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

Thousands of students are expected to rally in Students Say No to Pauline Hanson protests across major cities and towns.

“I’m hoping this will be the start of a real kind of movement,” Ms Park, who is organising the Canberra protest, told AAP.

“We want to make sure we lay the best basis for ... an anti-racist, anti-sexist, anti-bigot response in Australia.”

Rally flyers distributed by the National Union of Students include calls to “fight against racism” and “stand up against the far right”.

Senator Hanson used her June National Press Club address to call for a monocultural Australia before appearing on a podcast hosted by British far-right activist and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson during a work trip to the UK last month.

Senator Hanson’s track record shows she has voted against education policies such as free TAFE and increasing funding for public schools, union general secretary Akash Nagarajan said.

“Pauline Hanson actually doesn’t stand for things that benefit students’ lives....(and) a lot of students are galvanised by that,” the 21-year-old said.

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Industry Minister Tim Ayres has sidestepped questions over where the money for the $2.5 billion bailout of Australia’s largest aluminium smelter will come from.

The 10-year deal to secure the future of Tomago Aluminium will also see its operators invest $100 million towards decarbonisation and a demand-response program, while Mr Ayres said the agreement would help inject 3 gigawatts of new electricity generation.

Asked on ABC News Breakfast how the Government would fund the package, Mr Ayres did not provide a direct answer.

“This will be accounted for in the budget properly. We made it clear when we made a commitment in 2023, I think it was, just casting back, that we would deliver a transformation package for the Australian aluminium industry,” Mr Ayres says.

The future of Australia’s largest aluminium smelter and more than 1000 jobs has been locked in under a major multibillion-dollar bailout announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns.

Resources giant Rio Tinto had warned that the Tomago Aluminium plant, Australia’s largest single electricity user, may be forced to close when its current power deal expires because of rising energy costs.

But there is now certainty over the future of aluminium smelting in the Hunter Region and more than 1000 direct jobs beyond 2028 after a $2.5 billion rescue deal funded jointly by the Commonwealth and State government was revealed.

“In December last year I stood in the rain at Tomago and told the workers ‘we have your back’,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

“Today, alongside the NSW Government, we deliver on that promise.

“This site isn’t just important for Newcastl​​e​​ and the Hunter, it’s a critical asset for the country and our manufacturing future.”

The smelter opened in 1983 and operates around the clock, producing about 590,000 tonnes of aluminium annually.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is heading to Tomago this morning alongside Chris Bowen and Tim Ayres after the government unveiled a massive $2.5 billion deal to secure the future of Australia’s largest aluminium smelter.

The leaders are expected to front a joint press conference from the Hunter this morning, where they’ll face questions over the rescue package and the future of more than 1000 jobs at the facility.

We’ll bring you all the key moments from Tomago, plus the biggest breaking news and political developments throughout the morning.

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