A warning not to wear campaign material when voting in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum; The Head of the Palestinian delegation to Australia pushes for respect between communities; Michael Maguire to become the new State of Origin coach for New South Wales.
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TRANSCRIPT
- A warning not to wear campaign material when voting in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum
- The Head of the Palestinian delegation to Australia pushes for respect between communities
- Michael Maguire to become the new State of Origin coach for New South Wales
The Australia Electoral Commission has advised voters against wearing 'yes' or 'no' campaign material such as a T-shirt or other paraphernalia when voting in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.
This is as it could be construed by officials as campaigning and see the voter ejected, as the law states that people cannot campaign within 6 metres from the entrance to a polling place.
The referendum vote will be held this Saturday the 14th, with four million Australians already casting their vote via pre-polling stations.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been continuing his final push for the 'yes' campaign, today addressing a conference of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation.
He says a 'yes' vote is key to addressing significant disparities in health outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
"We're one of the wealthiest nations on earth, yet there are Indigenous communities still suffering the brunt of diseases that have been eradicated from most of the planet. An eight year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non Indigenous Australians. I find that extraordinary and just not good enough. And a vote for 'no' is a vote to say 'yeah, that's as good as it gets. We can't do anything different. This is okay.' And it's not."
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Israel's newly formed war cabinet has promised to wipe Hamas off the face of the earth as the assault on the Gaza Strip intensifies.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu forged an emergency government with Israel's opposition party to coordinate the war against Hamas.
This follows a surprise assault by Hamas militants over the weekend which saw fighters raiding Israeli towns and killing at least 1,200 people in Israel, according to the Israeli military.
In response, Israel has denied Gazans access to food, water, fuel and electricity and bombarded the region with the heaviest air strikes in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, killing at least 1,100 people according to Gaza's health ministry.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said the military is preparing for a ground offensive into Gaza and is now promising to eliminate Hamas entirely.
"And I am saying here to everyone, we will wipe this thing called Hamas, ISIS GAZA, off the face of the earth. It will cease to exist."
The United Nations is urging Israel to abide by humanitarian standards, as the U-N Human Rights chief Volker Turk claims the total blockade of essential resources into Gaza is illegal under international law.
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Senators have lashed out at PWC's top executives in the latest inquiry into the company's tax leak scandal.
Earlier this year it was revealed that PWC had used confidential government information to advise foreign companies on how to avoid paying additional tax.
As a result, the former CEO Tom Seymour resigned and the Australian Federal Police is currently in the process of a criminal investigation into the consultancy firm and its former partner Peter Collins.
PWC Australia's chief executive, Kevin Burowes, apologised to the inquiry for the breakdown in ethical standards in their business and promised a comprehensive overhaul of their practices.
Liberal senator Richard Colbeck, who is the chair of the inquiry, says he struggles to convey how offended he was by news of the leak.
"I find it hard, in polite terms, to describe how offended I am as a member of the then government that was introducing significant tax changes in the interests of the Australian people and your company, your business, was deliberately using confidential information, to float that process and to assist major corporations to avoid tax and to use that information to market it internationally.”
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Michael Maguire is set to replace Brad Fittler as the State of Origin coach for New South Wales after being offered a one-year deal to take over the Blues from 2024.
The premiership-winning coach is yet to put pen to paper on a deal, but the Australian Associated Press was told he had spoken to the New South Wales Rugby League board and is expected to take up the offer.
It is likely Maguire will have to stand down as coach of New Zealand to accept the position, while it's uncertain whether he will remain on the Raiders staff.
Maguire's deal will likely run for five months, from March through to the end of July.
