Australia news LIVE: Government promises hefty fines for social media giants ahead of Digital Duty of Care bill; Veterans to lay down medals in escalation of healthcare fight

Emily KaineUpdated September 7, 2026 — 7:13am,first published 6:45amKey PostsWhat’s making news todayBy Emily KaineHello and welcome to our live coverage of national news for Monday, September 7. Here’s what is making headlines today.The government has vowed to crack down on social media giants, threatening fines of up to $100 million if they fail to do more to keep under-16s off their platforms. Parliament resumes in Canberra today and the government is preparing to finalise its draft Digital Duty of Care legislation before it goes to the Senate tomorrow.Veterans will lay down their service medals outside Parliament House today in the newest escalation of their campaign against the Albanese government’s changes to veterans’ healthcare. It will mark two years since the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide delivered its final report, and veterans have accused the government of failing to honour commitments made after the inquiry.There are still 36 Australians unaccounted for in Nepal and Tibet after catastrophic flash floods devastated the Nepal-China border on August 26. Australia deployed an additional 15 personnel to Nepal to assist with ongoing search and rescue efforts.US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks in Kyiv in their first official visit to Ukraine, but made no breakthrough towards ending Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after the meeting. Latest Posts7.13amPlibersek: One Nation has consistently voted against interests of workersBy Emily KaineSocial Services Minister Tanya Plibersek has accused One Nation of consistently failing to vote in favour of the interests of Australian workers, after the party attempted to spruik a new policy that would allow workers to access a portion of their superannuation before retirement.She said this morning One Nation had voted down opportunities to increase wages.Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek.Alex Ellinghausen“It’s obvious that One Nation wants you to raid your super instead of getting a pay increase. We support higher wages and better super when you retire,” she told Seven this morning.“We know that if you raid your super now, you’ll be thousands of dollars worse off in retirement … One Nation has opposed same job, same pay. Pauline Hanson’s been out there saying Australian workers are lazy and they should be easier to sack. And they haven’t backed those increases to the minimum wage.”6.54amIndependent MP rubbishes Hanson’s super proposal By Emily KaineIndependent MP Monique Ryan has rubbished a proposal by Pauline Hanson to give Australian workers early access to their superannuation.The One Nation policy would allow workers to use one-quarter of their future super contributions as take-home pay for a period of three years to assist with cost-of-living pressures.Independent MP Monique Ryan.Luis Enrique Ascui“It’s one of those superficial things that Pauline Hanson comes up with … But what you would be doing is robbing your future to pay for your present,” Ryan told Nine this morning.“The whole idea of super is to give people a comfortable and dignified retirement.”6.45amUS envoys hold talks with Ukraine By US peace envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff heralded new momentum in peace talks after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv overnight in the US push to end Russia’s 4½-year war in Ukraine.Kushner and Witkoff travelled from Moscow, where they held three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the weekend but did not appear to secure a breakthrough in the conflict.US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff (right).Getty ImagesWitkoff said they had “heard new ideas” in Moscow, which they did not detail, and they hoped a new round of US-mediated Ukraine-Russia talks would be announced “in short order”.Zelensky praised the “very substantive” conversation with Witkoff and Kushner and said Ukraine was ready for trilateral talks. He said he also discussed air defence supplies and energy support for Ukraine ahead of winter, with Russia expected to bomb Ukraine’s power grid again.Previous rounds of US-mediated peace talks encouraged by Trump, who campaigned on a promise to quickly end the war, have yielded few results. He suggested on Friday that the US had a fresh proposal, though he did not elaborate.Reuters6.41amGovernment closes in on $100m social media finesBy Shane WrightSocial media companies could be slugged with fines of more than $100 million if they fail to do more to keep under-16s off their sites under an Albanese government bill set to go before the Senate tomorrow.The fines are part of a push to give more power to eSafety Commission chief Julie Inman Grant to target sites such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok for not abiding by Australia’s ban on young people accessing social media.Communications Minister Anika Wells.Dominic LorrimerIt forms a key part of a broader assault on social media platforms. If passed, the laws would force companies to prevent the promotion and sharing of harmful content, including illegal pornography, on their sites.The bill, which includes fines of $109.2 million for breaching the new laws, was approved by a Senate committee in July despite misgivings by non-government members. It will go to the Senate tomorrow.What’s making news todayBy Emily KaineHello and welcome to our live coverage of national news for Monday, September 7. Here’s what is making headlines today.The government has vowed to crack down on social media giants, threatening fines of up to $100 million if they fail to do more to keep under-16s off their platforms. Parliament resumes in Canberra today and the government is preparing to finalise its draft Digital Duty of Care legislation before it goes to the Senate tomorrow.Veterans will lay down their service medals outside Parliament House today in the newest escalation of their campaign against the Albanese government’s changes to veterans’ healthcare. It will mark two years since the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide delivered its final report, and veterans have accused the government of failing to honour commitments made after the inquiry.There are still 36 Australians unaccounted for in Nepal and Tibet after catastrophic flash floods devastated the Nepal-China border on August 26. Australia deployed an additional 15 personnel to Nepal to assist with ongoing search and rescue efforts.US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks in Kyiv in their first official visit to Ukraine, but made no breakthrough towards ending Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after the meeting. 1 of 1