The prime minister refutes China's spying accusations after aircraft near miss; criticism of the environmental impact of the federal government's fresh commitment to gas, and in sport, another AFL player suspended for a homophobic slur during a game.
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TRANSCRIPT
- The prime minister refutes China's spying accusations after aircraft near miss
- Criticism of the environmental impact of the federal government's fresh commitment to gas
- Another AFL player suspended for a homophobic slur during a game.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has once again refuted China's explanation for the incident between the Chinese Air Force and an Australian navy helicopter last weekend.
The Chinese Defence Ministry says a J-10 jet launched flares at an Australian Seahawk helicopter because the helicopter had been sent three times to conduct close-in reconnaissance, and disturb normal Chinese training activities.
It says it gave the Australians a verbal warning before taking what it described as reasonable steps which forced the helicopter to take evasive action.
But Mr Albanese says the helicopter was taking a routine flight in international waters in the Yellow Sea, as part as efforts to enforce UN sanctions on North Korea.
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Australia has pledged more than $110 million to the small Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu in a new pact, as the federal government tries to ward off the threat of China's influence in the Pacific region.
There's a newfound emphasis on Tuvalu's sovereignty in the pact.
After February's election, Tuvalu's Prime Minister, Feleti Teo, expressed concern about Tuvalu's sovereignty, due to a treaty between Australia and Tuvalu that stated Australia had to agree to any security pacts Tuvalu made with other countries.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says the need for Australia and Tuvalu to work closely together remains unchanged.
"Australia's vision for the region is grounded in respect- respect for sovereignty, respect for your priorities. Fundamentally, sovereignty- what does it mean? It's about being able to chart your own destiny, it's about being able to make your own choices. The thing about sovereignty is this- it is best assured by working together."
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The federal government's future gas strategy has provoked intense debate about the impact of gas use on the environment.
The new strategy locks in gas use for homes, the electricity grid, industry, and exports through until at least 2050.
The alliance of farmers and conservationists, Lock The Gate, says the policy will cause Australia to fail to meet its climate targets, while the climate group 350 Australia says the policy will lead to more pollution.
But the Chief Executive of Australian Energy Producers, Samantha McCulloch, says the use of gas is consistent with having net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
"We have been saying for some time that natural gas is a central pillar of the net-zero transformation. That's because of the role of natural gas in backing up renewables in power generation, and supporting that shift away from coal ... in supporting our manufacturing sector, where there are few alternatives to natural gas for things like high-temperature heat and for feed stock. Natural gas is also a key component of low-carbon hydrogen. It's another exciting opportunity."
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Victorian premier Jacinta Allan says additional federal government funding for Melbourne's North East Link toll road is of benefit to the whole nation, not just Victoria.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged 3.25 billion dollars in next week's federal budget to the project, to be used on non-tolled parts of the road.
The project is expected to cut travel times between Melbourne's north and south-east by up to 35 minutes, and to take 15,000 trucks per day off smaller local roads when it is completed in 2028.
However, it has been troubled by rising costs, after being priced at $15.1 billion in 2017, and is now expected to cost $26.1 billion.
Ms Allan says Melbourne's status as a large, and still-growing, city, merits federal funding.
"This is such a vital project for our state. And it's great that the Prime Minister has recognised, too, the partnership- that this is a vital project for our nation as well, because of those benefits, because we're a growing city and state. And for too long, for too long, projects like this- big, important, job-generating projects like this- were ignored by the previous Liberal-National government. They barely knew where Melbourne was on a map."
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Another AFL player has been suspended for using a homophobic slur against an opponent during a game.
Gold Coast Suns defender Wil Powell will have to sit out his side's next five matches after using the slur in last Sunday's game against the Brisbane Lions.
It trumps the three-match suspension recently given to Port Adelaide player Jeremy Finlayson for a similar incident.
Like Finlayson, Powell self-reported his mistake.
His club says he apologised to the Lions player concerned both during and after the game.
