TRANSCRIPT
- Australian writer Yang Hengjun given a suspended death sentence in China.
- A key Senate crossbencher says the government should get new tax cuts passed as soon as possible.
- And in sport, Australia's men's hockey team start their Paris Olympics preparations in earnest.
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Australian writer Yang Hengjun has received a suspended death sentence in China.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says she has been told that this sentence can be commuted to life in prison after two years.
Dr Yang has been detained in China since January 2019 on espionage charges but the case against him has never been publicly disclosed.
His trial was held in secret in May 2021, but the verdict has only been handed down publicly today, after being postponed eight times.
Ms Wong says Australia is moving to formally object to the death sentence.
"The Australian government is appalled at this outcome. We will be communicating our response in the strongest terms. As a first step, I have directed my secretary to summon China's Ambassador to Australia to express our objection. I want to acknowledge the acute distress Dr Yang and his family will be feeling today, coming after years of uncertainty. My thoughts, the Prime Minister's thoughts, and, I think all Australians' thoughts, are with them."
Ms Wong says Dr Yang has further legal options available to him, and the government will continue to try to help him.
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A key Senate crossbencher says the government's proposed stage three tax cuts shouldn't be held up in negotiations over other matters.
There have been suggestions of a Senate inquiry into the tax cuts, as well as the government giving crossbenchers concessions on other issues to ensure their support for the tax cuts.
But Senator Jacqui Lambie has rubbished the idea of an inquiry, saying there are too many parliamentary inquiries already, and politicians should have better things to do with their time.
She says she'd like more funding for Indigenous university students, and some people on welfare.
However, she says she supports the tax cuts, and won't withdraw her support based on those issues.
"Yeah, you know, it's be really nice to see those on Abstudy, and, obviously, Youth Allowance, getting a little bit more money. And, obviously, our aged pensioners out there, they seem to be doing it really, really tough. But quite frankly, I don't want any argy-bargy about this. Let's get this through, and keep discussing the other matters."
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The Australian Federal Police is under fire over an anti-terrorism operation which targeted a 13-year-old boy with autism.
The boy was charged with terror offences and spent 3 months in custody, before the Children's Court of Victoria granted a permanent stay on the charges last October.
The children's court magistrate said an undercover AFP agent "fed the boy's fixation" with the so-called Islamic State and "doomed" his rehabilitation efforts.
At a Joint Parliamentary Committee today, Greens Senator David Shoebridge accused AFP Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney of radicalising the boy.
Mr McCartney said that was not the police organisation's intention.
McCartney: “The person was on the path to radicalisation long before we became involved, long before Victoria Police became involved.”
Shoebridge: “It was the AFP who recommended he become a sniper and a suicide bomber!"
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In hockey, Corey Weyer says his return to the Australian men's team couldn't be going better.
Weyer last played for the national side, the Kookaburras, in 2022.
He's forced his way back into the squad ahead of this year's Olympics in Paris with some strong performances in domestic club hockey.
He says his teammates have helped him re-adjust to being back in the national team.
"Yeah, getting back into training.... the guys have welcomed me back. I stayed in touch with a lot of them, being in Perth, and we're mates outside of hockey. So, yeah... really smooth transition back in, and same with all the coaches. It's like I've just fit back in. A few things I missed out on last year- some learnings with tactics and stuff. But, yeah, they've all been realy good welcoming back, and getting me back up to speed."
Australia starts a key lead-up event to the Olympics in India this weekend, where they will face the Netherlands, India, Ireland, and Spain in a tournament.
India and Ireland are amongst the teams in their group at the Olympics.
The Australian men were silver medal winners at the last Olympics in Tokyo.
The team has won the Olympic gold medal in men's hockey once, in Athens in 2004.
