Barnaby Joyce says gift of plane to One Nation by Gina Rinehart’s company ‘won’t really worry’ voters
Josh Butler
Barnaby Joyce also downplayed a million-dollar donation of a private plane to One Nation by one of Gina Rinehart’s companies, claiming “it won’t really worry” voters.
“I think that worries people in the fourth estate more than it worries people on the ground,” Joyce told Sky News.
As Guardian Australia reported this week, Rinehart gifted Pauline Hanson a new private plane, worth more than $1.5m, to use in the lead-up to the next federal election, while a group of her close associates donated another $2m to One Nation.
A spokesperson for Hancock Prospecting confirmed on Wednesday that the aircraft had been gifted to One Nation through one of Rinehart’s companies, not from Rinehart personally.
Joyce waved away the prospect of the expensive donation harming One Nation’s electoral prospects.
If you’re so uninspiring that you can’t get big donors, then that says a lot about the political philosophy that you’re standing behind, that it’s really sort of a vacuous beige soup, rather than something that’s actually worth believing in.
Joyce pointed out that the Labor government and the Greens had “big backers” including the union movement and prominent businesspeople.
I don’t believe in what they believe, but obviously they have a philosophy that attracts support. Now we attract support too, from people on the conservative side of politics and successful business people on the conservative side of politics because they believe that they can clearly identify our conservative values. They might not agree with all of them, but they agree with enough.
Key events
Luca Ittimani
Sydney is awash with shared ebikes. Is Australia finally falling in love with Lime?
Shared ebikes are enjoying a rapid boom in popularity in Australia in the wake of the fuel price spike, as cities learn to adapt to schemes such as Lime.
Lime, the largest operator, has outlasted competitors to gain a foothold across cities on the east coast as it seeks government help to grow.
Already in Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Lime entered Canberra in April. Australia is now home to almost 25,000 shared ebikes, four times more than it had in late 2024, of which 18,000 are believed to be Lime-operated.
Lime has reported higher usage in each city as Australians look for ways to mitigate higher fuel prices following the US-Israel war on Iran.
Paddle-out in Sydney and Newcastle to show solidarity with Global Sumud Flotilla
A “paddle-out” is under way in Sydney and Newcastle this morning, in a show of solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted by Israeli Defence Forces while attempting to transport aid to Gaza.
Six Australians were among the group held hostage, but have now been released.
Alexa Stuart, a community organiser with Rising Tide, said those participating in the event were “concerned and outraged” about what she described as the Australian government’s silence on the issue.
That’s why we’re paddling out today, to show our solidarity with the Australians, and to call on the government to immediately condemn the actions of Israel and to cut ties with Israel.
In Sydney, dozens of kayaks and boats have now left Milson’s Park in Kirribilli and are making their way to the Sydney Opera House.
Lisa Cox
‘We don’t hear the frogs’: NSW government repeatedly delayed water to wetlands
The New South Wales government has routinely delayed environmental flows to critical wetlands in the state’s north-west in favour of farming, despite admitting it could harm the breeding cycles of frogs and endangered birds and damage local ecosystems.
Two weeks ago, scientists had to scramble to rescue turtles after WaterNSW abruptly cut water flows to the internationally significant Gwydir region near Moree, after a complaint from a landowner.
Now, a local grazier has released emails that reveal the state’s environment and water department delayed the start of flows to parts of the region from spring until early summer to prioritise harvesting of winter cereal crops.
Barnaby Joyce says gift of plane to One Nation by Gina Rinehart’s company ‘won’t really worry’ voters
Josh Butler
Barnaby Joyce also downplayed a million-dollar donation of a private plane to One Nation by one of Gina Rinehart’s companies, claiming “it won’t really worry” voters.
“I think that worries people in the fourth estate more than it worries people on the ground,” Joyce told Sky News.
As Guardian Australia reported this week, Rinehart gifted Pauline Hanson a new private plane, worth more than $1.5m, to use in the lead-up to the next federal election, while a group of her close associates donated another $2m to One Nation.
A spokesperson for Hancock Prospecting confirmed on Wednesday that the aircraft had been gifted to One Nation through one of Rinehart’s companies, not from Rinehart personally.
Joyce waved away the prospect of the expensive donation harming One Nation’s electoral prospects.
If you’re so uninspiring that you can’t get big donors, then that says a lot about the political philosophy that you’re standing behind, that it’s really sort of a vacuous beige soup, rather than something that’s actually worth believing in.
Joyce pointed out that the Labor government and the Greens had “big backers” including the union movement and prominent businesspeople.
I don’t believe in what they believe, but obviously they have a philosophy that attracts support. Now we attract support too, from people on the conservative side of politics and successful business people on the conservative side of politics because they believe that they can clearly identify our conservative values. They might not agree with all of them, but they agree with enough.
Josh Butler
Barnaby Joyce open to running again for New England lower house seat
One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has held open the door to running for his lower house seat of New England at the next election, but says his “Plan A” is still to run for the Senate.
Joyce, the former Nationals MP, said he was planning to switch houses at the next election when he joined Pauline Hanson’s party last year. But on Sky News this morning, he said he might stick with his current electoral situation if One Nation – as current polling suggests they will – manages to win a couple of new seats in the House of Representatives.
What I would say is, if it looks like we’re going to get a large, a reasonable number, of House of Representative seats, of course the party which I’m a part of will no doubt make the request that I stand for New England.
Because we have to have some oversight and some process to make sure we look like a professional, diligent outfit in the House of Representatives, because otherwise they’re just going have a range of people who’ve never been there before, and it’s not their fault. It’s just that’s a tenuous approach. If that is not the case, then we continue with Plan A, which is to stand for the Senate.
Matt Canavan said he understood why voters in Farrer, set for a by-election next Saturday, were disillusioned with the federal opposition.
I‘ve been down there for 20 days, 15 nights – and 10 of those I’ve been in a swag – over the past month.
I’m doing everything I can to fight for them. I’d love to fight for that great part of our country again, it’s a wonderful part of our nation where we pioneered the use of irrigation and dams. It still produces 40% of our food, 60% of our fruit.
And for me, it’s been a great platform for my leadership. Because what I want for our country is to for us to rediscover our pioneering spirit.
But he dismissed concerns about the coalition’s decision to preference One Nation ahead of an independent candidate.
Under my leadership, [in] my view, socialists and communists always go last.
Labor not ruling out extending fuel excise cut – but decision will be made after budget
Josh Butler
The Labor government isn’t ruling out extending the cut to the fuel excise, assistant treasurer Daniel Mulino has said.
But an extension of the excise cut would likely be decided after the budget, with Mulino downplaying the likelihood of such a decision coming in the document Jim Chalmers will hand down this month.
Mulino was on Sky News earlier, and was asked about the halving of the fuel excise, which is currently slated to run for three months and save motorists 26 cents a litre at the petrol pump. The Labor government cut the excise amidst fuel price spikes due to the war in Iran.
Mulino said the cut had only been in place for one month, and the government would assess the decision again toward the end of the three months.
I think we need to really see how the overseas conflict evolves, how prices evolve for oil. But I think, you know, it is doing what it was intended to do. It’s not a silver bullet, but it is providing material support for people. And as I said, it’s providing support for people who are really doing it tough when they can’t shift away from using petrol.
Asked whether the government could extend the cut, Mulino replied: “I don’t think anybody in the government’s ruling out that. But I think what they’re saying is that they’ll look at that closer to the time when it is coming towards its end.”
Pressed further as to whether that decision would come after the budget, rather than be included in the May budget, Mulino replied: “I would expect so.”
Nationals ‘dead set against’ proposed gun buyback in response to Bondi attack, Matt Canavan says
Speaking on ABC Insiders, the Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, said he and his Queensland Liberal National party colleagues were “dead set against” gun buyback laws proposed in response to the Bondi terror attack.
We don’t support the legislation. It’s up to the government now to do what it can.
These just fundamentally take away rights from Australians for no benefit.
It would be nice if everybody tried to understand the position that farmers and lots of families who need firearms have been put in by these ridiculous caps of five firearms.
Nationals leader Matt Canavan told the ABC Insiders program he was “deeply underwhelmed” by the interim report from the Bondi royal commission, released on Thursday.
The major issue here was not the firearms held in the hands of these two monsters. It was the ideas in their heads that were the problem.
The fact that it hasn’t dealt with that fundamental problem, in my view, it totally misses the mark.
Jefferson Lewis charged with murder over death of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby
Northern Territory police commissioner Martin Dole said Jefferson Lewis, the alleged killer of Kumanjayi Little Baby, has been formally charged with murder and two counts of sexual assault.
Lewis would be appearing in Darwin local court this week.
Dole said:
This is horrific events and a horrific set of circumstances, and our thoughts remain strongly with the family, also with the community, as everyone processes the impact of these horrific events.
Read more here:
Sarah Basford Canales
Something has changed in Australia. The voters of Farrer may tell us what, and how much
This Saturday’s federal byelection in Farrer is set to be an unorthodox political battle. Neither of the two front-runners for the seat in south-western NSW, which was held by Sussan Ley, is from one of the major parties.
Read Guardian Australia’s Sarah Basford Canales profile of One Nation candidate David Farley here:
Josh Taylor
Under a cloud: the growing resentment against massive datacentres
When West Footscray resident Sean Brown takes his 19-month-old boy to the park, their walk passes an imposing new building cheerily spruiked as “Australia’s largest hyperscale AI factory”, a datacentre called M3.
He hates it: the construction noise from its constant expansion, the looming towers and the insistent background hum, the exhaust from the growing array of diesel generators that power the ranks of servers inside.
And he worries what it represents for his young child’s future.
Guardian Australia’s Josh Taylor spoke to residents living near datacentres in three states about their concerns, which are emblematic of the growing opposition to these developments across the country.
Read more here:
Liberals claim seat of Nepean in key Victorian byelection
The Liberal party has claimed victory in a key Victorian byelection seen as a preview of what to expect when the rest of the state hits the polls in November.
As counting continued in the Mornington peninsula seat of Nepean, the Liberal candidate, Anthony Marsh, appeared to be in a commanding position, in a significant boost to opposition leader Jess Wilson.
With close to 80% of the vote counted, Marsh had 38.5% of the primary vote, and 63.4% on a two-candidate basis.
Read more from AAP here:
Three dead and man in custody in Sydney
A third victim has died and a man is in police custody after an incident at a home in Sydney’s south-west, AAP reports.
NSW police arrived at the house in Rosemeadow on Sunday at 1.30am after reports of a disturbance.
Officers found a 64-year-old man suffering serious head injuries, along with the bodies of a woman in her 60s and a man in his 20s.
The injured man received medical treatment from NSW ambulance paramedics and Liverpool hospital, but later died.
The bodies are yet to be formally identified.
Police say the victims “were assaulted by a man known to them”. It was being treated as an alleged domestic violence incident.
Police arrested a 32-year-old man, who was taken to Campbelltown police station for questioning.
Officers have set up a crime scene and are preparing a report for the coroner.
Good morning
And welcome to another Sunday Guardian live blog.
This morning, Nationals leader Matt Canavan will be appearing as a guest on ABC Insiders.
In Victoria, state opposition leader Jess Wilson claimed victory for the Liberal party in a key byelection in the seat of Nepean, ahead of a state election in November.
This morning in Sydney, there will be a paddle-out across the harbour in support of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which included six Australians, and was intercepted by Israeli defence forces while attempting to deliver aid to Gaza.
And Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, is expected to arrive in Australia tonight, in her first official visit since taking office. She will meet with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, in Canberra tomorrow for the Australia–Japan Annual Leaders’ Meeting.
I’m Petra Stock and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
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