Australia news as it happened: Angus Taylor resigns from frontbench to clear way for leadership challenge against Sussan Ley; Victoria Police granted extra powers for Herzog’s visit

Thanks for reading the national news blog – we’ll end today’s coverage here. We will be back tomorrow with the latest news.

To conclude, here’s a look back at some of the day’s major stories:

• Liberal leadership aspirant Angus Taylor quit Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s frontbench, paving the way for him to launch a challenge to her leadership. He did not confirm his intention to call a spill, but it is expected that more resignations will put further pressure on Ley in the coming days.
• The fallout from Monday’s violent clashes between police and protesters over the Israeli president’s visit to Australia has continued, with a 69-year-old grandmother calling for police to be charged after allegedly shoving her, breaking her spine in four places.
• Israeli President Isaac Herzog was in Canberra, where he met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Albanese said he raised concerns over the killing of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom in Gaza with the president.
• Corruption-busting lawyer Geoffrey Watson, SC, fronted the Queensland royal commission into CFMEU corruption. Watson said he was angry the Labor-appointed administrator directed him to remove politically sensitive material from a report into corruption in the union’s Victorian branch, after this masthead revealed chapters were stripped out.

Thanks again for joining us.

Leading Moderate Tim Wilson is on ABC’s 7:30 being quizzed about his support for Sussan Ley now that Angus Taylor has resigned from the frontbench.

He is not explicitly backing Ley, saying only that “if you want loyalty, you have to show loyalty. And I believe in loyalty very much as a foundation for trust. And off the back of that, I will then be going on, of course, as processes go on to make sure that I’m making the decision to best interest the Liberal Party.”

While he said he supported the leader and that he admired Ley’s “steely resolve”, he later conceded that when the party got bad polls, “people question direction”.

“Fair enough, too. I’ve said consistently I want leadership. I want clarity, and I want Australians to look at us and believe that we are the way forward, and there’s a case for a change of government,” he said.

Angus Taylor has released a statement on his resignation from the Coalition frontbench.

Interestingly, Taylor has made no mention of his own intention to challenge the leadership.

Read his full comments below.

Liberal leadership aspirant Angus Taylor said the delay in tendering his resignation this evening was because he did not want to distract from the Israeli president’s visit to Parliament House.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley met with Isaac Herzog this afternoon after question time.

“It was important that the Herzog meeting happened without interruption, I think out of respect to that very important meeting and that very important visit, I think that has been important,” Taylor said.

“But look, the process here more generally, for all of us has been to talk about the future of our party as Liberals. We want to see a strong Liberal Party, and we know that means we need strongleadership.”

Angus Taylor has walked into Sussan Ley’s office to resign from her frontbench, clearing the way for him to challenge her for the Liberal leadership later this week.

Speculation Taylor will attempt to oust Ley has been mounting for weeks after fellow conservative Andrew Hastie ruled himself out of contention, and polls showed the Coalition continuing to bleed support to One Nation.

Shadow cabinet convention dictates shadow ministers must resign from their positions before spilling the leadership.

Taylor’s supporters are expected to request a special party room meeting for Friday to call a vote.

The prime minister has offered his condolences to Canadians after ten people, including a suspected shooter, were killed in the small town of Tumbler Ridge in British Columbia.

“I am deeply shocked and saddened to hear about the tragic attack in Tumbler Ridge secondary school,” Anthony Albanese posted on X.

“I send my sincere condolences to all Canadians impacted by this horrific event. Australian hearts go out to the families and friends of the victims and we are all thinking of those injured.”

Six people were found dead inside a high school, two more were found dead at a property that police believe is connected to the incident, and another died on the way to hospital, CBC News said, adding that the suspected shooter had been confirmed dead.