Cameraman injured after football kick; PM visits flood-hit Queensland – as it happened​on April 5, 2025 at 5:02 am

Still on China, Albanese is asked whether there is any political concern over the level of Chinese ownership in food production?

He says “we welcome foreign investment in Australia where it’s appropriate” but a port has “particular characteristics to it”.

But will forcing China out upset the diplomatic relationship?

“No,” Albanese replies.

My job is to stand up for the Australian national interest. I’ll continue to do that. But I note that our relationships with China and our economic relationship has improved to the point where we have more than $20bn of exports that have returned. That’s about Australian jobs and Australian interests.

Most of our ports and airports are in private hands. The question is – is it in the hands of Australian national interests?

One of the things about superannuation funds which own substantial assets in our ports and our airports … is that superannuation funds mean that all of you who have super accounts own those assets as well, and they get returned to Australians … there’s $3 trillion of money available. A lot of that, at the moment, is going offshore for infrastructure investment. We want that investing here in Australian infrastructure because that produces a return for Australians as well. Thanks very much.

And so concludes the press conference.

It was rather convenient of the PM to make the announcement on ABC Darwin ahead of Dutton’s visit. Asked why he called the radio station last night, Albanese says “why not?”

I do lots of interviews. I called Triple M yesterday morning, and I called … ABC Sydney yesterday.

Pressed on whether he was told an announcement was coming via a leak, Albanese says “that’s up to you lot to talk amongst yourselves about what happens”.

I can confirm certainly it didn’t come from anyone here … We’ve made an announcement, but there’s more detail to come as we roll out over the next four weeks … There’s nothing spontaneous about this.

We have a political decision that’s been made on the basis of advice … consistent with the position that we’ve had since 2015, that this is an important national economic asset.

Asked if advice has changed over the past two years, he says “the government increasingly understands that we need to increase our economic resilience”.

Does that mean the Chinese interest in the Port of Darwin is a national security threat?

Albanese says “we, as a government, have made a decision about our economic resilience, consistent with a position that I have put since 2015”.

There is some back and forth over a timeline on when the Port of Darwin would be removed from Chinese ownership.

Landbridge has told SBS that the port is not for sale. Are you prepared to use compulsory acquisition powers?

Albanese replies “yes”.

After how long? Why can’t you say the timeframe?

“I’m not putting a timeframe on it,” he continues.

We are a mature government that does things in an orderly way, and we’ll continue to conduct ourselves in that way.

The head of Landbridge told the Financial Review they hadn’t heard from the government. The prime minister’s earlier statement was they have. Who from the government, and on what timeframe?

Albanese says “we have consulted” but won’t go into further details as they’re “commercial issues”.

We have engaged with them. And individual companies have reached out about whether a sale could be got … what we’re saying is that we will, if need be, compulsorily acquire.

He is then asked whether he had conversations with China before his announcement, as Peter Dutton indicated in his press conference when he said the Coalition had contacted the Chinese ambassador.

Well, he’s obviously got better connections with the Chinese ambassador. That’s a very strange thing for him to say. I’ll just leave that sitting there. What we have done is engaged very clearly. I have made – if you go back and look at my transcripts since 2015, you will see multiple statements from me about what our position is.

So how much would it cost taxpayers? Albanese says it’s a commercial position and he won’t engage in speculation.

PM coy over timing for Darwin returning to Australian ownership

OK, but why didn’t he first act upon it when elected more than two years ago?

Albanese says the government established an inquiry after taking office and had been “engaging” with stakeholders.

He says any time he has been asked about the matter since 2015, he has given the same answer.

Asked if Labor could “beat or match” Peter Dutton’s commitment for the port to be returned to Australia in six months, Albanese says that’s just “talking on the run”.

I have seen his media release and his media release pretends this has nothing to do with the commonwealth government of which he was a cabinet minister. And then he was the defence minister during this time as well. He did absolutely nothing. What my government did was have an assessment of these issues but, at the same time, we didn’t wait for that.

We looked for interest, including through superannuation funds. I want this to go into Australian ownership. But I’d prefer it to be Australian ownership under the private sector. But, if need be, we will purchase as well.

Pressed “by when”, he doesn’t answer.

On to the Port of Darwin developments, which Albanese was quick to make on ABC Radio yesterday ahead of the Coalition’s formal announcement to bring it back into Australian hands during a press conference this morning.

Why has it taken an election to make some announcements about this?

Albanese says “it hasn’t”, adding Labor opposed to sale when it was made to the Chinese government under the Coalition in 2015.

That was a direct result of the program introduced by the Abbott government in its 2014 budget of asset recycling, which provided an incentive for state and territory governments to flog off our infrastructure assets.

In this case, in April of 2016, the commonwealth gave the Northern Territory government of the Country Liberal party – $19.5m. A cash bonus for flogging off the Port of Darwin. When we’ve come to office, we have been engaging – including with Landbridge – with superannuation funds. The Northern Territory government have been in consultation with my departments as well in our government. We’ve had Treasury and Finance looking at this as well.

And I foreshadowed on Thursday, as you are aware, a future announcement about the Port of Darwin. We have a clear view, which is that it should be in Australian hands. And Peter Dutton was in the cabinet that sold it.

Asked if he would be open to extending the disaster payments beyond 13 weeks, Albanese says that is the “allowance” under the existing fund.

That is the standard, that is not a new fund, that is something that happens in terms of disaster-relief. We will continue to engage constructively with the Queensland government and local mayors … We will continue to listen to them on the ground as well.

He says it “takes time” for regional infrastructure funding to be rolled out, adding the electorate of Maranoa where he is appearing received the most projects in funding announced in January this year.

What we have done is make sure that we have been responsible. I remind you that we turned a $78bn deficit into a$22bn Labor surplus. We then turned the next year a deficit that was projected to be over $50bn- we turned that into a surplus in excess of $15bn.

And this year, we have almost halved the deficit that was anticipated. So we have been responsible. We’ve improved the budget bottom line by some $207bn. The first government to produce two budget surpluses in a row in two decades.

Albanese points to the “unprecedented impacts” of flooding across the region.

What role do you think climate change is playing, if any, in exacerbating those impacts?

He replies that you can’t say any single extreme weather event is solely related to climate change, but science indicates they will become more frequent and more intense.

You cannot say any extreme weather event any single event is just because of climate change. What you can do is look at the science and what the science has told us is that there will be more extreme weather events, more frequent and more intense. That is what we have seen play out, not just here in Australia but around the world.

On to questions.

The prime minister is asked rather bluntly by a reporter “why are you here?”, given the electorate is the safest Coalition seat in the country.

He replies he wants to be the prime minister “of all Australians”.

I find it astonishing. I read reports saying to only go to marginal seats. One of the things I think has alienates Australians to mainstream political activity is that view.

These people are salt of the Earth. The people I have met today, I am so proud to be prime minister of a country that has people like these producing food and raising children like Cooper and Jacob … I want to represent the whole country. That is my job. It is not to always look at a political map.

The mayor of Longreach, Tony Rayner, appears next, thanking the prime minister for his visit.

He acknowledges both the federal and state government have been on the ground since “day one” of the flood disaster.

The announcement today of the $105m for exclusion fencing to get that back up and running will change the economic health of every town in Western Queensland. Those fences are more than just a fence around one property, they are a fence around every community in Western Queensland and what that means [is] economic safety, health and mental health.

We thank you sincerely for that … it is these partnerships with both federal and state government that keep us going.

Albanese announces funding for flood-affected areas of QLD

Albanese formally announces he will agree to the state government’s request for an additional $7m in funding. He also announces $105m from both governments for exclusion fencing.

I also want to make sure there is confidence that it is not going to run out, that it is available and it certainly will be.

The other new fund we will establish today is our fine of $105m between our two governments for exclusion fencing. This is absolutely vital to protect the stock which is there with exclusion fencing coming down, from wild dogs and wild pigs potentially as well as increased fodder on the ground.

We do have the Disaster Recovery Allowance also available for people who cannot work or cannot find work due to the flood.

He lists a dozen local government areas that can access the allowance.

I wish everyone well during this period. One of the things about our great Australian farmers and people on the land is this is a tough country, but they are tough and resilient people and we want to see them come through this.

They make a contribution not just to their local community, but to our nation as well. We are proud and each of every one of them for the work they do contributing to our country and all of Australia stands with them at this time.

Albanese says to those affected by the floods – “we have your back”, adding the emergency event is beyond politics.

The vision coming out of all of western Queensland is indeed truly distressing and there are small communities still inaccessible that we cannot get to it this time and our thoughts are with those people who have been displaced from their homes as well … I have a message for Queenslanders which is we have your back.

We are with you, we will provide whatever support necessary. Just as recently when I spent some time with the premier David Crisafulli … there were no politics, I spoke with Premier David Crisafulli yesterday and we are working hand-in-hand making sure support is provided.

I also spoke today to David Littleproud. I always try to tell people when I am in their turf, I wish him well as well. He is working hard. We spoke last week in parliament about the impact of this and will continue to engage with him as the local member that has been most affected in the electorate of Manoa where we are now.

Anthony Albanese is appearing in Longreach now.

He details meeting a family on a farm this morning to see firsthand the devastation that the floods occurred.

To see the power of Mother Nature in knocking over fencing and knocking over poles uprooted from the ground … you see the power of Mother Nature and the force that was there – that weight …

For them to welcome us and show us around and speak to us was a great privilege … at the worst of times we see the best of the Australian character. People helping each other, the emergency services personnel, the police, Australian defence force, everyone from the Royal flying Doctor service here in Longreach, volunteers in the SES, and people around Australia who will kick in to provide support for their fellow Australians at what is a very difficult time.

Reporter Jake Evans has just appeared on ABC News to describe the drop kick that injured a Channel 10 cameraman.

Evans was on the scene during the incident, which occurred during a photo opportunity in Darwin.

Scott Morrison in 2022 learned the hard way when he accidentally tackled the child. Peter Dutton tried to one up that today when he punted the ball into the head of Channel 10 cameraman Ghaith Nadir, cracking a joke that ‘there’s your exclusive’ before realising actually, the camera had knocked him pretty hard and knocked his forehead open.

Peter Dutton was quick to check that Ghaith was OK – and he was – but a reminder for all of us that politics can be a blood sport.

When politicians try to play sport …

As we wait for the prime minister’s press conference, let’s take a moment to reflect on how playing sports usually ends terribly for political leaders.

Peter Dutton’s wayward football kick injuring a cameraman today joins a long history of lore.

In 2022, Scott Morrison lived up to his self-applied moniker of “bulldozer” by crashing into a young child while playing football on the campaign trail in Tasmania.

The incident was reminiscent of when Boris Johnson, then mayor of London, knocked over a child while playing rugby in Tokyo in 2015.

And who could forget the former PM John Howard’s infamous attempt at cricket on a trip to Pakistan in 2005, when he bowled three balls with none making it to the batsman and bouncing on the pitch repeatedly.

Cricket is clearly a dangerous sport – Bob Hawke was also forced to wear an eye patch while campaigning after being hit with a perfectly delivered bouncer that the then-Labor PM failed to avoid.

And then there’s Kevin Rudd, who confused Australia while PM with his handball obsession, and near-constant willingness to compete against young children.

The lesson? Stick to politics.

Electoral commission dealing with alleged breaches of political content laws on Rednote

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is assessing a number of complaints about alleged breaches of political content laws on the Chinese social media app Rednote, which are related to the federal election.

The social media app is being embraced by candidates in electorates with significant Chinese-Australian populations, including the ultra-marginal seats of Bennelong in Sydney and Menzies in Melbourne.

As reported by Guardian Australia earlier this week, some candidates are working with prominent Chinese language influencers to bypass a shadow-ban on political campaigning on Rednote, which is designed to focus on lifestyle content.

The AEC has issued general guidance to candidates, stressing content shared from their accounts should contain written or spoken authorisation messages. This also applies when content is produced by a third party, such as an influencer, and then shared on their own accounts.

Here’s part of the AEC’s statement:

The AEC assesses and, when appropriate, actions referrals made by users of the platforms. The AEC has already received a number of referrals from Australian Rednote users about electoral content for the upcoming federal election.

The AEC would welcome engagement with Rednote representatives as part of our efforts towards ensuring political candidates and other relevant entities are running their campaigns according to Australian laws.

Man down! There has been an injury on the campaign trail in Darwin, outlets are reporting.

According to Andrew Tillett at the Australian Financial Review, Channel 10 camera operator Ghaith Nadir cut his head after a “drop punt” by the opposition leader “had a bit too much heat on it” and struck the man’s camera.

He has been pictured bandaged up and shaking hands with Peter Dutton, who checked to make sure he was OK.

PM touches down in Longreach

The prime minister has touched down in Longreach, about 1,000 km north-west of Brisbane, to visit Queenslanders affected by flooding.

He headed to a sheep farm to meet Martin and Rebecca Eggerling, a couple that have been hard hit, and is expected to hold a press conference soon.

On the agenda will be the extension of a three-month disaster allowance after the commonwealth activated the special payment scheme.

We’re also expecting Anthony Albanese to provide a little more detail on the hunt for a buyer for the Port of Darwin he announced yesterday, despite the Chinese-owned company which holds the lease insisting it is not for sale.