TRANSCRIPT
- Calls for Anthony Albanese to promote Australian interests during the Chinese Premier's visit
- Dismay in Las Vegas over a controversial Supreme Court ruling on bump stocks
- Germany accounts for Scotland in the Euro Championships opener
The federal opposition says Australian concerns must be kept "front of mind" as the Prime Minister prepares to welcome China's premier to our shores.
Beijing's second-in-command, Li Qiang, will visit Australia from Saturday to Tuesday - the first trip by a Chinese premier in seven years.
The opposition's Simon Birmingham has told Sky News that Australia should welcome the premier during his high-stakes visit but not shy away from thornier issues.
"This visit will need to be one where the Albanese government is open and upfront about the global concerns we have in terms of China not using its role to put pressure on Russia and Iran and those who are responsible for such destruction in the globe at present... Regional concerns, particularly the way China's own military engages in the region. And the dangerous position it has put Australian troops in, as well as those of the Philippines."
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Residents of Las Vegas have reacted with dismay to a Supreme Court ruling striking down a Trump-era ban on bump stocks.
The rapid-fire gun accessory was banned after being used in the killing of 58 people as they attended a Vegas music festival in 2017.
Las Vegas shooting survivor Marisa Marano says she had hoped the US could make progress on an issue that still appears deeply divided along ideological lines, with Democrats calling for tougher restrictions and Republicans opposing them.
"It's sad that we have more of a risk that our children can experience what my sister and I did, you know. That's something that could have been a deadly shooting turned into the largest mass shooting in our country's history. Like - it's just insanity. And I'm sad that we can't understand that as a country. I'm sad that our Supreme Court can't understand that.”
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Japan's delegation to the G7 summit in Italy have welcomed the group's decision to offer flexibility in the global fight against global warming.
The Group of Seven leading industrialised nations have committed to phasing out coal power by 2035 but say leeway can be given for nations heavily reliant on coal to continue using it, in case they delay attempts at decarbonisation altogether.
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The New South Wales government has talked up a multi-million dollar boost to the state's bus network to be unveiled in next week's state budget, saying it will bolster public transport in Sydney's western suburbs.
It's been confirmed that just under $140 million in funding will be allocated to modernise the bus fleet and improve its reliability and accessibility.
Premier Chris Minns says the spend would enable longer routes, new routes for weekends and those for under-serviced areas to cut the risk of having to "rely on Uber".
But he's conceded there are still not enough bus drivers to meet demand.
"We've made progress so clearly we're in a better position today than we were 12 months ago, but there's still more to do. I think the focus on recruiting retired bus drivers and also perhaps even consider if this is a particular profession is something really worth exploring."
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Experts are urging Australians to be careful during this year's tax season, saying there's a high number of scammers looking for an opportunity to take people's personal information - and money.
New data from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia suggests 24 per cent of Australians have already been targeted with a tax-related scam.
The Commonwealth Bank's General Manager of Group Fraud Management Services, James Roberts, says their research has also found 31 per cent struggle to identify different types of schemes.
But Samantha Yorke from the Australian Communications and Media Authority says some scammers have become very good at evading detection.
"Scammers are increasingly pretty sophisticated criminal networks these days, proving to be very agile in adapting their methods when we start to crack down on a certain type of scam or a certain distribution platform. They take advantage of our being very focused on tax at the moment to contact us because they know that that would be expected from us at this time of year and that we would therefore be more trusting."
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Germany have demolished Scotland 5-1 in a dream start to their Euro 2024 campaign.
The big victory ends a run of defeats in Germany's first games at the previous three big tournaments which led to group stage exits at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and a last-16 elimination at the pandemic-delayed 2021 Euros.
Steve Clarke's Scotland have only one win from their last 10 games and face a uphill battle to get out of the group stage.
The coach says the team is disappointed - but still determined to fight on.
"We feel as though we've let ourselves down. We're better than that. We're a better team than what we showed tonight - and hopefully we can show that in the next two games. So we have to go away - this was always going to be a tough night for us to get something. We need four points from the next two games and that's what we focus on."
