Sydney Swans' captain and coach apologise amid an ongoing police investigation; Emergency services review processes after heartbreaking mistake; And in cycling, the Tour of Britain to review its safety standards.
Listen to Australian and world news and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT
- Sydney Swans' captain and coach apologise amid an ongoing police investigation.
- Emergency services review processes after heartbreaking mistake.
- And in cycling, the Tour of Britain to review its safety standards.
Sydney Swans senior coach Dean Cox and captain Callum Mills have apologised for the scandal that's engulfed the club this week.
Isaac Heeney, Nick Blakey, Chad Warner, Riley Bice and James Jordon have been suspended for the rest of the season for breaching the club's standards, following last Sunday's win over Essendon in Melbourne.
Police are also investigating allegations of a sexual assault but no charges have been laid.
Cox says work will need to be done to win back the community's trust.
"Our culture isn't perfect. One thing that we do know is our culture has taken a hit. The thing you need to understand about a culture is how you respond and the actions you take following being hit. We're going to work through and as hard as we possibly can to get the trust back from the community, to get the culture where we desire to be, where we once had been."
1800RESPECT is the national domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, information and support service.
You can call 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, chat online or video call via 1800 respect.org.au
.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has spoken to her Israeli counterpart about the country's call to not conduct a criminal investigation into a strike that killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom in Gaza two years ago.
The Israeli Defense Force has cleared its soldiers of criminal wrongdoing over the strike on a convoy from World Central Kitchen.
Minister Wong called in Israeli Ambassador Hillel Newman yesterday and a spokesperson says she spoke with Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar last night.
The spokesperson says Minister Wong conveyed Australia’s view and expectations, as she did with the Israeli Ambassador.
.
The Commissioner of the New South Wales State Emergency Service, Mike Wassing, has apologised for confusion that led to the family of missing hiker Lily Hooper mistakenly being told she'd been found alive.
The 18-year-old's body was found by search volunteers yesterday lunchtime after a days-long search.
Confusion around a code word led to the family initially being told Lily Hooper had been found alive.
Commissioner Wassing says hundreds of SES volunteers were involved in the search.
"I'm not focused on any blame and I can say that in having this conversation with the police commissioner as well, we're not looking at blame, we're looking at identifying how this occurred and to make sure we work as agencies together, to make sure this can't occur again."
.
A Federal Parliamentary Inquiry into the value of skilled migration has heard an intake of skilled foreign workers is essential to grow national productivity.
CEO of the Migration Institute of Australia, Peter Van Vliet, says the current Australian birthrate of 1.5 children per family would see Australia face a "demographic cliff" without skilled migration.
The figure is below the population replacement level.
Mr Vliet says studies show skilled migrants are more likely to be younger, more highly skilled and of net benefit to the economy, than the average Australian.
"Properly targeted skilled migration is critical in addressing skills gaps in sectors with persistent labour shortages, such as health, healthcare, aged care, construction, engineering, education, agriculture, trades and technology."
.
The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church is rejecting allegations it paid far-right activists to disrupt the Labor party's campaign during the 2025 federal election.
Nine Newspapers are reporting members of what was then known as the Exclusive Brethren engaged people to track and heckle candidates from Labor and the Greens.
A parliamentary inquiry is examining the allegations as well as wider efforts by the Exclusive Brethren during the election, as part of campaigning for the coalition.
Home Affairs minister Tony Burke says the allegations are chilling, and Health Minister Mark Butler says members of the sect should be investigated.
Director of the Plymouth Brethren, LLoyd Grimshaw tells the inquiry, he doesn't deny members of his church got involved in the election campaign, but says it was not at the direction of the church.
"They're not representing the church when they're doing that. They're doing that in their own capacity and the church can't be held responsible. Like, no church in this country would be held responsible for what parishioners did in their private time. And I don't see why another different standard is trying to be made here."
.
In cycling,
Aussie Maeve Plouffe says she was nearly hit by a car during a chaotic chase at the Tour of Britain Women earlier this week.
Her experience has prompted organisers of the week-long road race to review safety procedures after she outlined her "scary" experience.
Plouffe says she was about two minutes behind the main pack when she was nearly hit by a car driven by a member of the general public while going through a roundabout.
Events director of British Cycling Ventures, Jonathan Day, says it's taking the incident extremely seriously and reviewing what happened.
