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Crowds gather at Melbourne CBD protest against Isaac Herzog
Cait Kelly
In Melbourne’s CBD a large crowd has started to gather outside Flinders Street station, in protest at the visit of Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog today.
It stretches across the intersection and down towards Swanston Street. The vibe has been relaxed, with drumming and chanting before it begun.
There is a strong police presence with members of the evidence gathering team filming protesters.
MC Basil el-Ghattis says:
If you’re disturbed by our presence on this intersection … we are disturbed by the killing of innocent civilians.
We have matched for two and a half years for the rights of the Palestinians. We will continue to march. Because at this very moment Palestinians are being murdered.
Key events
Cait Kelly
Palestinian activist’s speech interrupted in Melbourne
It looks like someone may have tried to interrupt Palestinian activist Tasnim Sammak’s speech at Flinders Street station in Melbourne at the protest against Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog.
“One moment guys” she said, as camera crews turned their attention to a scuffle on the side.
She then led the crowd in a chant before saying:
Let’s just keep it together.
She has continued her speech.
Australian eSafety commissioner named in Time’s top 100 influential leaders in health
The Australian eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has been named one of Time’s top 100 influential leaders in health.
Inman Grant was praised by the magazine for her execution of the federal government’s under 16s social media ban:
As Australia’s eSafety commissioner, she formulated the set of guidelines for what social media companies can and cannot do in her adopted homeland, where more than 97% of the population are online. She also advised the government, liaised with tech companies, and spearheaded its promotion to the public.
Inman Grant has changed the tide of the conversation. Now that she has demonstrated it’s legally and logistically possible to limit tech companies’ access to young people’s attention, parents in other countries are asking their governments to step up.
Cait Kelly
Greens MP address Melbourne rally against Herzog
Thousands have gathered for the protest against the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, in Melbourne with the crowd spreading down Swanston street.
Victorian Greens MP Gabrielle de Vietri has just addressed the rally. She said Herzog should have never been invited.
What is going on? What is going on? When our government are rolling out the red carpet for the head of a state that is actively committing genocide.
She said Herzog should have been arrested “on arrival”.
That is the moral thing to do. That is the right thing to do.
Finishing up she asks the crowd to put their hand up if they have voted Labor in the past, before asking them “will you vote Labor?” Many in the crowd respond “never again”.
Come and talk to me if you’re one of the people saying never again. The Greens will always stand for humanity … we will always stand up for your right to protest.
Who has resigned from the Liberal shadow ministry so far today?
Tom McIlroy
Angus Taylor’s camp is increasingly confident he will win Friday’s leadership ballot, amid a growing list of resignations from the shadow ministry.
Here’s everyone we know who has resigned since Taylor quit the opposition frontbench last night:
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Dan Tehan (Victoria)
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James Paterson (Victoria)
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Jono Duniam (Tasmania)
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Michaelia Cash (WA)
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James McGrath (Queensland)
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Phil Thompson (Queensland)
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Leah Blyth (SA)
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Claire Chandler (SA)
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Matt O’Sullivan (WA)
Tom McIlroy
Leah Blyth next to resign from Liberal frontbench
Shadow assistant minister for families and communities, Leah Blyth, is the latest resignation from Sussan Ley’s frontbench.
The South Australian senator posted on social media on Thursday afternoon, saying she respected Ley but planned to vote for Angus Taylor in Friday’s spill.
Matters are coming to a head.
My concerns are not about personalities. They are about direction.
Australians are anxious. Families are under pressure. Living standards are going backwards. Interest rates remain high and household budgets are stretched.
Blyth said the country needed a strong, disciplined and credible opposition.
It is time for us to listen to the clear message from the Australian people.
Dan Tehan quits Liberal frontbench, will run for deputy
Tom McIlroy
Dan Tehan has quit Sussan Ley’s frontbench, the latest blow to the opposition leader’s position and another confidence boost to Angus Taylor.
The former shadow minister for energy and emissions reduction was a key supporter of Ley until about 5pm on Thursday.
He confirmed he would nominate for the deputy leadership in Friday’s ballot.
“This is not a decision I have taken lightly,” he said in a statement.
If I am successful, there are four priorities I will make my focus.
We need to immediately unify, hold this dreadful Albanese Labor Government to account, develop a policy manifesto true to our values and make us match fit to win elections.
Crowds gather at Melbourne CBD protest against Isaac Herzog
Cait Kelly
In Melbourne’s CBD a large crowd has started to gather outside Flinders Street station, in protest at the visit of Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog today.
It stretches across the intersection and down towards Swanston Street. The vibe has been relaxed, with drumming and chanting before it begun.
There is a strong police presence with members of the evidence gathering team filming protesters.
MC Basil el-Ghattis says:
If you’re disturbed by our presence on this intersection … we are disturbed by the killing of innocent civilians.
We have matched for two and a half years for the rights of the Palestinians. We will continue to march. Because at this very moment Palestinians are being murdered.
Graham Readfearn
Heavy rainfall warning issued for south-east Queensland
South-east Queensland residents are being warned to prepare for major downpours from Thursday night with potentially dangerous flash flooding and riverine flooding.
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that six-hourly rainfall totals of between 50mm and 90mm are likely, but some places could see up to 150mm.
A heavy rainfall warning area includes Brisbane, the Gold Coast and southern parts of the Sunshine Coast, and extends into the eastern parts of the Darling Downs and Granite Belt region. Areas farther west could also see large downpours.
The warning runs until midday Friday but the bureau said that could be extended, with forecasts for continuing rain in some areas for Saturday and Sunday.
Wong says people ‘have a right to pray in peace’ after ‘confronting’ scenes at Sydney Herzog protest
Ben Doherty
“People have a right to pray in peace,” the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has told Senate estimates, asked about footage of NSW police officers grabbing and throwing Muslim men to the ground as they knelt in prayer outside Sydney town hall during a protest against the visit by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog.
“I think Australians believe people have a right to pray in peace,” Wong told estimates, responding to a question from Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi.
I believe many Australians would have found those scenes confronting, and I think it would have been particularly confronting for Muslim Australians. I found them confronting.
I would say that freedom of religion and the peaceful expression of different views is a core part of who we are.
Video shot at a protest in Sydney on Monday night showed about a dozen men, led by sheikh Wesam Charkawi, kneeling in prayer in two straight lines in the forecourt of Sydney town hall. The men did not appear to be blocking a road or marching, which is effectively banned in designated areas under a NSW law passed after the Bondi terror attack.
Nick Visser
Peak body calls for independent review after teen allegedly injured during Sydney rally
Youth Action NSW, a peak body representing young people and youth services, says it is deeply concerned after the mother of a 16-year-old alleged her son was assaulted by police at Monday’s rally at Sydney Town Hall.
On Wednesday, Kefah Maradweh told ABC Radio Sydney she planned to press charges after her son, Nedal, alleged police pushed him to the ground, kicked him and restrained him before he was released without charge during a protest.
Nedal said yesterday:
They grabbed me by my keffiyeh, my scarf, and just dragged me, pulled me, kicked me on the floor, knee to my head, knee to my neck, and then put me in handcuffs.
Youth Action says any action where a young person is allegedly harmed in a public space should prompt “serious reflection about how we protect the safety and rights of children and young people in our community”, calling for an independent review.
The group’s CEO, Lauren Stracey, said in a statement:
Young people have the right to participate in civic life, express their views and be heard. They also have the right to safety. These rights are not conditional, and one does not cancel out the other.
All institutions, including the NSW Police, have responsibility to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in every interaction. The use of force against a young person raises serious concerns about how that responsibility is being upheld.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has refused to apologise to the Muslim community after police disrupted a group of men praying during the protest.
Cash to remain opposition leader in Senate
Here’s Michaelia Cash’s statement about resigning from the frontbench of the Liberals.
Cash says she will remain leader of the opposition in the Senate.
I have today tended my resignation as the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Following the events of recent days I believe the matter of the Liberal Party Leadership needs to be brought to a head.
Therefore, I will be voting for a spill of the leadership when the party room next meets. This makes it impossible for me to remain in Shadow Cabinet.
I am not resigning as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, a role bestowed upon me by the Senate party room.
I thank Sussan Ley for the opportunity she gave me to serve as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Cait Kelly
Victorian opposition leader addresses Jewish community
The Victorian opposition leader, Jess Wilson, has just taken the stage. Both Wilson and the premier added in a Hebrew phrase to their speeches, to cheers in the room.
Wilson calls out the protesters against Isaac Herzog.
I know that, President Herzog, your visit sends a message of solidarity to Jewish Victorians that you are seen, you are connected and you are not alone. President Herzog, thank you for being here.
It (frustrates) me greatly that your visit to our country has been marred by the actions of a small number of detractors who seem to sow division at a time when social cohesion so desperately needed.
For my part, I will do everything I can to honour the Jewish community here and the people of Israel, and I will work to combat antisemitism and rebuild the security and sense of belonging that Jewish Australians need and deserve, so that Zionism becomes not a slur but a proud reflection of the Jewish you.
