A new poll shows support for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament has slipped to its lowest point yet; Police in Darwin charge a woman with aggravated assault over an attack on Chief Minister Natasha Fyles; And in sport, Wallabies coach Eddie Jones apologises to supporters after Australia's loss to France in the the Rugby World Cup.
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TRANSCRIPT
- A new poll shows support for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament has slipped to its lowest point yet;
- Police in Darwin charge a woman with aggravated assault over an attack on Chief Minister Natasha Fyles;
- And in sport, Wallabies coach Eddie Jones apologises to supporters after Australia's loss to France in the the Rugby World Cup.
A new poll in the Australian newspaper shows support for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament has slipped to its lowest point yet.
The online survey of 1239 voters between September 18- 22 found only 36 per cent intended to vote Yes on October 14.
The poll suggests a shift toward the No vote among women and younger voters.
Liberal MP Dan Tehan has told Sky News Anthony Albanese should consider calling off the referendum in its current form.
"What I think we need is for the Prime Minister to seriously consider doing is now pull this referendum. Sadly I think on referendum day what we're going to see as the Australian people say to Anthony Albanese you've messed this up."
Labor MP Murray Watt says this would mean losing an important chance to listen to First Nations people and make positive change.
"Having this voice established is to listen to indigenous people about what will work on the ground and get better results so if we were to pull it or to say no it's just closing the door on the opportunity for change. I have no faith that the coalition actually support coming back to the drawing board."
It comes as remote voting on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament begins across Australia today, enabling the first votes in the referendum to be cast.
And you can find comprehensive information about the referendum by visiting the SBS Voice Referendum portal at www.sbs.com.au/voicereferendum.
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Police in Darwin have charged a woman with aggravated assault over an attack on Chief Minister Natasha Fyles who had a cream-covered pancake pushed into her face.
Police will alleged the 56-year-old attacked the Chief Minister at the Nightcliff Markets on Sunday morning.
She will face court on October.
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Federal Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt has launched a task force to implement a new public safety mobile broadband system to support first responders during disasters and emergencies.
Mr Watt announced the task force during his opening address at the first day of the National Bushfire Preparedness Summit in Canberra.
The two-day summit will bring Australian politicians together with around 250 crisis management, response and recovery specialists.
Mr Watt says the summit comes at a critical time, with the El Niño climate pattern bringing with it increased risk of dangerous bushfires, extreme heatwaves and other severe weather events.
He says in the latest in a series of changes made in the last 16 months, a new task force will implement a public safety mobile broadband system to provide better communications capabilities for first responders.
"In short, this long promised but never realised project is about providing better communication systems for our first responders to protect them and our communities. It will provide fast and secure voice, video and data communications specifically for our emergency services so they can communicate with each other across jurisdictions and during the most challenging conditions."
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New South Wales will follow other states with a crackdown on the sale of illegal vapes.
The state government will spend a total of $6.8 million over three years with most of the money going to bolster compliance and enforcement while 2.5 million will be spent on services to help young people quit vaping.
Premier Chris Minns says the evidence suggest vaping is now becoming a gateway for an increase in smoking rates in young people.
The New South Wales Education Department is considering installing 40,000 vape detection devices in public schools between now and July next year to reduce the use of vapes.
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Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has apologised to supporters after the Australian side suffered a humiliating 40-6 loss to France in the the Rugby World Cup.
The Australians needed victory in Lyon over their unbeaten pool rivals as barring a miracle that requires Fiji to lose both their remaining games without bonus points they will bow out.
It will mark the first time the Wallabies have ever missed the World Cup quarter-finals, with the defeat their biggest-ever in tournament history.
Eddie Jones told Fox Sports he takes responsibility for the team's lack of consistency.
"We're all gathered right now to apologise to all supporters here. Everyone back at home, we needed to be far more consistent. And that's you know, that's the theme of this World Cup campaign, which I apologise for. I'm the person given the responsibility to coach the team and I haven't done well enough. And you know, I really apologise to everyone back home. Again, I feel the responsibility for it. Yeah, we're going through a pretty tough time at the moment. You know, whether we've hit rock bottom, I don't know. But I've got to take the full responsibility for that."
