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Health Minister Mark Butler says he has directed Australia's medical research council to review how trans and gender-diverse children are treated.
The National Health and Medical Research Council will work on new clinical guidelines for the care of trans and gender-diverse children and adolescents, with interim guidance on puberty blockers to be published next year.
This week, Queensland's health minister announced an immediate pause on new patients accessing puberty blocker treatments, which can delay changes caused by puberty in transgender teens.
Minister Butler says he has asked the Queensland government to reconsider the decision.
"It is particularly important that vulnerable young Queenslanders have access to the best available comprehensive care and support."
Currently, all scripts issued for puberty blockers are issued by state governments.
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Contracts have been approved for the first group of developments in the federal government's $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund.
The 12 approved contracts will see the construction of almost 800 new affordable homes.
Nearly 700 of the proposed new builds will be in Melbourne while 53 will be constructed in New South Wales, 37 in Western Australia, 18 in South Australia, and 10 in Tasmania.
The housing fund is aiming to deliver 40,000 social and affordable homes over five years, with the first round to deliver 13,700 properties.
Federal Housing Minister Clare O'Neil says the measure will help provide stability for many.
"We are really concerned about the housing situation that a lot of Australians are in today and we recognise that millions of Australians are under significant housing pressure. We see it from young people who talk to us about the fact that they feel like home ownership is a dream that belonged to a former generation but not them."
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The cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder have been recovered from an American Airlines jet that collided with a U-S Army helicopter.
A spokesperson for the safety board says both devices, commonly known as black boxes, are being analysed in a laboratory.
The cause of the air crash, which is believed to have killed all 64 people on board, is not yet clear.
Most emergency and recovery efforts have paused for the night and will resume in coming hours.
Wichita, Kansas mayor - Lily Wu - has asked the community for patience as family members of crash victims continue to be contacted.
"This is less than 24 hours since a tragic event happened in Washington, D.C., involving members of Wichita, Kansas, America and the world. And I think that right now what we need most is to comfort the families who right now still don't know all the answers. And I think that that should be priority number one."
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Jewish community members say they are remaining calm amid a spate of antisemitic attacks, including vandalism and the discovery of a caravan packed with explosives in Sydney.
New South Wales Police were contacted on Thursday night after a Jewish school in Sydney's eastern suburbs was spray painted with antisemitic graffiti.
The Mount Sinai College and a property next door in Maroubra in Sydney's east were targeted.
A parent with two young girls at the school says she trusts the school's security staff will protect the community.
"I know that they will take care of us, we can see there's extra security driving around. It's a shame that we have to do this at our children's primary schools. Security is a norm for us but there is definitely a bit extra this morning."
The New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies is calling for 24/7 police support at Jewish schools and daycare centres.
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A beloved King Penguin at Melbourne's Sea Life Aquarium is celebrating his first birthday.
Pesto the Penguin became a social media sensation last year for his big, fluffy appearance - weighing in at almost 25 kilograms.
One year on, Pesto is slimming down as he matures and sheds the fluffy coat that made people fall in love with him.
Catherine Bushell is an education supervisor at Melbourne's Sea Life Aquarium, she says staff think Pesto may now be developing a crush.
"We're seeing the start of some flirty behaviour out of Pesto. Now he is way too young to be part of his own breeding season so we're definitely not going to be seeing any big level of commitment out of him anytime soon, but we are starting to see some flirty behaviour with one of the other chicks from the season before him."
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And in sport, teenage Melbourne City defender Alexia Apostolakis is making her mark in the A-League Women, hoping for a Matildas call-up alongside teammate Holly McNamara.
Apostolakis, a Young Matilda, moved from Western Sydney ahead of the current A-League Women season to elevate her game.
One of the competition's finest young defenders, Apostolakis is among the potential bolters for Tom Sermanni's squad for next month's She Believes Cup.
McNamara, the 22-year-old striker is also slowly rediscovering her prodigious talent on the field after suffering a third anterior cruciate ligament tear in 2023.
Apostolakis and McNamara will play a crucial role in attempting to shut down Melbourne Victory's attack in Saturday's table-topping derby clash at Casey Fields.
