TRANSCRIPT
In this bulletin;
- International trade and climate change top of agenda at APEC summit;
- MP responds to report on sexual harassment against migrant women;
- And in football, Australia up against Saudi Arabia for a World Cup qualifier match in Melbourne.
The world's largest economies are looking to shore up international trade and climate change action ahead of an expected shake-up under incoming US president Donald Trump.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has landed in Peru for the APEC summit alongside Agriculture Minister Julie Collins.
Mr Albanese says he will be working with international partners to promote fair trade and stronger trade ties in the region and beyond.
"There'll be discussions about the World Trade Organisation as well, and reform, making sure that free and fair trade benefits the people of our region and indeed the people of the globe."
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Federal MP Tanya Plibersek has responded to a report that found 51 per cent of migrant women on temporary visas have been sexually harassed.
A report documenting the experience of 3,000 migrant women on temporary visas also found seventy-five per cent of those women did not report the incident because they feared losing their job and having their visa cancelled.
The majority of participants were on temporary visas and came from 55 nations with the top four countries of origin being China, Colombia, Nepal and Brazil.
Federal Labor MP Tanya Plibersek says its an ongoing issue that needs to be addressed.
"I wish we could say this was an issue in history. That we look back on with horror. It's not. It's an issue that women are still living and experiencing everyday."
Unions New South Wales says significant reforms are needed to address the problem.
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Opposition leader Peter Dutton says the government's priority should be legislating a minimum age of social media.
Labor plans to legislate a duty of care as part of an update to the online safety act, requiring social media companies to proactively address potential harms on their platforms.
The duty of care is similar to existing rules in Europe, and would specify harm categories that could include young people, mental wellbeing, illegal content and the instruction or promotion of harmful practices.
Mr Dutton says the government should focus on getting an age ban through this year.
"We welcome the Government's commitment to the announcement that we've made, but we think it should be legislated by Christmas. No carve outs for the companies as the Government's now talking about. These social media companies couldn't care less about Australian kids, so we have to and we have to make sure the online environment is a safe one for them."
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Workplace relations minister Murray Watt says he is pleased with the unemployment rate remaining stable.
"This is the direct result of the responsible economic policy being led by the Albanese Labor government, which is creating more new jobs, wages going up, more secure jobs, and also, at the same time, driving down the level of industrial conflict in our workplaces."
Whilst the job rate remains stable, the total number of hours worked increased in October
Opposition workplace relations spokesperson Michaelia Cash says that's evidence of the pressure households are under.
"The number of hours worked, yet again, has increased. And what this clearly shows is more and more Australians, because of the Albanese government's cost of living crisis, are either having to take on an additional job, or alternatively in their current job, they're actually having to work for more hours."
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Australia is up against Saudi Arabia for an important World Cup qualifier at Melbourne's AAMI Park tonight.
Coach Tony Popovic and midfielder Jackson Irvine say the team are ready for the match, despite knowing Saudi Arabia will be a tough opponent.
This game and the next match against Bahrain are crucial to Australia achieving direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
