Australian news and politics live: Trump, Takaichi ink US-Japan critical mineral deal

There have been some changes in the makeup of Parliamentary committees today.

WA Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has quit his gig on the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, which reviews national security legislation.

As per the process, Mr Hastie wrote to the Speaker Milton Dick on Tuesday to inform him of his resignation.

It’s understood the Canning MP has removed himself to clear space for shadow ministers to step into, after he was dumped from the Opposition frontbench.

The Albanese Government has also agreed with the Coalition to establish a Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence.

The Defence-focused committee was raised in the Coalition’s joint-party room on Tuesday morning and welcomed by shadow defence spokesman Angus Taylor.

Queensland LNP MP Andrew Wallace has also been discharged from the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.

Police are investigating the death of an elderly woman who died after failing to reboard a tourist cruise ship on Queensland’s Lizard Island over the weekend.

The 80-year-old solo traveller was part of a Coral Expeditions cruise group visiting the exclusive Great Barrier Reef atoll, located about 27km off Cooktown in far north Queensland.

Authorities are now examining the circumstances of her death, including why the search for the missing woman was delayed for nearly a day and whether she could have been rescued.

It is understood the woman had joined other passengers on the Cook’s Look hiking trail on Saturday when she stopped to rest and was later separated from the group.

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Australia’s first ban on puberty blockers for young transgender patients has been overturned in a landmark court battle.

Queensland Supreme Court Justice Peter Callaghan allowed an application for a judicial review of the ban in a judgment handed down on Tuesday.

Justice Callaghan found health service executives were given 22 minutes to consider a directive that would ban hormone therapy for young Queenslanders.

The mother of a trans teenager unable to access hormone therapy in October became the first to launch legal action over the Queensland government’s decision, sparking protests outside court.

The mother, who cannot be named, launched legal action after Queensland became the first to ban hormone treatments for children diagnosed with gender dysphoria in January.

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Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has told a party room meeting on Tuesday that the consultation period for the Coalition to determine its energy policy is coming to an end.

It comes as shadow energy minister Dan Tehan, who is spearheading the Coalition’s review of its policy, is expected to present his findings to members this week in a string of policy sessions.

It will include a three-hour roundtable on Friday morning, with Mr Tehan tasked with reporting feedback and ideas from the session back to Ms Ley.

Coalition Policy Committee for the Australian Economy co-chairs Liberal MP Simon Kennedy and Senator Jane Hume used the party room on Tuesday to clarify that there would be no voting on the finalised energy policy at Friday’s session.

They reiterated that it was just another consultation meeting with backbenchers.

Friday’s meeting will mark the ninth consultation session since the Coalition’s Federal Election loss on May 3.

Mr Trump and Ms Takaichi have posed with newly signed critical mineral deals that the leaders say will bring “a new golden age”.

The deal involves previously made deals, with the leaders committing to this new deal, confirming “commitment to implementing this GREAT DEAL”.

The agreement will “support the supply of raw and processed critical minerals and rare earths crucial to the domestic industries of the United States and Japan”.

During the ceremony, the leaders said the agreement will “strengthen economic security, promote economic growth, and thereby continuously lead to global prosperity”.

Reprots are swirling that the new Japanese Prime Minister is about to nominate US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The prize, which Mr Trump has publicly eyed over his role in ending “eight wars”, didn’t go to him in 2025, with the US President now looking to 2026.

Ms Takaichi is also expected to offer a package of US investments in a $US550 billion ($A840 billion) deal, including shipbuilding and increased purchases of US soybeans, gas and utes, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Those gestures may temper any Trump demands for Tokyo to spend more on defending islands from an increasingly assertive China, which Takaichi sought to head off by pledging last week to fast-track plans to increase defence spending to two per cent of GDP.

US President Donald Trump has met Japan’s first female Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, dubbed the new “Iron Lady”, during his whirlwind five-day Asia trip.

At the Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, Ms Takaichi said she hoped the meeting would welcome “a new golden age of the Japan-US alliance”.

Mr Trump said he thinks Ms Takaichi “will be one of the great prime ministers”.

“This will be a relationship that will be stronger than any before and I look forward to working with you and on behalf of our country,” he said.

“We are an ally at the strongest level.”

Snap, parent company of popular picture messaging app Snapchat, has told a Senate inquiry that while they will comply with the Australian Government’s under-16s ban, they don’t agree with the eSafety’s assessment that they’re a social media platform.

Snap representative Jennifer Stout has told an Environment and Communications References Committee hearing on Tuesday that the app should fall under the messaging service exemption.

Ms Stout also revealed that Snap would prefer the Australian Government focus on “device-level age assurance”, which would require firms like Apple or Samsung to assess age when a user buys the phone.

She said while apps “don’t have the luxury of that”, Snap would ensure it complies by kicking young users off the app when the ban comes into effect on December 10.

“We don’t agree. We have provided compelling evidence to the eSafety Commissioner showing that Snapchat’s primary purpose is messaging,” she said.

Ms Stout argued that Snap was unlike other more “toxic” platforms which harmed mental health because they promoted “likes” and comments on content but rather it allowed for direct communication.

TikTok, Meta and Snap representatives have fronted a Senate committee examining child safety online after they snubbed requests to give evidence on October 13.

Greens Senator and committee chair Sarah Hanson-Young had threatened to subpoena the trio after their non-appearance. She was again bitter on Tuesday that they didn’t attend in person.

“I just want to thank you all for making yourselves available today. I do express disappointment that you’re not physically in the room,” she said during the Environment and Communications References Committee hearing.

“I understand that the number of you requested to appear by video because of things going on in your life. Understandable. We all have that. But just to make it clear, we would prefer you to have been here in person.”

TikTok’s Ella Woods-Joyce, Meta’s Mia Garlick and Snap’s Jennifer Stout all took turns answering a string of questions virtually from the Canberra-based Senators.

CSL, the Australian global pharmaceutical giant, has been hit by declining vaccinations in the US under President Donald Trump and cuts to government spending on blood products in China.

CSL shares fell 15 per cent, costing shareholders $15 billion, in early trade today after chief executive Paul McKenzie said profits this financial year would rise 4 to 7 per cent. The Melbourne-based company previously expected profits to grow as fast as 10 per cent. The revenue growth forecast was halved.

As of 10.30am, CSL on the ASX has dropped to $179.81.

Mr McKenzie blamed a forecast 12 per cent decline in US flu vaccination rates this year, a drop scientists attribute to a shift in attitudes towards the flu during the COVID-19 pandemic and misinformation about vaccines.

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