Aid could arrive in Gaza as early as Friday after Egypt agrees to open crossing; and Australia's unemployment rates falls further in September; and premiership-winner Gareth Widdop retires from professional rugby league.
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT
- Aid could arrive in Gaza as early as Friday after Egypt agrees to open crossing
- Australia's unemployment rates falls further in September
- Premiership-winner Gareth Widdop retires from professional rugby league
The Australian government is being urged by Australian aid groups to use its influence to seek an urgent ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
More than 30 Australian aid groups have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with the call.
Since the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, some 1,400 Israelis and about 3,500 Palestinians have been killed - and the numbers continue to rise.
The executive director of ActionAid Australia Michelle Higelin says action needs to be taken now to stop more loss of life.
"ActionAid has staff on the ground in Gaza as well as local partners. Overnight, we heard that people are lining up the streets of south Gaza. They have no access to food, water or safe shelter. Those who do have shelter have no access to mattresses, to blankets - basic humanitarian supplies which are vital in this crisis. This is a humanitarian catastrophe that is preventable and avoidable."
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden says Egypt is to be commended for agreeing to open the Rafah crossing to allow aid into Gaza.
He says up to 20 trucks could be delivering aid as soon as Friday.
—
The CEO of a Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation has criticised the federal opposition's push to have two inquiries into Indigenous communities, saying it using those communities as political footballs for electoral gain.
Federal opposition leader Peter Dutton was defeated in his push to bring a motion in the lower house of parliament to call for a royal commission into sexual abuse in Indigenous communities, providing no evidence for the need for an inquiry.
The motion also included a push for an audit on Indigenous spending.
Antoinette Braybrook from Djirra, which provides support for Indigenous women and children affected by family violence, says the inappropriateness of Mr Dutton's push has forced her to come out of her week of silence, announced by Indigenous leaders after the Voice referendum was defeated.
She urged him to stop politicising the safety pf Aboriginal women and children. She says it is important that the voices of those on the ground are heard and placed at the centre of the solutions.
—
Australians are being urged to be aware of the risks of osteoporosis and undertake an assessment to check bone health.
Olympic champion hurdler Sally Pearson joined Healthy Bones Australia in handing over the group's latest report to MPs at a Parliamentary Friends of Aged Care event.
The report finds more than 1.2 million Australians are living with osteoporosis and the prevalence is on the rise
Pearson says too many people are suffering unnecessarily from broken bones that could have been prevented.
"So it is not just the physical side breaking a bone that can hinder you. It is also that mental side of it - that people don't realise - and they don't see. They just think toughen up and get on with it. And we do do that in everyday life - and that is probably why we do end up hurting ourselves because we don't listen to that pain that is causing us so much heartache."
She says she backs the findings from the report which support preventative steps including: the earlier investigation of bone health and medical intervention if needed.
—
Australia's unemployment rate fell to 3.6 per cent in September - from 3.7 per cent in August.
The rate has remained between 3.4 per cent to 3.7 per cent range since June last year.
Kate Lamb from t he Australian Bureau of Statistics says the slight fall reflects the higher proportion of unemployed Australians who have given up on finding work.
Less than 7,000 jobs were created last month, lower than than the 20,000 number forecast by economists.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says he sees the data as good news, but warns unemployment is expected to rise.
"We welcome the fall in the unemployment rate. We welcome every one of those new jobs, given the economic challenges - global and domestic that we all confront together. But we still expect unemployment to rise as a consequence of higher interests and concern around China, and conflict in Europe and now the Middle East as well."
—
In Rugby League,
Premiership-winning five-eighth Gareth Widdop has retired with 195 N-R-L appearances to his name.
The 34-year-old Widdop, played with Melbourne and then St George Illawarra between 2010 and 2019, before returning home in 2020 to finish his career in the Super League at Warrington, and then Castleford.
Widdop became a fixture at Melbourne in the aftermath of the salary cap breaches that forced a roster upheaval, winning the Grand Final with the team in 2012.
Widdop, who also played 28 times for England, has said in a post on Instagram that "all good things come to an end."
