SBS News In Easy English 13 March 2025
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Welcome to SBS News In Easy English. I’m Catriona Stirrat.
A new report by Monash University shows incidents of abuse perpetrated against Muslim Australians more than doubled between January 2023 and November 2024.
It reveals Muslim women and girls were targeted in 60 per cent of physical assaults, 79 per cent of verbal assaults and all spitting incidents – almost all of which were committed by men.
The data was taken from hundreds of reports made to the Islamophobia Register of Australia and collected by Monash researchers, who also studied 18-thousand posts made on social media platform, X.
A quarter of all incidents recorded in the study account for abuses against people who visibly represented pro-Palestine sentiment, following the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has defended his government’s decision to demolish formerly vacant, water-damaged homes in Lismore where squatters have been residing amid flooding caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
The northern New South Wales properties were bought by the government after the devastating 2022 floods, because they were considered hazardous.
Those residing in the Pine Street homes say they will resist any eviction, but Premier Minns insists the squatters are putting their own lives and the safety of State Emergency Service volunteers at risk.
Mr Minns says the government must abide by the rules and denies the collective’s demands to move to the top of the queue for social housing.
“We are not going to be in a situation any longer where we are putting people in harms way, when the government has spent nearly a billion dollars trying to relocate people out of harm’s way, out of the flood zone, out of a situation where SES volunteers are having to risk their own lives to keep people safe. Now we’re not going to solve the state or northern rivers housing challenges by locating people on flood-prone land. IT’s dangerous, it shouldn’t have happened, and we needed to make a decision.”
He added that calls to relocate hundreds of homes to safer locations were impractical in the current circumstances.
Former Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte has delivered a message to supporters, before being surrendered to the custody of the International Criminal Court.
The 79-year-old was arrested in Manila on murder charges linked to his “war on drugs”, with the ICC alleging he created, funded and armed the death squads that carried out murders of purported drug users and dealers.
In a video posted to social media, Mr Duterte – aboard a flight to Rotterdam – says despite the circumstances, he will continue to protect his supporters.
“To my countrymen, Just to give you the current situation, I am about to land. For all of the… whatever happened in the past, I will protect you. This will be long legal proceedings. I say to you, I will continue to serve my country.”
Mr Duterte was taken to a coastal detention unit near The Hague where several infamous war crimes suspects are held.
He could become the first Asian former head of state to go on trial there.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised a billion dollars to extend rail lines from the new Western Sydney Airport to outer Sydney suburbs.
In a pitch to south-west Sydney voters, Labor says it will secure the land corridors between Leppington and Bradfield to connect the area with the airport.
The rail lines are expected to open late next year with capacity for 10 million passengers on both domestic and international routes.
Mr Albanese says extending the rail passage is an important part of the project.
“This is the next practical step in safeguarding the future and ensuring we are well-positioned to deliver the infrastructure that communities across southwest Sydney need. To connect people with the jobs of the future, and with each other.”
That was SBS News In Easy English. I’m Catriona Stirrat.
