In this bulletin, prosecutors decline to reopen the decades-old case of missing child Cheryl Grimmer, intense scrutiny on Labor’s migration policy ahead of its release. And in sport, a crocodile habitat in Queensland confirmed as the 2032 Olympics rowing site.
Key Points
- NSW DPP declines to reopen Cheryl Grimmer case
- Labor under fire as it prepares to unveil migration policy
- Controversial site revealed for 2032 Brisbane Olympics rowing
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TRANSCRIPT
The New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions has decided not to reopen an investigation into the disappearance of Cheryl Grimmer more than 50 years ago.
A man had been charged in 2017 with the murder of the three-year-old after she vanished from a Fairy Meadow beach in 1970 - but the trial was abandoned after the court ruled his confession, made as a teenager, was not admissible.
Cheryl's family has campaigned extensively for the case to be reopened.
But the BBC is reporting that DPP Director Sally Dowling won’t revisit the decision to abandon the trial.
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Intense scrutiny has already been placed on Labor's migration policy despite it not being officially released.
Cabinet minister Tanya Plibersek has defended the delay in releasing the policy and dismissed suggestions the migration debate has sparked dissent from within government ranks.
Meanwhile the Coalition has questioned Labor's commitment to reducing net overseas migration ahead of the government's policy launch.
The Coalition hasn't detailed its migration targets, but Shadow Defence Minister James Paterson says it will be significantly different to Labor's.
"Certainly, Labor's unwillingness to reduce migration numbers in any meaningful way is a big part of the problem. But also, frankly, we doubt their genuine sincerity in trying to do this. It's been clear from the fact that the ideas we put forward to them were pretty much universally dismissed that their heart is not in this; that they actually don't want to get migration numbers down; that they don't want to actually lift migration standards up, and therefore, it's very hard to work with them."
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More than 80 people have been killed in a gold mine collapse in Sudan.
Emergency Response Rooms member Suleiman Abu Hmeida says that rescuers have pulled out 82 bodies so far, while dozens remain unaccounted for at the al-Zara site in Nuhud, a town in West Kordofan province controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF.
The gold mine is one of thousands of small-scale and informal mines scattered across Sudan as the RSF continues its fight against the Sudanese military.
Its collapse follows a call from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for countries to be held responsible for their part in fueling the conflict.
"We have no intelligence services, but this was analysed by the panel of experts at the Security Council and the conclusions are clear. And in my opinion, there should be accountability for the kind of interference in which some countries provide weapons to parties to a conflict when those weapons are used massively to attack civilians."
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Labor has bowed to mounting pressure and scrapped a planned $5000 cap on veterans' allied health payments.
The limit on annual services for veterans had originally been set to come into effect from July next year.
The proposal, however, had attracted widespread condemnation across the parliament, with the coalition, Greens and crossbench all calling for Labor to dump the measure.
Veterans' Affairs Minister Matt Keogh now says the cap will not be imposed, news that former ADF member, independent MP Jacquie Lambie, is celebrating.
"Have a great weekend. Have a beer, have too many beers or whatever... You beauty. And we're backing up to make sure they never ever try it again."
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Animals at the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra will begin receiving vaccinations against bird flu from next week.
Agriculture minister Julie Collins says little penguins and some parrots have been selected to receive immunisations to protect them from the H5N1 strain.
No cases of the deadly variant have yet been detected in the A-C-T, but cases have been discovered elsewhere in Australia.
The minister says the government has been taking the advice of their technical experts as they try to protect animals in the nation's capital - and across Australia.
"We are only able to vaccinate captive birds or managed populations of birds. This is because the birds require two vaccines. They need to have the first vaccine to be monitored and then have a second vaccine a few weeks apart. So, we have been working with all the states and territories who have been prioritising the vaccination of particular species in their jurisdictions."
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To sport, a river known to be inhabited by crocodiles has been named by authorities as the rowing venue for the 2032 Olympics in Queensland.
Premier David Crisafulli has told state parliament that Central Queensland's Fitzroy River in Rockhampton passed an International Olympic Committee assessment "with flying colours".
World Rowing and Paddle Worldwide has also endorsed the controversial site for the 2032 competition.
The Games Authority would now proceed with detailed planning, design and construction.
