TRANSCRIPT:
- Victoria's historic apology to First Nations people another step in the treaty process;
- The Reserve Bank issues its final rates decision for the year;
- Saudi fans await confirmation Mo Salah will join Al-Hilal.
The Reserve Bank has kept interest rates unchanged at its final board meeting this year.
That means the official cash rate remains on hold at 3.6 per cent, a decision widely anticipated in light of resurgent inflation in recent months.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says while many Australians would have welcomed a rate cut, they would not have expected it.
He says mortgage holders should not be disappointed.
"The three interest rate cuts that are already in the system this year are saving someone with a $700,000 mortgage about $4,000 a year. So the three rate cuts which are already flowing, which the Reserve Bank has said today the benefits are not yet fully felt, that is providing welcome relief to Australians with a mortgage who are doing it tough.”
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Shadow Treasurer Ted O’Brien says the RBA decision to hold rates demonstrates that the federal government has failed to manage the economy effectively.
He has described the lack of rate relief as tragic news ahead of Christmas.
”The average Australian mortgage holder is paying $1,800 more in interest every single month compared to when the Coalition was in government. That won't change. In fact, next year, it's likely to get worse.”
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The Victorian Government has delivered a historic apology to the state's First Nations people.
The opposition refused to back the apology, because the wording mentions treaty, which the Liberal Party has vowed to repeal within 100 days if it wins office.
But Premier Jacinta Allan has told Parliament she hopes that together with the state's truth telling and treaty process, the apology will help unite Victorians.
"For the Laws, the policies and the decisions of this Parliament, and those that came before it - laws that took land, removed children, broke families and tried to erase culture - we say sorry. For the tears shed in the dark, for the silence that shadowed their years, for the childhood taken and never returned, for the Stolen Generations, we say sorry."
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The Israeli military has launched a wave of strikes in southern Lebanon.
No casualties have been immediately reported but Lebanon's state news agency says that Israeli warplanes carried out a series of strikes throughout the south.
The Israeli military says it was targetting a Hezbollah training compound, military infrastructure and a rocket launch site.
The strikes come less than a week after both Israel and Lebanon sent civilian envoys to a military committee monitoring the ceasefire struck between Israel and Hezbollah in 2024.
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Cambodia's defence ministry says at least six Cambodian civilians have been killed in renewed clashes along the country's border with Thailand.
Phnom Penh's defence ministry says two civilians deaths happened when the Thai military fired into the border province of Banteay Meanchey overnight.
The Thai army says one soldier has been killed and 18 others wounded since clashes broke out on Sunday.
In Sydney, Kanit Utitabud has spoken to SBS Thai about his concerns for family in the region.
“I just got off the phone with my younger brother. He said the explosions started around 4 am. The roof was shaking with each blast. People are scared. There’s no sense of safety at all. And when political interests whether local or national get entangled with one side or the other, it’s ordinary people who pay the price. Families on both sides are suffering. Some are even related to each other. The displacement, the uncertainty the impact on people’s lives is enormous.”
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Leading figures from across the political spectrum have gathered to farewell one of Australia's most notorious kingmakers: Labor powerbroker Graham Richardson.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among the mourners at the state funeral service in Sydney's St James’ Church, along with one of his Liberal predecessor Tony Abbott and ex-Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce.
Graham Richardson had a controversial career as a Labor senator and minister during the Hawke and Keating governments, and remained a prominent figure after his retirement from politics, despite being embroiled in several scandals stretching back decades.
Mr Albanese has told the service that Mr Richardson had nevertheless commanded respect across political lines.
"If Graham was not perfect, he was always very direct. That much was evident in the famously self aware title of his memoir - ‘Whatever it takes’. He had that rogue's charm. An instinctive capacity to disarm, no secret that he played his politics hard. Very hard."
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To sport,
Soccer fans are awaiting confirmation following reports linking Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah with a potential January move to Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal.
Speculation has intensified after the 33-year-old voiced frustration with Liverpool manager Arne Slot following Saturday’s 3–3 draw with Leeds.
At Al-Hilal’s club grounds, players and supporters like Abdulrahman Al-Harbi say Salah could boost the team’s title hopes.
"I heard that Mohamed Salah is coming to Al-Hilal, God willing. He'll help us secure the first title, God willing, and we'll win the Asian Championship, God willing. All the best to Al-Hilal."
