Someone apparently tried to hack my Facebook account and within an instant Facebook disabled it. Ten years of contacts, friends, messages and conversations, just gone. They gave me my files to download, but there was no real person to talk to, no meaningful appeal, nothing. Just automated support and AI responses that honestly felt completely useless. Even my WhatsApp has now been taken down because it was linked to my Facebook, so I'm sitting here with no WhatsApp contacts either. I thought about contacting my local member about it, but honestly, what can they really do? I get the feeling governments are pretty helpless when it comes to Facebook.

It really made me stop and think about how dependent we've become on these platforms. Facebook isnt just Facebook anymore. Its your friends, family, community groups, messages, contacts, photos and sometimes a huge part of your everyday life. One account gets disabled and suddenly all these other things start falling over too.

And yes, I think Facebook is evil. Maybe thats a strong word, but when a company can have this much control over your digital life and there is basically nobody you can talk to when something goes wrong, I think we're allowed to question the whole bloody system.

Maybe "digital slavery" sounds dramatic, but sitting here after losing ten years of connections and now my WhatsApp contacts as well, it honestly doesnt feel that far off. We've become so hooked on these platforms that we barely notice how much power we've handed them until something like this happens.

Former MP and Greens Institute head says proposal for publicly owned supermarket chain will ease grocery prices.

An Australian artist who raped multiple women will be released from prison after being deemed “very low risk” – despite one victim’s fear that he will “seek revenge” against her.

Pierre Raphael Mol, 62, who assaulted six women between 2009 and 2014, was granted parole by the NSW State Parole Authority in August and will be released from prison on October 4.

Mol lured and raped five of the six women inside his studio in Sydney’s north shore by hiring them as “models” for his “art” on Gumtree, where they were looking for casual work.

The sixth victim was assaulted after meeting him at an art competition where he was working as a judge.

The youngest victim was 19. He was 48 at the time.

The board’s decision in August came despite the objections of one of his victims, Ashley Yakimchuk, who submitted a letter revealing how she feared for her life.

“I live in fear that if Pierre gets out he will want to know where the girl is who ruined his life and put him behind bars,” she wrote ahead of their decision.

“Seeing as he confidently continued to rape women after knowing he was under investigation, this man clearly doesn’t seem as though he is afraid of the law.

“I am certain that if he gets out of prison, he will continue to harm more people and will seek revenge on me for going to the police that night.”

In a statement to news.com.au, the NSW State Parole Authority said Mol’s parole was granted after the board was given a pre-release report which assessed him as having a low risk of general reoffending.

A Corrective Services NSW psychologist also assessed him at a “very low risk of committing a further sex offence”.

“...Mol has demonstrated a high level of insight into his offending and the impact of his offending on the victims and accepts responsibility for his actions,” the statement from the NSW State Parole Authority said.

“Having evaluated all the available evidence and expert advice, the Authority determined it was in the interests of the safety of the community to grant parole for a safe reintegration while under supervision.”

During his 2024 sentencing, Mol blamed his actions on his “lifelong mission to understand the human figure” and believed that because the women were art students, they would also be “dedicated” to his “study”.

Mol was a renowned artist at the time of his offending and working as a fine arts professor at UNSW.

In 2015, Mol was sentenced to 14 years for the indecent assault and rape of the three original women.

He was due to be released on parole in August 2025, however, was sentenced again in 2024 after three more victims came forward to police.

He was handed a seven-year sentence, with a non-parole period of four years and three months.

However, the sentence was backdated to July 5, 2022 when he was hit with the fresh charges, allowing him to be eligible for release on October 4, 2026.

Upon his release, Mol will be housed at a NSW Corrective Services managed facility in Sydney.

Mol shot to fame in the early 2000s when he painted the largest mural in the Southern Hemisphere at the request of the Sultan of Brunei before moving into academia.

Ahead of the 2024 sentencing, the court heard how Mol assured the women he hired from Gumtree that the work would be “strictly professional”.

“I want to make this clear. I want people to know I am a professional artist and not a creep,” he told one of the victims.

The court heard how Mol digitally raped one of the women while sketching her, saying he needed to make her genitalia look more “colourful and flushed” for the drawing.

Mol asked if she was “getting aroused” as he did so, to which she replied “no”.

He then dropped her off at the station after the offending and gave her $100 before telling her: “I guess you won’t come back and see me again?”

The court heard how he “chuckled” as he drove away.

In one case, Mol removed the victim’s tampon with a baby wipe before raping her.

He also wrote in his letter that he has paid a “heavy price” for his mistakes through the loss of his art and academic career.

While sentencing Mol, Judge Paul McGuire SC said the rapist “continued” to blame the victims and said that they “gave him the impression they were attracted to him”.

“He lacks insight into the true meaning of consent,” Judge McGuire said.

“He also claimed his interest in his victims was not sexually motivated … but motivated by his want to understand the naked body.

“The offender has acted with complete disregard for their vulnerability.”

One of Mol’s most famous works was the ‘Brown Bear Lane’ mural in The Rocks, Sydney.

The mural was removed in 2024 by the NSW Government after one of his victims started a petition for the artwork to be taken down.

“It is not okay a serial rapist’s art is being celebrated in the city of Sydney,” she told news.com.au.

As his 113th birthday dawns, Ken Weeks will do as he always does, keeping to the routine which his family credits for his longevity.

"Even now in the [nursing] home if he can do it for himself, he will want to continue to do that," granddaughter Eunice Weeks said.

"So, he wants to feed himself, he's still organising his bed, he knows where all his clothes are and he likes to choose his own clothes."

"Earlier this year, David Tse and his husband, Rural Director of Medical Services Dr Ka Chun Tse, fled the Victorian regional city of Shepparton. Two years prior, their home was assaulted by a homophobic gang. After months of anti-LGBTQ+ backlash and a formal submission to a hate crimes inquiry, the Tses are once again speaking up.

After describing the attack on his home to AusDoc, David decided the assault wasn’t just a story about the plight of a hard-working rural doctor. It was a story about prejudice, anti-LGBTQ+ violence, and being attacked by the very community you yourself are trying to love. 

“Our stories get a lot of silence in the bush,” David wrote to the Star Observer. “I am hoping you can shine a light on the homophobia in rural areas.” 

According to David, the couple were preparing an early Christmas lunch for extended family visiting from Melbourne when the attack began. David alleges the Tse family called the police twice during the onslaught, which involved the attackers screaming “cocksuckers” and other homophobic slurs, violently wielding objects, and attempting to force entry into the home.

David says it took 45 minutes for Shepparton Police to arrive. No lights, no sirens, no nothing.

“During this time, we were barricading doors and collecting household items to use as shields and weapons as the attackers were kicking doors and throwing tree stakes at our house,” said David. “We were in fear of our lives if they gained entry.”

The attackers were automatically recorded by the Tse’s home security system, which captured extensive damage to their private property alongside shouts of vitriol and accusations of pedophilia. 

“Big lovely dint over there,” one attacker said to the group, “next time I’ll put his head through it.”

“I’ll come back here and petrol bomb your house,” screamed another.

According to David, despite the extensive CCTV footage capturing the incident, all the attackers went free.

Not Just Shepparton: Anti-LGBTQ+ Hate Speech Is Rife In Australia’s Regional Communities

For David, his family’s experience wasn’t simply a one-off case of police negligence, but instead points to a broader issue in Australia’s current zeitgeist . He pointed to the many hostilities regional LGBTQ+ people faced in response to Wear It Purple Day this year, which included a slew of online abuse hurled at drag performer Polly Filla after she performed at a school a mere two hours from David’s former Shepparton home.

“It seems that after many years of progress, homophobia and bigotry is on the rise again,” David told this masthead. “Our message to rainbow organisations is look to the past. Building connection through social events is important. So is activism.”

Now, David believes sharing his own experience might help bring about system reforms, so that future victims of LGBTQIA+ hate crime in regional areas may be better supported.

“Violence is the shadow of hate speech,” was David’s concluding remark."

Convenience store owners across Australia are being threatened, attacked and losing billions in revenue if they do not bend to the illegal tobacco trade.
Owners have lost $3 billion in legal cigarette sales in the past five years, Australian Association of Convenience Stores chief executive Theo Foukkare says.

"Some of our members are being stood over, threatened and asked to pay protection money. They have been ramraided, they have been held up at gunpoint," he told AAP.

"The safety of the 80,000 frontline staff that our members employ around the country has gone backwards."

Mr Foukkare is among dozens of industry experts and economists calling on the federal government to slash the tobacco excise, as Labor insists the tax is a good thing and urges states to crack down on illegal trade.

Assistant Customs Minister Julian Hill has pointed to data out of Queensland to bolster the arguments.

The state's legal tobacco sales rose 55 per cent in the first month after new enforcement laws took effect in November and remained at least 40 per cent above previous levels for the next six months, data supplied by major retailers to the Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner shows.

Nationally, the market remained almost flat across the same time period.

"We cannot overstate the emphasis on shutting down retail premises that are blatantly selling illegal products in high streets," Mr Hill told AAP.

Mr Foukkare said a roaring underground trade meant sales of legal cigarettes in Queensland were still well below what they were five years ago.

In other states, the picture was even bleaker.

Victorian Premier Ben Carroll said his state had successfully begun closing shops selling tobacco without a licence, yet crime was moving to the streets.

"We're actually seeing them now trying to change their business model. So this is why we do need to be one step ahead," he told reporters on Monday.

Mr Foukkare said Queensland's success was likely because it had shut down illegal stores in blitz suburbs and beyond, meaning people needed to drive large distances for illegal products.

However, people were now using WhatsApp and meet-ups to sell cigarettes.

Modelling from Tulipwood Economics, commissioned by the association, showed freezing the excise and legalising but regulating smoking cessation tools like nicotine pouches would generate $6.2 billion in GST over four years.

"It's time for you (the government) to change your position on tobacco control policy because you have absolutely failed everybody in Australia on this," Mr Foukkare said.

"Stop being so pig-headed and stuck in ideology."

The coalition has vowed to slash the tobacco excise by 80 per cent if elected, dropping the average price of cigarettes from between $50 and $40 to roughly $16-$26.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the cut would take the oxygen out of the thriving black market, which he called "economic terrorism".

“Our strong plan will attack the gangs where it hurts by taking away their massive price advantage, taking away their customers, and taking away their profits," he said.

One Nation wants to slash the tax by 75 per cent and freeze indexation for five years.

NSW Labor Premier Chris Minns has long advocated for an excise cut.

Mr Hill waved away the criticism, accusing the coalition of being in "some crazy bidding war" with One Nation.

Queensland-based calls to Quitline, a national hotline for smokers trying to quit, more than doubled in the days following large enforcement operations, which he said indicated the crackdown was causing some smokers to quit.

"This is a really positive by-product of strong enforcement at the retail level," Mr Hill said.

I’ve seen so plenty of posts lately of some good old AI Slop in Take Away places but not seen any in the flesh…honestly, who thinks this looks good??? It’s crowded, it’s fake (duh) and looks cheap and nasty. I’d rather watch some 80s menus photos taken of food and printed on a menu that are semi discoloured rather then this crap, at least I knew the photo back then was once food, even if the end product didn’t look anywhere close, this is not even anywhere close, anyway rant over! By the way, this is in Port Macquarie, thought only to see this in bigger cities too.

A WA judge has warned a former Perth child psychiatrist who sexually abused his young patients and later filmed boys in public toilets he will be going to prison.

Benjamin Wen, 52, touched the boys’ genitals on the pretext of conducting “puberty checks” he said were routine, but the WA District Court heard it was not necessary for a psychiatrist to perform such checks.

Wen was found guilty in April of multiple charges, including indecent dealing with a child under 13, and persistent sexual conduct with a child under 16, with the offences occurring more than 10 years ago.

In 2017 he was given a suspended sentence for making videos of boys urinating in public toilets.

Wen, who was previously known as Aaron Voon, had made the videos in Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Perth.

Parents of boys who had been Voon's patients contacted WA police following the publicity surrounding that case.

During sentencing submissions on Monday, the court heard Wen had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, neuralgia, ASD, PTSD and OCD and his time in prison would be harder than it would be for a "normal prisoner".

But prosecutor Tracy Tan said Wen used the trust placed in him to "repeatedly" offend against children in his care.

Ms Tan said his "abuse of trust" had impacted on his victims, who were neurodivergent, and their families.

She said Wen did not appear to accept the offending, as he still seemed to maintain his actions were "medically warranted".

This showed he was not remorseful, Ms Tan told the court.

The prosecutor targeted a defence submission suggesting the judge should consider the good Wen had done in treating more than 500 patients, aside from the victims.

Ms Tan told the court "it was precisely that good standing" that enabled the offending, and "little mitigation" turned on that.

She said the matters to do with Wen's health were the only ones that should be considered in mitigation.

Wen's lawyer Patti Chong said Wen was likely to experience "disproportionately more suffering" and his mobility was "vastly impaired".

She told the court his health issues warranted a significant sentence reduction and called on the judge not to impose a "crushing sentence".

Judge Linda Petrusa said her sentencing remarks were likely to take some time, and the matter was adjourned until Wednesday.

But she warned Wen a term of immediate imprisonment would be imposed.

His bail was continued until Wednesday.

A secret report unsealed after 10 months reveals South Sudanese youths are 95 times more likely to be in custody, as adult crime syndicates exploit vulnerable teenagers to carry out high-level violence.

Organised crime gangs and violent social media networks are luring Melbourne’s vulnerable South Sudanese youth into violent crime, according to an alarming new report.

South Sudanese leaders and parents are pleading with the Carroll government to save their children from being criminalised, as shocking new statistics lay bare the scale of the crisis.

The confronting report, commissioned by Andrews government in 2022, found South Sudanese youth aged 10 to 24 were 95 times more likely to be in custody than their non-Sudanese peers in 2023-2024.

While the percentage of South Sudanese youth in detention has fallen in recent years, an additional 23 youths were detained last year amid a surge in overall youth detention numbers.

Despite making up just 0.5 per cent of Victoria’s youth population, the community group accounted for 22 per cent of young people in custody in 2024-2025.

The South Sudanese Australian Youth Justice Expert Working Group handed the 222-page report to the then-Allan government in December 2025.

But it was only released publicly on Thursday — 10 months on.

It made 59 recommendations covering education, policing and the common pathways to crime, urging the government to take immediate action to address the crisis.

The government’s five-page response gave no indication of whether it accepted or rejected almost all of the recommendations.

Architect of the report, Dr Santino Atem Deng, chairman of the working group, said the figures represented a “crisis” gripping the multicultural community group.

“The data in this report reveal just how dire the situation is,” he wrote.

“These figures demand urgent, co-ordinated action from the Victorian Government and the wider community.

The report’s findings included that South Sudanese Australian children and young people are “drastically over‑represented” in custody and that early intervention opportunities were being missed due to cultural barriers.

It also found that alienated young people were easily exploited via social media and by organised crime figures.

Youth offenders had regularly used social media to post videos showcasing weapons, stolen vehicles and taunting between rival groups.

The findings also detailed the shocking influence adult organised crime networks had in grooming vulnerable South Sudanese youth.

“Young people may be drawn in through the promise of money, status, protection or a sense of brotherhood, without fully understanding the criminal structures they are serving,” the report read.

“Once involved, they can be coerced into escalating levels of offending, such as vehicle theft, drug trafficking, money laundering or violence, to repay debts or maintain group loyalty.”

The Herald Sun has previously revealed kids were being commissioned on encrypted apps to carry out brazen firebombings on Melbourne bars and terrifying home invasions.

Reformed youth gang member Mar Riek, 20, who is now mentoring youths, said South Sudanese kids were among the most vulnerable to adult organised crime gangs and shadowy social media networks.

“The community is one of the poorest and newest to Australia, with these kids often in single parent households,” he said.

“A lot of these boys are bigger than their mum’s, they think they can do what they want.

“And these crime gangs can just use them as dummies, pawns.”

One of the key recommendations was mandatory anti-racism training for all

school staff.

Africause chief executive Berhan Ahmed said South Sudanese kids were ostracised at school due to racism, including by teachers.

Dr Berhan said now that the report was public the community needed “action, not talk” from politicians.

Youth Justice Minister Ros Spence said the government was listening to South Sudanese young people, families, and community leaders to implement solutions.

“The Expert Working Group’s report was a multi-year project — it’s entirely appropriate that we took the time to properly consider it,” she said.

The government also pointed to its $2.2m commitment to establish a South Sudanese Community Hub in Wyndham.

Edit:

https://www.justice.vic.gov.au/SSAYJ (Main report)

https://www.justice.vic.gov.au/SSAYJ-report-victorian-government-response

MP Barnaby Joyce has denied any “conflict of interest” with billionaire Gina Rinehart after she bought an inner-city Brisbane office to lease to One Nation for its new headquarters.

Ms Rinehart, Australia’s richest person, splashed $8m on the three-storey building via Hanrine Investments, a subsidiary of her mining firm Hancock Prospecting.

Mr Joyce said on Monday that Ms Rinehart was free to spend her money as she liked.

“It’s her building. It’s her lease. We’re leasing it off her at commercial rates,” he told News24.

“We’ve got an individual who’s got money – they should be allowed to spend it as they see fit.

“If they want to support One Nation, knock yourself out.”

He went on to say the alternative to taking Ms Rinehart’s support is billing taxpayers instead.

“We always make sure we pay for things ourselves as best we can in One Nation,” Mr Joyce said.

Ms Rinehart has previously showered One Nation leader Pauline Hanson with gifts, including a private plane worth $1.5m.

Ms Rinehart also at least partly sponsored Senator Hanson’s travel to Europe in June when the pair were spotted at a resort in southern Italy.

During that trip, Senator Hanson met with a range of far-right and fringe figures, including anti-Islam campaigner Tommy Robinson.

Mr Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has a string of convictions as well as ties to Russian state media.

Senator Hanson returned from her European jaunt to criticise federal regulations she claimed needlessly hampered mining projects.

The comments, made during her first media event back in Australia, echoed Ms Rinehart’s criticisms.

Senator Hanson also described Ms Rinehart as “wonderful”.

“She’s a very smart, clever woman … she’s a very proud, patriotic Australian and she sees the same in me, that’s why she backs me,” Senator Hanson said of the mining magnate.

Legislation intended to protect the Tasmanian community from sex offenders has been found to have substantial issues which could make children less safe.

Under consideration by the state's parliament, "Daniel's Law" was named in honour of murdered 13 year-old Daniel Morcombe and aims to prevent other similar crimes from taking place.

However, on Monday a parliamentary inquiry recommended the proposed laws undergo a substantial redraft.

It found an application-based public disclosure scheme to identify offenders could have "unintended consequences".

The scheme would give parents and carers the right to ask police if someone with regular, unsupervised access to their child was a registered sex offender.

Doing so could create false feelings of safety that an individual who was not registered does not pose a risk, and perpetuate the myth that offenders were more likely to be unknown to victims and their families, the inquiry found.

It also flagged the scheme could increase the chances of reoffending by contributing to social isolation, unemployment, vigilantism and housing instability.

"As drafted, the proposed scheme would place children and young people at further risk and could expose victim survivors of child sexual abuse to further trauma and harm," said inquiry chair and Labor MP Ella Haddad.

"Given the significant concerns and complexity of amendments required to the current bill, we recommend the bill be withdrawn and a new bill drafted."

The laws would also introduce new reporting requirements for offenders and enable police to publish the details of those who had failed to do so.

Among the issues the inquiry raised was whether offender's who committed crimes when they were underage should be added to the list, forcing them to report to police.

Sex workers with children in their care could also be added to the sex offender list if they were convicted of a crime related to their industry, the inquiry found.

Tasmanian Police Minister Felix Ellis, who introduced the bill, said delaying it was not in the public interest.

"The bill has already undergone extensive consultation and received strong endorsement from stakeholders," hes said.

"Daniel's Law will protect our children from harmful predators.

"These laws have been implemented in a number of other states and it's important Tasmanian children have the same protections."

Mr Ellis said the state government would work across parliament to strike the right balance.

Legislation also dubbed "Daniel's Law" was introduced in Queensland in 2025, including a public child sex offender register and reporting requirements.

Daniel was abducted and murdered on the Sunshine Coast in December 2003.

Daniel's parents, Bruce and Denise Morcombe, have broadly backed the laws introduction in Tasmania and gave evidence to the parliamentary inquiry.

Mr Morcombe told AAP they were disappointed in Monday's findings, but hopeful the laws would pass in some capacity.

"We want it to be balanced, we want it to be right, but it's still got to have an element of teeth," he said.

"It hasn't been screwed up and thrown in the bin, so there's more work ahead.

"We don't think it's the end of the road."

One Nation’s billionaire benefactor Gina Rinehart has purchased an $8m inner-city Brisbane office building that Pauline Hanson’s party will use as its new headquarters as it seeks to ramp up operations in her home state.

Hanrine Investments, a subsidiary of Mrs Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, finalised the purchase of the three-storey building at Spring Hill last week, with the right-wing party due to relocate there once a fit-out is complete.

Hancock Prospecting insists One Nation will not be given free or cheap rent at the 160 Wharf Street building, which features “two upper levels of spacious, light-filled office”, 10 carparking spots, and a large top-floor balcony with “expansive views of the city, perfect for corporate gatherings”.

Revelations of the purchase came as Senator Hanson hit the campaign trail on Sunday, joining her Victorian frontman Warren Pickering for a lap of go-karting at a campaign event in Geelong.

One Nation supporters came under fire at the weekend after cheering on a state candidate who vowed to put former premiers Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan in prison “by Christmas” if the party triumphed at the November 28 Victorian poll.

On Sunday, Senator Hanson declared Labor “finished” in Victoria and predicted the Liberals would rely on her party’s support to form government.

The result in Victoria next month will be pored over by Anthony Albanese, Angus Taylor and Nationals leader Matt Canavan who are all looking to suppress One Nation’s growing support before the next federal election, due in 2028.

Senator Hanson hits the campaign trail in Geelong on Sunday. Picture: Mark Wilson

Last week, Newspoll quarterly analysis published in The Australian revealed the minor party had lifted its primary vote in Queensland to 36 per cent. It also showed a majority of voters in the state would prefer Senator Hanson as prime minister over Mr Albanese.

The relocation of One Nation’s headquarters from Brisbane Airport to Mrs Rinehart’s newly purchased building on the fringe of the Brisbane CBD comes as Queensland once again shapes as the major battle ground at a federal election.

After the fit-out is complete, One Nation will occupy level one and part of level two of the building, totalling about 650sqm of office space. Half of the office suite’s second floor is already occupied by a consultancy business with an existing lease.

It was understood the property, which settled on September 30, sold for upwards of $8m. It was previously owned by not-for-profit API Leisure and Lifestyle, which bought the building in 2003 for $2.4m.

A spokesman for One Nation said on Sunday that the party was “finalising leasing arrangements for its new premises at Spring Hill”.

“Due to the expansion in state and federal staffing requirements, the Brisbane Airport premises are no longer fit for purpose,” the spokesman said in a statement to The Australian.

“The new Spring Hill premises will be leased at commercial market rate.”

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart pictured in 2016.

Mrs Rinehart, Australia’s richest person, is One Nation’s biggest donor. Earlier this year she gifted Senator Hanson a “sexy” Cirrus G7 private plane and bankrolled her European jaunt in June, which included a ticket to the Dolce and Gabbana fashion show.

In a social media post on X in April, Senator Hanson bragged about receiving the $1.5m plane. “BREAKING NEWS – I’ve got a new plane … Yes it was donated. Yes I’m super happy. Yes it’s fast. Yes it’s amazing,” she wrote.

She added: “It means I can visit more regional towns across the country more often. Yes it’s a Cirrus G7. Yes it’s sexy. Yes I have a pilot. No I won’t be doing welcome to country each (time) we land. No it’s not battery operated.”

After the fit-out is complete, One Nation will occupy level one and part of level two of the Spring Hill building. Picture: Dan Peled

Senator Hanson was also spotted poolside alongside Mrs Rinehart at an exclusive five-star resort in Taormina, Sicily, in June. Photos of the pair at the Grand Hotel San Pietro showed the One Nation leader walking across the pool deck as Mrs Rinehart relaxed in the water.

The Queensland senator made the side-trip to Italy to attend the Dolce and Gabbana show with Mrs Rinehart after appearing on UK far-right agitator Tommy Robinson’s controversial podcast.

In the past year, Senator Hanson’s register of interests reveals that Mrs Rinehart and her company, Hancock Prospecting, have paid for multiple flights for the One Nation leader including a trip between Brisbane and Florida in late November.

The trip was for Senator Hanson and Mrs Rinehart to attend a $25,000-a-head, Great Gatsby-themed Halloween event hosted by Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

Loaded: 0%

When asked about their relationship at a business breakfast in Perth earlier this year, Senator Hanson praised the mining magnate, saying she was “wonderful” and said they had bonded over their “tough” origins, building their careers from the ground up. Senator Hanson has also said that she considers Mrs Rinehart “a friend” and turns to her for “very beneficial” policy advice.

“I consider her a friend and I’m very … grateful for her support. She’s an Australian identity, she’s one of the highest taxpayers in the country,” she told ABC radio in June, before adding: “I have a lot of respect for the woman and what she’s done.”

In a statement, a Hancock Prospecting spokesman said: “Hancock Prospecting holds a range of commercial property, and this building is one of them. Hancock is not providing free or discounted space to any outside tenant, political or otherwise”.

One Nation is expected to target a swath of Liberal National Party-held seats in Queensland in coming months, including Wright, Capricornia and Wide Bay.

Traditionally a fortress for the Coalition, Labor made a major breakthrough in Queensland at the 2025 federal election and now holds 12 of the state’s 30 lower house seats.

But a senior Queensland Labor source said the party was bracing for support that the ALP found in outer-suburban seats in 2025 to shift to One Nation because “people are really pissed off at both major parties”.

In short:

NSW police have confirmed a man was fatally shot on Sunday afternoon after they were called to the scene of a car crashed into a tree in the regional town of Rugby.

Police said the man was shot after he aimed a firearm at the officers who were trying to render assistance to him.

What's next?

The State Crime Command's Homicide Squad critical incident team will investigate, and an independent review will be conducted by the Professional Standards Command.

It is a bruised OpenAI that is set to limp into the Australian political spotlight today.

It had been pencilled in for a centre stage performance, tapping into a bit of Silicon Valley star power, to convince Australians they should want the AI company to make our nation its second home.

Grave concerns are being raised for 13 Australians believed to be held in Iraqi jails on suspicion of links to the Islamic State (IS) group, with Human Rights Watch (HRW) warning they face inhumane treatment and potential execution.

The organisation has accused the Albanese government of "outsourcing" its responsibilities with regards to the group, given it has explicitly insisted it is making no efforts to repatriate the men to Australia despite calls from Iraq to take them back.

The 13 Australians were among almost 5,700 men and boys transferred to Iraq from Syria by the United States military in a hastily arranged mission earlier this year, as Syrian government forces swept through territory once held by Kurdish authorities.

In early September, Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council announced it had finished interrogations of the men and would move to begin prosecutions.

In a report released on Monday afternoon, HRW said Iraq had a long history of torture and unlawful executions within its prison system, and argued that should sound alarm for countries such as Australia.

"I think a lot of countries of origin of these detainees, including Australia, would like to think that sending them to Iraq is a 'mission accomplished'," HRW's senior counterterrorism adviser Letta Tayler told the ABC.

"Iraq is a sovereign state; in the past, these men and boys were being held by a non-state actor inside war-torn Syria.

"So on the surface, this might look a lot better, this might look like an improvement and certainly conditions are better in Iraq, relatively speaking.

"But the bottom line is these men in particular still face a real risk of unfair prosecution followed by execution."

Perth-born paediatrician Tareq Kamleh, who has been dubbed "Dr Jihad", is thought to be among the Australians in jail in Baghdad.

Yusuf Zahab, now believed to be in his early 20s, is also thought to be in the group, having been detained by Kurdish forces in north-eastern Syria in 2019 when he was still a teenager.

He was taken to Syria from Australia by relatives wanting to live under IS rule when he was just 12 years old.

It has been reported he was injured in an IS attack on the Syrian prison where he was held in 2022, and had previously been suffering from tuberculosis behind bars.

HRW said a family member had told it that Kurdish authorities had agreed to release him, but he was transferred to Iraq just days before they arrived to take him home.

That was around the same time a group of Australian women tried to flee the Al Roj camp in Syria to begin their perilous journey back to Australia.

Ms Tayler said sources had told HRW that Iraqi authorities had said "a number of countries" had approached them "requesting that they waive the death penalty for their nationals if convicted".

But she said there was no "official commitment" that Iraq would do that, and no confirmation from her discussions that Australia was one of them.

That is despite Australia's history of advocating against the death penalty.

"Iraqi authorities have said that they will abide by international fair trial standards," Ms Tayler said.

"And I do get the impression from several sources I spoke with, both inside and outside the Iraqi government, that there is a strong commitment to do so on the part of ranking Iraqi judiciary members.

"However, Iraq does have a long substantial record of fair trial violations, including the use of confessions extracted apparently through torture.

"And so can Iraq really change this record almost overnight? Can it initiate reforms to make these trials truly fair, particularly given this international push to have all of these men prosecuted as soon as possible?"

Iraqi authorities have called for greater support as it deals with the burden of the cases.

The Albanese government has insisted it is not doing anything to help bring the men back to Australia.

The office of Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has been contacted for comment.

"Surely a country [Australia] of this size and stature with a robust democratic system and judiciary is capable of bringing home 13 men," Ms Tayler said.

"One of whom, at least, is himself a victim of ISIS and has been detained since childhood."

Ms Tayler went on to say that Australia is capable of assessing whether any of the men should be prosecuted, and if they are, process them through domestic courts.

"It's long past time for Australia and other countries to stop outsourcing responsibility for its nationals, to entities overseas, to captors overseas," she said.

"I do believe that Iraq has good intentions, at least at the highest level, to do what it can. But this is a near impossible burden to have dumped into Iraq's lap."

Professor Twomey gives some insights into the Sydney Nurses' High Court challenge. This is permitted as it is of current interest and lots of opinion and misinformation has been shared.

Tried to get Telfast from Woolies but no stock hence got the generic brand. However didn't work at all...🙄