Key posts
A recap of today’s top headline
Thanks for joining us today. Here’s a quick look at some of our main headlines.
- The funeral for the late Cardinal George Pell was held in Sydney today, with mourners and protesters gathering at St Mary’s Cathedral.
- Former PM Tony Abbott has given an extraordinary speech at Pell’s funeral, telling mourners that Pell was “the greatest man I’ve ever know”.
- The decision on whether to ban alcohol in Alice Springs has been delayed until next week.
- The robo-debt royal commission has continued today, with Alan Tudge admitting he should have sought legal advice over the lawfulness and accuracy of income averaging, while Christian Porter said that talking points he was given about the debts seemed to “skirt around the issue”.
- King Charles III will not feature on Australia’s new $5 note.
- Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the May budget would bring relief to Australian households, while the Reserve Bank’s first board meeting next week is widely expected to result in a ninth consecutive rate rise.
- In Sydney, a three-year-old boy has died after he was allegedly left in a locked car outside a suburban shopping strip.
Missing radioactive capsule ‘wasn’t found by luck’
By Daile Cross
The tiny radioactive capsule which went missing in the WA outback is currently about 450 kilometres from Perth, being escorted to the city in a radiation-proof lead container by 14 state emergency personnel, along with Australian Defence Force officers and the Australian Nuclear and Science Technology Organisation.
The tiny radioactive capsule. Credit:DFES
Authorities believe the capsule fell out of a bolthole in a mining gauge sometime between January 12 and January 16 while in transit to Perth from Rio Tinto’s Gudai-Darri iron ore mine.
However, “it wasn’t found by luck,” Department of Fire and Emergency Services incident controller Darryl Ray said.
It took a dedicated team of specialists from different agencies, both state and federal, working in temperatures of around 40 degrees.
WA Chief Health Officer Andy Robertson said he could not reveal where the capsule would be kept once it arrived in Perth, due to safety and security concerns.
“There’s planning involved, obviously to make sure that we minimise the risks to the staff who are involved in that transfer,” Robertson said.
It would remain in secure storage until a decision was made as to how we handle the potent radiation source.
The investigation into how the capsule went missing, and whether the companies involved complied with the Radiation Safety Act and the transport regulations, was continuing.
The cost of the search for the radioactive capsule will be paid by Rio Tinto, the miner’s chief executive, iron ore said on Wednesday, but the final amount is yet to be determined.
Boy, 3, found dead in locked car in Sydney’s south-west
By James Lemon
In breaking news out of Sydney, a young boy has died after he was allegedly left inside a locked car on a suburban shopping strip this afternoon.
The three-year-old boy was found unresponsive in the car at Glenfield about 3pm, and despite the efforts of paramedics, he died at the scene.
A man known to the child is assisting police with their inquiries.
You can follow the updates on this developing story here.
Watch live: How a tiny radioactive capsule was found in the middle of nowhere
By Hamish Hastie
The WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services will shortly be explaining how a tiny radioactive capsule lost in the outback was found on Wednesday after a frantic week-long search.
DFES and WA Health staff were transporting the capsule to Perth inside a lead container on Thursday.
The Australian Defence Force will use its serial number to confirm it is the capsule at the centre of the search that involved more than 100 people from DFES, WA Health, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation and the ADF.
The capsule, which is 6 millimetres wide and 8 millimetres long, was found about 50 kilometres south of the Pilbara mining town of Newman just after 11am on Wednesday.
Alice Springs alcohol ban decision delayed until next week
By Paul Sakkal
A call on whether to ban alcohol in Alice Springs to alleviate a crime wave will not be made until next week.
Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this afternoon to discuss the findings of a fresh report that has made various recommendations on how to alleviate disorder in the town that captured national attention last month.
An announcement was expected to be made after the meeting between Fyles and Albanese.
On Thursday afternoon Albanese said the territory and federal cabinets would consider the report next week.
“The report will be released by the NT government after cabinet consideration, confirming next steps,” Albanese posted on Twitter.
“Our governments will listen and respond with the action local communities want us to take.”
Matildas could protest Saudi sponsorship of World Cup in Australia
By Vince Rugari
Australia’s players union has not ruled out protest action from the Matildas – similar to the Socceroos’ statement on Qatar’s chequered human rights history before the men’s World Cup – if FIFA allows Saudi Arabia’s tourism arm to sponsor the Women’s World Cup.
Co-hosts Australia and New Zealand have demanded immediate answers from FIFA after reports emerged this week that Visit Saudi is to become one of the tournament’s major corporate partners, which the global governing body has not denied.
Football Australia chairman Chris Nikou with FIFA president Gianni Infantino at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.Credit:Football Australia
Former Socceroos captain Craig Foster and human rights groups have slammed the prospective deal as a textbook case of “sportswashing” in light of Saudi Arabia’s oppressive treatment of women and LGBTI groups, while there have also been eyebrows raised at FIFA permitting a country aside from the host nations to promote their own tourism industry.
While the kingdom has lifted bans on women being able to drive and travel independently, laws are still in place which require women to have a lifetime male “guardian” who has authority over a range of decisions, including whether they can get married. Same-sex relationships are also illegal in Saudi Arabia.
If the deal with Visit Saudi is approved, PFA sources say the union will seek the opinions of players, engage with relevant human rights groups and experts, and begin a process similar to the one undertaken by the Socceroos before the World Cup in Qatar – which resulted in a video statement involving 16 players calling for effective remedy for migrant workers and for the ban on same-sex relationships in that country to be overturned.
Abbott greets supporters on the street after Pell service
Former prime minister Tony Abbott was warmly received by supporters outside St Mary’s Cathedral after he described George Pell as the greatest man he has ever known while speaking during Pell’s funeral service.
Abbott was loudly applauded by mourners inside and outside the Cathedral as he spoke during a funeral mass for the late cardinal.
“In short, he’s the greatest Catholic Australia has ever produced, and one of our country’s greatest sons,” Abbott said.
Tony Abbott greets supporters of George Pell after the funeral service at St Mary’s Cathedral.Credit:Flavio Brancaleone
A devout Catholic, Abbott attracted further applause when he said Pell – who was convicted but later cleared of child sexual abuse offences – was “made a scapegoat for the church itself”.
“He should never have been investigated in the absence of a complaint,” he said. “He should never have been charged in the absence of corroborating evidence, and he should never have been convicted.”
‘Management crying poor’: ABC staff prepare to strike over wages
By Zoe Samios
Australian Broadcasting Corporation employees are escalating a dispute with management over wage rises and working conditions, lodging two separate requests with the Fair Work Commission that ultimately will allow them to strike.
The unions that represent ABC staff – the Community and Public Sector Union and Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance – are filing applications for a protected action ballot, which will allow union members to take industrial action such as work restrictions, bans and strikes as they continue to fight management over a new enterprise agreement.
ABC management could face strike action in a matter of months if it does not come to an agreement with staff.Credit:Steven Siewert
MEAA and CPSU members, of which there are more than 1000, overwhelmingly rejected a proposed agreement from ABC management late last year, which included a 3 per cent wage increase and changes to some working conditions.
The CPSU’s ABC section secretary, Sinddy Ealy, said staff were sick of management “crying poor” and expecting staff to make financial sacrifices.
“If the ABC cannot pay staff wages that keep up with the cost of living, then that is a problem they should be raising with the federal government,” Ealy said. “The solution to that issue is not to turn around and ask staff to continuously accept sub-inflation pay rises that leave them and their families struggling to keep up with the cost of living.”
The MEAA, which represents editorial staff members, will file a separate application on Thursday.
“ABC staff delivered a resounding ‘no’ vote last year when management insisted on putting forward an insulting and inferior offer,” MEAA Media director Cassie Derrick said.
The national broadcaster last year received an $83.7 million increase in operational funding and a $32 million boost for international services as part of the federal government’s budget. The government is also moving from a three-year to five-year funding model.
ABC managing director David Anderson said at the time that the extra money would be used to improve investment in local programming, emergency broadcast services – which have been crucial over the past few years with floods and bushfires across Australia – and coverage in the Pacific region.
Porter says his robo-debt talking points seemed to skirt the issue
By Angus Thompson
Former Coalition social services minister Christian Porter says talking points he was given to answer whether debts were being incorrectly raised against welfare recipients appeared to avoid the question altogether.
Porter told the robo-debt royal commission he became increasingly frustrated with the lack of clarity from bureaucrats about the operation of the scheme after he took temporary control of it, amid a media storm when human services minister Alan Tudge was on leave in late 2016.
Christian Porter said talking points he was given appeared not to answer a crucial question about incorrect debts being raised.Credit:
Porter told the Brisbane hearing this afternoon he went from acceptance of talking points provided by the department, “which turned at some point to circumspection,” then to scepticism that eventually became frustration.
“There was a point I became very frustrated,” he said.
Porter – who is being represented by high-profile silk Arthur Moses, SC, in the inquiry – was social services minister from September 2015 to December 2017 before he was elevated the attorney-general role.
The commission was shown a document provided to Porter on December 28, 2016, with a series of talking points in answer to the following question:
“Is it true that debts are being incorrectly raised against customers due to their employer reporting their income as being earned over twelve months when in fact they’ve only worked part of the year and had income support for part of the year?”
Counsel assisting the commission, Justin Greggery, KC, asked Porter whether the combined effect of the talking points gave the effect that he was avoiding the question.
Porter replied, “It could easily give that appearance.”
“Looking back on it, it kind of appears those talking points avoid that question as well,” he said.
Britain suggests new subs will be developed for AUKUS nations
By Latika Bourke
British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says building Canberra’s fleet of nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact is likely to be a tri-nation project, raising expectations Australia, the United Kingdom and United States will jointly develop a new generation of boats.
Wallace appeared confident the US would waive some restrictions on the transfer of technologies crucial to the operation of the nuclear-powered submarines and the development of any new fleet that was common to all three navies.
Defence Minister Richard Marles and UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace watching training of Ukrainian military recruits in southern England this week.Credit:Getty
Defence Minister Richard Marles is awaiting the recommendations of the federal government’s nuclear-powered submarine taskforce, due within weeks, before announcing the model it will adopt.
With recent speculation about US shipyards’ ability to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia as they work to meet their own needs, Marles last month suggested it would involve significant input from both the UK and US.
Wallace, who met with his Australian and US counterparts at the Pentagon in December, reiterated in an interview on Thursday the submarine capability would be delivered as part of a joint project.
“The Australian government’s getting exactly to the position where it knows what it wants,” Wallace said. “I’m pretty confident that it will be a tri-nation project.”
The UK has begun design work on its next generation of submarines to succeed its Astute-class fleet.
The future submarine class, dubbed the SSNR (submersible ship nuclear replacement), could serve as the starting point for any new trilateral submarine.
Wallace cautioned Australia’s acquisition would take years to deliver and said critical steps to build up the local skills base and infrastructure, such as training Australian submariners on UK boats, were under way.
“No one’s going to press a button and magic up a submarine,” he said. “We are growing our workforce from 10,000 to 17,000 to build ours and eventually [that] will be part of the Australia program – that is a big program, but it’s also a great economic stimulus for that part of Australia – there will be thousands of jobs in high-tech and engineering.”
Most Viewed in National
https://news.google.com/__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?oc=5
2023-02-02 06:25:46Z
1755430280
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Australia news LIVE: protesters, supporters clash at ‘highly charged’ Pell funeral; King Charles won’t feature on new $5 note - Sydney Morning Herald"
Post a Comment