Barnaby Joyce and Pauline Hanson have stayed overnight at One Nation backer Gina Rinehart's $20 million Brisbane mansion after fundraising events, without declaring the hospitality to parliament. Joyce conducted a live television interview about politics from the property, but did not declare the stay because the billionaire is a "long-term friend," according to Guardian reporting.
Undisclosed Hospitality at Rinehart's Mansion
The revelations come as the Guardian launches The Populist, a four-part podcast series following senior correspondent Sarah Martin as she uncovers the inner workings of Pauline Hanson's One Nation. The series examines how the party has adopted the modus operandi of the global populist right, including Trump-style attacks on the media, and questions who One Nation really stands for and what influence Rinehart has over the party.
In February, Hanson told Martin: "If you're trying to say I'm being funded by Gina Rinehart, the answer is no." The Guardian now reports this is not true. Over months, Martin pieced together flight tracking data and expense records to uncover the true extent of financial support flowing from Australia's richest person to the country's fastest growing political force. Episode one, released today, tells the inside story from the Farrer byelection to the National Press Club.
Broader Political and Global Developments
In other political news, independent senator David Pocock is among crossbench MPs who will pressure Labor to ban Australian goods from being used by the Israeli military. Pocock says his constituents contact him most about "human rights and the Gaza genocide."
Internationally, a train carrying former UK prime minister Boris Johnson and ex-CIA chief David Petraeus may have been the intended target of a drone strike near the Poland-Ukraine border, officials say. In the Middle East, a pregnant woman was among more than 10 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, and Iran-allied Houthis have said they used drones and missiles to attack a military base in Saudi Arabia. Donald Trump has doubled down on his pledge to give US adults a "dividend" if his Republican party keeps control of Congress after November's midterm elections.
Economic and Environmental Impacts
The Japanese yen has reached its highest level against the US and Australian dollars in six months, raising questions about the end of budget-friendly trips for Australian travellers. In environmental news, rabbits are the biggest threat to Australia's native species, and due to good rainfall and growing resistance to viruses, rabbit populations are booming. South Australia has recorded the first death of an endangered Australian sea lion from H5 bird flu, amid fears for the protected species of which less than 12,000 remain nationwide.
In sport, Alexander Zverev faced Ben Shelton in the US Open men's singles final, and Kimi Antonelli held off Max Verstappen during his Madring debut to win the F1 Spanish Grand Prix. The Guardian's reporting also highlights that in modern Australia, it is more common for child sexual abuse to be inflicted by an adolescent than an adult, with many girls having no choice but to return to school and share a campus with their assailant.
