Politics live: recognition of Palestine an ‘essential’ step, Australia says in joint statement with 15 countries

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The Coalition is accusing the government of a “blatant broken promise” over including Youtube in the under 16s social media ban, after the video service was previously exempt under the draft rules.

Shadow communications minister Melissa McIntosh alleges Labor “deliberately misled the public” over the move, in a statement.

[This is] a blatant broken promise to the Australian people… When the government introduced the legislation in November, they specifically excluded YouTube. This was the premise on which the legislation passed the Parliament.

McIntosh noted the government had issued media releases setting out the Youtube carveout, and had written to Google promising the same.

But after advice from the eSafety commissioner, the government has changed its mind. The Coalition back the under 16s restrictions, but McIntosh is unhappy with the YouTube issue.

The Albanese Labor government can change a minister, but they cannot hide the fact they deliberately misled the public at the last election by promising to keep YouTube out of the social media age minimum.

The prime minister and the Labor government reaffirmed YouTube’s exemption before the election… It makes you question what has really changed behind the scenes in the government on this issue, and whether it was an election stunt.

IMF upgrades Australia’s economic growth outlook

The Monetary Fund has upgraded its outlook for the Australian and global economy thanks to a “modest decline in trade tensions” after Donald Trump failed to follow through on the worst of his tariff threats.

In an overnight update to its April world economic outlook, the IMF forecasts Australian GDP will rise by 1.8% this year, and 2.2% in 2026.

The estimates were 0.1 and 0.2 percentage points higher, respectively, than the forecasts three months ago.

The IMF in particular noted the de-escalation of trade tensions with China in May, which reduced the effective tariff of imports into the US from 24% to 17% - the highest in 90 years.

Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s chief economist, said “this resilience (in the global economy) is welcome, but it is also tenuous”.

While the trade shock could turn out to be less severe than initially feared, it is still sizeable, and evidence is mounting that it is hurting the global economy.”

Compared to the IMF’s pre-April and pre-trade war forecast, global growth is expected to grow 0.2 percentage points more slowly. Gourinchas said":

At around 3%, global growth remains disappointingly below the pre-Covid average.

Albanese ends the press conference stressing that Australians don’t want the conflict brought here.

My priority has been to try and navigate what is a very difficult situation but, you know, the young Jewish boy or girl going to the local school should not be harassed because of who they are. They are not responsible for what is going on in Gaza. And Arab Australians or Muslims are not responsible for what Hamas did.

He says the media also has a responsibility not to stoke tensions in the community.

Albanese not surprised Aukus review taking US longer than 30 days

Albanese says he’s not surprised that the US is delaying the completion of its Aukus review until Australia’s spring.

The office of the US under secretary of defence for policy, Elbridge Colby, released a statement on X a short time ago, stating the review would be completed in the US fall, and that it would engage with the UK and Australia during that review.

Albanese says:

We expected a review from an incoming government just like the Keir Starmer government did it. We expect that those things take longer than just 30 days.

‘Sometimes out of a crisis comes a moment of opportunity to actually advance forward’

Albanese is asked whether the government will place more sanctions on Israel, and accuses those calling for more sanctions of just using “slogans”.

He says the government is “about meaningful action” and lambasts protesters who caused his electorate office to be shut down on Friday.

There’s been a lot of comparison between the number of sanctions on Russians, compared to Israelis, but Albanese says Israel is democratic, while Putin’s regime is not.

Pushed further on his comments that Hamas should not have a role in a future Palestinian government, Albanese is asked what that means for senior bureaucrats that have been involved in the Palestinian health administration.

Albanese says the government is “not at that point of detail”.

Clearly one of the things that the Palestinian Authority have said is to speak about a demilitarised Palestinian state. What that implies is not just no military in the conventional sense but also obviously no paramilitary.

If people are serious, and I’ve been serious about the rights of Palestinians and them having justice since, you know, well before I came to this place … One of the things that I’ve said … is that sometimes out of a crisis comes a moment of opportunity to actually advance forward, in a real way, advance forward for Israelis and Palestinians.

Albanese asked about recognising Palestinian state

On to other issues, Albanese is asked whether the government is now looking at a specific timeframe for recognising a Palestinian state.

Albanese says there’s not a timeline, but specific circumstances to enable that to happen.

He says he spoke to Keir Starmer overnight, and expects to speak with the British PM again in the coming days.

We’ve signed another statement today with many nations. That statement, I think, has a number of things in it are important.

Asked whether Starmer declaration on statehood has influenced Albanese’s thinking, the prime minister the world is “continuing to engage with each other” formally and informally.

The world was horrified by the terrorist act and the atrocities committed by Hamas on 7 October. The world looks on what is happening in Gaza and expresses that it is unjustified and it is a tragedy, the ongoing loss of innocent life.

‘My government is pro Wiggles’: Albanese

This morning Wells said Wiggles management tried to appeal to the government to allow YouTube to be exempt from the ban.

She says they told her that YouTube is a video platform, not a social media platform – the same argument a spokesperson for YouTube made in a statement overnight.

Wells clarifies that it was Wiggles management, not the actual Wiggles, who made the appeal, and Albanese adds” “We’re not here to sledge the Wiggles. My government is pro Wiggles.”

Wells also said a bit earlier that in terms of age-restrictive content, it should be up to the social media companies to explain why kids might have access to that content.

Wells on implementing social media band: ‘The onus here is on the platforms’

Albanese says the government will be holding an event at the UN General Assembly later this year with the 36 months and the Let Them be Kids campaigns to advocate for the social media ban.

This legislation is the first of its kind worldwide, but Albanese says other nations are looking at what Australia is doing and considering the impact social media is having on their kids.

Our own Josh Butler asks Wells what “reasonable steps” to reduce harm means, and when the public will know what verification measures the platforms will implement.

Wells says the platforms are working on a one-on-one basis with the eSafety commissioner, but doesn’t clarify what “reasonable steps” should be.

Each platform works differently. Obviously they’re all competitors. That means they need to work on a one on one basis with the eSafety commissioner.

But I think reasonable steps is reasonable. We are backing parents. The platforms have a responsibility, a social responsibility, as the PM would say, the onus here is on the platforms. Come 10 December, if your kid has a Facebook account, it is on Facebook to deactivate that account. It’s not on the parent to police that on behalf of Facebook.

Albanese says even if children find ways to access social media, the ban will still make a difference

Albanese says that just because children may get around the ban, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done.

We know this is not the only solution, and there’s more to do, but it will make a difference. We know as well that there are those who will say young people will find their way around it. That’s not a reason to stop the other laws that we put in place about alcohol consumption or about purchasing of tobacco.

The latest decision to include YouTube in the ban is a result of advice from the eSafety commissioner.

Anika Wells says the government can’t ignore evidence that “four out of 10 Australian kids report that their most recent harm was on YouTube.”

She adds that the government won’t be “intimidated” by social media companies and says the regulations are about prioritising “parents ahead of platforms”.

As parents, we are really trying our best when it comes to the internet, but it is like trying to teach your kids to swim in the open ocean with the rips and the sharks compared to at the local council pool, we can’t control the ocean, but we can police the sharks, and that’s why I will not be intimidated by leaving threats when this is a genuine fight for the wellbeing of Australian kids.

Albanese holds press conference: 'Social media is doing social harm'

Prime minister Anthony Albanese and communications minister Anika Wells are standing up for a press conference this morning, on the decision to include YouTube in the social media ban for children under 16. YouTube kids will still be exempt.

Albanese starts by recognising three parents who are with him, all who have lost a child.

Mia, Rob and Emma are three parents, but their stories are felt by countless other parents and by communities right across the country. We know that social media is doing social harm, and my government and this parliament is prepared to take action to protect young Australians.

Tsunami alert issued for Pacific islands and Japan after earthquake off Russia

Leaving parliament again for a moment, there’s a tsunami warning for the Pacific after an earthquake off the north-east coast of Russia.

According to the US weather service, there is a “potential threat” warning for Russia and Japan. There is also a “watch” alert for Hawaii.

There’s no sign yet of any danger south of the equator.

You can stay updated at our live blog:

Two Australians deported from Israel after they were detained on Freedom Flotilla boat

Two Australians on board a boat intercepted by Israeli troops earlier this week have been deported from Israel and are on their way back to Australia, according to their lawyers.

Tania “Tan” Safi and Robert Martin were detained on Monday while onboard the ship Handala, which was attempting to reach Gaza with aid as part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.

Adalah Legal Center, a Palestinian legal rights group, said the pair were among a number of activists who have been deported so far, with the remainder of the 21 people detained expected to be deported in the coming days. Adalah said in a translated statement:

Australian activists Robert Daniel Martin and Tania Safi were transferred to Jordan and are scheduled to depart on July 30 via a flight that includes a stop in Dubai before arriving in Australia.

Adalah said those left in detention were continuing an open-ended hunger strike after their detention:

According to testimonies collected by Adalah’s field team during today’s visit, the activists continue to be subjected to harsh and degrading detention conditions and are continuing an open-ended hunger strike for the fourth consecutive day in protest against their unlawful arrest and detention conditions.

Dfat has been approached for comment.

Staying with Lawrence’s comments, he said it is “rarely, if ever, the role of the state to prevent mass protests, and that it is the “obligation of the state to facilitate, support and make safer such events.”

Lawrence also said he has given repeated warnings in parliament about since October 2023 about “the risk of violence on our streets if attempts are made by the executive government to unreasonably prevent peaceful mass protests.”

The management of this planned protest should be left entirely to NSW Police, who should be allowed to make an independent and principled decision according to law.

NSW Labor MP 'extremely concerned' by premier's stance on Palestine protest

A member of Chris Minns’ government has said he is concerned the New South Wales premier tainted the police’s decision on whether to facilitate a proposed protest that would involve marching across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, arguing that it was not within his authority to do so.

On Tuesday afternoon, the deputy police commissioner, Peter McKenna, said police had rejected an application from organisers of a protest, citing safety risks as the reason. The organisers of the rally, the Palestine Action Group, have vowed to fight the decision in the supreme court.

It came after Minns had said on ABC Sydney Radio that the mass protests relating to Gaza would not be allowed on the Harbour Bridge under “any circumstances”.

The upper house Labor MP Stephen Lawrence, who is also a barrister, said he was “extremely concerned” by these comments. He wrote in a statement on social media:

This detailed [NSW] statutory regime as I understand it gives no substantive role to the premier in deciding whether authorisation is given.

I am concerned the premier has in effect made a purported decision himself to try and prevent this protest, that this will taint proper consideration of the matter by police and that violence may ensue as a consequence.

I have felt the need to give these warnings because an environment has been created by senior political leaders, Labor and conservative, hostile to protests concerned with the rights of Palestinian people.

US review of Aukus to be completed late this year, Pentagon policy chief says

The Aukus review is expected to be completed late this year, the US has said in a statement on X.

The statement is from the office of the under secretary of defence for policy, Elbridge Colby, and states that the department working on the review will engage with Australia and the UK.

It doesn’t add a whole lot of new information, but does confirm that the review will take longer than its initial 30-day timeframe.

The new statement says:

As part of this process the department looks forward to continuing regular engagements on this important matter with other parts of the US government, the US congress, our other allies Australia and the United Kingdom, and other key stakeholders.

The department anticipates completing the review in the fall.

The fall, or autumn, in the US is between late September and late December.

Australia signs joint statement calling for two-state solution in Palestine

Australia has signed a new joint-statement of 15 foreign ministers, including France and Canada, on Gaza, expressing their “unwavering commitment” to a two-state solution.

It states that the nations, ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting in September:

Have already recognised, have expressed or express willingness or the positive consideration of our countries to recognise the State of Palestine, as an essential step towards the two state solution, and invite all countries that have not done so to join this call.

The statement condemns the 7 October attack, and demands an immediate ceasefire, immediate and unconditional release of all hostages of Hamas and calls for ensuring unhindered humanitarian access.

The statement also “welcomes the commitments made by the President of the Palestinian Authority” on 10 June, including where the president condemned the 7 October attacks, called for the liberation of hostages and disarmament of Hamas, and committed to “call for elections within a year to trigger generational renewal”.

It was signed by the foreign ministers of: Andorra, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia and Spain.

Husic says there is ‘deep feeling’ in Labor caucus to recognise Palestine

Recognising Palestinian statehood would end Hamas’s authority in Gaza, Husic says

The Labor MP Ed Husic says Australia joining with countries including France and the UK to recognise Palestinian statehood would end Hamas’s power in Gaza.

One of the major stumbling blocks for countries considering statehood is the role of the terrorist organisation, which was responsible for the 7 October attacks on Israel and still holding hostages.

But Husic, who says other members of Labor’s caucus want action from the Albanese government, says moving on statehood will deny Hamas authority.

“Hamas is built largely on grievance,” Husic says.

That grievance gets removed with the establishment of a state of Palestine, nurtured with the cooperation and support of the international community, progressed through the development of democratic institutions. And that would champion the delivery of humanitarian aid to nourishing … children.

On backbench discussions about the war and next steps from the international community, Husic said he wanted Labor MPs to make their own statements.

We have been talking. Colleagues have been considering this, across the backbench. There is a deep feeling within the caucus, about how right it is to recognise Palestine, and I would much rather that colleagues speak for themselves.