Australia news LIVE: Right-wing politicians say government’s social media laws are politically motivated censorship; Number of Australians missing in Nepal revised down to 35, says DFAT

Emily KaineUpdated September 9, 2026 — 7:24am,first published 6:50amKey PostsWhat you need to knowBy Emily KaineHello and welcome to our live coverage of national news for Wednesday, September 9. Here’s what is making headlines today.Another Australian citizen has been located in Nepal after devastating flooding, bringing the number of missing Australians in the region down to 35, according to DFAT.Social media companies will have to prompt users to choose whether they want to have algorithm-driven feeds under Labor’s Digital Duty of Care bill. Communications Minister Anika Wells and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pitched the laws as a middle ground between an opt-in model that would make the default feed algorithm-free, and an opt-out model, which would require users to seek out the exclusion function themselves. The legislation has already drawn criticism from Coalition and One Nation MPs, who accused the government of political censorship.One Nation’s Victorian leader, Warren Pickering, said during a press conference yesterday that he had made mistakes as a young man and had “utilised illegal drugs” including speed, amphetamine, ecstasy and marijuana in his 20s, after initially denying allegations made by his former partner in a report in The Australian.And Israel has slammed a move by a dozen countries to impose trade sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, launching a furious diplomatic response after Britain accused it of allowing “ethnic cleansing” in the contested lands.Latest Posts7.24amTravel chaos in UK after air traffic control issueBy Flights at major British airports were disrupted by a technical fault at air traffic control provider NATS, the latest in a series of failures that renewed questions about the resilience of Britain’s aviation infrastructure.The cancellation of hundreds of flights and delays to hundreds more renews scrutiny on NATS three years after a flight-plan processing failure caused even more widespread disruption.Heathrow Airport, the UK’s major air travel hub, pictured in 2025, BloombergAs passengers waited for information in departure halls across the country, airlines questioned whether the nation’s air traffic control system was fit for purpose.NATS said at 18.34 GMT (4.34am AEST) that the issue, which had impacted its flight data processing system, has been resolved. It had earlier said that “safety was not compromised”.“Recovery from today’s system issue has taken longer than we had hoped. Our system issue is now resolved, we are operating normally and working as hard as possible to clear the backlog of flights,” NATS said on X.Reuters7.10amOpposition ‘spitting the dummy’ by claiming reforms are censorship, says ministerBy Emily KaineNationals leader Matt Canavan has accused Labor of attempting to tilt political sentiment in its own favour after the government introduced its draft Digital Duty of Care bill yesterday.Under the new laws, social media platforms will be required to prompt users to choose whether they want to have algorithm-driven feeds. Right-wing politicians have claimed the reforms are an attempt at politically motivated censorship.Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy.Dominic Lorrimer“These people are not impartial in their own words. This is to tilt the political field in their favour. They’re not impartial. This is like, this bill is like putting Anthony Albanese in charge of refereeing the South Sydney Rabbitohs. He wouldn’t be an impartial judge. These people aren’t impartial judges, and we should not allow this type of censorship to emerge,” he told Nine’s Today.Appearing alongside Canavan was Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy, who said Canavan was “spitting the dummy”.“This is about the care of families right across the country … To just whitewash all of this simply because you’re going to spit the dummy over a point that you think has merit when it doesn’t, [it] is quite irresponsible.”6.53amHaines calls for enforceable standards amid pork-barrelling accusationsBy Emily KaineIndependent MP Helen Haines has called for enforceable standards in the Commonwealth’s grant guidelines after revelations this week that almost three-quarters of taxpayer funding went to Labor-held electorates, putting the distribution of public money under fresh scrutiny.Haines told ABC’s News Breakfast that Australians deserved transparency about where their taxpayer-money was going.Independent MP Helen Haines.Alex Ellinghausen“What Australians are seeking is a strong vision for the country, not to be bought out seat by seat,” she said.“They can see this. They’re awakened up to it. It needs to stop. There’s a way to stop it. We can change our Commonwealth grant guidelines to have enforceable standards. That’s what we need. That’s what I’m calling for. And let’s clean this up once and for all.”6.42amNumber of Australians missing in Nepal revised to 35, search efforts ongoingBy Emily KaineThe number of Australians missing in Nepal has been revised from 36 down to 35 after another Aussie was confirmed safe nearly a fortnight after a flash flood tore through the Nepal-China border.DFAT said last night that the citizen had previously been uncontactable in Nepal, but could confirm they were safe and did not require consular assistance.Destroyed buildings in Betrawoti, Nepal on September 3. Kate GeraghtyAlmost 1400 people have died as a result of the floods, and more than 5000 remain missing, according to Nepalese and Chinese authorities.Australian personnel remain on the ground in Nepal assisting with ongoing search and recovery efforts.with AP 6.33amIsrael targets UK in response to sanctions on settlements in West BankBy David CroweLondon: Israel has slammed a move by a dozen countries to impose trade sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, launching a furious diplomatic response after Britain accused it of allowing “ethnic cleansing” in the contested lands.Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar rebuked the British government for what he called its “morally distorted” decision to punish the country and the settlers, declaring that Israel had to respond to the “hostile” moves.The dispute also intensified arguments within Israel over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the lead-up to elections on October 27, with a key political rival accusing him of being taken by surprise by the international action.British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband blamed Israel for allowing illegal settlements in the West Bank.Getty ImagesBritish Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband led the sanctions push by blaming Israel for allowing illegal settlements in the West Bank and failing to stop “ethnic cleansing” and violence against Palestinian communities losing their land.While Israel targeted Britain with its response, including the closure of the consulate in Jerusalem, countries ranging from Canada to Denmark, France and Sweden also backed the trade moves over the settlements.Read the full story here.What you need to knowBy Emily KaineHello and welcome to our live coverage of national news for Wednesday, September 9. Here’s what is making headlines today.Another Australian citizen has been located in Nepal after devastating flooding, bringing the number of missing Australians in the region down to 35, according to DFAT.Social media companies will have to prompt users to choose whether they want to have algorithm-driven feeds under Labor’s Digital Duty of Care bill. Communications Minister Anika Wells and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pitched the laws as a middle ground between an opt-in model that would make the default feed algorithm-free, and an opt-out model, which would require users to seek out the exclusion function themselves. The legislation has already drawn criticism from Coalition and One Nation MPs, who accused the government of political censorship.One Nation’s Victorian leader, Warren Pickering, said during a press conference yesterday that he had made mistakes as a young man and had “utilised illegal drugs” including speed, amphetamine, ecstasy and marijuana in his 20s, after initially denying allegations made by his former partner in a report in The Australian.And Israel has slammed a move by a dozen countries to impose trade sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, launching a furious diplomatic response after Britain accused it of allowing “ethnic cleansing” in the contested lands.1 of 1