TRANSCRIPT
- Voters in New South Wales head to polls in local council elections
- U-K Prime Minister Starmer and U-S President Biden meet for discussion on weapons supply for Ukraine
- Australia's Davis Cup team qualify for a November showdown
Millions of voters across New South Wales are heading to the polls to cast their vote in statewide local council elections.
More than four million people across 128 councils are voting, with several councils facing an unavoidable shift to the left following the Liberals' failure to nominate around 140 endorsed candidates.
The pro-development movement is proving to be a focus point for a number of councils, with more than 50 candidates making a pledge with pro-development group YIMBY.
Australia's longest-serving lord mayor, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore is also seeking to extend her 20-year reign and says those pushing for fresh ideas can count on her and her team.
"People have said that during the campaign, that it's time for fresh ideas, and you know, we've had a lot of candidates forums, and I've been listening for the fresh ideas, and quite frankly, there haven't been any. So I think the progressive ideas come from our team. There's a great team at the city. I'm running with a great team of community based independence, and I think that's where you're going to find all your fresh ideas."
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An independent scientific probe has been ordered into the controversial Beetaloo Basin gas fracking site in the Northern Territory.
Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has ordered the probe following fears from traditional owners and conservationists about the potential contamination of local water supplies.
The Independent Scientific Expert Committee will now examine if the projects could impact local water and if so will refer them back to the minister for further scrutiny.
The local Labor member for Lingiari, Marion Scrymgour, says she takes concerns from traditional owners groups very seriously and understands that local water supplies are relied upon for drinking and sustaining the natural environment.
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The Greens are warning that drug overdoses will continue killing young people in New South Wales if the government fails to follow suit with other states and introduce pill-testing trials before summer.
The warnings follow two fatal heroin overdoses at a house party in Sydney, which occurred after attendees used what was believed to be cocaine.
Festival attendees in Victoria will soon be able to test drugs for potentially deadly chemicals as part of pill-testing trial to be operated across ten festivals in the state.
Greens drug law reform spokesperson Cate Faehrmann says Premier Chris Minns must follow the lead of other states by fast-tracking drug testing laws.
Similar trials and reforms are also being seen in the A-C-T and Queensland.
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Nationals' leader David Littleproud says it's Nationals policy that has led the federal debate from topics like the voice campaign to nuclear energy to vaping reform.
Speaking at the Nationals' federal council meeting, Mr Littleproud says nationalising Rex Airlines, student loan discounts and cheaper petrol are all on the agenda for the Nationals moving forward.
Fronting the agenda is tackling the cost of living and scrapping red tape for farmers, with the regional party leading the fight against Labor's moves to phase out live sheep exports.
Mr Littleproud says the party has been acting as agenda setters from opposition.
"We led on the voice. We led on nuclear. We've led on vaping, and now with supermarket policy, We've led on that in a cost living crisis, but we've been upfront and honest with the Australian people. We need to bring down their cost of living, and that does get back to the heart of the failed energy policy that this government's put in place."
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U-S President Joe Biden has met with U-K Prime Minister Keir Starmer for discussions on whether or not they will allow Ukraine to fire long-range Western supplied missiles into Russia.
Ukraine has long been requesting the supply of long-range missiles to fire deeper into Russian territory, but hesitant Western leaders are delaying the decision amid fears it could provoke wider conflict with Moscow.
The decision has now been delayed further with Mr Starmer indicating the matter will be discussed at the next United Nations General Assembly in New York.
"Well, we had a wide ranging discussion about strategy in Ukraine, of course, in the Middle East and other parts of the world. This wasn't a meeting about a particular capability. That wasn't why we got our heads down today. It was to allow ourselves the space in which we took the time to have a strategic discussion so that tactical decisions can be seen within the wider strategy. And it was a it was a really good invitation from the president. We've had a very productive, and we've come to a strong position. I'm very pleased that we have this discussion. Thank you very much."
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Australia's Davis Cup team has qualified for November's eight team showdown after Spain defeated France in their group B clash.
Lleyton Hewitt's team was enjoying the day off when they received the news that their qualification was guaranteed.
The qualification follows their two victories earlier in the week against France and the Czech Republic and will ease concerns for their Sunday face-off against the Carlos Alcarez inspired hosts.
The team now has its sights on doing better than the previous two years when its finished runner-up behind Canada in 2022 and Italy in 2023.
