Victoria's Deputy Premier says she's a candidate to replace Daniel Andrews; Some of the country’s most remote residents start voting in the Indigenous Voice referendum; The doping hearing of Russian athlete Kamila Valieva is finally underway.
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT
- Victoria's Deputy Premier says she's a candidate to replace Daniel Andrews
- Some of the country’s most remote residents start voting in the Indigenous Voice referendum
- The doping hearing of Russian athlete Kamila Valieva is finally underway
Victorian Deputy Premier Jacinta Allen is tipped to be the most likely contender to replace Daniel Andrews, following his sudden resignation as premier.
Ms Allan is so far the only candidate to come forward before a meeting of Labor's caucus today at noon.
Posting to X, formerly known as Twitter, Ms Allan said she will be putting herself forward to continue what she called her party's extraordinary work.
—-
Some of the country’s most remote residents have begun casting their votes in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.
People on Bathurst Island, part of the Northern Territory's Tiwi Islands, have been among the first in the nation to vote either Yes or No.
A total of 193 remote communities in the territory are expected to vote in the referendum.
—-
Anthony Albanese says Australia will be prepared to the fullest extent possible, ahead of what's expected to be the worst bushfire season since Black Summer.
The Prime Minister is overseeing a landmark National Bushfire Preparedness Summit to heed the lessons from the devastating 2019 bushfires that killed 34 people and destroyed more than 2000 homes.
Mr Albanese says Australia will require a nationwide, coordinated response.
"You deserve for all of us to treat the coming fire season with all the seriousness and urgency that it deserves to make sure that our lines of communication faster than any fire from that might be confronted. And to make sure that we have cooperation and coordination across agencies across borders, across state and federal and local government."
—-
Hundreds of people have gathered across the Northern Territory for a day of action, calling on the federal and territory governments to commit to more needs-based funding, housing for victims and a peak body for domestic violence.
Activists dressed in purple rallied at several locations, including Darwin, Alice Springs and Tennant Creek to press for $180 million in federal funding over five years.
The Northern Territory has been dealing with a domestic violence crisis and experiences the highest rates of domestic, family and sexual violence in Australia, with Indigenous women 18 times more likely to suffer this type of violence than their non-Indigenous counterparts.
—-
The Speaker of Canada's House of Commons has resigned after unwittingly praising a Ukrainian man who fought for a Nazi unit and inviting him to parliament.
Anthony Rota has told politicians he made a mistake by inviting ex-soldier Yaroslav Hunka to attend a session in the House honouring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Members of parliament from all parties rose to applaud Hunka unaware he served in one of Adolf Hitler's Waffen SS units during World War II.
Mr Rota says he didn't know of Mr Hunka's Nazi ties and made a mistake in inviting him to attend the event.
"Work of this House is above any of us. Therefore, I must step down as your speaker. I reiterate my profound regret for my error in recognising an individual in the House during the Joint address to Parliament of President Zelenskyy. That public recognition has caused pain to individuals and communities, including the Jewish community in Canada and around the world."
—-
Japan has approved its first-ever Alzheimer's drug.
The country's health ministry has approved the drug Legembi which was jointly developed by Japanese and United States pharmaceutical companies.
It's the first drug for treatment of the disease in a country with a rapidly ageing population.
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says the drug appears to be promising for the treatment of dementia.
"This is a breakthrough drug that works on the substance responsible for Alzheimer's disease. We believe that we have entered a new era in the treatment of dementia.”
—-
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has started hearing the doping case of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva.
The trial begins nineteen months after Valieva helped Russia win gold in the team event at the 2022 Beijing Games, despite having tested positive for a banned substance.
The CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Travis Tygart, says the case has already dragged on for too long.
"Well obviously, we're looking for justice. Although, at this point, given the significant delay, justice seems to have been defeated because the athletes -- including Valieva herself, the Russian team and the other teams who stand to obtain medals -- haven't had their medal ceremony. And that's the defining moment of their career that's been taken away from them."






