TRANSCRIPT
- Multiple UN agencies call for urgent action to help more than half a million people in Gaza trapped in famine
- A milestone in Aboriginal land rights remembered 50 years on
- Australia take on Samoa at the Women's Rugby World Cup
Multiple UN agencies have repeated calls for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access, as famine is officially confirmed in Gaza.
The latest report by the UN-backed group responsible for monitoring global hunger crises says 514,000 people are experiencing famine in Gaza - a quarter of the population, with that number expected to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.
It is the first time the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system has recorded famine outside of Africa.
Dr Mark Manary is an expert on child malnutrition at Washington University. He says now that so many people are already experiencing famine, regular food is not enough to save them.
"So when somebody is malnourished, how can they recover? Well, the answer is fairly simple. It's being provided therapeutic food. Therapeutic food is food that is completely replete with all the nutrients that are needed in ample quantities. If you had enough food in Gaza today for everyone to eat as much as they wanted, it would be three months before everyone would be recovered. But a week's worth of therapeutic food is life-saving."
Israel controls the flow of aid into Gaza and has dismissed the findings as biased.
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Workers in the childcare sector say staffing issues remain unaddressed, after Friday's meeting on childcare safety attended by state and territory ministers.
The ministers have agreed to establish a national register of childcare workers to be trialled and launched in early 2026.
There will also be a CCTV trial that will run at 300 centres across the country from October or November.
Preeti Soodan, from the United Workers Union, says there needs to be change to ensure adequate staffing numbers.
"When we talk about the under roof ratio, it is extremely important to have minimum staff, as per that licensing of the childcare centre because it leads to... It is important that it should meet the Australian quality framework. And we are just demanding for the bare minimum, which is essential for the safety and wellbeing of the children."
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Members of the Gurindji community in the Northern Territory are marking 50 years since the Gurindji land handback, a historic turning point for Aboriginal land rights in Australia.
After an almost decade-long struggle, in 1975 then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam poured sand into the hands of Gurindji man Vincent Lingiari - granting his people a lease to a parcel of land on the Wave Hill cattle station.
The moment paved the way for the Aboriginal Land Rights Movement – and the Northern Territory Aboriginal Land Rights Act.
For the first time Indigenous Australians could claim land rights if they could prove traditional ownership.
Gurindji Elder George Edwards says the community has come together this weekend - for the annual Gurindji Freedom Day Festival - to mark the significance of that moment, and the leadership shown by Vincent Lingiari then and the historic Wave Hill Walk-off a decade earlier.
"He was a great leader. He was the leader of the tribe, all tribe... Mr Lingiari, he was a great man. He was a hero for me. For what he done for us, done for our people."
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In Rugby Union, Wallaroos co-captain Emily Chancellor says the team wants to make a strong statement in their opening game against Samoa at the Women's Rugby World Cup.
The game takes place in Manchester later tonight.
Australia's best women's World Cup finish was a third-place showing in New Zealand in 2010.
There are ten Wallaroos players on their World Cup debuts - and forging strong group ties has been a focus of the preparation.
Trilleen Pomare competed for Australia at the 2017 and 2021 Rugby World Cups.
She says this time Australia is in it to win it.
"Just a prideful country, I think it really means a lot for them to put on their jersey and represent their families and their nation. So we're going to expect a real tough, physical battle upfront. They have some threats that we're not really taking lightly. First round as well, we're both going to want it. We both start off on the front foot to make sure our campaign is on track. But at the same time, we've got to make sure we do our jobs upfront."
