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ESSENTIALS

— Greens launch independent inquiry, as Jordon Steele-John takes leave over inappropriate comment allegations

— Coalition frontbencher Jonno Duniam vows ‘never, ever’ to stalk parliament as lobbyist

— eSafety Commissioner replacement set to be a job share

DRIVING THE DAY

TRUTH TO PREVAIL IN EXCLUSIVE BRETHREN APPEARANCE

Plymouth Brethren Christian Church global leader Bruce Hales and his son, Gareth Hales, will front a parliamentary inquiry today, facing questions on allegations members of the church paid far-right activists with neo-Nazi links to disrupt Labor outings at the last federal election.

The electoral matters committee demanded the Hales front up after the September report by Sherryn Groch and Michael Bachelard, and the Haleses agreed (avoiding the threat of a summons to compel their attendance).

In a statement reported by The Australian ahead of his appearance, Bruce Hales said he had no knowledge “whatsoever in any planning, co-ordinating or directing” sect members to “volunteer or participate as to which I still have no knowledge”.

One should never assume: “I trust that the above responses address the Committee’s queries that they would have of me and, as a result, I assume my attendance is no longer required before the committee,” Hales threw in at the end. Nice try.

The sect is not happy about the compulsory attendance, saying it’s a “deeply disturbing moment for religious freedoms in Australia,” and issuing a warning that, “while this has started with our church, it won’t end with us.”

GREENS SENATOR TAKES LEAVE OVER INAPPROPRIATE CONDUCT ALLEGATIONS

Greens Sen. Jordon Steele-John has taken leave from the party room after The Sydney Morning Herald’s James Massola reported that seven party members demanded an investigation into “multiple” allegations of inappropriate comments to women. The WA senator said he “utterly reject[s] this characterisation,” which included claims some women were advised not to be alone with him.

New Greens Leader David Shoebridge insisted the party takes the allegations, which span from 2017 to 2025, “extremely seriously.”

Catch up on the Sydney Morning Herald report here.

What we’re watching for: How the WA Greens conduct what Shoebridge promises will be “a fair and independent inquiry,” carried out by a third party.

In a separate statement, WA Greens co-convenors Simone Collins and Giz Watson said they were seeking legal advice on how the inquiry would be set up. “We thank everyone involved in advance for their cooperation in a fair, impartial and thorough process,” they said. “We will not be commenting further until it is appropriate to do so.”

Questions we wish they could comment on:

— Who will oversee the inquiry?

— How long will it run?

— Will its findings be made public?

— Will Steele-John return before the end of the year, even if he’s not sitting with the Greens?

What else will come out about: A NSW Youth Greens motion in 2018, which suggests the party was aware of the allegations, reported first by News24 political editor Andrew Clennell.

Shoebridge was a member of the NSW Parliament at the time, but told reporters he did “not recall having any involvement at all in that.”

We expect: Federal Greens MPs to refer questions about the allegations to the ongoing inquiry.

UKRAINE TO GREENS: THINK AGAIN ON MILITARY AID

Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko will meet Shoebridge today to urge him to reconsider his position against giving military aid to Ukraine, unless the U.N. approves it (impossible, given Russia’s security council veto).

Pacifism a luxury: The ambassador told the ABC yesterday “I kind of understand and agree with the Greens that, probably, militarism is a curse on modern society. I wish I would have lived in a very peaceful time and country, where our borders are intact, our sovereignty is protected by international law. Unfortunately, it’s not the case for us. Certainly, we need to make a distinction between the war of choice, expansion and the war of desperate defense fighting for its survival.”

Myroshnychenko said he understood other Greens, including Sarah Hanson-Young, did not share Shoebridge’s view and “noted a fierce reaction from Greens party members … I’ve seen a lot of pushback from the members of the party, they were surprised by this position. So I think it should be revisited.”

Myroshnychenko thanked the Australian government for its military aid, but said he wanted bipartisanship maintained on that point.

EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW: Shoebridge is right to say that his stance on Ukraine is nothing new, but it’s under renewed focus now he’s the leader. If One Nation Sen. Malcolm Roberts can face a grilling over resurfacing of his old comments once One Nation is riding high in the polls, it’s fair enough for a new Greens leader to face increased scrutiny.

STATE OF THE NATION

ESAFETY REPLACEMENT TO JOB SHARE

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has an enormous job that keeps getting bigger and powers to match: from the ability to order the takedown of violent material, to the enforcement of Australia’s world-leading ban on social media accounts for those aged under 16 and the proposed digital duty of care currently before parliament.

So big has the workload become that on Thursday, Communications Minister Anika Wells confirmed the government “is considering” appointing multiple commissioners when Julie Inman Grant’s term finishes in January 2027.

“Given the resourcing required for the digital duty of care and the volume of complaints is rising sharply, [having one commissioner] reflects a slightly different time,” Wells said.

Wells also cited the workload as she signalled Labor is willing to agree to the Greens’ request to allow individuals or groups to sue for online harms. “Our eSafety Commissioner does a marvelous job at enforcement and compliance, but it’s a huge burden, and a private right of action allows people to share that burden, it is something we’re contemplating,” she said.

For more on Inman Grant’s time in the role, read Paul Karp’s feature: Does Australia’s eSafety Commissioner have the worst job in the world?

POLITICO guy, c’est moi: In researching that story, Karp approached American author and anti-digital duty of care advocate Michael Shellenberger before the National Press Club to ask what he had said about Inman Grant at CPAC.

After Wells’ speech, Shellenberger recorded a seven-minute video complaining, in part, that it was “weird” to be asked by “POLITICO guy” what he had said at CPAC. “What are you getting at?” he asked rhetorically. Assembling facts — just part of the job. Shellenberger described Karp as acting like a “government propagandist” for his later question to Wells.

We’re just going to print the whole question and let readers judge: “Julie Inman Grant has copped a lot of abuse in her role, from Elon Musk calling her the ‘censorship commissar’ to, more recently, Pauline Hanson calling her a Karen at CPAC over the weekend. Is Australia’s eSafety Commissioner the worst job in the world? Why do you think Inman Grant has copped this abuse and is the solution, when her term is up, to move from having an eSafety Commissioner to having a whole commission collectively deliberate?”

WOMEN VETERANS STRATEGY (FINALLY) RELEASED

Australia’s Defence Force will be required to make its gender pay gap public, as part of a broad strategy to force the service to treat its serving women and veterans better as a matter of operational necessity.

Released yesterday evening — more than a month after stakeholders told POLITICO it was delayed — the Women Veterans Strategy responds to a need to include and advance more women in order to meet recruitment goals.

While the civilian part of Defence is already required to report gender pay gap data to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency annually, the ADF hasn’t been. Data from the 2021-22 financial year put the gap at 11.8% for permanent forces (45.7% when it came to superannuation).

The strategy will also see Veterans’ Affairs establish the role of a principal women’s adviser, and commission research on the long-term reproductive health impact of military service. This comes after Sen. Jacqui Lambie in August tearfully spoke about suffering from vaginal prolapse connected to back injuries sustained during her service in the Australian Defence Force.

Women Veterans Australia Chair Llani Kennealy says she’s happy the strategy has been published, but now the government needs to focus on funding it.

THE PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW

JONNO DUNIAM — ON QUITTING POLITICS

Coalition home affairs spokesperson Jonno Duniam is hanging up the boots after 10 years as a senator for Tasmania and a 25-year career in politics. (How is he still only 43?!) Duniam gave his valedictory speech this week and spoke with Amanda Copp about family, his favorite Liberal Leader and life after politics.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Read the full transcript of interview with Duniam.

Why are you leaving?

It is, if you take it seriously, an all-consuming job. I’ve got three young boys. Well, they’re not so young anymore — 18, 15 and 11 — but they’re at a point in their lives where they do need their dad.

Do you think you’d stay if the Liberals had more chance of winning the next election?

My answer is, emphatically — no. The idea of going into government, being a cabinet minister, as much of an honor and a privilege as it is, the weight of that responsibility, the time that would hoover up. I’ve made a decision based on reprioritising my life, putting my family first and my work after that. So I would probably have even greater desire to leave if we were in the box seat to form government.

You’ve worked under five Liberal leaders, have you got a favorite?

Well, of course, my favorite is my leader Angus Taylor.

But let me say, all the leaders I’ve served under have all presented something different. I was reflecting not so long ago on Malcolm Turnbull. He and I have, perhaps, some ideological differences, but I’ve never met a leader of a political party who was more effective when it came to dealing with an issue. If I texted him, a lowly, backbencher-nobody from Tasmania, and said “we need to talk about this,” within a nanosecond, I would have a response on text from him.

Have you got a best friend across the aisle?

This could very well be the kiss of death, but Katy Gallagher. I’m a conservative liberal senator, she’s a left-wing Labor senator — so you could say we’re diametrically opposed. I forged a relationship with Katy through needing to deal with her on chamber management. Being able to deal with someone honestly, who will tell you the truth up front, is a rare commodity. Katy’s someone who you can have a laugh with at the end of a very robust sitting week and have a trusting working relationship with. There are others, but Katy is definitely top of the pops.

Is the Coalition’s migration policy actually about trying to get votes back from One Nation?

Any politician that tells you politics isn’t about winning votes is a liar. In order for me to give effect to the policies I believe are important for our country, we need to win an election. In order to win elections, you have to win votes. So, of course, every day of the week, we want to convince Australians to come back to us.

As Deputy Chair of the AI committee, does the future of AI worry you?

AI is coming at us, whether we like it or not. It’s here already in many respects. It’s coming in ways that we cannot control unless we get the settings right. So, am I worried about it? Yeah, sure. There are things that do worry me. Are they impossible to manage? No, they’re not. I know my side is up for the challenge. My sense is the government is very much up for the challenge.

What are you most looking forward to post-politics?

I’m looking forward to not being a politician. There are three parts to being a politician — one is travel, the other part is politics. One of the worst parts is politics, and internal politics. It is not fun. The best part of politics is problem solving. Which more than offsets all the crap. Whether you’re the prime minister or a backbencher, communities or an individual in your electorate will present with a problem, and you need to help find a way to resolve that.

That is the one thing I’ve loved about what I do, and that is what I hope to be able to do into the future. And before you ask, no, I’m not going to be a lobbyist. I will never, ever, ever wear one of those orange lanyards round Parliament House.

QUESTION TIME

CAN EVERYONE PLEASE GROW UP: To prove Duniam’s point about his close friendship with Gallagher, Nationals Leader Matt Canavan yelled for the pair to “get a room” as they chatted between votes yesterday. “Oh, look he’s gone all red now!”

CANBERRA MEETS WORLD

THAT’S NOT PALAU-ED: The leader of the world’s fourth-smallest country isn’t afraid to muscle up to China. Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. sat down with Playbook’s Finn McHugh, telling Beijing that recognizing Taiwan’s independence is “our choice, not yours.”

Whipps also: Chided U.S. allies for not providing support for the war in Iran to help President Donald Trump “get this done,” and explained why Albo might be Palau’s “No. 1 social media influencer.”

Read the story here or the full interview here.

MISSILE MESS REVEALED: The 36 billion Australian dollar Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Group — the country’s flagship missile program — racked up at least $15.6 million in financial and procurement blunders, including paying out $13.3 million before securing basic legal sign-off, reports ABC’s Olivia Caisley.

The files obtained by ABC expose a pattern of basic accounting and administrative failures. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy telling the ABC: “We agree the rot has to stop.”

‘INSULTING': How Foreign Minister Penny Wong described Israel’s refusal to release the audio footage of the killing of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom by IDF soldiers. Israeli ambassador Hillel Newman tells Australia to “move on,” Matthew Knott reported for the SMH.

HOW CHINA USES LINKEDIN TO GATHER INTELLIGENCE: Accounts linked to Chinese spies have offered dozens of Australian government paid consultancy offers on the networking platform, report Echo Hui and Meghna Bali for the ABC.

COMMUNITY CORNER

Tote bag and four mugs with vagina slogans | Jacqui Lambie

JACQUI LAMBIE’S VAGINA COLLECTION NOW ON SALE: That’s not a misprint … The Tasmanian Senator is following One Nation and United Australia’s Sen. Ralph Babet into the merch game. Lambie launched a series of vagina-themed mugs and tote bags to highlight women’s health issues and to destigmatize talking about vaginas.

VERBATIM: News 24 anchor Kieran Gilbert: “Thank you for my, er …”

Lambie: “Vagina cup, you’re welcome.”

PARLIAMENTARY PROTOCOL

Electronic display with menu items — Parliament House staff cafe menu board

WHAT’S WITH?: The Parliamentary Staff Cafeteria, best known as “The Trough,” suddenly offering up a “Data Breach burger” made from Angus beef? With OpenAI’s agents going rogue and accessing government departments, was this a slight at Opposition Leader Angus Taylor for some reason? He had nothing to do with it!

LOCAL CANBERRA

CANBERRA WRITERS FESTIVAL NOW OPEN: It’s running through Sunday.

Yes, but: The Canberra Short Film Festival is winding down, and wraps up on Saturday night.

2027 CANBERRA COMEDY FESTIVAL GALA TICKETS ON SALE: Buy them here if you feel like a chuckle.

A CANBERRA-DESIGNED BLANKET CHANGING THE WORLD: Have you tried using a blanket in a wheelchair? They’re a nightmare, and that’s why Monika Mironov invented a new way. Mironow is now a double Australian Good Design Award winner.

MOVES AND APPOINTMENTS

HELPING HAND: Opposition Leader Angus Taylor’s senior adviser, Kane Silom, is taking leave without pay to aid Victorian Liberal Leader Jess Wilson’s campaign ahead of the Nov. 28 election.

The attorney general announced the appointment of Alison Legge and Trevor McKenna as judges to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) in Melbourne and Hobart. They begin on Oct. 19.

BIRTHDAYS

TODAY: Liberal MP Henry Pike.

SATURDAY: Rapper Eminem.

SUNDAY: Labor MP Anne Urquhart, WA Labor MP Jessica Stojkovski, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, ABC chief digital political correspondent Clare Armstrong, owner of parliament’s Aussies cafe Dom Calabria, heartthrob Zac Efron.

Home

Steele-John allegations plunge Greens into crisis, Exclusive Brethren in the hot seat