First sitting week of parliament branded ‘unusually entertaining'
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce delivered a hilarious and wild response to being compared to a "steer in a paddock" after he called for Australia to dump net zero targets.
'We had the government trying to keep its hubris and self-satisfaction under control and not doing it entirely perfectly,' Mr McGauran told Sky News Australia.
'Overall, the government is trying to set a tone of working for the Australian people and in harmony to the greatest extent possible with the crossbench.'

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Perth Now
7 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Latham's court act on tech billionaire
Embattled former Labor leader Mark Latham has set the stage for his latest legal battle as he seeks to subpoena billionaire Richard White as he fights an anti-violence order application by his ex-partner. Nathalie May Matthews did not appear before Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday after applying for a private apprehended violence order (AVO) against the one-time NSW One Nation leader. Ms Matthews alleges Mr Latham abused her and forced her into degrading sex acts, though the exact allegations have not been released by the court and no criminal charges have been laid by NSW Police. Mr Latham has denied the allegations since they first came to light. Mark Latham's ex-fiancee Nathalie Matthews. Instagram/@nathaliemaymatthews Credit: Supplied His lawyer, Zali Burrows, told magistrate Susan Horan on Wednesday morning that Mr Latham was applying for two subpoenas, one for Ms Matthews and a second for Richard White – both of which were opposed. Lawyer Nicholas Olson, who is representing Mr White, told the court that he would be seeking to have the subpoena set aside at a hearing or, failing that, applying for a suppression order over the court material. The second subpoena filed by Mr Latham for Ms Matthews will also be contested, with her lawyer telling Ms Horan that she would be filing an application to have the order set aside later next month. Lawyer Zali Burrows said she was 'very confident' about beating the AVO. NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers Credit: News Corp Australia The court was told the AVO application, similar to a restraining order and enforced by the court, would be contested, meaning Mr Latham intends to fight the application in court. When asked outside court if she was confident about beating the AVO application, Ms Burrows told the media: 'Yes, I'm very confident.' In NSW, recipients of a private AVO application can agree to the orders without any admission of guilt. Alternatively, police can also make an application on someone's behalf, which they have not done in Ms Matthews' case. Mark Latham has denied the accusations and any wrongdoing. NewsWire/ Jeremy Piper. Credit: News Corp Australia The allegations, which were first reported in The Australian, kicked off a bruising few weeks of controversy for Mr Latham, who in the early 2000s was poised to become the Labor prime minister. Mr Latham has been separately accused of sending sexually explicit messages from the parliament chambers, sex acts in his parliament office, and secretly photographing female colleagues. The independent MLC has denied breaching parliamentary rules and has not been formally accused of wrongdoing. In the past few weeks, he has apologised to two parliamentarians and claimed to have no knowledge of any videos of sex acts allegedly performed in his office at NSW parliament.

Sky News AU
7 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Recognition of Palestine is ‘giving in' to Hamas
Liberal Senator Jane Hume says the recognition of Palestine as a state is 'giving in' to Hamas. Ms Hume told Sky News Australia it will be an 'impossible thing to maintain'. 'We want that two-state solution, but we simply cannot.'


SBS Australia
7 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
Albanese urged to 'reconsider approach' and recognise Palestinian state after UK move
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing growing pressure from his backbench to build on "moral momentum" and recognise a Palestinian state. Hardening its resolve in recent days, the Albanese government has stated its intention to recognise Palestinian statehood but has laid out several preconditions, including the demilitarisation of Hamas, before committing. Former cabinet minister Ed Husic has urged the government to "reconsider its approach" given the evolving hunger crisis. "It's understandable that we have sought to see the satisfaction of key conditions prior to that occurring, but moral momentum cannot be ignored," he told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday. "That momentum is significant in the moment, and it requires of us a reconsideration of our approach". While Husic said he was not speaking on behalf of his colleagues, he said there was a "deep feeling" across the backbench and within caucus to recognise a Palestinian state. Facing questions about the timeline, Albanese reiterated his government would announce the move when it would make maximum impact and "advance the objective of the creation of two states". "I've said for a long time, my entire political life, I said I support two states, the right of Israel to exist within secure borders and the right of Palestinians to have their legitimate aspirations for their own state realised," he said on Wednesday morning. "That is my objective. Not making a statement, not winning a political point, but achieving that." Frontbencher Anika Wells stressed that the government would recognise a Palestinian state, and it was a question of "when, not if", as long as other conditions are met. "It is a question of when not if. There is things to work through. We need Hamas to release the hostages and we need to secure aid as quickly as possible. Everybody is working on that," Wells told ABC News Breakfast. Labor MP Julian Hill also said: "[It's] a question of when, not if, to recognise the state of Palestine". "The government will determine its position based on our conception of Australia's national interest, working with like-minded countries around the world, and the PM is in dialogue." Liberal Senator James Paterson labelled the move "premature" and "counterproductive" to achieving a two-state solution, arguing Hamas needed to be dismantled first. "If the Australian government was to make a similar move, I wouldn't agree with it, because it would be a significant departure from decades of bipartisan foreign policy in this country," he told ABC's RN on Wednesday. Greens label government's new statement 'meaningless' The government has signed a new joint statement of 15 foreign minister, expressing their "unwavering commitment" to a two-state solution. "We, Ministers of Foreign Affairs... express the willingness or the positive consideration of our countries to recognise the State of Palestine, as an essential step towards the two-State solution, and invite all countries that have not done so to join this call," the statement, signed by countries including France, Canada and New Zealand, reads. Greens senator David Shoebridge argued that the government should follow Labor's policy platform and recognise a Palestinian state. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas Greens foreign affairs spokesperson David Shoebridge labelled the statement a "distraction" from meaningful progress on the dire situation in Gaza. "This is a near-meaningless statement that doesn't seem to take Australia's position one step closer to recognising Palestine," he told SBS News. "Every pressure needs to be applied on Israel to end the bombing, end the killing, end the mass starvation of the people of Gaza and statements like this, they will simply get us no further and no closer to that ultimate goal of a free Palestine."