That’s all for todayBy Isabel McMillanThanks for reading the national news blog for today, Thursday, July 23. This is where we will end the rolling coverage.Here’s a brief look back at some of the day’s biggest stories:Pauline Hanson labelled paid family and domestic-violence leave a “holiday”, described it as a “scam” that encouraged false claims, and argued child support had become a “cash cow” in another broadside at Australia’s family violence laws. The One Nation leader made the comments late last year on the Broken Fathers podcast, hosted by Jared “Purcy” Purcell, during a discussion about fathers’ rights, child custody and the Family Court system.Voters will go to their second successive election with no change to the balance of power between the nation’s states and territories. The Australian Electoral Commission said the result of the next election – due by May 2028 – would be based on 150 electorates with the same number of seats in each jurisdiction as last year’s poll. There had been 151 seats at the 2019 and 2022 elections.Australian workers will be able to escalate their employment issues and underpayment claims to a new specialist federal court under a Labor pledge that delivers on a long-term demand of the union movement.Confirmed Ebola deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo have passed 1000, prompting Africa’s top public health official to warn the outbreak could become one of the worst on record unless transmission is rapidly brought under control.Oil prices continue to rise as Iran-backed Yemeni rebels attack oil tankers in the Red Sea, threatening an alternative supply route to the blockaded Strait of Hormuz and raising the likelihood that Australian petrol prices will soon top $2 a litre.And Origin Energy emailed all its customers warning of a data security incident that may have exposed their personal information, as the country’s largest energy retailer races to contain one of the year’s most serious cyberattacks.Thanks again for tuning in. We’ll be back again with your live news updates tomorrow.Latest Postsyesterday 5.41pmEd Husic: ‘I don’t want Australians serving with the IDF’By Matthew KnottFormer Labor cabinet minister Ed Husic has confirmed he is pushing for the party to expand criticism of Israel in its party platform.Husic, a staunch critic of Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza, told the ABC he was pushing for the platform to oppose the sale of military equipment to Israel, condemn commercial trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank and crack down on Australian-Israeli dual nationals serving with the Israel Defence Forces.Ed Husic addressing reporters in Adelaide.Dominic Lorrimer“I don’t want people going to fight for Hamas. I certainly don’t want people to go and fight with the IDF,” he said.“I think Australians should stay out of that theatre.”Husic said he thought it was “inappropriate” for the Israeli embassy to call for the draft platform to be changed before the conference.“I could never imagine the Australian government through our embassy or our officials issuing such public commentary in that way,” he said.yesterday 4.57pm‘Fundamentally wrong’: Man convicted and fined for wearing Nazi symbol outside probeBy Adelaide LangA retiree has apologised for wearing a swastika T-shirt outside the antisemitism royal commission.Ian Minus was approached by police on May 6 while wearing a shirt showing a Star of David surrounded by a swastika, with the words: “Anti-Semitism. Proud to be accused. SPEAK UP!“The 68-year-old was outside the building as Jewish students and school staff gave evidence to the commission about antisemitic bullying in the classroom.Police speak to the man wearing a T-shirt with a swastika outside the building holding the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion in the Sydney CBD. Minus pleaded guilty to knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol without a reasonable excuse and faced Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday to be sentenced.yesterday 4.34pmOrigin Energy confirms data breach has exposed customer informationBy Nick Toscano and David SwanOrigin Energy, the largest Australian power and gas company, has confirmed that a hacker has gained unauthorised access to some customers’ private information, including names, addresses and partial credit card and bank account numbers.The company said on Thursday it was working to determine how many customers had been affected by the cybersecurity breach, and was contacting customers individually once it was confirmed their information had been compromised.Origin Energy is Australia’s largest power and gas supplier.Chris Hopkins“I’m sorry this has happened,” Origin Energy chief executive Frank Calabria said. “Customers trust Origin with their information, and I apologise for the impact this may cause.”Origin, which supplies electricity, natural gas and broadband to more than 4.7 million customers nationally, said it continued to engage with Australian government agencies, including the Australian Cyber Security Centre, the Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.Read the full story here. yesterday 4.14pmWorkers start removing Pam the Bird tag from Melbourne bridgeBy Isabel McMillanWorkers have today begun removing a now widely recognised Melbourne image from the Bolte Bridge tower, more than a fortnight after a dramatic stand-off that left its artist behind bars.On July 7, Jack Gibson-Burrell, 22, allegedly climbed a giant concrete pylon on the bridge in Melbourne’s CBD to spray-paint a giant Pam the Bird tag on it.A dramatic siege situation followed, as he refused to follow their directions to come down, police said. While he was on the bridge, he allegedly posted regular updates to an Instagram account with the biography “#notcomingdown”.When he eventually did return to the ground, he was arrested and charged with a raft of offences. He did not apply for bail and remains in custody.yesterday 3.48pmAEC locks in state seat allocations ahead of next federal electionBy Shane WrightVoters will go to their second successive election with no change to the balance of power between the nation’s states and territories.The Australian Electoral Commission this afternoon said the result of the next election – due by May 2028 – would be based on 150 electorates with the same number of seats in each jurisdiction as last year’s poll. There had been 151 seats at the 2019 and 2022 elections.Queensland retains its 30 seats but will see a redistribution of boundaries later this year.ReutersPopulation growth in Queensland has not been enough for the Sunshine State to add to its 30 electorates, while NSW (46), Victoria (38), Western Australia (16) and South Australia (10) will keep their current number. Tasmania is constitutionally guaranteed five seats, while the ACT (three) and the Northern Territory (two) remain the same.Commissioner Jeff Pope, however, confirmed that there will be a redistribution of boundaries in Queensland that will get underway later this year.yesterday 3.16pmDiscretionary funds tapped to cover urgent Jewish security boost, inquiry hearsBy Christine LacyThe NSW Minns government has provided $2.5 million in discretionary funding to boost Jewish community security since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel.Secretary of the NSW Premier’s Department, Simon Draper, told the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion the funding was provided to Jewish community organisations to allow urgent action in the wake of the Israel attack and the Bondi terror attack in December last year.NSW Premier’s Department secretary Simon Draper.Dominic LorrimerThe payments were drawn from two state government funding sources; the Premier’s Discretionary Fund and the Premier’s Department Contingency Fund, which have access to a collective $7.3 million-a-year.He said the Minns government had recognised a significant increase in antisemitism in late 2024, including incidents such as attacks on homes, schools and places of worship, all of which had led to state government funding for enhanced protective security.Draper said more co-ordination between state and federal governments into the future would allow quicker and more efficient delivery of funding for Jewish community safety.He said the model of pre-approved funding that exists for disaster recovery could also be used as a model for future funding for the likes of terror events.yesterday 2.54pmClimbers, Indigenous communities inch closer to deal at contested mountainBy Alexander DarlingLess than 200 climbing routes out of thousands would be shut at a world-famous Australian mountain if a new plan is accepted.Parks Victoria has released its latest draft plan for Mount Arapiles – an Uluru-like monolith halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide which attracts about 45,000 visitors a year, many who go climbing there.Mount Arapiles is a popular destination for climbers.Justin McManusConjecture over the rock-climbing mecca’s future has swirled for several years. In 2020, Victoria moved to temporarily curb access to some parts of Arapiles – known to traditional owners as Dyurrite – to protect cultural heritage, including historic tool quarry complexes and rock art.In late 2024, Parks Victoria released its first draft document outlining which climbs it would limit permanently, which reportedly proposed closing more than half the climbing routes.yesterday 2.31pmPauline Hanson takes aim at child support and DV ‘holiday’ leaveBy Rob Harris and Brittany BuschPauline Hanson labelled paid family and domestic-violence leave a “holiday”, described it as a “scam” that encouraged false claims and argued child support had become a “cash cow” in another broadside at Australia’s family violence laws.The One Nation leader made the comments late last year on the Broken Fathers podcast, hosted by Jared “Purcy” Purcell, during a discussion about fathers’ rights, child custody and the Family Court system.Pauline Hanson on the Broken Fathers podcast.YouTubeThe previously unreported remarks, which resurfaced after Hanson this week declared domestic violence was “a two-way street”, included claims that protections had been “abused”, police spent too much time on family violence instead of “real crime” and that men were perennially disadvantaged by the family law system.Hanson, 72, has faced intense scrutiny in the past six weeks after her party’s stunning rise in the polls this year and a controversial, wide-ranging policy speech at the National Press Club in June. She has long campaigned for sweeping family law changes, including abolishing the Family Court.Read the full story here.yesterday 2.05pmFair Work Court to assist Australian workers with employment, underpayment issuesBy Natassia ChrysanthosAustralian workers will be able to escalate their employment issues and underpayment claims to a new specialist federal court under a Labor pledge that delivers on a long-term demand of the union movement.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese kicked off the Labor Party’s triennial national conference in Adelaide on Thursday by announcing that consultation on the new Fair Work Court would soon begin.The government’s plans will reinstate a special workers court for the first time in almost 30 years. Former prime minister John Howard abolished the specialist industrial relations court in 1997 and moved its jurisdiction to the Federal Court, as part of an industrial relations overhaul that sought to curb union influence.Albanese’s announcement was swiftly welcomed by the unions, which are attending this week’s national conference to help inform the party’s policy direction for the next three years. Australian Council of Trade Unions president Sally McManus said it would become easier, faster and cheaper for workers to recover unpaid wages.Read the full story from Federal Political Correspondent Natassia Chrysanthos here. 1 of 4