TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Biwa Kwan.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the timing of senator Fatima Payman's announcement to quit the Labor party is a matter for her.
It comes a week after she was indefinitely suspended from the party's caucus for voting against the party's policy on Palestinian statehood, Ms Payman made the decision to cut ties with the party that fostered her career.
Ms Payman says she made the decision to leave the party, after hearing remarks from Mr Albanese that he expected her to make an announcement on her future.
Mr Albanese says Ms Payman's decision is her own.
"We'll look at some of the meticulous timing of events including Senator payment choosing question time yesterday to make the statements that she did, people can draw their own conclusions. You know, I have mine. People will draw their own, but people should be upfront about their actions and should be accountable and responsible for them."
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Votes are being counted in the UK election, with early results indicating a win for Britain's main opposition Labour party.
That would mean Keir Starmer would replace Rishi Sunak as prime minister, ending 14 years of Conservative rule.
The final official election results are yet to be released.
These voters in London say they are optimistic, but cautious about the future of the UK.
"I'm really excited and optimistic about what the exit polls are going. I think it is a time for a new future. That's going to be good for this country...Well, no surprises really. I think coming into this, everyone was kind of expecting some kind of Labour victory. The extent to which we don't really know going into the election. I'm interested in how things play out locally, but at a national level - I don't see any kind of surprises in the overall outcome."
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The federal government has announced an allocation of $100 million for 33 Indigenous health infrastructure projects across the country.
The funding will go towards: constructing new clinics, renovating existing clinics, and building staff housing for workers.
Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney says the government is committed to seeing an improvement in outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
"Today, we are considering our response to the Productivity Commission review, which found we all need to do better. It's an important part of strengthening and reinvigorating the partnership, the Commonwealth will speed up progress on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander review the assembly and the independent mechanism. And we will continue to deliver in our on our significant significant investments.
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The Royal Australian Mint is releasing a 50-cent coin designed by an Indigenous artist to mark the 50th anniversary of NAIDOC Week.
The design features the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, native plants and emu footprints.
27-year-old Indigenous artist Cortney Glass says she was surprised and honoured that her design was selected from among 30 applicants.
NAIDOC Week (7-14 July) celebrates the rich and diverse cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, with this year's theme set as: Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud.
Co-chair of the National NAIDOC Committee, Aunty Lynette Riley, says this year's theme invites all Australians to come together and celebrate.
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An international team of of Australian and Indonesian archaeologists have discovered the oldest example of what's called figurative cave art, which means artworks that depict human figures and objects from real life.
The paintings, found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, are believed to be 51,200 years old - 6000 years older than the artwork that set the previous record.
The images depict a wild pig and three human-animal hybrids.
Lasers were used to accurately identify the date of the cave art.
Adam Brumm, Professor of Archaeology at Griffith University, says he hopes the technology can be used to uncover new discoveries in Australia.
"We had these little, what are known as coraloid speliothems, commonly known as cave popcorn... they're comprised of tiny little layers of calcium carbonate. And we can date when those layers of calcium carbonate."
I'm Biwa Kwan and that's SBS News in Easy English.
