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TRANSCRIPT
- Anthony Albanese defends President Isaac Herzog's visit as he issues call for calm
- The government unveils policy to end violence against First Nations women and children
- Pakistan reverses its boycott and agrees to play against India in the T20 World Cup
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says it is appropriate for Israel's President, Isaac Herzog, to be invited to Australia - as he called for calm.
Nine people have been charged* over a Sydney rally last night protesting against Mr Herzog's visit.
The New South Wales Greens party have called for for an independent investigation into police actions at the rally, with video footage showing protesters beaten, shoved and the target of pepper-spray.
Mr Albanese says there a range of views on Mr Herzog's visit - but it is important to understand he is here to help members of the Jewish community as they grieve the Bondi terror attack.
He says matters need to be handled respectfully - and the violence at the Sydney rally is unacceptable.
"And the violence that we saw last night was devastating. I note that the New South Wales Police have said they will examine the footage that was taken place last night, including - particularly of the people who were praying. And then action was taken. We will want to know all the circumstances around that and I will allow the police to do their job. But I also note that there were systems put in place to make sure - which is pretty sensible frankly - where President Herzogg was and where the demonstrations were."
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More than 100 Muslim organisations have condemned the actions of police in removing a group of men praying near the Sydney rally in the CBD.
Video footage of the incident has been widely shared on social media.
In a joint statement, groups including the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, the Lebanese Muslim Association and the Islamophobia Register Australia - say the behaviour is unjustifiable and they're seeking an apology from the premier, the police minister and police leadership.
Bilal Rauf is a senior advisor with the Australian National Imams Council.
"There has been widespread footage and accounts of what appears to be disproportionate use of force by New South Wales police there. There has been footage of people being disrupted in prayer, not breaching any line or engaging any in any provocative behavior. There has been footage of people being punched, hands up in the air, but being punched, Australians, and pepper sprayed. All of that needs to be looked at very closely, it does not bode well for our social cohesion."
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has broadly defended police actions, saying officers were put in an "incredibly difficult" situation.
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New research into the national plan to end violence against First Nations women has identified a trend of non-Indigenous men being the primary perpetrators of abuse in specific regions.
The federal government is now committing more than 200 million dollars toward the 'Our Ways – Strong Ways – Our Voices' strategy to facilitate long-term healing and systemic change.
Associate Professor Muriel Bamblett says that addressing racism is central to understanding why these women are being targeted.
"One of the really interesting data is 85 per cent in one of our regions, 85% of the violence perpetrated on Aboriginal women are by non Aboriginal men. We have to ask the question: Why do non Aboriginal men treat our women as less than and so I think we need to really address the issue of racism and how that impacts on our women and our communities."
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The High Court of Australia is considering whether the Northern Territory government acted lawfully when it granted one of Australia's largest groundwater licenses to an owner of a cattle station.
The licence authorises Fortune Agribusiness to extract 40 gigalitres of groundwater at Singleton Station every year for 30 years, to develop a fruit farm.
The station is 390 kilometres north of Alice Springs and lies on land owned under Native Title.
Native title holder Valerie Curtis says the licence risks permanently damaging an ancient aquifer, community water supplies, and dozens of sacred sites.
"Continue fighting for our water because our water is really important and it is precious. And it is life for us you know. We're thinking about our country and for our future generations as well. Them taking too much water is going to damage our country. It's going to damage our plants, our animals. Damage our culture as well - and the Dreaming and Story line."
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In cricket, Pakistan has agreed to play against India in this weekend's T20 World Cup match in Colombo.
The decision by Pakistan's government reverses a boycott imposed after the governing body, the ICC, replaced Bangladesh with Scotland in the tournament.
The statement from the Pakistan government confirmed that a number of ICC members, including Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates, had called for a reversal of the boycott, citing financial impact on other nations.
