TRANSCRIPT
- The size of the gender gap in Australia revealed.
- Donald Trump criticises Volodymyr Zelenskyy for saying the end of the war with Russia is "very, very far away".
- In cricket, Australia anticipating a tough contest against India in the Champions Trophy semifinals.
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More than half of Australian employers have reduced their gender pay gap in the last year, but many still have an average gap outside the target range.
The second data publication released by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency shows just one-in-five Australian employers have an average gender pay gap in the target range of -5 per cent and +5 per cent.
But the analysis also shows 56 per cent of employers improved their gender pay gap in the last year.
The report finds Australian women earned 78 cents on average for every $1 earned by men.
The pay gaps are the highest in male-dominated industries such as construction (25.3 per cent) and financial and insurance services (22.2 per cent).
This year, the agency published data collected from 7,800 individual employers and 1,700 corporate groups.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says a deal to end the war between Ukraine and Russia "is still very, very far away".
He also says Ukraine expects to keep receiving US military support despite his fraught relations with US President Donald Trump, which culminated in last week's Oval Office blow up.
Mr Trump has since critiqued both those assertions on social media, writing that "America will not put up with it for much longer".
European countries, led by Britain and France, are rallying around Mr Zelenskyy and are developing a peace plan that includes Ukraine at the table.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed parliament, saying "a strong peace, a just peace, a lasting peace" has to be the goal.
"Britain will play a leading role with, if necessary, and together with others, boots on the ground and planes in the air. Mr Speaker, it is right that Europe do the heavy lifting to support peace on our continent. But to succeed, this effort must also have strong US backing. And yet, I do feel very strongly that the future of Ukraine is vital for our national security."
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The Federal government has hit back at the Opposition's promise to buy 28 new F-35 jets as part of a push to boost Australia's defence spending if it wins the upcoming election.
The Coalition says the aircrafts would cost $3 billion, but Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery, Pat Conroy says this figure is "completely ridiculous".
"The last acquisition of Joint Strike Fighters, 32 in this case, by Romania late last year, cost $11.5 billion dollars, not $3 billion, as Peter Dutton says is all he needs. So my message to people is: if you can't get simple facts right on defence, you can't be trusted with defence of the nation."
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The family of a man imprisoned after leaking top secret documents exposing allegations of war crimes by Australian soldiers remain defiant as he appeals his sentence.
David McBride was sentenced to five years and eight months in jail after pleading guilty to disclosing classified military documents to journalists.
It led to a series of reports alleging Australian soldiers committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
The former military lawyer is currently appealing his conviction and sentence, which includes a non-parole period of two years and three months.
Mr McBride received a standing ovation and cheers from supporters in the courtroom as he entered the ACT Court of Appeal yesterday [[MON 3rd March]] flanked by two officers.
Greens Senator David Shoebridge spoke outside the court, accusing the government of locking up whistleblowers to cover up wrongdoing.
"We have a system where power protects power in this country and if you want to know why he's in jail it's because of that. He challenged senior decision-makers and said 'surely there's a higher good', 'surely there's a public interest' which should break that wall down of impunity. And I stand with David McBride and I'm glad you're all here standing with David McBride as well."
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In cricket, Australian captain Steve Smith says he believes it is the overs in the middle that will decide who wins the first Champions Trophy semi-final later today.
An Australia win will see the final played back in Lahore; an India victory will keep the decider in Dubai.
Smith says he is anticipating a challenging contest.
"There are different ways we can attack the game. Whether we want to bat or bowl first, we will wait and see. It certainly looks to be a dry surface. It is going to be quite slow, I imagine and take some spin. Playing the spinners in the middle overs is going to be crucial for us to have success in this game."
