TRANSCRIPT
- The Prime Minister and opposition leader trade insults over the issue of visas for Palestinians..
- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announces he will be stepping down...
- Kyle Flanagan hit with four-game NRL ban after he was found guilty of biting Canterbury captain's nose.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Coalition leader Peter Dutton have traded barbs in Question Time over Mr Dutton's opposition to visas for civilians trapped in Gaza.
Peter Dutton told Sky News this morning that Australia should stop allowing Gazans into Australia as it could be a risk to national security.
The Israeli bombardment and invasion of Gaza has killed almost 40,000 Palestinians since October 7 with bombing of civilian infrastructure putting families at risk.
Mr Dutton's comments follow a statement from ASIO Director Mike Burgess that rhetorical support for Hamas did not automatically disqualify people from getting a visa.
The opposition leader raised the issue again in parliament.
DUTTON: "Does supporting a listed terrorist organisation like Hamas pass Australia's character test, yes or no?"
ALBANESE: "It's exactly the same system that was in place when the leader of the opposition was the minister for immigration. I seek to bring people together. This bloke, this weak bloke over here who can't ever say no to attempting to raise tension in our community and is always looking for an opportunity to create division, which is what his off-the-cuff comments were about today."
The Greens have condemned comments from opposition leader Peter Dutton that Australia should stop allowing civilians fleeing Gaza to enter Australia.
Greens senator David Shoebridge says the opposition leader's comments are blaming the victims of what he calls a genocide in Gaza.
The United States has approved the sale of over $30 billion of fighter jets and other military equipment to Israel amid the devastating war in the Gaza Strip.
Close to 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's bombardment and invasion of Gaza since October 7.
Despite the U- government's stated concern at the recent Israeli bombing of a school which killed at least 80 sheltering Palestinians, it hasn't stopped the constant flow of military support for the U-S' Middle East ally.
The new $30 billion of military aid, to be delivered over several years, includes scores of fighter jets, advanced air-to-air missiles and ammunition.
The Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour addressed the United Nations Security Council as the aid package was announced, condemning the body for inaction on Israeli atrocities.
"Israel does not care about your condemnations. It dismisses your resolutions. As a Security Council, you had a responsibility to act months ago to stop this impunity. Do you ever think what if you were born in Gaza? What if that family that was blown into pieces or burned to death was yours? As the genocide continues, you have a responsibility to react, to save human lives and preserve the foundations for peace and security for all, not just for some."
Japan's unpopular Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to quit after announcing he will not seek re-election as party chief.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which has governed almost uninterrupted since 1945, is due to hold a leadership contest next month, with the winner to become prime minister.
Mr Kishida, who has been in office since October 2021, has seen his and his party's poll ratings slide sharply in response to rising prices hitting Japanese incomes and several scandals.
The announcement comes amid revelations about his party's ties to the controversial Unification Church, and more recently, unrecorded political donations made at LDP fundraising parties.
He says he's been contemplating stepping down ever since the fundraising scandal emerged.
“This has been on my mind since the incident first occurred. Now that the diplomatic schedule has settled for the time being, I would like to make a clean break by stepping aside and moving on to support the presidential election.”
In sport,
Kyle Flanagan has been hit with a four-game NRL ban after he was found guilty of biting Canterbury captain Stephen Crichton's nose by the judiciary.
A gutted Flanagan was told of his fate after a two-hour process last night meaning the St George Illawarra five-eighth will not play again this season unless the ninth-placed Dragons reach the finals.
Flanagan maintained on several occasions during the hearing that he did not bite Crichton, while also claiming he did not know a nose was in his mouth.
The Dragons playmaker was adamant he was the initial victim in the incident, feeling pressured by Bulldogs defenders and poked in the eye by Crichton's nose.
