Female NSW politicians refer threats received after condemning neo-Nazi rally to police
Penry Buckley
Federal MP Allegra Spender and NSW state MP Kellie Sloane have reported threats they received after their condemnation of Saturday’s neo-Nazi rally outside state parliament to the police.
Speaking on ABC Radio Sydney earlier, the shadow health minister, Sloane, said she had began to receive dozens of “pretty hateful” messages on X on Sunday, including some “concerning enough to forward to police”, and had since deactivated her account:
I think there are a lot of keyboard cowards, and I’m a pretty resilient individual, and I’m not easily bothered by these things.
I don’t want them to think they’ve had any kind of win over me because I’ve exited Twitter or X … But I won’t be intimidated by them, and I won’t stop speaking up about behaviour that is racist and offends the majority of decent people in New South Wales.
Asked about how the protest was able to go ahead, after the premier, Chris Minns, and the NSW police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, put it down to a failure of communication, Sloane says: “I’d suggest it’s a complete stuff up.”
The ABC has reported Spender has reported threats allegedly posted to the neo-Nazi group’s Telegram channel made in response to her condemnation of the rally – including a call for followers to “rhetorically rape” the Wentworth MP – to the Australian Federal Police.
Key events
Luca Ittimani
ANZ profits slide
ANZ has reported a 14% decline in profits to $5.8bn, as it sacks staff and pays penalties for misconduct.
The bank warned in late October it would report $1.1bn in one-off costs for the year to September, with staff redundancies accounting for more than half of the difference.
It also paid a $240m Asic lawsuit over widespread misconduct and took millions more in costs after closing money-back platform Cashrewards, taking over Suncorp Bank and its investment in an Indonesian bank.
If one-off significant items are excluded, ANZ’s profit was stable compared with the prior year at $6.9bn. Household savings with the bank rose $10bn and home loans picked up $17bn, while fewer borrowers fell behind on their repayments.
But ANZ has seen its profit margin weaken significantly in recent years, with net interest margin sliding to 1.54% in the six months to September – the lowest in years.
Josh Butler
Prime minister says John Laws was an extraordinary figure, and there won’t be ‘another like him’
The PM also spoke about the death of veteran broadcaster John Laws, who he called “a legend,” adding: “He was such an extraordinary figure in Australian’s lives.”
Albanese went on:
I spoke to him many times as PM, and as leader of the opposition, and as minister going back a long, long way and you could just have a genuine conversation with him.
And he was interested, he allowed you to speak.
He had strong views that he would put himself, but it was a genuine conversation and I don’t think there’ll be another like him, certainly, to be on top for such a long period of time.
Josh Butler
Albanese says outrage over Joy Division shirt ‘load of nonsense’
Anthony Albanese has finally commented on the non-furore about his Joy Division T-shirt, calling it “a load of nonsense”.
The prime minister did a round of radio interviews this morning to spruik the upcoming children’s social media ban, and on Nova FM was asked about his latest trip to the corporate box as he attended the Oasis concert in Sydney over the weekend.
Host Ryan Fitzgerald asked: “You didn’t wear the Joy Division T-shirt, did you?”, referencing the opposition leader Sussan Ley’s recent eyebrow-raising criticism of Albanese’s clothing. The PM responded:
What a load of nonsense that was, hey? … It was rather extraordinary, I’ve got to say, but a few people commented exactly that on Friday night.
On the social media ban, Albanese said it was “certainly not the case” that it would further a so-called “digital ID” system. He said the change, coming in from 10 December, was about “giving [kids] back their childhood”.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
EV and hybrid sales soar in Australia as internal combustion cars fall below 70% market share for first time
Electric car sales in Australia continue to reach new record levels, according to figures that reveal the market share for internal combustion engine vehicles fell below 70% for the first time.
The latest quarterly sales data from peak motoring body the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) shows electric vehicles accounted for 9.7% of new cars sold in the three months to September, the highest proportion on record.
While welcoming the figures, the Electric Vehicle Council has urged state and territory governments to reinstate axed EV subsidies to help drive the level of sales projected to be required for Australia to meet its emissions reductions goals.
Read more here:
Penry Buckley
High-speed testing begins on delayed Sydney metro extension
High-speed testing of trains on Sydney’s Southwest Metro extension begins this week, bringing some hope for passengers forced on to replacement buses following the closure of the former heavy rail line.
The NSW government says trains will now begin running at speeds of up to 100 km/h along the line, up from low-speed testing at 25 km/h, which began in April.
Once completed, the line will connect the existing M1 line from Tallawong to Sydenham to former T3 line stations out to Bankstown, including Marrickville and Lakemba, with trains running every four minutes at the peak.
The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that Transport for NSW expects the extension – originally planned to open in late 2025 – will open in September 2026, two years after the heavy rail line closed.
The NSW transport minister, John Graham, has thanked residents for their patience in using replacement buses.
“The T3 Bankstown line was a notorious bottleneck and a Metro will open more doors to job and education opportunities while also bringing more business to this part of Sydney.”
More from Split Enz, who will head out on their first Australian tour in 20 years
Split Enz aren’t just headlining the Byron Bay Bluesfest next year, they’re touring the country, too.
Neil Finn said in a statement:
Split Enz was my first band, my initiation into the magic of music and collaboration. It feels very special to be reuniting with that feeling and reigniting the flame.
We’ll be in top form I know it, out of respect for the songs and our audience.
The tour will hit Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide, with tickets on sale this week.
NSW police minister says neo-Nazi rally authorised by police ‘deeply distressing’
Yasmin Catley, the NSW police minister, said a neo-Nazi rally outside state parliament on Saturday was “deeply distressing”, reaffirming that hate speech has “no place in our community”.
Catley spoke to RN Breakfast after about 60 men clad in black stood outside parliament, calling for the abolition of the Jewish lobby as some speakers related antisemitic tropes. The event was authorised by New South Wales police.
Catley said the event was not emblematic of free speech, saying police needed greater powers to counter such events. She told RN:
They’re very tricky these neo-Nazis, they skirt around the edge of the law. The come in with a quick protest, [it] doesn’t make a lot of public ruffles, but certainly a big online presence.
It’s very difficult for police to make decisions in real time, whilst all this is going on, whether or not this has crossed the line from freedom of speech to hate speech.
Liberal senator’s remarks about Sussan Ley ‘unhelpful’ and ‘undisciplined’, colleague says
Maria Kovacic, the shadow assistant minister to the leader of the opposition, said Liberal senator Sarah Henderson’s remarks that opposition leader Sussan Ley was “losing support” of some colleagues were not helpful, saying she remained a firm supporter of the leader.
Kovacic spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying of Henderson’s remarks:
Those comments aren’t helpful, and look, my view is we back in our leader. To actually suggest that a leader who is doing exactly what they said they would do, which is to listen to all colleagues … I think it’s actually unhelpful and to be frank, undisciplined.
Kiwi legends Split Enz to headline Byron Bay Bluesfest
Music fans will be happy that history sometimes does repeat, with legendary Kiwi band Split Enz reuniting to headline the resurrected Byron Bay Bluesfest, AAP reports.
Best known for hits including I Got You, I See Red, History Never Repeats, Message to My Girl and Six Months in A Leaky Boat, the progressive/art rock pioneers will perform their first Australian headline show in almost 20 years at the four-day Easter music festival in northern NSW.
Led by original members Tim Finn, Neil Finn, Noel Crombie and Eddie Rayner, the group has reformed to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Split Enz top the rollcall of 35 artists in the 2026 festival’s first lineup announcement, which also includes Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Earth, Wind and Fire, blues treasure Buddy Guy, The Pogues, The Black Crows, Counting Crows and Sublime.
Bluesfest’s return comes after the festival director, Peter Noble, previously declared 2025 would be the event’s last hurrah.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Communications minister says ban will roll out in one month, saying young people should ‘take steps to prepare’
In her own statement to mark one month until the ban’s start, the communications minister, Anika Wells, heralded the national education campaign as a success.
Wells said the eSafety website had recorded more than 290,000 page views from more than 200,000 users since the campaign launched three weeks ago. The minister said:
We are heartened to see hundreds of thousands of Australians engaging in our education resources so they can have meaningful conversations about this significant change.
Now is the time for people with under-16s in their lives to start having conversations about what the new law means for them, and talk through any concerns or worries.
Young people who expect to have their accounts deactivated from 10 December can also take steps to prepare and make sure they stay connected to the people and things they love, including by backing up content and photos and exploring other ways to keep in touch.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Opposition calls on government to address ‘uncertainties’ around social media ban for under-16s
The federal opposition is demanding the Albanese government urgently address “uncertainties” surrounding the social media age limit ahead of its commencement in a month’s time.
The world-first restrictions will start on 10 December, requiring platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, X and TikTok to prevent under-16s from creating or holding an account.
The shadow communications minister, Melissa McIntosh, said several issues remained unclear, including the final list of platforms that would be captured.
The government last week added message board Reddit and video streaming platform Kick to the banned list while leaving the door open to further, delayed inclusions – such as gaming platform Roblox.
McIntosh said:
The intent of the ban is to protect kids online, but with this rushed, last-minute approach to adding new platforms, will the social media companies be ready in time, and what age verification mechanisms will they use? Additional platforms being added to the banned list is happening in a hasty way. Last week, the Minister said there would ‘still be room for movement’ heading into the 10 December implementation date. With urgency, the government needs to confirm the full list of platforms children can’t be on.
McIntosh criticised the government’s public information campaign to promote the ban as “lacklustre”, saying parents, schools and children weren’t given enough time to prepare.
Good morning
Good morning, and welcome to Monday. Nick Visser here to start the week off. Here’s what’s on deck:
Politicians and celebrities have paid tribute to talkback legend John Laws, who died on Sunday. Russell Crowe remembered Laws as a “wise mentor” and “mischievous mate” while Kyle Sandilands called the man known as the “Golden Tonsils” as “one of the true originals”.
“He said what he thought, didn’t care who he offended, but could also show deep compassion when required. I’m devastated to have lost a mentor and a mate”, Sandilands wrote on social media.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley said Australia had lost a “true pioneer of broadcasting”, saying Laws helped “shape public debate with a style that was fearless, perceptive and unmistakably his own”.
Let’s dive in.
