TRANSCRIPT
- Australia and United Kingdom to sign 50-year defence treaty
- Trade Minister Don Farrell warns US tariffs risk return to ‘law of the jungle’
- Wallabies face must-win Test to keep Lions series alive
Australia and the United Kingdom are set to sign a 50-year defence treaty today that is hoping to strengthen bilateral relations and cement the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact.
While the expensive plan for Australia to receive nuclear-powered submarines also includes the crucial ally of the United States, the treaty signing comes amid the Trump administration's ongoing review of the AUKUS deal.
Both Australia and the UK deny the 50-year treaty is an indication the two could go it alone if the US tried to exit the agreement.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says their relationship with Australia provides stability in an increasingly troubled world.
"The UK-Australia relationship is an anchor in what is a very volatile world, providing stability in troubled waters and a relationship that holds steady whichever way the geopolitical winds are blowing."
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Trade Minister Don Farrell is warning that United States trade wars risk a return to what he calls "the law of the jungle".
It comes as US President Donald Trump has celebrated Australia's move to relax restrictions on US beef imports after citing the ban on some products as a key reason for tariffs on Australian goods.
The federal government maintains the decision to relax bio-security restrictions had no link to their ongoing efforts to secure an exemption from the US tariff scheme.
Trade Minister Farrell says the lifting of restrictions came at the end of a decade-long, independent review process and bio-security hasn't been sacrificed.
He also criticised the Trump administration's barriers to global trade.
"We rely on being able to send our produce, our resources to the world to sustain the high standards of living that we enjoy today. What we risk seeing is a shift from a system based on shared prosperity and interdependence to one based solely on power and size. We cannot risk a return to the law of the jungle."
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The Opposition have criticised a statement from the Prime Minister, condemning the Israeli government's actions in Gaza, saying the blame must be put on Hamas.
Anthony Albanese strengthened his condemnation of Israel, calling Gaza a humanitarian catastrophe and criticising the killing of civilians seeking aid, including children.
In a statement, Senator Michaelia Cash accused Hamas and its allies of stealing the humanitarian aid for themselves, a claim regularly put forward by the Israeli government and denied by Hamas.
She tells Channel Nine the government needs to hold Hamas to an account.
"Any moral outrage in relation to the situation in Gaza should be directed at Hamas, the listed terrorist organisation. Israel at all times should comply with international law. We would like to see more aid getting in to the people of Gaza."
An internal United States government analysis has now been released to Reuters, finding no evidence of systematic theft by the Palestinian militant group.
They also found no evidence that Hamas had benefited from US-funded supplies, which have been distributed at the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid sites.
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Acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai has told reporters his country's border clashes with Cambodia could develop into a war.
At least 19 people have been killed in Thailand, according to the country’s Health Ministry, and one person has been reported killed in Cambodia.
The two countries have continued exchanging artillery and rocket fire as their worst border dispute in more than a decade enters a third day.
Sitting in a tent beside her elderly mother, 53-year-old Ngerntra Pranoram is taking shelter in the Surin province, along the border of Thailand.
She says she was taking care of her mother when they started hearing gun shots, then explosions.
"We were shocked too. Nobody wants this to happen. I feel for the elderly and the disabled. It's very difficult for them to get here. It's a real struggle. Some people have cars, which is good, but for those who don't, it's really hard. We feel for them, we sympathise, but we don't know how to help. We also have elderly people with us, so we try to help as much as we can."
Clashes broke out in at least six areas on Thursday, a day after a land mine wounded five Thai soldiers, prompting Thailand to expel Cambodia’s envoy and recall its ambassador.
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In rugby, the Wallabies will take on the British and Irish Lions tonight in a make-or-break clash following a disappointing 27-19 opening defeat in Brisbane.
The underdog Australians need victory to save their chance at winning just a third series against the visitors since the first Lions tour in 1899.
Captain Harry Wilson says they've learned some lessons after the first disappointing Test.
"I guess you got so much unknown going to that first Test, for a lot of us, besides Slippy, it was our first time ever facing, pretty much the Lions, and there's a lot of, I guess in the week, a lot of unknowns. Where this week we know what's coming. We've prepared for it and we're really excited for it. I'd say there's pressure on both teams. They want to wrap up the series, and we want to keep the series alive. So there's no doubting there's a lot on the line for both teams, and that's so much really excites you, playing professional sport."
The hosts are also looking to escape becoming the second team since the 1966 Lions tour to have the series wrapped up in just two games, with that Wallabies outfit losing both matches in a two-Test tour.
In Australia's past two series, in 2001 and 2013, the Wallabies lost the first Test but levelled both in Melbourne.
