More crisis personnel head to Nepal where 41 Australians remain missing; One Nation threatens Labor in a closely watched by-election; Western Bulldogs dash Collingwood’s AFL finals dream.
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TRANSCRIPT
- More crisis personnel head to Nepal where 41 Australians remain missing
- One Nation threatens Labor in a closely watched by-election.
- The Bulldogs dash Collingwood’s finals dream.
Australia is ramping up its response to the catastrophic Nepal-Tibet floods, sending eight more crisis personnel to the region today.
The deployment comes as 41 Australians remain missing, with authorities working to establish their whereabouts.
More than 600 people have been killed and almost 2,500 remain unaccounted for, while the United Nations says tens of thousands of people now need food, clean water and sanitation support.
Assistant Foreign Minister Matt Thistlethwaite says the government is working with communities in Australia affected by the disaster.
"There's obviously a lot of anxiety and distress in the community. They're worried about loved ones. They're worried about the effect of the people living in the region and of course they're worried about the local community here. I want to say to the Nepalese and the Tibetan communities that all Australians stand with you in this difficult time. We offer you our support, our love, our friendship and we're there to help."
Among those still missing is a Sydney family of four, including two boys aged 14 and 11, who were travelling on a pilgrimage near the Nepal-Tibet border.
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Voting is underway in a closely watched by-election in Western Australia, with One Nation threatening Labor in the traditionally safe seat of Secret Harbour.
The beachside electorate south of Perth was vacated by long-serving Labor MP and former minister Paul Papalia, with Labor defending a margin of more than 11 per cent.
Recent polling has Labor steady on 33 per cent of the primary vote, while One Nation has climbed to 21 per cent, level with the Liberals.
Labor candidate Georgia Tree says she expects the by-election to attract a protest vote.
"I think in general by-elections are a vessel for a protest vote. So yes, I have my eyes completely open to that, and it will be very interesting to see once the counting’s done, where that lands. It's always tough in a by-election and we've seen right wing populism take place all over the globe and Australia's not immune from that."
Polling booths close at six o'clock tonight local time, with counting to begin shortly afterwards.
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A 31-year-old man has been arrested and charged over a daylight shooting at a kebab shop in Sydney’s west that left three people seriously injured.
Police allege he and another masked gunman fired eight shots inside the Auburn restaurant in June last year, targeting a 26-year-old man with alleged organised crime links.
The target was shot in the shoulder and arm, while a 25-year-old man was shot in the head and a 47-year-old female worker was hit several times.
The accused faces multiple offences, including three counts of shooting with intent to murder, and has been refused bail.
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Icelanders are voting on whether to reopen talks on joining the European Union.
The country walked away from membership negotiations 13 years ago, but the issue is back amid concern over the economy and Iceland’s place in Europe.
The vote is expected to be close, with fishing rights and national sovereignty among the biggest sticking points.
No campaigner Hjortur Gudmundsson says Iceland’s sovereignty and independence are at stake.
"Lots of powers would go to the EU from what we currently have, we would not be able to defend our interests, so we would always be kind of those would just get the breadcrumbs from the table really."
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Daniel Andrews won’t be immortalised in bronze after all, with Victoria’s new premier scrapping plans for a taxpayer-funded statue of his predecessor.
The $134,000 monument was to recognise Mr Andrews for serving more than 3,000 days in office.
Ben Carroll says the decades-old policy no longer reflects community expectations around government spending.
He says former premiers deserve gratitude, but not necessarily a statue paid for by taxpayers.
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And now to sport.
The Western Bulldogs are waiting to learn their next opponent after surviving a thriller in the AFL’s first wildcard final.
Melbourne and Carlton meet at the MCG tonight, with the winner to face the Bulldogs in next week’s elimination final.
More than 81-thousand fans watched the Bulldogs edge Collingwood by three points, after Tim Membrey missed a shot to win it after the siren.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae says he’s proud of the way his players fought to the end.
"I said to the players – an overwhelming sense of pride in what we've been able to do in the last period, and you know we don’t get the job done but the ability to fight right until the last second is something that we're really proud of and whoever puts the jumper on plays that way. And have we got more work to do? Of course we do."
