Australian news and politics live: Turkey to host COP31 after Australia ends bid for the global climate summit

Anthony Albanese says the location of the pre-COP event in the Pacific will be decided by leaders in the region.

Speaking outside ABC Perth on Thursday, the Prime Minister said he had been up at 4am talking to his Climate Minister Chris Bowen in Brazil about the COP bid compromise.

“We didn’t want the conference to go to Bonn (in Germany). We consulted our Pacific neighbours … and what we did was come up with an outstanding result,” he said.

“The fact that we have managed to secure a significant role for the Pacific as part of this, that’s enough to offset the loss of Adelaide as host.

“I thank Turkiye as well for the constructive engagement. Two countries putting bids, they both have compromised which is in the interests of climate change action.”

Sussan Ley tells people to “watch this space” for the Coalition’s immigration policy, which she has pledged to release over the next couple of weeks, although it might only offer underpinning principles to start with.

The Opposition Leader says her party is “looking at the integrity of the entire system” as it considered which visa classes should be cut or restricted to bring migration numbers down.

“This is not a failing of any migrant or migrant community, it is a failing of infrastructure delivery in this country,” she says.

“Unfortunately, the infrastructure has fallen well behind … Labor governments have not got this right. Communities are telling me everywhere I go in Australia that the pressures on roads, schools, hospitals and public transport mean that balance is not right.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insists a failed three-year bid to host the COP31 climate conference is still a “big win” because a settlement reached with Turkey will still see Australia playing a leading role.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced on Thursday that as part of the deal he has been appointed COP31 president for the process of negotiations and that a Pacific destination will host a “pre-COP” event.

Mr Albanese has declined to say how much the government has spent on the failed hosting bit but says it was a “relatively small amount” that had the benefit of promoting Adelaide to the world.

“What we’ve come up with is a big win for both Australia and Turkey,” Mr Albanese told the ABC in Perth before he flies to the G20 meeting in South Africa.

“It is because our priority our bid was Australia and the Pacific co-hosting. So what has been agreed is that Chris Bowen Australia will be COP President, for negotiations, the conference and the cop presidency will go to Turkey and there’ll be a pre COP meeting, particularly focusing on climate financing.”

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has described COP — which is the world’s main conference to work together to tackle climate change — was a “talkfest”.

It comes as Turkey has beat a rival Australian bid to host COP31 in 2026 after coming to a compromise following more than two years ofnegotiations.

”I think Türkiye is doing the Australian Government a big favour because we had a $12 billion deficit last year,” she told ABC.

“We’re hearing to a $42 billion deficit this coming wants to spend $2 billion on hosting a talk-fest here And at the same time can’t look Australians in the eye and answer a simple question - which is when will energy prices come down.”

In a press conference on Thursday morning in Melbourne she doubled down, calling it a “largely symbolic gathering”. She also continued their critisim of the Labor Government for pitching to host the costly event as Australian’s energy bills rise.

Read more.

Australians aged under 16 are warned they have two weeks until their accounts are scrubbed from several popular social media platforms.

Three weeks out from Australia’s world-leading social media ban kicks in on December 10, Meta will begin notifying teen users they will lose access to Instagram, Threads and Facebook.

YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and live-streaming platform Kick are also included in the ban, while popular gaming platform Roblox remains exempt for now.

These platforms have been included in the ban because their “sole or significant purpose is to enable online social interaction between two or more users”, eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant has said.

Read the full story here.

Turkey will host COP31 after coming to a compromise with rival Australia after more than two years of disputing who gets hosting rights.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced on Thursday that as part of the deal he has been appointed COP31 president for the process of negotiations and that a Pacific destination will host a “pre-COP” event.

He admitted some people would be “disappointed” with the outcome but insisted people would be “more disappointed” if the conference defaulted to Germany’s city of Bonn.

“Obviously, it would be great if Australia could have it all, but we can’t have all,” he said.

“It was important to strike an agreement with Turkey, our competitor.

“I believe the model that I’ve talked about; pre-COP in the Pacific, Australia as president of the COP for the purposes of negotiations… and the COP being held in Turkey and therefore avoiding it going to Germany is a model which achieves those objectives.”

At least 25 Palestinians have been killed in four Israeli air strikes in a part of the Gaza Strip under Hamas control since a shaky ceasefire took effect in October, health authorities say.

Medics said 10 people were killed in the Gaza City suburb of Zeitoun, two in Shejaia suburb to the east and the rest in two separate attacks in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military said its forces struck Hamas targets across the strip after members of the Palestinian militant group fired on its troops in violation of the nearly six-week-old ceasefire.

Read the full story.

A state Liberal party leader is digging in as speculation mounts he will face a party room spill.

Two challengers - Vaucluse MP Kellie Sloane and Wahroonga MP Alistair Henskens - are gunning for NSW opposition leader Mark Speakman’s position.

But the affable Mr Speakman is fighting back as Parliament wraps up for the year.

“My intention is to battle on,” he told conservative host Ben Fordham on 2GB on Thursday.

“I would expect anyone who wants to be the leader, who wants to knock me off ... would come and tell me and no one has.”

He blamed the political fallout from his federal colleagues as filtering down to the most populous state.

Read more.

Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen is due to give a press conference from the UN climate conference in Brazil shortly amid reports that Turkey is claiming it has won the stand-off to host next year’s event.

The Government insists negotiations are still continuing over a compromise deal on who will lead and host the annual talks next year.

Australia has maintained it has the backing from most countries to hold next year’s conference in Adelaide.

However, the UN rules don’t allow for a vote; rather, a decision must be made by consensus.

​​The Guardian​​ reports this morning that Turkey has claimed victory and will host next year’s conference in Ankara, while Australia will hold a meeting of world leaders in the Pacific with the aim of turning the spotlight onto the countries who stand to lose the most from climate change.