In this bulletin: Three men rescued at sea after a shark attack; a political stoush over plans for the country's most complex river system; and in sport, Spain fires its Women's World Cup winning coach.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Three men rescued at sea after a shark attack;
- A political stoush over plans for the country's most complex river system;
- And in sport, Spain fires its Women's World Cup winning coach.
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Labor says it won't reverse a decision to block Qatar Airways from securing extra flights into Australia.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the decision was taken in the national interest.
But the opposition says the ruling by Transport Minister Catherine King amounts to a "protection racket" in favour of Qantas, whose CEO Alan Joyce retired two months early this week to give the airline time to rebuild its reputation after a run of negative publicity.
The Senate will now hold an inquiry into the Qatar ruling, with the Coalition's transport spokesperson Bridget McKenzie saying they believe the government has pandered to Qantas on a range of issues.
"Why have they doubled down? Is it because of Mr Albanese's personal and political strong relationship with not just Alan Joyce, but with Qantas as the flagship bearer for his Yes campaign? Why was aviation ruled out of the government's competition review? And why did they reject the application for Qatar Airways, which we know would have put downward pressure on prices?"
[—]
The floodgates are set to open today over Australia's most complex river system.
A bill to amend the management plan for the Murray Darling Basin is to be introduced to Parliament today - but it's already facing stern opposition from the Coalition and the Greens.
Opposition water spokesperson Perin Davey wants the legislation sent to an inquiry and a committee to visit affected communities.
The Greens are also pushing for more stringent oversight mechanisms to ensure all 450 gigalitres earmarked for the environment are recovered.
The party's water spokesperson and South Australian senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the government needs to offer guarantees, not promises.
"There's a long way to go. How much is going to be delivered by the end of next financial year? How much is going to be brought back before the next election? We can't just wait to get to 2027, and we discover not much more has been secured. All the legislation provides right now is a promise. Well, we know what happens to promises when it comes to the Murray and comes to South Australia. The Labor party and the Liberal party continue to break them."
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Three sailors have been rescued in the Coral Sea after their inflatable boat came under attack from sharks.
The two Russian men and a French man were rescued from their damaged nine-metre catamaran about 800 kilometres southeast of Cairns.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority says the trio had sailed from Vanuatu and were heading to Cairns until their boat was damaged as the result of several shark attacks.
The men are expected to arrive in Brisbane tomorrow.
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Australia's Department of Health has launched an online survey into women's experiences with the health system, amid concern that too many are experiencing neglect or poor care.
Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Ged Kearney says the survey is designed to gauge the extent to which women have had bad experiences.
Ms Kearney says migrant and refugee women in particular are encouraged to come forward for the survey.
"Some of the barriers that we know that we hear from women when they tell us their stories, is that they are simply not believed, that they are accused of all sorts of terrible things when they present with pain, that the doctor has trouble diagnosing, that they are 'drug-shopping'. Or that they are, to use a terrible term, hysterical, or that they are over-anxious. When, in fact, there are serious medical conditions occurring."
The survey is separate to a New South Wales parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma, which has been hearing claims that one in three women have bad or traumatic experiences delivering their babies in hospitals.
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Hundreds of cultural items taken from a remote Indigenous community in the 1950s by an English anthropologist have been officially handed back over to elders.
Members of the Anindilyakwa community travelled to the English city of Manchester for the emotional ceremony.
The 174 items will be returned to Groote Island, 50 kilometres off the Northern Territory Coast, later this year.
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To sport, and Spain has sacked the coach of the team that won the Women's football World Cup last month.
Jorge Vilda had been coach since 2015 - but he was unpopular with his players, fifteen of them walking out before the World Cup and only three of them returning.
He also applauded Spanish football boss Luis Rubiales after he refused to resign following his kissing of Spanish player Jenni Hermoso on the lips after their World Cup victory.
