Crisafulli declares end to ‘cannoli diplomacy’ with Albanese over lack of hospital funding – as it happened

4.18am GMT What happened Sunday 9 November We’re going to wrap things up for today. Here’s what happened: Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has said he can’t see Australia leaving the Paris agreement and has urged his party to recognise “the Australian people are worried about climate change” ahead of a crunch week of meetings to determine the Coalition’s position on net zero emissions. Natural disaster-prone councils in south-east Queensland say the Bureau of Meteorology’s decision to axe its free real-time flood forecasting tool is a “cost-shifting” exercise with “potentially deadly consequences”, with New South Wales emergency services also affected. The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, has said the relationship between his government and the federal government had soured over a hospital funding deal. Crisafulli declared an end to “cannoli diplomacy” – riffing on the fact both he and the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, are of Italian descent – to demonstrate a willingness for his LNP government to work with Labor in Canberra. Princess Anne has her first full day in Australia as part of a royal tour that comes less than two weeks after King Charles announced he was stripping their brother Andrew of the title of prince, due to the ongoing fallout from his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Updated at 4.24am GMT 3.11am GMT Reported gunshot a new line of inquiry in Freeman manhunt A reported single gunshot has sparked a fresh line of inquiry in the long-running manhunt for alleged police killer Desmond Freeman, AAP reports. Police conducted “firearms testing” near Barrett Lane and Rayner Track in Porepunkah, about 300km north-east of Melbourne, on Wednesday as part of their search. The testing was triggered by reports of a gunshot in the vicinity about 11.45am on 26 August. Freeman had allegedly opened fire on police moments earlier, killing Det Sen Const Neal Thompson and Sen Const Vadim de Waart-Hottart, and wounding a third officer. They were among 10 officers serving a warrant at Freeman’s Porepunkah home when allegedly confronted about 10.30am. “The area has since been searched by police, however no trace of Freeman was located,” Victoria police said in a statement on Sunday. “Investigators are hopeful that the firearms testing may assist police with the ongoing search.” Police want to speak to anyone who may have heard the gunshot, including any members of the public who may have been in the area at the time and believe they could be the person responsible. There have been no confirmed sightings of Freeman since he fled into dense bushland despite detectives investigating more than 1,700 tip-offs. Hundreds of officers and specialist resources, including interstate and international crews, have scoured the area and surrounds. The search was scaled back to more than 200 police in September and Mount Buffalo national park reopened to the public in late October. Updated at 3.16am GMT 2.44am GMT Rabbit numbers on Phillip Island reach ‘plague proportions’ Every morning, Peter Bradley and his wife, Vicki, walk around their house to assess the latest damage from rabbits trying to burrow underneath the foundations. “Everyone’s on edge about it,” the Bass Coast resident says. “Every time I fix the damage, they try to get under the house again. If you leave it undone, the rabbits get worse and worse.” Bradley’s daily routine of sweeping up displaced mulch and wire and filling holes has become a grim ritual shared across the picturesque coastal region south-east of Melbourne, where rabbit numbers have exploded to what locals describe as plague proportions. More in this story from our rural network, here. Related: ‘Everyone’s on edge about it’: rabbit numbers on Phillip Island reach ‘plague proportions’ Updated at 2.50am GMT 2.21am GMT ABC chair warns AI could become ‘dangerous and sinister’ The chair of the ABC has warned that AI could become “dangerous and sinister” considering some who finance it hold views that are “extremely autocratic”. Many of the participants in the financing – and even in the origination and leadership of some of the AI [companies] – have unusually severe views of human organisation and politics, and in some instances … have views that are extremely autocratic, and believe in an anointed few being in charge of the many. Kim Williams also said that as a believer in democracy and the contest of ideas, it’s “clearly immensely socially dangerous” for people to limit and censor the views of those they disagree with. We should not underestimate the potency and power of these technologies – and we are seeing living examples of the technologies in the hands of some governments, where we have real life demonstrations of just how dangerous this can be. Full story here: Related: Some investors in AI ‘are extremely autocratic’, says ABC chair Kim Williams Updated at 2.24am GMT 1.40am GMT Queensland premier declares end to ‘cannoli diplomacy’ with Albanese over hospital funding The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, has declared an end to “cannoli diplomacy” until the state reaches a funding deal with the federal government over hospital funding. Crisafulli coined the term last year – riffing on the fact both he and the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, are of Italian descent – to demonstrate a willingness for his LNP government to work with Labor in Canberra. But he told the LNP state council meeting on the Gold Coast on Sunday that the relationship was anything but sweet; in fact it had reached a crunch point. Crisafulli said “access to more beds” is key to addressing issues with the state’s health system, and that currently there were more than 1,100 long-term patients – who he claimed were the federal government’s responsibility – occupying acute care beds. We need our partner, the commonwealth government, to hold up their end of the bargain. Sadly the federal government is playing a cruel game at a critical time for our state. The offer that is currently there falls well short of their 2023 promise for 42.5% funding by 2030 and 45% by 2035. But most troublingly it’s a deal that abrogates the federal government’s responsibilities. An offer that will leave hundreds of long-stay patients, aged care and younger NDIS patients stranded in Queensland hospitals. It’s not a deal I’m willing to take. I won’t accept it. Updated at 2.45am GMT 1.01am GMT BoM’s axing of free flood forecasting ‘potentially deadly consequences’ Natural disaster-prone councils in south-east Queensland say the Bureau of Meteorology’s decision to axe its free real-time flood forecasting tool is a “cost shifting” exercise with “potentially deadly consequences”, with New South Wales emergency services also affected. For nearly 30 years, the BoM has provided local governments, emergency services and water managers around the country with free access to Enviromon – a tool used to inform emergency alert systems which collects, displays and analyses data from rainfall and river level gauges for flood forecasting. But the bureau will end ongoing support and maintenance of that service for external users by July and replace it with a US-developed software program called OneRain, which cannot be sublicensed – and so cannot be provided free to councils and other public bodies. Full story: Related: BoM move to axe free flood warning tool has ‘potentially deadly consequences’, Queensland councils say Updated at 2.33am GMT 12.36am GMT Gastro cases spike in NSW in October NSW Health has raised concern about an above-average rate of gastroenteritis outbreaks in institutions in the state over the last month. The department said that while viral gastroenteritis – caused by many different viruses, such as norovirus or rotavirus – is common, there is usually an increase in gastroenteritis cases in September and October each year. There were 200 outbreaks of gastroenteritis reported from institutional settings – including schools, childcare centres, aged care facilities or detention facilities – in NSW in October 2025, which is higher than the October average of 149 from 2020 to 2024. Both rotavirus and norovirus were detected in these outbreaks. NSW Health warned that rotavirus can be particularly severe in young children. A spokesperson for the department said: The main treatment for viral gastroenteritis is to rest and drink plenty of fluids. Most people recover without complications, but more urgent care may need to be sought for infants, people with suppressed immune systems, and the elderly, who may experience more serious illness. Updated at 12.50am GMT 12.06am GMT NSW to phase out plastic bread tags and ban helium balloon releases The NSW government has announced the next stage in its plastics plan, with action to phase out single-use and problematic plastics. The next phase of the NSW Plastics Plan 2.0 includes: phasing out plastic bread tags and pizza savers from late 2027 phasing out non-compostable plastic fruit and vegetable stickers by 2030 introducing tethered lids (meaning the cap or lid on a plastic bottle must remain attached to the bottle itself, even after it’s opened) for plastic bottles by 2030 requiring takeaway food service businesses to accept reusable cups by 2028 and large food service businesses to provide reusable cup options by 2030 phasing out small condiment containers such as soy sauce fish bottles by 2030 that cannot be recycled requiring the redesign of takeaway food containers to ensure they can be recycled safely regulating harmful chemical additives in plastic food and beverage packaging to prevent toxins entering soil, water and the food chain banning helium balloon releases The announcement expands on previous action by the NSW government, including bans of lightweight plastic bags, straws, stirrers and single-use cutlery, with the government saying the moves aim to address NSW’s “waste crisis” and address one of the states “biggest environmental challenges”. Updated at 12.26am GMT 11.42pm GMT Police commissioner admits ‘communication error’ over Sydney neo-Nazi rally Back to the neo-Nazi rally targeting Jewish people outside NSW parliament in Sydney on Saturday, my colleague Ben Doherty had this update yesterday. The NSW premier has said in response to that he would consider giving police more powers to shut down racist and hateful demonstrations. “It’s likely the case that we need to give police more legislated powers to stop this kind of naked racism and hatred on Sydney streets,” Chris Minns said after the rally. The NSW police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, has said there will be a review of the process by which the rally was allowed to go ahead. Lanyon said while police had allowed the protest, neither he nor the premier knew it was taking place. “The government had not been briefed on this process. I take it very personally. There was a communication error in the police force for which I did not personally know that today’s protest was taking place,” Lanyon said. Related: Police need more powers to stop ‘naked racism and hatred’ after allowing Sydney neo-Nazi rally, premier says Updated at 11.50pm GMT 11.22pm GMT Tehan: Coalition to work with states to extend coal-fired power stations The shadow energy and emissions reduction minister, Dan Tehan, has signalled the federal opposition will commit to work with state governments to extend the life of coal-fired power stations as part of an energy agenda to be thrashed out this week. After months of bitter public debate, the Liberal party will hold meetings in Canberra on Wednesday and Thursday in an attempt to agree on the pillars of its climate and energy platform – including whether to dump a net zero emissions target. An agreed position with the Nationals – who have already dumped the net zero target – would be put to the Coalition party room for endorsement on Sunday 16 November. Sussan Ley is under pressure from senior Liberals to not just dump the 2050 goal set under Scott Morrison but to junk the net zero emissions policy entirely. Moderates want net zero to be retained in some form, fearful the party could lose more ground in city seats if it abandons the climate target. Appearing on Sky News agenda on Sunday morning, Tehan would not preempt the outcome of this week’s meetings. I’m not going to announce this morning what it will be, what I’ll be taking forward because that’s not being respectful to my colleagues. I want to make sure with this that I engage with them in a way that they know that I’m incredibly serious about getting the right policy. Tehan said the best way to achieve lower energy prices was through “energy abundance”, which he claimed required keeping coal and gas in the system for longer. He did not rule out taxpayer subsidies for fossil-fuel power generation. Now what I’m saying is we need to make sure that we’re sweating those coal assets, continue to sweat those coal assets, and also that we can get more gas into the system much more quickly. The Queensland LNP government’s new energy roadmap, released last month, proposed keeping its state-owned coal plants running for up to a decade longer than previously planned, meaning some would be open until at least 2046. Updated at 11.33pm GMT 10.57pm GMT Dumping the words ‘net zero’ is ‘absolutely ridiculous’ – Bragg The net zero debate has turned into a leadership test for Sussan Ley, who is under pressure for her main rivals Angus Taylor and Andrew Hastie to dump the target. But she’s also under pressure from moderates such as Bragg to not simply fall in line behind the Nationals, who have already abandoned the target. Asked if Ley’s leadership was finished if she caved to the Nationals, Bragg said: I don’t believe that we’ll be leaving the Paris agreement. We’re not a fringe party. Asked again if Ley can survive if the Liberals adopt the Nationals’ policy, Bragg said: I don’t think you can have a fatwa on two words. I think that’s too silly for words, frankly. And I think at the end of the day, this is the international standard on decarbonisation. So Australia cannot sit out of its own international standard. Speers keeps pushing Bragg on what it means if the words “net zero” are dropped from the policy entirely. You can’t have a fatwa on two words. I mean, it’s ridiculous. This is the international standard. I mean, trying to pretend you’re not going to say two words is absolutely ridiculous. Updated at 11.02pm GMT 10.46pm GMT Liberal senator Bragg can’t see Australia leaving Paris agreement Andrew Bragg is repeatedly pushed on Insiders on what a decision to dump net zero and leaving the Paris agreement would mean for his own future on the shadow frontbench. He doesn’t think things will get to that point because he can’t imagine Australia is going to allow itself to be lumped with Azerbaijan, Iran and Syria in sitting outside the Paris pact. Well, I just don’t believe that that’s going to happen. I don’t think it is within the realm of the possible. Host David Speers asks again if Bragg would quit the frontbench if the party dumped net zero and abandoned Paris. Well, sure, but I don’t imagine we will ever leave Paris. We are not fringe dwellers. Most Australians want us to play our fair role in terms of reduction, so I just don’t think we are going to be leaving the Paris agreement. (A quick point of clarification here: There is no serious talk that a future Coalition government would pull Australia out of the Paris agreement, the international treaty that aims to limit global warming to 1.5C. Even the Nationals – who are dumping net zero – say they are committed to Paris.) Updated at 11.29pm GMT 10.32pm GMT Liberals must ‘maintain a commitment to do a better job on net zero’ – Bragg The Liberal senator Andrew Bragg is up on ABC Insiders ahead of a crunch week of meetings to determine the Coalition’s position on net zero emissions. The shadow housing minister is among a group of moderate Liberals fighting to salvage the party’s commitment to the climate target, as conservatives push Sussan Ley to dump the policy entirely. Bragg is asked to respond to his colleague Sarah Henderson’s insistence that the party should abandon net zero completely. Unsurprisingly, he disagrees: The Australian people are worried about climate change and so are we, and that’s why I would have thought that the most reasonable position here would be to stay in [the] Paris [agreement], maintain a commitment to do a better job on net zero and maintain a goal, because I think if you have anything less than that, then you are giving up on the idea that you will try and reduce emissions for future generations and after all, we are the trustees for future generations. Updated at 10.40pm GMT 10.22pm GMT Greens condemn Sydney neo-Nazi rally The NSW Greens have called for a new approach from NSW police and the premier, Chris Minns, after a neo-Nazi rally overtly targeting Jewish people was allowed to go ahead in Sydney on Saturday morning. Greens MP Sue Higginson said on Saturday: The Greens abhor antisemitism and racism and I was sickened to see neo-Nazis outside the NSW parliament today. The Greens condemn the actions and the rhetoric of these depraved racists. The Jewish community and people of colour in our state should not be subjected to this on our streets or news feeds. Higginson said tougher laws on protests wouldn’t work this time, and that Minns “needs to deal with the actual issue”. It’s time to set up a taskforce to work with the NSW police engagement and hate crime unit and the counter-terrorism command, and deal with the rise of the far right and racism in this state head on. Updated at 11.54pm GMT 10.04pm GMT Good morning Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the goings-on this Sunday 9 November. Princess Anne, sister to King Charles, touched down in Australia on Saturday for a royal visit. Anne arrived in Sydney and laid a wreath at a memorial service. She is expected to attend Remembrance Day services and centenary events in Sydney and Brisbane. Her visit comes less than a fortnight after the king stripped their brother Andrew of his title of prince. The NSW Greens have condemned a neo-Nazi rally targeting Jewish people held in Sydney yesterday, which was allowed to go ahead outside NSW parliament. The Greens have called for a new approach from NSW police and the premier in the wake of the event. Updated at 10.53pm GMT