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Topic:Government and Politics

Link copiedShareShare articleThe federal government is urging people protesting against the visit of Israel's president to be respectful, after clashes between police and demonstrators at a Sydney rally on Monday evening.

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Submit a comment or question Log in to commentLive updatesLatestOldestKey Event2m agoMon 9 Feb 2026 at 10:25pmAussies engaging in 'middle finger voting' towards Coalition: WilsonCBy Courtney Gould

Record-low polling for the Coalition is being described as a case of "middle finger voting" by Liberal frontbencher Tim Wilson. 

The shadow industrial relations minister blamed the lack of focus on delivering for Australians as the reason behind why One Nation has surged above the Coalition in recent opinion polls.

Speaking with Sky News, Wilson said his party needed to do better.

"It's not about us," he said.

Asked directly about speculation of a challenge to Sussan Ley's leadership, Wilson said he was not "specifically aware" of numbers being counted.

"But there'll always be numbers being counted behind the scenes. This is politics," he said.

So will he be backing Ley or Angus Taylor? He responds that he "backs the leader" and "that's not going to change".

On if he has his own leadership ambitions, Wilson said he's "ambitious for Australia" but he's happy to "do whatever role the party decides that I should do".

ReactReact34m agoMon 9 Feb 2026 at 9:54pmDuniam calls for Taylor to make challenge intentions clearCBy Courtney Gould

Liberal frontbencher Jonathon Duniam has called on colleague Angus Taylor to make it clear whether he's looking to challenge Sussan Ley's leadership.

"I'll let Angus speak for himself on that. If he's interested, then he needs to make that clear. That's something that he should be putting on record," he told ABC's AM.

Duniam was one of the four senior conservative MPs who attended a meeting at a suburban Melbourne home to decide who would be the Right faction's candidate in any challenge.

The meeting took place ahead of a memorial for late Liberal MP Katie Allen. 

Speaking on Sky News, Duniam said he wanted the speculation put to bed by the end of the week so the Coalition can focus on holding the government to account.

Listen back to political reporter Sara Tomevska's package on AM this morning below.

ReactReact54m agoMon 9 Feb 2026 at 9:33pmMood within the Nationals 'toxic': GeeCBy Courtney Gould

Andrew Gee has kept in touch with some of his former colleagues and says he's hearing the mood within the Nationals is "toxic".

"Quite frankly, it's appalling," he told ABC's Radio National Breakfast. 

"There are people in there that just with they weren't. There are people who are basically switching off and can't believe all of this is happening but I think a lot of them feel like they're trapped in that. They haven't got a way out."

Gee says he's "absolutely" glad he's no longer a Nationals member because he couldn't imagine watching the "vainglorious lunacy unfold" from within.

He adds the real issue for the future of the Coalition is whether the Liberal Party can survive in its current form.

"As they sort of pivot and slide to the right, play in that space with the Nationals and One Nation, they're going to lose the centre and I think this is a real existential problem for all of them," Gee says.

ReactReact1h agoMon 9 Feb 2026 at 9:27pm'A better life awaits you': former Nat urges former colleagues to join him on crossbenchCBy Courtney Gould

Sticking with the Coalition drama for a moment because Andrew Gee, a former Nationals MP turned independent, was next up on ABC's Radio National Breakfast. 

Gee traded life with the Coalition junior partner for the crossbench over the Nationals' opposition to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

"A better life awaits you on the crossbench," Gee laughed when asked for his message to his former colleagues.

"You won't have to put up with the political lunacy and the shenanigans which we've been watching over the last few weeks and months."

One Nation's support has surged in opinion polls in recent months. Gee said the minor party would "erode" the Nationals vote.

And that vote doesn't necessarily come back to the Nationals via preferences.

"In fact, through preference leakage and independents like me end up with just under half of them. So from my part of view, it's not a bad result, having the National Party primary vote diluted like that."

ReactReact1h agoMon 9 Feb 2026 at 9:20pmLey's been 'dealt a bad hand', Bragg says as he reaffirms supportCBy Courtney Gould

Switching gears to the never-ending saga that is the Liberal Party, amid fevered speculation Sussan Ley could be challenged by Angus Taylor in the coming days.

Andrew Bragg is standing by Ley, who he says has been "dealt a pretty bad hand" over the past couple of months.

"It's been a pretty tough few months for Sussan and I think most Australians would look at that and say, 'well, you know, she needs to be given a reasonable crack at the job', and that's what I expect will happen," he told ABC's Radio National Breakfast. 

Bragg declined to say if Taylor should make his intentions clear by explicitly ruling out a leadership challenge or if calls from Taylor's backers yesterday for change were helpful.

But he did say voters would continue to mark them down if the focus remained on internal drama.

"I'm not giving colleagues advice through the radio but what I will say is that we have a big job to do because this country is going in the wrong direction," he says.

ReactReactKey Event1h agoMon 9 Feb 2026 at 9:10pmAnti-Herzog protests a 'disgrace': BraggCBy Courtney Gould

Liberal frontbencher Andrew Bragg says protests against the Israel's president's visit are in "terrible taste" and are a "disgrace".

The shadow housing minister argued on ABC's Radio National Breakfast that most Australians thought the rally was "ridiculous" because Isaac Herzog was here to provide comfort to the Jewish community in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.

"I think it's been in terrible taste to be protesting against something that the Jewish community has asked for after they have been severely affected by Australia's worst religious massacre," he said.

"They've asked for the … Jewish state to come and provide comfort and people have protested against that. I think it's a disgrace."

ReactReact1h agoMon 9 Feb 2026 at 8:55pmSafety of children online 'non-negotiable': PMCBy Courtney Gould

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was also asked about the move to put Roblox on notice following reports children were being approached and groomed by predators on the platform.

The communications minister has written to the social gaming platform to request an urgent meeting, expressing concern over "graphic and gratuitous user-generated content" on the platform, including sexually explicit and suicidal material.

Albanese said it was "just horrendous".

"The safety of children online is non-negotiable. We want kids to be able to be kids. We don't want kids being exposed to graphic content on Roblox or anything else," he says.

The prime minister told Triple M Hobart the government would look at "doing whatever we need to do" and was prepared to act on the advice of the e-Safety commissioner.

"I think we've shown quite clearly that we're prepared to lead the world," he says.

ReactReactKey Event1h agoMon 9 Feb 2026 at 8:49pmAlbanese 'devastated' by scenes at protest against Herzog visitCBy Courtney Gould

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he was devastated by the scenes of police and protesters clashing on the streets of Sydney during a rally against the visit of Israel's President Isaac Herzog.

"These are scenes that I think shouldn't be taking place. So people should be able to express their views peacefully, but the police were very clear about the routes that were required if people wanted to march, to go a particular route, and for to ensure that this was done peacefully," he told Triple M Hobart.

"But the causes are not advanced by these sort of scenes, indeed, they're undermined."

NSW Police said 27 people were arrested, including 10 for assaulting police, and officers deployed pepper spray at the protest attended by thousands at Sydney Town Hall.

The prime minister said inviting Herzog was appropriate and urged those who disagreed with the visit to "express any views peacefully" and "in an appropriate way".

"Now people will have different views about the Middle East and we have been critical and have received some criticism from the Israeli government," he said.

"But we do need to be able to have people express any views peacefully in an appropriate way."

ReactReact1h agoMon 9 Feb 2026 at 8:35pm'Not about the people or the personnel': Canavan wants focus back on policyCBy Courtney Gould

Nationals senator Matt Canavan wants the focus to turn to policies if the Coalition wants to turn the corner following a series of dire polls.

The Coalition's combined primary vote has fallen to just 18 per cent since the last election while One Nation's has risen to 27 per cent, according to Newspoll.

Speaking to reporters in the hallways of Parliament House, Canavan said the focus had to be on delivering for voters.

"I don't think it's about the people or the personnel. It really is about the policies," he said. 

Canavan wants attention turned to finalising the Coalition's migration policy. The proposal was due to be released at the end of last year but was delayed after the Bondi terror attack.

ReactReactKey Event2h agoMon 9 Feb 2026 at 8:26pmPlibersek urges protesters to 'take a deep breath' and reflect on reason for Herzog visitCBy Courtney Gould

Tanya Plibersek was also asked about the protest against Israeli president Isaac Herzog's visit to Australia.

The social services minister says the government "always understood that this visit might be controversial in some quarters".

But she urged Australians to "just take a deep breath" and reflect on the reason for the visit.

"Fifteen people have been murdered in Australia's worst domestic terrorist event and there's a grieving community saying this visit will bring them comfort," she told ABC's News Breakfast. 

She says people "absolutely" have the right to protest but organisers should have heeded the advice of police and the courts on where the rally could take place.

Plibersek adds some of the videos out of the protest have been "very concerning" and she expects they'll be investigated.

ReactReactKey Event2h agoMon 9 Feb 2026 at 8:21pmLabor releases plan to address domestic violence against First Nations womenCBy Courtney Gould

A national plan to address domestic violence against First Nations women and children is being released today.

The new plan was developed in partnership with First Nations organisations and comes with $218m in new funding.

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek describes it as an "important next step" and stresses it isn't just a federal government plan.

"All of the states and territories have signed onto this plan as well," she told ABC's News Breakfast.

"For decades now, Aboriginal women have been saying our problems are different, our communities are different, our life experiences are different, our solutions need to be different. We have listened to that."

ReactReact2h agoMon 9 Feb 2026 at 8:17pmRoblox put on notice after 'disturbing' reports of child groomingLBy Lexie Jeuniewic

Anika Wells has written to Roblox requesting an urgent meeting in the wake of reports children are being groomed by predators on the popular social gaming platform.

In an excerpt of the letter, the communications minister expresses alarm over recent media reports that children are being exposed to "graphic and gratuitous user-generated content on the platform, including sexually explicit and suicidal material".

"Even more disturbing are ongoing reports and concerns about children being approached and groomed by predators, who actively seek to exploit their curiosity and innocence, " Wells writes.

"I note that Roblox engaged extensively with the eSafety Commissioner throughout 2024 and 2025 to develop and implement additional safety measures for children.

"Despite this, the issues appear to persist."

The minister has also written to eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant, seeking her advice as to what more can be done to tackle harmful content and behaviour on the platform.

In a statement, eSafety says it welcomes the minister's letter and has notified Roblox that it will test the implementation and efficacy of the nine safety commitments it made to Australia's online safety regulator in September last year.

The commitments include making accounts for users aged under 16 private by default, and introducing tools to prevent adult users from contacting under-16s without parental consent.

"Subject to the outcome of this assessment and testing, eSafety may take further action under the Online Safety Act," the statement from regulator reads.

Roblox is not included in the government's social media ban for under-16s.

ReactReactKey Event2h agoMon 9 Feb 2026 at 8:12pmProtesters need to be respectful, Labor saysCBy Courtney Gould

Protesters clashed with police as tensions flared at a Sydney protest against visiting Israeli president Isaac Herzog. 

NSW Police said 27 people were arrested, including 10 for assaulting police, and officers deployed pepper spray at the protest attended by thousands at Sydney Town Hall.

Labor frontbencher Amanda Rishworth said while people had the right to protest, it needed to be done in a "respectful way".

"I think what's important in all of this is remembering that the visit of the president of Israel is about mourning and remembering the lives of 15 people that died at Bondi and we can't lose sight of that," she told Nine.

"We need to be able in this country to disagree respectfully."

Wentworth MP Allegra Spender agreed.

"I know people feel very, very strongly … but we also have responsibility, all of us to this country and to each other, and I think this is got to be about, you know, doing things in a respectful way," she says.

"We don't need more conflict here. I think these images would have disturbed a lot of Australians this morning, and no one wants to see this sort of stuff on our streets."

ReactReact2h agoMon 9 Feb 2026 at 8:11pmTehan confident Liberals can turn fortunes around before next electionMBy Marina Freri

Liberal frontbencher Dan Tehan says no one has canvassed him for his vote, as speculation continues to mount about an imminent leadership challenge to Sussan Ley from Angus Taylor.

He told 7.30 his conversations with colleagues have been about getting the Coalition back together.

"I had a lot of conversations over the last fortnight, especially over the last three or four days. And all of those were about how we could get the Coalition together."

Monday's Newspoll shows primary vote for the Liberal party has plummeted to 15 per cent, prompting Victorian senator Jane Hume to call it an "existential crisis".

But Tehan rejected Hume's warning that without change there would be no Liberal members elected in Victoria or New South Wales at the next election.

"No, she's not right. Because polls come and go at this time of year. The most important thing is for us to realise that the next election … Will all probability be in two years' time, so we've got to get on, roll the sleeves up and do the work. There were plenty of polls that predicted my demise at the last election."

Tehan says the temporary Coalition split — the second in less than a year — was a "distraction".

"A lot of work and a lot of effort went into bringing them back together. And that was incredibly important, because if we hadn't been able to do that, then our electoral consequences could have been dire. But we've done that hard work."

ReactReact2h agoMon 9 Feb 2026 at 8:04pm👋 Good morningCBy Courtney Gould

Hi friends. Welcome back to another week in federal politics. I'm Courtney Gould from the ABC's Parliament House bureau here and ready to guide you through the day.

From Senate estimates to the political reaction to protesters who clashed with police at a rally opposing Israel president Isaac Herzog's visit to Australia, there is a lot going on today.

We're also watching closely for signs Sussan Ley's leadership could be challenged amid speculation supporters of Angus Taylor are encouraging him to make a move.

Stick around, we'll bring you all the latest as it rolls in.

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