The Opposition Foreign Affairs spokesman says Israel has shown accountability after the killing of seven aid workers, Police locate a man who became seperated from a group of 15 asylum seekers in Western Australia, Melbourne Victory coach Tony Popovic says he's focusing on the game, rather than his future at the club.
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TRANSCRIPT
- The Opposition Foreign Affairs spokesman says Israel has shown accountability after the killing of seven aid workers
- Police locate a man who became separated from a group of 15 asylum seekers in Western Australia
- Melbourne Victory coach Tony Popovic says he's focusing on the game, rather than his future at the club.
Opposition Foreign Affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham says the decision of the Israeli government to stand down two officers and reprimand three commanders shows accountability, following the killing of seven aid workers.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has confirmed Australia will appoint a special advisor into Israel Defence Forces' investigations into the Gaza strike which killed World Central Kitchen workers, including Australian Zomi Frankcom.
Asked about whether he believes the Israeli government has breached international law, Mr Birmingham says he is not qualified nor in possession of the facts to give that legal judgment.
But he told the ABC the Coalition wants to see clear action in terms of understanding how the death of Zomi Frankcom occurred.
Police have confirmed they've located a man who has been missing since Friday [[April 5]] in far north Western Australia after becoming seperated from a group of 15 asylum seekers.
Authorities had launched an urgent search after a boatload of men arrived illegally in the far north Kimberley region.
A plane understood to be carrying the rest of the group to Nauru departed this morning - April 7.
The boat arrival is understood to be the third illegal maritime landing on Australian soil in under six months.
Opposition Home Affairs spokesman James Paterson says that's something the Albanese government needs to be held accountable for.
"It's the 13th boat since the election to attempt an illegal people smuggling venture. And it's no surprise why aerial surveillance hours under this government's watch have dropped 20 per cent. Maritime patrol days have dropped 12 per cent, and the result of that is people are getting through, they're getting on shore, and our border protection regime is being undermined. The Minister for Home Affairs needs to stand up today and explain yet another failure on her watch, yet another collapse of our border protection regime."
Several Sydney communities have been flooded following record-breaking downpours, as southeast Queensland braces for heavy rain.
Further river rises and moderate to major flooding is expected along the Hawkesbury River, northwest of Sydney, from Richmond to Pitt Town.
More than 107 warnings were in place late last night and 20 evacuation orders issued, with 32 emergency alerts still in place this morning.
But New South Wales State Emergency Commisioner Carlene York says authorities efforts are now turning toward recovery for many areas.
"What we're moving to today is to assess the damage at those different communities across the state that have been affected by this significant weather event and working with our partner agencies to do that. And as soon as it's safe, we will be lifting those evacuation orders so that people can go into their houses and start cleaning up all their properties. So I'd ask people to be patient. If you do need help with cleaning up ring 132 500, and we can assist you."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has criticised a plan released by Opposition leader Peter Dutton on nuclear energy.
It comes after Mr Dutton pledged to deliver the first small modular reactors into the grid by the mid-2030s if elected.
He assured residents and businesses in coal communities they would would have cheaper power prices offered to them to switch from retiring coal-fired generators to nuclear power.
But the Prime Minister says there isn’t a single private sector organisation putting their hand up saying they wanted to fund a nuclear reactor in Australia.
He says the plan makes no sense.
"Peter Dutton, of course, has had this policy now for a while, but he continues to change it. I'm not quite sure whether it's large nuclear reactors because the small modular reactors that he's spoken about, of course, don't exist. So he's speaking about large scale nuclear reactors, which can't be built some would say for decades, but even he himself is more than a decade off."
Melbourne Victory coach Tony Popovic says he won't let speculation over his future get in the way of attempting to claim the A-League Men trophy despite being uncontracted beyond this season.
After their 2-1 derby win over Melbourne City at AAMI Park, Victory sit third, five points behind leaders Central Coast and second-placed Wellington, with an eye on the premiership and championship.
But Popovic's three-season deal will expire at season's end and he has suggested further talks regarding a potential extension will be sidelined until then.
