In this bulletin, Unemployment climbs to 4.5 per cent; The federal government defends its response to the diphtheria outbreak; Jobs on the line at Football Australia.
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TRANSCRIPT
In this bulletin;
- Unemployment climbs to 4.5 per cent
- The federal government defends its response to the diphtheria outbreak
- And jobs on the line at Football Australia.
Australia's unemployment rate has jumped to 4.5 per cent, with 19,000 jobs dropping out of the economy in April.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics says the rise in unemployment has been driven by a drop in female employment, the first fall in that category since August 2025.
Those people who were still working in April worked longer, with the hours worked per person rising by 0.9 per cent.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government expected the slight increase in unemployment and that the Australian labour market is still strong in the face of a lot of global turmoil.
"Our labour market remains a very considerable source of strength when you consider what's coming at us from around the world. So, to have unemployment in the mid-fours, in the context of all of this global economic volatility, in the context of interest rate rises playing out in our economy, our labour market remains a very considerable source of strength, even with the tick-up that we've seen in the numbers today."
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Health Minister Mark Butler has defended the timing of the government's $7 million package to help respond to the diphtheria outbreak.
More than 230 diphtheria cases have been recorded across Australia in mostly Indigenous communities - about 30 times the usual yearly average and the biggest outbreak since national records began.
The government support announced today includes $5.2 million for administering vaccines and antibiotics, and $2 million for National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations to help with on the ground public health support.
The outbreak was initially declared in the Northern Territory in March, and Mr Butler has responded to questions over why the support wasn't delivered sooner.
"Well we received a request from the Northern Territory government and AMSANT, the peak body of Aboriginal Medical Services in the Territory in very late April, and within a matter of days we started sending additional vaccines to the Territory. I was up in Alice a couple of weeks ago and sat down with the leadership of AMSANT, we've been working very closely and very quickly with both AMSANT and the NT government since they made their request."
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The Federal Government has criticised an Israeli government minister's treatment of activists on board a Gaza aid flotilla, describing it as shocking and unacceptable.
Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir released a video showing him taunting the activists as they kneel on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs, actions that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says are not in line with Israel's values and norms.
Environment Minister Murray Watt has also called the behaviour completely unacceptable.
"Our ambassador to Israel has already been making representations on behalf of those Australian citizens and will continue to do so. We don't think they should be detained and they absolutely should not be demeaned in the way that they were by an Israeli government minister overnight."
11 Australians are among the detainees.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says she's asked Australia’s Ambassador to Israel to reiterate calls for the release of the detained Australians and for Israel to ensure no ill treatment of any detainees and to act in line with international obligations.
NOTE: More than 400 activists, including 11 Australians, have been trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza.
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Australia has voted in the United Nations General Assembly to support a landmark resolution which reaffirms the idea that states do have a legal obligation to curb their use of fossil fuels.
The resolution reflects a non-binding advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in July 2025 which found states may owe reparations for emissions in some circumstances.
The resolution ultimately passed with 148 votes in favour, 28 abstentions, and eight against, including the United States, Russia, Iran, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.
Odo Tevi is the ambassador to the UN of Vanuatu, which spearheaded the campaign for the resolution.
"What is being tested today is whether the multilateral system can do the most basic thing we ask of it: respond to legal clarity in good faith rather than retreat from it. Whether international law still holds in the face of what the court called, and I quote, 'an existential problem of planetary proportions that imperils all forms of life and the very health of our planet'."
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Australia's science body, the CSIRO, is axing 92 full-time roles from its Environment Research Unit.
The job losses come after a review in November last year when the organisation announced it was making changes to focus its research efforts on where it can deliver the greatest national impact.
CSIRO says it will retain its climate science capability and continue to provide the data, models and scenarios needed to support decision-making in Australia and internationally.
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In sport,
Football Australia is planning to sack 20 per cent of its staff after its losses almost doubled.
The governing body recorded a loss of $15.3 million last year.
The losses occurred despite revenue climbing to an all-time high.
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