Morning News Bulletin 1 July 2024
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Labor Senator Fatima Payman has been indefinitely suspended from the party’s federal caucus, after vowing to continue crossing the floor in support of Palestinian statehood.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese escalated a temporary suspension on Sunday ((June 30)) after Senator Payman gave a defiant A-B-C Insiders interview, saying she had overwhelming support from Labor voters for her support for a Greens’ motion.
In a statement, a government spokesperson said the first-term West Australian senator would remain suspended until she “respects the caucus and her Labor colleagues”.
Greens Leader Adam Bandt has refused to say whether Senator Payman was in discussions to join his party, saying he would not comment on “any confidential conversations” he has had with senators.
“This is about trying to bring about peace by getting our government to join the international government, and put pressure for this genocidal invasion to stop, because at the moment they haven’t done it. Now, along the way others have realised that what we were saying back at the start was right.”
The prime minister told Senator Payman on Sunday that senior leaders including Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Trade Minister Don Farrell had agreed to the indefinite suspension.
Monuments near the Australian War Memorial have been vandalised with pro-Palestinian messages condemning Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
The Australian National Korean War Memorial, Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial, and the Australian Army National Memorial on ANZAC Parade in Canberra were daubed with graffiti on Saturday night ((June 29)).
It’s the third time this year that monuments in the area have been graffitied, with the walls of the Australian War Memorial were defaced earlier in June, while the Vietnam memorial was graffitied in March.
A-C-T police have said they’re investigating the matter.
Three women have died in a bus crash in North Queensland.
Queensland police say they were called to an area of the Bruce Highway near Gumlu, in the Whitsundays region, after 11-a-m on Sunday ((30 June)) following reports of a collision.
Police said a four-wheel drive pulling a caravan collided with a bus carrying 33 people in the opposite direction in a 100 kilometres per hour zone.
Superintendent Graeme Paine says along with the three fatalities, a number of other passengers were treated at the scene, with one man airlifted to a nearby hospital due to the severity of his injuries.
He said a police investigation into a potential cause was in its early stages.
“The crash is under investigation, we haven’t determined any factors that have contributed to the crash at this stage, but certainly a crash of this nature, involving this many people is a very significant, very tragic incident for us.”
The passengers of a four-wheel-drive that was towing the caravan are understood not to have been injured.
A number of measures aimed at easing the cost of living will come into effect today ((1 July)), the first day of the financial year.
The federal government is implementing tax cuts for all Australians which will average $1,900, as well as energy bill relief for households and small businesses.
The minimum wage will increase by 3.75 per cent, as will the minimum amount employers have to pay into superannuation – rising from 11 per cent to 11.5.
Medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, or P-B-S, will also be capped at $31.60.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says he believes the government has got the balance right as they monitor inflation, which currently sits at 4 per cent.
“This is all about making sure that our cost of living help is meaningful and substantial but responsible as well, in the context of this fight against inflation.”
Polls have closed in the first round of a snap parliamentary election in France which could see the country’s first far-right government since World War Two.
Exit polls show France’s far right National Rally party is leading the first round of parliamentary elections with around 33 per cent of votes.
President Emmanuel Macron stunned the country when he called the vote after his centrist alliance was crushed in European elections in June by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally.
Her Eurosceptic, anti-immigrant party was a longtime pariah but is now closer to power than it has ever been.
This voter in Paris said he hoped every French citizen would “face up to their responsibilities”.
“FRENCH THEN ENGLISH VO: “The future of their country is in their hands, in the hands of the 40 million French voters. They don’t realise it, and I’d like them to realise it at least once this time. And I’m very happy to see that the turnout is going to increase significantly, because our democratic institutions are at stake.”
The decisive second round takes place in a week’s time on July 7.
In football, England has come back from the brink of defeat to beat Slovakia, two goals to one in extra-time, and move on to the quarter-finals of Euro 2024.
Criticised for their performances at the tournament so far, it looked like England were on the way out of it, with Slovakia leading one-nil for much of the match in the western German city of Gelsenkirchen.
But star playmaker Jude Bellingham equalised with an incredible goal from an overhead kick in the fifth minute of second half stoppage time.
That sent the game to thirty minutes of extra-time.
Then, in the first minute of extra-time, captain Harry Kane scored with a header to put his side in front, where they stayed.
