Election volunteers say they experienced abuse and aggression at polling booths
Australia prides itself on its orderly elections with high voter engagement, but something else was going in this time with volunteers claiming more than usual incidents of bullying and harassment at the polls.
7.30's political editor Laura Tingle reports.
Statements.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
17 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Coalition ‘ready to work with' Labor on Trump tariff deal, Sussan Ley says
Sussan Ley says she is 'ready to work with' Labor to get a US tariff carve out after Donald Trump doubled duties on steel and aluminium. The US President signed an executive order on Tuesday afternoon (Washington time), raising the levies from 25 per cent to 50 per cent, following through on his vow to do so last week. Only the UK was spared from the new imposts due to a deal inked in May. The tariffs have effectively blocked Australian-made steel from the US market. Reacting to the order on Wednesday, the Opposition Leader said Australia's inclusion was 'not in the spirit' of the Australia-US alliance. 'We note that the United Kingdom has been able to secure an exemption from the latest American steel tariffs and we stand ready to work with the Albanese government to ensure Australia can achieve the same outcome,' Ms Ley said in a statement. 'President Trump's tariffs on our steelmakers are not in the spirit of our century-old partnership and we urge the Americans to give Australia a fair go and remove them. 'The Coalition wants the government to succeed here because that is in our national interest.' Analysts have questioned the merits of the UK's deal, which has still not come into effect. While it was not included in the latest round, British steel and aluminium have been slugged with the original 25 per cent tariffs. The White House has also said it would slap a quota on UK imports. In exchange, the British government gave US firms greater access to parts of the UK economy, including its agricultural industry. Mr Trump included Australia in the blanket tariffs in March after telling Anthony Albanese an exemption was 'under consideration'. Australia was also hit with 10 per cent levies on most goods as part of Mr Trump's 'Liberation Day' imposts. The Prime Minister said on Tuesday he would raise the duties when he meets the US leader on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada later this month. Mr Albanese said it was 'an act of economic self-harm, and it's not the act of a friend, and this just pushes up prices for American purchasers and consumers'. NewsWire understands the details of the leaders' first face-to-face have not been set but both sides expect them to meet. The Albanese government said a deal was before the Trump administration and the ball was in Washington's court.
News.com.au
18 minutes ago
- News.com.au
AFL icon casts doubts over video amid suggestions Bulldogs players aren't happy
AFL legend James Hird and commentator Eddie McGuire have cast doubts over footage shared by Jamarra Ugle-Hagan. The Bulldogs star is still training privately away from the football club after he was granted an indefinite leave of absence to deal with personal issues. It was reported last month the former No. 1 draft pick had checked himself into a health retreat in a key step towards reviving his AFL career. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Now the 23-year-old appears to have further signalled his intent to return to top-level football after taking to social media to share videos of himself running and boxing. The clips — published on Instagram and TikTok in black and white with professional editing and soundtrack — appear to have been taken from Byron Bay where Ugle-Hagan has reportedly been spending time. The promoted footage dropped just hours before it was first reported by leading football reporter Tom Morris that Ugle-Hagan has ambitions to play for the Sydney Swans next year. 'The Western Bulldogs are weighing up what they do next with him,' Morris told Channel 9's Footy Classified. 'My understanding is Jamarra has told those close to him he would like to play for the Sydney Swans next year, in a perfect world. 'Whether that takes place, whether the Swans are keen or not, I'm not sure. The Dogs would have to trade him, because of course, he's contracted.' Essendon icon Hird and McGuire suggested on Tuesday night AFL clubs would want to see more than a glamourised fitness video from Ugle-Hagan before they would consider recruiting him. 'I'd like to see him training with his football club,' Hird said bluntly. 'And commit to a big block of training. I can't imagine any club would look at that and say that's enough for us to think he's draftable. It's the first step, but it's a long way from being anywhere near what a football team needs.' McGuire said on Nine's Footy Classified he saw nothing in the footage — that was produced by Byron Bay-based personal trainer business, Byron Boxing — that suggested Ugle-Hagan was ready to come back. 'Let's be honest. It's an edit that's been put together,' McGuire said. 'It's been chopped by somebody. Some nice tight cuts of a couple of things. I mean, I could get up and do that at the moment and look like I'm running a marathon.' Hird quipped: 'I've seen you box too. You'd be better than that'. Morris questioned if McGuire was 'suspect' on the footage. The former Collingwood president responded: 'No. You know what it is. It says I'm getting my mind right. I don't think it went over well with a few of his Western Bulldogs teammates today who are preparing for a game tomorrow. They're tight edits. There's nothing in that that says he's ready.' Ugle-Hagan, who is contracted until the end of 2026 at Whitten Oval, has not played any senior footy this year due to his personal off-field issues. He had trained sparingly with AFL — and at times VFL — teammates before his official leave of absence began in late April. The Bulldogs have told Code sports there has been no change to the conditions of Ugle-Hagan's indefinite leave. If the Bulldogs grant Ugle-Hagan permission to leave, the football club will still be in a position to negotiate a potential trade for any suitors that come calling with contract offers for Ugle-Hagan. The Bulldogs next face Hawthorn in a Thursday night blockbuster at the MCG.
ABC News
27 minutes ago
- ABC News
Police suspend search for missing Queensland teenager Pheobe Bishop
Police have scaled back the search for missing Queensland teenager Pheobe Bishop but have not ruled out further searches if more information comes to light. The 17-year-old from Gin Gin, about four hours north of Brisbane, has not been seen or heard from since Thursday, May 15. Pheobe was meant to board a flight from Bundaberg to Western Australia, but police said airport CCTV showed she never entered the terminal. Police declared the teenager's disappearance suspicious on May 21. Two crime scenes were declared — the car in which she was believed to have been travelling to the airport in, and the house where she had been living in Gin Gin. More than a week after Pheobe disappeared, police began searching Good Night Scrub National Park, an hour south-west of Bundaberg. Cadaver dogs, water police, drones and State Emergency Service personnel combed through the thick scrub for five days and items of interest were collected for forensic examination. Police would not disclose any items they located there. They said while they were no longer conducting any "physical searches" for Pheobe, they would recommence "as needed and as information is provided". Police are still investigating several lines of enquiry, including asking for information about the movements of a grey Hyundai ix35, registration 414 EW3, in the greater Gin Gin area between May 15 and 18. As the search was suspended, Pheobe's mother Kylie Johnson launched a fresh appeal for information about her daughter's disappearance. "Starting day 20 with you still missing Pheobe," Ms Johnson posted on social media. "I don't know if life will ever be the same again? I don't know if I will ever look at the world the same way that I did before May 15th. "What I do know is that people have information on where you are Phee and we need that reported to police." Sarah Wayland, strategic social work leader and trauma expert at CQ University, said not much was known about the long-term impacts of a missing loved one. Professor Wayland said there was little funded support for the families of missing persons in Australia. "What I've found over the years is that there's a lot of families who have that lived experience of having someone missing, that set up foundations or charities," she said. "They've been trying that very piecemeal approach of offering support to families rather than there being one national service available."
