TRANSCRIPT
- The Albanese government's stage 3 tax cut changes pass the parliament
- The Kremlin responds to indications European ground troops could be sent to Ukraine
- Australia pledges more funds to increase Pacific Islands participation in rugby union.
Labor's revamped stage three tax package has passed the Senate after passing the lower house earlier this month.
Australians earning less than $150,000 will receive a greater tax cut and those earning more than $150,000 will still receive a tax cut, but less than they would have in the original stage three reform.
Opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume told parliament the coalition wouldn't stand in the way of lower taxes and relief.
While Mr Albanese has once again defended his government's change of policy, saying the public should have no reason not to trust his government.
"We changed our position for reasons of good economic policy. Peter Dutton changed his position at the last minute because of politics, because everything about what Peter Dutton does is about the politics. It's never about helping people. It's never about growing the economy. It's never about the national interest. It's always just about his own political interests."
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher joined Mr Albanese, saying women will especially benefit from the tax plan.
"So when you look at childcare carers, 97 per cent get a bigger tax cut. When we look at registered nurses, 97 per cent, when we look at aged care at disability care, where we see lots of women in those industries, they will get a much bigger tax cut under this plan. And we know that it works in conjunction with some of the other measures that the government has put in place. So some of our energy bill relief, our childcare support, our Medicare investments."
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The families of two missing men have made the journey to a rural property where the bodies of their sons were found, more than a week after they were allegedly murdered by a police officer.
The alleged killer, 28-year-old Senior Constable Beau Lamarre-Condon, provided police with information which helped them locate the missing men.
Investigators set up a crime scene at a second property at Bungonia after spending days searching dams and paddocks at another site in the area outside Goulburn, about 200 kilometres southwest of Sydney.
Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald has praised the work of the Homicide Squad.
"Sadly, as a society, we have these types of incidents, domestic violence that occur in our world, and we have to deal with them. And it has hurt us, because it was one of our own officers who was involved in this. On behalf of myself and the Commissioner I want to thank those homicide detectives."
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Ukraine has welcomed the possibility of direct military intervention by a European country in its war against Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron has left open the possibility of sending troops into Ukraine, but he's cautioned there's no consensus on this at a conference of 20 European leaders in Paris.
The Kremlin has responded, saying a war with NATO is inevitable if it were to happen.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has also used the conference to pledge further support for Ukraine.
He says the Netherlands will contribute over $165 million [[100 million Euros]] to the Czech initiative to buy ammunition for Ukraine from countries around the world.
"I think there was a great sense of urgency particularly for the short term, of ammunition and of air defence, and particularly on ammunition, there is this great Czech initiative, which is buying worldwide ammunition and shells for Ukraine. And the Netherlands decided to announce tonight to contribute over 100 million (euros) to that initiative and hope other countries will follow."
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Women and children have been killed after an Israeli airstrike on a building in Rafah in southern Gaza.
Local residents say the building was full of at least 100 displaced people.
Rafah has come under weeks of Israeli bombardment despite some 1.4 million Palestinians seeking safety in the city amid the ongoing war.
Yesser al-Affifi lives near the targeted building.
“Suddenly and without warning the strike happened. The building was full of displaced people; almost more than 50 displaced people were in the building. More than 20 children were in it. Most of the people in the building were women and children. Bodies started falling on us here. This area where our house is located is often bombed. We took bodies out of this building. The scenes were frightening. I can’t understand, how long will this situation last? Look at the rubble. There were more than 100 people in the building. Isn’t it forbidden to (target) those children and people?”
The Israeli assault on Gaza has now killed close to 30,000 Palestinians according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
This comes after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 people hostage.
**
In sport, Australia has announced it will allocate an extra $14.2 million to boost Pacific Islands participation in rugby union, part of a diplomatic push in the region.
Australia will partner with Rugby Australia in a four-year program to strengthen Pacific Island national rugby union teams, including support for training and women players as well as opportunities to host major events.
It comes ahead of Australia hosting the 2027 men’s Rugby World Cup and 2029 women’s Rugby World Cup.
Rugby Australia President Joe Roff says with so many high-profile events being held in the region, it provides an opportunity - in particular - to grow Pacific women’s rugby.
"These major Rugby events may be based in Australia, but these are home world cups and games for our Pacific Rugby family. This PacificAus sports partnership will provide pathways to increase Pacific representation in elite rugby. Women's rugby will receive the majority of our PacificAus funding, including a four-year investment into Samoa's Women Sevens program and establish the Penina Pasifika women's rugby team."
