Nationals leader calls for Joyce to stay in party
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, has called for Barnaby Joyce to remain with the party after the maverick MP announced his intention to quit, AAP reports.
Littleproud said Joyce still had a critical role to play within the party and urged him to stay inside the coalition.
“We want him to stay in the National party. I think he has a contribution to make between now and when he retires,” Littleproud told Nine’s Today program on Sunday.
So obviously we all will be talking to Barnaby. We want to make sure that his contribution is a valued one within our party room, as everybody is.
The Nationals leader said Joyce had not tendered his resignation from the party. Littleproud said he was looking to speak to Joyce for contributions on policy.
I’ll be reaching out and having a conversation and making sure he understands that he, along with the rest of us, will play a very important role in shaping the Coalition and helping the Coalition rebuild.
We’ve got to make sure that we’re not just a party of protest, we’re a party that can govern and say to the Australian people, there’s an alternative way to address climate change.
Key events
Burke announces national disruption group for illegal tobacco trade
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, has announced on ABC’s Insiders program there will be a national disruption group targeting illegal tobacco headed up by the Australian Border Force, with state and territory police, the Australian federal police, Austrac, the home affairs department, the criminal intelligence commission, the department of health, and the illicit tobacco and vape commissioner.
He said:
We’re bringing all of that together in a single disruption group. Because to do this, it’s not only the interception and the good work that border force do intercepting containers at the border and intercepting illegal tobacco at the airport. We also need to look at what happens before it reaches the border, what happens post-border, what happens at the warehouse level, and what happens in terms of the flow of funds for these organisations as well. So, that national disruption group involves, you know, if there’s a cohesion of threats and a convergence of threats, there needs to be a convergence of protection in responding, and that’s what we’re announcing today.
He said it will be a higher level of coordination than is currently happening, with every agency in the group “looking at every stage of this supply chain”.
NZYQ cohort sent to Nauru will receive 30-year visas, Burke says
On the NZYQ cohort and the deal made by the government to transfer them to Nauru, the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, says it is “roughly correct” that the number of visas issued for the cohort to be sent to Nauru is in the high teens to 20s.
He said those transferred will have work rights in Nauru, and the visas are for 30 years.
Burke said he has inspected the accommodation and health facilities and said the standard is good, and “way beyond what some of the speculation about health standards has been”.
Burke indicated those sent to Nauru could not be brought back to Australia for health treatment.
Unclear whether Palestinians approved for visas are still alive, Burke says
Asked about the hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza approved for visas in Australia and whether the ceasefire changes anything, Tony Burke said he’s not sure all of those approved for visas are still alive.
He says some will choose to stay in Australia, and others may end up with other options they might take up.
And there will be some people who we don’t hear from again. And there’s some on that case list that we haven’t heard from for a very long time. A significant number of them are part of split family groups, where some of the family is, in fact, here in Australia and they’re wanting to join.
You need to remember, our humanitarian program that we run around the world isn’t limited to places where there’s an active war. There is decency that Australia shows to people from around the world … there are Israelis who have been approved for humanitarian visas as well. I’ve got no intention of cancelling those either. We’re a decent country. We are talking about people where all the checks have been made. And some of them won’t choose to come here, some of them won’t be alive any more …
Those who come to Australia will be given a temporary visa, and then it will be up to Burke to decide if they stay.
Smaller, faster boats being used by people smugglers, Burke says
Asked whether people smugglers are now using smaller boats to attempt to reach Australia, the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, says they are trying to use smaller and faster boats now, but none of the attempts have been successful:
Probably the most significant change in response these days is the majority of people now get sent straight back to their country of origin. So, you used to really only see people going back to Indonesia or off to Nauru for processing. But the majority of cases now are going straight back to country of origin.
We had one very recently where, within 72 hours, we had everybody back to their country of origin. There was one in May, for example, where it was a mixed boatload of people from different countries and we had to, you know, from three different sorts of citizenships that people had come from. It was more complex but we still made sure we returned people directly straight back to the countries of origin.
Burke says he can’t say which countries they’re being returned to, but it is happening fast.
Australians ‘belittling each other’ in immigration debate ‘a bad place for the country to be’, Burke says
On Barnaby Joyce potentially moving to One Nation, the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, repeats his line earlier this week that “dog-whistle” politics is now “a set of bagpipes coming over the hill”.
And so, you know, we are a multicultural nation and when people sledge multicultural Australia, there are a whole lot of Australian citizens who hear it, feel it deeply, and know that it’s people talking about them. I love this country. Like, I really do. I love modern Australia, modern and multicultural Australia are the same thing. Regardless of whether it’s the Coalition or anywhere in the debate, when as a nation, if we end up in a debate where you’ve got Australians belittling each other at scale, that’s a bad place for the country to be. And it’s the job of parties of government to stand up for modern Australia.
He said he doesn’t want to speculate on Joyce, but he said no one had raised the issue with him.
Net overseas migration ‘needed to come down’ from post-Covid peak, Burke says
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, says net overseas migration “needed to come down” and it is coming down.
He told ABC’s Insiders program:
In terms of net overseas migration, we’re now 40% below the peak. The key area where the numbers were beyond where it was in the interests of Australia for them to be, was with respect to student visas. So, that was a bit … some of that was overstated because of net overseas migration after the pandemic. You had first-year, second-year, third-year students all arriving on brand new three-year visas. So some of it was just the way things flowed after the pandemic. But it was also true, and remains true, that international education is the only industry that I can think of where you need to find a long-term home for every customer.
He said the net migration level will “continue to soften” and it’s just getting to appropriate levels post-pandemic.
He said the immigration rate will be “tailored to the needs of the nation”, focused on skilled work visas that are demand-driven. He said the numbers of people coming on construction visas had “tripled” in the past few years and amid the debate on infrastructure and housing, if there was a limit to people coming to Australia on those visas it would be “cutting off your nose to spite your face”.
Nationals leader calls for Joyce to stay in party
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, has called for Barnaby Joyce to remain with the party after the maverick MP announced his intention to quit, AAP reports.
Littleproud said Joyce still had a critical role to play within the party and urged him to stay inside the coalition.
“We want him to stay in the National party. I think he has a contribution to make between now and when he retires,” Littleproud told Nine’s Today program on Sunday.
So obviously we all will be talking to Barnaby. We want to make sure that his contribution is a valued one within our party room, as everybody is.
The Nationals leader said Joyce had not tendered his resignation from the party. Littleproud said he was looking to speak to Joyce for contributions on policy.
I’ll be reaching out and having a conversation and making sure he understands that he, along with the rest of us, will play a very important role in shaping the Coalition and helping the Coalition rebuild.
We’ve got to make sure that we’re not just a party of protest, we’re a party that can govern and say to the Australian people, there’s an alternative way to address climate change.
Nampijinpa Price says she’ll wait and see on speculation Joyce will join One Nation
Fellow Nationals defector and good friend Jacinta Nampijinpa Price insists she will wait and see rather than accept scuttlebutt that Barnaby Joyce is about to throw his lot in with Pauline Hanson, AAP reports.
Price, who also quit the minor Coalition partner to join the Liberals, only to be demoted from cabinet, declined to speculate when asked what Joyce’s likely move would be.
“I’d prefer to wait and see,” she told Sky News.
I’m a good mate of Barnaby’s but I’ll wait and see what’s real and what’s just another attempt to … keep this chatter and division going on with regard to the Coalition.
Much of the focus of politics today will be around former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce’s decision, communicated to his supporters, that he intends to quit the Nationals, and speculation he will join One Nation.
You can read more about this from my colleagues below:
John Howard says he’s ‘never met a multicultural person’
Former prime minister John Howard has told fellow former Liberal PM Tony Abbott that he’s “never met a multicultural person” just bicultural people, in an interview where he said the understanding of “assimilation” for migrants in Australia had moved away from a “sensible understanding”.
Howard told Abbott on Abbott’s Sky News documentary:
Now, to assimilate doesn’t mean you forget your mother culture … I’ve never met a multicultural person. I’ve met plenty of bicultural people.
Howard said his 2001 election slogan that “we decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come” was “given near universal support. Because it’s what people believe”.
Howard said Australia could remain an immigrant society by asserting “the centrality of the Australian compact to everyone who comes.”
The former PM also backed retaining Australia Day on 26 January, arguing that if it was changed to federation day of 1 January, it was unlikely Australians would be willing to give up new year’s eve..
Cait Kelly
Sydney man charged with child abuse material
A Sydney man has been charged over the alleged importation of a child-like sex doll and the production and possession of AI-generated child abuse material on multiple digital devices.
In a statement, the AFP said in mid-August, officers at the mail facility in Sydney identified a consignment for a targeted examination, originating from Asia.
Upon further inspection, officers located a child-like sex doll. The item was seized and as part of initial enquiries, officers executed search warrants in Lalor Park on 8 September 2025, where they spoke to the man, 59.
During the warrant activity, several items were seized, including digital devices and children’s clothing.
Subsequent investigations allegedly uncovered a significant amount of AI-generated child abuse material, along with documentation linked to the importation of a child-like sex doll.
The man was arrested on 16 Octoberand appeared before Blacktown local court on Friday, where he was refused bail. He is expected to appear before the same court on 20 October 2025.
AFP Detective Superintendent Luke Needham:
The message could not be clearer – if you engage in these horrific activities, you will be found, charged and prosecuted.
Good morning
Good morning and welcome to the live blog for Sunday. I’m Josh Taylor.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is headed to Washington today for the long-awaited meeting with US president, Donald Trump. You can read more about what is expected to come up at that meeting in this piece by my colleague Josh Butler.
AAP reports that thousands of people are expected to rally across Australia at counter-protests against anti-immigration demonstrations in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi said:
The far right is organised, violent and on the march. Yet political leaders refuse to grapple with the reality of white supremacy and racism that is threatening and harming First Nations people and people of colour every day.
A collection of unions and community groups has organised the counter-protest.
About 50,000 people reportedly gathered at March for Australia events across the nation in August, gaining significant media attention.
Parallel counter-demonstrations were also held on the same day.
Let’s get into it.
