Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli rallies across Melbourne and Sydney condemn civilian deaths; Foreign Minister Penny Wong joins international calls for Israel to end Gaza hospital siege; And in cricket, New Zealand's Henry Nicholls is cleared of ball tampering.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli rallies across Melbourne and Sydney condemn civilian deaths;
- Foreign Minister Penny Wong joins international calls for Israel to end Gaza hospital siege;
- And in cricket, New Zealand's Henry Nicholls is cleared of ball tampering.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has called for Israel to take steps towards a ceasefire, as hospitals in Gaza are inundated by intense fighting.
Following calls for humanitarian pauses, Minister Wong says the government is now calling for steps towards a ceasefire, but insists the calls must not be one-sided as the Hamas militant group still hold hostages.
Speaking on ABC's Insiders Program, she reiterated the government's stance on Hamas as a terrorist organisation but pleaded for Israel to obey international humanitarian law.
"How Israel defends itself matters and when we affirm Israel's right to defend itself, what we are also saying is that Israel must observe and comply with international humanitarian law. Now we know Hamas is a terrorist organisation, and has no respect for international law. But Australia is a democracy as is Israel and the standards we accept must be higher. International humanitarian law does require the protection of hospitals, of patients and of medical staff."
The United Nations does not call Hamas a terrorist organisation, while Australia, the US, UK, and other nations label the group as terrorists.
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Rallies have been held in Melbourne and Sydney for the fifth weekend, to condemn the killing of civilians in Israel and Gaza.
In a pro-Palestinian rally in Melbourne's CBD, thousands marched calling for a ceasefire and in solidarity with the more than 11,000 Palestinians the Hamas-run health ministry says have been killed in Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip.
At the protest in Sydney, Pejman Mansouri says nothing justifies the murder of so many civilians and attending each week's rally is the only thing he feels he can do.
"I just came here asking for ceasefire, because so many innocent people are dying, many of them children. They don't have anything to do with this crisis - it's a political crisis, but on the other hand it's just a humanitarian cause. No matter what happens politically, children do not deserve to die for other people's political views or political fights."
In Sydney, pro-Israeli protestors have shared stories about the 1200 people Israel says were killed by Hamas militants on the 7th of October.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry President Jillian Segal has urged the crowd not to forget the 240 hostages still held captive by Hamas.
"They, and indeed the dead, represent not only Jews but as we know people from over 40 nations, making this a global catastrophe. Killing and hostage-taking was just indiscriminate. So let us be clear, October 7 broke the fake peace. There can be no ceasefire until every hostage has been released."
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Economists are predicting a wage growth in the Australian Bureau of Statistics' September quarter data to be released on Wednesday.
This follows the 0.8 per cent quarterly increase in three months to June that was slightly below forecasts.
Compared to a year earlier, the Australian Bureau of Statistics' wage price index grew 3.6 per cent.
The bank's economists are expecting 1.4 per cent quarterly growth, which would be the strongest quarterly rise in the series' 26-year history and take annual growth to almost four per cent.
The 5.75 per cent minimum and award wage increase kicked in last quarter, as did further pay boosts for aged care workers.
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In Cricket,
New Zealand Test batter Henry Nicholls has been cleared of ball tampering charges by a New Zealand Cricket code of conduct hearing.
Nicholls was reported by umpires after a domestic first-class match last week, after live coverage appeared to show him brushing the ball on a helmet while fielding.
However, on Sunday New Zealand Cricket has said the batter has been cleared of the charge of "changing the condition of the ball".
He is now free to play in Canterbury's next match and is due to tour Bangladesh with the New Zealand team later this month.
