Politics news

• PM rejects suggestion melon comment was a 'classless' reference about women — as it happened

  10-08-2026 23:09 via abc.net.au
  
  Anthony Albanese is resisting opposition calls to apologise to the Japanese PM over hand gestures he made while referring to her gift of crown melons.
  
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• Live: Teal MP urges Albanese to 'pick up phone' and apologise for melon gaffe

  10-08-2026 23:09 via abc.net.au
  
  Anthony Albanese is again facing calls to personally apologise to his Japanese counterpart over a gesture he made about two melons Sanae Takaichi gifted him. Follow live. 
  
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• Live: PM's melon gaffe has been misinterpreted: Gallagher

  10-08-2026 23:09 via abc.net.au
  
  Anthony Albanese is again facing calls to personally apologise to his Japanese counterpart over a gesture he made about two melons Sanae Takaichi gifted him, but a government frontbencher insists his remarks have been misrepresented. Follow live. 
  
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• Live: PM rejects suggestion melon comment was a 'classless' reference about women

  10-08-2026 23:09 via abc.net.au
  
  Anthony Albanese has officially rejected assertions that hand gestures made while referring to melons gifted by the Japanese PM were related to her anatomy. Follow live.
  
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• Live: PM melon gaffe a matter of 'diplomatic propriety', former ambassador says

  10-08-2026 23:09 via abc.net.au
  
  Japan's former ambassador to Australia says it should be up to the prime minister to decide whether to apologise to Sanae Takaichi over a gaffe about the melons she gifted him. Follow live. 
  
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• Live: Government targets vulnerable species for bird flu vaccines

  10-08-2026 23:09 via abc.net.au
  
  Agriculture Minister Julie Collins has announced the federal government will be moving to vaccinate birds in captivity over the coming days and weeks against the H5 strain of bird flu. Follow live. 
  
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• Greyhound badly injured in race supporting Tasmanian industry

  10-08-2026 21:24 via abc.net.au
  
  Greyhound races held under the name "We Stand With Tasmania", in support of the state's embattled industry, have featured a number of dog fall incidents which have been scrubbed from the record.
  
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• Dog hurt in race marketed as opposing Tasmania's racing ban

  10-08-2026 21:24 via abc.net.au
  
  Greyhound races held under the name "We Stand With Tasmania", in support of the state's embattled industry, have featured a number of dog fall incidents which have been scrubbed from the record.
  
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• Mehreen Faruqi says her Australianness feels 'conditional'

  10-08-2026 21:00 via abc.net.au
  
  Ask Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi what she was like as a child and you'll catch a revealing glimpse of her as an adult.
  
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• Best of cartoons, August 11, 2026

  10-08-2026 13:29 via smh.com.au
  
  The news of the day as interpreted by our talented artists, illustrators and cartoonists.
  
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• 'Generational change': Melissa Donnelly named as new ACTU boss

  10-08-2026 12:01 via abc.net.au
  
  The 44-year-old inherits the trade union movement while it is enjoying a golden era of political influence, but also faces a long-term decline in membership and a fight for the rights of workers in the AI boom. 
  
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• Albanese, Taylor hammer out deals on gambling and tech, but ignore Howard’s last-ditch plea

  10-08-2026 10:13 via smh.com.au
  
  “I don’t favour a nanny state approach. If people want to bet, they can bet… [but] the negative impact of gambling in working-class suburbs is very serious,” John Howard told this masthead.
  
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• We’re used to airport queues and delays, but safety is not negotiable

  10-08-2026 09:51 via smh.com.au
  
  In a country as rich and technologically sophisticated as Australia, risk should not be part of the equation.
  
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• Coalition calls on Albanese to apologise to Japan's PM over melon gesture

  10-08-2026 09:01 via abc.net.au
  
  The Australian prime minister has landed in hot water over a gesture involving two melons, which his office insists was not referring to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's body.
  
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• Premier defends candidate after comments on Labor's 'culture of silence'

  10-08-2026 08:02 via abc.net.au
  
  WA Premier Roger Cook backs Labor's candidate in the hotly contested Secret Harbour by-election over comments she made five years ago about the party’s culture of silence on sexual harassment in the workplace.
  
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• Labor candidate stands by comments on party's 'skeletons' and culture of silence

  10-08-2026 08:02 via abc.net.au
  
  WA Premier Roger Cook backs Labor's candidate in the hotly contested Secret Harbour by-election over comments she made five years ago about the party’s culture of silence on sexual harassment in the workplace.
  
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• Hanson hits out at Burke on migration numbers as she plans attack for parliament’s return

  10-08-2026 08:01 via smh.com.au
  
  The One Nation leader insists she will introduce a foreign fighters bill that a prominent legal voice has backed. The constitutional expert in fact said it was unlikely to do much.
  
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• Former ambassador warns Australia's ties with China could spiral again

  10-08-2026 06:47 via abc.net.au
  
  Australia's former ambassador to China says the relationship between the two countries remains fragile and vulnerable to shocks, saying stability will "remain a goal, not a given" for Canberra.
  
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• John Howard makes last-ditch plea for PM and Taylor to go harder on gambling

  10-08-2026 06:06 via smh.com.au
  
  “I don’t favour a nanny state approach. If people want to bet, they can bet… [but] the negative impact of gambling in working-class suburbs is very serious,” John Howard told this masthead.
  
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• Taylor demands PM apology for comment about Japanese ‘melons’

  10-08-2026 02:32 via smh.com.au
  
  A controversial appearance on the Bush Deep podcast has returned after Anthony Albanese last month apologised for comments he made about Kylie Minogue.
  
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• Taylor demands PM apologise for comment about Japanese ‘melons’

  10-08-2026 02:32 via smh.com.au
  
  A controversial appearance on the Bush Deep podcast has resurfaced after Anthony Albanese last month apologised for comments he made about Kylie Minogue.
  
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• Albanese steps in to salvage Labor’s big tech, gambling agenda

  10-08-2026 02:20 via smh.com.au
  
  The prime minister has pledged to slug tech giants in the face of threats from the Trump administration.
  
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• Anthony Albanese on most crap gift he's ever received

  10-08-2026 00:44 via abc.net.au
  
  Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to Nikki Osborne on the most crap gift he's ever received. 
  
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