A daily 5 minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability.
This is SBS News in Easy English. I'm Biwa Kwan.
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Former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd will be Australia's next ambassador to the United States.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says as a former prime minister and a former foreign minister, Kevin Rudd brings a wealth of experience to the role.
"Kevin Rudd will be seen in the United States as a very significant appointment. By appointing a former prime minister and I am very pleased that Kevin Rudd is prepared to do this. Her certainly doesn't need to do this. He is doing it out of - a part of - what he sees as his service obligation to the country that he loves. And I am sure that he will serve very well."
Joining him in the US, is another new appointment - Heather Ridout will be Australia’s Consul-General in New York.
The former Chief Executive of the Australian Industry Group is the first woman to be appointed to the role.
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Foreign Minister Penny Wong says her meeting with Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi will be aimed at repairing and strengthening bilateral ties.
She says China's trade sanctions on Australian goods will be discussed, as well as the consular cases of detained Australians Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun.
It will be the first time in four years an Australian foreign minister has been invited to Beijing for bilateral discussions.
The visit will coincide with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australia and China which began under the Whitlam Labor government in 1972.
She says it is important to build a strong foundation to reset the relationship - and she will be taking things one step at a time.
"We will co-operate where we can, we will disagree where we must and we will engage in our national interest. There has been a lot of speculation in the last 24 hours or more about what will happen. I will say this: The expectation should be that we will have a meeting, and that dialogue itself is central to stabilising the relationship. Many of the hard issues in the relationship will take time to resolve in our interests."
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A national firearm registry will be one of reform options considered, after last week's deadly shooting at a remote Queensland property [[12 December]].
Two police officers and a bystander were killed as a result of the six-hour siege.
Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers says the idea of national firearm registry should be revisited to prevent future tragedies.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he will consider the option in the new year at the next national cabinet meeting of federal, state and territory leaders.
"My government will take any advice, particularly from police and law enforcement about better ways in which we can have co-ordination and better laws to protect people. Next year, I will be asking for a briefing to go to that national cabinet meeting for practical ways in which we can - not change the nature of the gun laws - but change the nature of the way that information is co-ordinated."
There have been numerous calls over the years for a national registry, after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, and 2014 Lindt cafe siege in Sydney.
But the different systems used by the state and territories have created issues in implementation.
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Four teenagers who went missing in waters off Victoria's Mornington Peninsula have been found alive.
The group were last seen taking two inflatable paddle boards to Rosebud Beach on Monday when they went missing, prompting a widescale search in the last 24 hours.
Jack Shi says he is relieved his son has been found.
He says the teenagers had been celebrating finishing their Year 12 high school studies, and they were not particularly strong swimmers.
"(I was) very much worried. They are not good swimmers. They can swim, but they do not have the skill to swim in the bay. Absolutely not. I think right now we're just very, very happy about finding them. We're trying to digest this whole thing (of what happened). So they want to get (have) some fun - but they did not manage the risk to themselves. I think it's a good lesson for them."
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In basketball, former NBA championship winner Ian Clark has signed with the Adelaide 36ers for the rest of the National Basketball League season.
Clark played 330 NBA games between 2013 and 2019, playing a key part in the Golden State Warriors' back-court, including in their championship season in 2017.
The 31-year-old spent the end of the last NBL season with the Sydney Kings and replaces Craig Randall, who was cut in November.
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You've been listening to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Biwa Kwan.
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