TRANSCRIPT
- Anthony Albanese and Christopher Luxon pledge cooperation on trade, defence and Gaza at annual talks
- The UN meeting to discuss Israel's plan to take over Gaza City
- Gold Coast defeat Carlton to win by 19 points
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says his nation had no greater friend than Australia.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in Queenstown for the annual leaders' meeting where the pair discussed defence, the war in Gaza and trade deals.
The leaders expressed their concern at the recent turbulence in global trade, vowing to co-operate to continue global trade and investment openness.
They also agreed to work together to reform the World Trade Organisation as the foundation and enforcer of global trade rules.
Mr Albanese's visit continues today.
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Australia has joined a number of other countries to condemn Israel's plan to takeover Gaza City.
The United Nations Security Council is meeting in New York to discuss Israel's plan.
In a statement on Saturday Foreign Minister Penny Wong joined Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the United Kingdom to "strongly reject" Israel's decision to launch a large-scale military operation in Gaza City.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told SKY News that the people of Gaza should not be punished for the actions of Hamas.
"We're joining with other nations and just saying, this must not happen. We are watching a humanitarian catastrophe and we have seen for a long time people being killed and the death toll involving massive numbers of people who have nothing to do with Hamas. "
Israel denies intentionally targeting civilians.
Israel has bombarded Gaza since Hamas' October 7 attack in 2023, in which more than 1,200 people, including an estimated 30 children, were killed and over 250 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government.
More than 60,430 people have been killed in Gaza since the 7th of October 2023, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
The October 7 attack was a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
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British foreign minister David Lammy and United States Vice President JD Vance have met Ukrainian and European allies in Britain to discuss President Donald Trump's push for peace in Ukraine.
President Trump says the parties, including President Zelenskyy, were close to a deal after three and a half years of conflict.
Mr Zelenskyy has rejected US suggestions that a peace deal with Russia could involve land swaps, vowing not to cede territory.
His remarks come as Washington and Moscow prepare for talks, with U-S President Donald Trump set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on the 15th of August.
Nigel Gould-Davies, Senior Fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, says it's difficult to predict what might happen next.
"There've been so many extraordinary twists and turns in this so far. All that's clear at this point is that Putin has already achieved the major victory of securing a summit meeting with the United States on American soil. And that's something that he will be working very hard to make the maximum use of in the coming week. One further question is, where is Europe in all of this? Europe must be alarmed and, in fact, appalled by this latest turn of events."
Kyiv and its European allies have dismissed any plan requiring Ukraine to give up land, warning it would reward and embolden Russian aggression.
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Homelessness Australia says there's been a 20 per cent jump in women and girls accessing services in the past three years, with almost half fleeing abuse.
A new initiative called the Little Greenhouses Project is aiming to help by building low-cost, energy-efficient homes for disadvantaged women, starting with eight in regional New South Wales by Christmas.
Global Sisters is behind the initiative.
Advocates welcome the move, but warn broader investment in housing is needed.
Kate Colvin is CEO of Homelessness Australia.
"What we need is a lot more investment in social housing, but we also need investment in emergency housing, so when women have nowhere to go that night, there's somewhere safe for them to be."
The project is being trialed in New South Wales with the aim for it to become a nationwide initiative.
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In the AFL, Gold Coast have survived a roaring final-quarter surge from Carlton to win by 19 points, putting them closer to securing a maiden finals appearance.
Leading by 45 points at three-quarter time, the Suns conceded the first five goals of the final term as the Blues threatened to pull off the second miracle at Marvel Stadium in three weeks.
But with finals on the line, Gold Coast managed to steady, as Carlton also missed some gettable chances, to prevail in the game.
Ben King was the star for the Suns with six goals, including the sealer with four minutes remaining.
Carlton closed to within 13 points and had all the momentum, but the full-forward calmly put through the Suns' first goal of the term from a tricky spot in the pocket.
Sun's Midfielder Touk Miller says it was a tough game.
"Those games are going to happen you always look at what you can improve and you would rather win than go through a review and what can you learn from that. We knew they were going to come eventually. They are a really contested ball and stoppage team and they got on top of us in the last quarter. I think that was the difference."
