TRANSCRIPT
Allegra Spender and Jacqui Lambie have introduced motions on antisemitism to federal parliament on its first sitting day of 2025- but have been hit with some pushback.
Liberal Party Senator James Paterson made moves for an amendment to the Senate motion urging mandatory minimum sentencing for antisemitism.
Independent senator Lidia Thorpe also proposed an amendment urging the motion condemn all kinds of racism.
Hitting back at the proposed amendments, Senator Lambie told the chamber the motion is not about politics or making amendments, but rather about showing the Jewish community that parliament supports them.
Ms Spender says the motions are also about changing the culture of Australia.
"We in this house, and across the different levels of government across the country, have the responsibility to keep the community safe – and that must be the work of this parliament in the laws, policing, education and justice systems. But this is not just a matter of laws, it is also an issue of culture."
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The Victorian government has approved a review into justice settings, including bail laws, ahead of dual state by-elections in Werribee and Prahran.
With state parliament resuming for 2025, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan says the move to review recent bail reforms is not linked to historically poor polling results in Werribee.
In 2023, the Victorian Labor government passed laws to make it easier for low-level offenders to get bail after it was found they disproportionately impacted women and Indigenous people.
More bail measures were introduced in 2024.
The opposition says the Labor government must acknowledge the changes were a mistake, after several incidents when offenders on bail gained media attention.
During question time, Victoria's Opposition leader Brad Battin raised questions about the timing of the review.
"Just last week on Nova FM, the Premier bragged about the Labor government's bail laws, laws which failed to protect nineteen year old Tyler Bell, who was violently murdered, involving a person on bail. If murder didn't change the premier's mind on bail laws, what did?"
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New South Wales Transport Minister Jo Haylen has announced she is resigning from the portfolio, but will stay on in state parliament after a series of car expense scandals.
Ms Haylen has been under pressure after it was revealed she tasked a taxpayer-funded driver to take her to a boozy winery lunch and drop her children off at weekend sport in Sydney.
Ms Haylen has promised to pay back the $750 cost of the trip, acknowledging it was the wrong move.
"As I said on Sunday, I've made some mistakes. People aren't perfect. I did not break the rules, but I acknowledge that's not the only test here. I've let the public down and I'm very sorry for that."
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U-S President Donald Trump has agreed to a 30 day pause on his threats of import tariffs against Mexico and Canada after reaching agreements on border security.
Days after announcing the U-S will impose 25 per cent tariffs on all goods imported from both Mexico and Canada, the pause is a cool-down period after fears of a potential trade war.
As part of the appeasement deal, Canada is expected to name a public official to combat fentanyl trafficking, list Mexican cartels as terrorist groups and launch a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organised crime, fentanyl and money laundering.
Premier of the state of Quebec [[ka-beck]], in Canada, François Legault [[fran-swar luh-GOH]] says he still has concerns for the future.
"If there is or not some tariffs, we need to have diversification of market. So it includes working better with other provinces, but also with Europe, with other countries than U.S.. We have 71% of our exportation going to U.S., it's a lot too much."
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The Rwanda-backed rebels who seized the eastern Congo city of Goma say a unilateral ceasefire will begin on Tuesday.
The announcement from the group, known as the Congo River Alliance, follows calls for a safe corridor for aid and hundreds of thousands of displaced people.
The group says it has no intention of capturing South Kivu's provincial capital Bukavu.
The United Nations health agency says at least 900 people were killed in Goma last week.
U-N Secretary General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric says there remain concerns about a lack of food and available resources.
“Humanitarian colleagues say they are concerned about escalating health risks, with the rainy season intensifying. There are still bodies of people who died in the violence lying in the streets of Goma. Our colleagues tell us that morgues are at capacity, and hospitals and health centers are overwhelmed with injured people. While efforts to chlorinate water are under way, with the support of our humanitarian partners, the lack of drinking water is forcing people in Goma to rely on untreated water from Lake Kivu.”
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Matildas interim coach Tom Sermanni says he expects Sam Kerr to be back playing next month, as the team captain fights to clear her name in court.
The 31-year-old star striker is facing court in the United Kingdom this week, after being charged with racially aggravated abuse for calling a police officer 'stupid' and 'white'.
Kerr denies the charges.
Sermanni says despite troubles with a lingering A-C-L injury, he feels confident she will be ready by March.
