TRANSCRIPT
In this bulletin;
- Japan set to welcome first female PM following coalition deal;
- Defence Minister says jobs expected to flow from AUKUS defence agreement;
- And in AFL, coaches named ahead of first State of Origin game in almost 27 years.
Japan is set to welcome their first female prime minister Sanae Takaichi, after her Liberal Democratic Party agreed to a coalition deal with the right-wing Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin.
Takaichi's appointment marks a huge shift in a country where women hold fewer than one in five parliamentary seats and almost all big corporations are run by men.
But her prime ministership is unlikely to signal progressive change, instead marking a turn to the right on immigration and social issues.
The deal between the LDP and Ishin will deliver a combined 231 seats in the lower house of parliament, two short of a majority, meaning the new coalition will still need support from other parties to push through legislation.
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Defence Minister Richard Marles highlighted the jobs expected to flow from the AUKUS defence agreement after US President Donald Trump expressed his support for the pact overnight.
There had been a degree of uncertainty around the submarine deal, which is under review by the US, but speaking in Adelaide, Mr Marles says AUKUS is on track to provide a major boost for Australian industry.
"AUKUS is happening, and in the process, what we will see at this site, at the Osborne Naval Shipyard, is the building of our future nuclear powered submarines, and in time, this workplace will have 7,000 employees working on submarines, on the Hunter Class Frigates and that will be the largest, the most complex industrial facility in our country."
He says the construction of a specialised skills and training academy - backed by $480 million in federal funding - is due to be completed in 2027.
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Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has dismissed calls from a Melbourne business owners to place a ban on protest activity in the CBD until the end of the year.
Restaurateur Chris Lucas made the suggestion in the wake of two years of weekly pro-Palestine protests, and one violent clash with police last week.
After police were pelted with projectiles on Sunday, the state opposition has intensified pressure on the government, saying people don't feel safe.
But Ms Allan says only a very small group of people were involved, and it would be wrong to conflate the incident with protests more broadly.
"I take my advice around community safety the deployment the Victoria police resources from the chief commissioner of Victoria Police, and I do want to make it very clear, though, if there are no plans to ban protests, completely."
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A Greens MP has questioned Australia's priorities, after the Australian Defence Force announced a Chinese fighter jet deployed flares near a Royal Australian Air Force aircraft yesterday.
MP Nick McKim spoke to Channel Nine earlier today asking where the government was when locals on board a Gaza-bound aid flotilla were detained by Israeli authorities recently.
"I can't help but compare our response from this event to when Australian citizens were kidnapped on the high seas just a few weeks ago. And we never heard a peep out of the Australian government about their rights in international waters when they were subjected."
Earlier, Australia expressed their concerns to China after China's Southern Theater Command air force accused Australian aircraft of intruding into China's airspace.
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In AFL ...
Chris Scott and Dean Cox have been named as the coaches who will take Victoria and West Australia forward for the first State of Origin game in almost 27 years.
The two coaches were announced on Tuesday ahead of the Origin game to be played in Perth next February.
The AFL's last Origin fixture was back in 1999, when Victoria defeated South Australia at the MCG.
Scott has coached Geelong since 2011, while Cox took over as Sydney head coach this year.
