One Nation reveals gas policy – as it happened

That’s where we’ll leave things. Thanks for reading, and have a good night. Until tomorrow, here were today’s top stories:

One Nation announced its new resources policy; a Norway-inspired government equity scheme in prospective offshore oil and gas projects.

Queensland’s Olympics minister. Tim Mander, stood down from his cabinet position after being referred to the federal police over claims he may have committed a “potential criminal offence” by enrolling to vote at a staffer’s house.

Australia recorded a surprise jump in unemployment, with the jobless rate lifting to 4.5% in April.

Australia’s foreign affairs minister. Penny Wong, condemned the actions of a far-right Israeli minister who posted a video of himself abusing bound activists captured while trying to sail an aid flotilla to Gaza.

The federal health minister, Mark Butler, announced a $7.2m package to address the growing diphtheria outbreak. Later in the day. South Australia’s chief public health officer, Nicola Spurrier, confirmed a number of people have tested positive to diphtheria in the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.

Paul Keating rubbished claims from the Coalition. the startup sector that Labor’s reforms to capital gains tax will undermine entrepreneurship.

Australia’s national science agency confirmed at a staff town hall meeting. it is sacking 92 staff in its environment research team.

New South Wales prison officers walked off the job across the state in solidarity with a local strike at Goulburn Correctional Centre,. in frustration over record prisoner numbers.

Elon Musk’s X was fined $650,000 after failing to comply with an Australian child safety notice.

And Victoria’s Avalon airport was sent into a partial lockdown. causing a series of flight delays after a security scare that police said was caused by a laser removal hair device.

Diphtheria cases confirmed in the APY Lands

South Australia’s chief public health officer. Nicola Spurrier, has confirmed a number of people have tested positive to diphtheria in the state’s Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.

Guardian Australia understands there have been at least seven confirmed cases in the APY Lands. since SA Health were notified of the first case in April.

The APY Lands have a population of about 2,500 people, spread across several main communities. homelands within an area of more than 100,000 sq km.

Clinicians have been told to stay vigilant for diphtheria in people who may have travelled to the APY Lands from the Kimberley. Pilbara, Goldfields or Northern Territory.

Spurrier told Guardian Australia that vaccines would be made free for “priority groups”, which include Indigenous people. frontline workers across the healthcare system.

double quotation mark SA Health is responding to cases of diphtheria which have been notified in the APY Lands, with an ongoing outbreak being managed in the Northern Territory. Western Australia.

Respiratory diphtheria is extremely rare in South Australia and the first case in 2026 was notified in early April.

Vaccination against diphtheria is effective at preventing severe disease. Vaccines to protect against diphtheria have been safely used in our immunisation programs to protect young children, teenagers. pregnant women against diphtheria for many years.

NSW corrections minister assures striking prison officers there won’t be job losses

The New South Wales corrections minister has assured prison officers on strike. the closure of four wings at the Goulburn Correctional Centre will not result in job losses.

The local union branch at the Goulburn Correctional Centre moved a motion to strike earlier today over the NSW government’s plan to close four units at Goulburn jail. date back to the late 1800s.

Staff at other facilities joined the strike, sending prisons statewide into lockdown with only skeleton staff remaining. The guards’ union, the Public Service Association, which did not organise the strike, said other facilities joined in solidarity. also in frustration because the “custodial population is the highest it’s ever been”.

The minister for corrections. Anoulack Chanthivong, said that keeping the units open would mean “asking officers to continue working in conditions that independent experts have said should be phased out”, which was “not in the best interests of staff or inmates”.

double quotation mark The Minns Labor government is not closing Goulburn Correctional Centre. Goulburn remains a proud prison town and that will not change. No staff member will be forced out of a job, and there will be no forced relocations or redundancies.

The decision to retire Goulburn’s Victorian‑era wings is the right one. These facilities are outdated, unsafe and no longer fit for a modern correctional system.

We are continuing a genuine six‑month consultation process and remain committed to engaging directly with staff and their representatives.

The commonwealth would acquire a 30% equity stake in new gas ventures under a One Nation policy designed to extract “vastly greater returns” for Australian taxpayers from the resource.

The One Nation leader. Pauline Hanson, announced the Norway-inspired proposal in a speech to a major gas industry conference in Adelaide earlier today.

Hanson said under the proposal. the commonwealth would offer companies a 30% rebate on the cost of exploration in its waters in exchange for taking an equity stake of up to 30% in production licences.

The government’s stake would be overseen by a new commonwealth investment vehicle. which would stash any profits from production into a sovereign wealth fund.

She said One Nation – which has just two lower house seats in federal parliament. is surging in the opinion polls – would also replace the petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT) with a new royalty regime for offshore gas.

Hanson said the PRRT was a “failure”, echoing the same criticism as advocates calling for a 25% export tax.

The One Nation leader said her proposal was superior, describing the idea of a 25% export tax as “economic vandalism”.

double quotation mark This is a bold long-term vision that will give the Australian people vastly greater returns from their resources. align government objectives with our world-class gas industry.

Australians are rightly unhappy. Despite our enormous resource wealth, ordinary families are not seeing the benefits in affordable energy, reduced debt or improved services. Public unrest is building. successive governments have failed to secure a fair share while pursuing policies that risk killing the industry that generates that wealth.

Some more on that story, the Jewish Council of Australia said it supported Australia’s decision to sanction Ben-Gvir. to demand a meeting with the Israeli ambassador but said Australia should go further, and issue country-level sanctions, and expel the ambassador.

The JCA argued Ben-Gvir was not a rogue minister in the government but represented “this far-right Israeli Government. its lack of regard for basic human dignity”.

In 2025, Australia sanctioned Ben-Gvir for inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Bart Shteinman, the executive officer of the Jewish Council of Australia, said the incident was yet another Israeli government betrayal of Jewish ethics. that:

double quotation mark Using Jewish symbols. the Israeli national anthem to mock captive human rights defenders, including the Jews among them, speaks volumes about Israel’s betrayal of Jewish values.

Ben-Gvir and the forces under his command do not represent Jewish Australians.

The federal government must move beyond its representations. It must take urgent action to ensure the immediate release of all Australian citizens who have been unlawfully abducted in international waters,. finally end Israel’s impunity by applying broad-based sanctions on its government.

Ben-Gvir has not commented on the footage or the criticism of it.

Jewish Council of Australia condemns Israeli minister’s treatment of detainees

The Jewish Council of Australia has described the actions of Israel’s national security minister – mocking detained human rights defenders – as “a stomach-turning display of cruelty”. “another Israeli government betrayal of Jewish ethics”.

The council says Australia should issue country-level sanctions against Israel and expel its ambassador.

Video published by Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, shows him taunting. humiliating international volunteers who are zip-tied and forced to kneel in stress positions while the Israeli national anthem blares over loudspeakers.

Ben-Gvir, the leader of the far-right, racist Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, mocked the bound human rights defenders, waving an Israeli flag. shouting “welcome to Israel, we are the landlords”.

As those detained scream in pain, Ben-Gvir yells “give them to us for the terrorists’ prisons”.

Bart Shteinman, the executive officer of the Jewish Council of Australia, said the footage was “a stomach-turning display of cruelty that flies in the face of human dignity”. that:

double quotation mark Forcing humanitarian volunteers onto their knees while bound and subjected to psychological torment is completely indefensible.

We stand in solidarity with these courageous activists, including Jewish Australian Annie Mokotow, who risked their safety to challenge the illegal maritime blockade. highlight the horrific deprivation in Gaza.

Nats senator Bridget McKenzie offers to help Pauline Hanson campaign in Brisbane

The Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has offered to help Pauline Hanson campaign for a seat in Brisbane. amid rumours the One Nation leader could look to run for a Nationals-held seat instead.

Hanson has approached government departments to ask whether she could open a new office in the seat of Capricornia. in central Queensland, now held by the Nationals MP Michelle Landry. That seat has also been discussed as a possible home for Matt Canavan. if the Nationals leader decides to switch from the Senate.

McKenzie was on Sky News earlier,. claimed Hanson should instead look to the outer Brisbane seat of Blair, held by the Labor MP Shayne Neumann. McKenzie said:

double quotation mark I think ‘Pauline for Blair’ has a really nice ring to it.

She’ll be actually taking a seat off Labor. Because if you want to change the government in this country. if you want to kick Albo out of the Lodge, Pauline, you’re going to have to start winning Labor seats. I’ll even come and help you campaign, if that’s what you’re going to do.

The Sky host Kieran Gilbert interjected:

double quotation mark You’ll help Pauline campaign, seriously?

double quotation mark In the seat of Blair, absolutely. Let’s go.

With the surging One Nation vote leading to a corresponding cratering of the Coalition’s support. some in the rightwing parties have discussed whether they need to join forces, formally or otherwise.

While a formal minority government coalition between the Liberals, Nationals. One Nation has been rubbished by many, others have said there could be other types of cooperation on the right.

The job cuts announced today at the CSIRO will hurt Australia’s ability to predict. adapt to the impacts of climate change, Science & Technology Australia warns.

Staff at Australia’s national science agency were told today that 92 jobs would be cut from its environment unit. with research programs reduced from eight to five years.

Ryan Winn, the chief executive of Science & Technology Australia, described the job cuts as “a very worrying development”. He said:

double quotation mark New funding for CSIRO announced in the federal budget was never going to save these jobs. It will be used to pay for infrastructure, like buildings and research equipment.

The climate modelling done by CSIRO and ACCESS-NRI contribute to global climate models. Australia is the only country in the southern hemisphere contributing to these … there will be flow-on effects for Australia. our Pacific neighbours’ ability to predict, adapt and respond to the impacts of climate change.

Susan Tonks, the secretary of the CSIRO Staff Association, said the cuts “hurt Australia’s core environmental science capacity, research that supports our oceans, atmosphere, our land, water. our climate”, adding:

double quotation mark Despite the extra funding support from the federal government – some $620m over the next four years – the CSIRO job cuts just keep on coming.

This extra funding support was promised to provide a more sustainable and stable organisation. We’re calling on CSIRO executive to make good on that commitment. rule out further job cuts until the end of the decade.

Minimum wage panellist suggests 6% boost could add inflation

A member of the Fair Work Commission’s panel to set minimum wages has suggested union demands for a 6% increase risk adding to inflation.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has argued the 3 million workers on minimum. award wages should get a pay rise that exceeds inflation.

Employer groups, the Reserve Bank governor. now, it seems, the federal government, have warned big pay rises in today’s high-inflation environment risk adding to inflation pressures.

At an expert hearing yesterday. Mark Cully, a wage panellist, grilled the ACTU’s Thomas Greenwell on the claim a 6% rise wouldn’t add to inflation. He said:

double quotation mark Are you seriously contending. there would be no flow-on implications of a 6% increase to the rest of the workforce?

If that risk was to manifest itself. then I’m not sure how it ends up serving your members, because the consequence of that would be higher inflation … I’m just puzzled by how blithe you are about the immateriality of seeking a 6% wage increase.

Greenwell said enterprise agreements dominate Australia’s workforce. have seen increases of just 4.1%, while inflation is not presently being driven by wage growth and Australians still expect inflation to fall.

His ACTU colleague, Alister Kentish, said the wage panel should boost real wages as the RBA. government expect inflation from the US-Israel war on Iran and oil prices to ease quickly.

However, Adam Hatcher, panellist and FWC president, said:

double quotation mark Well, that inflation prediction is based on some brave assumptions about external events, isn’t it?

Kentish said the inflation prediction is based on the “best available material to the RBA. the commonwealth”, to which Hatcher said:

double quotation mark The best available data: what’s that? Truth Social, is it?

NSW is locking up a record number of people under the Minns government. which enacted major bail reforms in response to domestic violence. There were more than 14,000 people in jail in March.

The prison population grew by 1,200 in the four months to March, which was more than in the previous four years, according to Bureau of Crime Statistics. Research data released last week.

The abrupt rise in the prison population began in November, a month after Mal Lanyon became commissioner.

Bocsar data shows the surge is due to an increase in enforcement activity by NSW police. mostly around domestic violence offending, rather than any increase in crime.

double quotation mark The system is certainly stretched … We’ve got infrastructure for 15,600 inmates. there’s never been this many inmates before.

The Industrial Relations Commission is holding a hearing this afternoon over the strike.

A statewide strike across New South Wales prisons began this afternoon after officers walked off the job in solidarity with a local strike at Goulburn Correctional Centre,. in frustration over record prison numbers.

Troy Wright. of the Public Service Association, said the local branch at the Goulburn Correctional Centre moved a motion to strike over the state government’s plan to close facilities at Goulburn jail that date back to the late 1800s. He said the staff were concerned about job losses and the impact on the community.

In March. the NSW government announced two prison facilities would be closed in September under changes designed to make conditions safer for prisoners. This included facilities at Goulburn jail along with ageing facilities at Silverwater Women’s Correctional Centre.

Wright said staff at other prisons have joined the strike, sending prisons statewide into lockdown with only skeleton staff remaining.

He said the other facilities joined in solidarity. also in frustration because the “custodial population is the highest it’s ever been”.

Hi, I hope you’re having a good afternoon. I’ll see you through the rest of the day’s news.

That’s all from me. Catie McLeod will be your guide for the rest of the day. Take care.