Australia election 2025 live: electoral commission refers video of Monique Ryan volunteers to integrity taskforce | Australia news

Dutton is asked about the vandalism of his office in his seat of Dickson.

He blames the Greens as well as ETU and CFMEU union workers for their behaviour.

I want to make sure that we have disagreements and we can have disagreements… to see Greens supporters and others out there shooting at booths, you know, we employ security guards now at booths because ETU workers and CFMEU workers intimidate older ladies. And you see the vandalism, that is outrageous.

Dutton fronts the media – take two

Peter Dutton has now moved to the southern highlands in NSW, after the location of his first planned media appearance was taken over by some protesters.

Dutton starts his preamble with the campaign greatest hits – he spruiks the tax rebate, fuel excise cut, and investments in crime and defence.

It’s a quick preamble, and he gets onto questions – the first on whether he’s been underestimated by voters.

Dutton doesn’t really go to the crux of the issue, but says, “I think there are a long way to go and people are undecided.”

The dog days could soon be over for the prime minister as a different species of pollster moves in his favour, AAP reports.

The fate of Anthony Albanese’s campaign was placed in the snouts of predictive pooches during an FM radio blitz in Brisbane on Tuesday morning.

Suki, Snapper and Marlin, who belong to the crew of the Robin and Kip with Corey Oates radio show, were asked to choose between two treat plates: a red one for Labor and blue for the Liberals.

As the humans vacated the room, Suki and Snapper made a beeline for the Labor dish while Marlin took a moment to ponder before following suit.

The hosts also discussed Albanese’s own cavoodle as the prime minister brandished fresh socks emblazoned with his fur-baby’s face.

“I share custody of Toto with my ex-wife,” he told Kiis radio.

The Australian Electoral Commission has referred to its integrity taskforce a video which showed two people wearing Monique Ryan T-shirts and saying a community organisation – which has historical links to the Chinese Communist party’s foreign interference operation – told them to vote for the teal MP.

An AEC spokesperson said in a statement that it is aware of the story published in the Age newspaper.

Ryan told Sky News this morning she had contacted the AEC and the Department of Parliamentary Services about the issue, and told them to investigate if there were any concerns.

Certainly no one’s been compelled to volunteer for me, but I’m grateful for those people who’ve come out to volunteer on my camp.

The AEC spokesperson said it was also aware of Liberal senator James Paterson’s comments calling for the matter to be investigated by the federal police and Asio.

The AEC is aware of the article published in The Age yesterday, as well as the statement published by Senator Paterson. The AEC will review this matter in the same way that we review all matters that are raised with us.

This includes referral for consideration by the Electoral Integrity Assurance taskforce. The AEC was not contacted by the Age prior to the original story running.

Multiple agencies contribute to the electoral integrity assurance taskforce, including the federal police, Asio, Australian signals directorate and home affairs department.

Before Peter Dutton’s media appearance was gatecrashed by anti-nuclear protesters from a local union group, he was meeting members of the St George’s Basin Dragons football club.

We’ve now got the announcement he was planning to make there, a $3.5m commitment to build a pavilion at Francis Ryan Reserve in Sanctuary Point.

The money will go toward a new amenities building, to include changerooms and amenities for women and match officials, a veranda, a kiosk and store, fitness spaces, a ticket booth, and a terrace comms box.

It’s in the Labor seat of Gilmore, where Liberal candidate Andrew Constance is challenging. Dutton said in a statement:

This new pavilion will meet the needs of this growing community and the increased participation of young women and girls in rugby league and cricket.

A Coalition government I lead will never leave Sanctuary Point or the South Coast behind. The community has a powerful and experienced advocate for their needs in Andrew Constance.

The Dutton campaign is winding its way through the beautiful NSW south coast today. We’re expecting the rescheduled press conference to occur sometime later today, once we stop the bus.

PM visits Bonner and gets snapped with another baby

We have some more pictures of Anthony Albanese out at a pre-poll station in the LNP held seat of Bonner.

Pollies just love holding babies out on the campaign trail don’t they?

Jack Snape

Welcome to country ceremonies to go ahead at Women’s State of Origin and NRL’s Magic Round

Welcome to country ceremonies will be held as planned before both Thursday’s Women’s State of Origin clash and the men’s Magic Round, which gets under way on Friday, as the NRL remains committed to its Reconciliation Action Plan despite the politicisation of the practice.

Peter Dutton said the ceremonies were “overdone” in a televised debate on Sunday with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, who said deciding whether to include a welcome to country was up to individual organisations but that the practice was a “matter of respect”.

The Magic Round will be held on the same day as the federal election on 3 May.

You can read the full story here:

The Australian electoral commission put out a call yesterday, encouraging those attending the Magic Round to “vote before you go”.

Amanda Meade

Final leaders’ debate attracts 973,000 viewers to Channel Seven

The final of four leaders’ debates on Seven averaged 973,000 viewers on Sunday night as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, faced each other for the last time before polling day.

The figure was slightly lower than the debates on Nine (1.1m) and the ABC (1.01m) earlier in the election campaign.

Sky News Australia hosted the first debate, which had 200,000 viewers on subscription service Foxtel, and another 210,000 free-to-air regional viewers in the four aggregated regional markets.

The ABC debate recorded a total average national TV audience of just more than 1 million people and had a national reach of more than 1.7m across scheduled broadcast and ABC iview.

The ABC program which followed, The Insiders: Debate Analysis Special, achieved an average national TV audience of 748,000 and had a national TV reach of almost 1.3 million.

Albanese visits Liberal-held seat of Bonner – again

Dan Jervis-Bardy

Albanese has made another brief stop to a pre-poll station, this time in Wynnum in the seat of Bonner in Brisbane.

It’s the prime minister’s second visit to the Liberal-held seat in a matter of weeks – a clear sign that Labor believe it’s winnable on Saturday.

Albanese was largely well received at the booth, posing for selfies and cuddling babies alongside Labor’s candidate, Kara Cook.

He was heckled by a Libertarian party volunteer, who repeatedly shouted “what’s a woman, Albo?” and “what are you going to do about the price of housing, Albo?”

The visit was a good example of the risks and rewards of campaign stops in uncontrolled environments.

Albanese has done several pre-poll visits already this week, as well as a street walk down a busy mall, suggesting he and his team are willing to cop a few sprays in return for the visibility.

Henry Belot

Chalmers again claims Coalition would build nuclear plant in Dickson, drawing rebuke from opposition

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has – for the second day in a row – claimed Peter Dutton would build a nuclear power plant in his Queensland electorate of Dickson.

The Coalition believes this is a scare campaign that has no basis in fact.

This is what Chalmers said at a press conference a short time ago:

We are not doing what Peter Dutton wants to do, which is build a nuclear reactor in the suburbs of his local community.

On Monday, Chalmers said:

To all of those people in that wonderful part of southeast Queensland, in the electorate of Dickson, you all need to know that your local member wants to build a nuclear reactor in your suburbs.

When the claim was first made by Chalmers at a press conference on Monday, a Coalition spokesperson issued this statement:

We have been emphatic that only the seven identified communities, each with a retiring or recently retired coal fired power station, are being considered as possible locations for zero-emissions nuclear energy. No other locations will be considered. Dickson is not among the seven sites identified by the Coalition. This is another attempt to try and make Australians forget about the fact that significant electricity bill increases under Labor.

There are two proposed nuclear sites in Queensland.

One is Tarong, 120km north west of Brisbane, and the other is slated for Callide, 405km north west of Brisbane, in central Queensland.

Rafqa Touma

Dutton ‘happy to have a chat’ with independents if hung parliament, but ‘never’ the Greens

Dipping back into opposition leader Peter Dutton on 2GB earlier, he said if there is a hung parliament he would be “happy to have a chat” with independents “but we certainly will never form government with the Greens”.

I know the prime minister looks down the barrel of the camera and says that he would never form government with the Greens, but he was there with Julia Gillard negotiating that last time around, and as I say, it would be a disaster.

We can have sensible discussions with independents. I’ve been very clear about that.

Last night, Greens leader Adam Bandt told ABC Q&A that in 2010 during the hung parliament, Tony Abbott had given him a ring to talk about giving the Liberal party his support for minority government.

Dutton abandons planned press conference amid anti-nuclear protest

Josh Butler

Peter Dutton has abandoned a planned press conference after trade union protesters interrupted his appearance at a local football club.

Arthur Rorris, head of the South Coast Labour Council, joined with two other union supporters wearing hazmat suits and holding a fake Geiger counter in the back of Dutton’s media appearance at the St Georges Basin Dragons junior rugby league club in Sanctuary Point.

Dutton was making a local announcement for the footy club and was preparing to hold a press conference when the three men entered the ground and called for the media’s attention. Standing in the area where Dutton was to hold his presser, the men played air raid sirens on a phone and held props including nuclear symbols.

Members of the footy club tried to shoo the men away, critical that the announcement for junior football players had been overshadowed. One club official called the protesters “muppets”.

Rorris later identified himself to media as head of the local labour council, and that he was joined by officials from the Tafe and ports sectors.

Dutton got into a car and left without holding his planned press conference. We’ll let you know what happens next.

Dutton believes he will hold his seat: ‘There’s a lot of support out there from quiet, forgotten Australians’

Rafqa Touma

Peter Dutton was on 2GB a short while ago. The opposition leader was asked if he is concerned about his seat of Dickson – Queensland’s most marginal seat.

Dutton said:

I’ve been very fortunate to hold it since 2001 … We’ve had Get Up and the Greens and now the Teals and the Labor party all band together and tell lies and spread all sorts of misinformation. But in the end, I think the people in my electorate are smart enough to see through.

It’s always a tough fight, but I believe that we can win. And there’s certainly a lot of good feedback from our pre-polling volunteers, a lot of people coming up just saying, ‘Look, I know what the polls are saying, but I’m voting for Peter because I want to get our country back on track’. And there’s a lot of support out there from quiet, forgotten Australians.

Dutton at the farmers’ market – in pictures

As Josh Butler brought you earlier, Peter Dutton did a walk around a local farmers’ market in Nowra, in the New South Wales seat of Gilmore.

We’ve been told he didn’t have a look at the price of eggs at the market.

(For those playing at home, Dutton and Albanese were asked at the Channel 7 leaders debate for the price of a dozen eggs – and Dutton said $4.20.)

The Katter’s Australian party MP Nick Dametto has revealed he was cautioned by Queensland police over an incident where he unintentionally took alcohol into an Indigenous community earlier this month.

Dametto posted a photograph of himself holding a can of full-strength Great Northern beer on Curacao Island on Good Friday on his Facebook page earlier this month.

The island is part of the Palm Island local government area, which is covered by an alcohol management plan banning drinks over 4% alcohol by volume. The Great Northern original lager is 4.2% strength.

He made what’s called a personal explanation in parliament on Tuesday morning.

At the time, I was unaware that I may have been in breach of the Palm Island alcohol management plan …

Mr speaker, the incident was subsequently investigated by Queensland police, and following the investigation, an adult caution was issued. I can advise the house that the matter is now finalised.

Stephanie Convery

Rugby Australia has confirmed that it will conduct live Welcome to Country ceremonies at all its Wallabies home games this year.

Rugby Australia’s confirmation that it will continue with the ceremonies follows comments from Football Australia, who yesterday said in a statement to the Guardian:

Football Australia remains deeply committed to Reconciliation in Australia. As the ‘world game’, it is our responsibility and privilege to share the rich histories and cultures of Australia’s First Nations peoples with the world.

Our First Nations peoples and cultures are important [to] our game. We continue to find meaningful ways to show our respect, including through Acknowledgments and Welcomes to Country at major events, staff and leadership gatherings, and large stakeholder meetings. Our new national team jersey proudly pays homage to the deep cultural heritage, artistry, and enduring spirit of First Nations peoples, carrying their stories onto the global stage.

Guardian Australia contacted major sporting organisations about their policies regarding incorporation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander protocols into public events in the wake of renewed debate about the matter over the weekend.

That was sparked after a small group of people, including known neo-Nazis, booed during Welcome to Country ceremonies ANZAC Day dawn services being performed by Aboriginal elders, and NRL club Melbourne Storm came under fire for being accused of cancelling a Welcome to Country at its Anzac Day NRL match at the last minute.

The NRL and AFL did not respond to requests for comment.

Dutton checks out fruit and veg at Nowra farmers’ market

Josh Butler

Peter Dutton is visiting a farmers’ market in Nowra, wandering the aisles and inspecting some of the fruit and vegetables on offer at the store. He’s with local Liberal candidate Andrew Constance.

Dutton has chatted briefly to a few customers doing their shopping, and is talking to The store owner about cost of living pressures like power bills.

The Liberal Leader hasn’t done many of these unscripted public appearances, where the environment is less controlled. The shop isn’t busy, but there are a small number of people doing their groceries. It’s always funny to see unsuspecting punters, just going about their daily errands, accidentally wander into a photo op when their local shop or street is taken over by a politician’s visit.

Dutton is wandering the aisles, with his wife Kirrilly picking up some fruit and yoghurt. Dutton lingered at a display of sweet potatoes, picking up one tuber and checking it out for a while – perhaps hamming up for the cameras, considering that he has hiked his family’s nickname for him is “Mr Potato Head”.

The owner is talking about the costs for delivery and storage of fresh goods. Dutton says cost pressures are “economy wide”.