News and politics live updates: China fires sea-based missile in Pacific after Australia and Fiji sign treaty

Angus Taylor has vowed to “get the balance right” on artificial intelligence amid fears of job losses as the technology revolutionises sectors across the economy.

The Opposition Leader said on Monday that “AI can be useful” and its benefits were self-evident, given Australia’s uptake.

“People are seeing that every day. They’re using it all the time,” he told Nine’s Today.

“On the other hand, we don’t want it to control us. So, we’ve got to get the balance right.

“We’ve got to … make sure the copyright laws are right so it’s not stealing from Australian creators and creatives – that’s incredibly important.”

Mr Taylor said the productivity boosts from AI would in turn push wages up.

“That’s how we get prosperity so we’ve got to use it for our benefit – not have it use us for its benefit,” Mr Taylor said.

“We do believe in raising standards of living. We know technology can help that, but that means it has to be used for our benefit.”

- with newswire

Socceroos winger Awer Mabil has returned to Adelaide after a devastating loss to Egypt that saw Australia’s World Cup hopes ended.

When the Former Young Australian of the Year was asked at the airport about One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s recent comments about monoculturalism, the 30-year-old called it “all bulls***”.

“When someone tried to divide people based on certain things, because you don’t pick where you’re born, the colour of your skin,” he said.

“You pick to be a good human being - that is a choice.

“Some people that choose to go against being good, that’s their own problem. They’re missing out on what others can bring and that’s what multiculturalism does, it brings other flavours to the table instead of just one thing,”

The Socceroo also said the comments did not “distract” his teammates during the World Cup.

“It didn’t really distract us because we know what we represent, we represent Australia on the biggest stage . . . if anyone is trying to divide that, then they’re probably not Australian themselves in a sense, respectfully.”

Nikki Osborne, the comedian behind the controversial interview where Albanese said he would “shag” Kylie Minogue, has responded to the furore around the Prime Minister’s comments.

On Monday morning, Albanese apologised “unequivocally” for the comments after public scrutiny.

The 44-year-old comedian, also known as Bushie, revealed she wasn’t sure what is going on.

“So I’m currently at home with gastro, missed my flight to Sydney. My phone is blowing up with media requests. I’m just trying to keep food down,” she wrote.

In a now-deleted Instagram story, she also shared a screenshot of a news article about the Prime Minister’s apology, captioned: “What’s going on?”

A comment she left on a clip from the podcast on Friday has also gained attention following Albanese’s apology.

“This episode is bloody hilarious and a moment in political history because it was a massive risk for him,” she said.

“They didn’t ask for approval of the edit, they just let me in, do the craziest political interview, then leave with comedy gold.”

Anthony Albanese has finally found the ability to say sorry and it took Kylie Minogue to do it.

The PM has previously seemed impervious to criticism and has stubbornly refused to take any responsibility for the numerous stuff-ups and unforced errors he’s presided over.

But when the collective brains trust of fan girls who run his media unit saw his performance on comedian Nikki Osborne’s Bush Deep podcast, it was too bad for even them to ignore.

Albanese copped the rightful condemnation of women in high office across Australia, while his allies in Katy Gallagher and Penny Wong went silent, refusing to comment on the remark their boss made during a game of “shag, marry, date” that he would choose Kylie for all three.

His comments weren’t just denigrating of women and unworthy of the office of the Prime Minister, they were cringe and creepy.

Read the full opinion piece.

The Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says he is not anticipating any retaliation from China after signing a defence pact with Australia on Monday.

“I do not expect China to have any severe pushback on either government,” he said.

“And I believe that they will welcome the understanding that is between Australia and Fiji.

“It is not threatening Fiji’s relationship with China, nor Australia’s relationship with China.

“We have made it very clear in the past, your enemies are not necessarily my enemies.”

When asked if he would consider boosting defence spending in light of the new alliances signed in the past year, Anthony Albanese did not make any commitments.

Instead, the Prime Minister pointed to his government’s Budget.

“We have had a Budget and that Budget had an additional... $54 billion of additional spending,” Mr Albanese said.

“We have increased spending, but importantly we have increased effectiveness.

“You cannot defend your country or any other country with a media release – what you defend it with is assets.

“That is what I think we have very effectively done.”

An attack on Fiji would “trigger full support for Fiji”, Anthony Albanese says.

The Prime Minister said the security agreement and the alliance was “not about troops in each other’s nations” but that it will allow “discussions about specifics” on defence co-operation.

“It will allow for a clearer area of co-operation and requests to be made over the full suite of challenges that confront our national security in 2026, that comes not just from traditional ways … but areas like cyber security and other areas as well,” the Australian Prime Minister said.

Meta officials have told the Royal Commission that people are using the terms “Zionism” or “Zionist” as a “coded word” online content to evade anti-Semitisim standards on their platforms Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp.

An official for the tech giant told a hearing on Monday that Meta has been removing content that uses alternative words or code words in place of “Jews”, as it classifies these terms as anti-Semitic and fails their online standards.

Meta’s director of content policy Benjamin Good appeared via video link from the US and explained how the tech giant handles anti-Semitic content and the growing trend of coded messaging.

Mr Good said Meta had been cracking down on anti-Semitic tropes such as claiming Jewish people controlled governments, the media, or financial institutions.

Read the full story here.

Australia has struck a sweeping new defence alliance with Fiji as the Albanese government seeks to curb China’s rising influence in the Pacific.

The Ocean of Peace Alliance, also known as the Veitacini Treaty, will see Fiji become just Australia’s fourth military alliance partner after the United States, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Fijian counterpart Sitiveni Rabuka signed the document in the capital Suva on Monday, which will allow both countries to “invite any other Pacific state” to join.

The Queensland government’s integration of bail laws into its signature “Adult Crime, Adult Time” legislation has been dismissed by experts as both sloganeering and unnecessary.

However, increasingly tougher sentences and treatment for children and teenagers found guilty of serious crimes have become a cornerstone of the Crisafulli government’s tough-on-crime measures.

The premier, elected in 2024 after campaigning on the laws, has increased the number of offences eligible for adult punishment since coming to office.

Mr Crisafulli used his keynote address on Sunday at the LNP state convention to pledge a new offence for under-agers who breach bail.

“We need to continue to have consequences for actions to make sure that we continue to restore safety,” he told delegates.

“If you’re a repeat offender, you’re wielding a machete, you’re stealing cars, you’re breaking into people’s homes ... if you breach bail, you will go to jail.”

AAP