Australia news and politics live: Netanyahu warns Albanese in new attack after Hamas praise, ‘something wrong’

Pro-Palestine protesters have been dealt a huge blow in their bid to march across Brisbane’s iconic Story Bridge, after a court blocked the planned demonstration.

Orders were being sought by Queensland Police to block the march by the Justice for Palestine (JFP) Magan-djin (Brisbane) group, which would have crossed the Story Bridge.

Protest organiser Remah Naji was taken to court by Queensland Police in their bid to block a protest on the Story Bridge in Brisbane from going ahead.. NewsWire/Tertius Pickard Credit: News Corp Australia

Up to 7000 people could march but that number could go as high as 10,000.

In a legal challenge lodged to the Brisbane Magistrates Court, the Queensland Police Service (QPS) argued the march posed too great of a risk to the public.

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A second man has been charged by Victoria Police and the AFP for his alleged role in the Adass Israel Synagogue arson attack in December 2024.

The man, a 20-year-old from Meadow Heights, had his house raided by the Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) on August 14, police said in a statement, where a “number of items” were seized, including electronic devices.

After conducting forensic testing, the man was arrested on Thursday, with police allegedly he was one of the men responsible for breaking into the synagogue and starting the fire.

“The AFP, together with Victoria Police under the JCTT, warned we would not allow these alleged crimes to go unpunished, and today’s latest arrest highlights that we remain laser focused on identifying those responsible and holding them to account for this attack,” AFP Acting Assistant Commissioner Nick Read said.

Health Minister Mark Butler has spoken about Benjamin Netanyahu’s anger toward Anthony Albanese and branded the attack on the PM as ‘ridiculous’.

Appearing on Sky News on Thursday Mr Butler was asked about the Israeli Prime Minister’s comments and said the government will not back down.

“I’ll just say that our government, particularly our Prime Minister, treats all other world leaders with respect, even when there’s a deep level of disagreement about a particular policy issue or a particular strategic issue.

“We’re not going to change our posture, our approach to international relations because of a particular position taken by any other world leader.

“I think much of what the Israeli Prime Minister said in the comments I had seen were frankly ridiculous.

“But we’re not going to focus on those. We’ve been very, very determined to make sure as far as possible that the division and the conflict that is happening over in the Middle East is not brought to our own country, that we focus on maintaining social cohesion.”

Adelaide star Izak Rankine has been slapped with a four-game suspension for his homophobic slur.

The AFL’s integrity unit probed Rankine’s comment directed at a Collingwood opponent during last weekend’s clash, with the league on Thursday ruling the Crow would be ineligible to feature in at least the first three games of his club’s finals campaign.

But it leaves the door ajar for a potential grand final recall, should Adelaide lose their qualifying final and then win their way into the decider from there.

The ban came after days of debate and discussion among the AFL community around what penalty Rankine deserved, and followed discussions between the league and the Crows as they attempted to land on a verdict.

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Coalition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston says there needs to be “more detail” after Labor announced children with mild autism and developmental delays would be moved off the NDIS.

Health Minister Mark Butler said children with the moderate conditions would be shifted to a yet-to-be-designed Thriving Kids program.

Although the opposition has backed changes to make the scheme more sustainable, it says more information is needed.

“Yesterday, we saw another new program announced by the Health Minister … (but) we still don’t know what’s happening with foundational supports, which was an announcement about a change to the NDIS program last year,” Ms Ruston said.

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Australian officials have been told to leave Ramallah as operations at the Australian Representative Office were suspended.

A Smartraveller alert has warned the Australian government’s ability to provide consular assistance in the Occupied Palestinian Territories was now “extremely limited”.

“Australians in need of consular assistance should contact the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv or Australian Embassy in Jordan.”

It comes as Israel approved new settlements in the West Bank and signalled it was moving ahead with plans to take over Gaza City, despite international criticism and growing support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

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Tragic news out of NSW, after police confirmed that divers have located two bodies in flood waters near Wiseman’s Ferry.

A search had been instigated for a father and son who were missing after their car plunged into the Macdonald River shortly before midnight on Wednesday. The car was then found submerged.

A 24yo man, who was a passenger in the vehicle, managed to escape and reached the riverbank before being treated by paramedics at the scene.

Read the full story here.

Bob Katter’s son has crashed his personal plane for the second time in three years, this time with his heavily pregnant wife on-board.

Member for Traeger Robbie Katter crash landed his personal plane at Mount Isa Airport in North Queensland about noon on Wednesday, causing significant damage to the plane.

His pregnant wife Daisy Katter and parliamentary chief of staff Cameron Parker were on-board the 1985 Mooney M20 plane during the crash, but all parties walked away uninjured.

“It was pretty traumatic for everyone, particularly my wife, she’s heavily pregnant,” Mr Katter told ABC News.

Read the full story here.

While in Brisbane on Thursday, opposition leader Sussan Ley was asked about the pro-Palestine protesters’ plans to stage a march across the city’s Story Bridge this Sunday.

The march comes after about 100,000 protesters closed down the Sydney Harbour Bridge earlier this month.

While the Sydney protest got the legal greenlight to go ahead prior to the mass march, Brisbane organisers still have to face off with police in Brisbane Magistrates Court to get permission.

“I want to say that we do support free speech and protests in this country. However, we need to exercise caution when people of very dubious backgrounds and intentions carry out their message of hate at rallies such as this,” Ms Ley said.

“I’ve said several times since we’ve had something similar on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

“To have those images of an iconic Australian landmark, the Harbour Bridge, beamed around the world with background messages of hate from these protesters, is not the image anyone wants to send of this country.”

Opposition leader Sussan Ley has continued her criticism of Anthony Albanese’s approach to foreign policy, accusing him on Thursday of mismanaging the Australia-Israel relationship.

The Liberal leader told reporters in Brisbane that the Prime Minister needed to work to restore stability with Australia’s long-time Middle East ally.

“Anthony Albanese has mismanaged the relationship,” she said.

“That mismanagement clearly has consequences. But what matters today is that we work hard together to get the relationship back on an even keel.”