What we learned: Friday 22 March
And that’s where we’ll leave you this evening. Here’s a wrap of what we learned today:
Australia and the UK have called on Israel to “allow immediate, safe, unimpeded and increased humanitarian relief to reach Palestinians in Gaza” and have also called for an immediate end to fighting “as a crucial step toward a permanent, sustainable ceasefire”.
As part of the latest Aukus developments, Australia will send A$4.6bn to the UK to clear bottlenecks at the Rolls-Royce nuclear reactor production line.
The Greens’ defence spokesperson, David Shoebridge, blasted news that Australia will send A$4.6bn (£2.4bn) to the UK to help clear bottlenecks at the Rolls-Royce nuclear reactor production line, calling it an “an extraordinarily bad deal”.
Convicted baby killer Keli Lane has been denied parole after the introduction of “no body, no parole” laws.
The shadow attorney general, Michaelia Cash, has responded to calls from the Albanese government for the opposition to offer bipartisanship on the religious discrimination bill. She said the Coalition will “negotiate constructively with the government to try and secure a position which takes faith communities forward, and not backwards”.
24 faith groups from multiple denominations have penned an open letter to the federal government, rejecting the Australian Law Reform Commission’s report recommending blanket exemptions allowing religious schools to discriminate against staff and students on the basis of sexuality and gender identity should be repealed.
Gay conversion practices have been outlawed in New South Wales after a marathon overnight debate in the state parliament.
Hillsong founder Brian Houston has failed in a bid to have his legal costs covered after unsuccessfully being prosecuted for allegedly covering up his late father’s child abuse.
Police officer Beau Lamarre, accused of murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, has officially been removed from the NSW Police Force.
More Australians are leaving income benefit schemes after just a year despite widespread perceptions of a nationwide increase in welfare dependency, research from e61 Institute showed
One in four flights around Australia are arriving or departing late, up from one in five at the start of 2022, continuing the industry’s run of worsening results.
Updated
Neo-Nazis’ sentences over attack on hikers don’t reflect level of violence, Victorian prosecutor tells court
Prosecutors are pushing for more jail time for two neo-Nazi leaders who attacked a group of hikers in a national park, arguing their original sentences were manifestly inadequate.
Thomas Sewell, 31, and Jacob Hersant, 25, were sentenced in October 2023 after pleading guilty in the county court to a violent affray in Victoria’s Cathedral Ranges state park.
Sewell received a 37-day jail term, reckoned as time served, while Hersant was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid community work over 14 months. The three days Hersant spent on remand were also noted in his sentence as time served.
Victoria’s director of public prosecutions launched an appeal of their sentences, with the chief crown prosecutor, Brendan Kissane, on Friday arguing they were manifestly inadequate.
More on this story here:
Updated
