In this bulletin: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announces the date for the Indigenous voice referendum; women's health advocates call for improved access to quality maternity care; and in tennis, Alex de Minaur safely progresses to the U-S Open second round.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announces the date for the Indigenous voice referendum.
- Women's health advocates call for improved access to quality maternity care...
- And in tennis, Alex de Minaur safely progresses to the U-S Open second round
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The Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum will be held on the 14th of October.
The announcement comes as polling suggests a shift in support for the Voice in South Australia toward the 'yes' vote, and Tasmania leaning towards a 'no' vote.
Previous polls had put 'no' ahead in SA, considered a crucial swing state.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has encouraged voters to consider all the facts before making a decision.
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Women's health advocates are calling on the government to impliment solutions to improve and sustain access to safe and quality maternity care in rural and remote Australia.
It comes after over 70 experts in rural maternity care gathered in Canberra for the National Rural Maternity Services Forum.
The group suggests a redesign of health services, more investment in the rural workforce and in the remote maternity framework.
National Rural Health Commissioner Ruth Stewart says one of the problems in rural and remote Australia is First Nations women having access to culturally safe care.
"We know that if care is not culturally safe, First Nations women are reluctant to seek care. And so we're very keen to see that rural maternity services become culturally safe. Well, it starts with respect, respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and to take seriously our First Nations woman requests."
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Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has addressed the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
Mr Andrews discussed the rollout of the state's new Veterans Card and other programs designed to support former defence force members.
Under the scheme, veterans are entitled to discounted car registration, free fishing or boating licences, and free public transport on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.
The royal commission was established in 2021 to examine how the system is failing Australian Defence Force members and veterans.
Mr Andrews says the new programs and measures acknowledge the continually changing landscape of Veterans Affairs.
“It's a dynamic environment things change priorities change. The veteran landscape has changed dramatically particularly when we think about contemporary conflicts in recent times."
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The heads of an inquiry examining child sexual abuse in Tasmanian government institutions have delivered their closing address.
The inquiry, which held public hearings last year, heard accounts of abuse and government failings in the justice, education, health and out-of-home care systems.
The report will be submitted to the governor tomorrow and will be made public at a later date.
The inquiry was called in 2020 after allegations against Ashley Youth Detention Centre workers and Launceston General Hospital nurse James Geoffrey Griffin were aired.
President of the Commission of Inquiry Marcia Neave says it has two important purposes.
"The first purpose is to decide whether and how past events occurred and consider whether they are caused by problems in laws, policies, practices, culture, human error or bad behaviour. The second purpose is to make recommendations aimed at preventing similar events from happening again."
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In tennis,
Alex de Minaur has survived a gruelling test from Kazakh qualifier Timofey Skatov to safely progress to the U-S Open second round in New York.
The lowly-ranked Skatov dragged Australia's world No.13 into a baseline dogfight before de Minaur emerged as a relieved 6-2 3-6 6-1 7-5 winner after a near-three-hour battle on Tuesday.
After dropping the second set, de Minaur raced through the third and then charge to a 5-2 lead in the fourth.
A quarter-finalist in 2020, de Minaur next plays either Serbia's world No.52 Dusan Lajovic or China's world No.86 Yibing Wu on Friday.
