TRANSCRIPT
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese holds bilateral talks with his New Zealand counterpart.
- The Opposition criticises the federal government for stalling on joining a Red Sea taskforce.
- And in sport, Manchester City ease into the Club World Cup final.
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New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has arrived in Sydney to meet Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and discuss the two countries' security and economic relationships.
Prior to the trip, Mr Luxon said greater focus is needed on improving the business environment in both New Zealand and Australia.
It's his first official visit to Australia since becoming Prime Minister, with talks expected to focus on regional security and cross-Tasman trade.
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The Northern Territory Labor’s factions are searching for a new leader eight months out from an election, after Chief Minister Natasha Fyles quit over undisclosed shares in a mining company.
Ms Fyles said her undisclosed shares in South32, the world’s biggest manganese producer, had fallen short of her own standards.
NT Treasurer Nicole Manison returned from holiday in Bali to stand for the leadership, with Infrastructure Minister Joel Bowden and NT Attorney-General Chansey Paech also in the leadership mix.
But Northern Territory Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro told Sky News a change of Labor leader isn't going to solve the current issues in the territory.
"Ultimately Territorians aren't silly people and Labor have been treating them like fools for a very long time. We've got skyrocketing levels of crime and economy going backwards. And a labor team who have been dogged by scandal, particularly this year. They simply can't get on top of the issues that are important to Territorians. And so a shuffling of the deck chairs isn't going to breathe new life into this government."
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Australia has joined 44 nations in condemning the recent Houthi militant attacks on commercial ships traveling through the Red Sea.
The condemnation follows the United States launch of a ten-nation task force operation to safeguard commerce in the passage.
Assistant Defence Minister Matt Thistlethwaite has revealed Australia still is considering whether or not to join the task force, which would require Australia to send warships into the region.
Deputy opposition leader, Sussan Ley has criticised the delayed decision.
"Well, I've got two questions here. Why is it taking so long to give our allies the response that they deserve, is it because we lack the will, or is it because we lack the capability. Which is it? This is weak and indecisive from our prime minister, we used to show up, we used to be there with our allies when they needed us. We used to support international efforts such as these. Our allies deserve us to be honest, upfront and responsive.'
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In the United States,
The Supreme Court in the state of Colorado has disqualified former president Donald Trump from the ballot in the state's presidential election over his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.
The ruling makes Trump the first presidential candidate in US history to be deemed ineligible for the White House under a rarely used provision of the country's constitution that bars officials who have engaged in "insurrection or rebellion" from holding office.
The ruling applies only to the state's March 5 Republican primary, but its conclusion would likely also affect Trump's status for the November 5 general election.
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Business owners in Cairns say flooding in the region has dealt a blow on business as their usually busy Christmas period is being hampered by floodwaters and airport closures.
As farmers expect the flooding to take a heavy toll on their crop productions, other businesses also fear the cyclone and flooding will slow tourism into Queensland as holiday-goers fear traveling into the affected areas.
One business owner in Cairns says his reef cruise business has suffered great losses in recent weeks.
"Yeah well we haven't had full operations since the 7th of December, that was in the lead up to Cyclone Jasper and then obviously the rain event after. So today's the first day that we are getting back to full operations so there's been a huge impact on our business. We've probably lost something like 3000 people that we would have carried over that period so you're talking in excess of $600,000 in terms of revenue that we won't receive."
One off Disaster Recovery Payments will be available to those who have suffered significant losses due to the flooding.
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And in sport,
Manchester City have eased into the final of the Club World Cup with a comfortable 3-0 win over Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds.
Without Erling Haaland, the Champions League winners needed an own goal to launch their campaign in Saudi Arabia but second-half strikes from Mateo Kovavic and Bernardo Silva saw them stroll to victory.
Having already added the European Super Cup to last season's treble, City will now have the chance to claim a fifth trophy of the calendar year when they face Brazil's Fluminense in the final in Jeddah.
