One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has rejected claims that arguments for cutting the price of legal cigarettes could also be used to support the legalisation of cocaine and marijuana.

Joyce faced questions over the comparison as Australia’s tobacco debate intensifies, with One Nation and the Coalition both putting forward contentious plans to dramatically reduce the tobacco excise in an effort to curb the booming illegal cigarette market.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor last week backed an 80 per cent cut to the excise, following One Nation’s proposal just days earlier for a 75 per cent reduction.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has also kept pressure on the federal Labor government, repeatedly urging his colleagues in Canberra to consider lowering the tobacco excise or at least reviewing the current rate.

Such a steep reduction could wipe about $30 off the price of a packet of cigarettes, taking prices back to levels not seen since 2013.

During an interview with Joyce, ABC Afternoon Briefing host Patricia Karvelas pointed out that countries including Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines still have illegal cigarette markets despite having much lower tobacco taxes.

Joyce responded: ‘Now, we have had no luck in trying to stop marijuana either. We’ve had no luck with cocaine. There are a lot of things we’re really struggling with.

‘With cigarettes, we are still never going to solve the problem. But you’re certainly going to alleviate it. Bring the price of legal cigarettes down to where they should be – illegal ones are around $15.’

She then asked Joyce on why his argument for making legal cigarettes cheaper should not also apply to legalising marijuana and cocaine.

‘You mentioned cocaine and marijuana. Why don’t you legalise those then? If the argument is that you can make sure they’re safer and know what’s in there.’

Joyce then hit back, arguing that cigarette smoking posed less of a danger than taking cocaine or marijuana.

‘If I’m going down the road, what would you rather me be doing? Having a bunga (cigarette) in my mouth and smoking it, or taking a big long line (of cocaine) and sticking it up my nose, or maybe just pulling a whole heap of cones?’ Joyce fired back.

‘Which one do you feel safer with?’

Karvelas laughed and shook her head in response.

‘All of it seems alarming to me as a scenario,’ she told Joyce.

‘I suppose the health impacts, and the health impacts of smoking, are pretty dire?’

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A cigarette smoker himself until two years ago, Joyce pointed out that no driver has been busted for being over the limit due to cigarettes.

‘But, by gosh, if you’re pulling bucket bongs and deciding to go for a drive down to the shops, it’s probably more dangerous isn’t it,’ he said.

Around 80 per cent of all tobacco consumed in 2025 was illegal, up from 12 per cent in 2017, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates.

‘We used to have cheaper cigarettes and we didn’t have an illegal trade,’ Joyce said.

‘Then we got really dear cigarettes and we get an illegal trade.

‘We’ve had no luck in trying to stop marijuana either or cocaine.

‘With cigarettes, you’re never going to solve the problem but you’re certainly going to alleviate it when you bring the price of legal cigarettes – a regulated product – down to the orbit to where they should be.’

‘Now we’re getting less excise, even though the price is outrageous and overwhelmingly goes to the federal government coffers.

‘They believe (smoking cigarettes is) morally wrong but they believe it’s morally right to get the money from it.’

Joyce also accused the Coalition of copying One Nation, a claim that was vehemently denied.

‘This is not a slogan. This is not a headline. This is a solution to a policy problem, a failure of this government,’ Liberal deputy Jane Hume said.

Meanwhile, senior government minister Tanya Plibersek dismissed proposals to slash the tobacco excise, branding it a race to the bottom.

‘It will kill people. Like seriously, we have some of the lowest smoking rates in the world because cigarettes are expensive,’ she told News24.

Kris Jenner refused to let a Los Angeles rainstorm dampen her fashion moment as she stepped out on Sunday.

The 70-year-old star of The Kardashians was photographed leaving a friend’s home in a polished all-black ensemble, pairing a double-breasted coat trimmed with piping details with sleek, close-fitting trousers.

Navigating the downpour in tall black boots, Jenner made her way toward her rugged yet luxurious Mercedes SUV while keeping a wine-colored handbag tucked firmly at her side.

Despite the wet weather, her signature glam stayed impressively intact, with a large umbrella likely helping protect her carefully styled hair and makeup.

Jenner, whose granddaughter North West performed her first solo concert in Chicago on Saturday with both of her parents in attendance, wore the bob with bangs she first unveiled during Paris Fashion Week in July 2025.

After reaching her car, she managed slide in behind the wheel and close the door without mussing her sleek tresses.

The outing comes on the heels of Jenner’s admission that she uses Omi Hair Growth Peptides for her hair. In fact, she’s a stockholder in the brand. 

‘I started taking [them] as a gummy form, two a day, and it pretty much changed my life,’ the momager shared in an Instagram Story in February, per Page Six.

Peptides are short chains of amino acids that act as building blocks for proteins like keratin and collagen in the body, according to WebMD.

They are used in prescription medicines to treat chronic conditions and in skincare products to support skin, and in supplements for fitness and recovery, according to Harvard Health.

L’Oreal Paris asserts that topical keratin and collagen peptides can help smooth and strengthen damaged hair cuticles, reducing split ends and breakage.

‘I’ve tried every product under the sun. After taking Omi consistently, I noticed my hair feeling thicker, stronger and just healthier overall,’ Jenner raved on social media.

‘I’m obsessed. I became a stakeholder because I believe in it, I use it, and I wouldn’t go a day without it.’

Jenner has been open about her other enhancements over the years, including her most recent facelift that set her back $100k.

The procedure was performed by celebrity plastic surgeon Dr. Steven M Levine in early 2025.

While appearing on daughter Khloe Kardashian’s Khloe in Wonder Land podcast in April, the reality star discredited claims that she is unhappy with her facelift.

‘Lately, [there’s been] this headline about my facelift, which is really truly driving me crazy,’ she said.

‘The headline right now is that I hate my facelift, and I’m furious at my doctor, Steven Levine, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

‘It’s a flat-out lie. I love my facelift. I adore my doctor. I’m obsessed with him.

‘At 70 years old, I don’t really care what someone thinks of me. I don’t need anyone’s approval. I love my face. And I’m really okay with the way I look,’ she added.

In an interview with Vogue Arabia, Jenner elaborated on her reasons for getting a second facelift.

‘I had a facelift about 15 years ago, so it was time for a refresh,’ she explained. ‘I decided to do this facelift because I want to be the best version of myself, and that makes me happy.’

 She added: ‘Just because you get older, it doesn’t mean you should give up on yourself.

‘If you feel comfortable in your skin and you want to age gracefully – meaning you don’t want to do anything – then don’t do anything.

‘But for me, this is aging gracefully. It’s my version,’ she asserted.

One thing Jenner has tried and wouldn’t do again is Ozempic because the weight loss jabs made her ‘really sick.’

During an appearance on the SHE MD Podcast, Jenner shared: ‘I tried it. We tried it once when no one knew what it was and it made me really sick.

‘I can’t work anymore. I can’t. I’m so sick. I can’t, like nauseous. And so she [Jenner’s doctor] goes: “Okay, okay. Let’s try something else” … [We] dialed around and looked at different options,’ she recalled.

So, Jenner decided on peptides along with a range of supplements including fish oils and omega-3s instead – and she was much happier with the results.

A compassionate California grandmother was left fighting for her life after authorities say a stranger she had invited inside her home repaid her kindness with a brutal metal baseball bat attack.

Therese Garcia, 71, was relaxing on the porch of her home in Crestline last month when 26-year-old Erik Eduardo Navarro walked up with a troubling story. He told her he had been robbed while camping, had lost all of his possessions, and was preparing for a job interview at a nearby hardware store, Garcia’s daughter, Abbie, told NBC Los Angeles.

Moved by his situation, Garcia opened her door to Navarro and began caring for him. She cooked him dinner each night and believed she was helping a “sweet kid” who had simply run into hard times and needed a safe place to get back on his feet.

Within days, however, the situation inside the Crestline home reportedly began to shift. Garcia’s initial sympathy faded as Navarro allegedly grew increasingly demanding and started behaving as though the home belonged to him.

“He was there a total of six days and he started kind of making demands,” Abbie recounted to CBS News. “He wasn’t really helping with any of the things that he agreed to in the beginning.”

When Garcia then asked Navarro to leave her home, he reportedly waited for her to fall asleep on the couch before he started beating her with a metal baseball bat.

He then beat her for hours, only taking breaks when she lost consciousness, and striking her again every time she woke up, Garcia’s family said.

‘He just kept beating her until he finally thought she was dead,’ Abbie lamented. 

At that point, Navarro allegedly ran off with Garcia’s phone, credit cards, keys and e-bike. 

Deputies with the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office only discovered what had happened after neighbors asked for a welfare check on the 71-year-old.

When they then arrived at her house on August 25, they found Garcia suffering from a cut on her forehead, a cut eyebrow, swollen hands and injuries near her eyes that caused swelling that made it difficult for her to see.

Garcia’s family now believes she would have bled to death if the neighbors hadn’t asked for help.

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The matriarch has been in the hospital ever since the frightening encounter, with family members describing how she was left vomiting blood for days and had multiple broken bones in her arm, hands and face.

She has been treated for a traumatic brain injury, a brain bleed and multiple deep lacerations that required extensive stitching, her family has said.

Garcia’s condition has started to stabilize over the past week, as she started taking some small steps.

Still, she remains in immense pain and is ‘extremely dizzy, exhausted and struggling with the effects of her brain injury.

‘We don’t yet know what her recovery will look like or how much care she will need once she leaves the hospital,’ Abbie wrote in an online fundraiser to help with her mother’s medical expenses.

It notes that Garcia does not have health insurance and may need facial surgery once the swelling subsides, as well as potentially extensive in-home care.

‘Our family is doing everything we can,’ Abbie said. ‘I am her daughter, currently pregnant and caring for my one-year-old. Her son lives in New York and her other daughter is working while raising two children. 

‘We are doing our best to balance our own families while being there for our mom through this nightmare,’ she continued, saying the family ‘would give anything to take this pain away from her.’

Meanwhile, authorities are continuing to search for Navarro, whom Abbie said she genuinely believes will kill somebody if he’s not caught. 

‘My mom didn’t deserve this,’ she said in the fundraiser. ‘She was simply trying to help someone she believed was in need, something she has always done throughout her life. This time, her kindness was met with unimaginable violence.

‘She survived. Now we want to help her truly recover.’

For those who cannot donate, Abbie asked for the public to ‘please keep my mom in your prayers.’

Anyone with information about Navarro’s whereabouts is also asked to call the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office Twin Peaks station at (909) 336-0660. 

An aristocrat turned underworld operator may sound like pure fiction, but it is the deliciously unlikely premise driving Guy Ritchie’s action-comedy series The Gentlemen, which returns to Netflix today for its second season.

The Netflix hit follows Edward “Eddie” Horniman, the newly minted Duke of Halstead, played by Theo James, whose inheritance comes with a shocking surprise: a sprawling cannabis operation concealed beneath his family’s financially troubled country estate.

At first, Eddie tries to disentangle himself from the criminal enterprise. But when escape proves impossible, he is pulled deeper into Britain’s organised crime scene — and soon discovers he may have a natural talent for it.

The storyline is knowingly extravagant, as viewers would expect from Ritchie’s slick gangster universe. Yet the idea of drugs hidden behind grand façades is not entirely removed from real life.

Across the UK, police have uncovered drug production sites inside some remarkable properties, including a £2.2 million Georgian mansion and a 102-room Welsh estate that once welcomed King Charles.

One cannabis operation, at a Grade II-listed country house in Cumbria, was valued at £5.2million – around £200,000 more than the annual sum the operators of the fictional farm at Halstead paid their aristocratic landlord.

These shocking discoveries speak to the financial pressures facing Britain’s country houses, many of which struggle to balance eye-watering upkeep costs with dwindling traditional sources of income.

After all, these sprawling estates are notoriously expensive to run, with annual maintenance and staffing bills potentially topping £1million – and that’s before factoring in major restoration work such as replacing a roof.

Let’s start at Moulton Grange, a sprawling manor house in Northamptonshire which hosts luxury weddings and corporate events.

Boasting 28 acres of landscaped grounds, it has been praised by guests as ‘the perfect venue’ and ‘simply magical’, while one happy couple said it ‘exceeded all our expectations’.

But it appears to have been hiding a darker secret, with investigators seizing more than 12,000 doses of illegal weight-loss injections from a suspected black-market drugs factory operating inside the house.

During a raid on May 28, officers from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) arrested two 29-year-old men, who were later released.

The MHRA claimed Moulton Grange was being used as a ‘large-scale facility to manufacture, assemble and distribute unlicensed weight-loss medicines, including retatrutide and tirzepatide, as well as peptide products’.

Tirzepatide is the active ingredient in Mounjaro, while retatrutide is an experimental treatment still undergoing clinical trials.

The MHRA described the raid as the UK’s largest seizure of unlicensed weight-loss injections and said it was targeting an ‘organised criminal group’.

The property is owned by Faiz Hameed, 61, and Rashda Hameed, 59, who are also directors of Moulton Grange Limited, a property management company. It is unclear whether they live at the estate and they made no comment in July when news of the seizure was made public.

Moulton Grange is considered an ‘outstanding’ example of an English country house, featuring a grand Georgian façade and a sumptuous interior complete with chandeliers, period furnishings and ornate carved fireplaces.

Constructed mainly in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the stately pile is Grade II-listed and was last sold for £2.2million in 2017, according to Land Registry records.

Another stately home, Plas Glynllifon near Caernarfon in North Wales, was raided by police searching for drugs a month earlier in April.

The historic mansion, once owned by Lord Newborough and host to King Charles’s investiture ball when he was Prince of Wales, was found to contain a major cannabis-growing operation.

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Officers uncovered cannabis plants across 12 rooms on the top floor of the building, North Wales Police said.

The empty mansion, which hosted the investiture ball following Charles’s ceremony at Caernarfon Castle in 1969, was put on the market for £2million in 2024 but is understood to have since been withdrawn from sale.

Superintendent Arwel Hughes said: ‘We uncovered a grow, which was on the top floor of the building.

‘We estimate around 12 rooms with grows in them and they were fairly mature plants.’

Built in 1836, the manor house previously operated as a wedding venue and was later bought with plans to transform it into a luxury hotel.

It was sold in 2020 after entering receivership following a failed attempt to turn it into a high-end hotel.

The mansion was then bought by a Manchester-based developer before being put back on the market in 2024 for £2million. It appears to no longer be for sale. 

The surrounding park remains open to visitors, with tickets costing £6 for adults and £4 for children.

On Tuesday, officers said they had arrested a 70-year-old man on suspicion of allowing the property to be used for the supply of cannabis before releasing him on bail.

A 38-year-old man, arrested on suspicion of supplying cannabis, was released but remains under investigation.

While Plas Glynllifon limped on as a visitor attraction, 23,000-square-foot The Flass in Cumbria was left derelict after falling into the hands of a new owner who acquired it as part of a divorce settlement.

Originally built by tea and opium traders Lancelot and Wilkinson Dent of Dent & Co in the mid-19th century, the mansion was rented for a bargain £5,000 a month to a London-based drugs gang, who filled its 52 rooms with a cannabis crop worth an estimated £5million.

When police raided the house in the quiet village of Maulds Meaburn, they discovered ducting, cabling and other equipment believed to have been used to cultivate more than 260kg of cannabis. 

Gang members Dean Cameron, 53, of London, and David Lawrence, 32, of Ilford, were each jailed for eight years. 

Mark Gallagher, 49, of Wolverhampton, and Philip Branigan, 32, of Banstead, Surrey, were jailed for seven years, while Charles Neophytou, 47, of Banstead, was sentenced to five years and six months. 

Each was either convicted of, or pleaded guilty to, conspiracy offences.

Tim Evans, prosecuting, told the court in 2015: ‘This was cannabis growing on a massive scale. It is not the self-amateurish cultivation of cannabis on a window ledge or in the converted loft of a house. This was growing in a stately home.

‘Flass is a beautiful house, Grade II-listed because of its historical and architectural significance. It is a secluded house, no doubt why it was chosen for this criminal enterprise.’

In 2019, the house was sold for just £500,000, to the delight of local villagers who had watched it fall into disrepair.

By contrast, Badminton House, where The Gentlemen is filmed, is a thriving country estate run by Henry ‘Harry’ Somerset, the 12th Duke of Beaufort, and his wife Georgia.

The couple cover the estate’s costs by hosting a string of prestigious events, including the Badminton Horse Trials and the Royal Horticultural Society Badminton Flower Show, alongside welcoming productions such as Netflix dramas.

If only the fictional Duke of Halstead could follow their example.