TRANSCRIPT
- The Greens call for student debt cuts to be brought forward to this year.
- Indigenous peoples around the world welcome decision to receive permanent voice on biodiversity issues.
- And in cricket, Captain Pat Cummins in his first O-D-I since last year's World Cup final.
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The Greens are calling on the federal government to bring forward its plan to cut student debt by 20 per cent for three million Australians.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the policy pledge over the weekend as part of a pitch to voters ahead of the next federal election.
The proposal would wipe - on average - $5,520 off those with student debts as of 1 July 2025.
Students accumulating debts from 2026 onwards would not benefit from the move.
Greens Senator for South Australia, Barbara Pocock, says she would like to see the government move up the implementation of the plan.
"We have pushed relentlessly in the Greens for reductions in student debt. Why wait? We say to the Albanese government, let's do this now. Let's now defer this until after the election. Students need relief now. And we in the Greens are willing to move straightaway to be possible this year - to give relief to those young students dealing with student debt, so they can get on with their lives."
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Economists and policy experts that are costing the new policy proposal from the government to wipe 20 per cent of student debt for Australians, say the overall cost will be borne out by taxpayers.
Australian National University professor Andrew Norton, who has advised the Abbott and Turnbull governments on education policy, calculates the effective cost of the plan to be $11 billion.
Independent economist Chris Richardson told SBS that non-university educated taxpayers may have to carry these costs.
"Somebody always pays. This is essentially a tax cut - but only if you went to university. And ultimately, that gets paid for by the people who didn't go to university. Given that some student debt is never repaid anyway. The people who are the least financially successful - this is quite a sharp subsidy from the less well off - to the better off."
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Indigenous peoples have welcomed the decision to give them a permanent voice on biodiversity issues.
After two weeks of negotiation at the UN biodiversity summit, countries have agreed to establish a permanent body for Indigenous peoples.
The move will allow them to participate in future decisions, on nature conservation and the rules on the use of genetic information.
Camila Romero, an Indigenous representative from Chile, says she is overjoyed with the historic decision.
"This is an unprecedented event in the history of multilateral agreements on the environment. The Indigenous groups and the local communities of the world are connected through our knowledge systems on how to take care of life and biodiversity. This new subsidiary organ is an example for the rest of the world. In it, the different parties recognise the constant need for our complete and effective participation."
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With only one day until the US election, the presidential candidates are delivering their final pitches to voters in battleground states.
In a repeat of tactics used in 2020, Donald Trump has baselessly claimed the 2024 election is being stolen from him.
Mr Trump told supporters in Pennsylvania they should be ready for whatever happens.
"But it is now or never. This is it. This is the moment. We have been waiting nine years for this. And we have got two days. And we have got all this crap going on - with the press (media) and the fake stuff. And fake polls. And by the way, the polls are just as corrupt as some of the writers back there. They can make those polls sing, they can make them swing. They brag about it."
In Michigan, Vice President Kamala Harris asked worshippers to put "faith in action" with their vote.
“And here is what feeds my spirit as I travel across our beautiful nation - from state to state and church to church. I see faith in action in remarkable ways. I see a nation determined to turn the page on hatred and division - and chart a new way forward."
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To sports, in cricket, Australia captain Pat Cummins makes his international comeback in the first One Day International of the summer against Pakistan today.
The three-match series begins at the MCG, with both teams building towards the Champions Trophy.
Cummins says he is excited to be back in his first international appearance since the T20 World Cup in June - and he anticipates Pakistan's side will be tough opponents.
"You know they're quite well-rounded. They have got some guys who have scored some big runs. And they have some quicks you have got to be pretty wary of. We have played them quite a bit in recent years. And I think it is always fairly evenly matched."
