Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been heckled by offshore wind protesters during a visit to the NSW south coast.
Albanese was visiting the region to announce the new Labor candidate in the seat of Whitlam, which will be vacated by the Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones at the upcoming poll.
Follow today's live blog for all major updates on Australian politics.
Key Events
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PM to Illawarra steelworkers: 'We've got your back'
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Political donation laws at risk of legal challenge
How much do independents caucus?
Wondering how the crossbench works together?
Helen Haines explains.
"So, what we do, and what we agreed to do – not a formal agreement, but what we talked about when the crossbench expanded so dramatically in the 2022 election, was – it would be useful to all of us if we knew what each other was doing in terms of amending legislation, for example," she said.
"That's something that we do a lot on the crossbench.
"We had come together once a week when parliament sits we talk about – what's the forthcoming legislation? Has anyone got any amendments? Has anyone got any events coming up that they're sponsoring? "
Haines: 'I'd never work with a major party'
The theme of today is very much what kind of role the crossbench will have in the next parliamentary term.
Helen Haines is asked how much she meets with the government.
Dr Haines pointed out that she, unlike Katter, had never been part of a major party and said she never would.
"Depending on when the election is of course, but working with the Liberal government and now working with a Labor government, I have as much access to ministers I want," she said.
"So I would say excellent access and I would thank both governments that I've worked for for having an open door to me as an independent.
"One of the things that's been really good with this government is we've been getting, every week when parliament sits, detailed legislative briefings from the ministers."
Katter: Being an independent MP gives 'immensely more power'
Bob Katter is asked by journalist Gabrielle Chan how different it is being an indpendent to being part of a major party.
She said that a criticism was that indpendent MPs can't "always get anything done".
Katter says he thought that at the beginning but found that he actually was able to get more meetings with ministers.
"You know, they were busy and I'm nobody and they're somebody… They couldn't fit me in," he said.
"'Bobby, I'll see you – two weeks' time, I'm going fishing, mate' but when I became an independent – 'Oh, yeah. Right. Come on over.'
"Cause they were scared of me attacking them and I found out that I had immensely more power than I ever had or everything could dream of having."
It's National Press Club time!
Today Dr Helen Haine, independent member for Indi, and Bob Katter, member for Kennedy, are speaking.
Stay with us.
Chinese jet fighter deploys flares within 30m of Australian military jet
Unprofessional and unsafe is how the Australian government is describing the incident where a Chinese jet fighter released flares in front of an Australian military plane.
Just catching up?
ABC News political reporter Pablo Vinales explains what happened and what's been said.
China's grey zone tactics are 'getting worse'
The situation in the South China Sea is getting worse, according to retired RAAF Group Captain Peter Layton.
This follows the news that a Chinese fighter aircraft released flares within 30 metres of an Australian military plane over the South China Sea.
Dr Layton says the other countries bordering the disputed waters have so far all responded passively to China's grey zone tactics.
"The trouble is that acting passively has not obviously convinced the Chinese that they should stop ramping up," he told The World Today.
"There's a bad trend line here and I think that that Defence Minister Marles is certainly correct in saying that there's a possibility of a serious accident."
In terms of a more active response, Dr Layton warned against aggressive countermeasures from Australia's military.
"Reciprocating in the air is inherently dangerous and the Chinese are right at the edge of being dangerous now," he said.
Universities told to tidy up complaints process for antisemitic incidents
Labor MP Josh Burns is hoping changes to university complaints processes and reporting practices recommended by a parliamentary inquiry into antisemitism on campus can be rushed through in time for the start of the new semester.
But Australia's leading universities have declined to give detailed timelines for the changes, with students due to return to campuses within a fortnight.
The inquiry found "brazen antisemitism" had gone unchecked by universities, which led to Jewish students feeling unsafe on campus, and inconsistent policies across the country.
You can read more about that here.
Albanese heckled by anti-offshore wind farm protesters in Illawarra
Here's more on the prime minister's visit to Illawarra from ABC News Reporter Timothy Fernandez, who was at the press conference.
(Nicole Curby)
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been heckled by anti-offshore wind farm protesters during a visit to the NSW south coast.
The prime minister was visiting the region to announce the new Labor candidate in the seat of Whitlam, which will be vacated by the Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones at the upcoming poll.
The Illawarra is one of six areas across Australia prioritised for offshore wind farm development.
A small group of protestors, which included members of the Responsible Futures group, attended a press conference this morning at Lake Illawarra and targeted the PM with complaints about the offshore wind zone.
One heckler shouted that the prime minister should, "put the offshore turbines in front of your mansion on the water!"
The PM engaged with the protestors while answering a question on the impact of Donald Trump's steel tariffs on the Port Kembla steelworks.
"Turbines are made of steel by the way, and we want them to built using Illawarra steel," said Mr Albanese.
To which the protestors responded, "not Illawarra steel".
After the prime minister left, a group of his supporters confronted the protesters shouting "Albo, Albo, Albo!" and suggesting the opposing group "get their pay checks from Gina Rhinehart".
Meanwhile the protesters said, "what has Albo done for the Illawarra" and "vote for Clive Palmer!"
Labor's social housing fund outperforming investment benchmark
Labor's $10 billion social housing fund has made twice its benchmark rate of return in its first year in operation, bolstering future rounds of grants for social and affordable homes.
The first round of grants was approved late last year, although only 12 of the 185 approved projects have yet signed contracts.
You can read more about that here:
📹 : Prime minister is heckled by Illawarra locals
'It's a rough week for democracy'
It's been a bruising sitting week for the crossbench, and a rough few weeks in general, says one independent MP.
Helen Haines is one of several crossbenchers furious at the two major parties for making a deal on political donations.
"I was very happy when the Labor Party claimed that they were going to undertake significant electoral reform and get dark and big money out of politics," she told Radio National Breakfast.
"But of course, what they've done is ensure that the major parties don't lose out.
"It's a rough week for democracy."
Ms Haines holds the regional seat of Indi, which has elected an independent for the past 12 years.
"What the minor parties and the independents are doing is changing the way power is exercised," she said.
"Most AFL football clubs have got more members than the major parties these days."
Coalition-led Senate inquiry calls for overhaul of $4 trillion super industry
A Coalition-headed Senate inquiry has been scathing in its assessment of how super funds manage members' money and drag their feet or fail to pay insurance claims.
The Senate inquiry specifically called out super fund Cbus's "lack of cooperation with the committee".
You can read more about that by clicking the link below.
US Indo-Pacific commander to visit Australia
The admiral in charge of United States preparations for any conflict with China is scheduled to have high-level meetings in Canberra next week, the week after a "dangerous" incident involving Chinese and Australian military aircraft over the South China Sea.
Defence officials revealed on Thursday that a Chinese J-16 fighter aircraft had released flares within 30 metres of an RAAF P-8 Poseidon while it was conducting "routine surveillance".
You can read more about that here:
Richard Marles jokes about picking up flowers from the servo
If you weren't aware, it's Valentine's Day and the country's leaders are proving there's no excuse for forgetting to pick up a special something for your sweetheart.
At the end of his appearance on News Breakfast this morning, Richrd Marles was asked about his plans.
"It's Valentine's Day?!" he said.
"Well, probably … I'll need to be going past the servo to get some flowers I suspect."
"I'm only kidding, I'm taking my bride out to dinner tonight, I'm being a good Valentine."
Phew.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will be spending the evening in with his wife Kirilly.
"There'll be some flowers on the way a little bit later on," Dutton told the Today Show this morning.
"So, it'll be a nice day.
"We did have dinner planned, but she's broken her wrist."
PM to Illawarra steelworkers: 'We've got your back'
The prime minister will visit the Port Kembla steel works today and is asked about his message for steelworkers concerned about the 25 per cent tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
"My message is clear, which is we have got your back," he said.
"We support blue collar jobs."
Another heckler interjects by saying "another lie".
The PM repeated his comments that he has spoken with President Trump and put forward a "very strong case" for trade exemptions.
"I note that this morning there has been a statement about reciprocal tariffs.
"Australia has none on the US, we have a free trade agreement. We support jobs."
Hecklers shout as the prime minister appears in Illawarra
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is giving a press conference at Lake Illawarra in New South Wales amid shouts from locals.
As the prime minister was speaking, shouts of "no-one wants you here" could be heard over the top.
They appeared to be yelling about an offshore wind inquiry and under-funding in the region.
We'll hopefully find out more about that soon from the reporter on the scene.
Lessons from a hung parliament
While some independents may be planning a High Court challenge, there's one crossbencher who's looking ahead to a potential hung parliament.
Bob Katter is the founder of Katter's Australia Party and is the longest-serving member currently in the House of Representatives.
He was one of a handful of crossbenchers elected in 2010 when Julia Gillard formed minority government, but ultimately he didn't support the Labor government.
"I think the two-party system has collapsed all over the world," he told Radio National Breakfast.
Mr Katter also said that Anthony Albanese knows and respects the power of independents from his time as Leader of the House during the hung parliament.
"He, of all people, articulated the principle that we should represent our people," he said.
"Not some party philosophical, ideological point of view, or self-serving, self-promoting point of view, which is basically what drives the party system."
Dutton says Chinese fighter aircraft incident 'very concerning'
The opposition leader popped up on the Today show this morning to comment on yesterday's revelations that a Chinese fighter aircraft released flares within 30 metres of an Australian military plane over the South China Sea.
No personnel were injured and the aircraft was not damaged.
"It is deeply concerning because it puts that safety at risk, the safety of our personnel — and that is not something that Australia can tolerate," Peter Dutton says.
"There's no question that our diggers have done the right thing here, and they absolutely deserve the government's support.
"But they need to be transparent in terms of what's happened, and I just don't think we've seen all of the detail yet from [Defence Minister] Richard Marles."
The defence minister on Thursday said he had relayed Australia's concerns to the Chinese government.
You can read the full story from the ABC's defence correspondent Andrew Greene below.
WATCH: Objection lodged after Chinese fighter jet released flares near RAAF plane
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has has spoken about the Chinese fighter aircraft incident on News Breakfast this morning.
He says an objection has been lodged after a Chinese fighter jet released flares within 30 metres of an Australian military plane in the South China Sea.
"I suppose the important point to make is the proximity within which they were released was such that there was no way the pilot of the Chinese J-16 could have been able to control where the flares then go," he said.
"They could have hit our P-8.
"Had that occurred, it would have done significant damage to our aircraft, and that obviously puts in danger the lives of our personnel."
Political donation laws at risk of legal challenge
There's been a furious response from crossbench independents to the major parties' deal on political donations.
Some say they'd likely demand the changes be scrapped if they wound up holding the balance of power in a hung parliament.
But the changes could also face trouble outside parliament, with legal experts saying they're vulnerable to a High Court challenge.
Anne Twomey, Professor of Constitutional Law a the University of Sydney putting caps on donations and expenditure will breach the implied freedom of political communication unless it is done for a legitimate purpose and the laws are proportionate to achieving that.
"But if you look at what they've done, the amount of money that you can spend and make donations in order to influence government is really high under this legislation," she said.
"So it doesn't seem to be achieving the legitimate purpose they they say is there."
Businessman and former MP Clive Palmer has already said he would mount a challenge in the High Court.
While Professor Twomey said Palmer "hasn't been the most successful challenger in the High Court" she believes there are valid reasons for someone to pursue a challenge.