Albanese says of former prince Andrew: Australians ‘don’t want a bar of this bloke’
Sarah Basford Canales
Anthony Albanese says he wrote to the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, to offer Australia’s support for removing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the succession line, adding Australians “don’t want a bar of this bloke”.
Speaking to Nova Adelaide this morning, the prime minister said:
These are really serious allegations against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The fact that we’re calling him that rather than former Prince Andrew says it all. This has been quite a fall from grace, but he still remains in the line of succession, and I think that Australians don’t want a bar of this bloke, frankly …
I believe that the UK should move first to remove him from that line of secession as our head of state, and what it would require is all 14 realm countries, that is, the countries that still have the king of England, His Majesty King Charles, as their head of state to all agree.
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Key events
Nine records revenue slump amid weak advertising market
Jonathan Barrett
Nine Entertainment has recorded a steep drop in revenue, as the media giant grapples with a prolonged slump in advertising and struggling free-to-air television market.
The broadcaster and publisher reported a 4% drop in half-year revenue to $1.06bn, with the sharpest declines recorded in its broadcast arm, weighed down by the Nine television network and digital arm 9Now.
Streaming service Stan recorded a strong revenue increase.
The media outlet said the overall drop in income “reflected the downturn in the economic and advertising market conditions” affecting most of the markets in which Nine operates.
The earnings at Nine’s publishing arm were more resilient, with revenue down 2%. Digital subscriber numbers grew across its mastheads The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review.
The media company declared a 4.5 cent interim dividend. It has undergone significant recent structural changes, which included selling real estate platform Domain and talkback radio stations.
Albanese says of former prince Andrew: Australians ‘don’t want a bar of this bloke’
Sarah Basford Canales
Anthony Albanese says he wrote to the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, to offer Australia’s support for removing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the succession line, adding Australians “don’t want a bar of this bloke”.
Speaking to Nova Adelaide this morning, the prime minister said:
These are really serious allegations against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The fact that we’re calling him that rather than former Prince Andrew says it all. This has been quite a fall from grace, but he still remains in the line of succession, and I think that Australians don’t want a bar of this bloke, frankly …
I believe that the UK should move first to remove him from that line of secession as our head of state, and what it would require is all 14 realm countries, that is, the countries that still have the king of England, His Majesty King Charles, as their head of state to all agree.
Read more:
Jordyn Beazley
Peter Malinaukas has said that any child “in our community” should be “cared for and educated” after the NSW premier confirmed last night that if children linked to Islamic state fighters return to the state they will be provided education services.
The South Australian premier, who appeared on on ABC’s 7.30 last night, said after being asked if the state does have responsiblities towards the families currently stuck in Syria:
I think it’s a pretty basic principle that if there are young people in our community who are innocent of any particular ideological extremism by virtue of fact they’re a young child, then of course, they should be cared for and educated.
However, Malinaukas said “it’s not for me, or frankly, anybody else” to second-guess “the judgments of federal government” after being asked about the Albanese government’s stance that the women and children should remain in Syria.
[They] make decisions based on security advice that most people wouldn’t be party to.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said yesterday the state government had been discussing the possible return of some of the 11 women and 23 children with federal government agencies since late 2025, and a strong law enforcement response was expected.
The group tried to leave the camp last week but were blocked by Syrian government authorities.
Minister says high-speed rail link between Sydney and Newcastle would provide major boons to NSW
Catherine King, the minister for infrastructure, spoke to the ABC earlier this morning about the government’s new commitment of $230m for planning work on a high-speed rail line between Sydney and Newcastle.
King said the project was a “a really exciting economic opportunity, not just for Newcastle and New South Wales, but really for the whole country”, saying it would be expensive, complex and time consuming but would provide a major economic benefit to the state.
At the moment, King said the project is expected to cost around $55bn, a figure that includes stations, a manufacturing facility and all the trains that would go on the line. She said government alone would not be able to fund the project, which would require some private investment and support from the state government with planning and land.
She described the line as a “positive cost-benefit” project – meaning the economic boons outweigh the initial outlay for the construction – adding the more you build, the bigger that benefit is.
Obviously, the more you build, the more that business case then continues to stack up as you start to look at building beyond Sydney, out to Melbourne eventually and potentially up to Brisbane.
We are taking the time to get the development right, make sure we understand all the costs. There’s no doubt this is an expensive and big project.
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Tom McIlroy
A deeper look at One Nation’s big gains in latest polls
We brought you the latest Capital Brief/DemosAU federal poll results earlier this morning, showing One Nation with a primary vote of 28%, just one percentage point behind Labor on 29%.
The poll continues the bad news for the Coalition, who are in third place, with 21% primary support.
While the results include rough seat projections – suggesting One Nation could win between 23 and 54 seats to become the new opposition – it is worth taking a quick beat to consider the results.
A few things to keep in mind: the poll is the first since Angus Taylor replaced Sussan Ley as opposition leader and comes at the start of a big rebuild effort by the Liberal and National parties. Equally, One Nation are primarily a Senate-based party and has previously faced difficulty winning lower house seats.
The minor party led by Pauline Hanson is dramatically scaling up right now, including to contest the South Australian state election, but so far we don’t know if they can translate strong poll results into on-the-ground wins.
Importantly, polls are only a snapshot of public sentiment at the time they are taken. The election is likely more than two years away and we’d expect the dynamics in federal politics to change in that time.
Even with all these caveats, the poll will be closely watched in federal politics and will be widely discussed in Parliament House today.
Maxi Shield, RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under star and Sydney icon, dead at 51
Maxi Shield, a veteran of the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise and a longtime performer in the Sydney queer community, has died at the age of 51.
Shield, whose name off-stage was Kristopher Elliot, was diagnosed with throat cancer last year. The drag queen was due to host a slate of events in the lead up to Sydney’s gay and lesbian Mardi Gras on Saturday.
World of Wonder, the production company behind RuPaul’s Drag Race, wrote on social media:
We are heartbroken to announce the passing of Kristopher Elliot AKA Maxi Shield. A part of our Down Under legacy, her electrifying presence on and off the stage will inspire us forever, and our deepest condolences go out to her friends and family.
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Michelle Visage, a longtime judge on the show, wrote her own tribute:
I loved this queen. A glorious human on the inside and out. Your love, heart, talent and energy will be missed…. @maxishield rest in power, my angel, you were truly one of a kind.
Daisy Dumas
Royal commission on antisemitism to begin today in Sydney
The royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion will begin in Sydney today.
The commissioner and former high court justice, Virginia Bell, is expected to make a short opening statement outlining her approach to the inquiry this morning.
Senior counsel assisting, Richard Lancaster, will also make a short opening statement, the commission said via its website.
The inquiry comes two months on from the Bondi beach terror attack, in which 15 members of the Jewish community were shot and killed during a festival celebrating Hanukah. 40 others were injured.
An interim report on the inquiry’s findings is due by April, with a final report due by the end of the year.
Albanese plans to write to other commonwealth nations about decision on former prince Andrew
Back to Mountbatten-Windsor, Albanese said he plans to write to the other commonwealth countries to inform them of Australia’s position. He said Australia was first in writing to Starmer, telling RN:
We have initiated it. Australia likes being first, and we have made sure that everyone knows what our position is. And we’ll be writing today to the other realm countries as well, informing them of our position.
Albanese added the government has no plans to hold a referendum on becoming a republic, although he hasn’t changed his own opinion.
“I’m a republican. His Majesty King Charles is very aware of that as well.”
Albanese adds a new high-speed rail line would unlock housing, create thousands of jobs and add billions in new economic activity along the Sydney to Newcastle corridorr.
“It would be a game-changer for economic growth and productivity,” he told RN.
Read more here:
PM sympathises with children stuck in Syria, but lays blame for their situation on parents
Albanese is also speaking about the group of women and children linked to Islamic State fighters who remain in Syria.
The prime minister is maintaining that the government “is not and will not repatriate” the group of Australian citizens, but when asked if their return to the country was inevitable, he said:
They will have decisions to make. And for those people who potentially are facing charges, should they return to Australia, they’ll be considering that issue as well. But we are not repatriating them.
Australian citizens do have rights, of course, and we’ve said that as well. But if any do return, it won’t be with Australian government support.
Albanese said he sympathises with the children who are in Syria, but said they had been “put in that position by their parents”.
That is something that the Australian government didn’t do. We, of course, had very clear warnings. …
They made that decision. There are consequences for it. And those consequences are that the Australian government’s position is that we are not going to provide support for them to be repatriated, and that if they do return, then they will face the full consequences of their action to the full force of the law.
PM says Australia ‘volunteered’ support to remove former prince Andrew from line of succession
Prime minister Anthony Albanese said he had spoken to his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer, and said he would support former prince Andrew being removed from the line of succession.
Albanese was asked on RN Breakfast directly if he believes Mountbatten-Windsor should be removed from the line of succession. The prime minister said:
I certainly do. And I think that Australians will as well. These are very serious allegations. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will face the full force of the law.
I’ve written to prime minister Keir Starmer and I’ve engaged with him as well directly overnight to confirm that my government would agree to any proposal to remove him from the line of royal commitment secession.
Albanese said he wasn’t asked to provide his position to the UK, but had “volunteered” it. He said of his conversation with Starmer:
We engaged, and he thanked me for our position.
Good morning, Nick Visser here to take things over. Let’s dive in to the morning’s news.
Jordyn Beazley
Peter Malinauskas says economic inequality driving One Nation support
The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, has said he thinks economic inequality rather than racism is the main driver attracting voters towards the One Nation party.
Malinauskas appeared on the ABC’s 7.30 program on Monday evening, where he was asked about polling in South Australia showing that the party is no longer considered a fringe option. Despite One Nation experiencing a surge, polling has consistently shown Labor is headed for a collosal win ahead of the election next month.
Malinauskas said the most “profound” issue attracting interest in One Nation is the housing shortage. He said:
“There are legitimate grievances. I think much of them arrive from a sense of economic inequality, a sense of economic opportunity being at risk for future generations, and genuine concerns about that, which is why the best thing parties of government can do, and obviously I count Labor as one of those, is to focus on the policy that will make a difference and seek to prosecute the argument for those policies.”
He was also asked if he thinks “there is racism against Muslims in Australia” that One Nation leader Pauline Hanson is “successfully tapping into”.
He said: “While there might be people on the fringes who share a different view, the vast majority of Australians don’t share those views.”
Southern Austereo boss goes after two months
Jeff Howard has stepped down as chief executive of the merged Seven West Media and Southern Cross entity Southern Austereo after only two months in the job.
Howard was appointed boss the new company but has gone just before new financial results are published.
A statement said he would step down “effective immediately”.
Heath Mackay-Cruise became chairman on Friday after Seven’s founder, Kerry Stokes, finished up in his role of interim chair of the merged entity.
In a statement, Mackay-Cruise said:
On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Jeff for his efforts across the period of transition, with the successful implementation of the scheme of arrangement [for the merger] and creation of a market-leading, multi-platform media company now complete.
The board is confident in our team’s capability to apply the financial discipline and industry leading expertise to drive scale and performance for Southern Cross Media Group going forward.
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney to visit Australia next month
Tom McIlroy
Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, will visit Australia early next month and make a major address to federal parliament.
Anthony Albanese confirmed Carney’s visit – locked in for 3-6 March – would include talks about closer economic and security cooperation.
Carney will visit Sydney and Canberra during the visit.
While in Australia, he will discuss cooperation on investment, economic security, critical minerals and defence. Stronger links between key institutions in Canada and Australia will also be on the agenda.
“Canada is one of Australia’s closest friends, built on generations of trust, with a shared commitment to supporting stability across the Indo-Pacific and beyond,” Albanese said.
“As our countries face new challenges and opportunities, we must deepen our cooperation with partners to promote our national interests.
“I look forward to discussing ways to build on our existing cooperation with Canada to shape the next stage of this key relationship.”
Poll shows One Nation surge
The latest Capital Brief/DemosAU federal poll shows One Nation’s continued surge in support.
The poll of 1,551 respondents was conducted between 16 February and 20 – days after Angus Taylor replaced Sussan Ley as leader of the opposition.
But there was no noticeable immediate impact from the change: the numbers show Labor on 29% (down 1% from January), One Nation on 28% (up 4%) and the Coalition on 21% (unchanged). The Greens and “others” were down.
Anthony Albanese leads on the preferred prime minister leaderboard on 37% (down 2) followed by Pauline Hanson on 25% (down 1) and Taylor on 19% (up 3 on Ley’s final poll).
But Albanese has a net positive rating of -17%, with 29% of voters having a positive view of the PM, compared with 46% who had a negative view. Hanson’s rating is -1% (37% positive, 38% negative) and Taylor’s is -4% (24% positive, 28% negative). Ley’s last approval rating was -18%.
DemosAU made a (very rough) seat projection based on the data and reckons it amounts to a strong Labor majority, and an absolute rout for the Coalition, who at best would score 20 seats: possibly as few as nine. One Nation would be the new opposition with 43-54 seats, up against Labor’s 76-85.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.
Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, will travel to Australia early next month as part of a broader Asia-Pacific tour aimed at diversifying trade links amid ongoing tariff turbulence from the US Trump administration. More in a moment.
The first public hearing of the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion will start today with commissioner and former high court judge Virginia Bell to reveal how she will approach the inquiry. More coming up.
And a new federal poll has One Nation just one point behind Labor and seven points ahead of the Coalition, in more evidence that the party has hit an electoral purple patch.