South Australia has become the first state to formally urge the Commonwealth to change a federal law preventing doctors from using telehealth in voluntary assisted dying (VAD), openly defying Prime Minister Albanese.

In a letter to federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland, senior ministers in the Malinauskas government have “implored” the Commonwealth to “take immediate action”, arguing the restrictions disadvantage terminally ill people in regional, rural and remote Australia. They explained that a provision in the Commonwealth criminal code was preventing doctors from using telehealth for VAD and forcing patients to travel long distances to attend appointments, with some dying before being able to access the care.

The letter comes just weeks after the ALP national conference endorsed a motion committing Labor to removing telehealth restrictions, despite Ms Rowland — the highest law officer in Australia — voicing strong concerns on the conference floor. This intervention puts the SA government at odds with Albanese, who has expressed personal opposition to changing the law, concerned about the risk of coercion and elder abuse if telehealth replaced compulsory face-to-face consultations.

Some states and territories permit limited use of telehealth in VAD, but the federal code overrides those provisions by prohibiting the use of a “carriage service” to counsel or promote suicide. It means doctors risk $220,000 fines and a criminal record for using phone, email or video to discuss the self-administration of VAD medication.

In advice to industry published on Monday, the office of the eSafety commissioner warned that while smart glasses with cameras, such as Meta’s Ray-Ban, can offer accessibility benefits to low vision or blind people, companies might pit “accessibility benefits against safety and privacy considerations”, and noted there was already a backlash to the technology.

There are already reports of women being filmed without their consent and their interactions with a glasses-wearing influencer posted on social media. The eSafety commission also said many companies were placing responsibility on consumers to use the glasses safely when “asking people to use a product responsibly is not an adequate safety policy”.

eSafety emphasized that the design features should include clear visual indicators when recording audio or video that cannot be disabled or obscured. They should also not be able to identify members of the public and should automatically blur people’s faces where they have not provided informed consent.

The eSafety commissioner currently has no powers to force the companies to make the changes and the federal government is facing pressure to step in as the market for smart glasses grows. The attorney general will separately release an exposure draft for the government’s second round of privacy reforms that will seek to address rules around smart glasses.

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has declared “politics has changed” after One Nation claimed victory in the Secret Harbour state by-election in Western Australia.

The byelection was triggered after senior Labor minister Paul Papalia retired midterm. One Nation’s Luke Herdegen had defeated Labor’s Georgia Tree 57-42 after preferences with 74.5% of the vote counted as of Sunday morning.

The party’s leader, Pauline Hanson, also warned on social media that One Nation would continue targeting Labor-held seats, and said voters were choosing the party as a serious alternative.

The Liberal party ran a distant third in the byelection, clocking a primary vote of 17%. Federal Liberal frontbencher Jonno Duniam conceded it was a poor outcome and that his party had work to do to claw the votes back.

Cost-of-living pressures, housing and a perceived lack of community amenities topped the list of voter concerns. Locals who voted for One Nation said it would do a better job than either Labor or Liberal.