Cabinet never discussed cutting refugee intake, says Plibersek
Tanya Plibersek has said cabinet never discussed cutting Australia’s refugee intake after debate and confusion within Labor came into public view this week.
The Financial Review on Thursday reported the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, was planning to cut intake of 20,000 arrivals to 13,750 in 2027-28.
The prime minister declared the figure would stay at 20,000 after Labor MPs and refugee advocates reacted angrily.
Asked on the ABC’s Insiders if the government had considered a cut to the refugee intake, Plibersek said:
No, I don’t really know where this story came from. We reconfirmed our number as recently as a month ago at the national conference. There was certainly no discussion in cabinet.
She said the 20,000-a-year figure was a “permanent commitment”.
The party’s most recent national conference voted to approve a statement that read:
Labor will seek, in the short term, to maintain Australia’s government funded humanitarian intake numbers at 20,000 places per year while also continuing to aspire to achieving 27,000 places per year.
Key events
Joyce suggests One Nation would reject refugees from Nepal if country was judged unsafe
Barnaby Joyce has raised the prospect a One Nation government would avoid taking refugees from flood-ravaged Nepal if the department advised Australians to avoid travelling there.
The MP refused to say outright whether One Nation planned to cut Australia’s refugee intake or permanent migration, in an interview on News24. But he raised the example of Nepal, unprompted, to illustrate the party’s principle for blocking immigration.
Asked if he agreed the refugee program should be cut, Joyce said:
The refugee program has got to work within a policy structure we’ve got. Remember, we’ve clearly stated that if an area, the Department of Foreign Affairs says it’s too unsafe to go there, then it’s unsafe to bring people from there and away from there, like such as places in Nepal. I presume that the Department of Foreign Affairs says it’s not unsafe to go to Nepal, but I wouldn’t be going there at the moment …
The government at present only advises Australians to reconsider their need to travel to certain areas within 50 kilometres of central Nepal’s Trishuli River, and to exercise caution otherwise.
Asked if One Nation would hypothetically stop bringing Nepali people here were the department to advise against travelling there, Joyce said:
Well, I don’t know what Dfat’s position is right now and whether it covers the whole of Nepal. I know the Nepalese community have a huge say in sections of our country and the workforce, but they do it [arrive in Australia] within the visa category. And if they do come in, they’ll be within the Nom [net overseas migration].
Asked “are you happy with the refugee program at 20,000, yes or no,” Joyce said:
It fits within the Nom. That is our policy. And the refugee policy, it’s not that it’s dispensed, but you can’t come from countries which are dangerous. Like if you can’t go there, you shouldn’t be coming here.
Earlier, Joyce declined to say what outcome a One Nation government would seek for permanent migration, a different measure. He declined to say even whether it would be below Labor’s target of 180,000.
I would suggest, Andrew, very, very strongly that it would be, but I’m not going to go into the sort of the, you know, the, the, the peculiarities of what two numbers make up net.
You can read more about this week’s debate on migration numbers here:
Man in police custody after suspicious death of woman in Tasmania
A man is in custody as police investigate the suspicious death of a woman early this morning in Tasmania’s southeast.
Tasmania police said a woman was found deceased inside her home in Huonville on Sunday morning and officers were called to the scene at about 4.30am.
On arrival, officers determined the death was suspicious, police said. Criminal investigators, forensics and other specialist officers were at the home this morning to examine the circumstances of the woman’s death.
Police said they had taken a man into custody to assist investigations.
Joyce explains One Nation’s migration policy with sheep and cattle
Barnaby Joyce has used sheep and cattle to illustrate his claim that One Nation wants to cut net overseas migration to 130,000 people without counting short-stay visas.
Pauline Hanson earlier this week said a One Nation government would aim for net migration of 130,000, plus workers on Pacific Australia labour mobility stream (Palm) visas.
Asked by the News24 (formerly Sky) host, Andrew Clennell, if Hanson’s position was nonsensical, Joyce said:
No it’s not. … Short-term visa stay and things such as the Palm scheme, and Pauline’s quite right, are not counted in the net overseas migration number, overwhelmingly – small portion are – because they don’t stay for 12 months. They stay generally for a period of nine.
So it’s like saying to someone, how many sheep have you got. You go, ‘well, I’ve got, you know, 5000.’ Oh, yes, and how many cattle have you got? ‘Oh, well, I’ve got 2000.’ Oh, so you’ve got 7000 all up. So, no, no. Two different things.
Sheep, one, cattle, the other. Net overseas migration, one; Palm scheme, short term visas, another. People have not asked us the net overseas visa number and I wouldn’t really know, to be quite frank, what that would be.
Net overseas migration was about 301,000 in 2025. The Australian Bureau of Statistics calculates that figure by assuming people have arrived in (or departed from) Australia if they spent at least 12 of 16 months in (or out of) the country.
The Palm scheme gives people from Pacific countries working rights in agricultural industries in rural and regional Australia. Some travellers can stay in Australia for up to four years under the scheme.
Thirteen-year-old dies from head injuries after e-scooter crash
Ben Smee
A 13-year-old boy from Childers in Queensland has died in hospital from injuries he suffered in an e-scooter crash last week.
A statement from the Queensland police said the boy sustained serious head injuries in the single-vehicle crash about 6pm on Wednesday.
He was airlifted from the town, near Bundaberg in central Queensland, to the Queensland Children’s hospital in a critical condition.
He died in hospital on Saturday.
Police said their investigations into the crash were ongoing.
Plibersek says One Nation byelection win ‘on state issues’
Tanya Plibersek has downplayed One Nation’s victory in the Secret Harbour state byelection in Western Australia as a local vote fought on state issues.
Plibersek said Labor would look at “any outcome like this” and learn from it, acknowledging a lot of Australians were under pressure. She said Labor’s housing policies, Medicare investment, support for wage growth and tax cuts would “make a difference”.
Pauline Hanson, One Nation’s federal leader, has been the face of the party across state campaigns and has targeted Anthony Albanese. Asked if the prime minister was hurting the Labor party’s electoral prospects, Plibersek said:
Oh, this is a state election run on state issues, and I think they’re the predominant issues. However, it is important that all of us have a good look at the results here, and think about what more we need to do to communicate the fact that the Labor party is the only party, focused on real delivery to take pressure off ordinary Australians.
Read more about the byelection here:
Cabinet never discussed cutting refugee intake, says Plibersek
Tanya Plibersek has said cabinet never discussed cutting Australia’s refugee intake after debate and confusion within Labor came into public view this week.
The Financial Review on Thursday reported the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, was planning to cut intake of 20,000 arrivals to 13,750 in 2027-28.
The prime minister declared the figure would stay at 20,000 after Labor MPs and refugee advocates reacted angrily.
Asked on the ABC’s Insiders if the government had considered a cut to the refugee intake, Plibersek said:
No, I don’t really know where this story came from. We reconfirmed our number as recently as a month ago at the national conference. There was certainly no discussion in cabinet.
She said the 20,000-a-year figure was a “permanent commitment”.
The party’s most recent national conference voted to approve a statement that read:
Labor will seek, in the short term, to maintain Australia’s government funded humanitarian intake numbers at 20,000 places per year while also continuing to aspire to achieving 27,000 places per year.
Imports of smartglasses could face government regulation, says Plibersek
Tanya Plibersek says the government is reviewing the import of smartglasses, dubbed by some as “pervert glasses”.
She said she “absolutely” had a problem with the devices, speaking on Insiders.
I think it is really concerning when tech companies just, come up with these products and release them without thought of how they can be misused. …
I don’t think it’s right to be able to walk up to someone and film an interaction without them knowing that the interactions being filmed.
Plibersek said the government was “considering very closely” limits on importing the glasses but did not specify what action was planned. She said:
The attorney general has asked the privacy commissioner to look specifically at these glasses, and the attorney general will have more to say about the import of the glasses soon.
Schools scared parents will object to sex education, says Plibersek
Tanya Plibersek has said some schools are scared to give young people “frank” education about sex and respectful relationships.
Speaking on Insiders, the social services minister said:
I think there’s a lot of schools out there who don’t want to have frank conversations with young people, because they’re worried that parents will object to their children and young people being spoken to directly. I think we are well beyond that. We know that children, as young as 10, are seeing pornography before they’ve had their first kiss. They’re getting their sex education from pornography.
We have to stop that … but we also need to be honest with young people, and talk to them about what healthy and respectful relationships look like, in an age appropriate way, from preschool, all the way through school, through Tafe and university.
Plibersek said the government should be “looking at very seriously” a UK-style ban on depictions of strangulation in pornography. She pushed back at criticism from Zali Steggall and others that this week’s national cabinet agreement on gender-based violence was “piecemeal”.
Well, I’m never going to say there’s enough [being done], while a single woman is killed in a year or a single child. I’m never going to say it’s enough, but no government has done more than ours.
Plibersek blames social media companies for ‘deliberate’ misogyny in feeds
Tanya Plibersek has accused social media companies of deliberately pushing violent misogynistic content to young boys.
The federal social services minister told ABC’s Insiders the tech platforms were playing a “huge role’ in sexual violence among teenagers. She said:
If you set up a social media account as a young boy in Australia today, it takes an average of 23 minutes for you to be fed misogynistic, violent misogynistic content online. That is a deliberate decision of the social media companies, that is wrecking our young boys, giving them all of the wrong ideas about what healthy relationships look like. …
It is no coincidence that 60% of young people now report that they’ve experienced strangulation during a sexual encounter.
Plibersek said the government was looking at options to regulate algorithms, including in its bill to establish a digital duty of care, expected by the end of the year. She acknowledged that platforms would fight back against the regulation.
We’ve seen from the big tech companies in the past is they technically comply with what they’re required to do legally, but they make the app so unpleasant or unwieldy to use, that people default back to the old version.
She said the government was looking at the terms of a recent settlement made by Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, in a US trial over teenage addiction.
Cara Severino speaks after being found safe
Cara Severino has paid tribute to the people in Nepal who helped her reach safety during “devastating” floods after she was found safe.
In a statement released by the foreign affairs minister’s office, Severino said:
I’m so grateful for the crew we formed on that first day when we entered the national park on the tractor. Sudha, Lucas, Samir and Saugat. It’s thanks to these amazing people I got out safely.
My heart goes out to all the Nepalese families who are grieving loved ones. We passed a guy hiking up to Thulu Safru who lost his whole family when their whole town was destroyed. It’s just so devastating and undeserving.
I feel for the families of those still missing, I know how much my family and friends went through.
Blessed to be from Australia and have the Embassy and Australian Government giving so much support.
You can read more about her story here:
Missing Australian woman Cara Severino found after Nepal floods
Cara Severino, an Australian woman in Nepal who was missing following devastating floods, has been located and is in contact with officials, Penny Wong’s office has confirmed.
The foreign affairs minister’s office confirmed overnight Severino was travelling to a safe location with the help of Australia’s consular officials, who travelled by four-wheel-drive to Kathmandu to locate her along a trekking route.
Wong said:
This is a rare piece of positive news amid a disaster that has brought immense loss and uncertainty …
I have spoken directly with her and am very pleased to know she is safe. She has also spoken with her family, which I know will be a great relief to them.
While this is a welcome development, there remain grave concerns for the other Australians who are still unaccounted for, given the tremendous scale of the flooding and its impact.
Australian consular officials are working with local authorities to find and help those affected by the disaster, including Australians who remain unaccounted for, Wong said.
Good morning
Luca Ittimani
Hello, I’ll be with you on the live blog this morning.
An Australian woman, Cara Severino, who was unaccounted for in the Nepal flooding, has been safely located, Penny Wong’s office confirmed overnight.
One Nation has claimed victory in the Secret Harbour byelection in Western Australia.
And Tanya Plibersek is coming up shortly on Insiders.
We’’ll have more on all of this – stay with us for all the news as it happens today.
