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TRANSCRIPT:
- A UK report raises urgent concerns over AUKUS defence pact
- NT police hunt for a man they say is connected to a five year-old's disappearance
- Chelsea's boss says a tech error has blocked Sam Kerr from a goal scoring record
A report from a UK Parliamentary committee has identified shortcomings and failings in the delivery of AUKUS, which it says threaten to prevent promises becoming a reality.
A report from the Defence Committee of the UK House of Commons is calling on Keir Starmer's government to work urgently with Australia and the US, to address barriers that could lead to key AUKUS milestones being missed.
AUKUS will see Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines from the UK and US, along with closer co-operation between the three nations on new defence technologies.
The Defence Committee report suggests an “AUKUS visa” to address the issue of workforce movement and says fulfilling commitments to increase visits to Australia has already placed severe pressure on an overstretched Royal Navy.
It calls on Prime Minister Starmer to take a more visible role in promoting the tri-lateral partnership and assign more funding to regenerate what it calls a "depleted submarine industrial base."
The tri-lateral defence and security partnership was announced in 2021.
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The search for a missing five-year-old girl has entered a third day, near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
Emergency services and volunteers are scouring a 40 square kilometre area by helicopter, with ground crews canvassing an area half that size.
Sergeant Matt Hall says so far, there is no trace of Sharon Granites, who was last seen early on Sunday morning at home at the Old Timers Aboriginal town camp residence.
"The challenge is the vastness of the area, the terrain as you can see when you look around it is quite dense bushland at some points. We are crossing between open vegetation to closed vegetation and some of our search area is shoulder to shoulder."
Meanwhile, police have launched a manhunt for a man police say was staying at Sharon's residence when she went missing.
47-year-old Jefferson Lewis is suspected of abducting the five-year-old.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1300 333 000. In an emergency call triple zero.
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Australia’s fuel reserves would be more than doubled to cover up to 60 days of demand, under a new proposal from the Coalition aimed at bolstering supply during global disruptions.
Opposition energy spokesman Angus Taylor says the plan would fast-track $800 million in funding to deliver at least one billion litres of additional onshore fuel storage, with a focus on diesel
He says the move is urgently needed, warning Australia remains vulnerable to supply shocks and could face serious disruption if imports are cut.
Mr Taylor says the policy is designed as a national safeguard and is calling on the government to act now.
"This is about making sure we have an insurance policy as a country against fuel security crises like we are facing right now. Now, sadly, under this government, there hasn't been that same level of ambition. But the government can do this tomorrow. It can commit to this tomorrow, we're asking them to work with us to get the MSO doubled, the stock holding obligation doubled, and get to that ambition of 90 days of IAEA stocks."
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Foreign Minister Penny Wong is in China today as part of her tour of Asia this week.
Senator Wong will spend the next three days there and will co-chair the eighth Foreign and Strategic Dialogue with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin Jian, shared an insight into their agenda.
"Through the visit, China looks forward to further delivering on the important common understandings between the leaders of the two countries, enhancing political mutual trust and deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, so as to promote the steady, sound and sustainable development of China-Australia relations and deliver more benefits to the people of the two countries."
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Donald Trump has again called for late night television host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired.
Mr Kimmel has joked that First Lady Melania Trump “had a glow like an expectant widow” ahead of the White House Correspondents’ dinner, during which there was an alleged attempted assassination of the President.
Mrs Trump described the remark as corrosive and accused Kimmel of spreading hate.
During the president's second term, ABC America and its parent company Disney have been under pressure to punish broadcasters the Trump Administration says are politically biased.
Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel was previously pulled off the air after remarks he made shortly after right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk was assassinated.
Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr, has warned networks using public airwaves could face tougher scrutiny.
“Look, if you're a broadcaster and you don't like the fact that the FCC is going to enforce the public interest obligation again, that's fine. You can turn your license in. The FCC has our address out there publicly, 45 L Street. You can send it there. You can become a podcaster or a streamer or a cable channel. But if you want to use America's airwaves for free, you're going to be held accountable now to the public interest standard.”
Mr Trump has also previously criticised ABC over a question to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, suggesting the broadcaster’s licences should be reviewed.
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To sport, Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor is calling for better technology in the Women's Super League, saying a glaring error has denied Australian striker Sam Kerr a new goal scoring record.
During the Chelsea match at Everton on Sunday, Kerr wasn't credited with a hat-trick goal in the 4-1 win.
She had already netted twice and then hit the post with a header, with the ball clearly seen crossing the goal line.
It would have been Kerr's 114th goal for the club across all competitions, meaning she would have been trailing Fran Kirby by just two as the club's all-time top scorer.
It would also have seen her overtake Fran Kirby for most league goals.
