The federal government accepts Robodebt royal commission recommendations, The government says community safety is paramount in the release of 80 people from indefinite immigration detention, Socceroos determined to top their World Cup qualifying group.
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TRANSCRIPT
- The federal government accepts Robodebt royal commission recommendations.
- The government says community safety is paramount in the release of 80 people from indefinite immigration detention.
- And in sport, Socceroos determined to top their World Cup qualifying group.
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The Albanese government says it has agreed in principle to all of the 56 recommendations of the Robodebt Royal Commission.
As part of its response, the government will provide $22.1 million in new funding over four years to support implementation of the recommendations.
More than $750 million was wrongfully recovered from more than 381,000 people under the scheme which was ruled unlawful by the Federal Court in 2019, leading to a $1.2 billion settlement between victims and the then-government in 2020.
A royal commission then heard from victims about their trauma and fear as they received the debt notices and received evidence of bureaucrats ignoring serious questions and advice about the scheme's legality.
NDIS Minister Bill Shorten, whose portfolio covers 26 of the recommendations, says the government has already started to move on some of the suggestions.
"Even in the last week, we’ve announced 3,000 extra staff to make sure that we can process payments in a timely and accurate fashion. We’ve stopped using external debt collectors, which was a feature of the previous scheme under Robodebt. We’re improving our communications with people who use our system. Most importantly, under the Albanese government, we don’t think that people who use our social security system are second-class Australians."
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Greens leader Adam Bandt has slammed the federal government's decision to not call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
It comes amid criticism over Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong's comments that any prospective ceasefire would need to be agreed to by both parties.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has since clarified, suggesting the government supports working towards an end to hostilities rather than outright pushing for an end to the violence now.
Mr Bandt says the government's current position is not good enough.
"It is utterly unacceptable for Labor to say they're concerned about the number of civilian dying and hospitals being attacked but then to still back the invasion."
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United States President Joe Biden has spoken with Qatar’s head of state Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani amid efforts to secure the release of hostages being held by Hamas.
The White House says President Biden used the phone call to condemn the holding of more than 200 hostages who were captured on October 7 as part of a surprise attack on Israel.
The two leaders have agreed that all the hostages must be released without further delay.
Qatar has been leading mediation efforts with Hamas as key leaders of the political group are based in the country.
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Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says community safety is the government's top priority as 80 asylum seekers are released from immigration detention.
The High Court ruled last week indefinite detention was unlawful, reversing a two-decade-old decision.
It came after a Rohingya man from Myanmar brought the case to the High Court, as he faced the prospect of detention for life because no country would resettle him due to a criminal conviction for child sex abuse.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles says those released will be required to regularly report to the Australian Federal Police, Border Force and any other relevant bodies.
Mr Dreyfus says he wants to assure the Australian community they are safe.
"There will be appropriate visa conditions and the Commonwealth government will be working with state and territory criminal justice agencies who of course, are primarily responsible for each of the people concerned."
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And in football,
Socceroos defender Aziz Behich says the side is determined to reach the World Cup by topping the Asian qualifying groups.
The team's campaign kicks off this Thursday in Melbourne, with a match against Bangladesh, followed by Palestine and Lebanon.
While an increased number of direct qualification spots from Asia leaves a greater margin for error - Behich doesn't want to see the Socceroos rely on fate.
"We want to top the group throughout the whole process, so that's our main goal. We're not worried about how many teams qualify. We went through the play-off phase again last campaign and we don't want to do that again."
