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TRANSCRIPT:
- A bipartisan approach to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament flagged ahead of the referendum;
- Police investigating an attack on the Top End's chief minister;
- Fan anger after an apparent bungle over tickets for the AFL Grand Final.
Anthony Albanese says he wants more bipartisanship to be shown on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.
He's announced plans for a joint parliamentary committee to be set up which will oversee the creation of the voice advisory group if Australians vote 'yes' in the referendum.
The Prime Minister says he's inviting the Opposition leader to back his promise to create the Committee with co-chairs from Labor and the Coalition.
"And I have confirmed that in a discussion I have had with Peter Dutton just over this weekend. I think it is important that if Australians vote yes that we move forward together to put in place the legislation with as broad as support as possible, in order to show the same spirit that we're asking Australians to show by voting yes on October 14."
The Prime Minister has made the remarks at the launch of the Uniting Church Yes23 Campaign today, standing alongside Liberal MP Julian Leeser - who in April stepped down from his role as opposition spokesman for Indigenous Affairs to continue his work over the last decade in support of an Indigenous Voice.
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Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has been left shaken after allegedly being assaulted at a market in Darwin.
A spokeswoman for Ms Fyles has confirmed reports of the assault but says the chief minister would not be making any immediate comment.
Police are understood to be investigating the incident.
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National Party of Australia leader David Littleproud has encouraged farmers to prepare for drought as dry conditions continue.
August saw severe rainfall deficiency impact farmers in parts of Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales, with the Bureau of Meteorology reporting August 2023 was the tenth-driest August on record in Australia.
Mr Littleproud has told Channel 9 there has been progress in the support provided to farmers, but precautions still need to be taken to prepare for difficult conditions.
"We've got a $5 billion future drought fund, farmers have been able to put away in their good years up to $1.6 million into what we call Farm Management Deposits, so that they can draw them down in the bad years. So there's a lot of a lot of progress that's been made. We have a National Drought strategy, but I think farmers have learned from the last time it's important that they make those decisions early that and that's what many are doing right now."
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The Business Council of Australia says it welcomes the progress that's been made towards developing a so-called National Skills Passport.
The national system is intended to help workers advertise their full range of qualifications, micro-credentials, prior learning, workplace experience and general capabilities - and the idea is to better connect workers with employers for in demand jobs that require specialised skills and training.
The proposal will be among nine new proposals set out tomorrow in the federal government's employment white paper.
Business Council chief executive Bran Black says the initiative is a game-changer and will enable Australians to store their qualifications easily, and make applying for a job simpler and more streamlined.
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Animal lovers are marking a special day today - it's World Gorilla Day.
World Gorilla Day was established in 2017 in honour of Dian Fossey who led groundbreaking research into the largest primate species in the world beginning in 1967.
Ashlee Thomas from Taronga Zoo in Sydney says gorillas are often under pressure in their natural environment.
"Some of the threats gorillas face in the wild include habitat loss from human and wildlife conflict. So they take off their habitat to mine fur content. They also face poaching for illegal pet trade and the bush meat trade. [[inaudible]] is a mineral that they mine, and it's used in phones and other tablets, and other types of technology."
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Controversy has erupted over the seating allocation ballot process for the A-F-L Grand Final next week, which will be fought out between the Collingwood Magpies and Brisbane Lions.
The A-F-L Fans Association says multiple priority one Collingwood members - who are meant to get an automatic seat for the final - have missed out, or have what they have described as inadequate seating allocations.
They've called for the A-F-L, Collingwood and Ticketek to conduct an urgent review of the ballot process.
In a statement, Ticketek says ballot results will be available from tomorrow at 9am AEST [[25 Sept]].
It says the ballot is being run appropriately, following the directives of the club, and that some Priority 1 Collingwood members may have missed out if they had selected "no standing room" [[in the ballot]].
They've been directed to contact the club’s membership department.
