Politics live: recognition of Palestine an ‘essential’ step, Australia says in joint statement with 15 countries | Australia news

Prime minister Anthony Albanese and communications minister Anika Wells are standing up this morning, on the decision to include YouTube in the social media ban for children under 16. YouTube kids will still be exempt.

Albanese starts by recognising three parents who are with him, all who have lost a child.

Mia, Rob and Emma are three parents, but their stories are felt by countless other parents and by communities right across the country. We know that social media is doing social harm, and my government And this parliament is prepared to take action to protect young Australians.

Leaving parliament again for a moment, there’s a tsunami warning for the Pacific following an earthquake off the north-east coast of Russia.

According to the US weather service, there is a “potential threat” warning for Russia and Japan. There is also a “watch” alert for Hawaii.

There’s no sign yet of any danger south of the equator. You can stay updated here:

http://www.bom.gov.au/tsunami/

Two Australians deported from Israel after they were detained on Freedom Flotilla ship

Two Australians on board a boat intercepted by Israeli troops earlier this week have been deported from Israel and are on their way back to Australia, according to their lawyers.

Tania “Tan” Safi and Robert Martin were detained on Monday while onboard the ship Handala, which was attempting to reach Gaza with aid as part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.

Adalah Legal Center, a Palestinian legal rights group, said the pair were among a number of activists who have been deported so far, with the remainder of the 21 people detained expected to be deported in the coming days. Adalah said in a translated statement:

Australian activists Robert Daniel Martin and Tania Safi were transferred to Jordan and are scheduled to depart on July 30 via a flight that includes a stop in Dubai before arriving in Australia.

Adalah said those left in detention were continuing an open-ended hunger strike after their detention:

According to testimonies collected by Adalah’s field team during today’s visit, the activists continue to be subjected to harsh and degrading detention conditions and are continuing an open-ended hunger strike for the fourth consecutive day in protest against their unlawful arrest and detention conditions.

Dfat has been approached for comment.

Jordyn Beazley

Staying with Lawrence’s comments, he said it is “rarely, if ever, the role of the state to prevent mass protests, and that it is the “obligation of the state to facilitate, support and make safer such events.”

Lawrence also said he has given repeated warnings in parliament about since October 2023 about “the risk of violence on our streets if attempts are made by the executive government to unreasonably prevent peaceful mass protests.”

The management of this planned protest should be left entirely to NSW Police, who should be allowed to make an independent and principled decision according to law.

NSW Labor MP ‘extremely concerned’ by premier’s stance on Palestine protest

Jordyn Beazley

A member of Chris Minns’ government has said he is concerned the New South Wales premier tainted the police’s decision on whether to facilitate a proposed protest that would involve marching across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, arguing that it was not within his authority to do so.

On Tuesday afternoon, the deputy police commissioner, Peter McKenna, said police had rejected an application from organisers of a protest, citing safety risks as the reason. The organisers of the rally, the Palestine Action Group, have vowed to fight the decision in the supreme court.

It came after Minns had said on ABC Sydney Radio that the mass protests relating to Gaza would not be allowed on the Harbour Bridge under “any circumstances”.

The upper house Labor MP Stephen Lawrence, who is also a barrister, said he was “extremely concerned” by these comments. He wrote in a statement on social media:

This detailed [NSW] statutory regime as I understand it gives no substantive role to the premier in deciding whether authorisation is given.

I am concerned the premier has in effect made a purported decision himself to try and prevent this protest, that this will taint proper consideration of the matter by police and that violence may ensue as a consequence.

I have felt the need to give these warnings because an environment has been created by senior political leaders, Labor and conservative, hostile to protests concerned with the rights of Palestinian people.

US review of Aukus to be completed late this year, Pentagon policy chief says

The Aukus review is expected to be completed late this year, the US has said in a statement on X.

The statement is from the office of the under secretary of defence for policy, Elbridge Colby, and states that the department working on the review will engage with Australia and the UK.

It doesn’t add a whole lot of new information, but does confirm that the review will take longer than its initial 30-day timeframe.

The new statement says:

As part of this process the department looks forward to continuing regular engagements on this important matter with other parts of the US government, the US congress, our other allies Australia and the United Kingdom, and other key stakeholders.

The department anticipates completing the review in the fall.

The fall, or autumn, in the US is between late September and late December.

Australia has signed a new joint-statement of 15 foreign ministers, including France and Canada, on Gaza, expressing their “unwavering commitment” to a two-state solution.

It states that the nations, ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting in September:

Have already recognised, have expressed or express 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 condemns the 7 October attack, and demands an immediate ceasefire, immediate and unconditional release of all hostages of Hamas and calls for ensuring unhindered humanitarian access.

The statement also “welcomes the commitments made by the President of the Palestinian Authority” on 10 June, including where the president condemned the 7 October attacks, called for the liberation of hostages and disarmament of Hamas, and committed to “call for elections within a year to trigger generational renewal”.

It was signed by the foreign ministers of: Andorra, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia and Spain.

Husic says there is ‘deep feeling’ in Labor caucus to recognise Palestine

Tom McIlroy

Recognising Palestinian statehood would end Hamas’s authority in Gaza, Husic says

The Labor MP Ed Husic says Australia joining with countries including France and the UK to recognise Palestinian statehood would end Hamas’s power in Gaza.

One of the major stumbling blocks for countries considering statehood is the role of the terrorist organisation, which was responsible for the 7 October attacks on Israel and still holding hostages.

But Husic, who says other members of Labor’s caucus want action from the Albanese government, says moving on statehood will deny Hamas authority.

“Hamas is built largely on grievance,” Husic says.

That grievance gets removed with the establishment of a state of Palestine, nurtured with the cooperation and support of the international community, progressed through the development of democratic institutions. And that would champion the delivery of humanitarian aid to nourishing … children.

On backbench discussions about the war and next steps from the international community, Husic said he wanted Labor MPs to make their own statements.

We have been talking. Colleagues have been considering this, across the backbench. There is a deep feeling within the caucus, about how right it is to recognise Palestine, and I would much rather that colleagues speak for themselves.

Victorian government announces ban on private bail services

Benita Kolovos

Leaving federal politics for a moment, the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, and attorney general Sonya Kilkenny are holding a press conference at parliament to announce privately owned bail services will be banned in the state.

As part of the bail bill announced yesterday, commercial operators will no longer be able to provide monitoring services.

It a similar move by the NSW government in May, after private operator BailSafe collapsed I earlier this year, without notifying authorities. It led to a mad scramble to locate about 20 alleged offenders on bail in NSW and eight in Victoria.

Allan says:

We saw the situation earlier this year where a private company, BailSafe, shut up shop. They didn’t tell anyone across the justice system, the courts, Victoria police, and that’s just absolutely unacceptable. When that happened, I was determined that we would stamp out the use of private companies in the provision of electronic monitoring here in this state.

Australia can build momentum on Palestinian recognition: Husic

Speaking in the press gallery corridor, the Labor MP Ed Husic says Australia should move with the UK to recognise Palestinian statehood.

Husic says “moral momentum cannot be ignored” and has implored the government to “reconsider its approach” to recognising a Palestinian state.

I would urge our government to reconsider its approach. We can still maintain that we have conditions that we believe need to be satisfied, the least of which is the build up of democratic institutions within the state of Palestine, the demilitarisation of Hamas, for example.

But we can flag our preparedness to join with both France and the UK to signal our commitment to recognise Palestine. Now it is important that that occur. I believe it’s critical that we back them in and build a sense of international momentum.

‘A question of when, not if’ – government MPs on Palestinian recognition

In response to the UK government declaring it could recognise Palestine as a state in September, unless Israel takes immediate steps towards peace, government ministers have said this morning that the question for Australia is “when, not if”.

Earlier when Anika Wells spoke to ABC News Breakfast, she said there are still things to be worked through to get to a two-state solution.

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.

Over on Sky News, Julian Hill offered similar remarks.

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.

[It’s] a question of when, not if, to recognise the state of Palestine

Anthony Albanese is a “Seinfeld prime minister”, says shadow foreign minister Michaelia Cash, over the governments response to Trump foreshadowing higher tariff rates of up to 15 to 20%.

Why Seinfeld? It’s a show about nothing, so “stop being a show about nothing” says Cash.

On a panel with Clare O’Neil on Sunrise earlier, Cash said Albanese had still failed to get a face-to-face meeting with Trump since he was elected.

Other countries [are] meeting, they are successfully negotiating trade deals that benefit their countries. We now hear it could go 15%, it could go 20%. Mr Albanese needs to stop being the Seinfeld prime minister, stop being a show about nothing, step up, get a meeting with President Trump, and advocate on behalf of Australians.

O’Neil says the comments from Cash are “really rude and disrespectful” and the opposition should have a team Australia view.

She says the government is working calmly and working through the appropriate channel to get the “best deal”.

We will manage this not with some of the kind of flamboyant language Michaelia used there. We will manage it in a calm and considered way. That is how our government restored our relationship with China, France all the countries that were left by the way side by the opposition.

Wells says she ‘can’t ignore’ new eSafety evidence about YouTube

Anika Wells says she can’t ignore new evidence from the eSafety commissioner that more than a third of kids have experienced harm online “at the hands of YouTube”.

The communications minister is speaking to ABC News Breakfast and says YouTube will need to work with the eSafety commissioner to change its platform in response to the social media ban.

She says YouTube needs to stop users being able to access age-restrictive in a logged-out state.

Fresh evidence from the eSafety commissioner that 37% of kids had their most recent or most impactful online harm at the hands of YouTube. That is evidence that I can’t ignore and they are joining the ban.

Kids who are under 18 will find a way to smoke. There [are] kids who are under 16 who will find a way around this but it is about making a positive impact.

We would rather kids work out who they are before social media platforms assume who they are.

Shadow education minister on Naplan results: ‘We need to look at what it is we are teaching’

The opposition says the latest Naplan results aren’t a “cause for particular celebration” but there are positive signs.

Shadow education minister Jonno Duniam told ABC News Breakfast earlier that the gap between regional, remote and metro and other disadvantaged students including Indigenous children is “very concerning”.

Duniam says it might be time for a relook at the curriculum.

Under our federated system, where no one should be worse off because of where they live or any other particular attribute, some are falling behind, which needs addressing.

We are falling behind and we have been for a long period of time. This is not just a now problem, this has been for decades. We need to look at what it is we are teaching.

Clare on Naplan results: ‘Good news, but there’s still more work to do’

The government says there are encouraging signs from the latest Naplan school results.

Two thirds of students have achieved a “strong” or “exceeding” proficiency level, but for the first time since 2017, numeracy results improved across years five, seven and nine.

In a statement, education minister Jason Clare said there are still more improvements to be made:

The improvements in literacy and numeracy are good news, but there’s more work to do.

That’s what the new agreements we’ve now signed with every state and territory are all about.

Paterson says Australia should not push to recognise Palestinian state at this time

Opposition frontbencher James Paterson says Australia shouldn’t join the UK in pushing to recognise the state of Palestine this year.

On RN Breakfast, Paterson says Australia recognising a Palestinian state before Hamas is dismantled would be “counterproductive”.

It’s not for me to comment on the foreign policy of other countries, but if the Australian government was to make a similar move, I wouldn’t agree with it.

Asked whether the images out of Gaza are evidence of starvation of its population, Paterson said there are “credible reports of that”.

Premature recognition of a Palestinian state before Hamas has been dismantled, before the Palestinian Authority recognises Israel’s right to exist, before they give up their aims of using terrorism to abolish the Israeli state, I think would be extremely counterproductive.

There’s certainly credible reports of that [widespread starvation]. I’m not on the ground and I can’t independently assess it. But I think very clearly there is very serious suffering happening in Gaza.

He went further than his leader Sussan Ley yesterday who declined to say wouldn’t say there was evidence of starvation during a press conference yesterday.

But says he’s still “cautious” in not wanting to “endorse claims that are made by Hamas” while observing the “very serious humanitarian situation”.

‘I’ve got sharp elbows’: Wells on any potential legal action by Google

Asked about whether she’s concerned about potential legal action from Google, Wells says she’s got “sharp elbows”.

We have had threats come in. But look, I’ve got sharp elbows. This is too important for us not to have a crack. They are world leading laws.

While social media has a place persuasive and predatory algorithms do not. And that’s what we’re cracking down on.

Wells says the laws will not be set and forget, and the social media platforms will have to work with the eSafety commissioner to figure out how to put the new restrictions in place.

The communications minister, Anika Wells, says “parents, we have your backs” in announcing her decision to include YouTube in the social media ban.

Wells told the Today Show the laws “aren’t infallible” but it’ll be up to the platforms to take reasonable steps to stop children being on them.

When they find their way around this, because we know that kids will, god bless them, the platforms [need to] take reasonable steps to mitigate that from happening and to correct errors.

These laws aren’t infallible, none are but this is about the chilling effect [of social media]. And there’s a study that asked kids who are 16, 17, 18, ‘do they wish that they had not gotten on social media as early as 13?’ And they all said, yeah, they regret it.

Wells said that Google sent the Wiggles management team to try to “persuade” her on the decision.

This was Big Wiggle. This was Wiggles Inc, the management around the Wiggles …

The Wiggles are a treasured Australian institution. But like I said to them, you’re arguing that my four-year-old twins right to have a YouTube login is more important than the fact that four out of 10 of their peers will experience online harm on YouTube.