Australia politics live: Hastie accuses Hanson of avoiding media; Anthony Albanese and King Charles speak

Key events27m agoBarnaby Joyce says One Nation will pursue immigration policy ‘no matter the cost’46m agoAndrew Hastie says Pauline Hanson hasn’t ‘had the courage’ to front media47m agoChris Bowen downplays reintroduction of fuel excise relief amid renewed surge in oil prices47m agoAlbanese speaks with King Charles51m agoWelcomeMalinauskas still optimistic about steelmaking in AustraliaThe South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, says there is optimism that steelmaking will continue in his state, after the closure of a major blast furnace at Whyalla was announced yesterday.Speaking to ABC News Breakfast from Whyalla and donned in some hi-vis, Malinauskas says there was disappointment, heartbreak, but also a sense of inevitability when the announcement was made.He says the plan is to keep all of the remaining workers to continue making steel out of the plant, and that the operation is on track to be sold by the end of the year. double quotation mark[Whyalla] has the capacity to be a viable operation but it hasn’t been recapitalised. The blast furnace is over 60 years old. It was first built in 1965 and blast furnaces of this age not to be realigned on a frequent basis. This hasn’t been done in 20 years. The fact it’s still going is a miracle. We need to have the plant recapitalised and that’s exactly the plan we have in conjunction with the Federal Government … if we lose this capacity behind me, this country doesn’t have structural steelmaking capacity and we can’t afford that. There’s also retained optimism about the future of steelmaking in this country through that package, that $1.9bn package on the table as part of the sale process, which is why we’ve got to focus on the big picture here and the long term and make sure we account for the real impacts of yesterday’s decision. ‘Rotten, awful, ugly’: MPs condemn Hanson’s comments on Indigenous AustraliansThe housing minister says Pauline Hanson punches down on people and her language is rotten and ugly, after comments resurfaced of the One Nation leader saying Indigenous Australians were the “most primitive race”.Speaking on Sunrise this morning alongside Liberal frontbencher Michaelia Cash, Clare O’Neil warned Hanson against “Americanising” Australian politics and dividing the country.O’Neil said: double quotation markIf Pauline Hanson wants to take us down the road of Americanising our politics, so people in a family who disagree on political issues can’t speak to each other any longer, like, this is the pathway to do it … We’ve got lots of challenges facing Australia, but we’re not going to solve them by punching down on things that are brilliant about our country. So I think it’s rotten. I think it’s awful. I think it’s ugly. Cash said she doesn’t agree with Hanson’s comments, but then attacked Labor for not doing more to protect Indigenous children and close the gap, and said the focus should be on action, not Hanson’s comments. double quotation markI just don’t agree with those comments. But I actually do agree with Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price when she says that there are serious issues that do need to be discussed. And these comments shouldn’t be a distraction from them. I mean, why aren’t we closing the gap? Clare O’Neil. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP‘She’s been transparent’: O’Neil defends transport minister’s top-tier Qantas membershipClare O’Neil has defended her colleague, transport minister Catherine King, after it was revealed the latter had accepted a lifetime membership to Qantas’s top-tier membership, the platinum Frequent Flyer rewards.The status means free entry to Qantas’s first and business class lounges, access to the airline’s VIP team, upgrade priority, extra Qantas points and more. King listed the status on her register of interests on Monday afternoon.Quizzed on whether the move passes the pub test, O’Neil said “federal politicians … travel an unbelievable amount”. double quotation markCatherine King has probably been away from her family for a third of the last 25 years. And that’s kind of the extent of this. The important thing is … she made a declaration of it, and she’s been transparent about it. King attracted scrutiny in 2022 over her decision to reject Qatar Airways’ request to bring extra flights into Australia in a move widely seen as benefiting Qantas.Transport minister Catherine King declared she had received lifetime membership of Qantas’s highest frequent-flyer program. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPBarnaby Joyce says One Nation will pursue immigration policy ‘no matter the cost’Caitlin CassidyOne Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has been unable to confirm how his party’s sweeping new immigration policy would affect the budget or jobs while declaring they would “deal with it no matter the cost”.The former deputy PM appeared on the ABC’s second National Forum on Monday evening, which focused on immigration and multiculturalism. He faced backlash from panellists, with journalist and political commentator George Megalogenis claiming One Nation’s plan to cut migration in net terms over three years had never happened in Australian public policy and would “tank the economy” on the scale of the “depression of the 1890s”.Joyce said “the issue of what it’s going to cost … is contentious” and rejected questioning over why One Nation didn’t consult the parliamentary budget office.“The Australian people are sort of tired of the fact that you have to go to an economist to come up with policy to help us all better understand what it costs to us,” he claimed, adding it “has to be dealt with” and “we will deal with it no matter the cost”.Asked if he was worried about what the parliamentary budget office might produce, he replied: “No, I’m not really – because they’re not elected, I am.”Krishani DhanjiGood morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you. Thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.Migration will dominate parliament again today, after One Nation yesterday announced its policy to cut 750,000 temporary visas over three years – which the major parties said would send the country into a recession.There’ll also be more reaction to the Whyalla steelworks shutting down a major operation, cutting more than 500 jobs.It’s going to be a busy one, let’s get stuck in!Caitlin Cassidy‘Multiculturalism is who we are’: Anne AlyThe multicultural affairs minister, Anne Aly, was also on the ABC’s National Forum panel. She said Labor was committed to bringing immigration numbers down in a “manageable way” while ensuring the system both met the needs of Australia and was “fair for those who come here”.She pushed back at claims immigrants were harming social cohesion, pointing to an Australia she grew up in where “nobody cared what language your mum spoke”. double quotation markThat’s the Australia that I know. And I fear that that is the Australia that we’re losing … Every time we talk about immigration, multiculturalism, it comes from a deficit point of view. Social cohesion becomes the burden of people from different countries who have come here and it is their fault, it is their responsibility to socially cohere. The fact is that multiculturalism is who we are. It is part of our identity. It’s who we are as Australia. Anne Aly. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPAndrew Hastie says Pauline Hanson hasn’t ‘had the courage’ to front mediaCaitlin CassidyLiberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie has questioned why Pauline Hanson announced One Nation’s immigration policy via a prerecorded video on social media instead of fronting the media.Appearing alongside Barnaby Joyce on the ABC’s National Forum, he said he backed parts of One Nation’s immigration plan but was concerned about the lack of detail and Hanson’s silence: double quotation markWe haven’t seen her at all today. And this is someone who wants to be the prime minister of Australia. And she hasn’t had the courage to front the media today and explain the budgetary, the economic and the human impact of these policy changes that she’s suggesting. His ongoing battle with One Nation appeared to be tempered, however, with him and Joyce largely exchanging niceties, including Joyce claiming in jest, at one point, that they were “back in bed together”.Chris Bowen downplays reintroduction of fuel excise relief amid renewed surge in oil pricesCaitlin CassidyChris Bowen has watered down any expectations that a renewed rise in oil prices will lead to the reintroduction of the federal government’s fuel excise relief.He said Labor was continuing to look “very closely” at the spike, which was prompted after a series of drone attacks forced Saudi Arabia to close its east-west crude pipeline. But he said the federal government had been “very clear” that cutting the fuel excise was a temporary measure.Bowen said: double quotation markIt’s not the only cost of living measure that we put in place … At the same time, I’m very much focused on ensuring our ongoing fuel supply in this very difficult international circumstance … We’re not going to respond to every daily movement on the world oil price. Bowen said the situation in the Middle East was “deeply concerning” and confirmed he would be travelling to Saudi Arabia next week to meet with his counterpart, Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud.He was also asked about the appointment of the former opposition leader Sussan Ley to the board of Snowy Hydro, given the Coalition abandoned its commitment to net zero under her leadership and she had blamed Labor’s renewable energy rollout on high energy prices.Bowen said when he saw an Australian who was “well credentialled, I don’t care how they vote”, and described her as a person of “talent and ability”.Chris Bowen. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPAlbanese speaks with King CharlesTom McIlroyAnthony Albanese spoke to King Charles last night, the prime minister revealed.Albanese last saw the monarch during a visit to Britain in September last year.“A privilege to speak with His Majesty King Charles III this evening,” Albanese wrote on social media.“His affection for the Australian people remains strong. I extended Australia’s best wishes to His Majesty and the Royal Family.”Allow content provided by a third party?This article includes content hosted on platform.x.com. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'.WelcomeGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.Let’s begin.