Australia news live: Jonno Duniam to retire from politics; father and daughter found dead in Sydney river | Australia news – CONVEN.ORG

Australia news live: Jonno Duniam to retire from politics; father and daughter found dead in Sydney river | Australia news

June 13, 2026

LATEST NEWS

Australia news live: Jonno Duniam to retire from politics; father and daughter found dead in Sydney river | Australia news

Jonno Duniam to quit politics before next election

Tom McIlroy

Liberal frontbencher Jonathon Duniam says he will quit politics before the next election.

The announcement on Sunday is a blow for the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, as the Coalition faces persistently poor polling and a challenge from One Nation.

The shadow home affairs minister says he will quit the Senate at the end of the year, saying in a statement:

double quotation markThis was an extremely difficult decision to make – albeit that it is one I have been considering for quite some time.

I have spent the past 25 years in politics, the last 10 of those as a Senator for Tasmania – and I have given everything to these responsibilities, often at the expense of family.

Twenty-five years is a long time in any vocation and, when you take your role seriously, it always comes first. It is time I reversed my priorities and I can’t do that if I am to stay in politics.

Obviously, I acknowledge that I am leaving at a difficult time for the Federal Coalition.

But I am confident that my friends across both the Liberal Party and the National Party are firmly on the right path.

No two people in the Coalition are more equipped to lead us (and Australia) back to success than Angus Taylor and Matt Canavan; they are both outstanding leaders and have a love for our country that is unrivalled.

Updated at 19.26 EDT

Key events

Six months on from Australia’s deadliest terror attack, a permanent memorial will be established at Bondi Beach to remember those killed, AAP reports.

The NSW government is pledging $8.3 million to support the Jewish community after 15 people were gunned down in a targeted antisemitic attack at a Hanukah celebration on 14 December last year.

As part of the package, $2 million will be allocated to Waverley Council in Sydney’s east to support the construction of a permanent memorial.

Another $2 million will be provided to school-based support and trauma-informed programs and grants, with $500,000 for the Community Security Group, which provides security to the Jewish community.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said on Sunday his government’s unwavering support was a long-term commitment to ensuring the state healed:

double quotation markWe said from the moment this attack took place that we would walk with the community every step of the way. We know that the community needs support and we’re continuing to provide that.

The Sydney Jewish Museum will receive $2.6 million for redevelopment works including new modern antisemitism exhibitions.

The financial boost comes at a time of heightened focus as the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion holds public hearings. In an interim report released in April, the commission recommended Jewish community gatherings be earmarked as higher risk.

NSW Multiculturalism Minister Steve Kamper said:

double quotation markWe know the impact of this attack didn’t end on that day. Not only will this package be of comfort to people now and over coming months, but it will lay the groundwork for greater social cohesion and long-term prevention into the future.

A vigil is being held at Bondi on Sunday for “remembrance, reflection and hope”, six months since the deadly attack.

‘I haven’t wasted a single day’, Duniam says

Duniam says he’s proud of his record of achievements and says “I haven’t wasted a single day”.

He continues:

double quotation markI’ve had the honour of serving in the ministry under Scott Morrison and the shadow ministry under Peter Dutton, Sussan Ley, and, of course, now Angus Taylor. That has come with its own challenges. And, of course, if you take this job seriously, it takes a lot of work, and that is exactly what I’ve done.

This job has been a very serious one. And as a result, has taken up a lot of time and a lot of energy. It is odd to fight hard to get in, it’s even odder when you fight harder to stay, and then to pull up stumps.

But as I say, when family come into it, you can’t think twice about it. Your priorities become very, very clear.

And when I brought home the Sunday Tasmanian and sat it on the table, my youngest son when he saw it, when he woke up this morning, said ‘I thought this day would never come.’

Updated at 20.51 EDT

Duniam says he has ‘no regrets about pulling up stumps’

The shadow home affairs spokesperson, Jonathan Duniam, has been speaking just now in Hobart about his decision to quit politics.

He says it’s “irrelevant” whether people agreed with what he has said or done in his role, because “what you do, when you put your hand up for public office, is you stick to what you believe in, advocate for the outcomes you think are right for the community you represent, and go like the clappers to make sure you get the best outcome.”

He said this is what he has done for years in his ministerial roles with the Liberal party and his work in the Senate. But the work has been hard on his family, he says:

double quotation markTwenty-five years of my life, dedicated to long hours, and being away from home a lot has taken a toll on my family. And we’ve made a decision, of course, that this is in the best interests of my family and I.

Only last night, as I was reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid to my 11-year-old son, it made absolute sense that I was making this decision.

I have no regrets about pulling up stumps and paving the way for someone else to take on the challenge of restoring the trust that we sadly have lost over the last two elections, to ensure that we win back the votes we need to return more than two senators to the federal parliament, that we can take back the seats of Bass and Braddon, and hopefully Lyons, too, at some point in the future.

Updated at 20.50 EDT

Nine-year-old Australian girl shot dead by police in Pakistan, family members injured

A nine-year-old Australian girl has been killed and her father and brother seriously injured in Pakistan after local police shot at their car, mistaking it for that of suspected criminals.

The family of four Australian nationals had recently arrived in Chakwal in the Punjab province, where they have family heritage, when their rental car was accosted by men with guns on Wednesday, family members told Pakistani English-language news outlet, Dawn.

They were told to hand over their jewellery and cash, with the girl’s mother handing over an expensive necklace, when a police officer coming off lunch break spotted the incident while returning to a nearby police station.

The police officer and the men on motorcycles fired on each other and the men fled.

As the family in the car also began to flee the shooting, police mistook the car as belonging to the men who had robbed them. A police official told Dawn that officers “opened indiscriminate fire on the car,” which crashed into a gate shortly afterwards.

The family was rushed to the District Headquarters hospital where the girl was pronounced dead. Her father and brother were transferred to Benazir Bhutto hospital Rawalpindi to undergo surgery. The girl’s father has since been discharged.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said:

double quotation markThe Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian who was killed and to two Australians injured in Pakistan. We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time.

Local officials have described the incident as “highly shocking” and assured the family a police inquiry was under way, and there would be consequences for those found to be responsible.

Updated at 20.32 EDT

Kelly Burke

Elite paddleboarder Charlie Verco has only seen one shark bigger than the one he saw on Saturday at Sydney’s Coogee beach.

The North Bondi athlete was training for the world championships in Hawaii in July on Saturday morning when he heard a swimmer shouting “shark”.

As he headed towards the area of water where about three people appeared close to a large grey shadow, several swimmers attempted to climb onto his 18-foot (5.5 metre) paddleboard.

He told Guardian Australia:

double quotation markI’m familiar with shark behaviour and it looked like it was just being inquisitive, it didn’t look like aggressive behaviour.

Verco, a trained surf life saver, attempted to signal to the lifeguards on shore, hoping they would sound the shark alarm and clear swimmers from the water.

double quotation markBut then another woman started screaming, and I could see she was being dragged around by something … there was a lot of blood in the water, it was quite shocking.

The shark surfaced, I saw its dorsal fin, it was big, about three and a half metres, I’ve only ever seen one shark bigger than that and that was a tiger shark in Hawaii.

Read the full story here:

Changing tack, Butler brushes off the suggestion that One Nation’s “fire the liar” campaign has been damaging:

double quotation markOh, look, I think these campaigns come and they go. We’ve all run them, all political parties…

The broader question here, I think, is how we manage the fact that the community is really hurting.

The Senate will deliver its report from the NDIS inquiry on Tuesday. Butler doesn’t directly answer a question about whether or not he is willing to make any significant changes to the legislation the government has put forward.

He says:

double quotation markLook, the direction of travel I think is an important one for us to follow through. This largely reflects reviews and insights that we’ve gathered over the last three years since the independent review was done of the NDIS in 2023 and endorsed by all governments at national Cabinet later that year.

I’m utterly convinced this is the right plan for the NDIS… I’m not saying there won’t be any change. We heard ideas from the crossbench in the debate in the House of Representatives. I’ve very much heard that people want greater reassurance about what won’t change because of the reforms we’re putting in place.

I’m not saying we’re not looking at things constructively. I’m looking forward to the report being delivered as I’ve said while the hearings have been under way. But the direction of travel, the need to make big changes that secure this incredibly important social program for the future I’m convinced is the right direction of travel.

One of the matters that came up in the senate inquiry was about the plan to cut funding for community and social participation, with the disability discrimination commissioner, Rosemary Kayess, among those raising concerns, saying it would leave people with disability severely isolated and vulnerable to abuse.

Mark Butler claimed the cuts are necessary to retain support for core funding – by which he presumably means things like, say, support workers for personal care. This is a bit of a confusing way of framing this because “core supports” under the NDIS can include assistance with social and community participation.

Butler said those cuts are necessary to curtail the growth of the scheme:

double quotation markWe have to constrain that growth. Without reforms it would grow to $20 billion by the end of the decade and that’s simply not a sustainable position.

It’s also allowed us, as I said, to protect the core supports people rely upon for that safety that was part of your introduction.

Butler says NDIS after changes will ‘still be Australia’s biggest social program outside aged pension’

Mark Butler, health minister and minister for the national disability insurance scheme, has been speaking to ABC’s Insiders this morning about the changes to the NDIS.

People with disability and their advocates have told a Senate inquiry into the changes that people will die as a consequence of those changes; Butler claims they won’t. He told Insiders:

double quotation markThe NDIS is probably the most significant social reform this country has made since Medicare in the 80s. It’s transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Australians for the better and I completely understand why they’re desperately concerned to hang on to that reform. I’m desperately concerned to do that as well.

But the truth is the NDIS has got way off track. It’s grown far too big. It costs too much. And it’s become a honey pot for shonks and rorters and that’s why I’ve laid out this comprehensive plan, much of which reflects discussions that have been ongoing since the NDIS review was delivered three years ago now to secure its future for people like those who are giving evidence to the Senate inquiry.

I want to reassure them this will still be the biggest social program Australia has outside the aged pension.

Mark Butler. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAPShare

Updated at 19.28 EDT

Giggle for Girls founder seeks to appeal against court ruling

Lisa Cox

The founder of a women-only social media app found by the federal court to have discriminated against a transgender woman is seeking to appeal against the decision in the high court.

Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd, founded by Sall Grover, filed an application on Friday for special leave to appeal against the federal court’s decision in Australia’s highest court.

Last month the full federal court upheld a decision that found the app and Grover unlawfully discriminated against Roxanne Tickle after the transgender woman was denied access to the platform.

Justices Melissa Perry, Wendy Abraham and Geoffrey Kennett affirmed an August 2024 finding that Tickle was discriminated against on the basis of her gender identity, and also sided with Tickle’s cross appeal, claiming she experienced two instances of direct discrimination by the Giggle for Girls app and Grover.

According to a Giggle crowdfunding website, Grover’s team has been collecting donations for a possible High Court appeal. The site states the special leave application was filed on Friday.

The high court will consider whether it will hear the appeal.

Updated at 19.28 EDT

We’re expecting the health minister Mark Butler to speak to ABC’s Insiders shortly. We’ll bring you the highlights soon.

ShareKelly Burke

The federal government’s national lung cancer screening program has concluded its first 12 months, with data showing almost 100,000 high-risk Australians accessed the free service and more than 230 primary lung cancers detected.

Lung cancer remains Australia’s leading cause of cancer death, claiming about 9,000 lives annually, and late diagnosis remains the biggest hurdle in treating the disease.

Health minister Mark Butler said screening can detect up to 70% of lung cancers, and when caught early, more than 65% of cases can be successfully treated.

The program targets Australians aged 50 to 70 with a history of smoking, using low-dose CT scans available in every state and territory. In remote regions, a partnership with Heart of Australia has so far delivered 519 mobile scans via specialised trucks across north Western Australia and the Northern Territory, with additional services to be rolled out across the remaining states over the next 10 months.

First Nations participants made up more than 5% of those screened, an uptake credited to a structural partnership with the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO).

NACCHO chief executive Dr Dawn Casey PSM said the strong numbers were no accident, proving that national health initiatives succeed when they are co-designed with the community-controlled sector to ensure cultural safety.

ShareTom McIlroy

Further to the previous post, Jonno Duniam said he had discussed his plans with Taylor in recent weeks.

double quotation markRepresenting Tasmania, the best state in the Commonwealth, has been a blessing and the honour of a lifetime – one that will be hard to match. While I know there will be some who will be disappointed that I am leaving, I am very grateful to the Liberal Party membership in Tasmania for granting me the privilege of being a Senator and for all the support that they have provided to me.

Now is the right time for my party to choose new Senate team members who will carry forward the fight for Tasmania and for the values in which the Liberal Party believes.

I leave Federal politics proud and grateful but exhausted. I wish our current Senators, and our new Senate team as a whole, nothing but the best as they strive hard to deliver for our state.