TRANSCRIPT:
- Calls for a national gun register as a manhunt continues in rural Victoria;
- Tax office whistleblower Richard Boyle avoids a prison sentence;
- Australia's Priscilla Hon pulls off an upset victory at the US Open.
There have been renewed calls for a national firearm register in the wake of the murder of two police officers in the rural Victorian town of Porepunkah.
Labor M-P and former Olympic shooter Dan Repacholi has told Channel Nine that a national register is essential.
"We need to make sure we know where our firearms are in this country. This is complex because we gotta get the states and territories all working together because they're the ones that ultimately look after firearms registrations for their states. There've been items in place since what happened in Port Arthur for this to actually happen but it's never happened because states and territories could not get onboard with it."
Meanwhile the search for the suspected gunman, identified as local Desi Freeman, has entered its third day.
Police say he fled into the wilderness and remains heavily armed and skilled at navigating bush terrain.
Porepunkah Primary School's principal, Jill Gillies, says the school has re-opened and officers are patrolling and offering support, with counsellors on site.
"We've got support staff on site today and they will be having conversations with students as needed, so we will just follow their lead."
.
A 19 year old has died in a stabbing in Sydney's west.
A second 19 year old has been hospitalised after the attack.
New South Wales Police say emergency services found the pair wounded at a bus station in Mount Druitt, and that the perpetrators were dressed all in black, including balaclavas covering their faces.
Superintendent Darrin Batchelor says they are investigating if the attack was gang-related.
"I described the attack as callous, viscious and without regard to the victims themselves or innocent bystanders and it was quite a violent, frenzied attack on those two individuals. Those victims were known to us and we will look into their backgrounds and see if there was some kind of motivation as to why this incident occurred."
.
Independent Senator David Pocock says Australia must do more to pressure Israel to end its operations in Gaza.
The Senator has been calling for sanctions against Israeli ministers for at least the past 12 months.
He says the Australian government has a role to play as a middle power in the world.
"We can't end what is happening there, but we can do far more. We can increase the targeted sanctions to Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Cabinet and we can step up in supporting aid in Gaza, including groups like PANZMA and others who are doing great work there on behalf of Australians."
.
Whistleblower Richard Boyle has been spared jail after exposing unethical debt-collection practices at the Australian Taxation Office.
South Australian District Court Judge Liesl Kudelka has instead sentenced the 49 year old to a 12 month good behaviour bond.
Family and supporters sobbed in court as the sentence was handed down.
The Adelaide man had previously admitted to four criminal charges in a plea deal with prosecutors, which was reduced from the original 66 laid after he appeared on the ABC's Four Corners program.
.
New figures suggest that nearly one in three people accessing homelessness services in New South Wales are young people under the age of 18.
Analysis from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has found that New South Wales also has the highest number of unaccompanied 12 to 17 year olds accessing homelessness services in the country.
The state recorded more than than twice as many unaccompanied 12 – 17-year-olds than in Victoria.
That state's total number of specialist homelessness services clients far exceeded the total number in New South Wales.
.
The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention's newly-confirmed director is leaving the job after less than a month.
The Washington Post was the first to report that Susan Monarez was being ousted - but it gave no reason for her departure from the agency.
Ms Monarez is one of four senior officials to be leaving the CDC.
The organisation's chief medical officer, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and the director of the National Centre for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases have also resigned.
.
To sport and in tennis news,
Australian qualifier Priscilla Hon has upset the world No.20 in the US Open at Flushing Meadows.
She's defeated Liudmila Samsonova 4-6 6-3 6-2, to storm into the final 32 and a grand slam third round for the first time.
The 26 year old's victory against her highly rated Russian opponent came on the back of a thunderous serving display - ending with her 16th ace of the match.
