TRANSCRIPT
- Penny Wong dismisses criticism from former prime minister Paul Keating
- Joe Biden is set to win Iowa caucus primary nomination
- Sam Kerr's legal team fighting to have criminal charges dropped
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has dismissed comments from former Prime Minister Paul Keating accusing her of "rattling the China can".
In comments made on Tuesday, Mr Keating criticised Ms Wong over her stance on China and said that the ASEAN Summit in Melbourne “makes it clear Australia and Australian policy is at odds with the general tenor of ASEAN’s perceived strategic interests."
Mr Keating also made calls for the dismissal of ASIO Chief Mike Burgess, who he says is running a "goon show" following his accusations against an anonymous former politician last week.
Penny Wong told the Today Show Mr Keating is entitled to his views.
"Look, I think there are a range of different views within ASEAN about great power competition. But one thing that does unite ASEAN, and which Australia shares is a desire for a region which is stable. You know, one of the things that goes to stability is making sure there are rules, things like the law of the sea, making sure that there isn't dangerous or risky behaviour at sea."
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Millions of Americans are choosing their presidential candidate today as sixteen states and one territory hold their primaries in the quadrennial tradition of Super Tuesday.
Current President Joe Biden is set to win the Iowa Democratic caucus with unofficial results indicating an overwhelming win for the President.
Officials in California say they are concerned about the low voter turnout in the state, with only 14 per cent of Californians expressing enthusiasm in participating in the state primary.
One voter in California, Frank Basile, says it’s important for people to get out and participate.
"Oh, man, this is a crazy one. It's a crazy one. I mean, there's someone that I really hope does not become president. And so I think, even though I don't think there's any question that Biden is going to win California in the primary, but still it's like, get in there and get those votes happening because I don't want Trump to be president again.”
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The federal government has revised plans for an offshore wind zone near western Victoria to be made smaller, following lobbying from environmental groups posing concerns about marine life.
The final area of the zone, to be located about 15 to 20 kilometres off Victoria's coast, will span 1,030 square kilometres, one fifth of its original size.
When complete, the area is expected to generate up to 2.9 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, enough to power more than two million homes, which is substantially less than what was initially planned.
In a statement, Federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, says the significant reduction of the wind zone accounts for the area's environmental, cultural heritage and economic significance.
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Police in New South Wales are investigating a potential hit and run incident after finding the body of man in a suburban street in Sydney's southwest.
Emergency services were called to an intersection in Mount Pritchard at about 3am on Wednesday after reports of a man in the street with serious injuries.
Paramedics attended the scene but the man was declared dead, officers have now established a crime scene and are investigating the surrounding circumstances.
Police are urging anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers.
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Sam Kerr's legal team are fighting to have the criminal charges against her dropped.
The Australian star striker and Matildas captain is being accused of the racially aggravated harassment of a police officer in January last year.
Kerr has not commented on the allegations, but court documents reveal her legal team will argue an abuse of process by crown prosecutors.
Senator Matt Canavan told the Today Show that hate speech laws in the U-K have gone too far.
"My prejudice here is against the UK law. I mean, just last week, the UK jailed somebody for two years for producing stickers. and some of those stickers were pretty offensive but it doesn't seem to be a free country anymore in the UK. I think it's very sad. But some of these hate speech laws over they're just absolutely ridiculous and I just think we need to take a cup of cement and harden up here and not every time someone is a bit distressed about what someone says immediately go to the courts and try and jail people over it."
Ms Kerr will appear is due to face a four-day trial in February 2025.
