Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has been pressed on the Coalition’s calls for age limits to be mandated on social media platforms. The Coalition has called for age limits to be mandated on social media sites so that children cannot access them. The plan would be done through the use of age verification technology. “These are some of the issues that are being examined right now as part of the Online Safety Act review,” Ms Rowland told Sky News Australia. “No one wants vulnerable people, especially children, seeing certain content and certainly not content that is age-inappropriate.”

The Australian Media Writer Sophie Elsworth says Joe Biden is “not always the man” Americans would want in the “top job”. The US is trying to avert a full-blown war in the Middle East as tensions continue to escalate. “He’s the man in charge, and his tenure could well be up at the upcoming election,” Ms Elsworth told Sky News host Caroline Di Russo. “How he handles this is very critical, but we know that there was a lot of issues after those deaths of the aid workers and whether the US would be wavering in its support of Israel. “This is up to Biden to sort of lead here and show that he can be authoritative in these situations. “I think his track record has shown that when it comes to these tough challenges, he’s not always the man you want there in the top job.”

The US Senate is expected to vote on a bill to ban TikTok this week after it passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan majority. The updated bill is part of the foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The Senate could still shut down the bill, but it is unlikely as both sides of the aisle support more funding for the US allies. If the TikTok ban makes it out of the Senate along with the foreign aid, US President Joe Biden is expected to sign it. The app won’t go away immediately; the matter is sure to be tied up in court, as TikTok plans to claim the potential ban is a violation of free speech.

Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson says X “should comply” with Australian legislation as the country can decide what its “permissible limits of free speech” are. X owner Elon Musk has taken another swipe at the Australian government, saying, ‘The Australian people want the truth. X is the only one standing up for their rights.’ It follows the Federal Court ordering the social media platform to remove footage of last week’s Sydney church stabbing. “Elected or unelected, I don’t want foreign governments deciding what Australians can access on X or any other social media platform, particularly I don’t want authoritarian governments requiring Twitter or X or any other company to take down things,” Mr Paterson told Sky News Australia. “It’s for democracies to decide what’s accessible within our own borders and what our permissible limits of free speech are. “We’ve done so; we’ve passed legislation; X should comply with that.”

Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell says X owner Elon Musk’s row with the Australian government is “not about freedom of speech”. The X owner is challenging a takedown order of graphic footage. “It’s outrageous,” Mr Clennell said. “As publishers with this sort of stuff, we have obligations we adhere to. “This guy’s a rogue – Meta will at least attempt to take the stuff off.”

The Prince and Princess of Wales have released a new photo of Prince Louis to mark his sixth birthday. The photograph of the young royal was taken in Windsor in the "last few days", according to the Palace. The royal couple posted the portrait taken by the Princess of Wales on social media, which the Palace assures has not been edited. The message attached to the post reads: "Happy 6th Birthday, Prince Louis!" "Thank you for all the kind wishes today."

Prosecutors in the hush money trial of former US president Donald Trump say the 2024 frontrunner should be punished for violating his gag order. They have asked a judge to fine Mr Trump for criticising expected trial witnesses, including Stormy Daniels and his former lawyer, Michael Cohen. Judge Juan Merchan claimed Mr Trump’s legal team was losing credibility after they claimed a series of social media posts were just responses to political attacks on Mr Trump. Mr Trump appeared a short time after day two of the trial, reiterating his belief the case is an unconstitutional “sham”. “They can talk about me, they can say whatever they want, they can lie, but I’m not allowed to say anything,” he said. “I don’t think anybody has ever seen anything like this.”

Nationals leader David Littleproud has defended taking a taxpayer-funded flight to see family in 2023. The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority found the leader had contravened parliamentary laws by claiming expenses for a private visit to the Gold Coast. It's understood the trip took place days after the settlement of his $1,000,000 ­Surfers Paradise apartment. Mr Littleproud said he only made the mistake of flying back into Brisbane rather than the Gold Coast. "I wasn't aware that was wrong; I thought I could come to either two because they're similar in price, and I paid not just the price of the flight coming back but I paid for the flight going back to Canberra and any other associated costs," Mr Littleproud said "But I didn't claim any nights I wasn't there on the taxpayer, I came home to be with my family, which is what most MPs do between sitting weeks," he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape have begun walking the Kokoda Trail side by side, setting out “in the footsteps of giants”. Children serenaded the leaders as they embarked on a rare political pilgrimage ahead of ANZAC Day. The first leg of the trip the prime ministers are embarking on is from Kokoda village to Deniki, about eight kilometres south of Kokoda. It is 82 years since the Battle of Kokoda occurred in 1942. Bomana War Cemetery in Port Moresby is the largest resting place of Australian war dead in any country, with 3,826 graves.

X owner Elon Musk has taken another swipe at the Australian government. According to Wall Street Silver, X has become the number one downloaded news app in the country – moving up by two spots. That is despite the Federal Court ordering the social media platform to remove footage of last week’s Sydney church stabbing. Mr Musk has responded to his app’s success. “The Australian people want the truth. X is the only one standing up for their rights,” he said.

Sky News host Liz Storer has broken another election promise of continuing the search for lost World War One Diggers’ graves. Ms Storer joined Sky News hosts Caleb Bond and James Macpherson to discuss the broken promise. “This government which promised to uphold what had been initiative of the Morrison government to find unmarked graves of those who had died … and marked them out and have people know this is one of the Diggers’ graves, so that they could come so that they could pay their respects. “The Labor government’s said ten days out to the election ‘oh we too will keep this up’. “Since Labor’s been in power just 42 veterans graves have been recommended for grants after Labor took over.”

Sky News host Caleb Bond says a mob of pro-Palestinian protesters have “continued their rampage” against Columbia University. The lawn at the university located in New York is covered in tents as activists continue to protest the war in Gaza. New England Patriots team owner Robert Kraft chose to withdraw any further donations from the university and called the anti-Israeli mob “f****** crazy”. “We need to see people stand up and put their money where their mouth is,” Mr Bond said. “Because the only thing left that can talk on this is money.”

Sky News host Liz Storer says Labor is “not a patriotic government” when it comes to veterans. Her comments follow the Labor government’s broken promise of finding unmarked World War One veterans’ graves and marking them, to which they have only found 42. Under the Morrison government 1,189 World War One graves were marked. “They do nothing to even pretend. “The sooner our nation stops electing who clearly aren’t proud of this country or having an undying love for the people they’re in, the better for all of us.”

Sky News host James Macpherson says Australia’s dead “can’t get a grave” after Labor broke its promise of continuing the Morrison government’s goal to mark unmarked World War One graves. His comments follow the Labor government’s broken promise of finding unmarked World War One veterans’ graves and marking them, to which they have only found 42. Under the Morrison government 1,189 World War One graves were marked. “It’s quite a state that our nation is in right now, the living can’t get a house, the dead can’t get a grave," Mr Macpherson said. “The government had promised $3.7 million, they’ve given $800,000 and that’s it.”

The Australian’s media writer Sophie Elsworth questions why the ABC would be pouring millions of dollars into advertising, promotions and audience research. New figures obtained under freedom of information showed in the first quarter of 2024 the ABC spent a total of $6m on advertising, promotions and audience research, according to The Australian. The FOI data, obtained by the Institute of Public Affairs, showed in the first three months of this year the ABC spent $3.8 million on advertising, $2 million on audience research and $144,000 on promotions. Ms Elsworth urged the ABC to publish the data in their annual reports. “This data is quite concerning and shows there has been increases in the March quarter compared to the previous March quarter,” she told Sky News Australia.

Sky News host Peta Credlin has questioned whether Australians can trust the Victorian Labor government on drug injecting rooms in the state. “They said before the election they’d never have a drug injecting room in Victoria, they did not support one,” she said. “Straight after they won the election, they started a trial they call it and that trial became a permanent facility in Richmond.” Ms Credlin raised concerns about a new facility being built. “They’re saying it’s not an injecting room, it’s a health centre,” Ms Credlin said. "The Victorian Health Minister … she was on radio this afternoon she was asked about a hydromorphone; this is a replacement for heroin. “My fear here is this will be injecting drugs, this will be doctors prescribed drugs … but they’ll still be mind-altering drugs. “This will be a drug injecting room by stealth.”

Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell says Treasurer Jim Chalmers “wants his surplus” for the next federal budget but questions if most Australians “give a stuff” about a surplus. “I think Jim Chalmers wants his surplus, and he has got an economic argument on that, you can say it is deflationary,” Mr Clennell said. “Do most Australians give a stuff about a surplus? “There are things you can look at … so I think this is a dangerous period for the government. “It would be difficult to see the government in a good position in the polls when we have had … 12 rate rises, and we have had rents go up astronomically.”

Anthony Albanese’s war with Elon Musk has gotten more “vicious” and “cynical” after the Prime Minister hit out at the billionaire’s “ego”, according to Sky News host Andrew Bolt. Following criticism from the Prime Minister over X’s decision not to take down violent footage of a stabbing, the billionaire took aim at Mr Albanese. “I’d like to take a moment to thank the PM for informing the public that this platform is the only truthful one,” Mr Musk said. Mr Bolt said the X owner has become a “hate figure of the left” since taking over the platform. “The second thing to remember is that Musk is not some sociopath demanding the right to sow division. Albanese is just defaming him,” he said. “No, he is actually serious about free speech.”

Sky News host Peta Credlin says Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has “gained ground” on the Labor Party over the recent federal budget issue. “Last night we talked about these polls, Newspoll, obviously Resolve, we are all agreed now, they are in trend,” Ms Credlin said. “The government now, for six months has really settled in to a position where at the next election, unless things change, they are in minority government. “Dutton has gained ground. “This budget is incredibly important.”

The town of Ceduna has experienced a rise in violence after the Albanese government scrapped the cashless debit card, says Shadow Indigenous Affairs Minister Jacinta Price. “Locals are beside themselves,” she told Sky News host Peta Credlin. “Since it’s been removed, they absolutely see the difference in their community. “The way in which people have been taking advantage of the fact that they can get alcohol quite regularly. “They’ve got a lot more money in their pocket to spend on alcohol.”