Australian news and politics live: Temporary ban imposed on ‘ISIS bride’, blocking her return from Syria

One Nation WA leader Rod Caddies has issued a statement after one of his former candidates shared a name with the man who allegedly threw a bomb at Australia Day protesters in Perth.

He said the alleged Australia Day terrorist “Liam Alexander Hall is not the same person as Liam Christopher Hall who ran for One Nation WA at the 2025 state election,” Mr Caddies said.

His candidate had run in State Labor Minister Paul Papalia’s seat of Secret Harbour for One Nation and won 8.4 per cent of the primary vote.

“I have been in contact with Liam the candidate, and he is aware that some people are making the link, and he is monitoring the situation” Mr Caddies said urging caution to the media and public.

“Our candidate Liam is a fine member of the community and does not deserve any sort of negative attention just because he has the same first and last names as someone else.”

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Australian workers have seen their pay levels go backwards and lag behind inflation for the first time in more than two years, calling into question Labor’s promise of getting wages moving again.

The wage price index edged by up just 3.4 per cent last year as the consumer price index soared to 3.8 per cent.

Adjusted for inflation, real wages went backwards by 0.4 per cent, marking the first cut to pay levels since the September quarter of 2023 during a period when the Reserve Bank was still planning another interest rate rise.

Pay levels have now gone backwards in seven of the 14 quarters since Labor came to power in May 2022 on a campaign built around getting wages moving again.

Under the previous Coalition government, wages went backwards for five consecutive quarters from mid-2021, when Sydney and Melbourne were in lockdown.

In Opposition, shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers, industrial relations spokesman Tony Burke and Labor’s deputy leader Richard Marles in February 2022 taunted then Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison about workers suffering cuts in real wages in late 2021, after wages had been outpaced by inflation for the third consecutive quarter.

“This confirms again that Scott Morrison is the Prime Minister for higher prices, lower real wages and working families going backwards,” they said in a statement.

Anthony Albanese says he’s “personally pleased” after WA courts lifted a suppression order on the name of a man who allegedly threw a bomb at Australia Day protesters in Perth.

Police allege 32-year-old Warwick man Liam Alexander Hall threw a glass container with three explosive liquids, and wrapped it in ball bearings and screws at a crowd of 2500 demonstrators.

He has since been charged with the State’s first terrorism offence. It marked an upgrade from his initial charge of making an explosive under suspicious circumstances and endangering the life, health and safety of others.

While in Tasmania on Wednesday, Mr Albanese was asked his thoughts on the lifting of a suppression order prohibiting the publication of any identifying particulars.

“It is a matter of course for the courts. We have an independent process in Australia of a separation of the political system from the judiciary, but personally, I am pleased,” he said.

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One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson has doubled down on her controversial recent comments about Muslims, while offering an apology of sorts, saying Australians are living in fear.

Responding to the comments on Wednesday, and to condemnation about her comments from Muslim Imams and even Nationals Senator Matt Canavan, Senator Hanson said she expected the backlash.

“Of course they’re going to say that,” she said, before saying she had heard “more hateful” things come out “of the mouths of Imams” in Sydney, she told ABC News Breakfast.

Senator Hanson said she experienced first hand in Bondi, following the December 14 terror attack, that people were “living in fear”.

“We need to know who we are bringing into the country,” Senator Hanson said, adding she opposed “ISIS brides coming here into Australia”.

Asked to clarify if she “genuinely” believed there were no good Muslims in Australia, Senator Hanson said “no”.

“One woman who stood for me was a Muslim, not a practising Muslim,” she explained.

“If I have offended anyone out there that doesn’t believe in multiple marriages, sharia law, or wants to bring ISIS brides in, or people that believe in the caliphate, I apologise to you for my comments.

“In general, that is what they want, a world caliphate.

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Anthony Albanese has again insisted his government will follow national security advice when considering whether any of the so-called ISIS brides seeking to return from Syria should be barred from entering Australia.

The PM continues to neither confirm or deny that his government is looking at exclusion orders. But he again repeated that his government would “take national security advice, and we will do what we can to keep Australians safe within the law”.

He said the adults in the group had chosen to travel overseas and align themselves with “a brutal, reactionary ideology … that seeks to undermine and destroy our way of life”.

“We are doing nothing to repatriate or to assist these people,” he said.

“I think it’s unfortunate that children are caught up in this. That’s not their decision, but it’s the decision of their parents or their mother, and we want to make sure that we continue to be very clear about the government’s position.”

A reporter challenged Mr Albanese as to whether issuing passports to the Austraian citizens was in fact government assistance.

“No – people are having an implementation of Australian law,” Mr Albanese replied.

“We are providing no assistance to these people, and won’t provide any assistance to these people, but we won’t breach Australian law.”

Anthony Albanese says he’s “personally pleased” after he was asked if he welcomed the lifting of a suppression order on the name of a man who allegedly threw a bomb at an Australia Day protest in Perth.

The Prime Minister also acknowledged the fear the incident had caused First Nations Australians.

“It is a matter of course for the courts. We have an independent process in Australia of a separation of the political system from the judiciary, but personally, I am pleased,” he said.

“This was a very dangerous situation for First Nations people and we have condemned it from the very beginning.

“We continue to reassure First Nations people that we understand this will be traumatic for them.

“The threats that are out there to security from a range of areas are very real.

“We need to isolate these ideological extremes and we need to reassert our values as Australians and this was a horrific attack on First Nations people that could have had catastrophic consequences had it been successful.”

Anthony Albanese has given a press conference in northern Tasmania, where he was asked about the incident at a defence industry conference in Canberra where a protester threw a rock at a window.

The Prime Minister repeated his previous calls for people to “turn the temperature down” across society.

“That does nothing to advance a cause. That just alienates people from whatever the supposed cause this person has done,” he said.

He added that anyone who broke the law should face the full force of the law.

Panic has broken out inside a defence conference in Canberra after a protestor smashed a window just as the Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, was about to address the gathering.

Witnesses inside the event at the Hyatt Hotel have told The Nightly that several attendees fled out of the room when it was initially thought gunshots had been fired.

Former Defence Minister Christopher Pyne had just finished addressing the ADM Congress when the incident occurred.

Soon after, conference delegates returned to their seats and Vice Admiral Hammond began his scheduled remarks.

Read about the event where the incident took place.

Labor says it has not and will not provide “assistance” to ISIS brides attempting to return to Australia.

However, that is being brought into question as a “friend” of Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is believed to be assisting the women in getting back from Syria, and Labor admits the Government is “required” to grant passports.

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil has admitted the Albanese Government is “required” to issue Australian passports to citizens, like ISIS brides in terror hotspots.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is required to issue passports to Australian citizens,” Ms O’Neil told Sunrise.

“That is a matter of Australian law,” she added when asked how ISIS brides could be returning to the country.

Ms O’Neil said the Albanese Government had to follow the same laws as previous Liberal governments, attempting to shift focus to when former prime minister Scott Morrison brought children who were Australian citizens back from Syria.

“We have a situation here that is long-running for the country. There are Australian citizens overseas who, in some instances, have done things that are, you know, they deserve to face consequences for.

“Every Australian government has to manage groups of people like this.”