>>24355021

‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie’: Cheers after five Iranian players granted asylum after escape

Matthew Knott - March 10, 2026

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Five Iranian soccer players, including team captain Zahra Ghanbari, have been granted humanitarian visas to stay in Australia after a daring escape from their minders at a Gold Coast hotel on Monday night.

“Once everything had been signed off last night, there were lots of photos, lots of celebrating, and then a spontaneous outbreak of Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi oi,” a smiling Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced at a press conference at Brisbane Airport on Tuesday morning.

“These women are great athletes, great people, and they’re going to feel very much at home in Australia.”

Revealing that the government had been in secret talks with the players for days, Burke acknowledged that fleeing was a “difficult decision” and assured the remaining 15 or so members of the team that they would be welcome if they wished to stay.

“Even though the offer continues to be there for other members of the team, it is quite possible and indeed likely that not every woman in the team will make a decision to take up the opportunity that Australia would offer to them,” Burke said.

“What matters here is that they have the best agency they can over those decisions, and so we’re making sure that the opportunity to seek assistance is there. But I don’t want to begin to imagine how difficult that decision is for each of the individual women, but certainly last night, it was joy, it was relief, and people were very excited about embarking on a life in Australia.”

The five players – captain Zahra Ghanbari and teammates Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramezanizadeh, and Mona Hamoudi – are now under the protection of the Australian Federal Police and have given permission for their names and faces to be published.

They were condemned in Iran as traitors after they failed to sing the Iranian national anthem before their opening match of the Asian Cup, escalating moves to provide assistance because of the risk they would face serious punishment and possible executions once they returned.

Exiled crown prince Reza Palavi named the women as he paid tribute to them last night.

News of the matter prompted US President Donald Trump to intervene overnight, first by demanding on social media that Australia give the women asylum, and then by speaking with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

“He’s on it!” Trump posted after their conversation. “Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way. Some, however, feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return.

“In any event, the prime minister is doing a very good job having to do with this rather delicate situation.”

Less than two hours earlier, Trump had warned Albanese he would be making a “terrible humanitarian mistake” if he allowed the team to be forced back to Iran, and offered to give the women asylum in the US if Australia would not.

“Everyone is so happy for the girls. They would not have been safe if they went home,” said Shahzad Shirkhanzadeh, an active member of the Iranian-Australian community.

She praised the government for moving swiftly to ensure the players had the option to seek asylum in Australia before being forced to return to Iran.

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>>24363854

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As news broke of the escape, members of Australia’s Iranian diaspora danced and sang on the street at the Gold Coast location where they’d held a vigil for the team.

Protesters reported that Iranian officials were searching the lobby and grounds of the Royal Pines Resort on Monday night.

The players’ dramatic escape could have major political implications as the hardline regime in Tehran fights against the US and Israel to hold on to power in a war that has spread throughout the Middle East.

Iranian state television presenter Mohammad Reza Shahbazi last week accused the team of dishonour for not singing the national anthem before their first match against South Korea last Monday, branding them “wartime traitors” who must be “dealt with more severely”.

There appear to be at least 20 women in the team, including substitutes, and it is unknown when the rest of the team is due to leave Australia.

Members of the team gave what appeared to be an SOS hand signal from their team bus on Sunday night as advocates pleaded for the Australian government to do everything possible to allow them to stay in Australia.

The Iranian team, known as the Lionesses, played their final match of the Women’s Asian Cup on the Gold Coast on Sunday night, losing 2-0 to the Philippines.

Footage taken after the match shows at least one woman on the bus appearing to make the international help sign to a crowd of protesters outside.

The gesture is performed by holding one hand up, tucking the thumb into the palm, and folding the fingers down over it.

A parliamentary inquiry on February 26 heard that the team’s entourage included suspected members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a listed terrorist organisation.

On Friday, after Australia beat Iran 4-0, the Matildas swapped jerseys with the Lionesses, and Australia’s captain Sam Kerr paid tribute to their struggles and bravery.

More than 71,000 people have signed a petition since Friday, calling for the government to ensure that no member of the team departs Australia while credible fears for their safety remain.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/sos-hand-signal-as-bus-drives-iranian-women-s-soccer-team-from-final-match-20260309-p5o8mq.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTS_DLdUxFE

https://www.change.org/p/provide-protection-for-iran-s-women-s-national-football-team?recruiter=8912865&recruited_by_id=7a5e7fe5-3179-445f-995c-f1b84ebb64d3&share_id=VZQS4fTL5H

https://x.com/PahlaviComms/status/2030976508643467772

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116199640636892669

https://x.com/DrewPavlou/status/2030982349421228223

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116199696068251039

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116200028617921781

>>24355021

>>24363854

Tony Burke grants five Iranian footballers asylum as two players stay behind at team’s hotel

AMANDA HODGE - March 10, 2026

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Anthony Albanese has declared five defectors from the Iranian women’s football team are safe in their new home of Australia, and assured the other team members that help is here if they want it as a further two players split off from the rest of the squad.

A pair of suitcases were removed from the team’s bus shortly before the Iranians departed the Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast around 1pm. The Australian understands they belong to two players who have stayed behind at the hotel. Home Affairs minister Tony Burke’s office did not return calls from The Australian.

On Monday night, five women - including the squad’s captain Zahra Ghanbari and teammates Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramezanizadeh, and Mona Hamoudi - escaped the hotel with the help of Australian Federal Police, and broke out into chants of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi” when they were told they could stay. The five players granted humanitarian visas are being held in a safe house in Brisbane.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Iranian team left the Gold Coast resort where they have been on lockdown for the past fortnight for the Asian Cup.

Around 11am local time, almost a dozen police officers gathered outside the doors of the Royal Pines Resort as staff and security watched on from inside the lobby.

Over the next hour, players, their coaches and team officials brought down their luggage to the drop off point. Some returned their room keys, while one handed a mobile phone back to the concierge.

One sportswoman could be heard wailing as she said goodbye to a supporter, who was then confronted by a team official. Police were called over to intervene.

“Shame on you,” the female supporter shouted at a suspected IRGC-aligned team member. Players were ushered back upstairs.

As this occurred, hotel staff loaded their bags into the awaiting bus.

The team, known as the Lionesses, had been staying at the resort throughout the football tournament, playing their opening match just days after the USA and Israel started a war with Iran.

During their stay, there were subjected to regime rule, under constant surveillance from its aligned officials and hired security.

Mr Burke, who was earlier in Brisbane to lead the assistance effort, said other members of the team are being offered the same chance to apply for asylum.

In Canberra, Mr Albanese said his government had been preparing for some time for the defections. “Australians have been moved by the plight of these safe women,” he said. “They are safe here and they are at home here. We are willing to provide assistance to other women in the team … we say to them: ‘If you want our help, help is here.’”

Mr Albanese had an early morning call with Donald Trump on Tuesday regarding the asylum issue. The call came amid the US President’s declaration that the Albanese government would be making a “terrible humanitarian mistake” if it let the soccer players leave with their Iranian regime handlers.

Mr Burke said conversations began in the “very early hours of yesterday morning”, and that a number of players were moved to a safe location by the AFP.

“Last night I met with them at that location. I signed off last night for their applications to go onto humanitarian visas. And a little bit after, the processing was completed by the Department of Home Affairs,” Mr Burke said on Tuesday morning.

“I say to the other members of the team, the same opportunity is there. Australia has taken the Iranian women’s soccer team into our hearts. These women are tremendously popular in Australia, but we realise they are in a terribly difficult situation with the decisions that they’re making.”

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>>24363902

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Multiple sources, including people close to the squad, told The Australian the female players slipped past heavy security at the Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast just before 7pm and sought protection from local authorities, sparking panicked activity from official team minders suspected of being Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps officials.

The women’s dilemma led to Donald Trump’s intervention on Monday night, promising the US would give the women asylum if Australia refused them, before posting on Truth Social that he had spoken to Anthony Albanese about the team and revealing: “He’s on it! Five have already been taken care of and the rest are on their way.”

The five women broke out into cries of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi” as they were told they could stay in Australia in the early hours of Tuesday.

Mr Burke confirmed that the federal police helped the five women with their escape from their Iranian regime handlers at the Gold Coast hotel, after they were due to leave Australia.

The senior Labor frontbencher in Brisbane said the women broke out into cheers after they were moved to a safe location and heard they would get to stay in this country.

“Australia has taken the Iranian women’s soccer team into our hearts,” Mr Burke said.

“Once everything had been signed off there were lots of photos, lots of celebrating, and then a spontaneous outbreak of ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi.’”

Mr Burke said he spoke with ASIO boss Mike Burgess and AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett before the operation to extract the five women, saying that their decision to seek asylum was “incredibly difficult”.

“These women have been weighing up an incredibly difficult decision. And, I respect that. Even though the offer continues to be there for other members of the team, it is quite possible and indeed likely, that not every woman will make a decision to take up the opportunity that Australia would offer to them,” he said.

“The remainder of the squad remain, at the at the location for the team. Obviously we are making sure there are further opportunities if people want to make a request to Australian officials, they will get that opportunity.”

The US President said he had spoken to the Prime Minister in a late night phone call, adding Mr Albanese was “doing a very good job.”

The pair spoke at 11.55am on Monday morning ET, meaning Mr Albanese spoke to him in the middle of the night in the early hours of Tuesday morning. “I just spoke to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, of Australia, concerning the Iranian National Women’s Soccer Team. He’s on it!” Mr Trump said. “Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way.”

Mr Trump the acknowledged the complexity of the situation, noting that some women on the Iran soccer team “feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return.”

“In any event, the Prime Minister is doing a very good job having to do with this rather delicate situation. God bless Australia!”

Earlier Mr Trump accused Australia of “making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iran National Woman’s soccer team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed.”

“Don’t do it, Mr. Prime Minister, give ASYLUM. The US will take them if you won’t,” he posted. The hotel where the women had been staying was quickly locked down after the five left, and supporters and media were ejected from the resort after diaspora supporters of the team clashed with Iranian officials and attempted to prevent them from pursuing the women who had escaped.

A blacked-out van, believed to have been dispatched to try and locate the women, was seen re-entering the hotel grounds around 30 minutes later.

Self-styled Iranian exiled opposition leader Reza Pahlavi, son of the former shah of Iran, later confirmed their escape on social media.

“These five courageous athletes, currently in a safe location, have announced that they have joined Iran’s Lion and Sun Revolution,” he wrote, referring to the increasingly popular opposition monarchist movement.

Iranian Australian doctor and activist Minoo Ghamari also announced their escape in a social media post, saying the women were now in a “safe home supported by the Australian government”.

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At least one player from the Iranian women’s soccer team gave what appeared to be an SOS hand signal from their team bus on Sunday night as protesters surrounded the vehicle, and advocates pleaded for the government to allow them to stay in Australia.

The move comes after the team were labelled wartime traitors on Iranian state television for not singing the national anthem ahead of their first Asian Cup match against South Korea over a week ago.

On Sunday evening, as the team was transported back to the hotel, at least one player appeared to signal a plea for help by tucking her thumb into her palm and folding her fingers over it in a gesture understood to be an international SOS.

The Iranian team played their final match of the Women’s Asian Cup on the Gold Coast on Sunday night, losing 2-0 to The Philippines.

Iranian Australian activist and Ryde councillor Tina Kordrostami told The Australian late on Monday: “It’s amazing and we know that more are joining them as well.”

Ms Kordrostami said an AFP officer at the hotel was now on floor where the women were being held and was talking to the players “one by one about their options”.

“This could have all been planned out much better but we are here now. I do hope the girls get as many options provided them and their families back home don’t get attacked as bad as they may.”

But, she added, she was concerned that the fact Mr Pahlavi’s office had shared the names of the players who had escaped as well as their photos could amplify the consequences for their families.

Throughout the afternoon, several players could be seen talking on their mobile phones in the lobby, with one crying athlete being consoled by her teammates.

Shortly before midnight on Monday, supporters draped in pre-regime Iranian flags were set-up across the roadway from the hotel. Waving camping and iPhone torches to let players know they were there, they tried to catch glimpses of them using telescopes and cameras.

More than 70,000 people have signed a petition calling on the government to provide safe haven for the team players amid ferocious ongoing air attacks by the US and Israel on Iran and fears for their safety on their return.

The women footballers are understood to have been made to sign agreements before they left Iran undertaking not to attempt to defect, and had been warned that their families would be arrested if they did so.

On Monday, NSW anti-slavery commissioner James Cockayne urged the Australian Federal Police in a letter to investigate human trafficking concerns linked to the women’s treatment on Australian soil.

“I contend that, if established on the facts, the coercion of members of the Iranian women’s football team and support staff to exit Australia, would constitute the modern slavery offence of ‘exit trafficking’,” Dr Cockayne said.

“It will be critical to be clear with those affected about the visa pathway potentially available to them to stay in Australia, including any possibility of future family reunion in Australia.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/five-iranian-womens-footballers-seek-asylum-in-australia-after-dramatic-hotel-escape/news-story/2ee7291ec9d20d7d5d3d85d1830046f4

https://www.instagram.com/p/DVrU7IRE3kJ/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpNo_NDJHw8

>>24355021

Australia deploys aircraft to Middle East as analyst warns ‘we’re now part of this war’

Brittany Busch and Paul Sakkal - March 10, 2026

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Australia will deploy a surveillance aircraft, missiles and 85 Australian troops after a plea for help from the United Arab Emirates as the Gulf state endures strikes from Iran, a move analysts said tied Australia more directly into the war in the Middle East.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday that the E-7A Wedgetail and advanced air-to-air missiles would be used to defend the UAE at the request of Abu Dhabi.

The government emphasised that Australian forces would exclusively be used for defensive purposes, limiting its support in the face of calls from the Greens and Labor figures, including Bob Carr, to remain neutral.

“The Wedgetail will provide long-range reconnaissance capability, which will help to protect and secure the airspace above the Gulf,” Albanese said at a press conference in Canberra, adding it would be deployed for an initial four weeks.

“Iran’s reprisal attacks continue to escalate, already at a scale and depth we haven’t seen before.

“Our involvement is purely defensive, and it’s in defence of Australians who are in the region, as well as in defence of our friends in the United Arab Emirates … and Australians.”

Defence analyst Michael Shoebridge said the goal of protecting Australian troops at Al Minhad, Australia’s military base in the UAE, gave Labor, which opposed Australia’s involvement in Iraq in 2003, a narrow and clear justification for getting involved in the conflict.

Shoebridge warned that the government’s hope to adopt a defensive posture was complicated because Iran would not differentiate between combatants.

“We’re best just admitting to ourselves that we’re now a part of this war, not just sitting in some quarantined corner,” Shoebridge, a directer of Strategic Analysis Australia, said. “Offence and defence are just different sides of the coin of war.”

Albanese said 24,000 Australians remained in the UAE, many of whom will rely on departures from Dubai airport to return. The airport has been repeatedly targeted since the conflict began, forcing the cancellation of flights and what Foreign Minister Penny Wong has labelled as Australia’s worst-ever consular crisis.

Australia’s military headquarters in the Middle East is also located at the Al Minhad Air Base.

Albanese spoke with US President Donald Trump at 2am, Australian time, on Tuesday. The president wanted to lobby Australia to grant asylum to players in the Iranian women’s soccer team, a move the government was preparing before Trump’s intervention.

The prime minister did not say if the pair talked about Australian involvement in the conflict, which Trump said on Tuesday could end “very soon” as oil prices spiked and global markets were hit hard on Monday.

“Australia has been a part of every war the US has fought since Federation,” Shoebridge said. “The UK didn’t go to Vietnam, so not going to this one would have represented Mr Albanese breaking that record as a US ally.

“Whether this is a good war to join is an open question, but the dominant thought in the government’s mind is how do we be a part of this war but quarantine the risk.”

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>>24363915

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Albanese offered swift rhetorical support for the US-Israeli strikes on Iran last month, giving firmer shows of support than some European allies. More hawkish Australian political figures wanted Albanese to offer more tangible support for the war effort, even as the Trump administration has offered inconsistent explanations for the war’s mission.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott told this masthead that sending a Wedgetail, a sophisticated military surveillance plane, was a small step in the right direction but less significant than UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s commitment of fighter jets to shoot down drones.

“What I can’t understand is the government’s total inability to contemplate the armed forces actually firing a weapon. Even defensively,” Abbott said. “The Albanese government still doesn’t seem to grasp that the Iranian mullahs’ regime is about as evil as can be. It’s a government full of social justice activists when what we need are national security warriors.”

Tuesday’s move directly involves Australia as Iran widens its attacks against 12 neighbouring nations that house US bases or embassies after the killing of its supreme leader.

Albanese said on Tuesday morning: “We are not protagonists. What we are doing is providing for the defence of the UAE and of Australian citizens.”

Defence Minister Richard Marles said the RAAF plane would depart today and be operational in the Middle East by the end of the week, and would perform a similar function to aircraft deployed in Poland to protect Ukraine.

“We are one of the leading nations in the use of the E7, and it is one of the most high-tech airborne and reconnaissance platforms,” he said.

Marles, speaking alongside Albanese, said the UAE had one of the largest populations of Australian expats, making its defence in the national interest.

Albanese said crisis response teams were already on the ground providing consular support, and that more than 2600 Australians have safely returned of the more than 11,000 that had indicated they wanted to depart. He urged anyone offered a seat on a plane to take it.

“Significant challenges remain, and further work is underway to support those still seeking to leave,” he said.

Albanese said he had spoken to US President Donald Trump overnight, “primarily about the Iranian soccer team, but obviously we also discussed world events”.

“It was a warm conversation,” Albanese said, but refused to elaborate on what they said about the conflict.

Wong said the situation was unprecedented.

“Iran has attacked 12 countries, and overnight, we have seen that these attacks are escalating,” she said.

“In recent days, Dubai Airport has been under fire from Iranian missiles and drones, and since the 28th of February, more than 27,000 flights to and from the Middle East have been cancelled, with an estimated 4.4 million airline seats removed from schedules.”

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/australia-deploying-aircraft-weapons-and-troops-to-middle-east-20260310-p5o8yi.html

>>24355021

‘No need for panic’: Bowen calls urgent summit as fuel fears grip regions

Mike Foley - March 10, 2026

The Coalition is uniting with farmers to demand the Albanese government ensure critical industries do not run short on fuel, as fears over price spikes and a protracted war in Iran drive widespread panic-buying in regional areas.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen assured Australians there was currently no shortage based on the fuel stocks held in Australia or in the volumes coming into the country. The government called an urgent meeting of a new fuel taskforce on Tuesday afternoon, where ministers and industries including farming and transport committed to work together to identify and address supply chain issues.

Bowen said on Tuesday that no shipments of diesel, petrol or jet fuel to Australia had been interrupted, declared that shortages of fuel were caused by panic buying in regional communities and said Australia had a months worth of petrol and diesel in reserve.

“When demand goes up so much, it puts huge pressure on supply chains, but… fundamentally Australia’s fuel security is good because of the minimum stock obligations that we have put in place.”

The taskforce includes farming organisations, fuel suppliers, Industry Minister Tim Ayres and Agriculture Minister Julie Collins, as well as the peak lobby group for the fertiliser industry, which is facing a global supply crunch. It will discuss concerns that fuel wholesalers are hoarding supplies and reports that farmers are panic-buying to avoid future price spikes.

Bowen on Tuesday clashed with Queensland’s deputy premier, rejecting Jarrod Bleijie’s suggestion that Australia’s strategic fuel reserve of 36 days’ worth of petrol had already been reduced by 10 days, and accused him of intentionally spreading fear in the community.

“The deputy premier of Queensland has intervened in the debate in an irresponsible, dishonest fashion for which he should be ashamed,” Bowen said.

“Either he doesn’t understand how the law works, or he has deliberately misled Australians and engaged in encouraging panic buying.”

The future of Australia’s energy security remains uncertain while oil tankers are unable to sail through the Strait of Hormuz – which typically carries a quarter of global oil supply – while Iran attacks neighbouring nations in retaliation for the bombardment of its country by the US and Israel.

The Middle East region also produces about 45 per cent of the global fertiliser supply.

Independent fuel suppliers have reported difficulty in filling orders, as major companies restrict distribution. Social media is awash with reports of regional motorists claiming their local service station is empty, and farmers reporting diesel price spikes and delays to orders from private suppliers.

Victorian Farmers Federation president Brett Hosking said grain growers were particularly concerned about fuel and fertiliser supplies because they will soon start planting winter crops such as wheat and barley.

“We want to see some level of government intervention to ensure robust supply chains, and that agriculture is treated with a degree of importance because we only get one window to plant a crop,” Hosking said.

While there is believed to be enough urea on hand to plant, which typically starts in April, prices were already rising, and farmers are worried about how expensive it could be to fertilise their crops as they grow.

“Government will need to act swiftly and decisively to resolve this issue for all Australians,” said NSW Farmers grains committee chairman Justin Everitt. “The next couple of weeks are a critical window for farmers to start growing next year’s bread, pasta and Weet-Bix, so this needs to be resolved this week.”

Opposition energy spokesman Dan Tehan said Bowen should have already used federal powers to commandeer supply chains.

“He’s not using those laws to get that full transparency in place to get that fuel moved,” Tehan said.

“What is he doing to make sure it’s distributed evenly across the country so that we don’t have certain areas and key industries that are missing out? And he needs to be doing the same when it comes to fertiliser.”

A meeting overnight of G7 nations and the International Energy Agency decided against releasing strategic oil reserves but said it was ready to do so in the future.

The global benchmark for oil, Brent, soared to $US116 ($165) a barrel but has since fallen to less than $US90 since US President Donald Trump declared the war would be over soon.

Regular unleaded fuel was retailing for around 219.9¢ at many service stations in Sydney and Melbourne on Tuesday morning.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/no-need-for-panic-bowen-calls-urgent-summit-as-fuel-fears-grip-regions-20260310-p5o8yx.html

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>>24253442 (pb)

‘I’m buggered and I’ve had enough’: David Littleproud quits as federal Nationals leader

GREG BROWN and ROSIE LEWIS - 10 March 2026

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Matt Canavan, Kevin Hogan and Bridget McKenzie will run to be the next Nationals leader, after David Littleproud stunned the party by revealing he would step aside because he was “buggered”.

Nationals sources on Tuesday evening said Senator Canavan, Mr Hogan and Senator McKenzie had declared their intention to run for the leadership at a special Nationals party room meeting to be held at 10am on Wednesday.

Former deputy prime minister Michael McCormack was also considering running according to sources.

Mr Hogan, the deputy ­Nationals leader, is expected to be supported by Mr Littleproud and was told of the pending ­resignation ahead of most ­Nationals MPs just before parliament’s question time on Tuesday afternoon.

Other Nationals MPs said they found out about the resignation when a statement was released to the party room just after question time. The move surprised most MPs given Mr Littleproud’s leadership was not under any immediate threat.

Mr Littleproud is leaving open the option of staying on the Coalition frontbench, with some Nationals sources suspecting he would push to retain the agriculture portfolio.

Mr Hogan revealed he would run for leader. “While still feeling David’s resignation as leader, after being approached by a number of my colleagues, I have formally put my hand up for the leadership position,” he said.

Senator Canavan, who will consider running for the lower-house seat of Capricornia at the next election if it is vacated by sitting member Michelle Landry, also said he planned to run.

The north Queenslander, who ran for the leadership against Mr Littleproud after the last election and was a key figure in the Coalition dumping net zero, said he would “put my case to my Nationals colleagues in the coming days”.

“I have consistently been against the excessive government spending and crazy net-zero policies that have left Australia with the highest inflation and interest rates in the developed world,” Senator Canavan said in a statement on social media platform X.

“I believe I have the best chance to help win the battle for an Australia first plan that can deliver a better life for all Australians.

Moderate Liberal MPs were petrified of the party’s chances in city seats if Senator Canavan prevailed, with one declaring it would be akin to being in Coalition with One Nation.

After a controversial tenure as leader that included two damaging splits with the Liberals and the resignations of high-profile MPs Barnaby Joyce and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, a teary Mr Littleproud claimed to be the most consequential Nationals leader since John McEwen. He said he shaped policy within the Coalition by opposing the voice and net zero.

Mr Littleproud pointed to intense criticism he received after the second Coalition split as a reason he had lost the energy to lead.

Nationals MPs believe contributing factors to him quitting would also include his unpopularity among Liberal MPs, the rise of One Nation, bad polling ahead of the Farrer by-election, residual pressure from the resignations of Nationals MPs and internal criticism.

Mr Littleproud said: “It’s not probably since John McEwen has a National Party leader had to stand up and show the courage of their character and their party room and stand for what their party room wants them to stand for. So I’m proud but I’m tired. I don’t intend to retire from parliament; I love the people of Maranoa. I’ve been a human punching bag for the last couple of months. At some point you have got to look after yourself.”

(continued)

>>24363939

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Mr Littleproud took a swipe at the MPs who left the Nationals under his leadership, accusing Mr Joyce of wanting to replace him as leader, claiming Senator Price wanted to be prime minister and declared there was no need for Andrew Gee to quit and move to the crossbench because he supported the Indigenous voice.

When asked if he had a final word for his nemesis Mr Joyce, Mr Littleproud said he only cared about the people who proudly wore the Nationals’ colours.

“The only people I’m worried about are people wearing green and who bleed green and gold their whole life, particularly after their party has given them everything,” he said.

Mr Joyce hit back at Mr Littleproud, declaring the Maranoa MP must accept responsibility for the “existential crisis” his party faced.

The Nationals turncoat said Mr Littleproud was “a very large part” of his defection to One Nation but that he had moved on and would not seek to rejoin his old party.

“When I heard he said he was proud of what he achieved and compared himself to Black Jack McEwen, I didn’t know whether that was pathos or AI interfering with my news,” Mr Joyce said.

“We had senior people leave such as David Gillespie, Keith Pitt, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. We had a (Senate) seat that was lost, which was Perin Davey. Two people who basically walked out in myself and Andrew Gee, and Jacinta.”

Mr Joyce would not reveal who he believed should become the next Nationals leader, pointing out many of the contenders remained good friends.

Liberal leader Angus Taylor said Mr Littleproud had played a “crucial role” in shaping the direction of the Coalition.

“It is a great legacy that he has made,” Mr Taylor said.

A less charitable Liberal MP, who did not want to be named, said Mr Littleproud was a “bizarre experiment in uselessness”.

“His only achievement was to lead the Coalition to policy positions that make it unelectable in the cities,” the MP said. “His treatment of Sussan Ley will be remembered long after his own name is forgotten, as acts of pure and unadulterated bastardry.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/im-buggered-david-littleproud-quits-nationals-leadership/news-story/0ce7282e2f729aea5013aa7a75ee3ad9

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6VG0KpfJOQ

Australian footballer Barry Cable on trial for alleged sexual abuse of girl in 1960s

David Weber - 10 March 2026

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WARNING: This article contains details that some readers may find distressing.

Ex-Australian football Hall of Famer Barry Cable picked up a girl from an orphanage in Perth and sexually abused her multiple times, a court has been told.

The alleged victim, who was aged under 13 at the time, told the District Court the abuse happened in Mr Cable's home in Perth in the 1960s and said "he told me that he loved me and that's how we showed each other love".

The woman, who is now in her sixties, claimed he touched her genitals, tried to have sex with her, and made her touch him and perform oral sex.

She testified Mr Cable said to her "if I told anyone they wouldn't believe me because he was Barry Cable".

But Mr Cable's lawyer said the allegations were "completely denied" and the former footballer's wife would give evidence and say the alleged victim never stayed at their home.

'Dark side' behind football career

On the opening day of the trial, lawyer Tom Percy suggested there was a financial motive as the complaint emerged at the time of a 2023 civil case which found Mr Cable sexually abused a different victim, who was awarded more than $800,000.

Mr Cable, 82, is facing a judge-alone trial, charged with seven offences involving a girl under 13.

The offences allegedly happened between December 1966 and December 1969 at times when the woman said she stayed at the Cable family home as a young girl.

The girl's age ranged between 8 to 11 during that period.

Prosecutor Kim Jennings told the court Mr Cable had an "illustrious career" playing hundreds of games in Victorian and WA football leagues, but behind that spotlight was a "dark side".

Ms Jennings said along with the alleged victim, the court would hear from three other females who would say Mr Cable offended against them.

"This other conduct shows a tendency of Barry Cable to be sexually attracted to young underage girls and to act upon that sexual interest," she told the court.

Abuse started while wife slept

The alleged victim, who testified via video-link, described to the court in graphic detail what she alleged Mr Cable did to her — which the ABC has chosen not to publish.

She claimed Mr Cable and his wife had picked her up from an orphanage and taken her to their home.

The woman said Barry Cable "treated me good" but things changed when "he started touching my body, just fondling me".

She told the court she wore dresses with no underwear when she was with him after Mr Cable told her "they don't wear underwear in the house".

The woman testified Mr Cable would come into her room when his wife Helen was asleep.

She said "he tried to put his penis inside me" but walked out of the room "because he couldn't get it in", telling her she was "useless".

Other instances happened in the lounge room, she told the court.

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Lawyer cross-examination

Mr Cable's lawyer, Tom Percy said an analysis of the facts would show there was "no opportunity for these matters to have occurred".

He said the alleged victim said Mr Cable's house in Gosnells, in Perth's south-east, was "big" and "fancy", when it was not — and also claimed she misidentified the suburb.

Mr Percy also said the records of the orphanage where she stayed showed she was not absent for the "best part of a month".

He told the court Helen Cable would testify the girl never came to visit their home.

The woman denied an assertion by Mr Cable's lawyer that she only told police about the abuse in 2023 because she had heard about a civil case and "wanted to cash in".

She agreed she had initially told police she thought the house was in Scarborough, but also said she thought it was in Thornlie.

The alleged victim was shown a photo of the Cable home in court and she agreed it wasn't "flash".

Mr Percy quizzed her on claims she had made about other men abusing her, suggesting she found it "easy to make up allegations of sexual assault".

She denied this.

When asked by the prosecutor why she did not tell anyone at the time, she said Mr Cable told her "if I told anyone they wouldn't believe me because he was Barry Cable".

She also told the court she contacted WA police in 2023 because she had seen him on TV from when he was playing football and it brought everything back.

Mr Cable was considered a champion footballer, winning three premierships with Perth in the 1960s.

He was captain-coach of the East Perth team that won the premiership in 1978.

He also won three Sandover Medals for being the WAFL's best and fairest player.

After moving to Victoria in the 1970s, Cable won two VFL premierships with North Melbourne, in 1975 and 1977, and returned to coach the side in the 1980s.

The trial continues.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-10/barry-cable-on-trial-for-alleged-sexual-abuse-of-girl-afl/106436534

https://qresear.ch/?q=Barry+Cable