Australia news LIVE: PM arrives in Fiji to sign new security pact; Labor’s gambling ad reform blasted

Good morning and welcome to our national news live coverage for Monday, July 6. Here’s what’s making headlines today.

• Politics: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to seal a major new security pact with Fiji today, kicking off a three-day diplomatic blitz aimed at boosting regional ties and countering China’s influence in the Pacific. The PM has also apologised after saying he wanted to “shag” Kylie Minogue in a crude podcast game.
• Gambling reform: Prominent gambling reform advocate Tim Costello has blasted the government’s new advertising rules for streaming services as being much worse than the status quo, and favourite betting companies over families.
• Crime: Cartels are flooding Australia with cocaine from genetically modified super coca plants. The drug is becoming so common that supply may soon outstrip demand.
• UK: A friendship with a crypto millionaire has sparked a furore over British politician Nigel Farage after he chose not to disclose help from the gambler who served time in prison in America for money laundering.
• World Cup: Norway has knocked Brazil out of the World Cup. England plays Mexico from 10am (AEST) for a place in quarterfinals. Follow live.

In an appearance on Today, the opposition leader swung behind the campaign to ensure Australian creatives are paid properly when their work is used by artificial intelligence.

“We’ve got to … make sure the copyright laws are right so it’s not stealing from Australian creators and creatives, that’s incredibly important, so it’s supporting people in their jobs. We want people to be able to get more done in their jobs, you know why? Because they can be paid more then,” Angus Taylor said.

“That’s how we get prosperity. So we’ve got to use it for our benefit, not have it use us for its benefit. That’s pretty straightforward.”

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor says the Liberal party has no plan to be part of a coalition with One Nation.

“We want to win the next election.” he said on Nine’s Today. “I should say, by the way, to people watching, it’s still a couple of years away. It’s a long way away. You’re talking as though it’s happening tomorrow. It’s not. So, yeah, breathe out.

“But we’ve got no plan to enter into a coalition with One Nation. Our plan is to win outright.”

Taylor is about to embark on a tour of Coalition seats seen as under threat from Hanson’s ascendant party, to argue the case for the traditional opposition.

He ran through his pitch during the interview: “a strong direction, lower taxes, lower energy costs, more houses, immigration levels capped based on housing supply, putting Australians first. That’s how we’ll win the next election, with that plan and with a strong team.”

Appropriate protections will be in place for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he visits Australia this week, after Indian media reported authorities are investigating online death threats made against him, Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles said.

Asked about the reports on the ABC, Marles said:

I wouldn’t go into the details of security arrangements for foreign dignitaries, other than to say that they are taken completely seriously, and we have the best agencies in the world protecting those who visit our country, and the appropriate protections will be in place for Prime Minister Modi’s visit.

That’s the important point to make here. In terms of the details of any specifics, that’s obviously not something we talk about publicly.

Defence Minister Richard Marles noted Anthony Albanese engaged in an interview of a “different nature” when asked whether the prime minister playing a game of “shag, date or marry” on a comedy podcast was appropriate.

“There are occasions where you do interviews which are of a different nature than the one that you and I are doing in a serious sense,” the deputy prime minister told the ABC’s Sally Sara on Radio National, noting Albanese had apologised unequivocally for agreeing he would “shag” Kylie Minogue.

Politicians have increasingly turned to independent and influencer-led podcasts to appeal to younger voters.

Albanese granted “Bushie”, aka comedian and host of the Deep Bush podcast Nikki Osborne, access to The Lodge for a rare 20-minute sit-down interview released last week.

Marles, who is the acting prime minister while Albanese is overseas this week, went on to defend the government’s record on women’s equality.

“The government the prime minister leads is the first government in our nation’s history which has had an equality in terms of the numbers of men and women in cabinet. It’s the first government ever to have had a majority of women in the caucus.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has apologised after saying he wanted to “shag” Kylie Minogue in a crude podcast game.

The prime minister’s office issued a brief statement on Monday: “I apologise unequivocally for the comments.”

Albanese granted “Bushie”, aka comedian and host of the Deep Bush podcast Nikki Osborne, access to The Lodge for a rare 20-minute sit-down interview in which the pair discussed the prime minister’s sex life and played bogan-slang Scrabble.

Osborne asked Albanese if he would “shag, date or marry” Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman or Rhonda Burchmore.

One Nation’s Barnaby Joyce has angrily lashed the prime minister after Anthony Albanese branded criticism of the budget as “barely coherent noise from the usual suspects” at NSW Labor’s state conference over the weekend.

In a clash on Sunrise this morning, Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said Albanese was referring to the “high-profile critics” often aligned with the Coalition and One Nation, but Joyce insisted the comment was dismissing small business owners who oppose the controversial tax changes.

“What a disgraceful way to talk about the people who drive our economy. Why don’t you listen to us? Why don’t you go to the book called ‘respect’, have a little bit of a read?” Joyce said.

“What actually happened is you ran out of money, and then you went for a massive tax grab, and you just … tell riddles about exactly what you’re up to. You’re a hopeless economic manager, and you’ve run out of money, and you’ve gone to small businesses who drive our economy [and] taken their money.”

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek has defended the government’s record on women’s rights and equality after she was asked if Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should apologise for entertaining a game of “shag, marry, date” during a podcast interview.

Appearing on the “Bush Deep” comedy podcast last week in an episode filmed in The Lodge, Albanese was asked if he would “shag, date or marry” Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman and Rhonda Burchmore.

“I’ve just got married, I’m only six months in,” Albanese responded. Pressed by host Nikki Osborne, he said “Kylie, clearly”.

“You’d marry Kylie, and shag her, and date her?” Osborne asked.

Prominent gambling reform advocate Tim Costello has blasted the government’s new advertising rules for streaming services as being much worse than the status quo, accusing Labor of removing existing protections to favour sports betting companies at the expense of families.

Some Labor MPs are also concerned that the new laws for streamers represent a backwards step, after this masthead reported that Labor’s long-awaited gambling package will override the current advertising blackout for live sport streamed online between 5am and 8.30pm.

Instead, Labor’s changes will allow digital platforms to start showing registered adult users unlimited gambling ads at half-time and quarter-time breaks unless they opt out – a move critics warn will flood streaming services with betting advertisements.

Costello, the chief advocate of the Gambling Reform Alliance, described the carve-out for streaming services as “the most generous gift to the sports betting companies I have ever seen”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to seal a major new security pact with Fiji on Monday, the first move in a three-day diplomatic blitz aimed at boosting regional ties and countering China’s influence in the Pacific.

Albanese landed in Suva on Sunday night to sign the new “Vuvale Union” with Fijian prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who leads one of the Pacific’s most populous nations.

He will head to the Solomon Islands on Tuesday to drive forward negotiations on a new comprehensive treaty with recently elected prime minister Matthew Wale.

Wale, who is also chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, last month vowed to review the country’s controversial security agreement with China and promised a “reset” in the relationship with Australia after years of tension and distrust.

Albanese’s round of Pacific security talks will continue on Wednesday when the leaders of Papua New Guinea and Tonga visit Brisbane for the State of Origin decider. Ahead of the match, Albanese will hold bilateral meetings with each of the leaders to discuss regional security, trade and economic growth.

Read more.

Good morning and welcome to our national news live coverage for Monday, July 6. Here’s what’s making headlines today.

• Politics: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to seal a major new security pact with Fiji today, kicking off a three-day diplomatic blitz aimed at boosting regional ties and countering China’s influence in the Pacific. The PM has also apologised after saying he wanted to “shag” Kylie Minogue in a crude podcast game.
• Gambling reform: Prominent gambling reform advocate Tim Costello has blasted the government’s new advertising rules for streaming services as being much worse than the status quo, and favourite betting companies over families.
• Crime: Cartels are flooding Australia with cocaine from genetically modified super coca plants. The drug is becoming so common that supply may soon outstrip demand.
• UK: A friendship with a crypto millionaire has sparked a furore over British politician Nigel Farage after he chose not to disclose help from the gambler who served time in prison in America for money laundering.
• World Cup: Norway has knocked Brazil out of the World Cup. England plays Mexico from 10am (AEST) for a place in quarterfinals. Follow live.