TRANSCRIPT
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to call President Donald Trump over new tariff threat.
- Severe weather warnings for parts of New South Wales and Victoria.
- And in sports, Jordan Mailata becomes the first Australian to win the Super Bowl.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirms he will call United States President Donald Trump to lobby for an Australia exemption from newly announced trade tariffs.
President Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports to the US, threatening to impact Australia's trade relationship.
According to data from Trading Economics, Australia exported $378 million worth of steel and iron to the United States in 2023.
Mr Albanese says his government is making the case to the United States to be excluded from these tariffs.
"I have a discussion with President Trump scheduled and I will certainly keep the House and the Australian people informed."
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Nationals leader David Littleproud has called on the federal government to consider replacing Kevin Rudd as Australian ambassador to the US.
This comes in the wake of President Trump's announcement of 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium which may affect trade with Australia.
Mr Rudd, who is also Australia's former Prime Minister, has been critical of Mr Trump during his recent US presidential election campaign.
Mr Littleproud says the potential tariffs are a test for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Mr Rudd.
"We have a very compelling story. We just signed a cheque for over $500 million for AUKUS, we are actually coming forward with the good for the United States in terms of that AUKUS agreement, we are paying our own way, but this is a test, this is a test to see whether Anthony Albanese's previous remarks and Kevin Rudd's previous remarks about President Trump has done this nation harm."
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Severe thunderstorms have been hitting Australia's southeast, with multiple warnings issued to southern New South Wales.
The state has also seen flash flooding and damaging hail over the past 24 hours with several schools in the Riverina affected.
One person also had to be rescued from floodwaters at Harden.
Miriam Bradbury is a meteorologist from the Bureau of Meteorology.
She urges communities in New South Wales's southeast to stay alert to thunderstorms and risks of flooding.
“We also have a severe weather warning in place for parts of Victoria and New South Wales now. That covers most of Gippsland in Victoria and the south coast in New South Wales. Heavy rainfall in these areas is likely to be a bit more widespread over the next couple of days. Rainfall totals easily reaching 30mm to 80mm."
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Opposition leader Peter Dutton has commented on the annual Closing the Gap report.
The Closing the Gap framework is a national strategy launched in 2008 to improve the health, wellbeing and life expectancy of First Nations communities to achieve equality and equity.
Mr Dutton is calling for a bipartisan effort to support remote Indigenous communities.
"Australians want to see changes on the ground for those Indigenous communities, where safety, housing, health, education and employment and critical issues, but by maintaining the status quo, we will not bring the drastic improvement we've yearn for."
Mr Dutton also referenced the former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology to the Stolen Generation, as this Thursday marks 17 years since Mr Rudd's apology.
Mr Dutton boycotted the apology at the time, but in 2023 he revoked the comment and apologised for the boycott.
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Now in sports...
Australian NFL star Jordan Mailata is the first Australian to win the Super Bowl, after his team - the Philadelphia Eagles - beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40 to 22.
Mr Mailata is part of the Eagles' elite offensive line and his teammate, superstar quarterback Jalen Hurts, won the MVP title.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni praised their Kansas rivals, saying his team had to play their best football to secure the win.
This is the second Super Bowl win for the Eagles after a 2018 triumph over the New England Patriots.
In 2014, Australian player Jesse Williams from Seattle Seahawks also won the Super Bowl ring, but he didn't play in the final game that helped the team claim the trophy.
