TRANSCRIPT
The government has continued to defend its record on confronting antisemitism in the wake of an explosives-laden caravan being found in Sydney and a spate of vandalism and arson attacks.
Peter Dutton has declared the spike in attacks has been entirely predictable, arguing there has been a lack of action.
But Richard Marles has told Channel 9 the government is doing everything it can to support the agencies investigating the incidents, and to denounce the rising incidence of attacks across the country.
Chris Bowen has had a similar message in his appearance on Channel 7.
"If you look at antisemitism, we have outlawed anti-doxing. We are strengthening the hate laws. We have outlawed the Nazi salute - all things that the Liberal party had a chance to do, and they opposed us on anti-doxing. And when Sussan ((Ley)) and Peter (Dutton)) were in office, they actually wanted to water down our hate laws; get rid of 18C of the Anti-Discrimination Act, which is the law that stops racial hate laws. So we have been acting on all these things, working with communities across the board."
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National housing campaign Everybody’s Home has called for greater government support for tenants on the lowest incomes, with new figures revealing two in five are in rental stress.
The latest Productivity Commission's government services report shows the greatest proportion of renters in that position are in the ACT, with just over 50 percent of Commonwealth Rent Assistance payment recipients in rental stress, followed by 44 (percent) in New South Wales and just over 42 percent in Queensland.
Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize says the figures highlight the urgent need to reform the CRA scheme.
She says lifting the rate of the payment would give a badly needed reprieve to the renters doing it the toughest.
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Donald Trump has suggested that diversity and inclusion policies have been a contributing factor to a crash that's feared to have killed everyone on board an American Airlines jet and US Army helicopter near Washington.
The US President has used an expletive to specifically criticise Pete Buttigieg, who was transportation secretary for former President Joe Biden.
"He's just got a good line of bullshit. 'The Department of Transportation is a government agency charged with regulating civil aviation.' Well, he runs it - 45,000 people - and he's run it right into the ground with his 'diversity.'"
The cause of the air crash is not yet clear, and there is no evidence that efforts to make the federal workforce more diverse have compromised air safety.
Safety experts, disability rights advocates, and members of Congress have immediately denounced the Republican president's comments, including Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.
"Listen, it's one thing for Internet pundits to spew off conspiracy theories. It's another for the president of the United States to throw out idle speculation as bodies are still being recovered and families still being notified. It just turns your stomach."
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A French man convicted of drugging and raping his unconscious wife - and helping other men to do the same - is now a suspect in unrelated cases of assault and murder.
French authorities have confirmed Dominique Pélicot has been questioned by an investigating magistrate who specialises in so-called cold cases.
One of the cases involved a property agent who was killed in Paris in December 1991 named Sophie Narme, while the second is an attempted armed rape of another property agent in a Paris suburb in May 1999.
His lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, says Pélicot denies any involvement in the killing, though he acknowledges having met the other woman and trying to undress her.
"Regarding the estate agent he's only partially admitted to being involved after he was first interrogated by the police and then changed his version somewhat in October 2022."
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Australians are being urged to not mix drinking with a trip to the ocean, on the back of data that shows a quarter of people who have drowned across the country had elevated blood alcohol levels.
Swimming Australia are launching a new campaign with identities from the TV program Bondi Rescue to promote safety messages that will emphasise the risk of swimming while under the influence.
Bondi Rescue Lifeguard, Anthony “Harries” Carroll, says people need to learn how to be safe and responsible around the water.
"We are so lucky in this beautiful land that our coastlines just offer such a beautiful water place, and everyone wants to jump in. What I find difficult for me is that so many people want to drink and dive. That is so dangerous. All the people that I have rescued in my lifetime - that would equate to about 2000 people that have been intoxicated."
To sport, Australian coach Ange Postecoglou says he remains unconcerned about speculation on his future at the Tottenham football club, despite Hotspur clinching a last-16 berth in the Europa League.
The Spurs boss has been given a very public vote of support from his star player Dejan Kulusevski, who promised this week he was fighting for Postecoglou because he believed the Australian has brought "special" football to the club.
In the meantime, the coach has adopted a defiant face amid the growing discontent about Spurs slumping to 15th in the Premier League.
"You know, I've been around long enough to know that some will just judge on where we're at, at the moment. And rightly so in some respects, and it's not good enough. And if people want to add context to that, they can. If not, so be it."
