TRANSCRIPT
- Aid groups demand the government uphold international law on World Humanitarian Day.
- Refugee advocates call for the evacuation of 140 people from offshore detention.
- And in sport, Katarzyna Niewiadoma wins the Tour de France Femmes by the narrowest of margins.
----
The Australian Council for International Development says it has never been more dangerous for humanitarian workers to provide assistance across the globe.
The council is one of many groups calling on the government to do more to uphold international humanitarian law, after the deadliest year on record for aid workers.
More than 60 humanitarian organisations, former politicians, and notable Australians signed an open letter, demanding accountability over breaches to the Geneva Conventions.
Their calls coincide with World Humanitarian Day.
Chief Executive of ACFID Marc Purcell says dangerous conditions make it difficult to provide much-needed aid.
"When humanitarian workers lives are put at threat, as increasingly they are in conflicts around the world, bad things happen for the people they're trying to serve. Food doesn't get through to those that need it. There is no health care, there is no shelter. So it's really important that governments, including our own government, take action and work with other states to protect them."
----
Refugee rights campaigners have presented a petition, calling for the evacuation of 140 people in offshore detention.
It follows the introduction of a bill today by independent MP Kylea Tink, to limit the detention of asylum seekers to 90 days and ban the detention of children.
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre presented the petition, which it says has 11,000 signatures.
Jana Favero from the centre says it shows the Australian community is against offshore detention.
"We come here year after year, we stand in protest, and we know the community is on our side. The need for action is abundantly clear. Doctors have ordered it. We need to make sure that people's human rights are upheld, and those who arrive on our shores seeking safety are able to live in the community and rebuild their lives."
----
The Multicultural Communities Council says it's concerned about the impacts of gambling on culturally and linguistically diverse groups in Australia.
It comes amid pressure on the Albanese Government from all sides of politics to impose a blanket ban on gambling advertising, as recommended by a bipartisan Parliamentary Inquiry.
Mark Franklin, president of the MCC chapter in New South Wales, says online gambling advertising has the greatest impact on CALD communities.
"The form of advertising makes out that advertising is essential to be involved in Australian life and Australian culture, which is certainly very bad example to new migrants. All we want is the government to implement the unanimous decision of the inquiry that all parties agreed on. So, the sooner it accepts its own findings and acts on them, the better."
----
The Sydney Metro has officially opened, almost a decade after the project was first proposed.
The $21 billion project is Australia's biggest public transport initiative.
New South Wales Transport Minister Jo Haylen was among those at the opening of the new metro line, which connects Chatswood in the city's northwest to Sydenham.
"This is a historic day for our city. This is a total gamechanger about how we move around our city. This is the biggest change to the way our public transport system works, and the way we move around our city since the opening of the Harbour Bridge. We now have a second rail crossing under our harbour. These trains go 100 kilometres an hour. They are fast and frequent and I think Sydney is going to be wowed by this new public transport service."
The first service departed just before 5am.
Passenger Hayley Johnson calls herself a metro enthusiast.
"The fact that it's driverless is just insane to me still. How fast it is. You feel it pull as you got out and the fact that it's the first thing going under the harbour, as deep as it is. It's just incredible."
----
In cycling,
Katarzyna Niewiadoma has won the Tour de France Femmes by four seconds.
The result is the closest gap in history between first and second overall, in both the men's and women's race.
The Polish rider crossed the finish line fourth in the final 150-kilometre stage.
She fought off defending champion Demi Vollering of the Netherlands, who launched an attack in the penultimate climb, to try to erase her one minute and 15 second deficit.
But it wasn't enough - Niewiadoma retaining the yellow jersey by the narrowest of margins.
“To be honest, for a second, I lost the faith that I could still do it. And then in the radio they were screaming so much in the last two kilometres. So I have to be honest, I’ve gone through such a terrible time in this climb. Like I hated everything to then like arriving at the finish line and learning that I won Tour de France which is insane."
