The Prime Minister says the government is taking potential steps to recognise a Palestinian state; The Opposition says funding for Australian manufacturing will not reduce cost of living; And in basketball, the Boomers name their squad for the Paris Olympics.
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TRANSCRIPT
In this bulletin;
- The Prime Minister says the government is taking potential steps to recognise a Palestinian state;
- The Opposition says funding for Australian manufacturing will not reduce cost of living;
- And in basketball, the Boomers name their squad for the Paris Olympics.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the government is seriously considering the recognition of Palestinian statehood as a way of ensuring peace in the Middle East.
The comments follow a speech by Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Tuesday, who said that recognising Palestine could be the only way to end a cycle of violence in the region.
In a speech yesterday at the Sydney Opera House, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the remarks was "ill-timed and inappropriate", accusing the government of enabling antisemitism following Hamas' October the 7th attacks.
Mr Albanese has hit back at what he described as Mr Dutton's "nasty negativity", saying the Australian's government's position on a two-state solution is similar to that of allies the US, the UK, Canada and New Zealand.
He told Channel 7 that for Australia to support recognition, Hamas must not be involved in government of a potential Palestinian state.
"It needs to be a two state solution in the Middle East. That's something that's been Australia's longstanding policy, and it's something I've been very consistent on for a long period of time. But Hamas can't play no role in a future state, and we've made that very clear."
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The federal coalition says a plan to boost made in Australia manufacturing and jobs is not the way to solve the cost of living crisis.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will use a speech at Queensland's Media Club today to unveil the government's proposed Future Made in Australia Act.
The focus of the plan is boosting investment in Australia's green economy, including the production of hydrogen, green metals, solar power, and other emerging renewable sources and technologies.
Opposition Treasurer Angus Taylor has told Channel 9 the coalition supports spending on Australian manufacturing, but not during a cost of living crisis.
"You don't beat a cost of living crisis, you don't address a cost of living crisis by throwing hard-earned taxpayers' money around. And that's exactly what Albanese is proposing here. We haven't seen any of the details, I should say, and we'll look at those closely as they come in."
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Victoria Police has announced a renewed search for allegedly murdered Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy.
The 51-year-old Murphy was last seen more than two months ago when she left her Ballarat East home to go for a run on the 4th of February.
The search will focus on an area highlighted by intelligence derived from several sources located in Enfield state park, about 25 kilometres south of the regional city.
Members of the public have been asked not to join the search, which follows unsuccessful efforts in the Canadian State Forest over the past few months.
Last month, police charged 22-year-old Patrick Stephenson, from nearby town Scotsburn, with her murder. He will return to court in August.
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Trains across Adelaide are stopping for several hours today, throwing commuters into disarray.
Drivers have announced a strike asking for better pay from the network's private operator, Keolis Downer, saying they have no choice but to stop work altogether after the operator threatened legal action.
Rail, Trains and Buses Union members had initially planned a series of low-level industrial actions, including banning workers from checking tickets and reporting graffiti.
RTBU South Australia secretary Darren Phillips said Keolis Downer's choice to escalate an enterprise agreement dispute shows it "does not care" about the service it provides South Australians.
In a statement, Keolis Downer has apologised to passengers for inconvenience caused, maintaining it is continuing to negotiate with the RTBU in good faith.
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In basketball,
The Boomers have announced selection initial squad for this year's Paris Olympics.
Basketball Australia has named the 22-man squad, a mixture of veterans, including 10 players from their 2020 Tokyo Bronze Medal breakthrough, and new faces like NBA player Josh Giddey and 19-year-old US college star, Johnny Furphy.
The squad will be refined before a training camp in July with a final 12 to play at the Olympics in late July and August, where Australia faces a tough qualifying group, dubbed the "Group of Death".
Boomers coach Brian Goorjian says the team will showcase their own style of the game, “Aussie ball", after learning from lessons at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, where they finished 10th.
