Calls for an independent investigation into the death of an Australian in Israel; The Health Minister responds to claims of gender bias in the Medicare system; And in sport, former AFL star Sam Fisher pleads guilty to charges related to drug trafficking.
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TRANSCRIPT
In this bulletin;
- Calls for an independent investigation into the death of an Australian in Israel;
- The Health Minister responds to claims of gender bias in the Medicare system;
- And in sport, former AFL star Sam Fisher pleads guilty to charges related to drug trafficking.
Calls for an independent investigation into the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom are mounting.
Channel 9 have reported that Ms Frankcom's family are pushing for a war crimes investigation into her death.
The Israeli Defence Forces say the preliminary investigation into the strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen workers was a grave mistake, and caused by misidentification.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says comments made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aren't acceptable.
"What isn't good enough is the statements that have been made, including that this is just a product of war. This is against humanitarian law."
Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham told Sky News he expects a transparent investigation.
"Australia would expect no less in any other circumstance where an Australian citizen is killed, particularly where they are killed through the actions of a foreign government or their defence forces, so it’s appropriate for us to have those expectations but it’s also appropriate for us to test the findings of those investigations when they are made public."
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There are calls for the federal government to urgently make changes to the Medicare system, amid claims there are gender bias in rebates for medical procedures.
Women's health specialists say it's costing women more money and disincentivising women's health practitioners.
Gynaecologists, obstetricians and midwives are calling for an urgent gender review of the Medicare Benefits Schedule, alleging inequality in how procedures are subsidised for women compared to those provided for men.
They say unequal rules are also cutting women out of eligibility for certain procedures despite them being available for men.
Health Minister Mark Butler says he knows there's more to be done to combat structural bias in the Medicare system.
"Even before the election, I said, and others in Labor, said that we were hearing the reports from women about a really clear structural bias in healthcare systems. Some of them are potentially about the structure of the Medicare benefit schedule, but we conducted a very broad, detailed survey of Australian women right across the country and asked them about their experiences in healthcare, and they did report very serious issues about bias in the system."
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The prime minister has given a strong indication energy bill relief will be delivered in the upcoming Federal Budget.
More than 100-thousand households across Australia on electricity hardship payments, an increase of 60 per cent since Labor came to power.
In a speech to a small business summit, Anthony Albanese hinted to additional relief, saying that small businesses and families will be front and centre of the government’s thinking.
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Workers have started the demolition of buildings struck in Taiwan's 7.2 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday.
The quake killed at least nine people and injured over one thousand others.
Excavators were seen moving rubble from damaged buildings and workers were seen drilling on the exterior wall of a tilted building and spraying water.
Mayor Hsu Chen-wei visited the site on Thursday morning [[4/4/24]] and said the government is trying to increase awareness among the population.
"Since the earthquake which hit Taiwan in 1999, the central and local government are trying to increase the awareness among the people, emphasise the importance of self-protection, and pull in resources from various authorities to help the effort."
The earthquake was the strongest in 25 years, hitting the sparsely populated eastern county of Hualien just as people were travelling to work and school.
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And in sport,
Former AFL star Sam Fisher has pleaded guilty to six charges relating to drug trafficking.
Appearing by video link in Victoria’s County court, Fisher admitted his involvement in a cross-country drug smuggling operations, which involved the transportation of a large quantity of drugs, including methamphetamine and cocaine.
Fisher’s lawyer told the court the former footballer’s offences had occurred at a time his life where he had spiralled out of control.
Fisher played 228 games and won two best and fairest awards in his time at the Saint Kilda Football Club in Melbourne.
He will return to court on April 29 for a plea hearing.
