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TRANSCRIPT
- Angus Taylor challenges Sussan Ley for leadership of the Liberal Party
- A special envoy appointed to progress investigations into the methanol poisoning deaths of two Australians in Laos
- Australians Scotty James and Valentino Guseli reach the snowboard halfpipe final at the Milano Cortina Games
Liberal MP Angus Taylor has officially launched his challenge for the Liberal leadership, ending months of speculation over Sussan Ley’s position.
In a coordinated blow to the current leadership, a wave of frontbenchers have resigned in support of Mr Taylor - including Claire Chandler, Matt O’Sullivan, and Phillip Thompson.
With a leadership ballot expected within the next 48 hours, Mr Taylor posted a video on social media to pitch his vision for a decisive alternative to the Labor government.
"The Labor government has failed and the Liberal Party has lost its way. I'm running to be the leader of the Liberal Party because I believe that Australia is worth fighting for. I believe we need strong and decisive leadership that gives Australians clarity, courage and confidence in providing a vision for the future. We must start by holding this failing Labor government to account for their total mismanagement of our country and advocate for solutions to the problems that Australians are facing."
Ms Ley posted a photo of herself smiling on social media, with a statement vowing to "take the pressure off families, fix the budget, and keep Australia safe".
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Anthony Albanese says he is "not contemplating failure" on Closing the Gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Set to give his annual Close the Gap speech today, Mr Albanese will also hand down his annual report card on progress under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
The latest data shows just four out of 19 targets are on track to be met by 2031.
The Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, says there is a lot of work to be done.
"We're certainly determined to Close the Gap. We've got five more years as part of the national agreement that was signed under Ken Wyatt. We know there's incredible challenges, especially in the justice space and also the out of home care with the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, but we are determined to keep working with the states and territories to ensure we do close the gap, but also with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities."
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Foreign Minister Penny Wong has appointed a special envoy over the methanol poisoning of two Australian teenagers in Laos .
A lack of transparency from overseas authorities prompted the appointment of seasoned diplomat Pablo Kang, who has been asked explore all avenues to progress the 2024 case.
The families of Holly Morton-Bowles and Bianca Jones were outraged this week after revelations that 10 people connected to the poisonings faced court in January and were fined just $185 for destroying evidence.
No charges were laid.
Ms Wong has announced Mr Kang's appointment in a statement, after the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade apologised for not providing more information to the victims' families.
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The Triple Zero phone call made by 13-year-old Austin Appelbee to get help for his family who were swept out to sea has been released by Western Australia police.
The teenager swam four hours to shore last month after he, his mother and two sisters - aged 12 and 8 years old - had drifted out to sea south of Perth on paddleboards and a kayak.
The family were rescued after an estimated 10 hours at sea, after Austin then ran two kilometres from the shore to find his mother's phone so he could make the emergency call.
In the now-released audio of the call, he calmly tells an operator that his family likely need a helicopter and says he may need an ambulance for hypothermia.
"Hello, my name is Austin and I'm outside Quindalup beach. I have two siblings: Beau and Grace. We went out on a kayak trip and we got lost out there. We couldn't get back to shore and Mum told me to go back to get help. I think we need a helicopter to go find them. I'm sitting on the beach right now and I think I need an ambulance because I think I have hypothermia."
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To sport,
Australians Scotty James and Valentino Guseli have both secured places in the Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe finals at Milano Cortina Games.
The top-ranked qualifier for the finals, James scored 94.00 in his opening run in the pipe; delivering a switch backside double cork 1440, which he performed for the first time in a competition Switzerland last month.
Fellow Australian, Valentino Guseli has also secured a spot in the finals, delivering two strong and consistent runs to comfortably qualify in sixth place.
