TRANSCRIPT:
- ASIO foils foreign spy plot to recruit Australians and steal sensitive national secrets
- Crackdown continues on illegal tobacco in New South Wales.
- Greek tragedy for Alejandro Tabilo as Novak Djokovic wins in Athens.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation ((ASIO)) says it has foiled an elaborate plot by foreign spies to convince several Australians to betray their country after months of grooming,
ASIO's director-general of security Mike Burgess identified the intelligence agents only as belonging to a foreign government that claims it does not spy on Australia.
"This foreign intelligence service arranged for an Australian to travel by plane then boat to a third country for a face-to-face meeting. The spies wanted to hand over a list of their intelligence requirements, the people and things they wanted spied on. Little did they know ASIO was tracking and manipulating their entire activity. When the intelligence officers arrived at the location, they were not met by their target, they were met by an ASIO officer."
Information on Australia's economy, critical mineral deals and the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine pact were high on the list of the foreign agency's intelligence requests, according to ASIO.
Mr Burgess has again warned more Australians are being targeted for espionage and foreign interference than ever before.
Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg has accused the Albanese government of hiding key Treasury modelling behind its first home-buyer deposit scheme, claiming it is driving up entry-level property prices.
After the Senate ordered the government to release the modelling data, Mr Bragg told the ABC the five per cent deposit scheme had already pushed prices higher than forecast.
The program, known as the Help to Buy scheme, allows first-time buyers to purchase homes with a smaller deposit, but critics argue it’s inflating demand without boosting supply.
Mr Bragg also welcomed a new Senate inquiry into Australia’s lagging productivity, calling the nation’s performance woeful and urging Labor to deliver policies that create better opportunities, better lives and more jobs.
Tobacconists across New South Wales could be shut down on the spot as a major crackdown on illegal tobacco and vaping begins.
Under new New South Wales Health powers, shops caught selling unlicensed or illicit products can be closed for 90 days, or up to a year for serious breaches.
Two stores in St Leonards have already been raided, with nearly 4,000 illegal cigarettes and 200 vapes seized.
State Health Minister Ryan Park says anyone breaking the law will be caught.
Fines now are up to $660,000 for individuals and $880,000 for companies, while possessing illicit tobacco can mean $1.5 million in penalties or seven years’ jail.
Since January, New South Wales Health has seized almost 12 million cigarettes and 170,000 illegal vapes, and warns this is only the beginning.
According to the largest study of its kind, children face half the risk of heart complications if vaccinated against COVID-19 compared to becoming infected.
Researchers analysed the health records of nearly 14 million people under 18 in England between January 2020 and December 2022 to assess short- and long-term risks.
They found those who received the Pfizer vaccine had around half the likelihood of developing myocarditis or pericarditis - rare but serious heart inflammations - within six months, compared with those who caught the virus.
University of Queensland infectious diseases expert Professor Paul Griffin says the findings align with existing evidence on COVID-19, vaccination, and heart inflammation in children.
Food charity Foodbank Australia is urging the government to introduce a national tax incentive to encourage farmers to donate their excess produce, rather than destroy it.
Chief executive and former independent M-P Kylea Tink says similar schemes in the United States and Germany have proven effective and should be replicated in Australia.
She argues the country already produces enough food to feed its population three times over, but needs a better system to get it into people’s hands.
"One in three Australian households are currently reporting that they're food insecure, and that means that it's not just that they're worrying about not being able to put food on the table, they literally are changing what they buy. They're making compromises in terms of the nutritional value of the food they purchase."
Each year, Australian farmers discard enough food to fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground nine times, while millions of households struggle to afford groceries.
The charity says the plan would also help cut food waste and lower carbon emissions, calling it both a humanitarian and environmental solution.
Novak Djokovic has overcome Alejandro Tabilo for the first time to reach the last eight at the Hellenic Championship in Athens.
Chilean Tabilo, ranked 89th in the world, had beaten the 24-time grand slam singles champion in both of their previous meetings, which came on clay in Rome last year and Monte Carlo in April.
But top seed Djokovic served 13 aces and faced just one break point on his way to a 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 victory on the hard courts of the Greek capital, where elite-level tennis returned for the first time since 1994, to reach the 225th tour-level quarter-final of his career.
The Telekom Center crowd offered constant support for the Serb, who moved with his family to Athens earlier this year.
