Emily KaineUpdated June 12, 2026 — 1:05pm,first published June 12, 2026 — 6:45amLunchtime wrapBy Bridie SmithGood afternoon, thanks for reading our national blog helmed by Emily Kaine. My name is Bridie Smith, and I’ll be leading our coverage for the rest of the day.Here’s what you need to know this afternoon.One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has scoffed at Anthony Albanese’s scepticism of her party’s claims it has raised almost $3 million in donations since Wednesday. In releasing an audit, Hanson said the millions raised in the ‘Fire the Liar’ campaign were “ridgy didge”.Retail billionaire Brett Blundy has lost his bid to gain control of Victoria’s Secret’s board after fellow investors rejected his proposals this morning. Blundy has been seeking to remove current Victoria’s Secret chair Donna James and three other board members and join the board along with three of his nominees.The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ebola outbreak has spread to three new health zones, according to a government report that showed the number of confirmed cases had risen to 676, including 136 deaths.US President Donald Trump has called off strikes in Iran and hinted at an ‘approved’ Middle East deal. However, he said the naval blockade would remain “until this transaction is finalised”, with the time and place of the signing to be announced.The 2026 FIFA World Cup is now underway with host country Mexico winning its opener against South Africa. The Socceroos will play their first match on Sunday against Turkey.Latest Posts12.33pmOne Nation’s fundraising site crashes, just shy of $3 million By Brittany BuschOne Nation’s fundraising site has crashed on the cusp of reaching $3 million in less than three days.Yesterday, leader Pauline Hanson released an audit report that said the funds raised through the site were legitimate after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese suggested there was no evidence the tally was real. The website went down today. The party said the website was overwhelmed by traffic and was in the process of being fixed.11.54amCanavan ‘welcomes’ One Nation using donations to wipe out Labor seatsBy Emily KaineLeader of the Nationals Matt Canavan says he encourages One Nation in its endeavour to wipe out Labor seats as he responds to the party’s Fire the Liar campaign, which has raised just shy of $3 million in donations.Speaking to Sky News this morning, he said the donations were a reflection of the anger and frustration fomenting among everyday Australians.Nationals leader Matt Canavan.Dominic Lorrimer“Look, there’s a lot of anger out there, and a lot of frustration, and I think you’re seeing that exercised through votes for a minor party. I can understand that, as I said, since I became leader, I understand the frustration with the major parties. I’ve been in that frustrated camp, but I truly believe what our country needs is a solid, coherent economic plan for our future. The Liberal and Nationals parties will do that,” he said.Canavan also said he welcomed anybody trying to take down Labor, and encouraged One Nation to use its donations to wipe out Labor seats.“I welcome everybody trying to take down this, because that is the first step ... They’re saying that that funding, [that’s] now over $2 million is going to be used to root out Labor members of parliament, and I’d encourage them on that front.”11.18am‘Diamond Joe’ Gutnick’s son exits US miner with $500 million stakeBy The son of an Australian mining entrepreneur has left the board of USA Rare Earth with a stake worth more than $US350 million ($496 million).Mordechai Gutnick, 48, stepped down last week after previously announcing he wouldn’t run for re-election.USA Rare Earth, based in Stillwater, Oklahoma, said the decision was related to its acquisition of a Brazilian mining firm that will add two new directors to the board.Mordechai is the son of Australian mining entrepreneur Joseph “Diamond Joe” Gutnick, 74, a rabbi who took his spiritual leader’s advice to search for gold and diamonds in the Australian outback.He built a mining fortune that for decades made him one of the country’s wealthiest and highest-profile individuals. He was a director of the World Gold Council, president of AFL club Melbourne and helped bankroll Benjamin Netanyahu’s electoral victory in Israel in 1996.10.52amVictoria’s Secret fends off Aussie billionaireBy Colin KrugerRetail billionaire Brett Blundy has lost his bid to gain control of Victoria’s Secret’s board after fellow investors rejected his proposals at a shareholder meeting this morning.Blundy has been seeking to remove the company’s current chair Donna James and three other board members and join the board along with three of his nominees at the shareholder meeting.Australian retailer Brett Blundy has lost his bid to gain control of Victoria’s Secret. APThe retailer said shareholders voted to re-elect all nine of the board’s nominees, including James, with preliminary results indicating James received the approval of over 99 per cent of the votes cast from investors other than Blundy’s BBRC International.“We thank shareholders for their overwhelming support in electing all nine of the company’s director nominees. Today’s outcome is a decisive statement of support for the current board leadership from VS&Co’s shareholders,” the company said in a statement after the meeting.10.18amFundraiser ‘definitely real’, says One Nation senator By Emily KaineOne Nation senator Sean Bell returned to breakfast television to defend his party’s “Fire the Liar” fundraising campaign and insisted it was “definitely real” amid scepticism from several members of the government.After a disastrous round of interviews last week in which the senator failed to explain how his party’s policy of foreign ownership of Australian property worked – and being subsequently booted off 2GB after host Mark Levy called their interview “a train wreck” – Bell fronted up to spruik the new fundraising campaign today.He said Albanese’s doubt over the donation amount yesterday proved he was “in denial” about the growing influence of One Nation.One Nation senator Sean Bell. Alex Ellinghausen“What occurred yesterday was a prime minister in denial,” Bell told Sky News. “He was clearly rattled when he was asked about this, and he questioned the veracity. He sort of fallen back on conspiracy theories, so we were quite excited when he said that because we knew that around the country there was tens of thousands of people who had donated, looking at the receipts in their hand and going, this is definitely real.“So, what we did is we had an independent auditor just to verify those claims because people who’ve donated are real, and they’re mad, they’re mad at a bad prime minister because they’ve seen their standard of living collapse.”According to the Fire the Liar website, the fundraiser has received more than $2.7 million in donations since its launch on Wednesday morning.9.50amAriana Grande slams White House over ICE video: ‘Heinous’By American pop star Ariana Grande told President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday (US time) to stop using her music to promote its policies.The comment came after the White House shared a video on TikTok earlier this week highlighting its immigration policy. The video, which depicts federal agents arresting and handcuffing people, features the Grammy Award-winning singer’s 2024 song Bye.Ariana Grande arrives at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, January 11, 2026.Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP“Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense,” Grande wrote in a comment posted on the White House video on TikTok on Thursday.A source close to the singer said her team is looking into how to remove the music from the video as soon as possible. Responding to Grande, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said: “We’ll say this one last time: what’s actually barbaric, inhumane and heinous are the criminal illegal aliens who have injured and murdered innocent American citizens.”9.20amEbola outbreak spreads to new health zonesBy The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ebola outbreak has spread to three new health zones, according to a government report that showed the number of confirmed cases had risen to 676, including 136 deaths.The figure represented the total number of confirmed cases as of Wednesday, the health minister said in a post on X.Health workers are sprayed with disinfectant after coming into contact with the body of a person suspected of having died from Ebola in Bunia, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.AFPThe new health zones affected by the outbreak were in North Kivu and Ituri, the report said.A health zone in Congo’s healthcare system covers a defined area with a network of clinics and a referral hospital, covering about 100,000 to 150,000 people.Reuters8.53amMcAllister won’t say if government will implement recommendations from NDIS inquiryBy Emily KaineJenny McAllister, Minister for Disability and the NDIS, has refused to say whether the government will implement recommendations from a Senate inquiry into its proposed NDIS legislation, which will cut about $36 billion from the scheme over the next decade.When asked three times if the government would be open to changing the legislation if that was what the report recommended, she said the government would be “examining” the recommendations.NDIS Minister Jenny McAllister.Dominic Lorrimer“We’ll definitely be examining the recommendations in the report. That’s the purpose of the committee, and examining intended, if there are unintended consequences,” she told ABC AM.“If there are unintended consequences, of course we’ll look to action those. But the approach we’ve taken is to work through this over a long period of time.”8.26amButler brushes off ON fundraising campaign By Brittany BuschHealth Minister Mark Butler has played down the significance of One Nation’s “Fire the Liar” fundraising campaign, which this morning hit $2.7 million.“These online fundraising campaigns are pretty common, and this will probably pale in comparison to the money that One Nation receives from a billionaire like Gina Rinehart,” Butler told Sunrise.He cast the minor party’s surge in popularity as a reshaping of conservative politics in Australia.Health Minister Mark Butler.Alex Ellinghausen“It’s not at the end of the day a big story beyond this week, and maybe next week as well. I get that it’s funding a good personal sledge that One Nation is driving through the prime minister’s own electorate, but at the end of the day, what we’re seeing here is a remaking of the Coalition, with some different faces for the same agenda,” Butler said.“You can see the awkward dance happening this week about the terms of that, whether they’ll make way for each other in particular seats, whether there will be preference exchanges in particular seats, and all this jockeying about who’s going to be where in the pecking order, that is the real story.”1 of 2