News and politics recap: Luke Gosling to contest assault charges as pressure grows on PM

We are wrapping up another day of our live coverage of Australia’s news and politics.

Thank you for following our blog updates. Join us again tomorrow as we bring you the latest news and events as they happen.

In the meantime, read the latest edition of The Nightly here.

Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart is suing the ABC over a Race Around The World episode where a contestant made a satirical video fantasising about committing an act of sexualised violence on the billionaire mining magnate.

Her company Hancock Prospecting has informed the ABC board it had taken legal action over the July 12 episode featuring filmmaker Kate McGuinness that was still on the national broadcaster’s website on Friday.

“Hancock called upon the ABC to immediately remove the material from ABC platforms, publicly apologise to Mrs Rinehart, and undertake a comprehensive investigation into how the material came to be commissioned, approved and published, together with full accountability for those responsible,” it said in a statement on Friday.

“One week has now elapsed. The ABC’s Board and senior management have provided no substantive public response, nor any substantive response to Hancock or Mrs Rinehart, and have take no steps to remove the material from ABC platforms, despite widespread public condemnation and the serious risks its publication and continued publication pose to Mrs Rinehart.”

Hancock Prospecting, where Mrs Rinehart is executive chairman, has given legal notice to ABC chairman Kim Williams, deputy chair Lisa Caffery and managing director Hugh Marks alleging the ABC had breached multiple Australian criminal and civil laws by continuing to publish that segment.

Read the full story here.

Federal Labor MP Luke Gosling has declared he will contest charges he assaulted the Northern Territory Adminstrator following a bail hearing in Darwin.

The Member for Solomon has been banned from coming within 50 metres of the Northern Territory’s Government House after facing court over the incident earlier this month.

“I have spoken with the Prime Minister and just been clear that I’m going to contest these allegations and that I will continue to serve,” Mr Gosling told reporters outside court.

Federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor says the Coalition would slash “wasteful bureaucracy” if elected to government.

In the latest installment of the Coalition’s criticism of the public service, Mr Taylor made the comments at a Brisbane business forum earlier in the week.

“Wasteful bureaucracy has to go. I’ve been fighting it a lot in life, and I hate it with a passion,” Mr Taylor said, according to the Canberra Times.

“We know there’s some areas where it can go immediately. The net zero bureaucracy, gone, a housing bureaucracy that’s not delivering another house, housing construction’s gone backwards, gone.

“These are the areas where we know we can immediately get rid of bureaucratic waste, which is not necessary in this country.”

One Nation plans to introduce its upper house candidates for the Victorian election on Monday evening in Melbourne, an important first step towards contesting an election that polls suggest could leave it with the balance of power.

The party’s website is advertising a $120-a-head function at an undisclosed location in the suburb of Hawthorn that will feature leader Pauline Hanson, who has called Victoria a “basket case” and said the party has received more than 1000 applications from would-be candidates.

“This special event offers the opportunity to hear directly from Senator Pauline Hanson about the future of Victoria, meet the candidates standing for the 2026 Victorian State Election, and connect with fellow supporters,” the website says.

A One Nation spokesman declined to comment and the party’s Victorian president could not be reached for comment.

With just under four months until the state election, One Nation has not appointed a state leader or published any state-specific policies.

​Read the full story here.​

A record low proportion of Australians are switching jobs in a sign that workers are scared of being retrenched during a cost-of-living crisis and an AI revolution.

A million Australians changed jobs in the year to February 2026, making up just 7.2 per cent of the labour force or the lowest number in Australian Bureau of Statistics data going back to 1972.

This marked a sharp drop from 7.7 per cent from February 2025.

As recently as 2023, during the global “great resignation” phenomenon, almost one in ten workers had switched jobs that year but that rate has been falling since 2024.

Fears about another interest rate rise during a cost-of-living crisis were especially discouraging workers paying off high mortgage and bank debt levels from seeking alternative employment, University of Sydney labour market researcher Professor John Buchanan said.

“They’re uncertain and scared, totally,” he told The Nightly.

Read the full story here.

Concerns are growing for a critical Australian sea lion colony after a bird flu case was confirmed near the endangered species’ key breeding site.

A suspected case has also been found in a seagull in South Australia in what experts described as a “watershed moment”.

Four new cases of the strain - all in greater crested terns - have been confirmed on South Australia’s Kangaroo Island, taking the national tally to 33.

Three are at D’Estrees Bay while the other is at Seal Bay, an Australian sea lion breeding site on the island’s southern coastline.

The suspected seagull case in SA was reported at Robe in the state’s south-east, which Invasive Species Council chief executive Jack Gough said was “a watershed moment”.

​Read the full story here.​

Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has moved to reshape the State’s top ranks of the public service, appointing Treasury boss Chris Barrett as the new head of the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

The appointment, announced on Friday, will see Mr Barrett replace Jeremi Moule as secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet from Monday, marking one of the first major administrative changes under Mr Carroll’s leadership.

Mr Barrett has spent more than 20 years in the public service, holding senior roles across Victoria, Canberra and overseas. He is currently the secretary of the Department of Treasury and Finance.

“He brings to the role deep experience leading a major Victorian department, many years of public service in Canberra and representing Australia overseas, and a strong understanding of the state’s priorities,” Mr Carroll said.

“As Secretary, Mr Barrett will play a critical role in advising and supporting the government to deliver its priorities, providing trusted advice, strengthening whole-of-government coordination and leading the VPS in serving the community with integrity, professionalism and excellence.

“I would like to thank outgoing DPC Secretary Jeremi Moule for his significant contribution to Victorian public service.”

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government has welcomed the developments in Gaza.

It was announced on Friday morning by Donald Trump that a “historic” agreement had been reached to secure the complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza

“Australia wants to see the implementation of the Gaza peace plan, which has been endorsed by the United Nations Security Council,” Senator Wong said.

“We have been clear that Hamas must disarm and play no role in the State of Palestine and we welcome any progress towards this outcome.

“There is a long road to recovery in Gaza, securing long-term peace for Israelis and Palestinians, and building a successful Palestinian state that delivers for the Palestinian people.”

Two accused ISIS brides have been committed to stand trial as their cases are fast-tracked to the Supreme Court.

Kawsar Ahmad, 54, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmad, 31, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court via video link on Friday as they entered their “not guilty” pleas.

The two women were charged with slavery offences in May after returning to Australia with other family members of former Islamic State fighters.

It’s alleged Kawsar migrated to the Middle Eastern country to join IS with her husband Mohammed, Zeinab and their other children about January 2015.

It’s alleged while in Syria in 2017, Mohammed bought a teenage girl as a slave for $US10,000 ($A14,237).

Read the full story here.