Australia politics live: Latham ordered to pay independent MP’s legal costs after losing defamation case over homophobic tweet

Homophobic tweet to cost Latham more than $500,000

Jordyn Beazley

The cost of former One Nation leader Mark Latham’s homophobic tweet about political rival Alex Greenwich could more than triple after he was ordered to pay the independent Sydney MP’s legal costs.

The federal court justice David O’Callaghan today ordered Latham to pay costs after Greenwich won his defamation case against Latham in September.

Greenwich was then awarded $140,000 in damages, and will now have his legal costs covered on a party-party basis, which normally covers about 70% of the fees incurred. Greenwich’s costs are estimated to be $600,000.

Latham posted a tweet that explicitly described a sex act during the 2023 state election, and a court later found it exposed Greenwich, who is gay and a prominent LGBTQ+ community advocate, to a torrent of hateful abuse including death threats.

Latham posted it in response to Greenwich describing Mr Latham as a “disgusting human being”.

Latham’s lawyer had argued the former One Nation MP should only have to pay a quarter of Greenwich’s costs.

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There is a lot of uncertainty in polling. Despite the individual polls results, Labor has yet to show a clear lead in Guardian Australia’s modelling. The model averages the polls over the time they are in the field and factors in sample sizes, previous results and the “house effects” (bias towards a party) of each pollster.

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Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best overnight stories and then Krishani Dhanji will be your guide.

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Stock markets in Europe and the US have seen heavy losses after yesterday’s announcement by Donald Trump of tariffs on US trading partners. Anthony Albanese’s government is still considering its response but has unveiled $1bn in loans to help Australian exporters after the tariff hit. We have more coming up.

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The US president’s economic warfare has made him politically toxic with Australian voters. Although the situation is fraught with difficulties for Albanese – will it crash our economy? – there could be political benefits because Peter Dutton has in the past tried to align himself with Trumpist themes such as being “strong” on defence and immigration. Our political writers have their analysis, and in the blog in a minute we’ll look at a new poll showing that Dutton is losing popularity with voters.

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Key events

Beaches much cleaner as litterbugs get the message

In some non-political news this afternoon, coastal litter on Australia’s beaches is down by more than one-third in a decade.

A 16% jump in areas completely free from plastic waste has also been recorded, AAP reports.

A CSIRO study surveyed inland, riverine and coastal habitats across six urban regions, recording lower levels of plastic pollution in Newcastle, Perth and the Sunshine Coast. Hobart and Port Augusta recorded more litter than before, however.

The CSIRO senior research scientist Denise Hardesty was heartened by an overall 39% reduction in plastic waste across Australia’s metropolitan coastlines:

Although there are still areas for concern, it’s exciting to see a significant decrease in plastic pollution as people around the country are becoming more aware of the harmful effects of plastic waste on people, communities and wildlife.

Food packaging and other plastics remain the most prevalent source of rubbish on beaches, and flexible plastics are particularly dangerous for wildlife.

Homophobic tweet to cost Latham more than $500,000

Jordyn Beazley

The federal court justice David O’Callaghan today ordered Latham to pay costs after Greenwich won his defamation case against Latham in September.

Latham posted it in response to Greenwich describing Mr Latham as a “disgusting human being”.

Latham’s lawyer had argued the former One Nation MP should only have to pay a quarter of Greenwich’s costs.

Independent candidate continues tilt for seat despite section 44 eligibility question

An independent candidate for the seat of Fremantle says she will go ahead with her tilt for the seat, even though she has so far been unable to renounce her dual British citizenship.

Speaking on her daily campaign podcast, Kate Hulett said she wasn’t going to let “some silly paperwork nonsense” stop her, after making multiple attempts to renounce her dual citizenship ahead of the deadline.

She was born in Armadale and has two passports after being put on her mum’s passport as a baby. Dual citizens cannot sit in parliament. Hulett said:

As soon as I realised what this meant for my campaign I raced home, completed the application to renounce it, paid the exorbitant fee and assumed that would be that. Then the email from the Home Office came back saying that it may take up to six months to receive official confirmation.

Hulett said she has spoken to constitutional lawyers in Australia and the UK, written to UK MPs, spoken to the British High Commission in Canberra and called the Home Office in the UK “I don’t know how many times”.

I have taken every step I can to renounce my British citizenship before nominations close … So many people in my electorate came here from overseas or have family ties in other countries, and it’s absurd that it can stop them getting involved in the democratic process … I do not expect that some silly paperwork nonsense is going to stop me getting to election day and absolutely nailing the brief.

Bowen and O’Brien to debate each other next week

The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, and shadow climate and energy minister, Ted O’Brien, are scheduled to debate each other next week.

The debate will be held at the National Gallery of Australia in Gandel Hall next Thursday, Guardian Australia has confirmed.

Mislabelled shipments led to Trump tariffs on uninhabited islands with no US trade

Trade tariffs imposed on tiny Australian territories that are either uninhabited or claim to have no trading relationship with the US appear to have been calculated based on erroneous trade data.

The data relates, at least in part, to shipments mislabelled as coming from remote Norfolk Island, or Heard Island and McDonald Islands, instead of their correct countries of origin, the Guardian can reveal.

You can read the full story from Kate Lyons and Nick Evershed below:

Albanese wishes he could ‘go to the pub with my mates, without anyone else’

Just circling back to Anthony Albanese’s earlier press conference in Blacktown, where he had a funny exchange with one of the reporters over whether or not he feels “straitjacketed” in his job as prime minister.

The journalist asked:

Just before, when you were on stage, there was a bit of a grizzle where you were asked if you were going to the footy and said, “I’m not allowed to have fun in this job.” Serious question – do you feel straitjacketed in this job?

Albanese responded with a laugh:

Look, I wish I could go to the pub with my mates, without anyone else – or any of you.

The journalist joked:

We’re not your mates?

The PM continued, and said:

No, without security with some of you as well! There are people here who I’ve had really good engagement with. It’s a different dynamic. One of them is laughing right here. You know, we can catch up and stuff. There are restrictions in the job but that’s part of the deal. That’s part of the arrangement and it’s an incredible privilege that I have.

Emily Wind here, I’ll be staying with you on the blog for the rest of the afternoon.

3.7 magnitude earthquake felt in Albury

Emily Wind

A magnitude 3.7 earthquake has struck near Albury, in the border region of Victoria and NSW.

According to Geoscience Australia, it occurred around 12.30pm this afternoon at a depth of 5.09 km, between Albury and Holbrook.

The closest town to where the earthquake occurred appears to be Mullengandra.

Lisa Cox

NSW’s first renewable energy zone to begin construction in coming months

The New South Wales government says the state’s first declared renewable energy zone (REZ) will begin construction in coming months after it finalised the contract with the building consortium ACEREZ and reached financial close to deliver the transmission project.

EnergyCo has appointed ACEREZ – a consortium of Spanish renewable multinationals ACCIONA and COBRA and Endeavour Energy – to design, build and finance the Central-West Orana REZ transmission project and operate and maintain it for the next 35 years.

The project will deliver at least 4.5 gigawatts of new network capacity by 2028, to connect 7.7 gigawatts of wind and solar projects, which the government said was enough to power more than 2 million homes each year.

The NSW climate change and energy minister, Penny Sharpe, said:

Getting this deal done brings us closer to delivering more affordable and reliable renewable energy to NSW households and businesses.

With three out of four of the state’s remaining coal-fired power stations set to close in less than 10 years, this renewable energy zone will help us meet our future energy needs in order to keep the lights on and avoid price spikes.

Benita Kolovos

Victorian police minister on men allegedly carrying loaded firearms at MCG

Victoria’s police minister, Anthony Carbines, held a press conference this morning where he was asked about the men arrested at the MCG last night who were allegedly carrying loaded firearms. He said:

These are very serious matters. It’s concerning for all Victorians … We’re very thankful for the work of both security and Victorian police that made arrests.

Carbines said sport and major events minister, Steve Dimopolous, would be meeting with the AFL, MCG and Victoria police later today to review the matter.

When these matters happen, they need to be thoroughly investigated and understood, and any and every security measures can be taken to ensure that people feel safe and are safe.

Benita Kolovos

Lawyers in Victorian public housing tower case respond

Lawyers acting on behalf of the public housing residents in a class action against the Victorian government over its plans to demolish three towers have issued a statement after a supreme court decided against them (see earlier post).

Earlier this morning, the supreme court ruled the government did not have a legal requirement to consult prior to making the decision to demolish the towers and that the interference with the human rights of the residents was reasonable and justified.

Inner Melbourne Community Legal’s managing lawyer, Lousia Bassini, saod while she respected the decision it was “very disappointing and disheartening” for residents, including lead plaintiff Barry Berih.

The legal team and Mr Berih will now consider the judgement in full and if there are any grounds for appeal.

Dueling speeches in Western Sydney: through the lens

Here’s how the candidates looked attending the Daily Telegraph’s Future Western Sydney event.

Anthony Albanese was first up to bat at the Daily Telegraph’s Future of Western Sydney forum at Blacktown Workers Club. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, followed. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Reminder: the electoral rolls close at 8pm on Monday

A reminder that the rolls for the upcoming federal election close at 8pm on Monday night.

Voting is compulsory, and to vote you must be registered on the electoral roll. You can check your enrolment here. If you are not enrolled, you must do so before 8pm on Monday.

For everything else you need to know, you can have a read below:

Caitlin Cassidy

Albanese interviewed by content creator Ozzy Man

The prime minister has sat down at the pub with the content creator Ozzy Man for a 45-minute interview spanning conflict in the Middle East, Contiki tours and his three months of sobriety.

The West Australian YouTuber, who has more than six million subscribers, reviews “wildlife, sport, WTF vids, and the odd tv show or movie”. In a comment on Facebook, Ozzy Man said he secured the interview by putting in a request via Anthony Albanese’s Instagram account.

It isn’t Albanese’s first light-touch interview with a popular internet personality. He has also appeared on Abbie Chatfield’s podcast, It’s A Lot (which the Liberals put in a complaint to the AEC about, which has been rejected) while the Labor party invited around a dozen influencers, content creators and podcasters to attend the lockup for last month’s budget.

Asked what it was like being prime minister, he replied “pretty good”:

It’s an incredible honour … the fact that you can make a difference to people’s lives.

Albanese also pointed to “increased polarisation and anger” in the United States, which he said wasn’t a good thing for democracy.

One of the things you have to have the strength to do is to have the moral fortitude … not just appeal to division, get out and look for easy answers, but to explain things, to have the courage of your convictions.

Emily Wind

Albanese’s advice for cattle farmers amid US tariffs

Taking a final question, Anthony Albanese was asked what his advice is for cattle farmers and producers in their strategic planning, amid uncertainty in the US market?

The prime minister said he had only spoken directly with two farmers in the 24 hours since the announcement was made, and “they are confident that they’ll continue to be able to sell into that market”:

Tariffs are a cost on the country that’s imposing them, on those consumers in the United States. That is what will occur. There aren’t more head of cattle today on cattle stations in the US than there were yesterday. Everyone’s cost has gone up by at least 10% and, therefore, the competitive position of Australian beef has not changed.

Emily Wind

Will Labor recognise Palestinian state if re-elected?

Speaking in western Sydney, Anthony Albanese was asked if he would “act on the wishes of party members and recognise a Palestinian state” if elected in May?

The prime minister said he would “act in accordance with the position that we have taken of principle, which is that we support two states.”

We don’t believe that Hamas has any role in a future Palestinian state and we understand that this isn’t a time just for gestures, this is a time for real progress. And one of the things that’s occurred during this debate is that there’s been too much performative actions and gestures and not enough real advance that makes a real difference to people’s lives.

Is recognition, then, a performative gesture? Albanese answered:

Who you recognise at the moment? Quite clearly, we need to acknowledge that Hamas can have no role in a Palestinian state. That is my position.

Albanese said his position his entire political life has been “the right of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security”:

The way that I have acted for a long period of time, and my government – and we’ve had some criticism from people across the spectrum – is to take that principled view to make sure that we always have our eyes on that solution, and that’s something that the prospect of which has gone up and gone down and gone up and gone down again in recent times. I think it’s essential that out of this crisis emerges a better future for everyone in the region.

Emily Wind

PM says nuclear energy ‘risk to our economy and to our energy security’

Anthony Albanese was asked if it’s a good idea to build a nuclear power plant in the Hunter region, because of the number of recent tremors and an earthquake there. He answered:

No, I think the main risk with nuclear is shown by the fact that no-one in the private sector will touch it with a barge pole. That it doesn’t add up.

So not so much a safety risk? Albanese said he has repeatedly outlined “it’s about the economy”:

I make this point as well, that Matt Canavan and Christopher Pyne have both belled the cat and said this is about Coalition internals, this is about a “look over here” moment from a Coalition that still has climate sceptics front and centre, including on their front bench.

This will stop investment that we need, the rollout in supply that we need, and that is why it is such a risk to our economy and to our energy security.

Australia politics live: Latham ordered to pay independent MP’s legal costs after losing defamation case over homophobic tweet

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