Australia politics live: Alex Turnbull cautions Asio after reports he may have been targeted by espionage attempt

Alex Turnbull cautions Asio after reports he may have been targeted by espionage attempt

Alex Turnbull, the son of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, is quoted in news.com.au saying that he believes he may have been the target of an approach referred to by spy chief Mike Burgess.

He reportedly said he expressed no interest and forwarded the details immediately to the authorities.

Alex Turnbull told Guardian Australia:

Inoculation is cheap and good. Not everyone is going to be as attuned to the risks. If you spend your whole life in Australia, this stuff is pretty foreign and not something you normally have to think about. Asio needs to sit people down for a half day of training.

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Updated at 22.28 EST

Key events

The Islamic Council of Victoria has welcomed premier Jacinta Allan’s decision to cancel the government’s annual iftar dinner.

In a statement, the peak body for Muslims in the state said:

The ICV welcomes today’s announcement by the Premier Jacinta Allan that this year’s Premier’s Iftar will be cancelled. It is an appropriate decision in response to the overwhelming sentiment from the Muslim community that due to the traumatising impact of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza it would not be appropriate to stage the Premier’s Iftar this year, and it would not be supported.

Further, the Muslim community has been seeking a clear message from the government that our concerns are being heard, and this decision is one step towards that. There are other steps that we are asking the government to take and the ICV has conveyed these requests. The ICV looks forward to working with the Premier and her government to achieve those outcomes.

Just yesterday, the ICV’s president, Adel Salman, told Guardian Australia he had rejected an invitation to the event and urged the premier to cancel it altogether.

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Students at the Australian National University (ANU) will not be penalised for attending today’s nationwide strikes for Palestine, a spokesperson has confirmed.

The spokesperson said ANU had a “long history of political action”, adding all students and staff were “free to express themselves on any issue in line with Australian law”.We have been encouraging our community to engage in respectful debate on this complex issue, including being aware and sensitive to how expressing personal views may impact others.”

Students at UTS and UNSW were urged to consult their teachers if they planned to attend, while a spokesperson at the University of Sydney said classes were continuing as scheduled and students who were absent for “any reason” should inform their study coordinator.

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Over in the Senate, the Coalition is also pursuing the government over detainees released after last year’s high court ruling striking out indefinite immigration detention.

The acting leader of the government in the Senate, Katy Gallagher, told the Senate she would not comment on individual cases in order to avoid prejudicing any court proceedings, but said the immigration minister, Andrew Giles, was “working every single day with those security agencies, with his state and territory colleagues to make sure that everything is done that can be done to keep the community safe”.

She accused the Coalition of seeking to “come in here and stir up and politicise all of these matters”.

The Liberal senator James Paterson asked a follow-up question:

Will the government now apologise to the alleged victims and the people of Melbourne that you have failed to protect through your own inaction by failing to make a single application for a preventive detention order, despite the parliament rushing [the laws] through before Christmas?

Gallagher told the Senate:

In relation to all of the victims that have been involved in the NZYQ cohort, of course the government is committed to ensuring that everything is done to support victims and their families and an enormous amount of work has gone into that.

Paterson raised a point of order on direct relevance, and pressed for an apology. Gallagher replied:

We are committed to doing everything we can and I know the minister personally is to support victims and their families who have been involved with this cohort. Senator Paterson understands exactly how much work is going into preventive detention. You know it and you come in here and choose to ignore it.

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Education minister Jason Clare manages to get the biggest response from both sides of the chamber with a sledge against…Star Wars.

I opened Western Sydney University’s new Study Hub in Fairfield, with my great mate, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. It’s where we grew up. And it’s also where I released the university’s accord final report. And I did it there on purpose. That new University Hub is smack bang on the site where I got my first part-time job, collecting shopping trolleys at Fairfield Woolies. That was a long time ago. 1987.

Back then, this building still hadn’t opened.

There were still only three Star Wars movies.

Probably should have stayed that way! (The chamber erupts)

I’m not counting Mandalorian in that.

Those were the days. Those were the days. Those were the movies. And, of course, one of the greatest albums of all time had just come out. Of course, I mean Guns N’ Roses, Appetite For Destruction. It could be the Opposition Leader’s autobiography one day.

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Giles: reoffending will attract consequences as a matter for law enforcement agencies

There is another question along those same lines:

Out of the 149 hardcore criminals released by the Albanese government, how many rapists and sex offenders have reoffended since being released?

Australia has one of the highest reoffending rates in the world. This is not an issue contained to the cohort of people released by the high court decision. It’s an issue with our incarceration system in general.

Andrew Giles:

As I’ve said previously to the House, where individuals offend or breach their visa conditions, they will face the consequences, they will face those consequences, which are a matter for state or commonwealth law enforcement agencies.

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Updated at 22.34 EST

Liberals continue fearmongering over detainees released in accordance with high court decision

It is Paul Fletcher’s turn and yup, we are going there today.

Out of the 149 hardcore criminals released by the Albanese Government, how many rapists and sex offenders, apart from the one who’s just been charged with sexual assault, remain at large in the community?

This follows on from the advertising Advance has been running in the electorate of Dunkley. A high court decision found indefinite detention was unconstitutional. That meant that the government – and it doesn’t matter who was the government – had to respond.

In Australia, if you have completed your custodial sentence, you are released. No matter the crime. It happens very single day. Gang members, murderers, sex offenders, child sex offenders –all are released if they have completed their sentence.

The opposition know it, but they are deliberately stripping away context to stoke fear for political reasons.

Andrew Giles:

I thank the manager of opposition business for his question, which is a question that I answered in the last sitting week when I informed him – and informed the House – that because of the strict visa conditions, including reporting requirements and electronic monitoring for many, the location of every individual in this cohort is known.

And I remind him, and those opposite, of what the federal police[’s] acting deputy commissioner said in estimates, and I quote, “I don’t think there is any difficulty knowing where they are”.

Now, unlike some of those opposite … I have complete faith in our law enforcement officials’ ability to keep us safe. And they are working around the clock to do just that. And I remind him again that we have worked to give them the tools they need to enforce the strict laws we passed in the parliament last year, including an additional quarter of a billion dollars to support our law enforcement effort.

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Updated at 22.33 EST

Bob Katter is up to bat

Bob Katter has the first of the crossbench questions.

He is saying words. In some sort of order. But I could not tell you what they were if my life depended on it.

This is Bob Katter from yesterday, in case you forgot. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The GuardianShare

Updated at 22.19 EST

Liberals question why immigration powers were not used to redetain offender after high court-mandated release

Zoe McKenzie takes the next question for the government, which is on the same topic that Sussan Ley just asked about. McKenzie asks why Andrew Giles did not use his powers to redetain the person and “protect these two Victorian women”.

There is a reason women MPs have been given these questions to ask.

Andrew Giles:

My thoughts and I’m sure all members of this place are with victim survivors right now and all those affected by these distressing reports. And I say to the member who asked the question, and all members, that all our law enforcement agencies, the Australian Federal Police, Border Force and the state police forces as well are doing an extraordinary job. And express my confidence in them.

Now, I want to be very clear – and I think all members will appreciate this – that I am not in a position, and I will not comment on any individual case, because I will not risk prejudice to any court proceedings.

I will not risk prejudicing any court proceedings.

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Updated at 22.16 EST

Ley continues attacks over detainees released after high court decision

Because the first question was basically a dixer, the opposition get another question and Sussan Ley takes this one, because Peter Dutton is still imbued with the spirit of bipartisanship, presumably.

Ley:

When was the minister first informed that a serial sex offender the Albanese Government released from immigration detention, had been charged with sexual assault, stalking and two counts of unlawful assault in Victoria?

Andrew Giles:

I was informed of the arrest last evening through appropriate law enforcement channels.

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Updated at 22.11 EST

Question time begins

The final question time is about to get underway.

Milton Dick will let us know when a byelection in Cook will be held.

Peter Dutton kicks off with a bipartisan dixer on the strategic relationship between Australia and the Philippines.

Prime Minister, today we were honoured to host the President of the Philippines in this very chamber. He’s here as part of the Asean [meeting] in Melbourne next week. Would the prime minister advise of the significance of the summit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Australia Asean dialogue partnership between Australia and Asean?

Everyone is feeling very bipartisan.

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Updated at 22.03 EST

Alex Turnbull cautions Asio after reports he may have been targeted by espionage attempt

Alex Turnbull, the son of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, is quoted in news.com.au saying that he believes he may have been the target of an approach referred to by spy chief Mike Burgess.

He reportedly said he expressed no interest and forwarded the details immediately to the authorities.

Alex Turnbull told Guardian Australia:

Inoculation is cheap and good. Not everyone is going to be as attuned to the risks. If you spend your whole life in Australia, this stuff is pretty foreign and not something you normally have to think about. Asio needs to sit people down for a half day of training.

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Updated at 22.28 EST

Question Time looms …

Would you look at that – it is almost time for the last question time of this sitting session.

Which does not bode well for any of us, given it is the last one before Saturday’s Dunkley byelection.

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Updated at 21.56 EST

Pro-Palestinian students rally outside UTS before protest march towards Town Hall

Students are starting to gather outside the University of Technology Sydney, ahead of a march to Town Hall calling for a ceasefire for Gaza – part of a national day of student action striking for Palestine.

Yasmine Johnson, a UTS student and organiser for Students for Palestine, said:

Students are not going to sit quietly in schools while the government gets away with supporting Israel.

I think a lot of people are really angry … The fact that [the Australian government] spent months saying Israel has the right to defend itself, and then [students are] watching on their phones the videos of children who are starving in Gaza.

Protesters from the University of Sydney have joined forces with protestors outside the University of Technology Sydney as the students begin their march for Palestine to Town Hall.

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Updated at 21.56 EST

Australia Council for International Development urges government to reinstate Unrwa funding

The Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) is busy today on top of releasing its pre-budget submission, it is also urging the federal government to reinstate funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) so the agency can pay workers delivering lifesaving aid.

The federal government has suspended $6m in funding it announced earlier this year, following allegations from Israel Unrwa staff were involved in the 7 October attack. Penny Wong has since admitted the government did not have “all the facts” before making the decision to pause the additional aid, but were waiting on the outcome of an Unrwa investigation.

ACFID’s CEO, Marc Purcell, said the UN aid agency would be unable to continue any operations in Gaza in a matter of weeks if it did not receive an injection of funds.

Unrwa is the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza.

The time for Australia to show leadership on the international stage by reinstating funding is now, so that other donors can see that the Australian government has confidence in Unrwa’s response.

The humanitarian catastrophe we are seeing in Gaza is on the brink of collapse, with a possible invasion of Rafah putting further strain on the little capacity that Unrwa has left.

ACFID is calling on the Australian government to prioritize the humanitarian need in Gaza, recognize UNRWA’s commitment to neutrality and immediately reinstate its $6m aid package. It is the right thing to do.

Aid convoys which have been allowed through border crossings into Gaza and the West Bank have come under constant fire from Israeli troops, preventing assistance from reaching where it is needed.

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Updated at 21.37 EST

No questions at Albanese-Marcos press conference

To cover off some earlier business for those wondering – there were no questions allowed at the joint Albanese-Marcos Jr press conference.

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Updated at 21.24 EST

Kate Chaney backs Gee bill, but motion on housing debate set to fail

The independent MP Kate Chaney is backing the suspension of standing orders motion (not that it matters because the government holds the numbers and is against it).

She says housing affordability is raised every time she speaks to constituents and while she had originally had concerns the Gee bill was xenophobic and she supports immigration, she sees it as a temporary measure to reduce demand.

Chaney rebuts Julie Collins’ assertion that allowing foreign investors to build new homes boosts supply by pointing out it takes land, resources and tradies away from Australians attempting to do the same thing at the moment, and the property is not necessarily put on the market as additional stock.

The house is dividing, but it is a formality – with the government against it, the motion will fail.

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Updated at 21.22 EST

Labor indicates it will not support housing debate or Gee bill at this time

Housing minister Julie Collins says the government won’t be supporting the motion to suspend standing orders but appreciates Andrew Gee’s passion.

The government also doesn’t support the bill. Collins says it is only in very rare circumstances that foreign investors can buy an existing property and their investment in new stock boosts supply.

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Updated at 21.21 EST

Katter asks what opposition and government have done for housing affordability

Bob Katter is speaking on the motion to suspend standing orders.

He wants to know what the opposition has said or done or put forward to address housing affordability.

He says the government is increasing demand with things like help to buy, but that doesn’t actually help people get into homes. He supports Andrew Gee’s bill as he says it is “something that would lower demand”.

For the bill to be brought on, the government would have to agree to change its order of business –and for the bill to pass, the government would have to support it.

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Updated at 21.21 EST