| An unfair dismissal settlement and what to do about Donald Trump | Good afternoon,
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull took a small break from the official campaign trail and travelled to the Northern Territory today.
He left Deputy Liberal Leader Julia Bishop in charge to debate her Labor counterpart Tanya Plibersek at the Press Club.
Here's what you need to know about the election today:
1. PRIME MINISTER HANDS BACK ABORIGINAL LAND
Mr Turnbull officially returned land near Darwin to its traditional owners, 37 years after their claim was first lodged.
It's been a long road for proponents of the Kenbi land claim, which included two extensive hearings, three Federal Court reviews, and two High Court appeals.
Mr Turnbull congratulated the traditional owners after a minute of silence to honour those who did not live to see the milestone.
"Today we formally recognise what Larrakia people have always known," Mr Turnbull said.
"That this is Aboriginal land. That this is the lands of the Larrakia people.
"Today marks a historic day in the settlement of one of the most complex and protracted land claims in the history of the Land Rights Act.
"On behalf of the Commonwealth Government and all Australians, I congratulate the traditional owners on their persistence, their resilience, their determination over 37 years to see the Kenbi land claim resolved."
2. TWO DEPUTY LEADERS FACED OFF AT THE PRESS CLUB
Julie Bishop went head-to-head with Tanya Plibersek on a range of topics including foreign aid, the South China Sea, those Eddie McGuire comments and US politics.
Both stayed non-partisan when it came to questions on Donald Trump.
Ms Bishop said it was "incumbent on the Australian government to deal productively with whoever wins".
Ms Plibersek agreed: "We will work with whoever is elected."
Meanwhile, Minister for Women Michaelia Cash announced an extra $15 million for domestic violence frontline services and spoke out against comments made by Collingwood chief executive Eddie McGuire.
"When you're in the public eye, words matter... I am pleased there has been an outcry," Ms Cash said.
3. FORMER BILL SHORTEN STAFFER WINS UNFAIR DISMISSAL SETTLEMENT
A former employee of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has received a financial settlement after claiming she was unfairly dismissed.
The ABC has learnt the case from a former junior employee in Mr Shorten's Canberra office, was settled last week.
The receptionist, who was made redundant earlier this year, is expected to receive 20 weeks' lost wages.
The settlement was reached with the Finance Department, which oversees salaries and entitlements for parliamentarians and their staff.
Both the Finance Department and Mr Shorten have refused to comment on the matter.
Today Mr Shorten visited tram and train makers in Melbourne.
"Out of respect for the parties involved in that particular matter there's been a confidentiality settlement — I'm not going to compromise that," Mr Shorten said.
4. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: THE PRIME MINISTER WAS ON Q&A
He might have had man flu, but that didn't stop punters in the Q&A audience from asking Mr Turnbull tough questions on marriage equality, homophobia and mental health.
But the toughest question of the night came by video from an asylum seeker on Manus Island, an Iranian Kurdish journalist, who asked why he had been detained for three years.
Mr Turnbull said he would not comment on the individual case but was happy to "hypothesise".
"He talks about the Government's immigration policy," Mr Turnbull said.
"It is a tough and harsh policy, I grant you that. But in government and in politics, often you are presented with tough choices.
"And the alternative is not a theoretical one. It's what Kevin Rudd delivered. Regrettably, 50,000 unauthorised arrivals, 1,200 deaths at sea of which we know, doubtless there were more."
ELECTION SPOTLIGHT:
The ABC's Vote Compass has revealed that 69 per cent of voters support a national broadband network that delivers faster speeds, even if it costs the Government more.
That sentiment was strongest among Labor and Greens voters but 52 per cent of Coalition voters also agreed it would be worth spending more taxpayer money to achieve faster internet.
The University of Canberra's annual regional wellbeing survey found 48 per cent of the 13,000 regional Australians surveyed, reported that their internet was "very poor". Only 37 per cent rated their internet as "OK" or "good".
FROM THE DRUM: WE'VE BEEN SPARED THE POISONED EXCESS OF PRESS AND POLITICS ... SO FAR
In the wake of British MP Jo Cox's murder, Jonathan Green writes that this Australian campaign has been remarkably free - thus far - of appeals to the more "visceral fears".
Anxiety over a "war on business" doesn't quite have the same potential for real life execution as, say, a war on illegal immigrants or some other war on some other vulnerable "other", he says.
He writes that this relatively sanguine moment is a blessing, "perhaps an unintended and morally blighted consequence of stopping the boats".
But he warns the divide between the sort of angry hate that is "part of the tabloid political culture" and simple hateful brute force is "wafer thin".
COMING UP NEXT: - Independent candidate for Warringah James Mathison will be on Lateline at 9:30pm AEST
Want more? Check out our Australia Votes homepage for all the latest election news and analysis. |  | | | About this email You received this email because you are subscribed to ABC News email alerts. This message was sent to you at starnewsposting@gmail.com. Please add newslists@your.abc.net.au to your email address book to see images by default and stop the email being treated as spam. This email address is not monitored - Please don't reply to this email. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. Add or remove topics | Unsubscribe | Contact Us |
|
0 comments:
Post a Comment