TRANSCRIPT
- Labor re-elected to power in the ACT election for a seventh term
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is confident Australia's lobster trade will bounce back stronger
- The Sky Blues win the A-League Sydney derby
The Labor party has won a seventh consecutive term in power in the ACT, extending Labor's time in office to 27 years.
After vote counting paused on Saturday night, Labor was on track to hang on to its 10 seats in the 25-seat Legislative Assembly.
Along with the three seats held by the Greens, they are once again capable of forming a minority government.
The coalition arrangement is set to extend to 23 years, however swings were recorded against both parties - showing voters are increasingly dissatisfied with what the major parties have to offer.
The Liberals managed to add one member to the nine seats they held in the assembly but still saw their vote share fall backwards as well.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr says he is incredibly honoured to be re-elected.
"Thank you Canberra, but thank you to the broader Labor family. Tonight's result is the result of everyone in this room - and everyone in this room - and everyone in the broader Labor movement. Leading the Labor team in the Assembly is the greatest privilege and honour of my life. I couldn't perform this role without your tremendous support."
**
Israel has conducted at least three airstrikes on southern Beirut following an attempted drone attack on the Israeli Prime Minister's residence.
The strikes targeted the Dahiyeh neighbourhood in southern Beirut, home to Hezbollah's offices.
Earlier on Saturday, a drone targeted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s house in the seaside town of Caesarea, but no casualties were reported, and neither he nor his wife were present.
In a statement on social media, Mr Netanyahu says Iran was responsible and that it has made a grave mistake and will pay a heavy price.
Israel's military says around 180 projectiles were fired from Lebanon.
According to Israeli medical services, a 50-year-old man was killed by shrapnel in northern Israel, with four others injured.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin is calling for restraint.
"I say the same thing that I said about Gaza and continue to say; the number of civilian casualties have been far too high. We would like to see, you know, Israel scale back on some of the strikes it is taking, especially in and around Beirut, and we would like to see things transition to some sort of negotiation that would allow civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes."
Meanwhile, the chief of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says healthcare in Gaza must be protected, after an attack on the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza.
**
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he is confident Australia's lobster trade with China will bounce back even stronger, during a visit to Geraldon in Western Australia.
China is expected to lift its ban on Australian rock lobsters by the end of the year.
Mr Albanese thanked the regional areas in the country, saying the industry has shown its resilience throughout the last four years of the trade ban.
"It's the jobs that go with it in regional communities like this. If this industry did not survive then you don't have people working in the local pubs and restaurants. You don't have people being able to provide local services as well. So this is absolutely critical for regional Australia."
**
A coronial investigation has commenced into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of a 32 year-old woman and two children pulled from waters in Sydney's southwest on Saturday afternoon.
The woman's body was recovered from the water around 10:15am on Saturday morning, while the bodies of a 7-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl were identified around 2pm, following an extensive search operation.
Acting Superintendent Luke Scott - from the Fairfield City police station - says he is aware the children attended the park earlier before they entered the water, but said police are still unsure of the exact circumstances of the children's activities at Lansvale's Floyd Bay.
"My information was that they were on that pier. The circumstances of how they came off that pier and into the water, that is what we are looking into. As you know, these are completely tragic circumstances, I think anybody can feel for these circumstances, not jsut the family, but I think anybody who observed what happened. It's beyond words how tragic it would be for anyone who observed what happened, and for the family."
Superintendent Scott also called on any witnesses to contact Crime Stoppers or Fairfield police station if they have further information.
**
In the A-league, striker Patryk Klimala has upstaged the big-name imports of the A-League Men off-season by leading Sydney Football Club to a 2-1 win over the Western Sydney Wanderers.
All eyes were on Sydney winger Douglas Costa and Wanderers recruit Juan Mata in Saturday's season opener, but Klimala stole the show with an assist and the decisive goal.
Costa was solid - his cross was the catalyst for Klimala's opener - and the Brazilian gave the crowd a glimpse of his fleet-footed skill.
Speaking after the game [[on Paramount Plus]], Sydney FC coach Ufuk Talay [[Oo-fook Tay-lay]] says he is pleased with how the team played.
[["The derby is always chaotic at the start. It is never always going to be a free-flowing game where one team really dominates, especially away from home, playing at their ground - but I thought we settled into the game. We had some good combinations at times. But the boys dug deep. I always say the boys, I think what makes this special is our attitude and mentality. And they definitely showed it tonight."]]
