In this bulletin;
- New anti-hate and gun reform bills pass through the House of Representatives;
- Two people are dead after a freight train collided with a car in Victoria;
- And in tennis, Local hope Maya Joint crashes out of Australian Open in a first-round shocker.
The Albanese government has passed both its anti-hate and gun reform bills through the House of Representatives with ministers calling for unity as the legislation heads to the Senate.
The gun reforms will enable a national gun buyback and tighten background checks for gun licenses in response to the country’s worst mass shooting in decades in Bondi Beach last month.
The anti-hate bill sets up a process for designating hate groups and proposes expanded powers to deport those who are deemed to be spreading hate.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says it's crucial the government address both the motivation and the method behind the Bondi attack.
"As a government we must do everything we can to counter both the motivation and the method. We must deal with the motivation of hatred and the method - the firearms the attackers used - to devastate so many lives."
Independent MP Helen Mary Haines did not oppose the legislation but has lamented the rushed nature of the debate.
"In many respects, I can live with the haste of this. But the reality is that the inquiry into this bill was only tabled this morning. And the consequence of haste, as a legislator, is the missed opportunity to carefully consider and improve this significant legislation."
Both bills have now headed to the Senate for debate.
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Greens leader Larissa Waters says the Albanese government's anti-hate bill will threaten freedom of speech and could be used to silence criticism of human rights abuses.
The Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism bill has passed through the House of Representatives ans is now headed for a vote in the Senate today with support from the Coalition.
The new laws would give the Home Affairs minister, the Australian Federal Police minister and ASIO expanded powers to ban organisations they deem to be hateful and prevent migrants from entering the country based on a new character test.
Senator Waters says her party condemns the government for the rushed process of the bill and for introducing laws that could be used to crack down on political dissent.
"The Prime Minister wanted a political outcome. Well, what a shame that we don't instead have an outcome that genuinely protects people and that brings us together. That could have been achieved but this process and this bill are so far from that. The Greens will be strongly opposing it today, and we condemn the government and the Opposition for agreeing on such a frightening, blank cheque being given, which we fear will have real consequences to silence people's legitimate peaceful opinions."
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Two people have died after a freight train collided with a car in a small town in Victoria.
Emergency services say the two occupants of the vehicle were hit and killed when stopped at a railway crossing on Reddies Road in the town of Cressy, west of Geelong.
The victims are yet to be formally identified.
Victoria Police acting sergeant Jake Andrews says their preliminary investigation indicates the incident may have occurred due to driver error or a car failure.
"There are no signals at the crossing, it's signed only. No boom gates, no lights. Our understanding is that the vehicle traveling south came to a brief stop before entering the train line and for some unknown reason at this stage has failed to exit the train line. We don't suspect that self harm is at play at this stage. Based on our preliminary investigation, it appears that it may be vehicle trouble or driver error."
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A man in his 20s has been flown to hospital after a crocodile attack at a creek in North Queensland.
Emergency services were called to a creek in Victoria Plantation, in the tropical region between Cairns and Townsville, this morning.
Queensland Ambulance has confirmed the man suffered puncture wounds to his hip and was transported to Ingham Hospital, where he is being treated in a stable condition.
Queensland Police have also confirmed the injuries were the result of a crocodile bite.
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In tennis,
Home hope Maya Joint has crashed out of the Australian Open in a first-round shocker at Melbourne Park.
Seeded at a grand slam for the first time, the 19-year-old delivered a horrendous serving display in a 6-4 6-4 loss to Czech teenager Tereza Valentova.
Joint dropped service five times on John Cain Arena, coughing up eight double faults and facing a whopping 17 break points in total.
Her departure is a huge disappointment after the world number 32 arrived as the first women's home seed at the Open since Ash Barty took home the trophy in 2022.
But the 30th seed was simply unable to find the form that fired her from outside the world's top 100 and firmly into the spotlight with a blazing two-title season in 2025.
