Summit - where Peter Dutton made big claims about revoking citizenships of perpetrators of such hateful acts - two men were charged for heinous anti-Semitism attacks against properties in Sydney.

And while the Opposition Leader made his big pitch to the Jewish community, Anthony Albanese was feeling very optimistic about his changes as he annoucned a rescue package for the Whyalla steelworks in SA.

And it wouldn’t be a news day without Donald Trump causing a stir. The POTUS unleashed an extraordinary spray on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling the embattled leader a “dictator”.

You’ve been great company, we’ll be back tomorrow.

For the full wrap on the day’s news and get ahead of Friday’s agenda, you can read the latest edition of The Nightly now.

Peter Dutton closed his appearance at the Anti-Semitism Summit with what could only be described as an elevator pitch to voters, particularly Jewish Australians before the election.

“I would provide the leadership that our country needs,” he said, adding he would make a particular assurance to Jewish Australians that he will not tolerate “racism or anti-Semitic conduct or vilification in our country”.

“It destroys me that there are people in our country of Jewish faith or heritage who are living in fear and don’t recognise this country.

“I find it so repugnant to see somehow people can justify their treatment.

“None of us should stand back and all of us should stand up, and as Prime Minister that’s exactly the approach I would take.”

The Opposition Leader also made the sensational claim that the Albanese Government was “fast-traicking” citizenships to get extra votes in the upcoming election.

Peter Dutton accused Immigration Minister Tony Burke of approving “thousands” of citizenships of new Australians in electorates that Labor is desperate to hold onto during the federal election.

“I think its quite remarkable,” Mr Dutton told the Anti-Semitism Summit.

“I just question whether there has been any slackening of the process, whether there has been any compromise on the security checks and whether it’s in our country’s best interests for people to receive citizenship before the proper security checks have been undertaken.”

The Daily Telegraph first reported the immigration deparmtnet would hold a three-day citizenship ceremony blitz in Sydney Olympic Park this weekend, which could see as many as 6000 new Australians welcomed to the western Sydney electorate.

Mr Dutton is seemingly planning to put anti-Semitism on the same deportation standard for serious violent or sexual non-citizen offenders.

When I was immigration mister, we deported about 6000 people - bikies, ... people had commited the most heinous offences - and it sent a message that if you are here as a non-citizen and you’re expecting to attack or to commit an offence against an Australian citizens without consequence, that has no place in a civilised society.

He vowed to extend Section 501 provisions of the migration laws - that required mandatory visa cancellations for non-citizens jailed for 12 months or more or convicted of child sex offences - to include anti-Semitic conduct.

If people are acting outside the conditions of their visa, they’re acting outside the laws of Australia then they’ll be treated equally to everyone else and the law needs to be enforced.

Peter Dutton has vowed to change visa laws to deport people found to have made anti-Semitic statements if he wins the upcoming Federal election.

The Opposition Leader’s promise was met with cheers from the crowd at the Sky News Australia Anti-Semitism Summit, which he said would send a “clear message to people who hate us, hate our country, hate Jewish people”.

“Under a government that I lead, they’ll have no place in this country,” Mr Dutton said.

He said if he became Prime Minister in the coming months, the Coalition would change the Migration Act so anti-Semitism was grounds for visa refusal - and those changes would be backdated to capture anyone who had made hateful acts since October 7, 2023.

Former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has issued a grim warning and an urgent call to arms for all Australians to tackle anti-Semitism, saying the country was facing a “pivotal moment” to tackle intolerance.

Speaking at Sky News Australia’s Anti-Semitism Summit in Sydney, Mr Frydenberg said “it is only a matter of time before another minority across our country is targeted next”.

“The knock-on effect of anti-Semitism is real and if left unchecked a wall in our society that keeps the mob at bay will come crumbling down,” he said.

Mr Frydenberg said Australian governments and authorities had been too “reactive” to the problem and incidents that had “changed our country forever”.

“At first, our leaders decided to ignore what was happening. Then they hoped it would go away. Now, belatedly they are starting to appreciate the depth of the problem,” he continued.

“There is no point scooping water out of a boat that has a leak hoping it will not sink. You must plug the leak first, otherwise all on board Jew and non-Jew will eventually drown.”

To combat the spiralling scourge of anti-Semitism, the country’s Attorneys-General will work to establish a national database to report on hate crimes.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus is set to convene the Standing Council of Attorneys-General in Sydney on Friday to ask for his state and territory counterparts to establish the Australia-first database.

He said Jewish community groups and peak bodies had long advocated for the database.

“A national database will allow us all to better see the prevalence and impact of hate crimes and develop better-targeted responses,” Mr Dreyfus said.

There is currently no national reporting standard on the scope and nature of hate crimes in Australia.

Mr Dreyfus said the national cabinet supported establishing the database, and that its existence “transcends... borders and party politics”.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has weighed in on the nasty stoush that erupted between Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky overnight.

Trump sparked outrage when he called Zelensky a ‘dictator’ and claimed that it was Ukraine, not Russia, that started the war.

And, in a pointed threat to the Ukrainian president, Mr Trump warned he had “better move fast” to reach a peace deal with Russia “or he is not going to have a country left”.

But Peter Dutton is not having a bar of it.

“The thought that President Zelensky or the Ukrainian people started this battle, or somehow they were responsible for the war, is just wrong,” he said on 2GB.

“Australia should stand strong and proud with the people of Ukraine. It’s a democracy, and this is a fight for civilization.

“Vladimir Putin is a murderous dictator, and we shouldn’t be giving him an inch. I think President Trump has got it wrong in relation to some of the public commentary that I’ve seen him make in relation to President Zelensky and the situation in Ukraine.

“Very, very careful thought needs to be given about the next steps, because if we make Europe less safe, or we provide some sort of support to Putin, deliberately or inadvertently, that is, that is a terrible, terrible outcome.”

​​Read the full story ​​

A Polish woman who claimed she was missing British child Madeleine McCann has reportedly been arrested in the UK.

Julia Wandelt, 23, was taken into custody at Bristol Airport on Wednesday night local time, according to ​UK news outlet LBC​.

She is allegedly being held for stalking and harassing Madeleine’s parents Gerry and Kate, according to her representative Surjit Singh Clair.

“I’m trying to find out what’s happened but it appears Julia has been arrested at Bristol Airport this evening just after she got off the plane,” Clair told LBC.

“The police have reportedly arrested her on an allegation of stalking and harassing the McCanns.”

Read the full story by Molly Magennis ​here​.

Doctors will no longer be muzzled from initiating voluntary assisted dying conversations with terminally ill patients under long-called-for law changes, reports AAP.

A “gag clause” that banned Victorian practitioners from initiating a discussion on voluntary assisted dying (VAD) with patients would be lifted under government-led legislation.

Other proposed law changes include lifting the six-month life expectancy rule for non-neurodegenerative diseases to 12 months, shortening the time between the first and final VAD requests and simplifying the permit process.

“While our Australian-first voluntary assisted dying laws are giving Victorians the dignity of making their own decisions about the timing and manner of their death - we know we need to update them to ensure they remain fair,” Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said.

The moves follow a legislated five-year review into the laws, tabled in state parliament on Thursday, that found some safeguards were impeding access to the end-of-life choice.

Victoria became the first state to legalise euthanasia in 2019, with Western Australia, Queensland, NSW, Tasmania and South Australia following suit.

Read the full report from Callum Godde,AAP here.