Albanese rules out republic referendum after meeting King Charles
The prime minister says his personal invitation to Balmoral Castle to meet King Charles was “a personal honour, but really an honour for Australia as well”.
In an interview on ABC Insiders with host David Speers, Anthony Albanese has refused to provide any detail on his conversation with King Charles, instead describing in general terms how the two “discussed world affairs” and “had a rather wonderful lunch”.
This all sounds very pleasant, but he didn’t provide much detail for an Australian public who may want to know what their head of state and prime minister discussed at lunch.
Albanese did, however, rule out any referendum on Australia becoming a republic.
I’ve made it clear that I wanted to hold one referendum while I was prime minister, and we did that.
Now the PM says his government will concentrate on the cost of living and “making a real, practical difference to people’s lives”.
Key events
A few snaps from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s trip to meet with King Charles in Balmoral in Scotland.
Lions in dreamland as staggering second half delivers grand final glory to Brisbane
Grand finals shouldn’t end like this: a party masquerading as a football match for at least half an hour. This was supposed to be a tight contest with the AFL’s two best teams, slugging it out in an arm wrestle for the title of the modern era’s best club, a fitting struggle for the final Saturday in September.
But as the Lions kept coming in a staggering second half, there was not just one defining grand final moment. Rather, they came thick and fast, too quickly to fully appreciate. A hallucination of glory, an incomprehensible haze.
There was Will Aschroft with a minute left, holding the ball up with a hand on the right wing, like a conductor with a baton triggering the maroon mass to roar. There was Logan Morris, who ambled with the ball over the boundary line in the forward pocket, before he became absorbed by the Brisbane fans on the fence. They hugged him, patted his head, and didn’t let him go for several seconds. With the lead more than 50, he could have lingered longer.
For more on the grand final result, read the full report by Guardian Australia’s Jack Snape:
Clive Palmer to take $13m dispute to Swiss court after Hague tribunal rejects case
Billionaire Clive Palmer will take his legal fight with the Australian government over a $13m bill to Switzerland.
Palmer previously tried to bring the case before The Hague-based permanent court of arbitration, but the tribunal rejected it, ruling it had no jurisdiction over disputes between a national government and its citizens.
Palmer announced the decision on Sunday via social media, saying he would appeal to Switzerland’s supreme court. The post, titled as a “media release”, said:
Mr Palmer said that he and his legal team would challenge the tribunal’s judgment, ensuring the matter is tested in a forum in which the lawful arguments of his case are properly heard.
He said the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland would be the next step in the journey to achieve justice in the matter, hopeful of the final arbiter taking an opposite view to that of the tribunal.
For more on this story, read the previous reporting here:
Australian defence force says ‘no place’ for extremists despite member’s link to neo-Nazi group
The Australian defence force says it has “no place” for rightwing extremists, despite one of its members remaining in the service for more than eight months after police found he had been involved in a gathering of the National Socialist Network, a neo-Nazi group.
Separately, the 25-year-old Sydney man was charged in August with possessing alleged violent extremist and child abuse material on his mobile phones after being arrested in Holsworthy. He will face court again next month.
The Australian federal police (AFP) charged the man after it received intelligence that he attended an NSN gathering in Marsfield, in Sydney’s north, in late 2024.
Footage of the gathering, seen by Guardian Australia, shows about a dozen men clad in black exercise clothing in a public park. It is believed they had been conducting a “training” session.
“Further inquiries indicated the man may be in possession of the illicit material,” the AFP said in a statement.
For more on this story, read the full report by Guardian Australia’s Nino Bucci:
Man dies in plane crash on NSW south coast
A man has died after a plane used by a skydiving business crashed at Moruya on the southern New South Wales coast.
NSW police confirmed the death on Saturday after emergency services were called to bushland 2km north of Moruya airport.
The pilot, a 54-year-old man, was the only person on board and died at the scene. Police have secured the area and specialist officers will examine it.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has been informed. A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Police and ATSB officials are expected to speak to the media at 1.45pm on Sunday.
We will keep you updated.
Cash accuses PM of ‘double standards’ and praises Netanyahu’s ‘moral clarity’ in UN speech
Cash also reiterated criticisms from the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, that Albanese has spent too much time travelling internationally, including attending the UK Labour conference, saying that the prime minister criticised Scott Morrison for going to a US Republican party event.
You don’t get to have double standards, Mr Albanese. And double standards is what we are now seeing from this prime minister. You are there, in your own words when Scott Morrison was prime minister. You are there as head of the government, not as head of the Labor party, so why don’t you behave like the head of our country instead of turning this into a domestic political exercise.
Cash suggested that the previous Coalition government had a better relationship with the US government and would have been able to secure a more favourable deal on tariffs.
The Coalition senator also described a recent speech by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, at the United Nations as a “speech of great moral clarity”.
Cash did not respond to questions about whether the position of the Coalition was increasingly isolated as governments have recognised Palestine and put pressure on Israel to end its military operations.
Quoting Marco Rubio, Cash said the US was working directly to get a result for Israelis and Palestinians.
The substance I want to see is president Trump negotiating to get what we all want and that is an end to this war, a return of the hostages and a guarantee of Israel’s security going forward.
‘Albanese has failed Australia’ over ‘little’ relationship with Trump, Michaelia Cash says
Senator Michaelia Cash has continued the Coalition’s attack on Anthony Albanese, accusing the prime minister of not doing enough to engage with the Trump administration and spending too much time this year on international diplomacy.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday morning, Cash compared Albanese’s relationship with Trump to the US president’s one with the UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, suggesting Australia’s ties with Washington were currently “little”.
The relationship in Washington is not strong, and because it is not strong, Mr Albanese is not able to pick up the phone like other world leaders are able to do and speak directly to the US president about the impact of his announcements on Australia.
In response to the prime minister’s description of his conversations with the US president as “warm”, Cash said “he has achieved nothing”, saying that “the most he got out” of his interaction with Trump was a selfie.
Mr Albanese has failed Australia. He’s almost embarrassing us on the international stage.
Albanese closes door on republic referendum during his leadership
Krishani Dhanji
Anthony Albanese has ruled out holding another referendum while he’s still prime minister, putting to bed the prospect of a vote to make Australia a republic.
On the ABC’s Insiders program this morning, Albanese said he would hold only one referendum as leader.
I think I’ve made it clear that I wanted to hold one referendum while I was prime minister and we did that.
It’s a step up in language, with the PM having previously left the door open to another referendum in a future term, but without specifying a timeline.
On Friday, Albanese said:
I’ve said very clearly, I have no plans to have a referendum during this term.
Today, Albanese broadened that to the entirety of his leadership.
PM brushes off Coalition criticism for attending UK Labour party’s national conference
Returning to Albanese’s appearance on Sky News this morning, the PM has shrugged off criticism from the Coalition that he is spending too much time engaging in international diplomacy after he attended the UK Labour party’s national conference.
What I do is work very hard representing Australia.
He said the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, had invited him to attend the conference, and he had also held meetings with the leader of the Conservatives, as well as the heads of Spain, Iceland and Canada.
In Liverpool, I’ll be having discussions with ministers, not just with prime minister Starmer, about Aukus and about that progress, taking the opportunity to sit down with government ministers.
Asked about whether Australia’s immigration policies have helped his government retain its popularity when other progressive leaders appeared to be struggling against a challenge from the far right, Albanese said he would leave “he commentating to the commentators”.
I think you can be strong on borders without being weak on humanity, and that’s what drives my government.
PM says he will not criticise Trump as ‘we respect’ autonomy of other nations but expects ‘that to be returned’
Challenged by Speers on whether the PM’s stated position means “no criticism of this sort of behaviour” from the Trump administration – that is, the targeting of political opponents with legal charges – Albanese says that “what it means is that we respect the fact that elected governments are allowed to govern their own nations”.
And I’m not going to run a running commentary on US domestic politics, because my priority is governing Australia in the interests of Australians.
Albanese said he did not feel the need to enter his planned meeting with Trump with an offering but would treat him “with the respect that the president of the United States deserves”.
And I expect that to be returned. And certainly, the indications are – we’ve had five either phone conversations or greetings in person now, and they’ve all been warm, constructive, positive and optimistic. And I think that it is in both Australia’s interests and the interests of the United States that we continue to have a good relationship. And I’m sure that we will.
The PM appeared to imply that Australia’s resources may make for a more attractive relationship with the US, and that he had already discussed supplies of critical minerals with the UK government.
Albanese said that stockpiles of critical minerals could become a “second pillar” of the Aukus agreement, saying “there’s a connection obviously with defence, but there’s also civil use of critical minerals and rare earths.”
So what we’re talking about here is not giving anything to anyone – even our friends. What we are talking about is making sure that we maximise the return to Australia of that, but that we also make sure that we play a role in those international markets.
Albanese says he ‘respects the positions’ of Trump and Farage on immigration despite holding ‘very different views’
Responding to criticism from Nigel Farage that Albanese may not be willing to meet the Reform leader, the prime minister points to recent meetings with the UK prime minister and the leader of the Conservatives, saying: “I haven’t been invited to meet Nigel Farage.”
I’m aware of his views. We would have very different views. Were he ever to be in a position, I respect people’s positions. And I engage with them.
Asked about Donald Trump’s nearly hour-long speech to the United Nations, Albanese says: “It’s not my job to give a critique of other leaders.”
My job is to govern in Australia’s national interest. And part of what we’ve done is to be strong on borders without being weak on humanity.
Pushed on this, Albanese says he “respects the positions” that Donald Trump and Nigel Farage hold.
The truth is that around the world, people want – including in Australia – people want borders to be controlled. They want control over their migration system. That’s a way that you build support for migration as well. It’s why my Government has been concerned about that. It’s why we’ve continued Operation Sovereign Borders. That’s why no one who has arrived by boat or attempted to arrive by boat since I’ve been prime minister has been permitted to stay in Australia.
It is suggested that this statement conflicts with the PM’s earlier statements that Australia needs to stand up for the rule of law, given the Trump administration’s targeting of former FBI director James Comey.
Well, what we don’t need to do is to interfere in the domestic politics of another nation. What we need to do is to stand up for our own values in the way that we govern Australia. And we do that. We speak out about what our values are, and we govern Australia accordingly.
Albanese plans to build stronger partnerships with ‘like-minded’ UK and Canada in ‘turbulent’ world
Albanese says Australia is looking to build stronger relationships with other “like-minded countries” such as the UK and Canada, which, as Commonwealth countries, have been historical partners.
Referring to his United Nations address, Albanese said it “was a real opportunity for us to put Australia’s philosophical position, if you like, about our place in the world and the way we want to operate”.
And the rule of law is important that there be guardrails. And the fact that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is, perhaps, a very acute example of where the international rule of law if it’s just allowed to occur. A nation attacking a sovereign nation in the way that that occurred. Australia has an interest in upholding international norms and rules.
Asked for his thoughts on the anti-immigrant politics being promoted by Nigel Farage, Albanese says the “world is very turbulent at the moment” and that “it is the case that sometimes people look for easy answers, that their lot in life is difficult because of people who aren’t like them.”
And the politics of grievance, of course, are always easy. It’s easier to tear things down than it is to build them up. The job of social democrats is to build things, to create, to appeal to optimism and hope, which is a powerful force, but sometimes, fear can be also a force that gets support.
Asked whether these concerns, particularly on immigration, are “legitimate”, Albanese said:
Look, people’s concerns are always having to be considered. And respected. You’ve got to go to where people are and the way that they are thinking. You can’t just dismiss that. You have to respond to that, and indeed, try to anticipate that in some ways. So I think that that is important. That was part of the discussion yesterday, which was very much philosophical, if you like, about the way that the world can move forward in a more united way.
PM repeats ‘Australia punches above our weight’ on global stage talking point on morning TV interviews
Asked whether he sees a “greater or broader” role for Australia in international affairs beyond the regional focus that characterised the first term Albanese government, the PM says “Australia punches above our weight” – a repeat of talking points he shared with Sky News earlier on Sunday morning.
That’s very clear to me when I have the honour of representing Australia in international forums. I think that we primarily have to concentrate on our region in the Pacific, with Asean. I think that that is where our focus should be.
But we have three pillars essentially to our international affairs. Our alliance with the United States. Our regional engagement. But the third as well is our support for multilateralism, of which we have a proud history.
And part of that is that in today’s world, the land war in Europe with the Russia invasion of Ukraine has made a difference to the price of goods on supermarket shelves in Australia, because of energy crisis that arose in part out of that.
The combination of this directly inform how Australia is engaging with a more “turbulent” world.
And that’s why we can’t afford to be isolationist. That’s why we have to be concerned about the state of the world.
Albanese rules out republic referendum after meeting King Charles
The prime minister says his personal invitation to Balmoral Castle to meet King Charles was “a personal honour, but really an honour for Australia as well”.
In an interview on ABC Insiders with host David Speers, Anthony Albanese has refused to provide any detail on his conversation with King Charles, instead describing in general terms how the two “discussed world affairs” and “had a rather wonderful lunch”.
This all sounds very pleasant, but he didn’t provide much detail for an Australian public who may want to know what their head of state and prime minister discussed at lunch.
Albanese did, however, rule out any referendum on Australia becoming a republic.
I’ve made it clear that I wanted to hold one referendum while I was prime minister, and we did that.
Now the PM says his government will concentrate on the cost of living and “making a real, practical difference to people’s lives”.
Albanese praises King Charles and describes ‘warm’ relationship with Trump
Anthony Albanese has spoken about his “warm” and “respectful” conversations with King Charles and Donald Trump, after a big week on the global stage.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday morning, the prime minister said he would respect “protocol” and not share the details of his conversations with the king, describing it as an “honour” for a “one-on-one meeting, but also a very nice lunch” with the English monarch and Australia’s head of state.
Protocol requires that those discussions remain quiet. I respect that protocol, but his majesty is, as you will see from his public comments, someone who is interested in Australia. He is interested in the state of the world … and the future of the world, including for younger generations.
He’s someone who I take a great deal of benefit from his insights into issues, and it’s always good to have these one-on-one discussions with him.
Asked about his engagement with Trump, given their sharply contrasting worldviews, Albanese emphasised his “very warm” relationship with the US president and praised his “very generous” comments after his election win earlier this year.
He described the relationship between Australia and the US as “not a relationship of unequals”, saying that Australia “punches above its weight”.
Anthony Albanese meets King Charles at Balmoral
Anthony Albanese has met King Charles at Balmoral Castle, attending a private audience with the monarch at the historic estate in Scotland.
On the second full day of his visit to the UK, and before visiting Liverpool for the Labour party’s annual conference, the Australian prime minister flew from London to the Scottish Highlands to meet the monarch.
Albanese and his partner, Jodie Haydon, presented the king with a photo of his visit to Australia with Queen Camilla in October 2024.
The royals are pictured signing the visitor’s book at Parliament House in Canberra. The frame is made from Australian timber.
Albanese had previously met the king in London when he attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. Albanese also visited for the king’s coronation in May 2023.
For more on this story, read the full report from Guardian Australia’s Tom McIlroy, reporting from London:
Albanese speaks to media after royal meeting in Scotland
Prime minister Anthony Albanese is in Scotland where he has given an interview to ABC Insiders host David Speers following his meeting with King Charles, which will air later this morning.
Albanese has already sat down for an interview with Sky News that was aired earlier on Sunday morning.
He was followed by Coalition senator Michaelia Cash.
We will bring you more from those interviews shortly.
Good morning
And welcome to another Sunday morning Guardian live blog.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is in Scotland where he has met with King Charles, capping off a week of international diplomacy. Earlier this week the PM addressed the UN and met briefly with US president Donald Trump.
Brisbane Lions fans have had a big night celebrating their back-to-back AFL grand final win in a crushing 47-point victory over the Geelong Cats. The win continues the Lions’ dominance after a similarly overwhelming 60-point demolition of the Sydney Swans last year.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
With that, let’s get started …
