Australian politics live with Krishani DhanjiAustralian politics Politics live: Coalition dials up pressure on PM over $6m grant to golf club Follow the day’s news live Get our new political email, free app or daily news podcast LIVE Updated 3m ago Achol Arok (now), Krishani Dhanji (earlier) Wed 9 Sep 2026 07.07 BSTFirst published on Tue 8 Sep 2026 22.00 BST Share Key events 34m ago TL,DR: Here’s what happened in question time 1h ago ‘I don’t play golf’: Albanese dismisses questions about honorary membership 2h ago Two Labor MPs booted as Coalition dials up pressure on Albanese over golf club grant 2h ago It’s question time 3h ago Hanson denies calling Hastie a ‘traitor’ 3h ago Hastie accuses Hanson and Joyce of being 'lying cowards' over One Nation 'traitor' cartoon 4h ago ‘We owe them action’: Plibersek on the latest domestic, family and sexual violence report 5h ago PM pays tribute to Blanche d’Alpuget: ‘Australia has lost a true one-off’: 5h ago Blanche d’Alpuget, widow to Bob Hawke, dies aged 82 6h ago Diesel prices highest since April with Canberra at $2.70 a litre 6h ago White House fires warnings shots over digital duty of care bill 7h ago Australia to impose new ‘targeted measures’ to stop Israeli settler violence 7h ago Death in custody at Alice Springs correctional centre 7h ago Bridget McKenzie weighs in on golf course grant in PM's electorate 8h ago Albanese makes ‘no apology’ for $6m grant to Marrickville golf club 9h ago Migration fuelling almost half of regional growth 9h ago Chalmers: One Nation would 'diminish or destroy' super 9h ago Victorians could pay almost $100 a year more for electricity 9h ago RBA governor: inflation is still the major problem Australia's economy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks in the House of Representatives.
Before the PM can begin answering, Labor MP Ash Ambihaipahar is kicked out of the chamber for interjecting too much.
Anthony Albanese gets to a shouting volume pretty quickly, saying (as he did this morning) that it was one of three grants to his electorate and that the money was to stop sewage running from the course into the local Cooks River.
He also claims he didn’t know that he’d received the honorary membership.
I’m asked about honorary membership.
In 2012, I’d been advised that I got honorary membership, someone made a decision.
I don’t have a card.
I don’t go to the club.
Frontbencher Aaron Violi then tries to table documents in the house “clearly showing the prime minister’s longstanding relationship with the Marrickville golf club including being a location where he injured himself and developed a black eye and broken rib” but the government blocks the attempt.
As that happens, Labor MP Alison Byrnes is also ejected from the chamber!
Key events 34m ago TL,DR: Here’s what happened in question time 1h ago ‘I don’t play golf’: Albanese dismisses questions about honorary membership 2h ago Two Labor MPs booted as Coalition dials up pressure on Albanese over golf club grant 2h ago It’s question time 3h ago Hanson denies calling Hastie a ‘traitor’ 3h ago Hastie accuses Hanson and Joyce of being 'lying cowards' over One Nation 'traitor' cartoon 4h ago ‘We owe them action’: Plibersek on the latest domestic, family and sexual violence report 5h ago PM pays tribute to Blanche d’Alpuget: ‘Australia has lost a true one-off’: 5h ago Blanche d’Alpuget, widow to Bob Hawke, dies aged 82 6h ago Diesel prices highest since April with Canberra at $2.70 a litre 6h ago White House fires warnings shots over digital duty of care bill 7h ago Australia to impose new ‘targeted measures’ to stop Israeli settler violence 7h ago Death in custody at Alice Springs correctional centre 7h ago Bridget McKenzie weighs in on golf course grant in PM's electorate 8h ago Albanese makes ‘no apology’ for $6m grant to Marrickville golf club 9h ago Migration fuelling almost half of regional growth 9h ago Chalmers: One Nation would 'diminish or destroy' super 9h ago Victorians could pay almost $100 a year more for electricity 9h ago RBA governor: inflation is still the major problem Australia's economy Australian wife of Islamic State fighter denied bail The Australian wife of an Islamic State fighter, who claims childbirth snapped her out of supporting the terrorist group, has been denied bail by a judge concerned she maintains extremist views, AAP reports.
After spending years in a Syrian refugee camp, Zeinab Ahmad was charged with slavery offences and taken into custody upon her return to Australia with other family members of former Islamic State fighters in May She applied for release in the Victorian supreme court, arguing she did not pose a risk to the safety of others.
But the young mother, 31, could not convince Justice James Elliott she had demonstrated exceptional circumstances and had abandoned extremist beliefs. [Her] extreme ideology in the past coupled with extreme brutality [of IS] means any related conduct, including indirectly influencing others is potentially catastrophic.
I accept the risk is low, however it is real.
A court sketch depicting Zeinab Ahmad in court.
I’ll leave you in the very capable hands of Achol Arok and see you here bright and early tomorrow.
The Coalition had a broad base of questions today, including taxes on trusts, the $6m grant to the Marrickville golf club, the cheaper home battery scheme and tobacco excise.
Anthony Albanese defended the grant – which was invite only – and said he didn’t know he was an honorary member.
Independent Monique Ryan tried her luck to get a more fruitful answer out of the PM on merit-based and transparent grants but her chamber buddy Sophie Scamps ended up getting kicked out for shouting at the PM during his answer.
Chris Bowen was asked about reports of a cheaper home battery scheme being rorted and some households getting unsafe installations but he dismissed the claims.
Scamps and two Labor MPs were kicked out in the first 25 or so minutes of question time, but everyone seemed to settle just a little after that.
Joyce denies calling Hastie a traitor Barnaby Joyce says he has never called Andrew Hastie a traitor and never said “a bad word about him”.
Hastie, a Liberal MP and SAS veteran, accused Joyce and Pauline Hanson of being “lying cowards” on News24 earlier today after both had previously denied making the insult.
Hanson posted a One Nation cartoon video on social media which called Hastie a “traitor” multiple times.
Hanson told The Nightly newspaper that she didn’t call Hastie a traitor but would call him a “wanker”.
Joyce told Guardian Australia he was not aware of the One Nation video.
I have never called Mr Hastie a traitor nor ventured anywhere close to any such narrative about him.
In fact I have never said a bad word about him.
This morning in a press conference at Canberra I spoke in support of Mr Hastie and his family.
When asked, I noted the fact that Ms Hanson stated she had never called Mr Hastie a traitor.
This is now apparent as a fact.
There has come to my attention now a satirical cartoon that made the claim.
I had not seen it nor was aware of it.
Andrew Hastie holds up a document showing extracts from a cartoon he says was posted on Pauline Hanson’s X account.
Nationals MP Michael McCormack walks up to the dispatch box to try his luck with an extra question before QT ends.
Anthony Albanese says that he’d give the opposition an extra question if it is about the golf club funding and then jokes: Tell my electorate what a good local member they have, Mr Speaker.
The opposition aren’t impressed and protest, but then QT ends.
Attorney general says automated decision making will have ‘robust safeguards’ Back to the crossbench, Kate Chaney asks the attorney general when the government will legislate a framework for automated decision making that includes safeguards, human oversight and transparency.
She says it’s been three years since the robodebt royal commission which recommended legislated guardrails around automation in government.
Michelle Rowland says the government is working on a whole-of-government framework for automated decision-making.
The framework will include robust safeguards that ensure transparency, human oversight and review rights.
The design and operation of these safeguards has been and will continue to be informed by extensive consultations.
I can assure the member it is working at pace.
The Albanese government’s approach is focused on delivery in the future, enabling Australians to adopt new technologies responsibly, deliver high quality services more efficiently and prevent the systemic failures identified in the robodebt royal commission.
Coalition ‘led by the nose’ by One Nation on tobacco excise: Butler Liberal MP Mary Aldred is up next and asks the prime minister if he’ll cut the tobacco excise – yes or no – pointing out that he’s refused to rule out doing so when recently asked.
The health minister, Mark Butler, takes the question instead (which attracts jeers from the opposition).
Butler claims under the previous government the excise was raised 215%, but no money was spent on law enforcement or public health campaigns.
He uses similar lines to Anthony Albanese this morning that enforcement and border control are the focus, and then decides to take a stab at the Coalition.
Of course we are open to other sensible ideas about how we can fight organised crime while not prejudicing our most important public health campaign.
But this is the problem I have with the announcements that One Nation first made and then, sure enough led by the nose, the Coalition followed.
Labor considering calls for nationally consistent definition of affordable housing Will the government back a nationally consistent definition of affordable housing, so it can be delivered and made available to nurses, teachers and other key workers asks independent MP, Nicolette Boele.
She says more than 12,000 Australians have signed a petition calling for a national approach.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers (answering questions for Clare O’Neil today, who’s away) acknowledges that the states and territories do all have different definitions.
Chalmers says the government is aware and looking at the issue.
The Housing Australia Future Fund requires rents for affordable tenancies to be set at a 25% discount to market rents.
That’s how the Haff goes about this but it’s different across different states and programs … [O’Neil] has asked Treasury to do work on affordable housing definitions including looking at the different definitions and frameworks that currently operate across Australia and to see what our options are for more consistency.
We do think that’s an important objective.
Jim Chalmers during question time.
Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP And we’re back to the $6m Marrickville golf club grant with deputy Nationals leader, Darren Chester, asking if the prime minister should update his register of interests with the honorary membership because a full membership costs $1,100 a year.
Anthony Albanese repeats that he was just told that “apparently” he received the honorary membership in 2012 unbeknownst to him.
He then jokes that he doesn’t play golf, and he’ll leave the sport to the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles.
This is kind of funny because Marles has previously faced some sticky questions about whether he ever used taxpayer-funded VIP RAAF flights to travel to golf courses.
Albanese says he doesn’t even go to the golf course, except walking his dog through it and once attending a dog’s birthday there.
The fact is that in 2012, they said ‘You’re an honorary member’.
I don’t have a card, I never got anything, I don’t use the facilities, I don’t do anything whatsoever for it.
Systematic fraud claims in home battery scheme ‘a lie’, says Bowen Nationals MP Alison Penfold takes the baton from Tehan and asks Chris Bowen more explicitly the date he was “first made aware of allegations impacting the government’s cheaper home batteries program?
Bowen says there is a committee that regularly provides feedback on the scheme, which includes the Clean Energy Regulator.
He says the number of complaints as a proportion of installations for cheaper home batteries have halved since the program.
The opposition quickly moves in to make a point of order because they want Bowen to provide a date on when he knew about the allegations of rorts and safety issues.
Speaker Milton Dick agrees and says the question was very specific.
Bowen says allegations of systemic issues are false: I started receiving updates on the … program on 1 July 2025 and have received them regularly.
Those updates have shown they the manager of Opposition’s claims of systemic fraud are not true, are a lie.
