TRANSCRIPT
- Questions over the eligibility of Lidia Thorpe to sit in the Senate
- Over 30 students injured by a molotov cocktail at a high school in Chile
- Australian driver Mark Winterbottom confirms a shift in gears on the motor sports grid
The Federal Opposition is examining the eligibility of Lidia Thorpe to sit in the Senate, following her admission she deliberately avoided a reference to the Queen's heirs in her oath of office.
The Independent Senator has confirmed she said 'hairs' instead of 'heirs' when being sworn into the Senate.
Nine Newspapers are reporting that the Coalition's leader in the Senate, Simon Birmingham, is now considering legal opinions about Thorpe's ability to sit and take part in upper house proceedings.
But the Senator is unapologetic, telling Channel 9 she has already rejected their calls to resign.
"Swearing allegiance to someone else from another country, whose ancestors have done a lot of damage to my ancestors, I think is completely inappropriate. My people need a loud and proud black voice out there. I have a Senate seat for the next three and a half years, and I'll be using that to get justice for my people."
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New South Wales Premier Chris Minns will travel to the far west town of Broken Hill today amid concern about rolling power outages and a mass blackout that affected 20,000 residents.
The visit follows the promise of an inquiry into the mass outage, which left residents reliant on one faulty back-up generator after the mains supply failed earlier this week.
Mr Minns has previously said many of the issues facing Broken Hill can be blamed on the previous Coalition government, who sold the state's high-voltage electricity transmission network for $10 billion in 2021.
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Victoria's Premier has condemned a group of far right protesters who were pepper-sprayed by police after crashing a refugee rally in Melbourne.
A group of around 20 men, wearing black and with their faces covered, marched towards their encampment with a banner, shouting offensive slogans before being pushed back by police.
Jacinta Allan says she views the decision of the small group of Neo-Nazis to come to the rally two days ago as "cowardly" and uncalled for.
She says while it is a matter for Victoria Police to decide what action should be taken on this specific incident, the government is actively looking at legislative responses.
"We'll be releasing before the end of the year the strengthened Anti-vilification framework that we'll be introducing into legislation. We will have more to say then about what is covered by that legislation, other than to say we are looking at how we can strengthen - strengthen further - the anti-vilification framework in this state."
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Dozens of students have been injured in an explosion at a public high school in Chile.
Eleven students from the prestigious Barros Arana National Boarding School in Santiago have been hospitalised in serious conditions, with burns affecting their respiratory systems.
Firefighters say at least 35 students were hurt after a homemade firebomb detonated inside the school in central Santiago, igniting a blaze.
Police official Lieutenant Colonel Fernando Alboronoz says a group were making Molotov cocktails in the bathroom to be thrown at a protest later in the day.
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Türkiye has launched strikes against Kurdish militant camps, following a deadly attack at a defence firm near Ankara.
The defence ministry has released a statement confirming an air operation against 32 targets in Iraq and Syria, where the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) are known to have rear bases.
The Turkish government has blamed the PKK for the attack that has killed five and wounded another 22.
Listed as a terror group by Türkiye and its Western allies, the PKK has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.
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Donald Trump has been branded a fascist by his former White House chief of staff.
John Kelly has told the New York Times in a series of interviews that the Republican presidential candidate meets the definition of a fascist and will seek to rule like an authoritarian if he returned to the White House.
He says Trump told him German Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler "did some good things".
Trump's team has denied the accounts, while Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has seized on Kelly's comments as support for what she has been saying.
"All of this is further evidence for the American people of who Donald Trump really is. This is a window into who Donald Trump really is from the people who know him best, from the people who worked with him side by side in the Oval Office and in the Situation Room."
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Supercars fan favourite Mark Winterbottom has confirmed he will not return to the grid as a full-time driver in 2025.
The Australian says he will now be exploring opportunities as a co-driver, after 21 years in the main seat.
He has posted a video on his social media accounts saying it has not been an easy shift to make.
"It feels surreal to say these words. It's a real mix of emotions, and it doesn't make it easy when you still have the fire in your belly, and that red mist in your eyes. Things don't always go your way in life though. But life is about looking forward, and that's what I plan to do."
