Australia news LIVE: Deadly fire ants detected at Sydney logistics centre; Hanson-Young won’t run for Greens leadership again; Russia continues striking energy facilities despite ceasefire

Updated October 13, 2026 — 11:57am,first published October 13, 2026 — 6:45am

Hello and welcome back to our live coverage of national and international news this Tuesday, October 13. Here’s what you need to know today.

• Labor’s Digital Duty of Care laws are at the forefront of political debate this week in Canberra as the Greens seek changes to the bill that would allow individuals to seek compensation for online harms. Meanwhile, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says the laws would target her party and impinge on freedom of speech.
• Several Labor MPs, including some ministers, are pushing the federal government to find a permanent solution to ensure the Tax Office accepts credit cards from businesspeople with cashflow problems, three days after Treasurer Jim Chalmers stepped in to delay the Tax Office’s ban on credit card payments.
• Parliamentarians have condemned the US’s potential live-streaming of an execution by firing squad of a former US Army major who killed 13 soldiers at a military base in 2009. It remains unclear if the government could legally block the livestream from being viewed in Australia.
• Russia has kept up its attacks on energy assets despite US President Donald Trump claiming there were pledges from both sides to support an “energy ceasefire” in the war, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said.
• And British comedian and actor Russell Brand appeared in a London court for the start of his trial on rape and sexual assault charges. Brand, 51, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault.

Latest Posts

The Reserve Bank is preparing for unemployment to push higher in its bid to bring down inflation.

Minutes of the bank’s most recent monetary policy committee meeting, at which the official cash rate was pushed to a 15-year high of 4.6 per cent, show a change in its attitude towards the jobs market.

The bank has what is described as a “dual mandate”, in that it seeks to hold inflation between 2 and 3 per cent while maintaining as many people in work as possible.

Recognising that inflation at 4 per cent remains well above its target, the minutes reveal a concession that unemployment may have to climb higher if inflation is to ease.

Greens leader David Shoebridge has slammed the joint parliamentary committee into artificial intelligence, labelling its inquiry a “Labor farce”.

“It was made clear from the start that the government would not allow me as the Greens AI spokesperson to have a seat,” the senator said.

“Hard questions and serious challenges to US big tech was never part of their plan.”

We reported earlier that committee member David Pocock has claimed the committee’s early recommendation letter to the government had been “heavily vetted” by Anthony Albanese’s office.

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce says Josh Frydenberg is “popping up like an illegal smoke shop” this week, and that his resurgence is “very bad for Angus Taylor’s health”.

“I watched [him] last night … I tell you, there’s another thing there’s not much to be gained from,” he told reporters outside Parliament House in Canberra this morning.

Joyce said the former treasurer had his sights set on Taylor’s job.

“We know what you’re up to. You want to be the leader of the Coalition … and you’re setting the groundwork up now.”

Frydenberg did not confirm when he would contest a seat again, only that it was possible he could make a return to politics.

Independent senator David Pocock has accused the prime minister’s office of editing the advice of a bipartisan committee on artificial intelligence.

Pocock, a member of the committee, said an online version of the letter, which recommended reviewing copyright law, had track changes from Anthony Albanese’s office.

“This is meant to be a letter from the committee, but clearly has been heavily vetted by the prime minister’s office,” Pocock told News24.

“I’m concerned that the major parties are working together to potentially get a preconceived outcome rather than actually listening to experts, listening to the community.”

London: British comedian and actor Russell Brand appeared in a London court for the start of his trial on rape and sexual assault charges.

The hearing at Southwark Crown Court on Monday (UK time) was adjourned for a day after a morning of jury selection. The prosecution is due to open its case this week.

Brand, who is on bail, left the court building beside the River Thames holding hands with his wife, Laura Gallacher. He had earlier arrived at court flanked by security guards.

Brand, 51, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. The charges involve six women and alleged offences between 1999 and 2009. The trial is expected to last up to 10 weeks.

Taking home a bag of groceries from Coles will now cost shoppers 30¢ after the supermarket giant lifted the price of its shopping bags.

A paper shopping bag from Coles has increased from 25¢ to 30¢, while large chiller tote bags have risen from $4 to $4.20.

“We know value remains important to our customers, and we’ve worked to keep these increases as low as possible,” a Coles spokesperson said.

“Unfortunately, from time to time, prices of individual products may need to increase due to changes in costs such as materials and transport.

“Customers can continue to bring their own reusable bags when shopping at Coles, and we encourage them to reuse bags wherever possible.”

Australian supermarkets began phasing out single use plastic bags in mid-2018 and began replacing them with thicker reusable plastic bags that cost 15¢, before replacing them in 2013 with paper bags.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Ted O’Brien says he is “adamantly opposed” to exposing Australians to a livestream of capital punishment after the US administration promised the execution of a former US Army major who killed 13 soldiers at a military base in 2009 would be shown live.

He told News24 this morning the US had a right to its own sovereign decisions, but that it did not align with Australian values.

“Livestreaming capital punishment is not anything I want to see in Australia … We have had a long-standing position against capital punishment,” he said.

“I’ve heard stories of school kids now in Australia talking about this, talking about watching this on their screens, on their devices. That is not the Australia that I want. Candidly, I don’t think it’s the Australia any of us really want. I don’t want a whole bunch of school kids in Australia watching somebody being killed.”

He said Australia might not be able to block the streaming of the event on social media platforms.

A nest of deadly fire ants has been discovered in a shipping container parked at Sydney’s Enfield Intermodal Logistics Centre, the first sign of the species whose bite burns like fire in the city since 2014.

The commonwealth Invasive Species Council said: “The good news is Australia has a strong biosecurity system, and that system has detected these fire ants before they had the chance to become an established infestation.

“Sydney has also been here before. Fire ants were detected at Port Botany in 2014 and successfully eradicated, and other isolated incursions around Australia have been wiped out. We have full confidence that authorities have the expertise and tools to deal with this incursion too.”

The bad news is that the invasion of “one of the world’s worst super pests” has taken hold in south-east Queensland and the program’s funding runs out in 2027.

“In south-east Queensland they invade backyards, parks and sporting fields, attack pets and wildlife and threaten agriculture and infrastructure. Sydney does not want to find out what living with fire ants looks like,” Pianta said in a statement released this morning.

Sarah Hanson-Young said she did not think she would run for the Greens party leadership again, but was unable to say that new leader David Shoebridge was emulating her vision of positive politics.

The senator was eliminated in the first round of the ballot last month after receiving two votes, and Shoebridge won in a second round with seven.

“I put my hat in the ring, of course, a couple of weeks ago when the position was vacant,” the party’s communications spokeswoman told Radio National.

“I put forward a vision for a positive, an optimistic, and a caring and defiant progressive force.”

Greens communications spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said the minor party was considering allowing its membership to have a say in future leadership contests.

The party quickly elected David Shoebridge last month after Larissa Waters stepped down, despite calls for grassroots members to have a vote.

“This is a worthwhile discussion to be having, and we are actually – there is a number of discussions happening around the party [and] around the country right now,” Hanson-Young, who received two votes in the recent leadership contest, told Radio National.

She said Australians thought politics-as-usual was not working, and the Greens would be consulting on the change.

“We need to be finding ways to involve our membership, but not just our membership, our supporters, in a much more direct and robust and effective way.”