TRANSCRIPT
- The federal government looking at options to protect Australians stranded in New Caledonia
- An Australian hospitalised after a mass shooting in Afghanistan; and in sports
- A setback for Formula One Australian ace Oscar Piastri
A 33-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly stabbing a police officer in Sydney's CBD.
Paramedics treated the officer for non-life threatening head injuries at the scene before he was taken to St Vincents Hospital.
Police say they have contained the scene on Elizabeth St, and there is no continuing threat to the public.
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Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong says the defence force is "ready to fly" out and help Australians stranded in New Caledonia amid deadly violence.
Commercial flights stopped a couple of days ago amid violence and anger over contested electoral reform that has seen six people killed.
A state of emergency has been declared in the French-ruled Pacific island.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the government is looking at ways to help Australians in New Caledonia.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are working very closely to examine the need to protect Australians that are in New Caledonia. We know that there is around 300 people are registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade."
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An Australian who was injured in a shooting in central Afghanistan is reported to be stable in a hospital in the nation's capital.
Joe McDowell was among eight foreigners and Afghans injured in central Bamyan province when gunmen opened fire, killing six people.
They include three Spanish tourists and three Afghan citizens.
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed it is providing consular assistance to an Australian in Afghanistan, but said it could not comment further for privacy reasons.
A photo of Mr McDowell from his hospital bed was posted on social media by Australian academic Jibra’il Omar, formerly known as Timothy Weeks.
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Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the Opposition’s plan to reduce net overseas migration to 160,000 – which is 100,000 less than Labor’s policy – would negatively impact the country's skilled labour and also cost the economy in terms of lost activity.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has promised that if elected in 2025, a Coalition government would introduce a two-year ban on foreigners buying existing homes, cut the number of international students, and reduce overseas net migration.
Nationals Leader David Littleproud told Sky News, the Coalition proposal to cut migration numbers, would not hurt regional Australia.
"What are the nation's priorities in our economy to make sure we get that balanced right. But also understanding there is also a housing shortage here in regional Australia. And we need to allow that to catch, but it is not as acute as the capital cities. So this is about making the tough decisions. Making the tough decisions that prioritise where the economy needs the support to continue to grow."
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In cycling, Italy's Filippo Ganna has won the stage 14 of the Giro d'Italia, beating race leader Tadej Pogacar for the victory.
But the Slovenian has extended his overall lead - with a time 3 minutes 41 seconds ahead of Geraint Thomas.
Pogacar says is he is happy to be strengthening his grip on the pink jersey.
"I'm super happy yeah. It's a good lead and tomorrow - let's see. We're ready with the team; and it's going to be a great stage, I think. We can be confident. We haved a great lead until second place. Maybe from second to ten place, it is more tight. So there is space for fighting for this."
Ganna set a blistering time of 35 minutes and 2 seconds for the 31.2km course - 29 seconds faster than Pogacar.
He says he is relieved to finally achieve his first victory of the year.
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In motor racing, Formula One Australian ace Oscar Piastri has suffered a setback - just when he was expecting to line up on the front row of the Emilia RomagnaGrand Prix at Imola.
Piastri had delivered one of the best qualifying performances of his F1 career on Saturday by finishing second behind Max Verstappen, leaving him in a strong position for Sunday's race.
But that hope was dashed as he was penalised three grid places for impeding Haas driver Kevin Magnussen in the first session of qualifying, dropping him to fifth from second on the grid.
