The Opposition accuses the government of failing its allies in defence support, The Prime Minister praises the Pacific Motorway extension linking Sydney and Brisbane, And in sport, Ange Postecoglou misses out on best coach honour at the FIFA Awards.
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TRANSCRIPT
- The Opposition accuses the government of failing its allies in defence support.
- The Prime Minister praises the Pacific Motorway extension linking Sydney and Brisbane.
- And in sport, Ange Postecoglou misses out on best coach honour at the FIFA Awards.
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The Coalition has accused the federal government of falling behind on its commitments to Australia's allies.
It comes after the United States requested support in its military strikes against Houthi militants in Yemen.
The Albanese government pledged to triple Australia's defence force personnel presence in the Red Sea, but has yet to do so.
There are currently one or two staff officers assigned to the United State Central Command in Bahrain, the body which has carried out the strikes.
Nationals Senator Matt Canavan told Sky News the Albanese government has been lacking in substance and delivery.
"I think the Albanese government has a lot of explaining to do here. The US asked us to send a warship now, apparently it looks like we didn't have a warship to send and I've not been directly critical of that. Obviously we need to take care of our own defences but they did promise to send an extra 10 or so staff to help out and that hasn't been delivered. It seems so lacking in support of our major allies. I think we should be doing more to help make sure we keep this important sea route peaceful."
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A Houthi military spokesman has once again justified attacks on ships in the Red Sea as a direct response to Israel's assault on Gaza.
This comes as Houthi militants attacked a US bulk carrier, with no injuries or significant damage reported.
Yahya Sarea said American and British warships are considered aggressors in the region, due to their support for Israel.
"The Yemeni armed forces consider all American and British warships and vessels participating in the aggression against our country as hostile targets within the bank of targets of our forces. The Yemeni armed forces affirm that the response to the American and British attacks is inevitable, and that any new aggression will not remain unpunished."
He added that the Houthi armed forces will continue to carry out their military operations until attacks on the Palestinian people in the Gaza strip ceases.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has heralded a Pacific Motorway extension as a nation-building project that will more easily connect Sydney and Brisbane.
The Prime Minister has visited the Hunter region to inspect the progress made on the M1 Pacific Motorway extension to Raymond Terrace.
The upgrade is expected to improve traffic flow for motorists and freight for more reliable travel times and improve accessibility to the surrounding road network.
He says the M1 motorway project is good for jobs, the economy and road safety.
"There is no reason whatsoever why because of the population of Australia and its location around the East Coast this can't be a transformative project, a transformative project for city to city travel, but also a transformative project in regional economic development. That's the thing that really lifts up the benefit cost ratio of this project."
The PM says they expect the project will be complete by 2028.
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A new study has found that the majority of drug-related deaths in Australia could have been prevented.
The report showed 64 people died following attendance at a music festival or concert in Australia between 2000 and 2019.
More than 73 per cent of those deaths were males and most were in their mid-20s.
Researcher from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Jennifer Schuman, told Channel Nine pill testing is proven to reduce the number of drug-related deaths.
"It's obviously not the silver bullet. It's found to be a highly effective strategy in a broader harm reduction approach. Other countries have been doing this around North America and Europe for twenty or thirty years, and it has been associated with a great reduction in the harms associated with drug use."
The study is the first to report on drug-related deaths at Australian music festivals.
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And in sport,
Shortlisted Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has missed out on being named the world's best coach at the FIFA awards.
The awards ceremony crowned Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmati as the top players.
Postecoglou, recognised for his achievements in his previous role at Scottish giants Celtic, lost out to overwhelming favourite Pep Guardiola at The Best FIFA Awards 2023 in London.
Guardiola guided Manchester City to a treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup triumphs last season.
Postecoglou was on a shortlist that also included Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi, Napoli's Luciano Spalletti, and Barcelona's Xavi.
