TRANSCRIPT
- First Nations advocates in Victoria urge the state government to stick with the plan to raise the age of criminal responsibility
- Federal Government considers capping rather than banning gambling advertisements
- Australian athletes prepare for the Paralympic Games
The Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation says it is deeply concerned the Victorian government is abandoning its plan to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14.
Children as young as 10 can be charged, convicted and imprisoned across Australia, except in the Northern Territory, which raised the age of criminal responsibility to 12 in August 2023.
The Victorian government had originally planned to raise the age to 14 by 2027, but following a series of prominent incidents involving alleged youth offenders including two fatal car crashes, the government has decided to dump that move.
The C-E-O of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Dr Jill Gallagher, implored the state government not to abandon a reform that she said would have positive impacts to the health and wellbeing of First Nations children and their families.
_
The Albanese government is looking at capping gambling advertising instead of a total ban, contradicting recommendations made by a parliamentary committee last year.
The landmark review championed by late Labor MP Peta Murphy recommended the federal government phase out all gambling advertisements over three years.
But the government is now looking at a partial ban, with Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten saying gambling ad revenue is necessary to keep media outlets afloat.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says she was disappointed by the comments.
"Making vulnerable children, families that are being torn apart, carry the cost and the burden for the funding of big media corporations and big corporate sporting clubs. It's not okay. Yes, we need to do something to support media in this country, but you don't force vulnerable people, gambling addicts, to have to pay the price. Come up with another way and have some guts."
_
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns says he won't be supporting a push for poker machine gaming rooms to close on Anzac Day.
The gaming rooms were excluded from the state government's decision last month to ban full-day retail trade on the date.
Independent MP Alex Greenwich is pushing for a legal amendment to close poker machine rooms in casinos, pubs and clubs on Anzac Day, excluding traditional Anzac Day pursuit of playing two-up.
Mr Minns says the current settings are appropriate.
"And I completely acknowledge people have got widespread, ubquitous concerns about poker machines - however people do gamble on Anzac Day. That has been part of the tradition for a long period of time. This is a decision that individuals have to make and obviously if we did close down other forms of gambling on the day, two-up is still legal in New South Wales. I am not pretending this is perfect, but I think that this is a commonsense decision that the New South Wales government has made."
_
In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation says it is investigating allegations that the Trump presidential campaign was hacked.
The campaign says it is believes Iran hacked and distributed sensitive internal campaign documents and emails to media outlets, including
Politico, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.
Democratic California congressman Adam Schiff has called for any information about the latest breach to be released publicly by the Department of Homeland Security.
_
Australia's Chef de Mission for the Paralympics Kate McLoughlin says there is high level of excitement as athletes prepare for the Paralympic Games in Paris at the end of the month.
Track and field star Madison de Rozario and swimming favourite Brenden Hall will carry the Australian flag at the opening ceremony, marking the beginning of 11 days of competition from August 28.
