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David Littleproud has announced he will resign as the federal leader of the National party.
Mr Littleproud says he will remain in parliament, where he has been member for the rural Queensland seat of Maranoa since 2016.
He's been National Party leader since 2022.
He says he simply no longer has the energy for such a demanding job.
"I'm buggered. I've have enough. To lead this great party would be the wrong thing for me to do. I love the National Party. I grew up in it. I'll bleed, 'til the day I die, green and gold. I love it, and it'd be wrong for me to say that I'm the right person to continue to lead. That's tough for me to say. I think someone better can do it, because I don't have the energy. I'm out on my feet and I'm done."
He's strongly endorse Angus Taylor to lead the Coalition, saying he had waited for the Liberal Party leadership to be settled before announcing his own resignation.
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Federal Minister for Multicultural Affairs Anne Aly says she will hold a series of roundtables with members of Australia's Persian community to understand how the conflict with Iran is impacting them.
She's told SBS the government is considering the possible provision of mental health and other support.
In addition to dangers from the U-S and Israeli bombing, many members of the diaspora community hold concerns for how Iran's government could target their family members.
Ms Aly says the same factors informed the government's decision to offer asylum to Iran's women's football team.
"Right now, the information that I have is that five of those women, as I said, have made the decision to seek asylum, and they will be offered visas and they will be staying in Australia. It is a difficult decision to make, and, you know, each of the players has their own personal reasons for taking up the decision. We have to be mindful of listening to what they need, just as I said in the earlier answer, being able to talk to the Iranian community and looking at what supports they need."
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Defence Minister Richard Marles says that as soon as the United Arab Emirates requested military support, Australia was very keen to do all that it could.
He has told parliament the Gulf nation was one of ten that has come under attack from Iran.
Iran says the nations have come under attack because they host U-S bases, and denies claims it is targeting civilian infrastructure.
Mr Marles said he has spoken with high-level officials across the Gulf region in recent days, including from the U-A-E.
"Today, the UAE is really one of our closest friends. It is home to 24,000 Australians, one of the largest expat communities that we have anywhere in the world, and for many, many years now, it has hosted an operational headquarters of the ADF at the Al Minhad Air Base near Dubai, and for this we are deeply thankful. And so as soon as there was a call for assistance, we were very keen to do all that we could."
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Federal Opposition leader Angus Taylor has welcomed the government's decision to provide military support to the United Arab Emirates.
Australia will send a Wedge Tail surveillance plane loaded with missiles, and 85 troops to support the U-A-E, which says it has intercepted more than 1,500 rockets and drones.
Mr Taylor says sending support like this is a key part of Australia supporting its allies.
"What we see today is allies working together to push back against this despotic regime, and we very much welcome the decision and announcement made by the government to support our allies in their work against this regime, and in particular, provision of the Wedge Tail and the missiles. This is something that we strongly support from the Coalition. We must stand together against a regime like this."
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U-S President Donald Trump has told a conference of his own Republican Party that the conflict in the Middle East could end very soon, while simultaneously also threatening a larger attack if Iran blocks global oil supplies.
Mr Trump initially suggested the war had been projected to last up to five weeks, but he's since said Iran's unconditional surrender will be a precondition for peace.
Now, he's suggested in an interview the conflict is almost complete, with Iran's leadership decimated, despite describing the new Supreme Leader as an unacceptable choice.
As the conflict reaches its tenth day, Mr Trump says his focus is keeping energy supplies from the Middle East flowing.
"I will not allow a terrorist regime to hold the world hostage and attempt to stop the blow to our supply and if Iran does anything to do that, they'll get hit at a much, much harder level. I will take out those targets that were easy and that I mentioned just before, and we'll take them out so quickly they'll never be able to recover, ever.”
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The National Farmers' Federation is warning the effects of the Iran conflict could push up the cost of perishable food products including dairy, fruit, and vegetables by 40 to 60 per cent.
National Farmers Federation President Hamish McIntyre says fuel price hikes and possible shortages, as well as associated problems with fertiliser, will have a negative effect on farmers who are harvesting summer crops and planting winter ones.
He says livestock exports have already been disrupted.
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The central Queensland city of Bundaberg is facing its worst flooding in almost twenty years.
366 kilometres north of Brisbane, the city of around 73,000 people is based on the south bank of the Burnett River.
Day of downpours have the river set to peak at 7.5 metres tomorrow morning.
Major bridges are expected to be closed, and about 180 properties are threatened.
Authoriites are urging people to evacuate now if they are concerned, rather than waiting.
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A court has thrown out a 2.3 million dollar lawsuit against South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas by a former Labor Party colleague.
Former South Australian M-P Annabel Digance and her husband, Greg Digance, were charged with one count each of blackmail, after allegedly threatening to make accusations of misconduct against Mr Malinauskas in 2020, when he was Opposition Leader.
That came after Mr Malinauskas recorded a conversation in which Mr Digance allegedly demanded his wife be given a seat in South Australian parliament, or Mr Malinauskas' career would be deliberately damaged.
Ms Digance sued Mr Malinauskas for what she claimed was a malicious prosecution.
The South Australian Supreme Court has now dismissed her claim.
Mr Malinauskas says he's grateful for the court's decision.
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In football, Matildas midfielder Clare Wheeler says the style of game the team played against South Korea at the weekend isn't necessarily how they'll play in Friday night's Asian Cup quarter-final against North Korea in Perth.
Wheeler says the circumstances of the South Korea clash, especially going down a goal early, forced Australia to play a more direct style.
She says a big part of the Matildas' success or failure in the knockout stage will be knowing when to play at a faster pace, and when to play at a slower pace.
"I think going, obviously, into the next game, it's about understanding when it's time to maybe force and go forward, and when it is time to control the tempo and slow it down. And it is something we will learn on. And it's good to learn those lessons in the group stage. Because, obviously, now, every game counts, and you don't get a second chance."
Star defender Steph Catley has a concussion, and is in doubt for the game against North Korea.
She hasn't travelled to Perth with the team, and will arrive later in the week.
