TRANSCRIPT:
- Concerns about a rise in antisemitism after an inner Sydney synagogue attack;
- The US military on standby to help fight the deadly LA fires;
- Melbourne rider Lucinda Stewart makes history at the Australian road cycling titles.
New South Wales authorities says they are concerned about an escalation in antisemitic hate crimes, following an attack on an inner Sydney synagogue at the weekend.
Police Commissioner Karen Webb has called the spraypainting of the Newtown synagogue an "escalation in the level of criminality”, with the attack coming a day after swastikas were painted on the Southern Sydney Synagogue in Allawah, about 13 kilometres away.
Premier Chris Minns says he is also concerned about the spate of attacks in recent months.
He has flagged plans to review the state’s vilification and hate laws in the coming weeks.
"There has been a massive spike in antisemitic hate crime in New South Wales over the last 12 months. It needs to be met with the full force of the law."
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Active duty US military personnel are on stand by to help contain the wildfires currently ripping through the US city of Los Angeles.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell says the soldiers are ready to deploy if they're needed to help firefighters, who are currently scrambling to contain six separate blazes across LA.
The agency has urged residents to begin filing for disaster relief, telling the ABC's This Week program that they have the funding to support this response.
California governor Gavin Newsom has backed that call.
"We've got to be thinking three weeks, three months, three years ahead. At the same time, we're focusing on the immediacy, which is life, safety and property. And so that's exactly what we're doing with disaster assistance... Recovery: we want to get our inspection teams out here. They're already starting to get out here. We've come up with some timelines, so we can get within the next few weeks all that done so people can get their insurance claims."
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The US says Israel and Hamas are on the verge of reaching a ceasefire deal on Gaza.
US adviser Jake Sullivan says Joe Biden has spoken to Benjamin Netanyahu, with the Israeli Prime Minister updating the US President on progress in talks, and the mandate he has given his top-level security delegation in Doha in order to advance a hostage deal.
Biden's national security adviser has told CNN that the parties were "very, very close" to reaching an agreement, but are still to get it across the finish line.
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Opposition leader Peter Dutton has come under fierce attack from Labor after his unofficial election campaign launch in Melbourne at the weekend.
The Coalition leader says his government would restore the number of Medicare subsidised psychological sessions from 10 to 20, and increase the number of GPs in regional areas - on the back of a new report showing the number of doctors who bulk bill is at record lows.
But Health Minister Mark Butler says Mr Dutton froze the Medicare rebate during his tenure in the portfolio.
Federal assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones also says Medicare won't be safe under the Coalition government.
"Well we agree, this election is going to be the last chance to save Medicare. In government and its health minister, Peter et al will kill Medicare. And it's taken us two and a half years to try to put the bits and pieces back together. This is incredibly important institution, which is providing decent healthcare to all Australians."
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A new report suggests that Australia's economy is being deprived of $26.6 billion each year because of untreated reproductive health conditions.
The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre report says that severe menstrual pain alone costs women nearly nine productive days a year, while the condition of endometriosis has forced one in three to change jobs, forgo promotions, or switch career paths because of debilitating symptoms.
The report has recommended 12 days of paid reproductive leave be implemented for all Australians, which it says would cost employers $920 million annually — just a fraction of the cost of inaction.
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Indigenous actor Guy Simon says he is looking forward to reprising the role of central character Jacky in an award-winning play of the same title for this year's Sydney Festival.
Jacky will be performed at Belvoir St Theatre from January 16 until February 2 as part of the Festival.
Written by Arrernte playwright Declan Furber Gillick, the play tells the story of a young Indigenous man trying to find his place in the city.
Simon says he hopes the play provokes conversations about the play's themes, particularly around sex work and the realities of navigating city life.
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To sport and in cycling news,
Melbourne cyclist Lucinda Stewart has stunned the favourites to win her first Australian road cycling championship.
The 20-year-old outsprinted Ella Simpson to snare the title at Kings Park in Perth.
This victory makes Stewart the youngest winner of the women's elite road title since Sarah Gigante claimed the championship as an 18-year-old in 2019.
She says she is thrilled with the result.
"That was hard. We always knew it was going to be a bit tricky with breaks going in. And definitely of course through the race. I knew I had to be up there... Happy to be able to pull it off."
