TRANSCRIPT
In this bulletin;
- The Prime Minister welcomes a US-Israeli plan for peace in Gaza;
- The Reserve Bank keeps interest rates on hold;
- And in sport, Australia records its first gold medal at the World Para Athletics Championships.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has welcomed President Trump's plan for an end to the war in Gaza.
He says in a statement, the government affirms the plan’s commitment to denying Hamas any role in the future governance of Gaza, and calls on Hamas to lay down its arms and release all hostages.
Mr Albanese also commends the plan’s focus on Palestinian self-determination and statehood, and its aim to see the Palestinian Authority take back effective control of Gaza.
He says: President Trump’s plan reflects a clear rejection of annexation and forced displacement of Palestinians.
He is urging all parties to bring the proposal into reality without delay.
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Israeli protesters, calling for the release of hostages held in Gaza, have reacted positively to news of a United States-brokered ceasefire deal agreed to by Israel.
The 20-point agreement between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls for an immediate ceasefire, a swap of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners, and a staged Israeli withdrawal from the enclave.
In return, it requires complete Hamas disarmament, and a transitional government led by an international body.
Hamas is currently reviewing the proposal.
In Israel, escalating protests have called for an end to the war in Gaza.
Tsipi Haitovksy has been among them.
"It's looks like finally, finally finally, we have a deal to end the war, the bloody war in Gaza and bring all our people back home. This is very, very good news. President Trump, like he said, is totally committed to bringing peace and prosperity to this region. And this can only start with the ending of the war in Gaza and bringing back all our people."
The Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank also welcomed the plan, but Palestinians living in war-ravaged Gaza have expressed despair.
Ibrahim Joudeh told the AFP news agency from the humanitarian zone of Al-Mawasi in south Gaza, that he fears Hamas will never accept the plan, and the suffering will continue.
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The Reserve Bank has left the official cash rate on hold at 3.6 per cent.
The decision was widely expected after inflation came in hotter than expected, jumping from 2.8 to 3 per cent in August.
The central bank has dropped interest rates three times already this year.
Some analysts suggest there may be more relief for homeowners with a possible rate cut on cards in November.
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The head of Optus' parent company has backed its embattled chief executive Stephen Rue, after the telco suffered its second outage triple-zero outage in two weeks.
Singtel C-E-O Yuen Kuan Moon has held a crisis meeting with federal Communications Minister Anika Wells in Sydney.
He says Mr Rue was hired 11 months ago to fix problems previously identified at the company.
"It is very early days. It takes time to transform a company. Stephen has identified, and I believe so, in the initial investigation of the September 18 incident, that it's a people issue - and it takes time to change and transform the people. He is here to provide the solution."
Human error has been blamed for the first outage, which is linked to three deaths, while the second incident, which affected a Sydney suburb, appears to be a technical issue.
The Singtel board has commissioned an independent review to be led by former Sydney Water chief Dr Kerry Schott, and will share the findings publicly.
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And in sport,
James Turner has won Australia's first gold medal of the World Para Athletics Championships, in the 400-metre T36 in India's Delhi.
It was a 12th global title for the Paralympic champion who clocked a winning time of 52.18 seconds.
T36 is a Paralympic athletics classification for standing athletes with coordination impairments affecting all four limbs and the trunk.
Turner will return for the 100m T36 final on Friday, where he is also the world record holder and reigning Paralympic champion.
