TRANSCRIPT
- The US Secretary of State returns to the MIddle East for Gaza ceasefire talks
- More funding for New South Wales emergency departments announced
- The Collingwood Magpies soar into the AFL top eight with a win over the Melbourne Demons.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has returned to the Middle East as a proposed Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal hangs in the balance.
Mr Blinken has arrived in Cairo, Egypt, days after the rescue of four Israeli hostages held in Gaza in a major military raid and turmoil in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
With no firm response yet from Hamas to the proposal, Mr Blinken is set to start his eighth diplomatic mission to the region since the conflict escalated dramatically on the 7th of October.
He is to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo before traveling to Israel, Jordan and Qatar.
While President Joe Biden and Mr Blinken have praised the hostage rescue, the operation resulted in the deaths of more than 270 Palestinians according to Gaza's health ministry, which may complicate the cease-fire push.
Narendra Modi has taken charge as Prime Minister of India for a third consecutive term.
It comes after a surprising electoral setback that will test his ability to ensure political security in a coalition government in the world's most populous nation.
Mr Modi also presented his recommendation for the 72-member Council of Ministers, whose portfolios are yet to be announced.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns says the upcoming state budget will include $15.1 million to help ease the pressure on emergency departments.
The funding is set to be used to upgrade the public health system's ambulance patient allocation system.
It will take into account capacity at nearby emergency departments, travel times and a patient's clinical condition through real-time live data.
Mr Minns says the measure will help reduce response times.
"That does two things, first it gets paramedics back into the community quicker, which can help with response times. And secondly it limits the amount of ramping that we are currently facing, particularly during winter seasons, across major public hospitals in Sydney."
The state government had already announced a $480 million plan to improve the state's hospital emergency departments.
Queensland Premier Steven Miles says the state budget to be announced today will focus on cost of living pressures, but an increase in the state's debts raise concern.
The plan includes $1,000 energy rebates and 50 cent public transport fares for 6 months.
But the Miles Labor government may push Queensland into a record $172 billion debt to fund the coal-rich state's transition to renewable energy, even though the centerpiece of the planned low-emissions electricity grid has yet to receive approval.
New Treasury forecasts, to be released in the budget, reveal that the government's total debt will increase by $70 billion from mid-2023 to the end of the 2027-28 fiscal year.
The government says the debt is needed to finance the phasing out of the state's coal-fired power generators and manage population growth.
Mr Miles says the budget has a clear target.
"Addressing the cost of living sits at the heart of this budget. $1,000 energy rebates topped up with a further $300 from the Australian government and a further $372 for vulnerable households. 50 cent public transport fairs, $200 vouchers to get kids into sport. 20% off Rejo. It's a budget that proudly helps young people to buy their first home."
The Federal Health Minister says he is monitoring the potential human health risk of Victoria's avian flu outbreak "very closely".
Mark Butler says Victoria's management of the H-7-N-3 outbreak at five egg farms is "reassuring", and the state is working closely with the Commonwealth.
But he conceded authorities are always alert to the possibility of human infection.
Mr Butler says tackling avian flu is a global problem, with every continent except Australia currently battling outbreaks of an H591 strain.
"There have been some cases of cross-over into human infection. There has not been a case of infection here in Australia, although there has been a young person who returned to Australia from another country with an infection. So we're monitoring - from the Human Health portfolios - we're monitoring the Avian Flu spread around the world - as well as here in Australia - very, very closely."
More than half a million chickens have been euthanased in Victoria so far, while Coles supermarkets have imposed a two-carton limit for customers buying eggs everywhere but Western Australia.
The minister has joined other leaders urging customers not to panic-buy products.
In AFL,
The Collingwood Magpies have moved into the top eight, while the Melbourne Demons lost Christian Petracca.
The Magpies won has defeated the Demons in a jam-packed match on the King's Birthday.
Even though two superstars were replaced with varying degrees of concern, the Demons didn't lead once during the clash, and the Pies further strengthened their premiership credentials with a 38-point win.
The win takes Collingwood from ninth to sixth in the table, while Melbourne lost their fourth game in five weeks - and go into the rest period with a very low level of confidence for the second half of the season.
