Australia news LIVE: Israel preparing for hostage release as Trump visits Middle East; Opposition Leader’s approval ratings tank, new polling finds

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7.19am

Rishworth criticises Lidia Thorpe’s ‘inappropriate’ comments at protest

By Emily Kaine

Minister for Workplace Relations and Employment Amanda Rishworth has criticised Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe’s comments at a pro-Palestine protest over the weekend, where she declared she would “burn down Parliament House to make a point” if she had to.

“It’s clearly inappropriate,” Rishworth told Nine’s Today this morning.

“People have the right to protest, but it must be done in a respectful way. And of course, any comments that inflame violence and hatred are inappropriate. I mean, I think if fighting can stop in the Middle East, we need to make sure that we are turning the temperature down here at home. And of course, people want to see the end of the violence, and don’t want to see tensions brought here into Australia.”

Asked whether pro-Palestinian protesters should stop their demonstrations now that a preliminary ceasefire deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas, Rishworth insisted that people still have the right to protest.

“But we do need to make sure it doesn’t inflame hatred and violence. And I think that’s the core of it,” she said.

7.04am

Social media giants to meet with Wells this week on under-16s social media ban

By Michelle Griffin

Social media giants Meta, Tiktok, YouTube and Snapchat are all meeting with Communications Minister Anika Wells this week to get their marching orders on shutting down the accounts of any child under the age of 16 from December 10 – just under two months away.

Wells won’t catch up until November with Elon Musk’s outfit X, which has described the imminent world-first ban as a breach of free speech rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. They also estimate that less than 1 per cent of their users are under 16.

Communications Minister Anika Wells will meet with social media giants this week.

The key item on Wells’ agenda is to demand that the social media platforms are ban-ready by December 10, as the government’s ad campaign about the ban rolls out later this week.

The new laws do not punish under-age children – or their parents – if the ban is circumvented, but the big corporations face fines of up to $59 million if they don’t take “reasonable steps” to lock Australians out until they turn 16.

Last Thursday, e-Safety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant told Senate estimates there were “no significant technological barriers” to implementing the ban, although initial reports from a trial flagged problems accurately pinpointing users’ ages without requiring government ID.

6.46am

Opposition leader’s approval ratings tank

By James Massola

Australians have slashed their approval of Sussan Ley’s performance after a month of Liberal Party instability, leaks, resignations and sackings, in findings that will pile pressure on the opposition leader and increase speculation about her political future.

Just 33 per cent of voters rated Ley’s performance as either good or very good – a fall of 8 per cent in a single month – while 38 per cent rated her performance as either poor or very poor, up from 32 per cent last month. The finding delivers a net rating of minus 5 for Ley – down from plus 9 last month in a 14 percentage-point decline, well beyond the margin for error.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s performance rating also went backwards: 41 per cent of voters said his performance was good or very good – down from 44 per cent last month – and 47 per cent said it was bad or very bad, up from 45 per cent last month. That is a net drop of five percentage points and a net rating of minus 6, also outside the margin of error.

Nevertheless, as Ley’s approval ratings fell further, Albanese’s lead over her as preferred prime minister has increased by five percentage points in the past month, from 38-26 to 40-23, a net lead of 17 percentage points.

Labor’s primary vote fell from 35 per cent to 34 per cent over the past month – a movement within the margin of error, but it is the second month in a row in which the government lost ground – while the Coalition’s vote rose by one percentage point from 27 to 28 per cent this month after falling by two points last month.

Read the full report here.

6.46am

Trump expecting to greet freed Israeli hostages after release, Vance says

By Angus Thompson and David Crowe

Israel is preparing for the release of the 20 living hostages held captive by Hamas, as US President Donald Trump travels to the Middle East to commemorate the ceasefire.

The Trump administration has said the president is expected to greet the hostages after they are handed over.

Speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, US Vice President JD Vance said Trump was planning to “greet the hostages Monday morning Middle Eastern time”.

Holding up signs with images depicting the U.S. President Donald Trump, people take part in a rally in support of hostages kidnapped by Hamas, at a plaza known as hostages square in Tel Aviv, Israel.

“You can’t say [it will occur] exactly the moment they will be released, but we have every expectation - that’s why the president is going - that he will be greeting the hostages early next week,” Vance said.

Billboards and placards were set up in Tel Aviv praising Trump, who is also expected to meet with families of hostages and speak at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, according to a schedule released by the White House.

6.45am

What’s making news today

By Emily Kaine

Good morning and welcome to our national news live blog for Monday, October 13. My name is Emily Kaine, and I’ll be helming our coverage this morning. Here’s what is making news today.

Israel is preparing for the release of the 20 living hostages held captive by Hamas. The Trump administration has said the US president is expected to greet the hostages after they are handed over, as he travels to the Middle East to commemorate the ceasefire. Speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, US Vice President JD Vance said Donald Trump was planning to “greet the hostages Monday morning Middle Eastern time”.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s approval ratings have tanked following a month of instability, leaks, resignations and sackings within the Liberal Party, this masthead’s Resolve Political Monitor found. Just 33 per cent of voters rated Ley’s performance as either good or very good – a fall of 8 per cent in a single month – while 38 per cent rated her performance as either poor or very poor, up from 32 per cent last month. The finding delivers a net rating of minus 5 for Ley – down from plus 9 last month in a 14 percentage-point decline, well beyond the margin for error.
Social media giants Meta, TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat are all meeting with Communications Minister Anika Wells this week to get their marching orders on shutting down the accounts of any child under the age of 16 from December 10 – just under two months away. The key item on Wells’ agenda is to demand that the social media platforms are ban-ready by December 10, as the government’s ad campaign about the ban rolls out later this week. Wells won’t catch up until November with X’s Elon Musk.