Australia news live: Bridget McKenzie scorns ‘gratuitous advice’ to Nationals from Liberals; 9,000 still isolated after NSW floods

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s senator Matt Canavan has ruled himself out of challenging for his party’s leadership, throwing his weight behind David Littleproud.

Politicians from both ex-Coalition parties have criticised the s leader but Littleproud has delivered results for his party, Canavan said. The Queensland senator unsuccessfully ran against Littleproud for the party’s leadership two weeks ago. He told Channel Nine’s Today:

I think David’s done a great job over the past week. He’s delivered results for the s party and the people we represent. … I’m happy with the leadership.

Pressed on whether he would take another tilt at the top job or back an anti-Littleproud candidate, Canavan said no and repeatedly said Littleproud had done a “great job”:

No, I’m very happy doing what I’m doing … I think David’s doing a good job, so I wish him all the best right now. …

There’s no way in hell I’m going to let Liberal MPs decide the leadership of the s party. That’s a matter for us.

Bridget McKenzie says Victorian machete ban will not make people safer

s senator Bridget McKenzie has said Victoria’s ban on machete sales, starting today, will not make people safer. The ban on sales of knives with blades longer than 20cm was fast-tracked after an alleged clash involving the weapon forced Northland shopping centre into lockdown at the weekend.

McKenzie said her fellow Victorians were not feeling safe and the ban would not make a difference. She told Channel Seven’s Sunrise :

I don’t think the Labor government’s retail ban here in Victoria will actually make it safer. … You can purchase [knives] online. It does nothing about the existing stock that’s already here. And [it’s] a government’s job is to keep their citizens safe.

Tim Ayres, a Labor minister, said it would be an overreach for the federal government to take the ban nationwide but the Albanese government supported the state government’s move. He said on the same program:

There’s never a good reason for a young person to have a knife or a tool that can be a weapon like a machete … Cutting down on the availability of these weapons for young people is an important step, and I’m glad that the Victorian government has taken it and we’ll keep watching closely.

Bridget McKenzie denies reports s discussed shadow cabinet solidarity as part of coalition negotiations

s frontbencher Bridget McKenzie has insisted her party never made free votes for cabinet members a condition of returning to Coalition with the Liberals, as the two parties draw closer to a deal.

McKenzie also took a shot at Liberal MPs who were giving her and her colleagues free advice. She told Channel Seven’s Sunrise:

There are many Liberal MPs who want to give us gratuitous advice about how to run our party room. I’m happy to give them membership forms if they’d like to join it. But a coalition works best when everybody respects the independence of both parties.

Asked repeatedly about whether the s had all agreed to David Littleproud’s reported request that shadow cabinet solidarity not be required, allowing frontbenchers to cross the floor, McKenzie said it had not been discussed:

That wasn’t put to the room.

The s will reconvene as early as Wednesday to debate a revised deal to reunite the Coalition after last week’s brief but damaging split.

You can read the latest from our Dan Jervis-Bardy here:

Approximately 9,000 people still isolated after NSW floods

About 9,000 people are still isolated after flooding and damage in New South Wales, which has totally destroyed at least 30 homes and more than 1,000 buildings have been deemed uninhabitable.

The State Emergency Service has urged residents to remain patient and await advice that it is safe to return before heading home. Of the 8,400 assessments so far, 632 homes have been deemed uninhabitable but not beyond repair, plus 152 business properties and more than 253 sheds and outbuildings.

Recovery efforts has continued with the help of more than 6,000 personnel on the ground in the mid-north coast of New South Wales. That includes an extra 24 police, sent to boost community confidence and deter looting with additional patrols, the state government said in a statement.

The SES has 2,220 volunteers assisting on the ground and is coordinating teams of community volunteers from councils and electricity and telecommunication companies.

Hundreds of firefighters, including Rural Fire Service volunteers, are also aiding, while agencies in other states have sent 230 people to help and more still have arrived from New Zealand. There are still 70 members of the Australian Defence Force assisting efforts.

Teams are working on road repair and clean up, clearing 1,500 tonnes of debris and repairing 5,500 potholes, as well as clearing waterways. More than 10,000 cubic metres of waste has been removed from impacted areas, the government said.

Insurance ‘catastrophe’ declared for flood-hit NSW

An insurance “catastrophe” has been declared for the flood-devastated mid-north coast of New South Wales, with the total cost of claims still unknown, the Insurance Council of Australia has said.

The council’s chief executive, Andrew Hall, said insurers were on the ground with in-person helpdesks in Taree this morning after the declaration was made yesterday. He told the ABC:

This is the highest declaration the industry makes. It means all our resources are now pointed to the mid-north coast. People who live in declared areas have priority with insurers.

About 800 homes have been declared uninhabitable and 5000 insurance claims have been made, but Hall said more claims could be on the way and the cost was not yet clear.

With a high number of flood-affected properties uninsured due to soaring premiums, Hall said it was a decision for each homeowner but more regular flood events would gradually lift premiums across the country:

These are all choices local communities have to make and they have to weigh up housing prices … [but] if we put all the properties into the pool and spread the cost, it will put everybody’s premiums up.

The emergency services minister, Kristy McBain, told the ABC’s Radio the assistant treasurer will be speaking to insurers to ensure claims get paid out:

The assistant treasurer, Dan Mulino, will be having some direct discussion with insurance companies and the insurers on the ground in the next couple of days but the message is really clear from us … it needs to get paid out.

Minns says failure to buy Rosehill racecourse for housing development means losing a ‘one-in-a-generation opportunity’

The New South Wales premier has said he will keep pushing to build more homes but his state missed a “one-in-a-generation opportunity” after an inner-Sydney race club’s rejection of his government’s bid for the Rosehill racecourse.

Chris Minns said he respected the Australian Turf Club’s decision, which blocked his $5bn bid to build 25,000 new homes and a Metro stop, but would keep fighting the backlash against new housing:

Governments have been too scared to take risks on housing because of the backlash from nimby groups. A city pays a price for that kind of timidity. And in Sydney, that price is being paid by our young people. …

We will keep supporting big bold solutions for housing. We will keep our foot on the accelerator.

He also gave special praise to the club’s chair, Peter McGuaran, and the Racing NSW chief executive, Peter V’Landys, both of whom championed the sale:

I didn’t know Peter V’Landys very well before I became premier, but he’s a do-er. He’s someone who grabs initiatives and pursues them. I think Sydney could do with ten Peter V’Landys rather than one.

Read the full report from our Anne Davies here:

One dead and another missing after Sydney house fire

A person has died after a house fire in Sydney’s inner west early this morning and a second person is unaccounted for, emergency services have said.

Just after 4am today, a number of 000 calls were made alerting firefighters to a blaze on Irrara Street, Croydon, Fire and Rescue NSW’s Supt Adam Dewberry said.

Police said they found the body of a person inside the home and established a crime scene, investigating the circumstances surrounding the fire, which had caused extensive damage to the house. A second person is still yet to be located, Dewberry told Seven News:

A second person is still unaccounted for. We have significant roof collapse which is making getting those hotspots out difficult. …

[Firefighters] were actually forced back due to that intensity of the fire and the roof was starting to collapse.

Firefighters have extinguished the blaze. The body is yet to be formally identified and a report will be prepared for the coroner, police said.

NSW establishes three-person panel to review Sydney Trains network

The New South Wales government has appointed a three-person panel to conduct its a “short and sharp” review of the Sydney Trains network in the wake of the commuter chaos that swept the city one week ago.

The premier, Chris Minns, said the review would look for improvements to maintenance, punctuality and communication with passengers after a live wire with enough voltage to instantly kill a human fell on top of a train, trapping 300 passengers onboard and grinding nearly all heavy rail lines across the network to a halt.

The expert panel will be made up of Carolyn Walsh, a former chief executive of the NSW Independent Transport Safety and Reliability Regulator; Kerry Schott, a former head of Sydney Water; and Trevor Armstrong, a former Ausgrid CEO.

While Walsh led a review of the network’s infrastructure and systems in 2023, the NSW transport minister, John Graham, said this review would not be a do-over:

The aim here is not to repeat the previous review of Carolyn Walsh but I am confident her detailed knowledge of this issue and Kerry Schott’s vast experience supported by Trevor Armstrong will ensure valuable new insights are delivered.

Sydney Trains is running its own investigation, including metallurgical analysis of the failed wire, and will report findings to the investigators, the government said in a statement.

Thanks Martin Farrer for starting us off. I’ll take you through the rest of the day’s news.

Falling fuel costs and more seats drive down prices in Australia and the Asia-Pacific

Cheaper jet fuel and more seat availability have driven down prices for Australian jetsetters and the price relief is expected to continue, AAP report.

Domestic economy air fares were 12% cheaper in the first two months of 2025 than the same time last year, data compiled by corporate travel advisers FCM Consulting shows. That represents $29 off the average ticket price.

The price drop comes despite the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission claiming limited domestic competition was helping the country’s dominant airline groups – Qantas and Virgin – boost their profit margins.

Globally, jet fuel is down almost 17% compared to the 2024 average, driven in part by economic uncertainty from Donald Trump’s trade war. FCM Consulting’s director, Felicity Burke, said Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region had experienced sharper drops in fares compared with the rest of the world.

“We’ve been saying for a long time now that global capacity increases and other factors like jet barrel cost reductions would go hand-in-hand with air fare price drops in various regions, and this is one of several reasons that we’re now seeing this come to fruition,” she said.

Air fares for the “golden triangle” route between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane remained fairly flat – a consequence of higher demand.

Global capacity in May was 7% higher than 2019 and 5% higher than the same time last year. economy air fares out of Australia dropped 5% in January and February compared with the same period last year, while business class tickets fell 3%.

Geelong region is country's most popular for internal migration, report claims

The greater Geelong region has become the country’s most popular destination among Australian movers after figures showed that it had taken the biggest share of net internal migration.

The latest regional movers index (RMI) report shows that in the 12 months to the March quarter, the greater Geelong local government area had a 9.3% share of total net internal migration, compared with 8.9% for the Sunshine Coast, which had topped the chart for the previous two years.

The figures reflect an increase in movement out of metropolitan areas to the regions, with capital city to regional relocations increasing by almost 11% on the previous quarter to sit 20.5% above the pre-Covid average.

The RMI is produced by the Regional Australia Institute and the Commonwealth Bank and analyses quarterly and annual trends in people moving to and from Australia’s regional areas.

Liz Ritchie, the chief executive of the RAI, said the data demonstrated the nation’s “love affair” with regional living was showing no signs of abating with 25% more people moving from capital cities to the regions, than back in the opposite direction.

The popularity of the Geelong region comes with a rise in the popularity of regional Victoria as a whole. The state captured 34% of the total net inflows into all of regional Australia during the March 2025 quarter, larger than the 28% share in the March 2024 quarter.

Josh Foster, acting executive general manager of regional and agribusiness banking at Commonwealth Bank, said the figures showed the vitality of Victoria.

It’s pleasing to see annual population growth is continuing to benefit Australia’s regional economy as more people are drawn to the lifestyle and employment opportunities found beyond metropolitan areas.

Greater Geelong has become the star performer due to its idyllic location, established services and range of employment opportunities.”

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top stories to start the day before Luca Ittimani takes the hot seat.

David Littleproud says he has “comfort” in the tweaks to the policy package that he will present to the s party room, suggesting he expects a deal to reunite the Coalition will get the nod from his MPs and senators.

Pressure is building within Labor’s grassroots membership for the government to impose sanctions on Israel over its blockade of food and aid into Gaza, with an internal pro-Palestine group reporting “a surge in anger and frustration” among members. The issue has loomed large over the Sydney Writers’ festival and we report on how Israeli and Palestinian participants have tried to navigate what one called a “moral crisis”.

Plus: the Sunshine Coast is no longer the most popular destination for internal migrants, and the new city at the top of the list is a very different option. And new data shows that air fares are falling – but will it last?