TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Ciara Hain.
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Three United States marines who were killed in a helicopter crash during a military drill in the Northern Territory have been identified.
The helicopter came down during a training exercise on Melville Island, north of Darwin on Sunday.
Captain Eleanor LeBeau, Corporal Spencer Collart, and Major Tobin Lewis, were killed and the 20 other people on board, who were all US marines, were injured.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
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The boss of Virgin Australia has questioned the decision to block more domestic competition to protect Qantas' profits, saying the government wasn't properly informed.
The Albanese government blocked Qatar Airways from flying more domestic flights after lobbying from the national carrier Qantas.
Virgin boss Jayne Hrdlicka says she has sought a number of meetings with the government but hadn't heard back.
Ms Hrdlicka also hit back at suggestions Qantas as the national carrier needed to be shielded by government intervention, underlining they are privately owned and listed on the public market.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will announce the date of the referendum for an Indigenous Voice to parliament in Adelaide tomorrow, with the poll expected to be set for the 14th of October.
South Australia and Tasmania are seen as swing states critical for the 'yes' campaign to achieve a four-state majority in the referendum, with Western Australia and Queensland widely tipped to vote 'no'.
Yes campaigners see the crucial state of South Australia as winnable in the upcoming referendum.
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A beach safety researcher says removing shark nets will do little to reduce the dangers on Australia’s beaches.
Shark nets are returning to New South Wales beaches from next month but conservationists say they do more harm than good by trapping non-target animals like turtles, dolphins and seals.
The Co-Founder of University New South Wales Beach Safety Research Group Dr Amy Peden says while protecting swimmers from sharks is important, people are much more likely to drown.
"Drowning is much greater risk than a shark attack along our coastline and I'd like to see the same investment and attention in public education given to drowning prevention than receive shark litigation."
Last year, the Royal Life Saving National Drowning report found 339 people died in Australian waterways.
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A recent report from the Pentington Institute found that drug overdose is a leading cause of death in Australia.
The report found that there were 2,231 deaths caused by drug overdose in 2021.
The most common drug detected was opioids.
Robert Taylor from the Australian Drug Foundation says the majority of the overdoses reported were unintentional and that better measures must be put in place to prevent them.
"A lot of these deaths are preventable and there's a whole range of measures that can be used to help prevent overdose deaths. We'd really like to see ongoing, coordinated, long-term investment into prevention, harm reduction issues as well as stronger investment into treatment services. This could look like a suite of measures, including injection facilities, drug checking services, more detox and rehab beds. As well as investment in campaigns that can help reduce stigma in the community"
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A magnitude 7 earthquake has been reported in the area of Bali, in Indonesia, this morning.
The epicentre was 203 kilometres north of Mataram at over 500 kilometres of depth.
The U-S Tsunami Warning System says there are no threats of a tsunami as a result of the earthquake.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
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I’m Ciara Hain, this is SBS News in Easy English.
