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PM tours Abu Dhabi’s Grand Mosque during UAE visit

In more news from the prime minister’s overseas trip, Anthony Albanese has toured the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, as he begins a brief visit to the United Arab Emirates.

Albanese and his partner, Jodie Haydon, were shown the huge mosque complex, including its grand central square and colonnade, some of its more than 80 domes, about 1,000 columns, 24-carat-gold gilded chandeliers and the world’s largest hand-knotted carpet.

Albanese will meet with the UAE’s president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, during the visit.

He said:

It is a great honour for me to be here at the Grand Mosque, and it is very humbling.

You get the real feeling when you are here about the human experience and how humbled we are before the glory of God.

It is just a beautiful building that has also architecture and art from all around the world, [by people] who have contributed to make this such a glorious place.

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Updated at 03.56 EDT

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has issued a statement following the police car chase through the CBD earlier.

Allan says:

I thank Victoria Police for their work apprehending these offenders in the CBD quickly and keeping Victorians safe.

My thoughts are with the pedestrian who was injured as well as those who witnessed this event.

This is disgraceful, dangerous behaviour. Victorians won’t tolerate it and neither will we.

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Labor and Coalition MPs duel over Albanese’s speech at UK Labour conference

The opposition’s finance spokesperson, James Paterson, has also criticised Albanese’s participation in the Labour conference.

During an interview on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing earlier, Paterson said:

I’m not aware of any precedent of a prime minister travelling overseas to speak at a party political conference, a partisan conference.

The prime minister had legitimate business in New York, he had legitimate business in the UK, including his meetings with government, but this side trip to a political conference is inappropriate.

Labor MP Andrew Leigh, who appeared on Afternoon Briefing after Paterson, defended Albanese, saying the PM’s “national interest” speech strengthened longstanding links between the UK and Australia. Leigh told the ABC:

The prime minister spoke about the importance of defending democracy at a time when populism is on the rise, the strength of the relationship between our two countries, and the important initiatives like Aukus being pursued.

We need to be bolstering the sensible centre at a time when there’s extremist movements seeking to fuel discord and zero sum thinking on the fringes of politics.

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Updated at 03.25 EDT

Ley criticises Albanese for ‘campaigning’ at UK Labour conference

The federal Coalition has been attacking the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, for speaking at a UK Labour party conference in Liverpool on Sunday.

The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has posted this video on Instagram, accusing Albanese of “campaigning” for UK Labour while Australians are struggling at home.

In the video, Ley questions why Albanese would give a “partisan political speech” overseas and labels his decision “totally unacceptable”.

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Updated at 03.10 EDT

Most Victorian state MPs and local councillors think corruption is a problem, Ibac survey finds

A survey of state MPs and local councillors by Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog has found the majority believe corruption is a problem among elected officials.

The annual survey by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (Ibac) showed that most MPs (81%) and councillors (68%) believe corruption is a problem in Victoria.

The majority of MPs (53%) and councillors (57%) also perceive it to be a problem among elected officials. Almost 90% of MPs and 57% of councillors believe their organisation is moderately or highly vulnerable to corruption.

Councillors said they believed that favouritism or nepotism, followed by inaction, breach of professional boundaries, collusion and misuse of resources were the top five corruption risks among elected officials.

For MPs, it was inaction, followed by collusion, misuse of resources, favouritism or nepotism and breach of professional boundaries.

However, Ibac noted just 27 of the state’s 128 MPs participated in the survey, with results for this group “considered indicative only.” Almost 200 councillors participated.

The Ibac executive director of prevention and communication, Dr Linda Timothy, said:

Hearing directly from MPs and councillors that the majority believe their organisations are vulnerable to corruption means Ibac has work to do strengthening corruption resistance in the public sector.

Learning how they view their organisation’s corruption vulnerabilities, allows us to directly target those risk areas with support and prevention efforts.

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Latest triple zero outage ‘routinely encountered’, Optus parent company says

Optus’s parent company has said the latest triple zero outage affecting a mobile tower in Dapto in NSW is “a type of outage that carriers … routinely encounter” and not a result of upgrade or maintenance, as the earlier outage was.

Singtel said in a media release on Monday that the outage at Dapto was limited to one cell site out of 3,140 in NSW, and was different to the outage that hit parts of NSW, WA, SA and NT earlier this month:

Given the heightened sensitivity in Australia around triple zero calls, Optus communicated this incident to demonstrate full transparency of a type of outage that carriers around the world routinely encounter.

This incident did not arise from any upgrade or maintenance action being conducted.

The statement comes before the Optus and Singtel bosses meeting with the communications minister, Anika Wells, on Tuesday over the company’s handling of the earlier outage.

WA police also reported a Telstra mobile outage in the south-west region of the state earlier today.

The southern western district police initially reported it may affect triple zero calls, but later clarified Telstra had confirmed triple zero calls were unaffected.

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Updated at 02.18 EDT

Albanese government urged to protect Australians on board aid ships bound for Gaza

Muslim community groups are urging the federal government to protect Australians aboard a coalition of aid ships bound for Gaza.

Eight Australians, including Muslim activist Abubakir Rafiq, are part of the Sumud flotilla coalition which is hoping to reach Gaza this week.

Part of the global Sumud flotilla aiming to reach Gaza and break Israel’s naval blockade, sail off Koufonisi islet, Greece, September 26, 2025. Photograph: Stefanos Rapanis/Reuters

A statement released today by more than 240 imams and Muslim groups, including the peak body Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, say the federal government has a “moral duty and legal obligation” to protect its citizens on the ships.

The groups have called on the government to release a statement affirming the rights of Australians to participate in humanitarian missions and engage in diplomacy to ensure Israel does not endanger the flotilla.

The statement also calls for the government to provide consular support and advocate for Israel to respect international law.

Activists on the flotilla, which is attempting to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza, allege some of the ships were attacked by drones earlier this month.

Israel blocked two earlier attempts by activists to reach Gaza by sea in June and July.

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Updated at 02.06 EDT

Police search for Dezi Freeman scaled back five weeks after fugitive vanished

The manhunt for Australia’s most wanted fugitive has been scaled back, five weeks after two police officers were gunned down at a rural property, AAP reports.

Police have said more than 200 police remain in the Victorian high country searching for Freeman, who allegedly killed Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart on 26 August as they carried out a search warrant at his home in Porepunkah.

The 56-year-old has not been seen since the alleged shootings, after which he fled into dense bushland from the mountainous town about 300km north-east of Melbourne.

More than 400 police had been deployed in the initial search, as well as Australian Defence Force personnel who joined the operation at the request of Victoria Police.

Despite no confirmed sighting of the trained bush survivalist since the alleged shootings, Victoria Police commissioner Mike Bush said authorities were determined to find him.

Speaking to reporters earlier today following a service to commemorate National Police Remembrance Day, Bush said:

We will not give up until we find that person.

This has really damaged our police service and the community and we are determined to bring this matter to a conclusion.

The police chief conceded the search was “absolutely” becoming more challenging as time goes on as the force rotated officers conducting the search and providing reassurance to the local community.

He said police had received 1,400 pieces of information from the public and daily offers of resource support from commissioners around Australia and New Zealand.

Officers, including specialist teams from interstate and abroad, have searched more than 40 square kilometres of land by foot and air in the hunt for Freeman.

Deputy commissioner Bob Hill attended a memorial service in Wangaratta on behalf of the force, where the aftermath of the local officers’ deaths remains raw.

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Updated at 01.51 EDT

Woman’s family finally gets answers more than 13 years after she disappeared

More than 13 years after a vibrant and “fiercely free-spirited” young woman disappeared without a trace, a coroner has found she was killed by her controlling lover, AAP reports.

Leisl Smith, 23, was last seen alive on CCTV getting into a white ute at Tuggerah railway station on the NSW Central Coast in August 2012.

The vehicle belonged to her accused killer, James Church, who was charged with her murder and faced trial 10 years later.

Leisl Smith’s mother, Sandi Harvey. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

But the trial verdict was sealed after Church died by suicide on the eve of it being delivered in the NSW supreme court in July 2022.

Smith’s family have now finally received answers to painful questions about what happened to the vibrant 23-year-old after the inquest findings were handed down. Coroner Harriet Grahame determined Smith died by homicide at the hands of Church before midnight on August 19.

Although a body has never been found, the coroner found it was likely the 23-year-old was killed at a remote location in the NSW Upper Hunter region.

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Updated at 01.34 EDT

Four teens arrested after car chase involving allegedly stolen BMW in Melbourne’s CBD, police say

Victoria police say they have arrested four teenage boys after a car chase in Melbourne’s CBD this afternoon in which a pedestrian was struck.

In a statement, police said they saw a BMW being driven erratically on the Eastern Freeway in Doncaster about 12.30pm and followed it into the CBD.

A woman was struck on Exhibition Street who was taken to hospital for observation with no life-threatening injuries, police said.

Police said the BMW, which they believe was stolen from the Boroondara area yesterday, was dumped a short time later on Bourke Street Mall, where the four boys fled on foot.

They were arrested a short time later outside a shopping centre on Lonsdale Street, police said.

Two 17-year-olds, a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old from the Bendigo and Yarra Ranges areas were being interviewed as of 2.45pm, police said.

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Updated at 01.26 EDT

Hi, I hope you’ve had a nice day so far. I’ll take you through the rest of this afternoon’s news.

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That’s all from me. Catie McLeod will be your guide for the rest of the arvo. Take care!

ShareFormer Optus CEO gets new top job at Australian Unity

Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, the former CEO of Optus, has been named the new chief executive of Australian Unity after she resigned from her previous post in 2023 amid criticism over the company’s handling of a national outage.

Bayer Rosmarin will begin her role on 15 December after a transition period alongside current head Rohan Mead. The chair of Australian Unity, Lisa Chung, said in a statement:

A dynamic and adept contemporary business leader, Kelly possesses the values alignment and credentials to advance the group’s vision of positively impacting the wellbeing of its members, customers, employees and the community.

Bayer Rosmarin resigned at the end of 2023 in the wake of the nationwide outage, which took down phone and internet services for close to 14 hours. Optus was ultimately fined $12m over the matter.

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Updated at 01.48 EDT

Multiple people arrested in Melbourne CBD after police pursuit

Victoria police arrested a number of people in the Melbourne CBD this afternoon after a pursuit.

Police said in a statement they would provide more information when it comes to hand, but added “there have been no injuries during the incident and there is no threat to the community”.

Aerial footage obtained by the ABC appeared to show a white car stopped near tram tracks near the city’s Bourke Street Mall.

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Updated at 01.13 EDT

Dismay in New Zealand after government fails to recognise Palestinian statehood

Opposition parties, Palestinian groups and a former prime minister have expressed dismay over New Zealand’s decision not to recognise Palestinian statehood, saying it places the country on the wrong side of history and puts it at odds with its traditional allies.

Last week, the UK, Canada, Australia and others formally declared their recognition of statehood ahead of a special UN conference in New York. As of this month, 157 of the 193 UN member countries have recognised a Palestinian state.

Winston Peters. Photograph: Kena Betancur/EPA

It had been anticipated that the New Zealand coalition government would follow suit, particularly in light of previous comments from prime minister Christopher Luxon and other senior ministers that recognising statehood would be a matter of “when, not if”.

But during his address to the UN general assembly on Saturday, foreign affairs minister Winston Peters said while New Zealand was committed to a two-state solution, it would not yet recognise the state of Palestine.

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ShareThree charged with murder in WA after missing man’s body found in bushland

Two men and a woman have been charged with murder after the body of a missing 33-year-old man was found in bushland during an intensive police search, AAP reports.

Police deemed the disappearance of Jayden Stewart Selfe suspicious and launched an intensive search of a bush area and a residential property in Perth for clues. Officials said they had “grave concerns” for Selfe’s welfare and believed his last known contact with people known to him was in May 2025.

Police said Monday they had found Selfe’s body after a two-week search.

A 42-year-old man from Banksia Grove, a 40-year-old man from Attadale and a 39-year-old woman also from Attadale have been charged with murder.

They have been remanded in custody to appear before Perth magistrates court on Monday.

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Updated at 00.19 EDT

Chalmers backs communications minister’s trip to New York

Chalmers hit back at opposition leader Sussan Ley’s criticisms that communications minister Anika Wells travelled to New York during Albanese’s visit to the UN general assembly.

Anyone who knows minister Wells knows that she would have been taking her responsibilities in the Optus matter very seriously at the same time as she advanced on the global stage our world-leading new regime to protect kids in social media.

It’s possible to do both of those things at once, and that’s what Anika has been doing.

It’s not surprising that the opposition leader will be playing politics with something like this.

Anthony Albanese, Penny Wong and Anika Wells. Photograph: Lukas Coch/EPAShare

Updated at 23.28 EDT

Chalmers says government is holding Optus to account after triple-zero outages

Chalmers was asked about the latest string of triple-zero outages after Optus said this morning nine calls in the Dapto region of NSW failed. The telco said an issue with a mobile phone tower affected calls made between 3am and 12.20pm on Sunday.

Chalmers said:

Optus is accountable for the outage that we saw on the 18th of September, and also what’s happened with the tower in New South Wales. The government’s holding it to account. We have directed ACMA, the communications watchdog, to investigate.

This can’t happen again. This is an absolutely shocking failure from Optus, and the most appropriate course of action for the government to take to get to the bottom of this is to ask ACMA to conduct a very thorough investigation.

Chalmers added Australians shouldn’t lose faith in the triple-zero system, saying the government will sort out what went wrong.

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Updated at 23.22 EDT

Chalmers says Australians should be ‘proud’ after final budget outcome shows $17bn improvement over pre-election outlook

Treasurer Jim Chalmers and finance minister Katy Gallagher are speaking about the release of the final budget outcome, which shows a deficit of $10bn. That’s more than $17bn better off than the forecast at the pre-election outlook.

Chalmers said:

We’ve been able to achieve this outcome because we have found savings, we’ve shown restraint, we’ve banked upward revisions to revenue, we’ve kept unemployment low, we’ve got real wages growing again, and you can see the dividends of all of that in the final budget outcome.

This gives us one of the strongest budgets and economies in the G20. Australians should be proud of the progress that we’ve made in our budget and in our economy – but we acknowledge, as a government, that there is more work to do.

Jim Chalmers. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAPShare

Updated at 23.14 EDT