News and politics live updates: PM pressed on melon remarks as Minns intervenes, Senate forces letter release

The Prime Minister has brushed off a second question on his remarks and actions on the Bush Deep podcast about the Japanese Prime Minister’s royal melons.

First asked by Angus Taylor on the issue, Anthony Albanese received a second from Liberal MP Zoe McKenzie.

“My question is to the Prime Minister,” she said.

“A month before, he made sexist remarks about the Prime Minister of Japan on the Bush Deep podcast, the Prime Minister did post this comment online ‘no matter who’s supporting politics, it is completely unacceptable to demean, objectify, belittle, or offend women’.

“Why won’t the Prime Minister stop hiding behind his female frontbenchers and the New South Wales Premier and take responsibility for his disrespectful behaviour?”

The PM again stated that he had a warm diplomatic relationship with Sanae Takaichi.

“The ambassador for Japan made a very clear and unequivocal comment yesterday publicly about these issues,” he said.

“The visit of Prime Minister Takaichi was an extremely successful one.

“Part of that visit was a dinner at The Lodge that was extremely warm and generous.

“Very personal in the discussions that we had as well.

“It was an extremely successful visit.

“I look forward to continuing to work with our friends in Japan.”

Labor and Coalition have shared a moment of bipartisanship over violence against women and children.

After a Dorothy Dixer, the Prime Minister spoke about the government’s second national plan to end the issue, which included more than 160 roundtables with frontline organisations and thousands of participants.

“That comes at a time where just yesterday it was reported there was another death of a First Nations woman in Queensland, allegedly murdered by her former partner,” the Prime Minister said.

“That death is tragic, just as every single life lost to violence is.

“As elected representatives, we must listen to Australians when they tell us they want violence against women and children to stop, and we must continue to act on it in the best ways that we know how.”

Shadow Minister for Women Melissa McIntosh welcomed the effort and said national leadership was necessary.

“I’d like to associate the Coalition with the Prime Minister’s remarks, and in addition to the states, to say that the Coalition is very willing to work with the government to prevent violence against particularly women and children,” she said.

“In this cost of living crisis, we’re hearing more and more women are unable to leave their violent partners because they can’t afford to do so.

“We’d like to work with you, Prime Minister, on your national action plan, and we’ll continue to do so until we fix this terrible, terrible issue.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing family violence, phone 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the Crisis Care Helpline on 1800 199 008.

Question Time has kicked off for another day with a targeted attack on Anthony Albanese’s failure to say sorry to the Japanese PM over his reference to her royal melons on a podcast appearance.

Opposition leader Angus Taylor referenced NSW Premier Chris Minns having to step in at a press conference this morning to stop a question to the Prime Minister about the melons gaffe.

“My question is to the Prime Minister. This morning the Prime Minister was asked yet again about his classless comments on the Bush Deep podcast,” Mr Taylor started.

“Yet again, he refused to give a straight answer.

“To save him from embarrassment, the New South Wales Premier stepped in and shut down the question.

“Why won’t the Prime Minister man up, stop hiding behind his colleagues, and take responsibility for his grubby behaviour?”

Mr Albanese responded by saying that he and Sanae Takaichi had a good diplomatic relationship.

He highlighted comments from the Japanese Ambassador, who noted that a recent dinner between the two was “relaxed” and built personal trust between the leaders.

“I direct him to the comments of the Ambassador of Japan, who stated very clearly that ‘the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Albanese during the Prime Minister’s visit to Australia this May was held in a very relaxed atmosphere’,” Mr Albanese said.

“’And we believe it helped build a personal trust relationship between the two leaders.’

“Indeed, it did.

“We have a very good relationship with Japan, and I look forward to continuing to work with our friends on economic issues as well as interests of peace and security and prosperity in our region.”

Pauline Hanson has hit back after students took to the streets to protest against One Nation.

Thousands of high school students were set to walk out of classrooms at lunch time on Thursday as part of a national “Students Say No to Hanson” day of action organised by the National Union of Students.

Ms Hanson took to social media to respond to the action being held across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Wollongong and Newcastle.

“If you want to protest something, protest why your parents’ wages are going backwards and the cost of everything is going up,” Sentaor Hanson wrote on Facebook.

“The Labor Greens government is selling out your future, and you’ll inherit a weaker, poorer and less safe country.

“Whether you know it or not, One Nation and I are fighting for you.”

The long-time chief executive of NSW’s peak body for Catholic schools is keen to exonerate himself at an explosive anti-corruption inquiry that has ensnared the highest echelons of the state Liberal Party, a hearing has been told.

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption is holding public hearings into allegations a group within the NSW Liberal Party – known as the Reformers – accepted prohibited donations, including from fugitive property developer Jean Nassif and Catholic Schools NSW through chief executive Dallas McInerney “in amounts that were not declared and exceeded applicable donation caps”.

Taking the stand on Thursday, Mr McInerney told the inquiry he was eager to clear his name.

“I take it that you’re acutely aware that those allegations involve Catholic Schools NSW, the organisation of which you have been the CEO over some nearly nine years,” counsel assisting Julie Curtin said.

​Read the full story here.​

The Albanese Government has been ordered to produce Tokyo’s full correspondence to the Prime Minister’s department after sections of the diplomatic notice was leaked to the media earlier this week.

Federal Police have already been asked to investigate the “unauthorised disclosure” with the Coalition demanding to know whether the Prime Minister’s office was responsible for the leak.

On Thursday, the Greens and Independent Senator David Pocock voted with the Coalition in the Senate for an “Order to Produce Documents” relating to the saga.

Under the order the Senate order the government has until Monday to produce all “emails, letters, text messages, instant messages, handwritten notes, minutes, briefings and submissions; and all internal documents held by the Prime Minister’s office”.

Andrew Bragg has refused to say if Opposition Leader Angus Taylor approved a key speech where he freelanced on tax and immigration policy.

On Thursday he declined to confirm if his boss approved of his National Press Club speech, where he advocated policies that had not yet been approved by his shadow cabinet colleagues.

Senator Bragg on Wednesday regretted failing to speak out more on former Liberal Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s COVID measures which saw Australians banned from travelling overseas for a holiday or to see relatives.

“As someone who was a backbencher in the Morrison Government, I wish I’d done more to stop the madness,” he said.

Mr Taylor, a conservative within the Liberal Party, has promised that under a Coalition government led by him, existing marginal income tax brackets would be indexed for inflation but the Liberal and National parties are yet to advocate reducing the top marginal rate that kicks in at $190,000.

The Liberal leader has also vowed that immigration should be reduced but has yet to nominate a figure after One Nation leader Pauline Hanson last year called for annual net overseas migration to be slashed to 130,000.

While that figure is significantly below the record-high 548,800 level of the year to September 2023, it’s still higher than the 79,000 net overseas migration average of the 1990s.

Senator Bragg’s 180,000 figure would still be higher than the 172,000 average of the 2000s that saw annual numbers double by the end of the decade as the mining boom caused a skills shortage.

Read more.

Anthony Albanese’s objective in agreeing to do a podcast interview with former television presenter and now self-styled risqué comedian Nikki Osborne was to connect with an audience that would not normally tune in to the political conversation.

It was an extension of a strategy he has long employed to broaden his appeal among average Australians.

But it didn’t make him look cool. It made him look like a goose. And not just among the kids and non-conformists.

He made a fool of himself among the mainstream political audience who do take the administration of executive power and the burdensome responsibilities of office seriously.

It wasn’t Osborne’s fault. It was his. Doing the interview wasn’t the problem.

Now he faces a second phase of outrage over over his comments on the podcast about two melons Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gifted him . Although this one has the feel of a political stitch-up about it.

It all goes to show how little things in politics can grow into something much larger.

Just as a small seed sprouts into a big melon vine, a clumsy exchange on a smutty podcast can spawn an international incident.

​Read the full story. ​

Here’s the moment Chris Minns jumped in to save Anthony Albanese from reporters hounding him about his “melons” remarks.

Telstra boss Vicky Brady has copped a more than $600,000 penalty for an outage in July that left up to 25 million people without phone coverage.

Telco’s annual report — released on the same day the company posted a full-year net profit of more than $2 billion — said the chief executive would lose $607,000 in short-term incentive bonuses.

The cutback came after the board reduced her individual performance multiplier by 20 percentage points, reducing her bonus to just over 70 per cent of her maximum.

But with other bonuses and fixed pay of almost $2.5 million, she still took home $6.83m — up $600,000 from a year earlier.

​Read the full story here.​