Politics live updates: Anthony Albanese reveals AFP called to The Lodge after security incident at residence

Thank you for joining us during today’s live coverage.

We are wrapping up the updates but you can scroll down for a recap of today’s events.

Climate tsar Chris Bowen’s department is splashing close to $700,000 from the public purse to send community groups and consultancy firms to the COP31 Climate Conference in Turkey.

The Nightly can reveal 34 groups across the nation — ranging from sustainability organisations to consultancy firms — will be given an estimated $20,000 in government grant funding to “support the travel” to “contribute to Australia’s inclusive climate engagement at COP31”.

The 34 successful applicants will be given a portion of the $700,000 in public funds to travel to Antalya, Turkey from November 9 to 20. Recipients include Indigenous land groups, youth organisations, as well as agricultural and sustainability groups and several consultancy firms.

Organisations include the Kelp Forest Alliance, based out of Randwick in Sydney’s east, as well as the Jesuit Social Services from Richmond, Victoria.

A UNICEF Australia group was also a recipient of the funding.

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The Defence Chief says no further action will be taken over command failures in Afghanistan despite a report finding Army effectively lost control of the Special Air Service Regiment allowing sergeants and corporals to fight the war as they chose.

A summary of a secretive examination conducted by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force following war crime allegations found the SAS became dominated by what it called a “bikie gang” of non-commissioned officers.

“The breakdown in command occurred in an incremental way over an extended period of time,” the document completed in 2022, and quietly released earlier this week, states.

“Signs of broader decline appear to have been evident to some in higher headquarters. That there was no effective intervention and that this decline was allowed to continue, suggests an absence of effective leadership at various levels.”

Questioned in Senate Estimates by Greens leader David Shoebridge about a lack of accountability for senior leadership, Admiral Mark Hammond said the matter predated his time as Defence Chief.

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An initial prison assessment of Brendan Nugent reportedly found he was likely experiencing psychosis at the time of his arrest, with no evidence so far linking him to extremist groups or political ideologies.

According to the ABC, the assessment identified persecutory delusions and suggested Nugent had a significant mental health disorder, with schizophrenia among the possible diagnoses being considered.

A source familiar with the assessment told the broadcaster there was no indication of extremist motivations.

“So far nothing is indicating extremism,” the source said.

“There’s no group, no ideology, no intention.”

The revelations come after Dr Haines lost both legs following the alleged attack outside her Wangaratta electorate office last week.

The independent MP was retrieving belongings from a car when she was struck by a LandCruiser allegedly driven by Nugent.

She was rushed to Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital, where surgeons amputated both her legs. She has since woken from an induced coma and remains in a stable condition.

Anthony Albanese has revealed Australian Federal Police were called to his official Canberra residence on Wednesday night following a security incident.

The PM detailed how the scare occured while he was away from the Lodge attending the National Police Bravery Award, to honour Senior Constable Bikash Bharati and other officers caught up in the events at Wieambilla in December 2022.

“Those who wear blue put their lives on the line every day and take risks — indeed, while I was there, there was an alert, a security issue, at The Lodge, and Australian Federal Police officers visited The Lodge,” Mr Albanese said in Question Time.

“Once again, we know that the security situation’s very serious, which is why I do say, turn down the heat across a range of issues.”

Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie says WA Premier Roger Cook’s complaints to Federal Immigration Minister Tony Burke shows Labor’s visa changes are “crook”.

The State Labor leader is in Canberra today to go face-to-face with Mr Burke after he announced at the National Press Club last month that the government would tighten restrictions on backpacker visas.

The overhaul was part of a broader suite of measures aimed at driving down net overseas arrivals by 75,000 a year.

Mr Cook is among a chorus of voices to argue the new rules will hurt the regional communities, tourism, the hospitality sector and agriculture.

Read the full story here.

Liberal Senator James Paterson also said Anthony Albanese should have corrected record on his claim about “raw sewage” in the golf club grant saga “at earliest opportunity”.

The Prime Minister on Tuesday admitted he incorrectly claimed that a $6m grant awarded to the Marrickville Golf Club in his electorate was to prevent effluent flowing into a nearby river.

“Whenever you make a false statement, as soon as you become aware of it, you are obliged to go at the earliest opportunity to correct the record. He did not do so,” Senator Paterson told News24.

“In years gone by, this would have cost a minister their job.

“Under Albanese’s government, there are no standards at all.”

The grant first hit headlines last month after a Centre for Public Integrity investigation found the $560 million program it was funded through was invitation-only and heavily favoured safe Labor seats and marginal contests the party hoped to win.

Days later, it was revealed that the Prime Minister had not included his honorary membership of the club on his register of interests, claiming he was unaware he was a member.

The Australian Defence Force has revealed almost a quarter of its personnel are not considered medically able to deploy including members who are now transitioning out of uniform.

Defence chief of personnel Lieutenant General Natasha Fox has told a Senate estimates hearing that “over 75 per cent of the ADF are actually in a deployable, military employment classification”.

“We have some that are temporarily downgraded, and those temporarily downgraded in a military employment classification might be for an injury that has an ongoing rehabilitation requirement, but it’s only a temporary downgrade,” she said.

In September the Albanese government confirmed the full time and permanent ADF workforce now exceeded 64,000 personnel, the largest size the military has been in 25 years.

The Coalition says it will work with Labor on the gas reservation policy which is set for lower House vote today, but leader Angus Taylor has warned Anthony Albanese “the balance has to be right”.

The Prime Minister and his resources minister Madeleine King told reporters in Canberra on Thursday that the reserve was important for increasing supply and putting downward pressure on prices.

Mr Taylor said one of the things that would be vital for Coalition support would be that Western Australia, which has had its own reserve since 2006, received a carve out.

“There must be a carve out for WA. There must be a carve out for WA for this to work,” he said. “They have an existing reservation scheme and their gas grid is disconnected from the East Coast gas grid. So, there must be a carve-out.

“We want to see a gas industry that’s investable because we need more gas, not less in this country. That is crucial to bring down the cost of energy. It’s gone up by 40 under Labor.

“So we’ve got to have a reservation scheme that will encourage gas investment but also will ensure that we have affordable gas and electricity in this country for households and manufacturers.”

An Australian teen has been charged over alleged terrorism, violent extremist material, and firearm manufacturing offences.

A Northern Territory teenager will appear in Darwin children’s court today charged with collecting documents likely to facilitate terrorist act, as well as schematics for 3D-printed guns.

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