Australian politics live: Lambie compares ‘dangerous’ Hanson to Trump; NSW One Nation leader wants abortion ‘stopped’

Follow the day’s news live Get our new political email , free app or daily news podcast Sports precinct funding report reveals a ‘pattern of behaviour’, Wilson says Tim Wilson says there are plenty of questions for Labor to answer over a report in the ABC which says health minister Mark Butler’s office asked an Adelaide council to put forward a $6m sports precinct upgrade for federal funding before any detailed costings or formal planning had been done. I think what we’re now seeing is a pattern of behaviour. The prime minister gave a grant to a golf course in his electorate just around the corner from his home, of which he was a member, which he failed to declare. Now we have the health minister, the next wannabe prime minister, doing exactly the same thing. I think the problem we’ve got is the government was in a desperate attempt before the last election to stay in office. Now, the election turned out differently than as it appeared in, say, November 2024. And so they scurry to try and dole out public money to get themselves in a winnable position. The problem is it’s now catching up with them. That’s a difficult thing to do. However, I think one way to do it is to ensure that Muslim leaders are at the centre of any such discussion and guide that discussion in a way that Australian Muslims as a whole do not feel targeted. Because there is a real risk when you have a discussion about Extremist Islam, you have a real risk that Muslims as a whole feel under pressure. Equally, if you don’t have that discussion, you play into the hands of extremists at the other end of the spectrum. Continue reading...