TRANSCRIPT
- The government threatens new laws to target the CFMEU
- Tropical Storm Debby downgraded after leaving at least seven people dead
- St Kilda confirms they will not be pursuing disgraced former player Tarryn Thomas
The CFMEU is staring down a threat to place the embattled union's construction division into external administration, forcing the government to go over their heads with new laws.
Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt will introduce new laws giving the minister the power to decide whether it's in the public interest to appoint an administrator to the union's construction and general division.
An administrator would be appointed for three years and also allow the minister to determine an administration scheme if it's in the public interest.
It follows a series of allegations the construction division was linked to organised crime and bikie groups.
Senator Watt says it's clear the CFMEU won't promptly consent to a Fair Work Commission application for administration and there would likely be significant delays during the court process.
"It is clear that the CFMEU will not consent to that application anytime soon. For that reason, the Albanese government will introduce a bill to deal with this situation when parliament returns next week. This is a significant step taken to clean up one division of one union. The legislation will not apply to other unions or divisions of the CFMEU other than the construction and general division."
Tropical Storm Debby has been downgraded to a tropical depression after leaving at least seven people dead in its wake across the United States southeast this week.
Debby made landfall yesterday for a second time this week, arriving on shore again near Bulls Bay, South Carolina, three days after slamming into Florida's Gulf Coast as a Category 1 hurricane.
Residents in North Carolina woke up to widespread flooding from the heavy rainfall, saying they pray it will be the end of the rains.
"It was scary not knowing when the rain was going to stop. That was really scary. We are waiting for the water to go down so we can help everybody get their stuff cleaned up and get back in their buildings and see what damage is done. The drains are working pretty good right now. The water's going down really fast. We're just praying that we don't get any more rain."
Debby is currently spiralling northward toward Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York, where it's forecast to spawn a few tornadoes and threaten more flash flooding on some already soaked patches of the U-S.
The National Weather Service says that while Debby would continue to weaken until Sunday, it's still likely to spawn heavy rain and flooding along its path.
The Victorian Labor government says work is nearly complete on a new housing project in Brunswick West with the new capacity hoping to address a significant demand for social housing in the state.
State Housing Minister Harriet Shing has visited the Harvest Square site in Brunswick West
The government has invested $86 million to replace 81 public housing homes with 198 new homes - with 119 of those dedicated for social housing, a nearly 50 per cent increase in housing at the site.
The site will be a mix of social and market rentals, with the majority of homes dedicated for women on the Victorian Housing Register.
The fastest growing demographic at risk of or experiencing homelessness is single women over the age of 55.
Housing Minister Shing says this is one part of a broader plan to help house women at risk.
"We also know that victim survivors of family violence are a big part of the wait list and continue to drive the work that we are doing to provide support and assistance. And it sits alongside the other work that is necessary as part of the crisis accommodation, transitional housing, and homelessness spaces."
Indigenous languages will be gathered from across Australia for an archive project aimed at preserving them and their hundreds of dialects.
The University of Queensland and Australian Research Data Commons will develop the archive, also intended to help people better understand the myriad of native tongues and explore their heritage, culture and history.
project director Michael Haugh said.Australia was one of the world's most diverse continents linguistically with more than 250 Indigenous languages, including 800 dialects, in Australia with each language geographically particular to place and people.
In AFL,
St Kilda CEO has confirmed they will not be pursuing disgraced former North Melbourne player Tarryn Thomas after the club faced backlash over a meeting with the player.
Saints head of talent and acquisition Graeme Allan met with Thomas on Tuesday, fuelling speculation the club was set to offer the 24-year-old a career lifeline.
Thomas is currently ineligible to play football at any level after an A-F-L integrity unit investigation in February found he had engaged in multiple acts of misconduct, including threatening a woman in direct messages.
He was suspended for 18 matches and subsequently axed by North Melbourne.
St Kilda boss Carl Dilena released a statement on the club's website confirming that they chose to not pursue Thomas.
