Two local ABC reporters have been escorted out of a One Nation event on the eve of the crucial Farrer byelection.

In vision captured by 9News, a One Nation volunteer can be seen telling two local ABC journalists to leave, shortly before the event was set to kick off.

One of the ABC workers can be heard asking whether One Nation candidate David Farley had ordered their removal, to which the staffer replied, "That doesn't matter, come on… sweetheart, please," leading the pair towards the exit.

READ MORE: Why this weekend's byelection could upend Australian politics

One of the ABC reporters can be heard saying, "we are a tax-funded organisation".

One Nation chief of staff James Ashby was also seen directing the reporters out of the event, saying "bye-bye to the ABC" before following the pair towards the exit.

Ashby then said he was the one who ordered the removal of the reporters, telling them to ask their chief of staff in Canberra for the reason.

They replied by saying they are based in Wodonga, which neighbours with Albury in the Farrer electorate.

READ MORE: Sydney 'ISIS bride' facing terror charges has bail bid rejected

"We serve the local community," one reporter said.

After the ABC reporters left, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson questioned Ashby about their removal.

"Why, if they're local ABC? Rural and regional? she asked.

"Because they're reporting back to ABC Canberra," Ashby replied.

"They were told."

READ MORE: Gunmen found guilty of executing gangland figure in hit

Hanson appeared to say "they shouldn't have gone", before walking off.

The Farrer byelection will be held tomorrow, and One Nation is considered the frontrunner to take the regional NSW seat from the Coalition following the resignation of former opposition leader Sussan Ley, who had held the electorate from 2001.

Both the Liberals and Nationals are fielding candidates, while independent Michelle Milthorpe is also a major challenger, having significantly cut into Ley's margin at the last federal election.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

• Download the 9NEWS App here via Apple and Google Play
• Make 9News your preferred source on Google by ticking this box here
• Sign up to our breaking newsletter here

Partial results from local elections in England show big losses for Prime Minister Keir Starmer's governing Labour Party and gains for the hard-right party Reform UK.

The votes are being widely seen as an unofficial referendum on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he was elected less than two years ago as voters grew impatient for economic growth and dramatic change after 14 years of Conservative government.

Starmer said he took responsibility for the "very tough" results but would not resign.

READ MORE: Richard Lewer wins Archibald Prize 2026

"The voters have sent a message about the pace of change, how they want their lives improved," he said. "I was elected to meet those challenges, and I'm not going to walk away from those challenges and plunge the country into chaos."

Reform UK, led by the veteran nationalist politician Nigel Farage, won hundreds of local council seats in working-class areas in England's north such as Hartlepool that once were solid Labour turf, and also made gains from the Conservatives in areas like Havering in east London.

Farage said the results marked "an historic change in British politics".

The picture will change throughout Friday as results come in from the majority of local councils, including Labour strongholds like London. Votes will also be counted in contests for semiautonomous parliaments in Scotland and Wales.

READ MORE: Local ABC journalists booted from One Nation event before crucial byelection

Results reflect fragmentation of UK politics

Reform UK, running on an anti-establishment, anti-immigration message, also is eyeing breakthroughs in Scotland and Wales, though pro-independence nationalists the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru are more likely to form governments in Edinburgh and Cardiff.

A Labour rout could trigger moves by restive party politicians to oust a leader who led them to power in July 2024. Even if Starmer survives for now, many analysts doubt he will lead the party into the next national election, which must be held by 2029.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy cautioned the party not to topple the prime minister, saying "you don't change the pilot during the flight".

READ MORE: Sydney 'ISIS bride' facing terror charges has bail bid rejected

Labour is losing votes to Reform UK on its right, and also to the Green Party, whose popularity has risen under self-described "eco populist" leader Zack Polanski. The Greens hoped to increase their vote share and win hundreds of council seats in urban centers and university towns.

The Conservative Party is also expected to lose ground, with the centrist Liberal Democrats making some gains.

The results reflect a fragmentation of British politics after decades of domination by Labour and the Conservatives, and make the outcome of the country's next national election hard to predict.

John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, said Britain is entering a new political era where "none of the parties are very big".

"Even Reform are probably not quite at 30 per cent of the vote, so the fracturing of British politics is underlined by these results," he told the BBC.

READ MORE: Largest ever seizure of child abuse material in NSW

Starmer's future is under threat

Starmer's popularity has plunged after repeated missteps and U-turns on policies such as welfare reform. His government has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living — tasks made harder by the US-Israeli war with Iran, which has choked off oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

The prime minister has been further hurt by his disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain's ambassador to Washington.

Poor election results could trigger a challenge from a high-profile rival such as Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner or Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. Alternatively, Starmer could face pressure from the party to set a timetable for his departure after an orderly leadership contest.

"I don't think Keir Starmer should survive these results," said Labour politician Jonathan Brash, who represents Hartlepool in Parliament. "We have to be bolder, and we have to go further. And quite frankly, we need new leadership in order to achieve that."

Melbourne-based artist Richard Lewer has won the Archibald Prize 2026 for his portrait of Pitjantjatjara Elder, senior artist and ngangkari (traditional healer) Iluwanti Ken.

The work was selected from 1034 entries, whittled down to 59 finalists, which are on display at the Art Gallery of NSW.

The life-size portrait shows Ken, an artist herself and Wynne Prize finalist, in bright colours with flecks of paint on her arms, against a yellow ochre ground.

READ MORE: Thousands of staff at $60bn Aussie company suddenly stop working

A New Zealand-born artist, Lewer is a six-time Archibald finalist.

"I am really proud, both for Iluwanti and for myself," Lewer said.

"I feel deeply humbled to have won the Archibald Prize, and especially happy that this recognition brings a spotlight to Iluwanti, which was always my intention with this portrait. Iluwanti is the most beautiful woman, and it was a complete treat to spend time with her and to be able to paint her on Country.

"I hope this work recognises her role as a healer, artist and custodian of the knowledge she carries and so generously shares."

Art Gallery director Maud Page lauded Lewer's "masterful control of paint".

"He presents Iluwanti Ken as if she's emerging out of the ochre, with no conventional perspective, yet her presence as both an artist, healer and matriarch is powerfully realised.

"Her eyes are particularly striking – her gaze is direct and conveys her strength and warmth."

The Archibald Prize is Australia's most prestigious art prize and is awarded annually to the best portrait of a person distinguished in art, letters, science or politics painted by any artist resident Australasia.

The winners of the Wynne Prize 2026 for landscape painting and Sulman Prize 2026 for subject or genre painting were also announced.

Yolŋu artist Gaypalani Waṉambi won the Wynne Prize 2026 and $50,000 for her etching on metal, The Waṉambi tree, depicting Wuyal, an important ancestor of the Marrakulu clan.

Lucy Culliton won the Sir John Sulman Prize 2026 and $40,000 for her work Toolah, artist model, an intricately detailed painting of Toolah, one of her beloved rescue greyhounds.

This is Culliton's seventh time as a Sulman Prize finalist, with her 2026 winning work selected from 26 finalists.

First-time Archibald finalist Sean Layh won the Packing Room Prize for his portrait of actor Jacob Collins.

Layh saw Collins in the title role of Iain Sinclair's 2024 production of Shakespeare's Hamlet at Melbourne's fortyfivedownstairs theatre and reached out to Collins to see if he would reprise the role for a portrait.

"It was performed by candlelight in a tight physical setting and blended Hamlet's dark introspection with the plot's spooky supernatural undercurrent," Layh said.

Below is a selection of the 59 Archibald Prize finalists currently on display at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

• Download the 9NEWS App here via Apple and Google Play
• Make 9News your preferred source on Google by ticking this box here
• Sign up to our breaking newsletter here

NSW Police have seized the largest ever amount of child abuse material in a statewide crackdown, arresting more than 60 people and laying 400 charges.

Detectives revealed that the investigation started in 2023 following the discovery of an Australian network with more than 700 alleged offenders using an international cloud-based platform to view and share child abuse material.

NSW Police say it was their largest ever seizure of child abuse material.

Investigations alongside the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation found that 62 of the alleged offenders lived in NSW.

READ MORE: Gunmen found guilty of executing gangland figure in hit

Since the start of the operation in 2023, detectives arrested all 62 people who were identified, including 61 men and one woman, laying more than 400 charges and safeguarding 20 child victims who were identified, police said.

The three-year investigation wrapped up about 5am yesterday with the arrest of a man in Corrimal. 

The 37-year-old was taken to Wollongong Police Station following the alleged discovery of large amounts of child abuse material on multiple devices.

He was charged with 21 offences relating to the possession of the material.

READ MORE: Cost to surveil and rehabilitate returning 'ISIS brides' could be as high as $2 million a year

The 37-year-old was refused bail and appeared in court today.

Commander of State Crime Command's Sex Crimes Squad Adam Powderly said the operation was one of the largest arrests totals ever made under a single investigation by the state's sex crimes squad.

"Every image shared, every file accessed, represents a real child who has been harmed," he said.

"Today's final arrest closes one of the biggest CEIU strike forces to date and has made a significant dent in the number of paedophiles operating in NSW, disrupting a key part of Australia's online child abuse network."

READ MORE: Two 'ISIS brides' charged with slavery offences after three arrested upon arrival in Australia

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

• Download the 9NEWS App here via Apple and Google Play
• Make 9News your preferred source on Google by ticking this box here
• Sign up to our breaking newsletter here