Australia news LIVE: Labor’s social media changes to go before the Senate; Joyce flounders under pressure to clarify his party’s superannuation proposal

Emily KaineUpdated September 8, 2026 — 6:53am,first published 6:45amToday’s headlinesBy Emily KaineHello and welcome to our live coverage of national news for Tuesday, September 8. Here’s what is making news today. Labor’s changes to social media algorithms and attempt to rein in big tech will go before the Senate today. The government’s Digital Duty of Care bill is designed to force platforms to prevent harm before it occurs. The bill is expected to include an opt-out model for social media algorithms which will allow users more control over their feeds. One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce’s latest interview on ABC’s 7.30 program devolved into chaos when he shouted that he was One Nation’s treasury spokesman – “not Jesus Christ” – when under pressure to model the superannuation policy his party revealed yesterday. The policy which would allow renters and mortgage holders access to a quarter of their future superannuation contributions over the next three years. Joyce announced the proposal alongside party leader Pauline Hanson in Canberra yesterday, but dismissed suggestions it would raise inflation and discourage pay rises. There are 36 Australians still unaccounted for in Nepal and Tibet after flash flooding battered the Nepal-Tibet border nearly two weeks ago. Australian personnel remain on the ground assisting with ongoing search and rescue operations. And Australian emergency services are bracing for a fire season supercharged not only by the intensifying “supersized” El Nino, but by the increasing threat of “flash droughts” which act “like hot hair dryers”, blasting moisture out of soil and scrub faster than the creeping droughts that have long been part of Australian life.Latest Posts6.53amCanavan: Social media bill an attempt to censor criticism of government By Emily KaineNationals leader Matt Canavan has accused the government of using its social media bill to deflect focus away from its broken budget promises. “I just don’t think the government’s got clean hands here … Perhaps the reason voters aren’t trusting you is because your government lied to them last year and told them they wouldn’t increase taxes on capital gains on trusts or negative gearing,” Canavan told News24. Nationals leader Matt Canavan.Dominic Lorrimer“Perhaps that’s at the core of why there’s been a lack of trust, and so the government’s attempts here to deflect from their own failings and their own trust issues calls into question whether or not this really is a good faith effort to deal with toxic material online.”Canavan said Labor’s bill was the party’s attempt to “tilt political discussion in favour of themselves” by censoring “conservative” content.6.45amAustralian father refuses to give up search for wife missing in NepalBy An Australian father is demanding answers as the search for his wife, who vanished in flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border, nears its second week.Newcastle father-of-two Bhavin Patel has tirelessly searched Nepal’s disaster zone for his missing wife, Reshma.The water level line from the flash flood can be seen on land along the river approximately 1km from the Nepalese town Syabrubesi, where the surge of water and debris climbed up to 50 metres.Kate GeraghtyHe has chartered a helicopter, tracked his wife’s phone signal and pleaded with governments of three countries for help, and is yet to find any trace.“She is my life,” the father-of-two told AAP.6.30amFar-right win leaves Germany’s Merz shaken as AfD plots path to powerBy Berlin: Chancellor Friedrich Merz ruled out working with the Alternative for Germany after the far-right party surged into first place in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, but he conceded the result had shaken his party “to its very foundations”.The AfD is appealing to lawmakers from Merz’s conservatives to support its bid to rule the eastern state, in what would be the first time a far-right party takes power at state level in postwar Germany.The anti-immigrant, pro-Russia AfD won nearly 44 per cent of the vote, an outcome that underlined the deep unpopularity of Merz’s ruling coalition and also triggered alarm among Germany’s neighbours, France and Poland, and elsewhere.However, the party – which wants to deport immigrants, halt support for Ukraine and restore ties with Moscow – fell short of an absolute majority in the state legislature, winning 39 of the 83 seats, and hopes to poach individual conservative lawmakers.Today’s headlinesBy Emily KaineHello and welcome to our live coverage of national news for Tuesday, September 8. Here’s what is making news today. Labor’s changes to social media algorithms and attempt to rein in big tech will go before the Senate today. The government’s Digital Duty of Care bill is designed to force platforms to prevent harm before it occurs. The bill is expected to include an opt-out model for social media algorithms which will allow users more control over their feeds. One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce’s latest interview on ABC’s 7.30 program devolved into chaos when he shouted that he was One Nation’s treasury spokesman – “not Jesus Christ” – when under pressure to model the superannuation policy his party revealed yesterday. The policy which would allow renters and mortgage holders access to a quarter of their future superannuation contributions over the next three years. Joyce announced the proposal alongside party leader Pauline Hanson in Canberra yesterday, but dismissed suggestions it would raise inflation and discourage pay rises. There are 36 Australians still unaccounted for in Nepal and Tibet after flash flooding battered the Nepal-Tibet border nearly two weeks ago. Australian personnel remain on the ground assisting with ongoing search and rescue operations. And Australian emergency services are bracing for a fire season supercharged not only by the intensifying “supersized” El Nino, but by the increasing threat of “flash droughts” which act “like hot hair dryers”, blasting moisture out of soil and scrub faster than the creeping droughts that have long been part of Australian life.1 of 1