TRANSCRIPT
- Anthony Albanese hits back at Peter Dutton following criticism of the government's energy policy
- Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns
- Queenslander Ethan Ewing rides Atlantic waves into last eight in Portugal
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has hit back at Opposition Leader Peter Dutton following his criticism of the federal government's energy policy.
Mr Dutton previewed the Coalition's yet-to-be unveiled energy plans at the Australian Financial Review Business Summit in Sydney today saying the plan would likely include six nuclear plant sites.
The opposition leader offered to debate Mr Albanese on energy policy, as the Coalition stepped up its criticism of the Labor's proposed fuel efficiency standards in full-page newspaper ads.
Speaking in the Northern Territory ahead of the Federal Cabinet meeting in Darwin tomorrow, Mr Albanese said Mr Dutton has yet to give "a serious policy speech" as opposition leader.
"It’s thin air at the moment. When they release their policies, you’ll hear a very clear response - not just from the Labor party in the Parliament and outside, but from the community as well, including the communities where these giant nuclear reactors are going to go."
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The main land route connecting Western Australia to the rest of the country is expected to remain closed for several days, as parts of the state are suffering severe flooding.
The Trans-Australian Railway line and the Eyre Highway, key freight routes linking WA and South Australia have been closed since the weekend, with water covering roads and railroads.
Western Australia has had more than half a year's worth of rain in 24 hours.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast rainfall totals of up to 130 mm in 24 hours for parts of WA where rainfall normally averages around 260 mm a year.
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Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie has told the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide the federal government needs to hold defence more accountable over allegations of abuse.
The army veteran, who used her maiden Senate speech in 2015 to call for a royal commission into the "toxic culture" of defence, has spoken today at the commission's final set of hearings.
The hearings, which wrap up at the end of March, will be the last opportunity for the inquiry to cross-examine witnesses before handing down its final report in early September.
The Department of Defence told commissioners last week the department did not have a reliable data set for sexual misconduct.
Ms Lambie calls for ministerial oversight of abuse allegations and demands that the information is collected in a database.
"So if there is abuse going on, if there is abuse going on on a base, you can start to see those red spots. I can see them, I can see them from my office. I might have four or five diggers ((soldiers)) in a matter of three months contact me and go, OK, something's going on, whether it's in one of the regiments or whatever, but this is not good. I've just had a load of them come through the office in the last three or four months."
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The Prime Minister of Haiti, Ariel Henry, has reportedly resigned.
Haiti declared a state of emergency on March 3 after penitentiaries were attacked by armed gangs, more than 3,500 inmates managed to escape and deaths were recorded.
The episode worsened the situation in Haiti, which has been experiencing a political, humanitarian and security crisis since the assassination of its President in 2021.
Gang leaders and part of the population wanted Henry out of power and general elections to be held, which have not been held for almost a decade.
The international community is monitoring the situation in Haiti and the United States has asked Henry to speed up the transition of power.
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Further previously secret cabinet documents on Australia’s involvement in the Iraq war are set to be made public on Thursday.
The National Archives of Australia will release 14 documents from 2003, the year in which the decision to invade Iraq was set by then Prime Minister John Howard.
The documents include National Security Committee records about war deliberations.
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Queenslander Ethan Ewing has reached the last eight in the third leg of the WSL season, as the competition moves to the European Atlantic coast.
Ewing was the only Australian man of the five to enter the last 32 to survive both rounds on a sunny day at Supertubos, Portugal, amid changeable conditions.
In the women's competition two-time world champion Tyler Wright is the only Australian through to the quarter-finals.
Ewing, who beat Brazilians Deivid Silva and Italo Ferreira along the way, says conditions have been challenging.
"It looked so tough to get a good wave, and we saw a few good sets up the other end of the beach, and I was definitely nervous to go up there because no one had gone up there yet, and I hadn't surfed that break yet and I wasn't sure if I was too deep or what, but it paid off thankfully."
