Key Points
- Opposition leader admits mistake over Russian war planes
- Landmark ruling over definition of female in UK
- AFL player returns to training after racial abuse
TRANSCRIPT
- Peter Dutton says he made a mistake over reports of Russian war planes in Indonesia.
- A UK Court rules the legal definition of a female does not include transgender women.
- Willie Rioli returns to training at Port Adelaide.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says he made a mistake in suggesting Indonesia's President had publicly announced a Russian request to base its war planes in the province of Papua.
Mr Dutton has made the concession overnight during the second leaders debate hosted by the ABC - but he maintains the Prime Minister should have known about any requests.
"It was a mistake, and I'm happy to admit that what we got from the Indonesian authorities in the reports, and the Prime Minister commented on these reports yesterday as well, was that the sources inside the Prabowo Government confirmed that that was the case. Now, what we've seen in the last 12 hours or so is that the Russian envoy to Indonesia has confirmed that there have been discussions. And obviously, there is a concerning closeness in that relationship."
Meanwhile Anthony Albanese says Mr Dutton expects him to know about something that didn't exist.
He has pointed to Indonesia's assurances it will not host the military planes.
"And the idea that you just throw out these comments, is just extraordinary. And the fact that we just saw a double down on it as if there's nothing to see here just shows that there's no understanding of the need for diplomacy."
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Political leaders have agreed that early intervention is key in efforts to combat domestic, family and sexual violence as part of a national forum on the issue overnight.
Men's referral service "No to Violence" hosted key decision-makers from across the political spectrum, who presented their election commitments to voters.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth says prevention and early intervention were key to the government's plan to address the national crisis, while Liberal senator Kerrynne Liddle, who lost her sister to domestic violence, says the Coalition has committed to a Royal Commission into sexual abuse in Indigenous communities.
Neither Ms Rishworth nor Senator Liddle have committed to delivering a sexual violence prevention framework in the next term of parliament.
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A man’s hand has been severed during an assault on the New South Wales North Coast.
The 59-year-old is now in a serious but stable condition in Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital.
New South Wales Police say the man’s left hand was cut off during the incident at a home in Coffs Harbour on Wednesday morning.
Two women aged 58 and 80 who were also in the house at the time have not been injured.
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The UK's Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the law defines the terms 'woman' and 'sex' as referring to a biological women and biological sex.
The five judges have ruled unanimously that the UK Equality Act meant trans women could be excluded from some groups and single-sex spaces such as changing rooms, homeless shelters, swimming areas and medical or counselling services provided only to women.
The judgement is the culmination of a long-running dispute between a feminist group and the Scottish government, over a 2018 law passed by the Scottish Parliament stating there should be a 50 per cent female representation on the boards of Scottish public bodies.
But Judge Lord Hodge has counselled against reading the judgement as a triumph of one or more groups in society against another.
"It is not, as I shall explain later in this hand down speech, the Equality Act 2010 gives transgender people protection, not only against discrimination through the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, but also against direct discrimination, indirect discrimination and harassment - in substance in their acquired gender."
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The World Trade Organisation says Donald Trump's tariffs have downgraded expectations for the expansion of trade, with a 1.5 per cent slump possible if the U-S President follows through on his stiffest tariffs.
It had previously forecast trade would continue to grow, but in a new report, the W-T-O says the uncertainty created by tariffs has unsettled business and damaged the global economic outlook.
The World Trade Organisation's Chief Economist Ralph Ossa said the decline is expected to be particularly steep in North America.
"The combined contribution of other regions - Africa, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East and South America - also declined somewhat but remains positive. An important driving force behind these changes is the decoupling between China and the United States resulting from tariffs that now exceed 100 percent."
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To sport, and in AFL news, Indigenous forward Willie Rioli has returned to training with his club Port Adelaide, after being subjected to a torrent of online abuse that his coal Ken Hinkley has described as a "disgrace".
The abuse followed comments Rioli made in a post expressing his hatred for rivals Hawthorn, a club which recently settled a federal court case with his cousin Cyril over racism claims.
AFL Players Association chief Paul Marsh says the backlash against Willie Rioli was "racist and homophobic" while Mr Hinkley has called for stronger social media laws.
Rioli has shut down his social accounts.
