Australia news LIVE: IS brides would go to jail in Australia to get children out of Syria; Pauline Hanson calls for referendum to avoid hate speech laws

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has just emerged after hours of testifying to US Congress in a private hearing amid probes into the Epstein files.

“I have just finished testifying, I answered every single one of my questions as fully as I could based on what I knew. … I never met Jeffrey Epstein, never had any connection or communication with him. I knew Ghislaine Maxwell casually as an acquaintance, but whatever they asked me, I did my very best to respond,” she told reporters.

Clinton said she was “disappointed” her requests for a public hearing were knocked back.

“It was disappointing that they refused to hold a public hearing so I wouldn’t have to be out here characterising it for you. We had asked for that.”

Clinton also claimed she was asked questions about UFO’s, and the Pizzagate conspiracy, which she called “the most vile, bogus conspiracy theories that was propagated on the internet that was serving as the basis of a member’s questions to me.”

“They asked literally the same questions over and over again … There were other questions that were totally off subject,” said a frustrated Clinton, before ending the short press conference.

During his appearance on 2GB earlier this morning, Angus Taylor also took aim at Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke for his “close relationship” with Jamal Rifi, the doctor trying to repatriate the cohort of Australian women and children stuck in a detainment camp in Syria.

“Jamal Rifi is a close political ally of Tony Burke, and he has clearly been assisting repatriation of these women, playing a significant role in trying to get them back … there’s serious questions here, not just for Jamal Rifi, but also for Tony Burke.

“Burke is hopelessly conflicted as minister on this issue because of his close personal relationship with Rifi,” Taylor said.

The opposition leader also expressed his concerns about the potential “radicalisation” of the women and children.

Taylor is in western Sydney today for a morning tea with the Assyrian community, who he said were “deeply concerned about the ISIS brides coming back into their communities”.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has said this morning that former Australian of the Year Grace Tame “got it wrong” when she chanted “globalise the intifada” at a protest against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

Asked by host Ben Fordham what he thought of the prime minister calling Tame “difficult” during a word association game, Taylor said:

“Look, at the end of the day, she said that, she was chanting, globalise the intifada. Now, globalising the intifada is a call to violence. That’s what it is. She said it unambiguously, and the prime minister could not condemn her. And frankly, that’s not good enough. He lacks moral clarity in the way he approaches these issues. It’s simple, if someone calls for violence, you condemn it.”

Yesterday, during a press conference, Albanese apologised for the “difficult” comment, and said he meant that Tame had had a “difficult life”. He also went on to say he disagreed with the chants she made at the protest.

The prime minister’s comment has been widely condemned by supporters of Tame, and a variety of federal MPs, as well as by the activist herself who called his apology “condescending”.

Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume has called a proposal to limit negative gearing to two investment properties “ridiculous”.

“Why is it that every single problem that Australia has today can be solved by Labor through taxing it? This is ridiculous. If you tax something, you get less of it,” Hume told Sunrise.

Treasury is modelling the measure as an option for reform in the May budget, according to The Australian.

“If I’m a landlord and you tax me more, I’m going to push the rents up,” she said. Asked about the argument that limiting negative gearing – an incentive that allows investors to offset property costs against income – would free up housing supply for first home buyers, Hume said increasing supply by building more homes was the answer.

“We all know that supply is the problem in housing. It’s not how much you’re taxed. And all this… flying of kites around this tax, and that tax – this is just Labor paving the way to increase taxes on Australians,” she said.

Health Minister Mark Butler would not weigh in on how seriously the reform was being considered, but reiterated the government was committed to levelling the playing field for younger Australians.

“As we head into the 10 weeks leading into the budget, there’s a veritable tsunami of articles speculating about what we might or might not be considering,” he said, appearing alongside Hume on Sunrise this morning.

“We’ve been very clear about our tax policies. We’ve been clear about our housing policies… but we’ve also been clear that we think there is an issue around young Australians ...breaking into the housing system.”

Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain says elected officials, including the prime minister, should refrain from participating in word-association games after Anthony Albanese faced backlash for calling Grace Tame “difficult” in one such game on Wednesday.

Asked on ABC’s News Breakfast about her personal reaction to Albanese labelling Tame as difficult, McBain said, “It’s hard to describe anyone in one word, and, you know, we probably should refrain from partaking in some of those word association games.

“The meaning probably wasn’t what he intended.”

Pressed on Tame’s response to Albanese’s apology, in which she called the PM “condescending”, McBain said, “I think he understands that, you know, perhaps it wasn’t the greatest choice of words.”

She went on to praise the work Tame has done in “raising the standard across every state and territory to make sure that child sex offenders are named and shamed in our community, that we know who they are.

“She’s done some really amazing work … I think she’s been quite a warrior in this.”

Trade Minister Don Farrell said the US Supreme Court striking down President Donald Trump’s blanket tariffs substantiated Australia’s argument against the measure.

“The decision by the highest court in the United States to remove those tariffs really does vindicate our position,” Farrell said.

“Obviously, America is a very important ally for Australia, but they have to honour the terms of our [free trade] agreement.”

The senator, who is in the US this week, said he would not be distracted by the threat of a 15 per cent rate, and would focus on arguing for a complete removal of the tariffs on Australian goods.

“My argument to my counterpart tomorrow will be that we want these tariffs removed, firstly, because it’s in Australia’s interest to have them removed because it simply pushes up the price of our product in the United States, but it also pushes up the cost of living for ordinary Americans,” he said.

“I think as time goes by, it will be increasingly clear to the American government that the actions they’ve taken have taken them down the wrong track.”

Health Minister Mark Butler said this morning the government’s position on a cohort of 34 Islamic State-linked brides and their children seeking to return home to Australia has not changed.

Appearing on Seven’s Sunrise program, Butler repeated the stance that the government has provided no assistance to the group, insisting it would not be involved in their repatriation whatsoever.

“The position very clearly hasn’t changed. Over those couple of weeks we’ve been talking about this. We are not going to provide taxpayer resources to help these women come back to Australia,” he said.

Sunrise host Natalie Barr said Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke had refused to appear on the program, claiming Channel 7 had asked him for an interview every day this week.

Appearing alongside Butler was Liberal deputy leader Jane Hume, who accused Burke of shirking his responsibility to keep the Australian people safe.

Yesterday, this masthead reported that the mothers in the IS-linked cohort would willingly go to prison in Australia if it meant getting their children out of Syria.

Michelle Rowland said the government would work with its parliamentary counterparts to prevent an inquiry into laws being rushed through next week that would make it easier for intelligence officers to speak to the antisemitism royal commission.

“We don’t think there is a need for a separate parliamentary inquiry,” the attorney-general told Radio National.

Commissioner Virginia Bell reported delays this week in receiving information from relevant agencies as they sought legal advice on how to interact with the royal commission.

“We are going to bring this forward as a matter of urgency, and I think it’s the interests of all of the parliament to support this,” Rowland said.

“We’ve been working closely with the royal commission so that it’s got all the tools that it needs to discharge its functions. And given the subject matter, it is really critical that our national intelligence community can provide that information to the royal commission, either voluntarily or compulsorily, without the concern that that’s going to enliven criminal secrecy offences.”

Staying with the attorney-general, Rowland says the timeline for the royal commission into antisemitism launched this week is ambitious, but she is confident commissioner Virginia Bell would conduct a thorough investigation by the December deadline.

“We are very pleased that commissioner Bell has stated that she will meet those timeframes.

“Commissioner Bell has made it clear that whilst those time frames are ambitious, they are going to be met, and the limitation of scope is just a consequence that will have to be lived with by those who had hoped it might look more broadly,” she told ABC Radio National this morning.

“This is an area where Australians want to have not only a thorough investigation, but also that there be closure, that there be recommendations, and that they be done consistent with the timeframe that was set out.”

Rowland said the interim report by security expert Dennis Richardson remained urgent and there was “no indication” the government would defer the report.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland will meet with her state counterparts today to discuss combatting hate speech, including antisemitism, online.

“At our last meeting in the wake of the Bondi terrorist attack, it was very important for states to bring forward not only initiatives that they wanted to focus on, but how we can renew our shared commitment to protect all Australians from the spread of hate, regardless of where they live,” Rowland told ABC Radio National.

She said they would hear from the government’s antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal and eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant.

“It will be most beneficial today to hear directly from them, because, of course, all states are looking at ways in which they can keep their citizens safe, and it’s important we do this in a coordinated way.”