Live: Joyce says dynamics have changed after WA by-election win

Barnaby Joyce says the people would be "foolish" to believe the dynamics of politics have changed after One Nation won a state by-election in Western Australia. Follow all the updates in our live blog. Mon 31 Aug 2026 at 7:36amMon 31 Aug 2026 at 7:36amAustralia commits a further $3m in aid to NepalYesterday, the Australian government announced a further $3 million in humanitarian assistance to go to Nepal.Assistant Foreign Minister Matt Thistlewaite says this funding will mostly go to supplying hygiene kits."There's a desperate need for these kits for people in the region and also solar lights," he says."Obviously all of the power and telecommunications infrastructure has been wiped out."So those kits are being put together, they'll be transported by the Australian Defence Force over the coming days."The ABC has a dedicated live blog running, monitoring the latest from the Nepal-Tibet floods. You can follow at the link below.Mon 31 Aug 2026 at 7:30amMon 31 Aug 2026 at 7:30amNumber of Australians unaccounted for in Nepal-Tibet floods rises to 43The number of Australians unaccounted for in the Nepal-Tibet flood disaster has risen to 43. Assistant Foreign Minister Matt Thistlethwaite says the government hasn't given up hope, with extra Australian personnel deployed to Kathmandu to support the recovery effort."We've got 12 additional consular staff that we've sent to the region to assist our post on the ground there to try and recover those Australians as quickly as possible," he tells ABC's News Breakfast. "We're doing everything we can, working around the clock to try and locate those missing Australians."The disaster has killed at least 794 people and more than 2,500 people are missing in Nepal, according to the latest figures released by the Nepal police.On the Chinese side, authorities said 16 people were killed in Gyirong County and 546 were missing.The ABC has a dedicated live blog running, monitoring the latest from the Nepal-Tibet floods. You can follow at the link below.Mon 31 Aug 2026 at 7:25amMon 31 Aug 2026 at 7:25amDon't read too much into Secret Harbour: WattLabor frontbencher Murray Watt has also been deployed to the breakfast television rounds this morning, where he was unsurprisingly also asked about the Secret Harbour by-election.Speaking with Nine, Watt warned against reading "too much" into the results of a state by-election.But he concedes it should act as a reminder for the government."We've got to be a little bit careful to read too much into a state by-election, especially one that wasn't going to change the result in terms of who was going to be in government. But we've said all along that we take this challenge seriously," he says."And I think it's another reminder that from Labor's perspective, we've got two jobs. We've got to keep delivering the real change to make people's lives better ... and secondly, we've got to show people that all of that is at risk from One Nation and the Liberal Party working together."Mon 31 Aug 2026 at 7:22amMon 31 Aug 2026 at 7:22amJoyce says 'foolish' not to think WA by-election win has changed dynamicsBarnaby Joyce says it would be "foolish" not to believe the dynamics in politics have shifted after One Nation secured victory in a WA state by-election.The minor party scored the historic win over the weekend, locking in its first lower house seat in the state after candidate Luke Herdegen defeated Labor's Georgia Tree. "Yes the dynamics in Australian politics have changed and if people don't realise that they are foolish. There is no safe Labor seat anymore," he tells Seven's Sunrise.Labor's Tanya Plibersek, who was also on the breakfast television panel, did her best to downplay the by-election as a state issue."We never take any seat for granted. And, of course, we try and learn something from every electoral result," she says.Mon 31 Aug 2026 at 6:57amMon 31 Aug 2026 at 6:57amSecurity, climate change and drugs on agenda at Pacific Islands ForumPacific leaders are descending on the stunning Micronesian nation of Palau for the region's most important political gathering.This year's Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders meeting could be particularly politically charged and has already got off to a slightly tumultuous start.Palau is famous for its stunning karst landscape — with hundreds of rainforest-covered limestone islands — and for its powerful international advocacy on climate change.It is also one of Taiwan's three remaining Pacific allies and a key link in the US military's second island chain, which means that debates over Taipei's role in the Pacific and China's growing military might will take on more urgency this year.That does not mean that a diplomatic bust-up is inevitable.But when Anthony Albanese flies into Palau's largest city Koror this evening, he will know there is a real chance that — at some point — he will find himself in the middle of one.Mon 31 Aug 2026 at 6:49amMon 31 Aug 2026 at 6:49amGood morning 👋Hello! Welcome to our politics live blog. I'm Courtney Gould from the ABC's Parliament House team, here to guide you through the day.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese jets to Palau today for the Pacific Islands Forum. It's been a slightly tumultuous start to the forum after Solomon Islands PM Matthew Wale had to race home to deal with a looming leadership challenge. More on that from our friend on the ground, Stephen Dziedzic, shortly.At home, expect there to be continued reaction to the Secret Harbour by-election. One Nation's win in the WA state seat previously held by Labor has led to national headlines about the threat the party has not just to the Liberals, but now to Labor.It's officially the last day of winter, so let's dive into the day with a bit of a spring in our step.