Early voting starts today for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. A bomb attack rocks the parliamentary precinct in Türkiye's capital Ankara. And in rugby league, Penrith beat Brisbane to take home their third consecutive N-R-L premiership.
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TRANSCRIPT:
- Early voting starts today for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament
- A bomb attack rocks the parliamentary precinct in Türkiye's capital Ankara...
- And in rugby league, Penrith beat Brisbane to take home their third consecutive N-R-L premiership.
Early voting begins today, with the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to parliament now just two weeks away.
Early voting centres are set to open in Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
For the remaining states, which have a public holiday on Monday, early voting opens on the 3rd October.
That means people in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT will be able to cast an early vote from Tuesday.
Sally Angus from the Australian Electoral Commission says people find out where they can vote by accessing the A-E-C website.
"If people can vote on Saturday the 14th of October, then that's what they should do. However, if voter circumstances may prevent them from doing this, there are hundreds of early voting centres available across the country for the two weeks leading up to referendum day."
A suicide bomb has rocked the parliamentary district of Türkiye's capital Ankara.
The Turkish government says one person died in the attack outside the Interior Ministry buildings and the other was shot dead by police.
On the social media platform X, interior minister Ali Yerlikaya has said that two police officers were also "slightly injured".
It ocurred on the day Türkiye's parliament was set to open a new session.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has delivered a defiant address to parliament.
"As a result of the timely intervention of our security forces this morning, the action in which two murderers were neutralised is the last stand of terrorism. The scoundrels who targeted the peace and security of the citizens could not achieve their goals. They will never reach it."
United States President Joe Biden has welcomed the passing of temporary funding to stop a government shutdown - but says it should never have happened in the first place.
Congress passed a short-term funding bill to keep federal agencies until November the 17th, just hours before the deadline.
The funding includes disaster relief but does not include additional funds for Ukraine.
In a statement, President Biden says the bill is "good news for the American people" - but has blamed "extreme" House Republicans who were attempting to overturn an agreement struck a few months ago.
Speaking after the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says he's pleased the looming crisis was averted.
"It's been a day full of twists and turns, but the American people can breathe a sigh of relief, there will be no government shutdown. Democrats have said from the start that the only solution for avoiding a shutdown is bipartisanship and we are glad that Speaker McCarthy has finally heeded our message."
The federal government is set to announce new measures cracking down on immigration rorts and dodgy student visas.
Education Minister Jason Clare has said the changes would close loopholes that allow people to enter the country on student visas to work without actually studying.
It will be one of several visa reforms, following a major review of the immigration system commissioned by Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil.
She charged former Victoria Police commissioner Christine Nixon with the task after reports of human trafficking and exploitation in the visa system.
Jason Clare has told Sky News Australia must protect the integrity of international education.
"It's the biggest export we don't dig out of the ground. It makes us money but it (also) makes us friends in the region, because if you come here and study when you go home you take that love and affection for Australia back home with you. But where there are shonks or dodgy operators trying to exploit students and make money out of it, it's important that we crack down on this fast, to protect the integrity of the system. And that's what the reforms we'll announce over the course of the next few days will be all about."
And in rugby league the Penrith Panthers have beaten the Brisbane Broncos in the N-R-L grand final, making it their third consecutive premiership.
It was the Panthers' number 7, Nathan Cleary, who delivered a dazzling solo display to wrap up the 26-24 victory.
It also won the 25 year-old the Clive Churchill Medal - the second of his career.
Panthers centre Steve Crichton, celebrated the win - and his final season with the team.
"Yeah, all of our hard work throughout the year always trained us for the big moments, and we knew that we were three tries down and we knew we just had to dig deep, we knew it was there and we just had to give ourselves a chance and the boys stuck in there."
