Australia politics live: government dumps FoI changes; Victoria looks to curb use of suppression orders protecting high-profile defendants
Albanese and Carney hold joint press conferenceFresh off his address to parliament, Carney joins Anthony Albanese for a press conference.Albanese says the two countries have agreed to deepen ties on critical minerals, defence and security and AI.Albanese points to:
double quotation markPursuing common positions on key critical minerals issues, increasing alignment between Australia’s critical mineral strategic reserve and Canada’s defence stockpiling regime, working together to shape emerging markets, as well as Australia joining Canada’s G7 critical minerals production alliance.
He also announces a new annual emergency ministers meeting to boost cooperation on natural disasters.During his address Carney earlier paid tribute to Australian firefighters who flew to Canada to help with wildfires in Alberta.Canada's prime minister Mark Carney, left, and Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese shake hands as they leave parliament, Thursday, 5 March, 2026. Photograph: Adrian Wyld/APShareUpdated at 02.02 CETKey eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureOnto questions, the ABC’s Stephen Dziedzic asks the leaders how concerned they are about the escalation of war, and whether they’re concerned about the actions of the US navy after Carney called for a deescalation of conflict.Albanese says the world wants to see a deescalation for for Iran to stop its attacks over an increasing number of countries.But he says that Australia wants to see the “objectives” of the strikes by the US and Israel achieved.
double quotation markWe’re seeing Gulf states that have not been involved attacked across the board, including the attacks on civilian and tourist areas as well. We also want to see the objectives achieved. I want to see the possibility of Iran getting a nuclear weapon removed once and for all. And I also want to see a removal of the ongoing threat that has been there for such a long period of time of Iran endangering peace and security and stability, not just in its own region, but here in Australia.
Carney says he associates himself with Albanese’s remarks, and points to the bruality of the Iranian regime which has killed “scores of Canadians”.The Canadian PM says he wants to see deescalation but also says that has to come after those outcomes are achieved.
double quotation markwe want to see a broader de escalation of these hostilities with a broader group of countries than just the direct belligerence involved. We recognize, we stress that that cannot be achieved unless we’re in a position that Iran’s ability to acquire a nuclear weapon, develop a nuclear weapon and to export terrorism is ended. So that process must lead to those outcomes.
ShareAlbanese jokes that he looks forward to hosting Carney at The Lodge, and to look out for his dog, Toto, who “will hunt down who the weakest is in your pack to beg for food. I assure you she is not starving.”Carney responds that he too, after 48 hours in Australia, is also very much not starving, cue some diplomatic chuckles.More seriously, Carney restates the cooperation and friendship between the two nations.ShareUpdated at 02.04 CETAlbanese and Carney hold joint press conferenceFresh off his address to parliament, Carney joins Anthony Albanese for a press conference.Albanese says the two countries have agreed to deepen ties on critical minerals, defence and security and AI.Albanese points to:
double quotation markPursuing common positions on key critical minerals issues, increasing alignment between Australia’s critical mineral strategic reserve and Canada’s defence stockpiling regime, working together to shape emerging markets, as well as Australia joining Canada’s G7 critical minerals production alliance.
He also announces a new annual emergency ministers meeting to boost cooperation on natural disasters.During his address Carney earlier paid tribute to Australian firefighters who flew to Canada to help with wildfires in Alberta.View image in fullscreenCanada's prime minister Mark Carney, left, and Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese shake hands as they leave parliament, Thursday, 5 March, 2026. Photograph: Adrian Wyld/APShareUpdated at 02.02 CETBenita KolovosVictorian minister says 140 labour hire companies issued notice to cancel licencesThe Victorian transport infrastructure minister, Gabrielle Williams, says 140 labour hire companies have been issued notices to cancel their licences.Speaking outside parliament this morning, she confirmed Victoria’s Labour Hire Authority had issued a notice to an M Group subsidiary on Wednesday, flagging its intention to cancel the firm’s labour hire licence:
double quotation markThat sets in train a process and if that final determination is upheld, M Group will be walked off any sites that they’re on. I’m advised that they are currently have a presence on the North East Link project. Obviously, the notification that was issued yesterday is a very meaningful step, and with a final determination come in, which may well change the presence of M Group on that site.
M Group was named in a report by corruption fighter Geoffrey Watson, tabled in the Queensland royal commission inquiry into the CFMEU. The report said gangland figure Mick Gatto owned several companies within the M Group and that it received favourable treatment from the construction union:
double quotation markGatto, of course, denies he owns the M Group companies, but that is transparently false. The attempts to conceal Gatto’s involvement are crude.
The report described Gatto as a “malignant influence” on the CFMEU for decades.Earlier on Wednesday, another M Group company had its Gold Coast-based operation called out by the Queensland royal commission.Williams denied that the Queensland inquiry influenced the Victorian Labour Hire Authority’s actions:
double quotation markLet’s be clear, the Labour Hire Authority has been squirreling away across a number of investigations, and we’ve seen in recent days and weeks that bear fruit with the cancellation of now, I believe, over 140 licences .. the issuing of that notice yesterday was a part of a broader investigation that’s been taking place over many months.
ShareUpdated at 01.47 CETJosh TaylorPrivacy commissioner won’t appeal Bunnings facial recognition rulingLast month, the administrative review tribunal gave Bunnings the green light to use facial recognition technology to detect previously banned people entering its stores, overturning a decision of the privacy commissioner.The privacy commissioner, Carly Kind, confirmed today that she had not appealed the ruling (before the time to appeal expired), but said it’s not a green light for every other business to rush out the technology.View image in fullscreen Photograph: Stephen Coates/ReutersShe said retailers have expressed a desire to deploy this technology, and had sought more certainty on how the Privacy Act operates with this emerging technology.Kind said the ART decision provides clarity:
double quotation markThe tribunal’s decision shows that Australian privacy law allows for the balancing of competing interests – the individual and public interests in privacy, on the one hand, and the need to protect public safety and address unlawful activity on the other.Specific updates to existing guidance will be made to reflect the tribunal’s decision and ensure that retailers have up-to-date information about our regulatory application of the law.
She said there will still be a “high bar” for using facial recognition technology in Australia, and companies will need to undertake a detailed risk assessment before deploying it:
double quotation markRetailers should view the decision as a useful case study, rather than a green light for deployment of biometric technologies.
SharePenry BuckleyMinns tells budget estimates hearing pro-Palestine protests ‘organised by a pack of communists’Returning to NSW budget estimates, the premier, Chris Minns, has lashed out at the organisers of a protest against a visit by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, which saw multiple protesters charged, and following which alleged police brutality is being investigated by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (Lecc).Upper house Labor members Sarah Kaine and Stephen Lawrence, among government MPs who attended the protest last month, as well as a pro-Palestine march on the Harbour Bridge last year, are on the estimates committee responsible for the premier’s portfolio but have been absent from today’s hearing. Lawrence has said conflict with police at the Herzog protest was “almost inevitable” following protest laws enacted by the government.View image in fullscreenNSW premier Chris Minns. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAPAsked what advice was given to Labor MPs about attending rallies, Minns said at the committee hearing this morning he does not know whether advice was issued, but said members who attended the protest against Herzog had followed the law.
double quotation markI’ve sort of grappled with this a lot over the last three years or two and a bit years. In my view, a lot of the protests that have taken place – I assume you’re referring to the Palestinian Action Group protests – a lot of those protests have resulted in violent behavior, terrorist symbols, hate speech on Sydney streets. But I also believe, I genuinely believe, that a lot of people have attended those marches with none of those intentions in place, that they’ve tried to exercise their democratic right to freedom of speech and expression, and they’re concerned about the circumstances relating to civilians in Gaza … They’re not part of the Palestinian Action Group leadership. My dilemma is that those protests are organised by a pack of communists … intent on having a confrontation with police.
The Palestine Action Group has been contacted for comment.ShareUpdated at 01.51 CETWe must build sovereign AI capability, Carney saysContinuing his address, Carney says AI is transforming economies and our lives and it will be crucial to develop sovereign AI and intelligence infrastructure.He says Australia and Canada can work together on this, as Canada also partners with like-minded nations in Europe, and has a trilateral AI initiative with India.
double quotation markStrategic autonomy will require sovereign intelligence infrastructure, including secure clouds data, LLM models, enterprise applications. Canada can contribute here as well … We know we must work with others who share our values to build sovereign AI capabilities so we are not caught between the hyperscalers and the hegemons.
ShareUpdated at 01.15 CETWorld can be shaped by middle powers, Carney saysCarney has been heralded for his speech about the rupture in the world order, which he made at Davos in Switzerland earlier this year.He tells the parliament that middle powers can shape the world when they trust each other and that Australia and Canada are right to build up their defence and strategic capabilities, as well as sovereign AI.He says Canada is building a “dense web of connections to build our resilience”, and that this is not a retreat from multilateralism but an “evolution of it”.
double quotation markMiddle powers like Australia and Canada hold this rare convening power, because others know we mean what we say, and we will match our values with our actions. This has been earned by those before us, throughout our history, and the question is now what do we do with it.
The world will always be shaped by great powers. But it can also be shaped by middle powers that trust each other enough to act with speed and purpose.
We need coalitions now to address immediate challenges, and as those coalitions work, they will help demonstrate the power of multilateralism and reinvigorate it.
ShareUpdated at 01.04 CETIn pictures: Mark Carney addresses the parliamentView image in fullscreenCanadian prime minister Mark Carney delivers an address to members and senators in the House of Representatives. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPView image in fullscreenAustralia and Canada are ‘strategic cousins’, says Carney. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPView image in fullscreenBoth houses of parliament sit in the House of Representatives for Mark Carney’s address. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShareUpdated at 01.00 CETAustralia and Canada are ‘strategic cousins’, not competitors, Carney saysCanadian prime minister, Mark Carney, says Australia and Canada will be stronger negotiating with major powers together, acting as “strategic cousins” rather than competitors.Carney is addressing the parliament, and begins by acknowledging the firefighters in the chamber who battled wildfires in his home state of Alberta in Canada last year, and says it’s one of many testaments to the “profound friendship” of the two countries.Carney calls for greater cooperation on critical minerals, defence and trade and announces Australia would join the G7 critical minerals alliance.
double quotation markWith that global architecture now breaking down from consecutive crises, I have come to Australia to reaffirm our alliance and to suggest where we can go next. Because it is my fundamental belief – the result of an optimism I may have picked up from this great country – that from this rupture we can build something better, more prosperous, more resilient, more just …
In the old world, and even to a degree today, the temptation has been to see ourselves as competitors. In this new world, we should be strategic collaborators.
ShareUpdated at 01.10 CET
