TRANSCRIPT
Donald Trump, is, once again, the President of the United States.
78-year-old Mr Trump has been sworn in as the country's 47th President at the U-S Capitol rotunda in Washington.
The ceremony has taken place indoors in front of a reduced crowd to avoid harsh winter conditions.
The oldest man to assume the role, Mr Trump says his political opponents have betrayed the United States.
He says his re-taking of office will herald a new golden age for the country.
"My recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal, and all of these many betrayals that have taken place, and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy, and, indeed, their freedom. From this moment on, America's decline is over."
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New U-S President Donald Trump says he will start implementing his priorities immediately, via executive orders.
In his inaugural address, Mr Trump has stated he'll declare a state of emergency at the U-S southern border, sending armed troops there to combat illegal immigration, and he'll begin the process of deporting millions of illegal immigrants.
He will also declare a national energy emergency, aimed at boosting U-S oil and gas production.
The new president says he will establish an External Revenue Service, to chase down money owed to the United States by foreigners as a result of his planned tariffs.
The U-S will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.
Mr Trump has pledged to land Americans on Mars.
And he says it will be official U-S government policy that there are only two genders.
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Joe Biden has used his final hours as U-S President to issue pre-emptive pardons to protect high-profile opponents of his replacement, Donald Trump.
The high-profile public servants to receive a pardon include Doctor Anthony Fauci, retired General Mark Milley and members of the House committee which investigated the Capitol Hill attack on the 6th of January 2021, including former Congresswoman Liz Cheney.
Mr Trump had warned he had a list of enemies and there had been concerns over reprisals for the actions of public servants, including police officers who testified at Committee hearings investigating the Capitol Hill riots.
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As federal and state governments attempt to ease housing affordability, new research has flagged construction costs as a growing barrier to building more accommodation.
CoreLogic's Cordell Construction Cost Index reveals costs for building stand-alone houses grew 3.4 per cent over the past year.
Rising construction costs have been a major issue since the pandemic, with the Index up by more than 30 per cent since the onset of COVID.
The initial price rises were due to issues around supply of materials, but costs have remained high, partly due to elevated electricity prices - a major factor in the production of building materials like steel and cement.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended his government's record on the environment after apparently abandoning its flagship 'Nature Positive' laws.
The legislation was shelved last November after an intervention by West Australian Premier Roger Cook, which helped further prolong a push for reforms that has stretched over years.
The bills would have established two agencies - responsible for environmental protection and data - to partially address longstanding concerns about Australia's main nature law.
Known as the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, that legislation has been the subject of two independent reviews that recommended significant change.
In an interview with the ABC, Mr Albanese was asked whether he would try resurrecting the Nature Positive laws if Labor wins a second term.
"We'll continue to work on environmental reform. We've said the EPBC Act needs to be brought up to date. It was done by the Howard government, but we need, Laura. We've got 25 votes in the Senate, and we need not just Labor plus the Greens. We need other votes as well. And they simply weren't there in the last week of December."
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In tennis, Alex De Minaur says he's looking forward to being the underdog in his Australian Open quarter-final against the world's top-ranked player, Jannik Sinner.
De Minaur is through to the quarter-finals of his home major for the first time ever after a straight sets win over American Alex Michelsen.
The number eight seed winning that fourth-round match six-love, 7-6, 6-3 in two hours and nine minutes at Melbourne Park.
De Minaur has played Sinner nine times in his career, losing all nine matches.
But he says match number ten holds little fear.
"It's going to be my first match this whole tournament where I'm the underdog, and don't have all the pressure and expectation of having to win. So, it's quite exciting."
