Australian news and politics recap: Opposition Leader Sussan Ley farewells late mother Angela Braybrooks

An east coast gas reservation could be on the table for a second-term Albanese government as it prepares to launch a wide-ranging review of Australia’s energy framework.

The review, set to start by July 1, will investigate how market bodies can ensure greater gas access for Australians, Resources Minister Madeleine King said.

Ms King blamed former governments for leaving the nation in “an energy policy mess”, vowing Labor was working to improve gas supplies and relieve household costs for Aussies “in an orderly way”.

“The Albanese Government inherited an energy policy mess but are working in an orderly way to bring on more gas supplies for Australian homes and businesses,” she said.

Queensland and Western Australia are Australia’s two biggest gas exporters and both have state-based gas reservation schemes.

“The government will progress the planned review of gas market frameworks and the role of market bodies to ensure more gas is made available for Australians.”

Senator Hanson, whose One Nation Party secured a substantial result in the Federal election, has shared her thoughts on where former Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and his Coalition went wrong.

“The Coalition have sat on the fence,” Senator Hanson told Sky News.

“They are not going to pick up those Greens or Labor voters with their policy.

“People say we (One Nation) are extreme right. That is ridiculous to say that. We are more of a centrist party than an extreme right if you look at our policies.

“The trouble with the Coalition was, they never pushed back. They couldn’t state their case.

“You need that leadership, people to state their case. But you must earn the trust from the people.”

One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson has responded to the biggest Federal win in her party’s history.

“I’m elated,” Senator Hanson told Sky News on Friday after the party picked up its fourth senate seat.

“The big thank you must go to the people out there who voted for One Nation.

Senator Hanson’s party now has the same number of senate seats as the Nationals, something the leader says comes down to “good common-sense policies”, something that was released in February ahead of the Federal election.

“We are dead set getting rid of net-zero and getting out of the Paris Agreement,” she said, saying it was what her voters wanted.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is being pressured to visit Israel as Australia strengthens its language against the Middle Eastern nation for blocking aid into Gaza.

Mr Albanese has been publicly invited by President Isaac Herzog after he strengthened his language to criticise Israel for a blockade of food and medical supplies into Gaza as it reinvigorates a military offensive.

The new opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash said Mr Albanese should take up the invitation and travel as soon as possible when there were no domestic issues like the NSW flood recovery.

“Australia and Israel have always had a very strong relationship, which has deteriorated significantly under the Albanese government since Hamas’s terrorist attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023,” Senator Cash told AAP.

“This is a good opportunity for the prime minister to reset the relationship.”

Read the full story here.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler says there has been strong interest in taking over Healthscope, with many parties expressing interest in the private hospital operator.

He emphasised that the government will not bail out the current overseas private equity owner, but is working to ensure a smooth transition.

“We’re not going to bail out an overseas private equity firm who made a play to make a profit out of the second biggest private hospital operator,” Mr Butler told ABC Radio National.

“What we have done, though, is to engage very closely with the owner and also now with the receivers, who were appointed at the beginning of this week, to ensure as far as possible we can see an orderly transfer and sale of these important assets to a more stable operator.

“So if you’ve got a birth plan or a procedure booked at one of these hospitals, if you’re one of the 19,000 hardworking staff, it’s business as usual while this process plays out and will take weeks and months for the receivers to work through a substantial number of expressions of interest that are already there to take over what is a really important part of our healthcare system.”

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation has won a surprise fourth senate seat, after Warwick Stacey secured the sixth NSW spot.

It follows WA businessman Tyron Whitten winning the sixth seat up for grabs in WA.

They join Senator Hanson and fellow Queensland incumbent Malcolm Roberts in the senate.

With four seats, One Nation now equal the size of The Nationals in the upper house.

The NSW winners, in order of their election, are:

1. Tony Sheldon, Labor
2. Andrew Bragg, Liberal
3. Tim Ayres, Labor
4. Jessica Collins, Liberal
5. Mehreen Faruqi, The Greens
6. Warwick Stacey, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation

Read the full story here.

King Charles has written a message of support to those affected by the devastating floods in New South Wales, expressing his concern and offering condolences to grieving families.

“My wife and I have been so greatly concerned to hear of the widespread and devastating flooding across the New South Wales Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of Australia,” he said.

“We can only say that our thoughts are very much with all those who have been affected so badly, especially the family and friends of the five people who tragically lost their lives. We send our special prayers, and the deepest possible sympathy, to all who mourn them.”

He acknowledged the ongoing challenges facing communities, saying, “As the immediate emergency passes, I am only too aware that communities are confronting dreadful, soul-destroying damage to homes, properties and infrastructure, and the loss of precious livelihoods and livestock. As many hundreds of families have been displaced from their homes, I am deeply conscious that the impact of the crisis will endure for many months.”

Read the full story here.

Independent MP Zali Steggall has criticised Labor’s approval of the North West Shelf gas project, calling the decision “atrocious” and warning it will worsen global warming.

Ms Steggall has told Sky News she supports prioritising domestic access to gas but dismissed reports of a possible east coast gas reserve as a “tactic of the fossil fuel industry.”

“I’m for prioritising domestic markets, I am not for opening up more reserves and expanding the use of gas,” she said.

“For example, the North West gas shelf, that’s an atrocious decision. It will absolutely increase warming. It means we are locking in fossil fuel. And we talk about anonymous reports in the papers. We know this is a tactic of the fossil fuel industry, who frequently do this to try and increase the social license or interest in having more fossil fuels in the system.”

Steggall argued the best use for gas is in industry, not homes, and called for policies to accelerate electrification.

“We also need to look at, how do we best use gas? So it’s best use is industrial, it’s not residential,” she said.

“So, we need to have policies that accelerate the transition for homes of gas within our homes, to electrify homes. That’s a way of bringing down the price for energy, for our residential use, and prioritise that use of gas where it’s needed, in those heavy industries that still rely on it.”

Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie has criticised Labor for presiding over “high electricity prices and lower energy security” amid reports the Albanese government could introduce an east coast gas reserve.

Senator McKenzie said the opposition would review any policy Labor proposes but stressed the need for the government to match the Coalition’s election commitments to defund activists and speed up project approvals.

The Coalition’s own plan for an east coast gas reserve promised to deliver 50 to 100 petajoules of extra gas to the domestic market in its first year.

“We do need more gas in the support chain to get downward pressure on prices and we’re exporting that gas to the world,” Senator McKenzie told Sky News.

“It’s only fair and reasonable that Australians secure some of that at home, to bring down prices and ensure security.”

During a heated debate, Senator McKenzie also took aim at Warringah MP Zali Steggall for opposing new gas projects like the North West Shelf extension.

“She doesn’t care about keeping manufacturing and industrial jobs here at home, because the people are very affluent people in the heart of Sydney, they don’t have to wash their clothes, wash their faces when they come home from work after a heavy day”.

Health Minister Mark Butler is urging Australians to keep up-to-date with their COVID boosters as a new variant spreads across the country.

Speaking on RN Breakfast, he encouraged people to check when they last received a Covid vaccine, especially with winter approaching.

“I do encourage, particularly as we head into winter, for people to think about the last time they got a Covid vaccine,” he said.

“If you are over 75 you should have one if it’s more than six months since you had your last booster. If you’re 65 to 74, if it’s more than 12 months. And for everyone else have a serious think.”