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Australia and PNG sign Pukpuk defence treaty
Anthony Albanese is now speaking in Canberra after signing the defence agreement with PNG’s prime minister James Marape.
Albanese mentions he was in Port Moresby for the 50th anniversary of Papua New Guinea’s independence. He continues:
Today, with the signing of the Pukpuk treaty, the Papua New Guinea-Australia mutual defence treaty, we commit ourselves to securing and shaping our future together. 50 years ago, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam hailed Sir Michael Samari’s vision for independence as, to quote him, “an idea whose time had come”. When Prime Minister Marape first came to me for this I knew that this was an idea whose time had come.
This treaty elevates the relationship between our two nations to the status of an alliance. It is Australia’s first new alliance in more than 70 years and only the third in our history, along with our alliances with the United States of America and New Zealand.
The treaty contains a mutual defence obligation similar to Australia’s Anzus treaty, Albanese says, in which “we declare in the event of an armed attack on either of our country, we would both act to meet the common danger”.
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Morrison: Trump should win Nobel peace prize if he ends war in Gaza
Former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison says US President Donald Trump should win a Nobel peace prize if he ends the war in Gaza.
Trump last week announced a 20-point peace plan to end the war in Gaza. The first phase of the plan involves the release of the remaining 48 hostages held by Hamas in return for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
Morrison spoke to Sky News this afternoon and said:
I commend President Trump for what he’s done to try and bring that to an end.
If President Trump pulls this one off, I can think of no more worthy recipient [of the Nobel peace prize].
McCormack: Coalition are playing a “long game” amid Liberal internal turmoil
s MP Michael McCormack says Sussan Ley is doing the “best job she can do” amid inner turmoil in the federal Liberal party room.
Speaking to the ABC, McCormack says Ley has a “difficult job”:
Of course there will be feedback…. I’ve known Sussan for a quarter of a century and she is doing the best job that she can do.
You have all these internal ructions… These will take time. We’re playing test cricket. We’re not playing Twenty20. It’s a long game we have to play and these things do take time because you have to do the proper analysis, whether it’s net zero, whether it’s… various reviews parties do after an election loss.
Pacific affairs minister says landmark PNG defence treaty is about ‘helping peace’
Pat Conroy is speaking to the ABC after Australia and Papua New Guinea signed the Pukpuk defence treaty today:
This is about the PNG-Australia relationship and how we bring that to another level … This is about helping peace rather than going to war.
Sussan Ley has the ‘toughest job in history’, says Michaelia Cash
Adeshola Ore
The Liberal frontbencher Michaelia Cash, appeared on Sky News a little earlier.
The opposition’s foreign affairs spokesperson was asked about Andrew Hastie, who stood down from the Liberal frontbench on Friday citing a disagreement over immigration policy.
Cash told Sky News she wasn’t interested in discussing internal politics and praised the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, saying she had the “toughest job in history”:
Not only has she taken over as opposition leader after an election loss, she has taken over as opposition leader after the most devastating election loss of all times.
Sussan is giving us the space we need to have policy debates. That is a good thing.
Joe Hinchliffe
Australians detained in Israel claim ‘degrading and humiliating treatment’
Australian activists detained in Israel have told their country’s officials of “degrading and humiliating treatment” they claim to have received after being arrested onboard a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza – with one, Surya McEwen, saying he had been slapped and had his arm dislocated and head slammed into the ground.
Another, Juliet Lamont, said she was “gravely” concerned she was at risk of stroke after her daily medication was confiscated by Israeli security forces. She said her request for more medication was not being met while she was being held in a prison environment she described as “dystopian”.
McEwen and Lamont are among seven Australians confirmed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) to have been detained in Israel. They are being held in a high-security prison in the Negev desert after being arrested as part of the pro-Palestinian flotilla carrying aid to Gaza, and allege that they and fellow inmates were offered water that was undrinkable due to a strong chemical taste.
Read more about the Australian activists detained by Israel:
Stephanie Convery
That’s all from me today. I’m going to hand over to my colleague Adeshola Ore who will take you through the rest of this afternoon’s news.
Year 12 exams begin in Victoria
Today marks the soft-launch for year 12 exams in Victoria, with the beginning of assessments for some language and performance students.
Oral examinations for most languages kicked off today, as well as Auslan, along with dance, drama and theatre studies solo performances, and music performance.
More than 50,000 year 12 students will sit the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) English exam later in the month, on Tuesday 28 October. The English exam is traditionally considered the marker of the main exam period for core subjects.
Broncos double in value after $50m grand final boost
Luca Ittimani
The Brisbane Broncos have now doubled their market value over the 2025 NRL season, after a $50m boost in the wake of their grand final victory.
The Broncos are the only publicly traded NRL team, meaning anyone can go and buy their shares on the ASX. Their share price surpassed $2 this morning, pushing the market value to $200m, though that’s now eased back to $180m.
The company that runs the team was worth less than $90m in early June, when the Broncos had lost four rounds in a row. Its value rose to $116m by late August, as Brisbane cemented their spot in 2025’s top four on the ladder, then nearly $130m after they defeated reigning champions, the Penrith Panthers, to secure a spot in the grand final.
Broncos shareholders will be hoping the team’s victory will attract more ticket-buying crowds and ultimately more memberships, merchandise sales and sponsor dollars.
Less than 1,000 Australians or businesses hold shares in the company, according to its annual reports, where Broncos directors advise that they don’t believe the share price reflects the company’s true underlying value.
Trading is limited by the fact News Corp holds more than two-thirds of the company’s 98m shares. It held 44.5% of the Broncos shares after the league restructured in the late 1990s, fought off a takeover in 2002, then boosted its holding to nearly 69% in 2007.
News Corp has held on to its Broncos’ stake despite long ago selling ownership of their grand final rivals Melbourne Storm, as well as the Canberra Raiders and North Queensland Cowboys. Lachlan Murdoch, the News Corp chair, has reportedly long been a keen fan.
No serious injuries in V/Line bus crash
Just circling back to our earlier post on the V/Line bus crash in Foster, south-east of Melboune.
It was the 9.02am Southern Cross to Yarram coach involved in the incident, which occurred at 11.55am.
There were no serious injuries to the 11 passengers or the bus driver on board. The passengers were transported to Fish Creek for a replacement coach service after being rescued from the coach by emergency services.
An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
A V/Line spokesperson said:
The safety of passengers and staff is our priority and we are working with emergency services following a road incident at Foster.
Coalition calls for transparency over telco meeting with Wells
The shadow communications minister, Melissa McIntosh, has called on her government counterpart to make public the details of the meeting she is having with the chief executives of Australia’s mobile telcos tomorrow over the triple-zero outage.
Anika Wells has summoned the chief executives of Telstra, Optus and TPG to Canberra on Tuesday, when she has said she will “lay down the law” to the companies in a bid to restore public confidence in the triple-zero system after the Optus outage last month.
McIntosh said the meeting “should not be a closed-door meeting” and Wells should at the very least front the public afterwards and explain what actions she is taking to give confidence in the triple-zero system.
She said the Coalition had yet to receive draft legislation to give the triple zero custodian powers, which Wells has promised will be introduced into parliament this week.
The Coalition is still awaiting legislation to give the triple zero custodian the powers it needs to keep telcos responsible and enforce the reliability of the end-to-end performance of the triple zero network.
McIntosh has called for a fully independent inquiry into the triple-zero system.
Alleged inner west gunman being interviewed by NSW police
Penry Buckley
The man who allegedly opened fire on a street in Sydney’s inner west last night has been released from hospital into police custody and is expected to be charged later today, NSW police say.
Acting Supt Stephen Parry has just provided reporters with an update outside Burwood police station, where he says the 60-year-old man will be interviewed by detectives this afternoon. Parry says he expects the man to be charged with a number of alleged firearms offences.
Parry has clarified that officers seized one weapon, a 30-calibre rifle, from the scene, as well a number of other items which will form part of inquiries. Police now say they believe about 50 shots were fired, although Parry said the crime scene was still active. He has confirmed that there was an exchange of fire between police and the alleged gunman, but no police officers were harmed.
The man allegedly sustained minor injuries, including one to his eye socket, but no gunshot wounds. Police have confirmed 16 people sustained injuries, including five who were taken to or self-presented at hospital. Police believe a man, earlier misidentified as a taxi driver, who was driven to hospital with a gunshot wound to the neck is the only person to have sustained direct injuries from gunfire.
Police say the question of how the alleged gunman obtained the rifle and whether he had a firearms licence will form part of their investigation. They still have no indication of motive. Parry says:
In my 35 years in the police there’s been very few incidents of this nature, where somebody is [allegedly] randomly targeting people in the street driving past and at vehicles.
Teenagers charged with arson over alleged Tasmanian youth detention centre fire
Three teenagers are facing arson charges, accused of setting fire to a detention facility and causing significant damage, AAP reports.
Police were called to the Ashley youth detention centre in Tasmania at about 3pm on Sunday after reports of a disturbance involving three armed youths.
The trio, two aged 16 and one 15, allegedly set fire to a building while police were there. No one was injured.
They were charged on Monday with arson and destroying property and were scheduled to appear in a youth court.
A Tasmania fire service investigator and police forensic officers returned on Monday to the centre, which suffered “significant” damage to one area.
The centre’s kitchen had been closed and the government was working with staff to ensure services and meals could be provided, the police minister, Felix Ellis, said.
Emergency services responding to bus accident in Foster, Victoria
The Country Fire Authority is responding to a V/Line bus that has fallen down an embankment on Fish Creek-Foster Road in Foster, south-east of Melbourne.
The CFA says there are three units at the scene alongside Fire Rescue Victoria.
All passengers and the driver are evacuated.
The spokesperson says:
Upon arrival, crews found a bus sitting on angle, approximately 2.5 metres down an embankment.
Crews stabilised the bus using a rope system and were able to evacuate all passengers and the driver.
The bus has been winched and is awaiting heavy haulage to remove from the scene.
The incident was declared under control at 12.23pm.
Crews remain on scene.
V/Line was approached for comment.
