TRANSCRIPT
- Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister addresses Australia's parliament...
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says there is still room for negotiation toward a Gaza ceasefire
- France's oldest living Olympic champion proud to carry torch for the Paris Games
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has become the first Pacific leader to address Australia's parliament.
His visit follows deadly riots in his home capital of Port Moresby.
In his speech to parliament, Mr Marape says democracy remains vital in PNG, ever since it gained independence from Australia in 1975.
He says he hopes Australia will continue to support its closest neighbour.
"I ask you, do not give up on Papua New Guinea. We have always bounced back from our low moments and we will continue to grow, learning from every low moments and every high moments. We learn from past experiences. In this regard, I want to indicate to this House - we are making structural reforms and trying our best to improve our public sector efficiency, to carry the country for the next 50 years."
Mr Marape is in Australia for a second time after a visit in December when a bilateral security agreement was signed, which included $200 million to help train PNG police.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Australia and PNG have a strong relationship and that should continue.
"PNG is a very important partner in the Pacific, a very important part of our Pacific family, but more importantly than that, I think this is a profoundly important day. This is a day in which we really elevate our relationship with the Pacific. Prime Minister Marape is the first Pacific leader to speak to our national parliament. Just as Prime Minister Albanese was the first Australian prime minister to speak to the Papua New Guinean parliament. And that says something about who we are to each other."
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An Optus network outage which left millions without phone and internet service sparked a number of complaints to the industry watchdog as customers sought credits, discounts and an apology.
New data has found consumers lodged 14,671 complaints between October and December 2023, an increase of more than 13 per cent compared with the previous quarter.
But the data collected by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman also showed complaints dropped nearly 18 per cent compared with the same period in 2022.
Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert told SBS that decrease is a good sign, but it requires constant work to stay that way.
"Other key issues for us that ongoing customer service issues remains a big concern for everybody, as well as ongoing billing concerns. One of the things that we are pleased to see is we have seen a drop in complaints that relate to providers not saying what they got not doing what they say they're going to do. And that's been a key concern for consumers for a long time. So I'm pleased that that has gone down this quarter."
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Emergency crews continue to search for missing Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy, who disappeared five days ago after going for a run.
The 51-year-old was last seen leaving her Eureka Street home at Ballarat East about 7am on Sunday.
Police say her disappearance is out of character and they were concerned for her welfare after temperatures reached 36 degrees Celsius.
A friend of Ms Murphy, Virginia O'Loughlan, says the 51-year-old is an extremely dedicated mum and described the situation as an "absolute nightmare rollercoaster".
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he believes a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is still a possibility.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Hamas's proposed ceasefire terms - saying "total victory" in Gaza is possible within months.
Mr Blinken is in Israel after visiting Egypt and Qatar on his fifth tour of the region since October last year.
He says the US is seeking to broker a ceasefire that would pause the fighting in Gaza.
"What I can tell you about these discussions is that while there are some clear non-starters in Hamas's response, we do think it creates space for agreement to be reached, and we will work at that relentlessly until we get there."
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And to sports, France's oldest living Olympic champion says he is proud to be carrying the Olympic torch, 76 years after winning a gold medal in the men's team cycling pursuit [[in the 1948 Olympics in London]].
Charles Coste who turns 100 today was born in 1924, the last time Paris hosted the Summer Olympics.
He says these days he has bad knees, but he is still hoping to do his bit for this year's Olympics in Paris.
"To carry the flame, I was called to be told that I had been selected. That's all I know today. Of course, I will try to do it despite my knee disability, which causes me a lot of pain. It is a great honour."
