Welcome to the Afternoon Update.
Peter Dutton has insisted he is not racist after the independent MP Zali Steggall defended calling the opposition leader so in parliament and accused him of fuelling division with his political attacks over visa holders from Gaza. As the war of words escalated, Dutton rejected Steggall’s assertion and claimed the member for Warringah is the divisive one.
“I’m not a racist, and I’m not going to be standing here as a punching bag for people like Zali Steggall,” Dutton told Nine’s Today Show on Friday.
Meanwhile, on Seven’s Sunrise, the education minister, Jason Clare, echoed Steggall’s allegations. “This is what he’s done all his life – just attack migrants, whether it’s Chinese, Indian, New Zealanders or now the Palestinians,” Clare said. “He’s basically Pauline Hanson without the personality.”
Top news
Raygun pleads for privacy | A “disgraceful” petition about Rachael “Raygun” Gunn and the Olympic chef de mission, Anna Meares, has been taken down after the Australian Olympic Committee condemned it as defamatory and bullying. Earlier on Friday Gunn said the backlash she has received since competing at the Paris Olympics has been “devastating” and pleaded for privacy for her family and friends.
NSW Liberals director sacked | The New South Wales Liberals director, Richard Shields, has been sacked after a “mind-boggling” failure to nominate more than 130 candidates for local government elections. The party’s executive unanimously decided to terminate Shields’ employment over the fiasco.
First Nations communities should lead response to damning inquiry | The Human Rights Commission is calling for First Nations communities to lead the response to the just-tabled missing and murdered report, which found there had been “little, if any, justice” for the many First Nations women and children murdered or disappeared.
Victoria bans use of spit hoods on young offenders | The use of spit hoods on young people in Victorian prisons will be banned as the Greens secured changes to a bill that will see the age of criminal responsibility raised from 10 to 12.
Emotional vigil for Sophie Wang | An emotional school service has been held for Gold Coast student Sophie Wang, who was allegedly killed by her mother, with hundreds of mourners paying tribute to the 10-year-old.
Israeli settlers kill one Palestinian during attack in West Bank | Dozens of Israeli settlers, some wearing masks, attacked a Palestinian village near the city of Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank, burning cars and killing at least one person. It is the latest in a series of violent attacks by settlers in the West Bank.
Ceasefire in Gaza negotiations underway again | A new round of negotiations aimed at brokering a ceasefire and preventing the fighting from escalating into a region-wide conflict got under way in Doha as the death toll in the Palestinian territory reached a grim milestone of 40,000 people, according to local health authorities.
Trump searches for new attacks against Harris | Donald Trump expanded his circle of senior advisers, adding five new aides – including his former 2016 presidential campaign chief – as the campaign attempts to find effective attacks against Kamala Harris, according to people familiar with the matter.
British MPs call for detained academic’s freedom | A group of British MPs have called on the Azerbaijan government to free an academic who was detained after writing articles critical of the country’s environmental policies. Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu was arrested and held by Azerbaijan authorities while visiting family in July 2023.
Full Story
Newsroom edition: the media is in crisis, gambling ads are not the answer – Full Story podcast
This week the Labor government is facing criticism for its proposal to put a cap on gambling advertising despite most people supporting an outright ban. But why water down legislation that holds such high community support? According to Bill Shorten, because the future of free-to-air TV depends on it.
Gabrielle Jackson speaks to editor-in-chief Lenore Taylor and deputy editor Patrick Keneally about the crisis in the media, and why we should be looking for answers outside the gambling industry.
What they said …
***
“Dutton’s sweeping edict, ‘no one from Gaza’, echoes the Coalition’s consistently dehumanising rhetoric,” – Samiha Olwan
Olwan’s mother-in-law was one of four – out of 22 – family members who arrived in Australia from Gaza last November after being approved to travel through Rafah by Dfat. She wrote for Guardian Australia describing what her family has faced trying to try to get their remaining family members in Gaza to Australia, saying Dutton’s comments “affirm a longstanding political position and attitude towards Palestinian refugees from Gaza”.
In numbers
In the 12 months to June 2023, more than 112,000 NSW children were identified of being at risk of significant harm and referred to Department of Communities and Justice offices. Only one in four received a home-based safety assessment; the other 84,000 had their cases closed. The NSW auditor general found the DCJ did not follow up with any of these children and does not know what happened to them.
Before bed read
Pets provide solace, support and sometimes unconditional love. Yet, when they die, much of our grief remains unspoken.
Zoe Williams, recalling her own loss, writes pet grief is objectively, indisputably real, and explores why this great open secret – that losing an animal is enormously hard – is so often minimised.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: . You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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