Barnaby Joyce says he has called a reporter to apologise following a tense moment at a press conference in which One Nation leader Pauline Hanson's media adviser told the journalist to shut up.

Hanson was wrapping up a press conference in Adelaide yesterday when her media adviser, Richard Henderson, told reporters there would be no more questions.

"We're done, thank you. No, no, no. Shut up. We're done," Henderson said to a reporter.

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"Did you just say shut up?" the reporter responded.

"Yes, I did tell you to shut up," he said.

As Hanson walked away with Joyce, she told her adviser: "…you should've said you're the nasty b—h."

The words caused Joyce and other advisers to laugh, before Hanson said, "Do you want me to go back and I'll tell her."

It was unclear who she was referring to.

Joyce told Sky News he called the reporter to apologise on Henderson's behalf.

"I just don't know the backstory on it, whatever it is, I'm not quite interested in it to be quite frank," he said. 

"As you know, press conferences are on the balls of your toes and it goes back and forth in, at times, a willing way and, I don't know, maybe that's part of the colour of it.

"One thing you can say: One Nation are never boring."

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Joyce admitted that he was also "not purer than thou" and has had run-ins with reporters in the past.

"I'll give as good as I get. But shouldn't make a habit of it," he said.

Hanson has not commented on yesterday's exchange. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said both Henderson and Hanson's comments were "not appropriate".

"Labor is now the only mainstream political party in Australia. We have three right-wing parties all competing against each other and their allies cheering them on," he said.

"Parties of grievance could only achieve so much, because they don't put forward a positive agenda. And they need to be held to account as well for their actions and for their policies or lack thereof."

The fiery exchange came just weeks after Hanson's chief of staff, James Ashby, was filmed kicking ABC journalists out of a campaign event.

His actions were questioned by Hanson and the pair had a back-and-forth. 

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Guzman y Gomez has scuttled plans for an ambitious expansion in the United States and will immediately shut its existing stores in Chicago, in a development that has sent its share prices soaring.

The Australian-owned Mexican-style fast food giant will instead focus efforts on local growth after it struggled to compete in an already-saturated US market.

Founder and chief executive Steven Marks said he could not justify further investment in the US after GYG's weak financial performance in the region had "not been acceptable".

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"I have always been confident in the differentiation of our food and guest experience, however this was not translating to an improvement in sales momentum," Marks said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

"Having spent the last three months in the US, I realised this was going to take significantly more time and capital than we had expected.

"In assessing the trajectory of the current network, the board and I have concluded that the business is unlikely to deliver the performance that would justify continued investment of shareholder capital."

GYG will close its eight stores in Chicago immediately.

The business praised its US staff for their "passion, professionalism and conviction" and said the team would be supported throughout the exit strategy.

GYG had failed to establish a strong share of the market in the US, with the likes of Taco Bell and Chipotle dominating the country's Mexican fast food industry.

Marks said the Australian market tells a very different story and assured investors the local network of stores are performing solidly.

GYG shares soared by 20 per cent after Marks made the announcement.

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Before today, the underperforming US expansion had weakened the company's share price, falling more than 40 per cent over the past 12 months.

The Mexican-inspired fast food chain is on track to open 32 restaurants in Australia this financial year.

It currently operates around 250 restaurants in Australia. Marks said the brand is eyeing a national target of 1000 stores.

GYG expects to deliver an operating profit of about $85 million in the 2026 financial year, a year-on-year growth of 29 per cent.

The cost of exiting the US market will result in a one-off impact of at least $42 million to its 2026 full-year results.

"We have a long runway ahead of us in Australia as we progress towards our long-term target of 1000 restaurants and segment underlying EBITDA as a percentage of network sales of 10 per cent," Marks said.

"Concentrating our capital, focus and infrastructure behind this opportunity is the most effective way to compound shareholder value over the long-term."

However, the company's decision to abandon its US expansion does not diminish GYG's "global appeal", Marks added.

The brand is performing well in Japan and Singapore.

"Beyond Singapore and Japan, we continue to believe there will be the right opportunities, in the right markets, with the right models," Marks said.

"When those opportunities arrive, we will be ready.

"Today's decision is about the US specifically, it is not a statement about GYG's global potential."

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has refused to rule out changes to what the Coalition have branded a "death tax".

The federal budget will place a 30 per cent tax on discretionary trusts from July 2028, including discretionary testamentary trusts, which take effect after a person dies. 

Labor has been fielding questions about the so-called death tax during its nationwide campaign to promote the budget, which it has dismissed as a Coalition scare campaign.

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But the Sydney Morning Herald reported the government was open to changes.

Questioned about his stance at a press conference today, Albanese did not rule out whether he was considering a carve-out for discretionary testamentary trusts.

Instead, he said they had planned to hold consultations before the tax reform legislation is introduced to parliament in the second half of the year.

"Let's be very clear that we've said, when it comes to some of the misreporting that's there, we're not interested and there's no measures in there that are going to hurt inheritances," he told reporters today.

"On trusts, there'll be a consultation period about that, and we made that clear on budget night."

A discretionary testamentary trust is created under a will and takes effect when the trustee dies. The assets are still legally owned by the trustee, allowing beneficiaries to receive income or capital from the trust while avoiding paying extra income tax.

Under the budget's proposed changes, any testamentary trust that takes effect after May 12 will be subject to the minimum 30 per cent tax rate when it comes into effect in two years.

There are currently a little over 10,000 testamentary trusts, according to the latest data from the Australian Tax Office from 2022-23.

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The government are reportedly not considering carve-outs for changes to the capital gains tax discount, but is holding consultations with the start-up sector.

Earlier today, Labor MP Andrew Charlton admitted concerns over the capital gains tax were "valid" but that was why Treasury would hold consultations.

"It's a valid point, because that new regime doesn't interact well if you have a really low capital base, because you've got nothing to inflate off, so there are real concerns out there," he said.

"The government recognised those concerns, the treasurer recognised them before the budget."

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the government is panicking about the reaction to the budget and carve-outs would not be enough.

"We want an axe," he said.

"What they're saying now is they're saying we'll have a carve-out for tech entrepreneurs but not for a hairdresser, not for a fitness instructor.

"There's a panic and they're scrambling for the exit because they hadn't realised what they were doing."

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Nationals Leader Matt Canavan said the government is "desperately now trying to plug holes in a budget that proved leaky".

"They haven't been able to justify exactly why they are making these changes," he told Sky News.

"They've clearly done them either with an ill intent, a hidden agenda, or they just were totally ignorant of why these or how these changes would affect people's wills and testaments."

The government has failed to gain the Coalition's support for their trio of tax reform – discretionary trusts, capital gains tax discount and negative gearing – and needs the support of the Greens for the legislation to pass.

Greens Senator Nick McKim said changes will not meaningfully address the housing crisis or intergenerational inequity and criticised the grandfathering of negative gearing.

"The way that we are going to approach this is that we'll wait to see the legislation, we'll have a look at it, we'll have a look at all the detail, we'll listen to the debate and then we'll work these processes," he said.

"We want to see this package fairer and we want to see the balance of this package right."

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The 26-year-old left his $380,000 contract to prepare to face England and Ireland.

Two former childcare workers have escaped conviction despite admitting to yanking a toddler by their arm and pushing the same child against a wall.

Julie Gay Minter, 55, and Bhawna Joshi, 28, admitted to assaulting an 18-month-old in their care at a western Sydney childcare centre in October 2025.

Minter ripped a basket out of the child's hand and dragged him into an upright position by his right arm, forcing him to stand on his tiptoes.

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Her colleague Joshi later backed the same toddler into a wall, pushing him into it.

The woman was seen on CCTV after a parent dropping off her child witnessed an incident involving Minter and reported it to the childcare centre.

Both carers were originally charged with five counts of common assault apiece.

But the prosecution withdrew all but one charge for each woman, for which they pleaded guilty, in separate proceedings at Sydney's Blacktown Local Court on Wednesday and today.

The victim had reportedly been misbehaving, but was acting in an age-appropriate manner, court documents show.

Judges handed Minter and Joshi two-year community release orders, essentially good behaviour bonds, without criminal convictions.

"Becoming annoyed with children who are behaving unpredictably requires patience, skill and care and needs to be learned", Judge James Howard told Joshi.

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"You have responsibility and care for children … allowing that to happen is of some concern."

Both workers were fired after being charged – Minter, who worked in childcare for 20 years, will not return to the industry.

In today's proceedings, Judge Kirk Dailly took Minter's loss of employment into account, emphasising the 55-year-old's "dedication to (her) own family and the children of others".

"Children will still be children, and they will still ruffle the feathers of parents and even childcare workers every now and then," Dailly said.

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"It was overstepping the mark slightly and shouldn't have been done."

The centre which employed the women, Little Zak's Academy in Doonside, closed weeks after the allegations came to light and has not reopened.

That centre made more headlines after a parent alleged their autistic son was locked in a storage shed by another worker in a separate incident not involving Minter or Joshi.

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Oil was applied to the sauna walls, but it was not suitable for the heated conditions.

The Australian government is unaware of plans for the remaining group of so-called ISIS brides to return home as reports emerge they are on their way to the airport.

Six women, their children and grandchildren have now left the Al Roj camp in Syria for Damascus, the ABC reported.

Nine.com.au understands the government is not aware of any group booking tickets or making plans to return home at this stage.

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Earlier this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reiterated that the government was not providing any assistance to the cohort, and anyone suspected of breaking the law will face the full force of the law when reports emerged they would likely return home soon.

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek repeated that statement to the ABC this morning.

"I can tell you they will face the same consequences as their first group, which is if there are any crimes they are accused of, they will be taken into custody and treated with the full force of the law," she said.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor called on the government to do whatever it could to stop the group from entering Australia.

"The government should be doing everything in its power to prevent these people from coming because they turned their backs on our country to support a terrorist organisation," he told reporters today

"One that has been guilty of extraordinary atrocities, including on Australians."

Last month, four women and nine children boarded flights from Damascus to Sydney and Melbourne.

Three of the women – 53-year-old Kawsar Ahmad, her 31-year-old daughter Zeinab Ahmad, and 32-year-old Janai Safar – were arrested upon arrival and later charged.

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The mother and daughter were charged with slavery-related offences, while Safar was charged with joining a terrorist organisation and travelling to a declared conflict zone.

All three currently remain in custody pending future court dates.

They are all part of the wider group of 34 Australians – 11 women and 23 children – who have spent the last seven years at the camp due to their alleged links to Islamic State fighters.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has only been able to legally ban one of the women from returning to Australia.

She is expected to remain behind in Syria. Her children will likely join the second group in returning to Australia.

A group of Australians travelled to Syria and Iraq to either join or support ISIS from 2012 to 2019.

The federal government has been making plans for their return since 2013.

A group of children of a convicted ISIS terrorist were repatriated to Australia in 2019 under the Morrison government and a second group of women and children were repatriated three years later under the Albanese government.

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Thousands of childcare workers around the country could walk off the job on July 15 after union members voted in favour of mass industrial action.

Early childhood educators will down tools for one day in protest of the 2026 Federal Budget, which did not include the billions of dollars in funding needed to support an ongoing 15 per cent pay increase.

Over 20,000 educators from 1000 centres in Australia had signed an open letter demanding the government to permanently lock in the pay increase.

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Hundreds of union members endorsed the walk-outs at a meeting earlier this week in response to the budget.

Childcare workers say they won't be able to survive on the industry's minimum wage as the cost of living bites.

"Educators are making it clear: they will not accept going backwards," the United Workers Union (UWU) said in a statement.

"Without action, many educators face a pay cut before the full Fair Work Commission outcome takes effect.

"This isn't about asking for something new, educators are fighting to stop losing pay they already have."

The UWU has members in every state and territory who plan to stop work and join a rally on July 15.

Around 500 childcare centres in Victoria alone signed the letter.

Union member and Goodstart early educator Clare said that while the one-day strike will be difficult for families, it will help shape a more stable and thriving sector.

"While the walk-off in the interim will be really hard for families to navigate, the long-term impact that it will have on our sector, and the future generations of children and families coming into our services, we will have a higher-quality educational services that really amplify children's learning," Clare said.

"Right now it will be hard, the long-term impact will be magnificent."

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The federal government delivered a 15 per cent pay rise for early childhood educators in December, which amounted to an extra $160 per week for the average worker.

The $3.6 billion in funding, which has already "improved retention, reduce vacancies and bring more stability to the sector" will run out in November.

This year's budget did not extend this worker retention payment.

Greens senator Steph Hodgins-May claimed early childhood educators had been "shafted" in the budget.

"Thousands of early educators are now facing a Christmas pay cut because Labor refused to extend a payment they themselves boast that the sector depends on," she said.

"These are workers already leaving in droves because of burnout, low wages and now uncertainty about their future. Labor looked at that crisis and decided to make it worse."

Minister for Early Childhood Education Jess Walsh said the government would have "more to say later this year on the next steps to support this workforce" when discussing the budget's early childcare policies on May 15.

Nine.com.au has contacted Federal Minister for Education Jason Clare for comment.

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