13m agoMon 8 Sep 2025 at 10:20pmNampijinpa Price should apologise, PM says
Anthony Albanese has also added his name to the call for Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to apologise for comments about Indian migrants.
“It is important to make clear my position, which is that the Indian Australian community has made our nation stronger. They contribute to our economy, our communities. They’re a vital part of modern Australia, and I just say to the Indian community, you’re valued,” the prime minister told ABC Radio National Breakfast.
“You’re welcome here. You make our country stronger by being here. Thank you for everything that you do to make Australia a better place,” he said.
“The comments are not true that the senator made, and of course, she should apologise for the hurt that has been caused, and her own colleagues are saying that. But even more importantly, leaders in the community are asking for that as well.”
Asked if Opposition Leader Sussan Ley should apologise on Nampijinpa Price’s behalf, the prime minister said that was up to Ley.
“My job is to be prime minister of the country to try and bring people together to promote social cohesion, to reject division. And people who seek to divide the country do it a disservice. The job of people in public office is to bring people together.”
22m agoMon 8 Sep 2025 at 10:12pmPM claims Nauru deal figures not ‘necessarily correct’
Anthony Albanese has taken issue with some of the figures associated with a $408 million deal signed with Nauru to resettle up to 354 former detainees on Nauru.
The deal was struck with the tiny island nation to take members of the so-called NZYQ cohort, released as a result of a landmark High Court decision, at an initial cost of $408 million and $70 million a year afterwards.
A snap three-hour Senate inquiry last week was told by the home affairs department the $70m payments would continue for the 30-year duration of the agreements, making the total lifetime cost of the deal around $2.5 billion.
But speaking with ABC Radio National Breakfast this morning, the PM pushed back on the reports.
“We have said the best option for this cohort is that they leave this country. That is another step towards that,” he said.
“Some of the figures banded around aren’t necessarily correct.”
Asked if the figures given at the inquiry were correct, the PM said he didn’t follow the hearing and declined to provide an alternative amount.
“What I know is that the minister signed an MoU. We published a full statement about this. The deal was discussed in the Nauruan Parliament, endorsed by a national security committee and it is in Australia’s interests.”
32m agoMon 8 Sep 2025 at 10:02pm
Albanese doesn’t support Solomon Islands move to exclude US, China and Taiwan from PIF
After his flying visit to Vanuatu, the prime minister will head to the Solomon Islands for the Pacific Island Forum.
A decision from Honiara to ask all external partners, including China, the US and Taiwan, to not attend the meeting has caused frustration leading up to the leaders forum.
Anthony Albanese tells ABC Radio National Breakfast that Australia didn’t support the move.
“We think that the presence of partners to observe events, whether that be the United States or Taiwan or other or other countries, is something that adds to the forum, but that is a decision that’s been made by the Solomons,” he says.
“Next year, Palau will be the host, and Palau have indicated that it will return to the previous system, and that’s something that Australia supports.”
43m agoMon 8 Sep 2025 at 9:51pm
No timeframe on when agreement could be signed
Anthony Albanese has declined to put a timeframe on when the prime minister expects to sign a security deal with Vanuatu.
“I await the good faith discussions that will take place today, but we have a good relationship. I have a good relationship with the prime minister [Jotham Napat],” he told ABC Radio National Breakfast.
Asked if there was concern the deal could end up like a security pact signed in 2022 and then not ratified by Vanuatu, Albanese insisted that wasn’t the case.
“We’re confident that we’ll be able to progress that but we want to enter in good faith,” he responded.
Albanese was expected to sign the $500m Nakamal agreement on his first visit to the Pacific Island nation as PM.
50m agoMon 8 Sep 2025 at 9:43pmVanuatu deal not expected to be signed today: PM
Anthony Albanese says he doesn’t expect a landmark security deal with Vanuatu to be signed today, as he prepares to jet to the Pacific nation for talks with counterpart Jotham Napat.
Last month Defence Minister Richard Marles, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Pacific Minister Pat Conroy made the trip to Vanuatu where they “initialed” the agreement atop of a volcano.
As my colleagues Stephen Dziedzic and Lillyrose Welwel reported this morning, Vanuatu’s PM said in the wake of the volcano ceremony that Albanese would be travelling to the Pacific nation to sign the agreement, but differences between the two countries could delay the signing.
Speaking with ABC Radio National Breakfast, Albanese said there was still “work to do”.
“There’s still some work to do but we’re making good progress and I look forward to progressing that face-to-face, which is why I’m travelling to Vanuatu this morning.
“I wouldn’t expect that [the deal] will be signed today.”
Under the agreement, the federal government is expected to pour about $500 million into Vanuatu over a decade to help fund some of its key climate, security and economic priorities — while entrenching Australia’s position as the Pacific nation’s main security and development partner.
1h agoMon 8 Sep 2025 at 9:30pm
📻 Listen to the PM’s interview on ABC’s Radio National Breakfast
1h agoMon 8 Sep 2025 at 9:26pm
Australia-Vanuatu agreement hangs in the balance
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is flying to Vanuatu today for what was originally flagged as a signing ceremony for a transformative $500 million agreement with the Pacific nation.
But there are indications the signing might not happen, with one source pointing to increased pressure from China.
One Vanuatu government source told the ABC on Monday afternoon that the agreement was unlikely to be signed on Tuesday, citing differences between Australia and Vanuatu.
But a second Vanuatu government representative said discussions were ongoing and that it was still possible the signing ceremony would go ahead — although they said the situation was “uncertain”.
Read the exclusive report from foreign affairs reporter Stephen Dziedzic and Vanuatu reporter Lillyrose Welwel at the link below.
1h agoMon 8 Sep 2025 at 9:14pm
O’Brien defends ‘authentic’ Nampijinpa Price
Deputy Liberal leader Ted O’Brien won’t say if he thinks Jacinta Nampijinpa Price should apologise to the Indian community for remarks she made about Indian migration.
“I think the most important thing here is we all just have to be authentic,” he told Nine.
“We have to be ourselves and speak from the heart. And it’s not for me to be saying what somebody should say as a script.”
O’Brien defended Nampijinpa Price as an “authentic person” who had already clarified and corrected what she said about the Indian community.
The NT senator sought to clarify her remarks and insists she did not intend to “disparage” the Indian Australian community, but she has resisted calls from her some of her other Liberal colleagues to say sorry.
Prodded on if this is a bad look for the Coalition, O’Brien responded: “it’s actually not about us”.
“This is a reminder about how important it is for us to have a multi-ethnic community that we do, and everybody has to be respected,” he said.
“And I know from my own background and my own
engagement in my community, the Indian Australians, they reflect the best of Australian values.”
1h agoMon 8 Sep 2025 at 9:03pm
Nampijinpa Price calls for apology from Hawke
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price stopped by Sky News last night, where she said she was surprised that Opposition Leader Sussan Ley didn’t reach out directly to address comments the senator made about Indian migrants last week.
The NT senator claimed the government was favouring Labor-leaning Indian migrants to boost its vote and has since expressed regret at not being clearer in those comments.
On Sunday, she accused manager of opposition business Alex Hawke of berating her staff when he called her office about the matter.
“I have asked our leader if she would ask Alex Hawke to apologise to me for his conduct,” Nampijinpa Price said.
“I’m a Liberal woman and Liberal women need to be able to feel like they’re being supported wholeheartedly.”
She also said she was surprised to have heard from Hawke rather than Ley following the comments.
“I guess I would expect that I would hear directly from the leader herself if it was of huge concern,” she said.
Read the full story:
1h agoMon 8 Sep 2025 at 8:48pmJulian Leeser apologises for Nampijinpa Price’s Indian migrant remarks
Liberal frontbencher Julian Leeser has apologised to the Indian community in his electorate for comments made by Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.
Leeser, who is the co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of India, posted the video to his Facebook page on Monday night, where he said he “took the opportunity to apologise to the Indian community for any offence they felt from recent comments made by one of my colleagues”.
He told an event at the IABBV Hindi School it “pains me to say it, but I feel like I have to say it. My colleague Jacinta Price said something this week that I want to apologise unreservedly for”.
“As my leader Sussan Ley said, she was wrong to say it, and she has walked back those remarks and I am pleased that she has.
“Let me say very clearly, the contribution of Indian Australians to this country is fantastic. The Indian community is fantastic. And you know what? India, like Australia, is a democracy.
“There are Indians that vote Labor, there are Indians that vote Liberal, there are Indians that vote Greens. I don’t care how you vote. I care about the contribution you make to this country, and I know it is a fantastic contribution, and I want you to keep making it.”
1h agoMon 8 Sep 2025 at 8:47pm
👋 Good morning
Hello, and welcome to our federal politics live blog! I’m Courtney Gould and I’ll be guiding you through the morning.
It’s looking like a little bit of a mixed bag so far. But word on the street is Anthony Albanese will be dialing into the ABC Radio National Breakfast later this morning.
So settle in, I’ll bring you all the updates as they roll in
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