What we learnt today, Monday 7 August
Thanks for joining us for a busy day here on the liveblog. That’s where we’ll leave our rolling coverage.
Here were today’s main developments:
Excitement is building ahead of tonight’s big game, where the Matildas will face Denmark in the round-of-16 at the Women’s World Cup. We will bring you the game live from 6.30pm AEST, and you can follow our coverage of England v Nigeria now.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said a public holiday will be on the agenda at national cabinet if Australia makes it to the final.
The Sofronoff inquiry made “several serious findings of misconduct” against outgoing ACT director of public prosecutions, Shane Drumgold SC. It was released by the ACT government today following extensive leads. You can read the full story here, and view the report here.
NT Labor senator Malarndirri McCarthy said she is “not at all” worried about the yes campaign for an Indigenous voice to parliament failing, and is “optimistic” the voice would be operating in this term of government if the referendum succeeds.
The former Nationals MP Andrew Gee, who quit the party over its referendum stance, said “history will judge [the Liberals] very poorly” for their opposition to the voice, saying it will alienate a “huge cross-section of people”.
Meanwhile, the opposition leader Peter Dutton’s office had to clarify that Jacinta Nampijinpa Price misspoke when she incorrectly said he had been to the Garma festival “several times already” on the radio this morning.
Debate on the voice continued throughout the afternoon during question time, where the deputy leader of the opposition, Sussan Ley, was ejected after accusing deputy prime minister Richard Males of “mansplaining”.
Albanese said he is likely to meet with China’s president Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in India next month.
Today marks the beginning of homelessness week. Market analytics showed a significant drop in rental vacancy rates across the country this month, with decreases recorded in every capital city.
Meanwhile, Homelessness NSW’s acting chief executive, Amy Hains, said more people than ever were facing homelessness in the state in part because of a “long-term failure to invest in adequate social and affordable housing”.
A NSW government plan to allow aerial shooting of feral horses in Kosciuszko national park in an effort to protect endangered species has been welcomed by environmental groups.
Updated
As excitement builds for tonight’s World Cup match, Labor MP Andrew Leigh has shared a photo of Parliament House lit up in green and gold to support of the Matildas:
Parliament House is lit up tonight for the #Matildas!#auspol #TilItsDone pic.twitter.com/3lzyp4qI3Z
— Andrew Leigh (@ALeighMP) August 7, 2023
The Opera House will also be shining brightly tonight:
The Sydney Opera House will be lit from 6pm AEST tonight to support @TheMatildas as they take on Denmark #FIFAWWC ⚽ 🇦🇺 Aussie aussie aussie!
— Sydney Opera House (@SydOperaHouse) August 7, 2023
📷 NSW Government pic.twitter.com/oiwkcwFmdF
Updated
