A daily 5 minute news wrap for English learners and people with a disability.
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TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Catriona Stirrat.
Victorian Deputy Premier Jacinta Allen is tipped to be the most likely contender to replace Daniel Andrews, following his resignation as premier.
Ms Allan is so far the only candidate to come forward before a Labor meeting today at noon.
Political analyst Paul Strangio from Monash University says Daniel Andrews leaves office as a "titan" of Victorian politics.
He says while the Andrews government had its share of controversies, including the cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, Daniel Andrews will be remembered as a progressive premier whose social reforms and massive infrastructure programs transformed Victoria.
"So I think in those two areas, infrastructure and social reform will be his major legacies. Some would argue there's a darker side to his legacy and that is a democratic deficit in things like the tight centralisation of power in Victoria and the politicisation of the public service."
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Footage of children with autism being pinned to the ground by multiple NDIS service workers has been described as "shocking and confronting" by the federal minister.
NDIS Minister Bill Shorten says the practice is unacceptable and he is seeking an explanation after the video was broadcast on the ABC's 4 Corners program.
The vision shows a child with autism being pinned down by six workers as part of a therapy program in Melbourne that was funded by the NDIS.
Mr Shorten spoke with ABC Radio this morning.
"I found the footage shocking and confronting, it's unacceptable. There is no set of circumstances which permits what we saw, in my opinion ... I certainly don't think there's any place in the sector for people running this program."
While the NDIS commission says the controversial program had stopped in 2021, the ABC reported it was still running several months later.
Mr Shorten says the department is seeking information about whether the program was allowed to continue.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says states and territories should conduct their own inquiries into their handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Prime Minister has defended the decision for a federal inquiry into the pandemic to not examine state lockdowns or border closures, which has attracted criticism.
The 12-month inquiry, which was announced last week, will look at federal government decisions around vaccinations and treatments, as well as assistance for Australians abroad and financial support.
Mr Albanese tells ABC Radio the actions of state and territory governments would be outside the scope of the federal inquiry.
"This is a commonwealth government inquiry, and it will examine the way that the Commonwealth interacted with states and territories, it's an independent inquiry. What it won't do is look at decisions that are solely the decision of state governments. You would need effectively nine different inquiries, because each state did some things that were very different."
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Britain's Home Secretary Suella Braverman has called for governments to consider rewriting global refugee rules so they are "fit for the modern age".
Speaking at the American Enterprise Institute think-tank in Washington, she says people who fear discrimination for being gay or being a woman should not necessarily be regarded as sufficient for them to qualify for asylum.
''Let me be clear. There are vast swathes of the world where it is extremely difficult to be gay or to be a woman. Where individuals are being persecuted, it is right that we offer sanctuary, but we will not be able to sustain an asylum system if, in effect, simply being gay or a woman or fearful of discrimination in your country of origin is sufficient to qualify for protection."
I'm Catriona Stirrat. That was SBS News in Easy English.
