More Australians dying from drug overdoses than road crashes; DFAT relaxes travel warnings for some Middle-Eastern countries; And at the World Cup, France and Norway open their campaigns with victories.
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TRANSCRIPT:
- More Australians dying from drug overdoses than road crashes
- DFAT relaxes travel warnings for some Middle-Eastern countries
- France and Norway open their World Cup campaigns with victories
New figures show Australia recorded its deadliest year on record for drug overdoses in 2024.
A report by independent public health and drug policy organisation the Pennington Institute found 2,596 people died from drug-induced causes, up almost 11 per cent on the previous year.
More than 2,000 of those deaths were unintentional, with the report estimating Australia is now losing around seven people a day to overdose.
The report found overdose deaths were nearly double the national road toll.
Reverend Bill Crews, from the Bill Crews Foundation says the figures should be a wake-up call and argues drug dependence should be treated as a health issue rather than a criminal one.
"The number of deaths by drug overdose exceeding car smash deaths is a huge wake-up call. The last time it happened was in the 1990s A legalistic approach to drug taking only makes the issue worse. We need to change tactics, look at drug usage as a health issue rather than a legal issue, and then we will begin to make the problem less intractable."
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Adults who recruit children to commit serious crimes in Victoria could face life in prison under new laws introduced to state parliament.
Premier Jacinta Allan says the legislation targets organised crime figures accused of exploiting vulnerable young people and directing them to carry out violent offences on their behalf.
Victoria's Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny says the reforms respond to a growing trend in Australia and overseas of criminal networks using technology and social media to recruit children to commit crimes that cause significant harm in the community.
"These evil puppet masters are recruiting children ... to commit serious criminal activity here in Victoria, and these new laws will commence almost immediately. They will carry a maximum life sentence, sending the strongest possible message that this kind of conduct, this kind of behaviour by these evil, gutless thugs, cowards will never be tolerated, and they will face maximum life in jail."
The government adds the changes are designed to target those orchestrating crimes rather than the children being exploited.
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A 15 per cent pay rise for early childhood educators is being rolled out across Australia as the Federal Government looks to address workforce shortages in the childcare sector.
The wage increase, introduced in stages from December 2024, is tied to limits on fee increases for families and is aimed at improving staff retention.
Education Minister Jason Clare says better wages are helping attract and retain educators.
"There are now 20,000 more people working in childcare centres today than when we put this in place 18 months ago. The vacancy rate for staff in centres across the country has dropped by 31 per cent in 18 months. Now that tells you something, doesn't it? Tells you that if you pay people more, more people want to do the job, and people who left the job that they loved because they couldn't afford to keep doing it and went and got a job at Woollies or Bunnings are coming back."
The government says childcare centres that adopted the wage increase have also recorded smaller fee rises than those that did not.
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Australia has eased travel warnings for parts of the Middle East following the agreement between the United States and Iran.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has lowered its advice for Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from "Do Not Travel" to "Reconsider your need to travel", although some areas of Israel remain under the highest warning level.
The Federal Government says it welcomes the agreement and supports efforts to secure lasting peace through diplomacy.
But DFAT warns the security situation could deteriorate quickly and is urging Australians to reconsider non-essential travel to the region.
Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Yemen remain under a "Do Not Travel" warning, while Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia remain at Level Three
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New figures suggest tougher rules for buy now, pay later services are helping identify Australians struggling with debt earlier.
Data from credit reporting agency Equifax shows the number of borrowers formally reporting financial hardship has risen from 0.06 per cent to 0.24 per cent since the sector came under national credit laws a year ago.
But Equifax says that doesn't mean more people are falling behind on repayments.
It says the new rules are making financial stress more visible and helping people seek assistance earlier, while missed-payment rates have actually improved.
The data also shows buy now, pay later borrowers remain less likely to experience hardship than mortgage holders, with a hardship rate of 0.24 per cent compared with 0.5 per cent for home loans.
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Israel's ambassador to Australia is denying abuse claims by Australians aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla that he says are inconsistent.
Eleven Australians were detained by Israel while on board the flotilla attempting to deliver aid to Gaza.
They've joined an official submission to the International Criminal Court alleging they were subjected to torture, sexual violence and other abuse while detained.
But Israel's ambassador to Australia, Dr Hillel Newman tells the ABC the claims have been faked.
"We have nothing to hide, really. We have videos even of these people on the boat enjoying themselves, engaging in recreational sports, in good health, embracing each other, and then afterwards they go out and they claim that they were attacked, and they were injured, and they were sexually raped. You know, we have photographs of them faking injuries. There are tremendous inconsistencies in their stories."
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In football, Iraq coach Graham Arnold says not all hope is lost, despite his side's heavy defeat to Norway in the opening game of their World Cup campaign.
Star Norwegian striker Erling Haaland scored twice in Norway's four goals to one win in Boston.
Former Socceroos coach Arnold says his Iraq side may only need to win one of their two remaining games to advance to the last 32.
"What we've got to focus on? Obviously, I think three points will get you through to the next phase. We've got two more games to go. I thought the boys did exceptionally well fiirst half. Couple of mistakes hurt us badly."
In the other game in Group I, France has started their campaign with a three goals to one win over Senegal in New Jersey.
Star striker Kylian Mbappe scoring twice for France.
