TRANSCRIPT
In this bulletin,
- A bushfire threatens homes on the outskirts of Perth;
- China's top diplomat arrives in Canberra for trade talks;
- And in sport, Cricket Australia calls off its Twenty20 series against Afghanistan over human rights concerns.
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An emergency warning has been issued to residents on the outskirts of Perth as a bushfire threatens lives and homes.
Authorities have urged residents to leave now for a safer place if their way is clear, or to be prepared to shelter at home.
The alert has been issued for those living around Gidgegannup, 40 kilometres northeast of the Western Australian capital.
David Gill, from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, says the warning is necessary because the fire has intensified.
"This fire has come out of significant fuels. It's come out of the forested areas, now coming down to the acreages, properties, where there are homes."
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China's top diplomat will meet with his Australian counterpart in Canberra today, raising expectations it will clear the way for the last remaining trade impediments to be dropped.
Beijing has already signalled it's willing to lift punitive tariffs on Australian wine by the end of the month, after an interim recommendation from a World Trade Organisation review found they should be scrapped.
Producers are hoping that Foreign Minister Penny Wong's meeting with Wang Yi will lead to a breakthrough on lingering high tariffs against beef and lobsters, as well as wine.
In a press conference with South Australian wine producers earlier this week, Trade Minister Don Farrell has already signalled he believes there will be positive developments.
"We are very confident that in the next few days, that decision will be affirmed and that by the end of the month Australian wine can freely go back into the Chinese market."
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The federal opposition leader has accused Labor of setting the Coalition up for failure over plans to update Australia's religious discrimination laws.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told members of the Labor caucus he wants bipartisan support for the legislation, because he fears the potential for a divisive national debate at a time when Islamophobia and anti-semitism are already heightened.
SBS has been told there are concerns of a repeat of the political divisions that plagued the Voice referendum.
But Peter Dutton says he hasn't even see a copy of the proposed changes - and he believes he's being scapegoated already.
"He is looking for a way to crash this before the legislation is released. He is trying to find an out on a topic he doesn't want to go near."
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A counter-proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza might soon be presented to Hamas, as negotiations continue in Doha.
Last week, Hamas proposed a six-week truce and the release of about 42 hostages in exchange for 20 to 50 Palestinian prisoners per hostage - but the talks involving US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have yet to result in an agreement.
Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari says they are "cautiously optimistic" about the progress of negotiations.
But he says the talks would be derailed if Israel goes ahead with an assault on Rafah, where 1.5 million Gazans are sheltering.
"We have cautioned and we will still caution that any attack on Rafah will make the humanitarian situation considerably worse and will result in atrocities that have not been seen before in this terrible crisis, with the number of unbelievable atrocities that have taken place. I don't think we are at a moment now where we can say that we are close to a deal. As I said, we are cautiously optimistic because the talks have resumed and that is a good thing and we hope that that continues, and we hope to build upon that."
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An institute dedicated to gender justice for First Nations women and girls has been officially opened.
The Institute is named Wiyi Yani U Thangani, or 'women's voices' in the Bunuba language, and will be based at the Australian National University in Canberra.
The first female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Dr June Oscar, is the new institute's chair.
"We are doing this work because of the voices and the vibrant lives, the resilience and the absolute determination of First Nations women and girls, in all of our diversity. All of those conversations with all of those women and girls, everywhere we went. I am just so privileged to have been in their company."
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To sport, Cricket Australia has called off plans for a three match T20 series against Afghanistan, citing deteriorating human rights for women and girls in the country under Taliban rule.
It's the third time CA has declined to play Afghanistan since the Taliban seized control of the Asian nation in September 2021 and immediately placed restrictions on female participation in sport.
Cricket Australia says it had kept the door ajar for future bilateral series, but has received advice conditions are getting worse for women and girls.
