Polling booth open as Australians decide in historic voice referendum; First flight of repatriated Australians leaves Israel amid tensions in Gaza; England win the Socceroos in the friendly at Wembley Stadium.
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TRANSCRIPT
§ Polling booth open as Australians decide in historic voice referendum.
§ First flight of repatriated Australians leaves Israel amid tensions in Gaza.
§ England win the Socceroos in the friendly at Wembley Stadium.
Polling booths have opened for millions of Australians to vote as the nation makes a historic decision on whether to enshrine an Indigenous voice in the constitution.
Voting begins as the latest Newspoll shows the voice proposal is set to fail and, despite a late swing towards a 'Yes' vote, may fall short of securing a majority in any state.
Voters are being asked to write 'Yes' or 'No' to recognise the first peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice in the nation's founding document.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged voters to vote 'Yes' on the Voice to Parliament Referendum as voting gets underway today.
He spoke from Balmain of the division No campaigners are claiming the referendum has caused.
The no campaign has spoken about division While stoking it a tear what division represents in this country Division is the division between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. that sees just four out of the 19 Closing the Gap targets being on track to be achieved. We must do better. We can do better.
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Voice opponent Senator Lydia Thorpe claims the referendum has led to an increase in suicides among First Nations people
She is encouraging voters to cast a 'No' vote.
The Referendum has done nothing but hurt people, divide communities, divide families. And we know literally, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people right now are killing themselves. As a result of this referendum. People are taking their lives, The increase in suicide rates of our people since this referendum has gone up exponentially.
If you or someone you know needs support, call Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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The department of Foreign affairs has confirmed that 825 Australians have left Israel, and the occupied territories.
A Qantas flight to evacuate people from the conflict in Israel and the Gaza strip left Tel Aviv on Friday [[Oct 13]] and has landed in London, with 238 Australians aboard.
A second flight is scheduled to leave Tel Aviv to Dubai later today.
It is one of three additional repatriation flights.
Foreign minister Penny Wong advises Australians in the region who want to leave to do so as soon as possible.
We are also moving quickly to secure more options for Australians who want to leave Israel or the occupied territories. And my department continues to assist a number of Australians who are seeking to leave Gaza, numbering about 20. To all Australians who are in Israel, or Gaza, if you wish to leave, please do not delay. If you wish to leave, please take the first available flight, please do not wait for another option.
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The United Nations has offered condolences following the death of a Reuters video Journalist who was killed on Friday [[Oct 13]] in South Lebanon.
An Isreali shell landed near the Lebanese-Israeli border where Issam Abdallah and the other international journalists gathered.
Six other journalists from Reuters, the Agence France-Presse wire service and Al Jazeera were injured in the blast, some of who were rushed to hospital.
The BBC has also reported that its journalists were assaulted and held at gunpoint and assaulted after they were stopped by Israeli police in Tel Aviv.
Stephane Dujarric is the United Nations Spokesperson.
This is yet another example of the daily dangers journalists face in covering conflict throughout the world. And we do hope that there is an investigation as to exactly what happened. Without journalists, we can't know what's going on and journalists need to be protected and allowed to do their work.
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In sport,
England's Ollie Watkins marked his international return with a second-half winner as their much-changed side beat Australia 1-0 in a friendly at a wet Wembley Stadium on this morning [[Sydney time]].
With a key Euro 2024 qualifier against holders Italy on Tuesday, manager Gareth Southgate used the opportunity to rest first team regulars and give game time to some squad players.
Watkins, returning for the first time since March 2022, tapped the ball in at the far post in the 57th minute after Jack Grealish fired across goal.
It was the Aston Villa forward's second successive goal for England, but 563 days apart.
The Socceroos will play New Zealand on Tuesday night at Brentford Football Club’s G-Tech stadium in London's west.
