Australian news and politics recap: Monday, February 24, 2025

We’re shutting down our live coverage on The Nightly for Monday, February 24, 2025.

We’ll be back and bringing you all the latest news and updates live from tomorrow at 7.30am AEDT.

Make sure you keep an eye on The Nightly’s website overnight for all the latest breaking news.

Thanks for joining us.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last spoke to his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in April 2024.

Officials from Prime Minister and Cabinet made the revelation in Senate estimates on Monday, as the Coalition questioned the Government about the two Bankstown Hospital nurses who threatened to kill Israeli patients.

Mr Albanese last spoke to Israeli President Isaac Herzog on December 6, 2024.

That was the same day Mr Netanyahu linked the Adass Israel Synagogue firebombing with an Australian United Nations vote earlier that week.

Now to a highly disturbing exclusive from The Nightly by Natalie O’Brien.

A group of undercover police officers who infiltrated some of the world’s most dangerous crime networks only to be forced into hiding when their cover was potentially blown, have thrown themselves on the mercy of the Attorney General asking for protection.

The agents are pleading for help saying their former employers, the Australian Federal Police, have bungled their case and failed to ensure their safety from mobsters who think nothing of killing suspected informers let alone undercover cops.

In a rare glimpse inside the world of undercover police operations, the former cops say they and their families were exposed after discovering their assumed identities may have been compromised and then being left with no “exit strategy” or story to give the crooks for suddenly vanishing from their entrenched positions.

Read the shocking full story here.

WA Labor MP Sam Lim has had his phone replaced and a lesson on cyber-security after he claimed his phone “may have been compromised” following a series of anti-Israel messages sent to a WhatsApp group.

Caitlyn Rintoul reports from a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra that Parliament’s security team proactively reached out to the politician after the claims.

Those claims follow a series of messages sent in the wake of the arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue from Mr Lim’s phone to a community WhatsApp channel.

They claimed Mr Albanese suggested Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should consider the Melbourne attack was likely the result of radicals “who had had enough of the continued aerial bombing of thousands of innocent children and women in Gaza by his single minded troops”, and that he “might well be remembered in history as another hegemon”.

Read the full story here.

Employment Minister Murray Watt has accused shadow home affairs minister James Paterson of “politicising” a police investigation into the caravan of explosives found in Dural, near Sydney, in January.

The Coalition have launched a multipronged strategy this week in Senate Estimates sessions to try to uncover more information about who knew, what and when about the caravan, which was not only laden with explosives but also anti-Semitic notes.

Mr Paterson raised a number of questions in the Home Affairs Senate Estimates about when the National Emergency Management Agency and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke were informed.

The questions were shut down by Home Affairs officials, Mr Watt and the committee chairperson Senator Nita Green, citing an ongoing investigation by the NSW joint counter terrorism team.

Mr Watt said he was surprised Mr Paterson was raising a matter under investigation.

“It demonstrates again that you and your colleagues are more motivated by political points scoring than by actually catching the people responsible for these things,” he said.

Mr Paterson denied the accusation, saying questions to the department’s state of knowledge do not relate to investigation.

Penny Wong, representing the Prime Minister in senate estimates, has refused to provide any details about when Anthony Albanese was first briefed about the Dural caravan plot.

The Coalition gave it a red hot crack, trying to get some detail out of the Foreign Minister but Senator Wong was steadfast - saying all operational questions about the matter would be taken on notice.

She said that was in line with public statements made by the Australian Federal Police, and also refered to ASIO Directo-General Mike Burgess’ comments urging against politicising an active investigation.

But shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash has queried how telling Australians when the PM was first told was an operational matter.

She made the point that after the Adass Israel Synagogue was firebombed in December, the PM was forthcoming in providing details about when he had been briefed.

Her colleague, James McGrath, accused Senator Wong of being part of a “dodgy coverup” or a “protection racket”, with the Coalition arguing that Labor is trying to hide the fact that the PM wasn’t told until the incident became public knowledge.

Senator Wong wasn’t having a bar of that, telling the Coalition again and again that all questions would be taken on notice and that the Government “respects” what AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw has said.

AFP officials will be up before Senators later this week.

In a remarkable update, 7NEWS’ Europe correspondent Ben Downie reports Pope Francis remains in a critical condition but has delivered mass to those caring for him while in hospital:

“The Vatican says Pope Francis remains critical, and undergoing oxygen therapy after successful blood transfusions,” Downie said in a post on X.

“He was able to deliver mass to the health workers caring for him in hospital.”

Pretty extraordinary stuff from a man who is gravely ill!

Peter Dutton says the Coalition “remains the underdog in this election”, as new polls out today show it’s leading Labor.

The latest Resolve poll, conducted for the Sydney Morning Herald, shows a 55-45 two-party preferred lead.

The Opposition Leader says despite that, he’s conscious that no Government has lost power after one term since 1931.

But, he says, “this is the worst Government since 1931, and Anthony Albanese is the worst Prime Minister since 1931, and completely out of his depth”.

The only poll that matters is election day, he added.

Peter Dutton is now speaking from the electorate of Moreton in Brisbane.

The Opposition Leader says doctors are “right to be sceptical” on whether that 90 per cent bulk-billing rate can be achieved. He says general practice neeeds ot be made “attractive” to young doctors, especially in outer metro, regional, and reomte areas.

“So there are a lot of issues we need to get right. But I think what we have signalled is our desire to work with the sector, work with the doctors and make sure there’s a better outcome for patients and for doctors,” he said.

As for whether or not backing in Labor’s plan is at odds with the Coalition’s pledge to be a more financially responsible Government, Mr Dutton says “we’re not supporting spending which is inflationary”.

“It’s a big amount of money but we have identified the offset, the savings. Labor hasn’t done that. I think it’s a fair question for the Prime Minister as to where the money is going to come from,” he said.

The Coalition says they’ll be able to afford the huge investment by making cuts to the public service.

The Prime Minister’s appearance has wrapped up, and next up is the Opposition Leader.

Stand by for the latest from Peter Dutton.