Pro-Palestinian activists crash Victorian Labor's state conference; an Australian among those injured in a deadly incident of gunfire in Afghanistan; and in football, Australia wins the hosting rights to the 2026 Women's Asian Cup.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Pro-Palestinian activists crash Victorian Labor's state conference
- An Australian among those injured in a deadly incident of gunfire in Afghanistan
- In football, Australia wins the hosting rights to the 2026 Women's Asian Cup
Pro-Palestinian protesters have gatecrashed a Labor state conference in Melbourne, targeting the prime minister over Australia's response to the Israel-Hamas war.
Anthony Albanese is among attendees at the two-day event at the Moonee Valley Racecourse.
Dozens of pro-Palestine protesters breached security and entered the course after 10am, forcing staff to lock the doors to the conference room.
The group chanted "Labor Party you can't hide, you're supporting genocide" after making their way upstairs.
They were later moved on.
Several motions related to the conflict in Gaza are scheduled for debate later today, including one calling for an "end to military co-operation with Israel".
Inside the conference venue, Mr Albanese told delegates, the federal budget showed the government places great importance on access to education.
"In our party we know that education opens the doors of opportunity. And that's why we're backing the aspiration of Australian students and graduates, wiping $3 billion of student debt and fixing the student loan system so that it's simpler and fairer into the future. Because under Labor governments, higher education is about changing lives, not a life time of debt."
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Customers who assault or abuse workers in the retail, hospitality and transport sectors in Victoria are set to face harsher penalties under law changes.
In a speech to the Victorian Labor State Conference, Premier Jacinta Allan announced her government would introduce legislation to crack down on attacks on consumer-facing workers.
Ms Allan spoke of her own experience, working at local supermarkets while at school and later university.
"And customers became part of my life every single day. Back then most of the time it was fine, but every so often we would get a customer barking demands - willing to shout at you or call you names."
The move has been welcomed by the union for workers in the retail, fast food and warehouse sectors.
SDA state secretary Michael Donovan says there has been a 50 per cent increase in violence against retail workers in Victoria.
"We have been campaigning for a long time against customer abuse and violence and we're very happy that the government has listened and is acting. We have seen our members pushed, punched, spat on; had things thrown at them, had their lives threatened, and have been stabbed. This sort of outbreak of violence and abuse has to be stopped. We want to see steep increases in the penalties. And we're very happy that the government is working to stop this violence that is happening to our members."
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The Department of Foreign Affairs says it is providing consular assistance to an Australian in Afghanistan, following reports of deadly incident of gunfire in central Afghanistan.
Three foreign tourists and an Afghan were killed in the incident. Their identities have not been revealed.
Hospital sources have identified the nationalities of those injured, including three Afghans and four foreign nationals from Australia, Norway, Lithuania and Spain.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack in Bamyan - home to a UNESCO world heritage site, and the remains of two giant Buddha statues that were blown up by the Taliban during their previous rule in 2001.
The Taliban's interior ministry says four people have been arrested.
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In football, the Matildas will get another chance to thrill local football fans on home soil with Australia named as the host nation for the 2026 Asian Cup.
The decision was confirmed at a meeting of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) executive committee in Bangkok [[Wed]], after Australia was the only member nation to submit a bid to host the tournament.
The 2023 Women's World Cup, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, was a huge success with the Matildas making it all the way to the semi-finals before losing the third-place playoff to Sweden.
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Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has described the midweek match against Manchester City as the "worst experience" of his 28-year managerial career.
The Spurs lost 2-nil at home to City, allowing the victors to go to the top of the Premier League heading into the final day of the season.
Postecoglou admitted he was wrong to scoff at suggestions that Spurs fans would want their own side to lose in order to deny rivals Arsenal the Premier League title.
He also suggested there was a "fragility" to the club.
Reflecting on those remarks, he says he was feaful of having his integrity questioned.
"Once I realised that I got it wrong - in terms of what the atmosphere was going to be like and what people felt - I got a real anxiety within me of what happens if Man City, who are the best team in the world and who were disposing of teams quite easily in the lead up. What if we play as well as we can, but they beat us five-nil. I got in cold sweats thinking about people's questioning my integrity."
