News and politics: Moonee ponds venue pulls out of hosting Hanson, Joyce at One Nation fundraiser

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A high-profile One Nation fundraising dinner in Melbourne has been relocated at the last minute after organisers raised concerns about planned protests.

The exclusive event, which carried a $200-$2000 ticket price and featured appearances from party leader Pauline Hanson and former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, was originally scheduled to be held at Casa Giorgio in Moonee Ponds on Friday evening.

However, a notice placed on the restaurant’s door earlier in the day advised the function would no longer go ahead at the venue, citing safety concerns.

The event was subsequently shifted to a new location in South Melbourne.

Senator Hanson and Mr Joyce arrived at the revised venue around 5.30pm, where a small group of demonstrators had already gathered.

Speaking to reporters outside, both politicians took aim at those behind the protest action that forced the change of venue.

“We’re no Nazis,” Mr Joyce said as protestors yelled.

Ms Hanson also expressed concern for attendees, particularly supporters who would need to pass through protesters to enter the event.

“This has happened for many years and it’s a shame,” she said.

Some remarks from the crowd were aggressive, with one protester yelling “Die Pauline,” while another called her a “Nazi”.

A planned One Nation fundraising dinner in Melbourne has been abruptly cancelled after the venue pulled out of hosting the event, disrupting a night that was set to feature party leader Pauline Hanson and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce.

The event, titled An Evening for Victoria, was set to take place at Casa Giorgio in Moonee Ponds and was being promoted as a cocktail function bringing together business figures, community members and supporters interested in “a stronger direction for Victoria”.

Victoria Police confirmed the Moonee Ponds venue will no longer proceed with the gathering, which had been scheduled for Friday evening and for which both Hanson and Joyce had travelled to Melbourne.

“Victoria Police is aware a venue in Moonee Ponds is no longer holding an event tonight.” a police spokesperson said.

“This decision was made by the venue.

“Victoria Police is not aware of any threats made to the venue or event.

“Police will maintain a presence in the area due to potential protest activity.”

At this stage, it remains unclear whether One Nation will attempt to relocate the fundraising event to another site.

Ticket prices ranged from $200 for general entry to $2000 for a private audience with Senator Hanson.

The cancellation comes as Senator Hanson recently highlighted the success of One Nation’s anti-Labor fundraising push, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese questioned whether donations were legitimate.

The Nightly has reached out to One Nation for comment.

An Iranian hardline lawmaker has cast doubt on US President Donald Trump’s claim that a “great settlement” to end the conflict is near, warning the US president may be attempting to mislead Tehran and urging continued military pressure instead.

“The probability of deception by Trump is high,” said Ebrahim Rezaei, a senior member of Iran’s parliament and spokesperson for its National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, in a post on X. He added that the US president instead “wants to keep the situation calm for now.”

Mr Rezaei also called for escalation, saying Iran should instead “strike harder, destroy and annihilate the enemy’s infrastructure, economic centers, and artificial intelligence in the region so they feel more pain.”

The comments came after Mr Trump declared on Thursday night that he had “ended the war” with Iran and was finalising a “great settlement,” marking a sharp reversal from earlier threats. Just hours earlier, he had warned of striking Iran “VERY HARD” and said the US would take Kharg Island, a key Iranian oil export hub. Trump later said those planned strikes had been called off.

Mr Rezaei responded with a warning directed at the United States over any action against Kharg Island, saying “if you come, you will not return alive.”

Kharg Island, located in the Persian Gulf, is critical to Iran’s economy and is responsible for about 90 per cent of the country’s crude oil exports.

Mr Rezaei is among several Iranian hardliners who have expressed scepticism about negotiations with Washington.

One Nation’s public fundraising campaign is a “smokescreen” for the money coming in from billionaire donors, a Labor powerbroker says.

The Pauline Hanson-led party is claiming to have raised more than $3 million from almost 50,000 donors to its anti-Labor “fire the liar” campaign.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other Labor figures have cast doubt on the legitimacy of the fundraising drive, prompting Senator Hanson to share an “independent audit” document authored by a software engineer to her social media page.

Former federal treasurer Wayne Swan labelled One Nation the “billionaire’s party”, highlighting its links to Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart who in April gifted Senator Hanson a $1 million plane.

“When it comes to big money in this country, it’s all going to One Nation,” Labor’s national president told Nine’s Today on Friday.

“This whole debate is a smokescreen for the fact that they are actually run by the top end of town, and they deliver the policies for the top end ... and wage suppression for the rest.”

- with AAP

Australia’s peak accounting group has warned Labor’s rushed changes to capital gains tax concessions could leave investment property owners and shareholders with a huge bill they hadn’t planned for — even if they didn’t sell.

CPA Australia, representing Certified Practising Accountants, noted in a Treasury Bill submission that replacing the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount with a 30 per cent tax on inflation-adjusted gains from July 1 next year would put an enormous financial burden on landlords and investors, with valuers typically charging hundreds of dollars per assessment.

That’s because Labor’s legislation would require all investors to seek a property valuation by June 30, 2027, so capital gains on either side of that date could be properly calculated.

This would also apply to a range of other assets including shares, affecting millions of taxpayers at the end of the next financial year.

A simpler calculation for the Australian Taxation Office is yet to be devised in Labor’s legislation, whereby a 50 per cent CGT discount would apply for gains accrued from September 1999 to June 2027 before a new 30 per cent tax was applied to gains made after July 1, 2027.

Read the full story.

Westpac chief economist Luci Ellis warns the Reserve Bank is still likely to hike interest rates this year given inflation remains too high.

Dr Ellis’ view about the RBA’s future rate trajectory is opposite to those of economists at HSBC and ANZ, who on Friday tipped the institution’s next move to be cuts. NAB economists earlier this week tipped cuts were the next likely move.

Dr Ellis, a former Reserve Bank assistant governor, said recent inflation and labour market data had been mixed, supporting the case for a hold next Tuesday.

But she expects two more hikes this year — in August and September.

Read more

Australian shares have rebounded sharply on the latest peace deal proclamation from US President Donald Trump, but risks to the global energy market remain.

The S&P/ASX200 jumped 168.9 points by midday, up 1.96 per cent, to 8,802.1, as the broader All Ordinaries rose 168.4 points, or 1.91 per cent, to 9,005.1.

After an escalation of tit-for-tat attacks between the US and Iran, President Trump backed down on his latest round of threats and claimed the nations were on the verge of signing a peace deal.

Iranian authorities have denied reaching a final decision on the proposal.

“Nevertheless, the cancellation of fresh military strikes and another clear signal that President Trump has apparently very little appetite to escalate the war caused crude prices to drop and gave a fresh boost to risk assets,” Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said.

“Although in the bigger picture, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and a risk to global energy markets.”

Read more

- AAP

Just in from Latika M Bourke:

John Healey’s sensational resignation as UK Defence Secretary, because of Sir Keir Starmer’s failure to fund defence at the levels to match heightened geopolitical threats, left his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles, a jilted bride.

Mr Healey pulled out of a scheduled media appearance for Mr Marles at His Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth.

Waiting media were told to go home and after being given a tour of the base by a junior minister, Mr Marles fled without a word.

He refused to speak to the press about the implications, which are dire, of Mr Healey’s resignation for AUKUS. But the Defence Minister cannot escape the uncomfortable truths that his British counterpart has exposed.

Read more

One Nation’s donation page is back online after earlier crashing for nearly two hours.

Just after 11am the page had raised $2,961,852, just shy of its $3.1m target.

And money from the fundraiser is already being put to work, according to leader Pauline Hanson who posted a photo on social media of a mobile billboard outside Anthony Albanese’s electorate office.