A leading Liberal front bencher has refused to rule out the Coalition forming minority government with One Nation, in the wake of the populist party's stunning victory in Farrer.

David Farley won the byelection in resounding fashion for One Nation, the first time the minor party had won a seat in the federal House of Representatives, and broke the Coalition's 77-year stronghold on the rural New South Wales seat that was vacated by former Liberal leader Sussan Ley.

Speaking with the ABC today, Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson hinted he was open to the idea of One Nation joining the Coalition.

"My objective is to make sure that the Liberal Party is in a position to govern as strongly as possible," he said.

"Of course we traditionally form a coalition with the National Party, but it's up to the Australian people to decide who they want to vote for.

"But I can tell you quite clearly my objective is to make sure that Liberals beat One Nation candidates."

The Coalition has existential questions to face after being smashed at the Farrer byelection by One Nation and an independent candidate.

Speaking on Weekend Today, Nationals MP and former leader David Littleproud admitted the result wasn't pretty for the Coalition.

FARRER BY-ELECTION: 'A bomb going off in Canberra': What now for One Nation and the Coalition?

"It's a good old-fashioned flogging, that's the reality of it," he said.

"You've got to face into it, and understand that the people of Farrer are sending a message."

Littleproud claimed it was a protest vote not just against the Liberal Party, but also against the Albanese government, and said the Coalition needed to unite behind values after deserting them following last year's landslide election defeat.

"The Coalition wanted to walk away from all its policies, and we stood for nothing," he said.

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"What happened is Pauline Hanson, a canny politician for 30 years, walked in and took up that space, and stood for much of the values we fight for."

The Liberal Party recorded 12.6 per cent of the vote in the Farrar byelection with the Nationals getting just 9.76 per cent as of Sunday morning, with One Nation leading the two-party preferred vote against Independent Michelle Milthorpe by a margin of 7.3 per cent.

Nine News political editor Charles Croucher said the decimation of the Liberal Party vote was a sign it was losing more and more of Australia, after losing urban areas in large numbers at the two previous federal elections.

"They are running out of places to start winning seats," he said.

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"It was going to be the party of the outer suburbs it clearly can't be the party of the bush anymore if that's the result that's coming in."

Croucher said the party was stuck between a rock and a hard place as forces on the left and right of politics continue to take voters the Liberal Party used to rely on for decades.

"What we're seeing is the Liberal party being stuck between this surge of One Nation on the right, the climate-minded independent, and Labor who are winning in the cities," he said.

"It's squeezing the Liberal Party, the party of Menzies, Howard, what was naturally the party of government, out of contention at all."

Treasurer Jim Chalmers made a bold prediction about the future of the Coalition, calling last night's result a "bloodbath".

"What it shows is the Coalition can't beat One Nation, so they will have to join them," he said on Today.

"It's hard to imagine a future coalition government that doesn't have One Nation in it."

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Police have confirmed they’re probing an alleged incident during the March tournament.

The woman says she now struggles to sleep and no longer feels safe.

St John treated two patients, one in a moderate condition and one seriously injured.

Authorities did not find the remains of Kristin Smart, a 19-year-old college student who went missing in 1996, officials said on Saturday after finishing a search of a home tied to the man convicted of killing her.

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office said it completed a search of Susan Flores' property in the Central Coast town of Arroyo Grande, more than 240 kilometres north west of Los Angeles.

Paul Flores, her son, was convicted in 2022 of killing Smart, whose body has never been found.

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Authorities declined to provide additional information.

Authorities said this week that evidence suggested human remains were present at the home and scientists specialising in human decomposition and soil took samples from the ground.

“The Sheriff’s Office remains fully committed to finding Kristin and bringing her home to her family,” the agency said in a statement.

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Smart went missing from California Polytechnic State University in May 1996. Prosecutors alleged that she was killed during an attempted rape and that the last person she was seen with was Paul Flores, a fellow student.

She was declared legally dead in 2002.

Flores was convicted in October 2022 of Smart’s murder and sentenced the following year to 25 years to life.

The decades-old case has captivated the public, fuelled in part by a podcaster who helped investigators by bringing forward additional witnesses.

Chris Lambert of the Your Own Backyard podcast first reported the search of the home.

They’ve been identified as English and French nationals.

A person who jumped a fence and was on a runway at Denver International Airport was struck and killed by a Frontier Airlines plane during takeoff.

The collision sparked an engine fire and forced passengers to evacuate the aircraft.

The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11.19 pm on Friday [Saturday AEST]”, according to a post on the airport’s official X account.

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A spokesperson for the airport said the person, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died.

They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.

“We’re stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com.

“We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”

The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway”.

The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now” before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement that flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff".

It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the collision.

The airline said the plane was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members.

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“We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities,” the airline said.

Passengers were evacuated via slides and the emergency crew transported them to the terminal.

The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to hospitals.

One passenger, Jacob Athens, posted video showing people sliding down the evacuation slide. He also posted photos of what looked like a damaged engine.

“As we were lifting off the engine of the plane exploded. There was so much smoke we couldn’t even see 1 ft in front of us,” Athens said on his Facebook page, adding that passengers had to wait for over a hour on the runway and “still no transport or help with the cold”.

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Other video shows passengers calmly walking down the aisle of the plane and using the slide to evacuate. They were told to step away from the plane.

Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, was closed amid an investigation. It reopened on Saturday at around 11 am local time.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X that the person “breached airport security at Denver Int’l Airport, deliberately scaled a perimeter fence, and ran out onto a runway.”

He added: “No one should EVER trespass on an airport.”

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For Zoe Kapolos, the reality of endometriosis isn't just a personal battle, it's a recurring scene played out on the hospital ward where she works. 

The 21-year-old graduate nurse from Melbourne has spent years navigating the debilitating pain of the condition, but it was the sight of her own patients prioritising paperwork over their recovery that finally pushed her to act.

Last week, a federal parliamentary petition launched by Kapolos officially closed after garnering a massive 28,400 signatures. 

The petition calls for the Australian Government to introduce dedicated leave for employees suffering from endometriosis and adenomyosis, sparking a national conversation about whether our workplace laws are meeting the needs of women with these health conditions.

Around 1 in 7 women are affected by endometriosis, a chronic condition that causes tissue to grow outside of the uterus. It can lead to severe abdominal pain and heavy periods. 

As a new nurse working on a gynaecology ward, Kapolos witnesses the intersection of chronic illness and employment anxiety every shift.

"A part of the reason why I started the petition was that I've seen so many patients who are almost fixated on making sure they have medical certificates," Kapolos said.

That fixation, borne out of a pressure to meet the unrelenting demands of their jobs, often came at a cost to their health, she said. 

She noted that patients often seemed more worried about providing documentation for their employers than they are about the clinical information they need to manage their recovery at home.

Kapolos understands that anxiety better than most. 

Her own journey began at age 13, followed by seven frustrating years of being told by doctors that "something was wrong" but they simply couldn't figure out what. 

It was not until Kapolos was 18 that she finally received a diagnosis of endometriosis. This was followed by laparoscopic surgery in 2023. 

While the surgery provided significant relief, she still faces days where she is unwell – a reality that led her to found The Ovary Office, an organisation dedicated to improving menstrual health literacy and education.

The push for menstrual and reproductive leave is gaining momentum in Australia, though it remains a patchwork of policies. 

In September 2024, Queensland public servants were granted 10 days of reproductive leave, covering everything from endometriosis and PCOS to IVF and vasectomies. 

Victoria and New South Wales also offer similar, albeit more modest, provisions for their public sectors, with 5 days of paid reproductive health leave and 5 days of paid fertility treatment leave, respectively.

Private companies have also led the way, with brands like Modibodi offering 10 days of paid leave for menstruation or menopause, while others such as Future Super, HESTA, and Mission Australia have integrated various forms of reproductive health leave into their contracts. Nine Entertainment Co, the publisher of this website, does not currently offer menstrual or reproductive leave.

Australian Unions have been calling for the Albanese Government to introduce ten days of paid reproductive health leave for all Australian workers. 

Last month, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) submitted a proposal into the National Employment Standards, calling for dedicated reproductive health leave.

This proposal would allow workers, regardless of gender, to access to up to ten days of paid leave to manage any reproductive health issue including, endometriosis pain, IVF and fertility treatment, miscarriage, vasectomy recovery, and prostate cancer screening.

Overseas, several countries, including Spain, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea, Zambia, and Vietnam have policies allowing employees time off due to painful periods.

However, the idea has its critics. Last month, India's top court rejected a petition seeking menstrual leave, with the judges saying such a law would mean "no-one will hire women". 

It's an argument against menstrual leave that Kapolos has often seen put forward on social media.

However, she believes Australia is ready for legislative change, noting that the nation is already a world leader in other reproductive health areas, such as cervical screening.

While Kapolos' petition is directed towards people with endometriosis and adenomyosis, she said she also supports the ACTU's broader propsoal, acknowledging applying the policy to all workers could help avoid discrimination from employers.

Ina statement, a federal government spokesperson told nine.com.au the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations was monitoring the reproductive leave in enterprise bargaining and its impacts on the workforce, emerging research and evidence and international examples.

"The government recognises that reproductive health issues can impact women's health, wellbeing and economic security, the spokesperson said.

"Our Secure Jobs, Better Pay reforms, strengthened the right to request flexible working arrangements which can help workers navigate reproductive health issues in the workplace."

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An Australian-born backbench UK Labour MP has thrown a political hand grenade into the debate over the future of the country's besieged prime minister.

Following crushing local election defeats last week, Keir Starmer is facing a renewed threat to his leadership.

As the final results came in Saturday, Labour suffered a net loss of more than 1100 local council seats across England, and lost control of several local authorities.

Anti-immigration party Reform UK gained more than 1300 seats across England and made significant gains in legislative elections in Wales and Scotland.

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Starmer insisted he would not quit 10 Downing Street, but just hours later, former minister Catherine West, who was born in Victoria, announced she wanted a cabinet minister to challenge Starmer by Monday, or she would put herself forward in a leadership tilt.

For this to happen, 20 per cent of Labour MPs – 81 people – would have to back her.

West told the BBC she currently had 10 MPs behind her, but expected support to grow.

"My preferred option is for the cabinet to do a reshuffle within itself, where there's plenty of talent, and for Keir to be given a different role, which he might enjoy, perhaps an international role," she said.

"Then for others to come to the fore who can communicate the message, who are very able, so we can have minimum fuss."

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The goal of West is not to become UK prime minister but to become a political 'stalking horse' and affect change at the top of the country's Labour Party.

Her threat may force a leadership shot by Health Minister Wes Streeting and former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, who are regarded as the strongest challengers.

West moved to the UK in 1998 before being elected a Labour MP or Hornsey in north London in 2015 (unlike Australia dual citizens can become British MPs).

She was a junior foreign office minister from 2024 to 2025 with responsibility for the Indo Pacific region.

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Tuesday's federal budget is shaping to become a major shake-up for the Australian economy, with major reforms in housing a wealth driver for millions of people.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers told Nine Chief Political Editor Charles Croucher on Weekend Today this morning the "status quo is not working" in the housing market, and flagged changes in the capital gains tax and negative gearing this week.

Croucher put it to the treasurer that the upcoming budget comes 40 years after then treasurer Paul Keating warned that Australia was at risk of becoming a "banana republic" due to a massive collapse in export prices and spiralling foreign debt.

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"We're now looking at a trillion dollars' worth of debt some time later this year … that speech was a line in the sand it shook the way Australians think," Croucher said.

Chalmers answered by saying there would be "more than the usual amount of change".

"There's more than the usual amount of change .. and more than the usual amount of anxiety about how our economy is playing out."

Hinting at capital gains tax changes, the treasurer also said while housing supply has to be the "main game" for fixing the housing crisis it should not end there

"Even though the problem in the housing market begins with supply, it doesn't end there. … the status quo and the tax system and the housing market is unfair … there are too may people locked out and not enough homes," Chalmers said.

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Negative gearing is when an investor has expenses associated with a property, like interest on mortgage repayments, that are greater than the profit it makes. Investors are then able to deduct many of those expenses from their taxable income, meaning they pay less during tax time.

Chalmers also announced today the budget will include an extra $2 billion over four years for infrastructure spending on roads, water, power and sewerage, that will help build up to 65,000 new homes.

The money will be given to councils and state utility providers, with $500m of the funds earmarked for regional and country areas.

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