TRANSCRIPT
- The federal government defends proposed tax cut changes.
- A Captain Cook memorial statue vandalised the day before Australia Day.
- And in sport, former footballer Jarryd Hayne will again try to overturn his rape convictions.
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Treasurer Jim Chalmers says changes to the stage three tax cuts may qualify as breaking an election promise, but it has been done for the right reasons to help struggling people amid a cost-of-living crisis.
The original scheme under the Coalition government scrapped a 37 per cent tax rate on earnings between $120,000 and $180,000 creating a flat 30 per cent tax rate on earnings between $45,000 to $200,000 a year, greatly benefitting high income Australians.
Labor will now retain the 37 per cent rate for people earning over $135,000 and the top tax rate of 45 per cent will kick in at $190,000 rather than $200,000.
They will also drop the lowest rate on income tax from 19 per cent to 16 per cent, meaning workers will pay less on the first $45,000 they earn.
Dr Chalmers has defended the government's proposal and says the necessity of the changes has become increasingly clear over the holiday period.
He told Channel Seven the federal government knows the decision will warrant mixed reactions.
"The government has come to a different view we're being upfront about that we're not pretending otherwise. But we've come to a different view because we found a better way to provide more cost-of-living relief to more people without putting upward pressure on inflation. And we know that decisions like this, which are contentious, they will always have their supporters and their detractors. There will always be people more interested in helping the coalition than helping middle Australia but our job is to take the right decisions for the right reasons."
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A Captain Cook memorial statue has been sawn off at the ankles and a statue of Queen Victoria doused in red paint in Melbourne on the day before Australia Day.
Police are reportedly investigating criminal damage to the Cook statue at St Kilda's Jacka Boulevard.
Police say several people were seen loitering in the area around the time of the incident.
Premier Jacinta Allan says the statue will be fixed.
"Obviously, Victoria Police are investigating the circumstances around what's happened with these statues overnight and will let Victoria Police undertake their work. This sort of vandalism really has no place in our in our community and I want to signal today that we will be working with council to repair and reinstate the statue in St Kilda that has been vandalised overnight."
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has revealed Russia has called for an emergency United Nations Security Council session to discuss the crash of a Russian plane.
Russia has accused Ukraine of deliberately shooting down a military transport plane carrying 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers to a prisoner exchange.
It's labelled the incident a barbaric act of terrorism which had killed a total of 74 people.
Mr Lavrov says it was a criminal act by Ukraine.
“About the downed IL-76 military transport aircraft and the reasons why the Ukrainian side committed this criminal act: we are now establishing the facts. The first messages that came out were that immediately after the plane crashed after being fired at from anti-aircraft guns, the Ukrainian side announced its next victory, another victory for the valiant armed forces of Ukraine.”
Ukraine says it was not asked to ensure air space security around the Belgorod area in southern Russia, as had been the case during previous prisoner of war swaps with Moscow.
It says Russia's accusations could be a planned action to destabilise the situation in Ukraine and weaken international support for the state.
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Queenslanders are preparing for the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Kirrily, which is expected to make landfall tonight.
The strengthening system is predicted to cross the coast as a category two cyclone between Ingham and Bowen, bringing destructive winds and torrential rain.
The Bureau of Meteorology says intense rainfall which could cause dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding is possible after the cyclone crosses the coast.
Liberal MP Phil Thompson is in Townsville and told Sky News the community is coming together today to prepare.
"We're all putting in and and helping out filling sandbags for those that that need it and for those houses that are prone to flooding it. We've been here before we've had a fair few natural disasters and cyclones. People are struggling to get those sandbags filled and to get extra sandbags here, but all in all the communities wrapping around each other and helping out but it's going to get windy and it's going to hit us quite hard, I believe later this evening."
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And in sport, former NRL player Jarryd Hayne will again try to overturn his rape convictions after being jailed in his third trial.
The 35-year-old former rugby league star was found guilty on two counts of sexual intercourse without consent for an incident at a woman's home near Newcastle on the night of the 2018 NRL Grand Final.
Hayne went back into custody in April, 10 days after a jury ruled he sexually assaulted the woman.
