Australia has ranked 8th in the World Economic Forum’s 2026 Global Gender Gap Report, breaking into to the top ten and achieving its highest ever ranking for gender equality, out of 148 countries.

This result reflects the Albanese Government’s sustained action to improve the lives of women and girls, including lifting wages in female-dominated industries, expanding Paid Parental Leave to six months with superannuation, and making significant investments in women’s health.

The Albanese Government is providing another $1 million for Little Wings to help seriously ill children in regional communities access the health care they need.

The funding will extend the Government’s support for Little Wings for a further two years, helping families across regional NSW, Queensland and the ACT access the specialist health care their children need.

The Government will also match every dollar raised by 12-year-old Dusty Langby, who has walked an incredible 540 kilometres from Warren, NSW to Parliament House in Canberra in support of Little Wings.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. Today is an exciting day for an extraordinary Australian. A familiar face to just about every Australian I think, no matter where they live. For several decades, Melissa Doyle AM has beamed in the living rooms right around the country through a distinguished career as a television presenter, an author, and a journalist. But her footprint through our great community spans well beyond that. She is a champion for Australian children, for Australian sport, and importantly for Australian charities as well.

The Albanese Government is pleased to announce Ms Melissa Doyle AM as the new Chair of the National Australia Day Council Board.

Ms Doyle has had a distinguished career as a television presenter, author and journalist, with more than 30 years of experience.

In the 2016 Australia Day Honours List, Ms Doyle was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia, recognising her significant service to the community through roles with a range of charities and in broadcast media.

Today marks 25 years since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, which claimed the lives of thousands of innocent people in the United States and from countries around the world.

On this solemn day, we remember the 2,977 people killed in New York, Washington DC and in Pennsylvania, including 10 Australians whose lives were tragically cut short far from home.

We acknowledge the grief carried by their loved ones. We also honour the courage and selflessness shown in the face of unimaginable horror.

MERYL SWANSON, MEMBER FOR PATERSON: Well, good morning everyone and welcome to the M1 here at – well, we’re kind of at Tarro at the moment, but it’s on its way to Raymond Terrace. But what is most exciting is that the people of the Hunter and the people of New South Wales and the Eastern Seaboard of Australia are going to be on their way within 48 hours on this magnificent piece of road infrastructure. Success has many parents, but let me tell you, Labor has delivered this road. And I cannot wait for the people of Australia to be driving on it in less than 48 hours.

MATT SHIRVINGTON, HOST: Well, the way that each and every Australian uses social media could be about to change forever. Every Aussie may soon have the power to opt out of algorithms online. There are the systems that analyse massive amounts of online data to feed you the posts that will be keeping you scrolling.

JAMES GLENDAY, HOST: Well, the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is out and about this morning and he's happy to say that he's joining us live from north of Newcastle on a road. Prime Minister, welcome back to the program. It's a Sitting Week in Canberra but you've skipped town. Why are you up near Newcastle?

After more than four million hours of construction, the Hunter’s largest road infrastructure project will open to traffic in the early hours of 11 September, delivering a new 15-kilometre motorway connection between Black Hill and Raymond Terrace.

The opening of the M1 Pacific Motorway extension marks a major milestone for the Hunter, closing a missing link in the Sydney to Brisbane economic corridor and strengthening one of Australia’s most important freight routes.

TOM STEINFORT, HOST: Well, the Labor Government is once again waging war on tech giants, releasing a draft Digital Duty of Care bill that allows Australians to opt out of addictive algorithms.

SYLVIA JEFFREYS, HOST: To discuss, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joins us now from New South Wales. Good morning to you, PM, and thank you for your time.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, great to be with you.