Australia news LIVE: Labor caves to Coalition’s mandatory sentencing call; Dutton says Trump wants to bring peace to the Middle East​on February 6, 2025 at 12:37 am

Resources being taken from the investigation to those who allegedly plotted the caravan terrorist attack would not be an issue, said Dutton, because it was crucial to understand why Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was not informed earlier.

“I do not think it detracts from resources at all,” Dutton said, when questioned if his proposed inquiry would pull resources from the investigation into the foiled terror plot.

“This is a matter of national security and it can’t be repeated and I’m not aware of any precedent [of this case].”

Albanese has previously criticised Dutton for not accepting a briefing, which Dutton defended as he had spoken with the director-general of ASIO.

“I think James [Paterson] has had a briefing in relation to the matter. I’ve had a number of briefings from the AFP Commissioner and from the director-general of ASIO,” Dutton said.

The opposition leader continued to suggest the police would be worried Albanese may leak information that would comprise the covert nature of the case.

Asked if he had concrete information that this was a genuine concern, Dutton hit back at reporters.

“I’m not going to comment on discussions I’ve had with individuals out of agencies and people can draw their own conclusions based on their own experiences,” he said.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton also said he was pleased federal Labor had agreed to introduce mandatory minimum sentencing laws for Nazi and terrorist offenders.

“The prime minister has seen fit to support the position that we have advocated and we are very happy for that.”

Opposition home affairs spokesperson James Paterson also touched on the policy shift, claiming that the prime minister has been “dragged kicking and screaming to finally introduce tough legislation that will ensure there are real penalties for this behaviour”.

“Once again we have a prime minister who doesn’t have the strength to make the tough decisions in the national interest, he has to be led to do the right thing by Peter Dutton and the Coalition.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton believes an inquiry into the communications around the foiled caravan terror plot needs to be made public despite the risk of exposing security agencies.

“It should be made public … there should be transparency around [it] because it is without precedent. There is no way in the world that the prime minister would be kept in the dark for 10 days about an alleged terrorist plot that could kill hundreds of Australians,” he said.

“If there are elements that need to be redacted, if they need to be kept secret for national security reasons I’m sure that can be facilitated in the report. The prime minister’s arguments, again, he has had a number of different positions, but this argument that somehow it’s a breach of national security if he declares what date he was advised by the police – that it just doesn’t wash and no one should accept that.”

Asked who the buck stops with when it comes to why Albanese did not know, Dutton said the prime minister has questions to answer.

“The prime minister has the questions to answer here … the NSW Police have either made a deliberate decision … [that] the prime minister wasn’t advised because they are worried he would leak the information,” Dutton said.

“Beyond that, there is no other reasonable explanation.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says he has written to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese asking for an independent inquiry into the communications between security agencies, police and the government on a caravan filled with explosives found in Sydney last week.

In a rare press conference with the Canberra press gallery, the leader of the opposition said it was inconceivable that Albanese did not know about the incident before it was made public by the media via a police leak.

“I have written to the prime minister today asking for an independent inquiry in relation to the fact that the prime minister of our country wasn’t notified for nine days, 10 days of what was believed to be the biggest planned terrorist attack in our country,” he said.

“And it is inconceivable that the prime minister didn’t know about it. It is inconceivable … that Premier [Chris Minns], who had been briefed on 20 January, didn’t raise the issue in their discussions.

“The prime minister keeps chopping and changing his position. That’s exactly why there needs to be an independent inquiry in relation to this matter.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is holding a press conference in Canberra.

Watch him address the media live here:

Prime Minister Chris Luxon has used his Waitangi Day address to settle nerves over his government’s attitude to Maori and the Treaty of Waitangi, insisting it would “honour the treaty and work in partnership with Maori”.

New Zealand commemorates its national day on Thursday, Waitangi Day, marking 185 years since the signing of its foundational document in 1840.

The day can be one for reflection on New Zealand’s progress as a nation, and this year, Kiwis are doing so in the middle of a divisive national debate over the constitutional place of Maori from Luxon’s government: the Treaty Principles Bill.

The bill would strip away promises made to Maori under the treaty, including to special rights to natural resources, which – adding complexity and driving conflict – are different according to the treaty’s two different texts, in English and Maori.

Those debates happened this year at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds without Luxon, who allowed the bill to be introduced in parliament under a coalition deal with junior party ACT, but has pledged no further support for the bill.

Kiwis have made clear their disdain for the reform, with tens of thousands of protesters making the country’s biggest-ever march on Wellington to oppose it.

AAP

A proposal to set mandatory minimum jail sentences for terror offences and people displaying Nazi symbols has passed the House of Representatives after Labor signalled it would cave to weeks of Coalition demands for the measures.

The government has moved to bring forward a vote in the Senate on the legislation, meaning it could become law today.

The proposed changes to hate speech laws will bring in minimum sentencing of six years for terror offences, three years for financing terrorism and a year for Nazi salutes.

It marks a reversal of Labor’s long-standing opposition to mandatory sentences, with the party’s national platform listing its stance as: “Labor opposes mandatory sentencing. This practice does not reduce crime but does undermine the independence of the judiciary, lead to unjust outcomes and is often discriminatory in practice.”

Amendments put forth by independent MP Allegra Spender were rejected by the government and the Coalition, with the Greens and other members of the crossbench voting against the eventual passage of the bill.

A Melbourne man will face court in March after allegedly waving a banned Hezbollah flag during a protest in the CBD.

The 34-year-old waved the flag during the protest on September 29, Australian Federal Police said.

Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt said the AFP was “relentlessly pursuing evidence identifying those who allegedly displayed prohibited symbols” at the protest, already sifting through more than 100 hours of CCTV footage.

The federal law under which the man was charged was introduced in January 2024 and carries a maximum penalty of 12 months in jail.

It follows the AFP charging another Victorian man yesterday over alleged antisemitic abuse towards a Canberra-based political organisation.

The Trump administration’s early action on deregulation and energy investment add to “acute” challenges facing Australian producers.

That’s according to the boss of Australia’s biggest energy producer, Woodside, who will sound the warning in an address to the Melbourne Mining Club on Thursday.

Meg O’Neill urges the nation to stay focused on being competitive in global markets, pushing for an energy policy debate “based on science and facts, not wishful thinking”.

“Amid rising global protectionism and greater competition for capital, Australia must sharpen its competitive edge even further,” she will say.

“Moves by the new administration in the US to deregulate the economy and spur new energy investments make the challenge for countries like Australia even more acute.”

President Trump has promised to “unleash” reliable energy and natural resources by scrapping regulations and encouraging more energy exploration in the US, while threatening tariffs on imports.

AAP

Owen Wilson, the chief executive of Australia’s largest digital real estate business, REA Group, has resigned.

Wilson has been running the News Corp-controlled business for six years and has been at the business for a decade.

The announcement comes on the same morning as both REA and News Corp released their half-year results, which for REA Group included revenue growth of 20 per cent to $873 million and a 26 per cent increase in net profit to $314 million.

REA competes with Domain Group in Australia, which is majority-owned by Nine, the publisher of this masthead.