News and politics live updates: One Nation leader Pauline Hanson speaks at National Press Club in Canberra

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and her star recruit Barnaby Joyce have arrived for the Senator’s National Press Club address.

A small group of protesters - roughly about two dozen - rallying against One Nation policies greeted the two.

The speech is set to take place at 12.30pm.

We’ll bring you all the latest as it takes place.

Anthony Albanese has declared that Labor is the only “mainstream political party” left in Australia, accusing the Liberals of racing to the fringes to “compete” with One Nation.

In his wide-ranging criticisms of the Opposition, the Prime Minister accused newly elected Liberal Party President Tony Abbott of wanting to reclaim a seat in parliament.

“What we see in Australia now is that the only mainstream political party in Australia is the Australian Labor Party,” he said.

“So, we’ll look at the fringes of politics as the once mainstream Liberal Party has shifted further and further to the right.

“They’re now in a competition and an internal debate.

“With Tony Abbott coming back as leader of the Liberal Party organisational wing, looking for a seat to return to parliament, looking to come back.

“There’s a debate, not just over whether they will give preferences to One Nation, where clearly they’re going to, but over whether they actually stand or move aside.

“I find it absolutely extraordinary that the once mainstream Liberal Party that sought to govern in its own right has front benches, in Tony Pastin, and others saying that they should withdraw from races to leave it all up to One Nation.”

The Prime Minister has appeared to criticise One Nation’s outsourcing of some of their marketing material to other countries like the Philippines.

After it was recently revealed that the minor party was using third-party companies outside of Australia, Anthony Albanese on Wednesday pointed to the irony given their anti-foreigner rhetoric.

“What we know is that they offshore their own advertising… overseas. They offshore their party membership processes,” he said.

“I find that completely extraordinary, that that would occur.

“Look at what they do, not just what they say, because there’s a big gap there.

“When people examine it, and when there’s proper scrutiny, rather than just advertising campaigns promoting one nation’s policies.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has talked up Jacinta Allan’s record in Victoria ahead of the State election later this year after the Federal Labor leader was asked if she’s the right person to remain at the helm.

Speaking in Melbourne, he was asked: “Do you believe Jacinta Allan is the right person to lead Labor in this election?”.

“She is absolutely the right person, and as Premier of Victoria, she has a record,” the PM said.

“Not just as Premier but as Infrastructure Minister, of building the infrastructure that Victorians need.

“Projects like the Melbourne Metro are now open and running.

“She’s been a part of delivering the $25 billion of additional health and hospital funding.”

Anthony Albanese says he’ll be watching the National Press Club address of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, insisting she needs to answer tough questions on her “divisive” policy platform.

“The questions that I hope are asked at the press club is why is it that One Nation is opposed to all of the cost of living measures that my government has put in place?” the PM told reporters in Melbourne on Wednesday morning.

“They stand for talking about battlers, but never representing battlers.

“They stand for dividing Australia, not uniting Australia.

“I saw an interview from the One Nation leader where she was talking about making it easier to sack people, and concerned about the minimum wage increases.

“They stand for cutting workers’ wages and entitlements, not improving living standards.

“They stand for getting donations from the big end of town, but talking about the needs of regional Australia.”

Anthony Albanese and education ministers have visited a childcare centre in Melbourne to announce the government will intervene and fund a 15 per cent pay rise for early education and care workers.

The $3.6 billion investment over the next two years wasn’t included in the Budget and will be listed in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) later this year.

The federal government’s failure to extend funding for an expiring 2024 wage rise for 200,000 childcare workers has angered their union, as the government had hoped the private sector would be forced to cover the costs via a Fair Work Commission ruling.

Early ChildCare Minister Jess Walsh had told RN Breakfast on Wednesday that the decision had been made after the May Budget.

Education Minister Jason Clare said that under the investment centres wouldn’t get funding if they haven’t met minimum safety obligations.

“It’s a big announcement because this is a program of increased funding that never happened previously prior to our government,” he said.

“This is a substantial investment that we’re making here today, combined with minimum wage increases, a typical full-time educator will earn around $255 more a week than before these changes. That’s a real difference.

“What was happening was that there were massive vacancies in early learning. People were leaving the sector because they couldn’t afford to stay in the sector, even though they love the work.”

A multimillion-dollar anti-Albanese ad campaign will air during State of Origin on Wednesday, but Labor insists Australians are more concerned about paying bills than political mudslinging.

One Nation will launch a television advertisement titled Fire the Liar during Wednesday night’s blockbuster rugby league clash after a fundraising campaign reportedly raised more than $4 million.

The ad features a montage of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s past statements, including his pledge to reduce power prices by $275, policy reversals and the declaration that “my word is my bond”.

Environment Minister Murray Watt dismissed the campaign on Sunrise on Wednesday, accusing One Nation of prioritising political attacks over policies designed to help Australians struggling with cost-of-living pressures.

“I think the bottom line is that Australians can rely on our government to be doing everything we can to support them with their cost of living pressures,” Mr Watt said.

He pointed to upcoming tax cuts and government support measures, while criticising One Nation for opposing government initiatives.

“We’ll let the others sling mud if that’s what they want to do,” he said.

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Labor has sought to draw a direct link between One Nation and the Liberal Party ahead of Pauline Hanson’s highly anticipated National Press Club address, warning voters to look beyond the party’s branding and focus on its policies.

Speaking on ABC News Breakfast, Education Minister Jason Clare argued One Nation’s policy positions closely mirrored those of the Coalition.

“They don’t support increases in the minimum wage, they wouldn’t support pay rises for the sort of workers we’re talking about today, they want to make it easier to sack people,” he said.

Despite the criticism, Mr Clare said the party’s growing popularity could not be ignored. “I take them seriously because a lot of Australians are doing it very tough at the moment, and when Australians are doing it tough, they look to parties like this for answers.”

The government has lowered its travel advice for a swathe of Middle Eastern countries after news of the ceasefire deal struck between the US and Iran.

While the deal is set to be finalised on Friday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her department had assessed current conditions in several countries as appropriate to step down a level, back from “do not travel” to “reconsider the need to travel”

This lower level now applies to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and most of Israel.

Some areas of Israel, including the border areas with Gaza and Lebanon, are still classified as “do not travel” in the Smartraveller warning.

The lowering of the alert level should make it easier for people to transit through the Middle Eastern travel hubs since their travel insurance will remain valid.

It comes just in time for the trips many young Australians take to Europe to escape winter.

The Federal Government is pressing ahead with its sweeping NDIS reforms despite a Senate inquiry delaying the release of its findings, with Health Minister Mark Butler insisting the legislation is ready for Parliament.

Speaking on ABC Radio National, Mr Butler said Labor remained confident the bill could be debated within weeks, arguing years of consultation had already shaped the package.

“I understand the committee wanted some time to finalise the details of their report. We’ve obviously, in the meantime, been monitoring the evidence very closely,” he said.

“I understand that the Senate will decide when this report is delivered. But we think the legislation is ready to be debated in the coming fortnight.”

Defending the reforms, Mr Butler said, “The broad direction of travel of the plan, I’m convinced, is absolutely the right one. It didn’t come out of thin air. It reflects really three years of work since the independent review of the NDIS was undertaken way back in 2023 and endorsed by all governments at the National Cabinet.”

He added, “We think we need to get on with this work. I mean, every day. We don’t deliver this is another day where some of the supports that we say aren’t at the level of quality that we need them to be won’t happen.”