Australian news and politics live: Coalition hound Albanese, MP booted as Question Time erupts

Prominant neo-nazi Thomas Sewell, who gate-crashed Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan’s Tuesday morning press conference, has been arrested.

Sewell, approached Ms Allan during the appearance in West Melbourne and was seen to scuffle with security guards before the Premier was moved on.

Sewell and two of his supporters were arrested by police outside the Melbourne Magistrates court on Tuesday afternoon following a violent attack on an indigenous sacred site and its occupants on Sunday.

READ: Melbourne neo-nazi Thomas Sewell goes national.

Independent Mackellar MP Sophie Scamps has asked Transport Minister Catherine King about her private members bill regarding e-bike safety.

Ms Scamps asked Ms King if the Albanese Government would act to ensure imported e-bikes - which don’t have to meet quality or safety standards - are safe “before there are further tragedies”.

Ms King acknowledged the benefits of e-bikes and e-scooters, and highlighted current inquiries into e-ridables in Queensland and Western Australia.

She said state and territory transport ministers had agreed to develop an integrated regulatory framework for safety, led by Western Australia with support from the National Transport Commission, including compliance, rules, and standards.

“As I understand the member’s private member’s bill, it focuses on listing specific types of personal mobility devices as road vehicles,” Ms King said.

“It is clear that a broader and co-ordinated national system is needed, for both the safer use and regulation of these devices.

“It is why at the meeting of state and territory transport ministers last month, I placed this issue on the agenda.

“At the meeting, state and territory ministers agreed to develop an integrated regulatory framework for these devices to improve rider and pedestrian safety.”

Labor’s Kristy McBain appears to have tapped into her old uni IPod playlist to use a 2009 song by American performer Usher to spruik the Albanese government’s efforts to improve services in regional and rural Australia.

Asked a Dorothy Dixer by her colleague Whitlam MP Carol Berry, the Minister for Regional Development rolled out a list of government initiatives around health, wellbeing, and infrastructure.

“The Albanese Labor government is building Australia’s future by investing in our regions, and we understand that regional development isn’t just about investing in roads and bridges,” she said.

“It’s also about cheaper medicine, which, thanks to the Labor government, will come down to $25 on 1 January 2026.

“The last time they were this cheap was in 2004. In 2004 I was at university and working in pharmacy.

“The number one song on the billboard charts was Usher’s song ‘Yeah’. We will take that as an agreement of this policy.

“And the word of the year was ‘blog’.

“This year’s word is ‘Delulu’; those opposite are still ‘Delulu’.”

Anthony Albanese has pushed back against the Coalition after facing a barrage of questions about his treatment at the Bush Summit in Ballarat on Friday.

The PM had been chased out of town after appearing at the forum by protesting farmers opposed to the renewables rollout.

Mr Albanese said the incident highlighted real security concerns, with public figures increasingly under threat.

He cited Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan’s press conference on Tuesday, which was disrupted by neo-nazis, as another example.

“At a time when security is an issue, making those sorts of comments, I would ask them to reflect on.

“Seriously, given what has occurred with the Victorian Premier today and other incidents.

“Federal police have enough of a job without it being added to.

“The second point is, I front up and talk with people. I don’t lie to them.”

Aged Care Minister Sam Rae has been called to the dispatch box again - this time by questioning from Queensland Coalition MP Angie Bell.

The Moncrieff MP asked again: “How many older Australians have died waiting for a home care package since 13 May this year?”

Again, Mr Rae offered his condolences and talked about reforms and consultation.

However, he again didn’t give a specific number.

Ms Bell called him out on avoiding the question: “The minister is not answering the question. It was very, very tight. Can we have an answer?”

Mr Rae again skipped over specifically answering it but rather presented quotes from Silverchain’s chief executive and the Council on the Ageing Australia’s chief executive about the government’s decision to delay the rollout of the act and support at home program.

Speaker Milton Dick had his work cut out in parliamentary Question Time today, repeatedly urging MPs to stop interjecting and to “take the temperature down”.

Tensions boiled over after Shadow Energy Minister Dan Tehan pressed the Prime Minister about being chased out of the Bush Summit in Victoria on Friday.

The debate grew so heated that Mr Dick ejected the Wannon MP from the chamber.

“Just everyone, take the temperature down otherwise there will be actions taken,” he said.

“The member for Wannon. You’ve been here long enough. You will leave the chamber under 94(a).”

As the MP was called out for interjecting, he tried to shift the blame onto others.

“Don’t point to other people,” Mr Dick shot back at him.

Shadow Energy Minister Dan Tehan has asked the Prime Minister to explain to the House why he was “chased out of Ballarat last Friday by a convoy of tractors?”.

The Wannon MP’s question related to the hostile reception that Anthony Albanese received at the Bush Summit on Friday, with regional crowds fuming about the renewables roll out.

As the PM responded he gave a cheeky dig to Mr Tehan’s Coalition colleague Angus Taylor’s Facebook fail in 2019, when he congratulated himself for his own policies.

“The protesters in Ballarat on Friday were protesting against a program that was initiated and given regulatory approval by the former government, something that I pointed out at the time,” the PM said.

“The member for Hume went on, ‘our (investment in this) project will support reliable electricity supply, deliver substantial cost savings and help keep the lights on four Australian families, business and industries’.

“Well done, Angus. Well done, Angus.”

Opposition leader Sussan Ley has targeted Aged Care Minister Sam Rae again with questions as the Coalition continue their line of prosecution over aged care package wait times.

Ms Ley asked for a particular figure and asked since the minister took office, how many elderly Australians have died while waiting for a home care package?

While Mr Rae expressed condolences, explained the decision to defer aspects of the Aged Care Act and talked about consultations from older people and providers - he didn’t directly answer the question.

Ms Ley followed up to call him out on not providing any specific data on deaths while waiting for home care packages, claiming she had asked a “tight question”.

Mr Rae responded again to quote the Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston.

“I think I want to provide one of these most important quotes from the period where the decision was made: ‘The decision to delay the start date for the new aged care reforms is the right decision for older Australians, aged care providers and home care operators’,” he started.

“This is a quote that I think concisely and clearly summarises that decision and its impact on older people and the sector across Australia and it’s a quote from the media release published by the Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care Senator Ruston.”

The Coalition have used their second question, asked by Flinders MP Zoe McKenzie, to hammer Aged Care Minister Sam Rae about aged care packages - again.

Ms McKenzie raised the case of a 85-year-old man called Kevin, who lives alone and urgently needs assistance, who registered for a home care assessment in March 2025 but was told it won’t happen until early next year.

Mr Rae thanked the minister for the question, acknowledged Kevin’s situation and offered to follow up personally.

“Kevin’s story is a great example of why our reforms are so very important. Our government is driving landmark reforms to in-home care, ensuring older Australians get the care they need in the comfort of their home for as long as as possible,” Mr Rae said.

“I said this before, that current wait times for aged care assessments are longer than they should be and we’re working hard to address this in every corner of Australia.”

The first Dorothy Dixer of Tuesday’s Question Time has been delivered by the Bennelong MP Jerome Laxale to the Prime Minister.

Labor has used the opportunity to ask what action the Albanese Government is taking on climate change.

Anthony Albanese used his answer to point to the political contrast Labor held with the Opposition, saying his government believed in climate change whereas the Coalition was in-fighting about net zero targets.

“They want to go back to denial and delay. Australians don’t want to go back,” the PM said.

“Those opposite are having a review. Spoiler alert. I reckon the review will stay, it will go.”

He said despite the Opposition’s internal divide, the government vowed to continue fighting for progress on climate and the renewables transition.

“They’re fighting each other. What we will do is fight for Australia,” he said.

“We’re backing renewable energy because it makes sense for our economy. The largest economic transformation since the industrial revolution and we have everything we need to make the most of it here in Australia.”