Good morning. It's Thursday 21st April, and here's a wrap of the latest news.
Leaders debate over Solomon Islands, China security pact
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition leader Anthony Albanese have faced each other for the first election campaign debate in front of an audience of 100 undecided voters in Queensland.
The signing of the security pact between the Solomon Islands and China proved a key point of contention.
Mr Albanese said the government has been too slow in its response, and criticised its decision to only send Pacific Minister Zed Seselja
"This isn't so much a Pacific step-up, it's a Pacific stuff up," Mr Albanese said.
"They've known about this for months, no foreign minister visitation, no defence minister visitation they just send a junior burger along in the last week."
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese (left) shakes hands with Prime Minister Scott Morrison during the first leaders' debate of the 2022 federal election in Brisbane, Wednesday, 20 April, 2022. Credit: AAP/Toby Zerna
"What I don't understand is that when something of this significance takes place, why would you take China's side?" Mr Morrison said.
The Opposition leader called Mr Morrison's response "an outrageous slur".
Australia's border protection policies were also a key topic during the leaders' debate.
The prime minister questioned if Mr Albanese had back-flipped in his stance on boat turn-backs.
"So, when you were deputy prime minister, why didn't you support turn-backs then?" Mr Morrison said.
"You weren't proposing that then... You were not proposing..." Mr Albanese responded.
"No we were, I'm sorry it was our policy, turn-backs were our policy before the 2013 election, I was the shadow immigration minister, I designed the policy," Mr Morrison said.
Following the debate, 35 per cent of the audience said they supported Mr Morrison, 40 per cent backed Mr Albanese and 25 per cent remained undecided.
Wimbledon bans Russian, Belarusian athletes
The organisers of Wimbledon are to ban tennis players from Russia and Belarus from competing in this year's tournament because of the war in Ukraine.
The ruling prevents some of the world's best players from competing in the event from late June, including men's world number two Daniil Medvedev and eighth-ranked Andrey Rublev.
Men’s world number two Daniil Medvedev. Credit: John Walton/PA
In a statement, the All England Lawn Tennis Club says it has a responsibility to play a part in limiting Russia's global influence, and not allowing sport to be used to promote the Russian regime.
In response, Russia says the tournament will suffer because of the ban, and that it is unacceptable to make Russian athletes hostages to political intrigue.
Wimbledon's warm-up tournament, held by the UK's Lawn Tennis Association, has also banned players from the two countries.
Indonesia defends inviting Russia to G20
Indonesia's ambassador to Australia has defended the country's decision to invite Russia to this year's G20 summit in Bali, Nine Newspapers reports.
Siswo Pramono compared the situation to former Australian Prime minister Tony Abbott inviting Vladimir Putin to Brisbane in 2014 following Moscow's annexation of Crimea and the downing of MH17.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and United States President Joe Biden have called for Russia to be expelled from the G20, and Indonesia faces boycotts if Russia remains on the invite list for the summit.
“First, there was the annexation of Crimea, and in March [2014] Russia was suspended from the G8. In July was the downing of MH17 in eastern Ukraine in which 38 Australians fell victim, and Australia imposed sanctions at the time,” Mr Pramono told Nine Newspapers.
“Yet at the end of the year, when you hosted the G20 in Brisbane, Tony Abbott invited Putin, precisely with the reason that the G20 is for economic partnerships. What is the difference with the situation in Bali in 2022?” he added.
UN secretary-general calls to meet Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres has asked to meet the leaders of Russia and Ukraine to press for peace.
Mr Guterres offered to meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin in their capital cities.
Mr Guterres called for a four-day humanitarian pause in hostilities for Orthodox Easter, as the UN refugee agency says more than five million people have now fled Ukraine since the war began.
António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations. Credit: Ryoichi Teraguchi/AP
"The Secretary-General said, 'At this time of great peril and consequence,' he would like to discuss urgent steps to bring about peace in Ukraine and the future of multilateralism based on the charter of the UN and international law.
"He noted that both Ukraine and the Russian Federation are founding members of the United Nations, and have always been strong supporters of the UN."
Share
