TRANSCRIPT
- The Coalition accused of hypocrisy over its opposition to the government's planned hate law changes
- A violent crackdown in Uganda as voting begins in the presidential election
- A nightmare Australian Open draw for Alex de Minaur
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has criticised the Coalition's opposition to proposed hate speech laws.
The government's legislative response to the Bondi Beach terror attack faces defeat in Parliament with both the Opposition and the Greens saying they cannot support the bill in its current form.
The P-M says his government has left the door open to work on the bill constructively.
Mr Albanese says the Coalition is being hypocritical with calls to delay voting on the bill after previously calling for immediate action.
"We are up for engaging with the Opposition but people have dismissed this legislation that they called for, without even reading it. They made comments that are just not right. People will have a look at what’s going on and scratch their head and say: how it is, after calling for parliament to be brought back, they’re now saying, what’s the rush, parliament can wait into the never-never before we act on these important issues."
.
Millions of social media accounts have been deactivated or restricted since Australia's world-first age restrictions took effect.
Figures released by the federal government this morning show more than 4.7 million accounts were deactivated, removed or restricted by December 12th.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called the mass exodus of children from social media a positive step.
Australia is the first country to take such a step, inspiring other nations - including the UK, Malaysia and New Zealand - to consider similar moves.
.
The Victorian government has agreed to hold an inquiry into the state's bushfire crisis, following pressure from firefighter groups.
Premier Jacinta Allan says she will formally request the inquiry.
Her announcement came just hours after Emergency Services Minister Vicki Ward told firefighters the state government had been more than adequately funding the Country Fire Authority.
"The fire preparation that we had this year was nothing short of extraordinary, an effort absolutely well coordinated by Tim Weibusch behind me, the emergency management coordinator, in consultation with all of the services involved. All of them attested to me their preparedness. This is why we invested the extra $80 million in preparedness."
.
Conservationists say the government's decision to list the lower River Murray ecosystem as critically endangered is a bittersweet moment for the environment.
Co-national director of the Murray-Darling Conservation Alliance Craig Wilkins says the listing is long overdue, and recognises the river as not just a water supply or economic resource, but a living ecosystem whose health underpins public health, regional livelihoods, and cultural connection.
The Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales has called the listing an "alarm bell" rather than a win, and says all Australians should be shocked at the health of the river.
Humane World for Animals campaign director Nicola Bynan says the listing is a significant course correction.
"They were briefly listed in 2013 as critically endangered, and the incoming Abbott government at the time disallowed the protections... In that time they have experienced further degradation. In fact, in 2019 the Macquarie Marshes were so dry they caught on fire. That's a wetland that's experienced bushfires."
The state firefighters’ union says 792 CFA tankers are out of date, unsafe and should be off the road, including 230 tankers more than 31 years old.
.
Voting has begun in Uganda's presidential election despite an often violent crackdown on dissent and a days-long internet shutdown.
The measures have been criticised as an anti-democratic gesture in a country where the president has held office since 1986, and where President Yoweri Museveni is seeking to extend his nearly four-decade rule.
Security forces have repeatedly fired on opposition campaign events in recent weeks, killing at least one person and arresting hundreds of supporters - actions the government has defended as necessary to contain unrest.
Former member of Parliament Bobi Wine has met election observers and asked them to report exactly what they see.
"We’ve reiterated our fears to them. We have told them that many times election observers come to Uganda only to legitimise the irregularities and we've challenged them to report exactly what they observe or else they will also turn themselves into enablers of the dictatorship."
.
Thanasi Kokkinakis has pulled out of the Australian Open singles before the draw could be announced.
The withdrawal is due to medical advice after a shoulder complaint that flared during his first-round win over American Sebastian Korda in the Adelaide International this week.
Meanwhile, Australia's world-number-six Alex de Minaur has a nightmare Australian Open draw.
He'll face former world-number-six and Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini in the first round at Melbourne Park, an opponent who has bested him in three of their last five matches.
