Jewish Council of Australia appears at the Royal Commission; strong criticism of the government's gambling reforms; pubs set to stay open for Saturday morning's World Cup.
The Jewish Council of Australia has told the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion that the conflation of Jewish identity with the state of Israel causes significant harm.
A representative of the group says much of the discussion after the Bondi attack wrongly positioned migrant and religious communities as the source of antisemitism.
The group's co-founder, Sarah Schwartz, says both neo-Nazis and pro-Israel actors have promoted antisemitism against segments of the Jewish community.
"Those actors target Jewish people like me who stand up for Palestinian freedom and justice. They question our Jewishness, and I spoke about examples in which I have been related, or imagery has been used that relates to Nazi Germany. I'm called a kapo, self-hating. I'm depicted with a yellow star of the type that Jews were forced to wear in Nazi Germany."
She said that type of discourse has become common online, as well as in sections of the media.
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The government has introduced its long-awaiting legislation on gambling advertising, but the bill is already facing criticism, as the Greens team up with the Coalition to send it to a Senate inquiry.
There have been widespread calls for more elements of the recommendations of an inquiry chaired by the late Peta Murphy to be implemented to help protect children and families.
The Greens say the bill doesn't do enough to stop gambling companies targeting addicts, nor to shield children from ads online, or during sports fixtures after 8.30pm.
On Thursday, Communications Minister Anika Wells defended the government's bill as she introduced it to parliament.
“It will help minimise children's exposure to wagering advertising, while also reducing the overall saturation of advertising on radio and television, and the targeting and saturation of advertising online. This bill also contains provisions to disrupt illegal gambling operators, strengthen Betstop, the National Exclusion Register, and crack down on damaging and emerging online lottery products.”
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The federal government has partially backed down on an aged care assessment tool criticised by advocates, providers and politicians over a lack of human oversight.
The 'Integrated Assessment Tool' uses an algorithm to analyse clinicians' reports and allocate funding for aged care support - but its decisions can't be overridden.
Aged Care Minister Sam Rae has confirmed the system will change, after hundreds of complaints sparked a review, but elements of the reform remain vague.
He says human override powers will be restored in some circumstances, as the Senate passes a bill allowing human assessors to overturn decisions more easily.
Anne Ruston is the Shadow Minister for Aged Care.
"What this bill does is very, very, very simple. It says that a human must have the ultimate decision-making power over the decisions of the care needs of older Australians."
That bill would need to pass the Labor-controlled lower house to become law.
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Overnight Russian strikes on Kyiv have killed at least eight and injured over three dozen more, as drones and missiles struck residential buildings and started a fire at a hotel in the Ukrainian capital.
As the sun rose on Thursday, video footage showed emergency workers combing through the rubble of a shattered nine-storey building.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he will cut short a visit to Dublin, which is beginning a six-month rotating presidency of the EU.
The latest strikes come after Russian President Vladimir Putin rejects the Ukrainian leader's proposal for talks to end the war.
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Millions of Socceroos fans will have the chance to calm their nerves at licensed venues all night long for the make-or-break fixture with Egypt early on Saturday morning.
Pubs across NSW and Victoria that broadcast the match will be allowed to open their doors for the 4am fixture.
Eligible venues will automatically be allowed to stay open in NSW and Victoria, but in other states, operators will need to make an application.
Chief executive of the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Hotels Association, Paddy O'Sullivan welcomed the news at a pub in Melbourne's suburbs.
"Today is a great day for Victoria's pubs, because the government, in real time, have announced that we can automatically, right across the state, open come Friday night, and stay open, so that we can welcome all the sporting fans to come along and cheer for the Socceroos. And with a bit of luck, we'll give Egypt a touch up and move on to the next phase, and of course, we'll be talking to the minister again about rolling the same policy over."
