TRANSCRIPT
- Foreign Minister Penny Wong says a summit of Indian Ocean nations provides an opportunity to build stronger alliances
- Concerns raised over the level of safeguards for consumers in the Digital Identity Bill
- In basketball, a win for Australia's Opals brings them closer to qualifying for the Olympics
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says she is looking forward to building a strong alliance among nations in the Indian Ocean at a two-day summit in Perth.
Indian Ocean Conference is being attended by 400 delegates from 40 countries, including Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
Ms Wong says there is a great diversity among the nations in the Indian Ocean, but there are also common goals including peace, stability and prosperity.
"We talk a lot about the Indo-Pacific and a lot of the time we do look to the Pacific region - and we do look north to ASEAN and North Asia but the Indian Ocean is also essential to Australia's prosperity and our security. This is one of our primary areas of strategic interest. We want to contribute to the strategic balance of the region. That's the message I am taking into meetings today with ministers. That we all have a role in building the region that we want."
A parliamentary inquiry on the Digital ID Bill has heard the level of protections for individuals on privacy, redress and the use of biometric data are inadequate.
The bill was introduced by the federal government to parliament in November to implement a phased roll-out of an economy-wide digital identity system.
Elizabeth O'Shea, the founder of Digital Rights Watch, told the inquiry, a lot more work needs to be done to ensure there are appropriate safeguards for consumers.
"I think there are many people that understand there is utility in being able to provide digital identity or verification of that. So there is an appetite for this scheme. But I think it is critically important that it be directed only at the mission of providing digital identity services, not facilitating profiling, law enforcement access. You know even private sector engagement with it. I think there is real utility in making sure those safeguards are in place."
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Australia's second largest telecommunications company, Optus, owes 3,744 current and former employees more than $7.8 million in back pay.
That includes $5.4 million in wages and entitlements and $2.4 million in superannuation and interest.
The underpaid employees included retail consultants and store managers over a six-period to March 2020.
Singtel Optus self-reported the underpayments by Optus Retail to the Fair Work Ombudsman in April 2021 following an internal review.
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The Reserve Bank of Australia will soon be asking for public input on a new design of the five-dollar note.
The RBA announced after the Queen's death that it would change the five-dollar note to a new design honouring the culture and history of First Australians, rather than choosing to use the image of King Charles.
The Queen has featured on the five-dollar note since 1992.
Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock told a parliamentary committee that the central bank would start asking for public input in March.
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In basketball, Australia's Opals team is on the cusp of Olympic qualification after defeating hosts Brazil 60-55.
Australia led by as many as 14 points before a horror offensive stretch saw them go scoreless for almost seven minutes.
But after restricting a fired-up Brazil to just seven points in the second quarter, the team relied on their defence to seal an important first-up win in the three-game series.
The Opals play Germany on Sunday and Serbia on Monday.
The top three teams in the four-team group will qualify for the Olympics.
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The medals handed out to the winners at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic games are to feature real pieces of the Eiffel Tower.
The organisers have unveiled the design for the hexagon-shaped medals, which are partly forged out of scrap metal from past refurbishments of one of the world's most iconic monuments.
The 5084 medals set to be handed out for this year's games* will be produced at France's national mint.
Head designer Joachim Roncin says they wanted the medals to have a French touch.
"We thought that the the Eiffel Tower would be this cherry on the top, so we had this idea, and of course, it's something incredible, having a gold medal plus a piece of the history of France."
