News and politics live: Barnaby Joyce makes embarrassing on-air backflip on One Nation migration policy

One Nation Senator Sean Bell has moved to clarify the party’s housing policy after confusion erupted over comments made by recruit Barnaby Joyce about whether permanent residents could be forced to give up their homes.

Speaking to Sky News on Friday, Mr Bell insisted the policy would not affect permanent residents and praised Mr Joyce for quickly correcting his earlier remarks.

“What I think is really impressive from Barnaby there is that he immediately fronted up, and he showed integrity, and he went, and he corrected the record,” Senator Bell told the program.

The debate follows an awkward TV appearance in which Mr Joyce initially indicated One Nation’s proposal could impact permanent residents before later retracting the claim after seeking clarification from party officials.

Asked to explain the policy, Senator Bell said the restrictions were aimed at temporary visa holders rather than people with permanent residency.

“If you are on a temporary visa, you’re not permanently residing in Australia, then One Nation will make sure that there is a process in which those homes become available for Australians,” he said.

Bondi terror attack hero Ahmed Al Ahmed has broken down in an emotional interview on breakfast radio, saying he is an “honest guy” who “never hurt anyone”.

The man who single-handedly saved countless lives during the anti-Semitic terrorist attack on Bondi beach in December 2025 — after he wrestled a rifle off gunman Sajid Akram — was this week charged with common assault.

The accusation relates to an alleged domestic dispute involving his father. Mr Al Ahmed was also charged with stalking.

7NEWS also revealed last night that Mr Al Ahmed’s father had also taken out an apprehended violence order against the 44-year-old.

Speaking with 2GB’s Ben Fordham on Friday morning, the Bondi hero became emotional when asked about the charges.

“Honestly, I’m disappointed and (I have) anxiety and this situation is causing me distress. I’m very upset (about) what’s happening,” he said.

“I’m an honest, innocent, honourable guy. I never hurt anyone and I’ve never been violent.”

Read the full story.

South Australia’s Premier Peter Malinauskas denies he was taking a swipe at the Albanese government after boasting his State’s Budget this week did not contain any surprise tax hikes.

“We are not increasing taxes in a way that’s unexpected by anybody,” the Labor leader said in Adelaide on Thursday.

“It’s an important principle. Not politically but as a matter of policy.”

Asked about the comments on Friday Mr Malinauskas said it was “a bit unfair” to suggest they were a slap down of his federal colleagues, who are under fire for breaking election promises tax hikes.

“Anyone that looks at everything that I have said at every Budget that … my government has handed down has largely adopted that position and used the exact language that you quote there … so it’s not particularly new or surprising to anyone,” he told the ABC.

“Look, it is true that we’ve been very deliberate and focused on making sure that any changes to tax policy we make aren’t causing any sort of friction or shock waves — We do want to create a stable investment environment for capital flowing into our State.”

Ministers have denied tax-reform measures are being rushed through parliament despite just two days being set aside for an inquiry into the “once-in-a-generation” changes.

Changes limiting negative gearing to new houses from July 2027 and scrapping the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount to a rate based on inflation passed the House of Representatives on Thursday.

But the laws face an uncertain future, with the Greens yet to indicate if they will back the Federal Budget reforms through the Senate.

A two-day Senate inquiry will scrutinise the laws later in June before they go to the upper house, with the opposition and crossbenchers saying the measures are being rushed.

Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino said the laws were not being raced through as issues surrounding tax and housing had been on the agenda for a long period, alongside 17 hours of debate in parliament so far.

“It is one of the most exhaustive discussions I’ve seen in the parliament,” he told ABC Radio on Friday.

“It was in that broader context that the Budget was framed and so there has been a long-running discussion around these kind of issues, and in fact, a lot of the issues dealt with in the Budget have been looked at in previous tax inquiries.”

- with AAP

Australia will likely be lumped with higher tariffs by the US, as analysts warn the nation doesn’t stand a good chance of negotiating an exemption.

The US has proposed a 12.5 per cent tariff on Australian goods as part of plans for new levies on 60 countries, drawing condemnation from the nation’s political leaders.

The White House says the taxes are in response to inadequate anti-slavery laws, but the move is widely considered to be a work-around after the Supreme Court struck down Donald Trump’s original “Liberation Day” tariffs.

But Australian beef and gold will maintain their exemptions from the American levies.

While Australian diplomats would voice their concerns over the new measures, it would unlikely result in a carve-out, United States Studies Centre director of economic security Hayley Channer said.

“The tariffs will most likely apply to us, given so many countries in the group include close US allies such as Japan who have not been made exempt,” she told AAP.

“There’s no real way to negotiate our way out of this.”

- with AAP

Newly recruited One Nation candidate Barnaby Joyce was forced into an extraordinary backflip on live TV during an interview with Sky News after appearing uncertain about the party’s policy on home ownership for non-citizens.

Questioned by the program’s host, Andrew Bolt, on Pauline Hanson’s proposal to prevent permanent residents from buying homes unless they become Australian citizens, Mr Joyce initially suggested the policy could require some migrants to sell their properties.

“That’s my belief in the policy, it does,” Mr Joyce replied when asked if the policy would mean 400,000 Australian permanent residents would be kicked out of their houses.

“We want to make it, that you become … an Australian citizen … and that will, that’s going to deal with the issue, isn’t it? Become an Australian citizen.”

But after the interview wrapped up on Thursday night, Mr Joyce made several urgent phone calls to clarify the policy before returning to the studio and asking to record a revised answer.

The broadcaster then played the footage of Mr Joyce reversing his earlier position.

“This policy is formative, but on further investigation and discussions with One Nation, no, we are not going to be kicking permanent residents out of their house,’’ Mr Joyce said.

​Read the full story.​

New boats, old boats, no boats. The debate over AUKUS has touched a new low since Labor inherited the program in May 2022.

The government remains steadfast in support for seeing through the program, as it should.

But it should take the new furore over the fairly unremarkable revelation that Australia will acquire three used Virginia-class submarines from the United States, as opposed to two second-hand and one brand new boat as a serious wake-up call that it’s commitment to progressing the program and advocating it publicly, have slipped.

There is nothing wrong with three old boats, and in fact, many advantages, as the government is belatedly pointing out.

Indeed, as Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead from the Australian Submarine Agency told Senate Estimates, Australia has been lobbying the US for this outcome for 18 months.

So it is a major failure from the government not to have educated the public about why this is a better choice well ahead of time.

Once again, whether it is complacency, arrogance, incompetence or a combination of all three, it is another mistake of their own making. The result is a vacuum which critics are now exploiting.

​Read Latika M Bourke’s opinion piece in full​.

Housing policy has become a fresh battleground between Labor and the Coalition, with both parties taking different positions on permanent residents accessing first-home buyer assistance.

Appearing on Sunrise on Friday, Health Minister Mark Butler was forced to defend Labor’s decision to allow permanent residents access to the First Home Guarantee scheme, arguing many migrants spend years building their lives in Australia before becoming citizens.

“We don’t want temporary residents to access programs like this, and they can’t,” Mr Butler said.

“But permanent residents are here forever. They’re building careers, they’re building businesses, they’re having children, and we want them to enjoy the full Australian dream, which includes getting into housing.”

The debate comes after figures revealed about 51,000 permanent residents have accessed the scheme since eligibility was expanded by Labor in 2023.

Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party Jane Hume said the program was originally designed for Australian citizens and argued taxpayer-funded benefits should prioritise those who have formally taken up citizenship.

“I think Australians would rightly expect, when taxpayer funds are subsidising a scheme or supporting a scheme, that that scheme is there for Australian citizens and Australian citizens first,” Senator Hume said.