Australia news LIVE: Labor marked down on migration; Hanson ramps up fight against gun buyback scheme

Thank you for following our national news live blog for Monday, August 17.

Here’s what is making headlines today.

• Australian voters have condemned the Albanese government’s handling of immigration policy, with 54 per cent agreeing the government is running the portfolio in an “unplanned and unmanaged way”, according to the latest Resolve Political Monitor. However, 60 per cent of voters have supported falling house prices, while concern about the cost of living has fallen to the lowest level since February 2023.
• One Nation has signalled its staunch opposition to the national gun buyback scheme sparked by the Bondi massacre, after NSW became the first state to join the initiative after striking a deal with the federal government on Sunday. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson it was the “people behind the guns” responsible for acts of terror, rather than the “law-abiding Australians who are trying to go about their business”.
• Sam Pang has won the Gold Logie for the most popular person on Australian TV, in a glittering ceremony held in Sydney on Sunday night. Pang was presented the award by a tattered and torn Sharon Strzelecki – Magda Szubanski in her first public appearance since her prolonged cancer battle – dressed in Australia Zoo fatigues, taking inspiration from Logies host Robert Irwin.

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London: The BBC asked a US court for help in getting documents and testimony from members of President Donald Trump’s family in connection with his $US10 billion ($14 billion) defamation lawsuit against the British broadcaster, a court document showed.

Lawyers for the BBC argued that Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner, and Donald Trump Jr. have “personal knowledge” and likely have records relevant to elements of Trump’s claims against the broadcaster. The broadcaster has been unable to serve subpoenas because the three have Secret Service protection, the court filing says.

The president filed the lawsuit in December, accusing the BBC of defamation and deceptive and unfair trade practices. The allegations centre on the way a 2024 documentary edited a speech Trump gave on January 6, 2021, before protesters attacked the Capitol in Washington.

The lawsuit accuses the BBC of “splicing together two entirely separate parts of President Trump’s speech” to “intentionally misrepresent the meaning of what [he] said” and that the editing was “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 election.

The BBC apologised to Trump for the misleading edit, but said it had not defamed him.

The latest court filing said that Trump’s family members had knowledge relevant to Trump’s argument “that it would be materially false to imply that he incited violence”. The BBC asked the court to allow the subpoenas to be served by email and certified mail.

Trump’s legal team said “the BBC is seeking to harass [Donald Trump], his family, and supporters by abusing the deposition process”. A trial has been provisionally set for February.

AP

Voters have condemned the Albanese government’s handling of immigration policy, with 54 per cent agreeing the government is running the portfolio in an “unplanned and unmanaged way” even as Labor prepares to unveil in the next fortnight tougher rules on visa overstayers and dodgy asylum claims.

But the government will be buoyed by 60 per cent of voters supporting lower house prices, while nearly twice as many people back Labor’s changes to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing as oppose them, according to the latest Resolve Political Monitor.

Concern about the cost of living has fallen significantly, by 9 points to 36 per cent, the lowest level since February 2023, though the issue still remains voters’ No.1 concern by a considerable margin.

Read more from chief political commentator James Massola. 

Thank you for following our national news live blog for Monday, August 17.

Here’s what is making headlines today.

• Australian voters have condemned the Albanese government’s handling of immigration policy, with 54 per cent agreeing the government is running the portfolio in an “unplanned and unmanaged way”, according to the latest Resolve Political Monitor. However, 60 per cent of voters have supported falling house prices, while concern about the cost of living has fallen to the lowest level since February 2023.
• One Nation has signalled its staunch opposition to the national gun buyback scheme sparked by the Bondi massacre, after NSW became the first state to join the initiative after striking a deal with the federal government on Sunday. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson it was the “people behind the guns” responsible for acts of terror, rather than the “law-abiding Australians who are trying to go about their business”.
• Sam Pang has won the Gold Logie for the most popular person on Australian TV, in a glittering ceremony held in Sydney on Sunday night. Pang was presented the award by a tattered and torn Sharon Strzelecki – Magda Szubanski in her first public appearance since her prolonged cancer battle – dressed in Australia Zoo fatigues, taking inspiration from Logies host Robert Irwin.