TRANSCRIPT:
- China and Australia reaffirm trading ties with a number of agreements
- Childcare centres under review as sex offence charges widen
- Wallabies brace for Lions chaos as Brisbane prepares for Test series opener
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese Premier Li Qiang have signed several agreements in Beijing, under a new trade deal with China including one allowing Australian apples into China for the first time.
Mr Albanese also met President Xi Jinping and Chairman Zhao Leji during his six-day visit, which focused on boosting trade and stability in the relationship.
Premier Li says China and Australia have highly complementary economies and urged closer co-operation.
Mr Albanese says the agreements represent both the strong cooperation between Australia and China and a shared ambition to do even more.
"This round table is a symbol of cooperation, but it's also a sign of ambition, the cooperation that has delivered profound economic benefits for the people of both of our nations, and the ambition to build on those complementary strengths and go beyond them, to deepen and diversify our trade and business links."
Childcare record-keeping is under fire as police link more centres to accused sex offender Joshua Dale Brown.
More than 800 children are being urged to undergo infectious disease testing after authorities identified four additional Affinity Education-run centres where Brown previously worked.
He faces over 70 charges involving eight children under two at a Point Cook centre between April 2022 and January 2023.
The new sites include Kids Academy in Mickleham and Milestones Early Learning in Tarneit, Greensborough and Braybrook.
Education Minister Jason Clare tells Channel 7 there must be a register tracking where educators have worked.
"The company should have picked this up in the first place where this worker was. The Victorian Government and Authorities are doing everything they can to track the details of where he worked. But this highlights an example of why you need a database or a register so you know where all childcare workers are and where they're moved from centre to centre. That's just one of the things that we need to do Parliament starts again next week, I'll introduce legislation next week that will cut off funding to childcare centres that aren't up to scratch."
Police have also updated Brown’s employment dates at Papilio Early Learning in Essendon and removed Hoppers Crossing from the list.
Bradley John Murdoch, the man who murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio in the Australian outback, has died of throat cancer aged 67.
He was serving a life sentence without parole at Darwin Correctional Centre.
Murdoch was convicted in 2005 of killing Mr Falconio and assaulting his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, near Barrow Creek in 2001.
Ms Lees escaped and later gave key evidence, but Mr Falconio’s body was never found.
The case shocked both Australia and the UK.
Murdoch maintained his innocence and lodged multiple failed appeals throughout the years.
His death leaves the mystery of Mr Falconio’s final resting place unsolved, for now.
In a move to speed up housing construction, the New South Wales government has launched what it calls a pattern book of pre-approved home designs that could see new builds approved in just 10 days.
The scheme offers eight low-rise designs - terraces, townhouses, and manor houses - normally worth $1000 each, but subsidised to just $1 per design for the first six months.
Premier Chris Minns says the initiative aims to encourage homebuilding, particularly for young families, and promote fairness in the housing market.
"I genuinely hope that we can encourage people to look at this as an option for their next home, or perhaps their first home. If you're a builder, if you're a homeowner, it can save you a lot of time and a lot of money. For too long, it's been way too hard to build in this state, and it's young families in particular who have paid the price. And that's not fair, particularly for those who are being locked out of the housing market."
Urban planners have welcomed the initiative as a practical, design-led step toward easing Sydney’s housing crisis, though they warn change will be gradual, not instant.
In Rugby, The Wallabies are bracing for another fiery British and Irish Lions Test in Brisbane.
A packed Suncorp Stadium will host Saturday’s series opener, with thousands of travelling Lions fans expected to bring the noise and intensity.
Brisbane clashes have a dramatic history, including the brutal 1989 Battle of Ballymore, described by Lions flanker Mike Teague as the most violent game of rugby ever played.
The Wallabies are still recovering from a difficult couple of years and a World Cup group-stage exit in 2023.
