A tight election result looms in New Zealand as polls show the leaders of both major parties — incumbent National Party leader Christopher Luxon and Labour's Chris Hipkins — may struggle to form a government alone.

Follow the latest updates on our live blog.

In short:

Meta has quietly introduced a way for Australians to stop it from training its AI on their user data, but the company never announced the change.

An "objection" form has been available for more than a year, but digital rights advocates believe Meta does not want people to find it.

What's next?

Advice on how to opt out is slowly spreading as Meta users share information among themselves.

The objection form has been available in the EU since 2024, but the ABC has confirmed that no separate announcement was made when it was added in Australia a year later.

Nor have there been any reports of users being notified directly by Meta.

Meta has not shared why it made the decision, and the relevant sections of the Australian Privacy Act have not changed in recent years.

One possible explanation is that the question of how the law applies is not entirely settled.

United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese named Palantir among the companies profiting from an “economy of genocide”.

DPC spokesperson Subhi Awad said public money is still flowing to Palantir through the Future Fund, which holds $114.6 million in Palantir shares, and government agencies continue to purchase Palantir technology.

“Westpac didn’t wake up with a conscience,” Justice for Palestine Magan-djin spokesperson Remah Naji said. “We made its relationship with Palantir a liability.

[Sign up for updates about the next Dump Palantir Coalition campaign.]

In short:

The Democratic Party has captured control of Congress at the midterm elections, after a string of victories that reached deep into Republican strongholds.

Seven Senate seats and two dozen in the House flipped toward the Democrats, paving the way for the opposition to take over the Republicans' slim majorities in both chambers.

What's next?

US President Donald Trump has said he will accept the results while claiming the Democrats are "really not in control" because he can veto some legislation.

The US president will face hurdles during his next two years in office, where he will no longer have the numbers to advance his legislative agenda without bipartisan support.

A Democrat-controlled House is also likely to bring more aggressive oversight of the Trump administration, with more investigations, subpoenas and congressional hearings.

A major upset was also seen in Texas, where Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton.

Mr Talarico became the first blue candidate to win statewide in Texas since 1994, and the first to be elected to the Senate in 38 years.

In short:

The design giant's announcement will impact 1,270 jobs, pointing to slowing growth and "new technology" changing how people create and use products.

Sydney will be made the primary hub with some staff asked to relocate.

What's next?

A package for outgoing employees includes at least six-months' salary and other supports while they find other work.

In short:

The design giant's announcement will impact 1,270 jobs, pointing to slowing growth and "new technology" changing how people create and use products.

Sydney will be made the primary hub with some staff asked to relocate.

What's next?

A package for outgoing employees includes at least six-months' salary and other supports while they find other work.

In short:

Spanish authorities say they have identified 69 victims of the crash between two high-speed trains in Spain, including two Australians.

The accident was Spain's second high-speed train collision this year and raised fresh questions about the country's rail safety, after a crash in the southern region of Andalusia in January killed 46 people.

What's next?

DFAT says it is providing consular assistance to the families of the two Australians.

DE-PAYWALLED ARCHIVE LINK: https://archive.is/9Hi33

Doctors fear Catholic takeover of NSW hospitals will usher in ‘religious doctrine’

Rachel Rasker
November 2, 2026 — 7:30pm

Senior doctors at a NSW hospital have demanded the government intervene before an imminent takeover by a Catholic provider they fear will lead to widespread service cuts for expectant mothers and cancer patients.

Calvary Health Care will take over 16 hospitals nationwide by the end of this month after the financial collapse of Healthscope, including four in Sydney and two in the Hunter.

The acquisitions will more than double the hospital portfolio of the Catholic not-for-profit, which has a “mission to bring the healing ministry of Jesus to those who are sick”, according to its website.

Clinicians have raised concerns about the provider’s expansion from 14 hospitals to 30 within a year, affecting about 2140 beds nationwide, with reproductive and voluntary assisted dying (VAD) services at risk at facilities including Norwest Private, Lady Davidson Hospital in North Turramurra, Brisbane Private, Darwin Private and Hunter Valley Private.

Calvary follows Catholic Health Australia’s Code of Ethical Standards, which bars contraception, termination of pregnancy, IVF services and VAD.

The concerns are most acute in Newcastle, where the only private maternity hospital between Sydney and the Queensland border is located. The city is also a major centre for cancer treatment and palliative care.

At Newcastle Private, doctors were informed via email that Calvary’s “clinical governance, mission and ethical frameworks would apply”, but were assured that clinical implications would be discussed “openly and respectfully” before transition arrangements were finalised.

Dr Peter Harrigan, a consultant anaesthetist who has worked at Newcastle Private for 20 years, said Calvary should not impose its values on patients or restrict access to services offered for decades.

“I’m very concerned this institution may refuse to continue services that [Newcastle Private] already deliver, that doctors are already well practised and skilled at ... on the basis of Catholic religious doctrine,” Harrigan said. “I don’t think that is justified.”

Hospital staff described a lack of consultation about which services would be affected, and that a staff forum on October 22 was the first meeting with Calvary leaders. Several doctors in attendance described answers about reproductive and VAD services as evasive.

“They were desperate not to actually say anything definitive,” Harrigan said.

Clinicians said the government should step in and make Calvary’s licence conditional on not cutting existing services.

Community members were invited to “have your say” through NSW Health’s website, but Harrigan said staff were not informed about this. Feedback was limited to 1000 characters and the webpage did not name Calvary, instead referring to it by its ABN entity title, LCMHC 2 Limited.

A Newcastle Private nurse not authorised to speak publicly said: “It feels very tokenistic, when it’s a fail-safe for them to say, ‘well, we did provide this … but we’re not sharing it anywhere, not telling anyone about it, not making it commonly known’.”

Obstetrician Dr Denise Nesbitt, who has delivered between 5000 and 6000 babies in a 40-year career in the region, said restrictions on reproductive services could contribute to a service desert in the region.

Nesbitt said services she was concerned about included tubal ligation during caesarean sections and termination of pregnancy due to foetal abnormalities.

“To take that choice from women in 2026 is really disturbing,” she said, and raised concerns about possible impacts on single mothers and LGBTQ patients and staff.

A doctor at the hospital not authorised to speak publicly said patients at Calvary’s other facility in the region, Calvary Mater, were often transferred to Newcastle Private for VAD. He said this was already a “frustrating” arrangement which would need to be diverted to another service.

Go Gentle chief executive Dr Linda Swan said transfers were highly distressing for acutely unwell patients.

“You’re talking about people who are dying and in the last days of their life,” Swan said. “Transferring them to another facility is incredibly difficult when these people struggle to even get out of bed.”

Swan said even if Calvary staff did not provide VAD, they should allow trained practitioners onsite, and backed calls for the government to intervene.

“This is an issue of government ensuring that there’s fair and equitable access to a legally available healthcare service,” Swan said.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park did not commit to an intervention over the licence transfer but said IVF, terminations, contraceptive procedures and VAD remain available outside of Newcastle Private.

He said the local health district would work to meet local demand for services either within NSW Health facilities or through other local private providers.

Doctors raised concerns about the added pressure this could place on already overstretched public hospitals.

Calvary Health Care declined to comment. NSW Health did not respond to requests for comment.

On Sunday, the New South Wales police launched a permanent special unit to patrol tourist areas, crowded public spaces, major events, sporting matches and places of worship – armed with military rifles.

The new patrol unit was promised in the wake of the Bondi terror attack and has been welcomed by sections of the Jewish community, with police saying it aims to deter threats and better position police to respond to armed offender attacks. But the decision to heavily arm the unit has been met with a mixed response from experts and civil liberties groups, with some warning against the potential for “mission creep” and the “American-style militarisation of our police force”.

In short:

South Australia has reported 340 bird flu events, following a confirmed positive result in a common dolphin.

There has been a reduction in the frequency of positive detections.

What's next?

A captive vaccination program already underway at Cleland Wildlife Park and Zoos SA sites will expand to wild little penguin populations in three locations.

She said there was low risk of an extensive outbreak among dolphins, although there is concern for land-based sea mammals like seals and sea lions.

"You're not going to see a big die-off of dolphins from bird flu."

On election day, Netanyahu repeatedly attacked Palestinian-Israeli voters in posts on social media. He accused them of "stealing the election" because they had turned up to vote in record numbers. He accused the "Arab parties" of "serious criminal offences of bribery, threats, violence, forgeries, and the use of prohibited software to mobilise voters".

In Israel, the parties that predominantly represent Palestinian Israeli citizens are referred to as Arab parties.

Election officials and the police dismissed the claims.

In attacking the legitimacy of the Palestinian vote, Benjamin Netanyahu is maximising the pressure on the Eisenkot bloc not to change its position on doing deals with the Palestinians.

In a political system where the disdain for Palestinian-Israelis is such that they are usually just ignored in the reporting of political events, it would be an exceptionally high-risk move for the opposition parties to change their stance. But the anti-Netanyahu bloc is also aware that the majority of Israelis — Jewish and Palestinian — voted against Netanyahu.

If they do not find a way of forming a government, the veteran Likud leader will win by default: yet another election will have to be called with Netanyahu remaining caretaker prime minister until that happens.