What we learned, Saturday 27 May
That’s where we’ll leave the blog for today – thanks so much for joining us. Here is a wrap of the day’s biggest stories:
The Victorian Nationals have fallen into line with their federal counterparts and formally voted to oppose the Indigenous voice to parliament, at the start of National Reconciliation Week.
The minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, has hit back at comments from Peter Dutton and accused the opposition leader of “playing politics” with the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum and dividing Australians.
Four people have died and a teenager is fighting for life after a car crash in Victoria’s west.
Former Liberal party president for New South Wales Maria Kovacic will replace the late senator for NSW Jim Molan, who died in January, after winning a preselection vote today.
A third teenager has come forward to assist police with their inquiries after a fire engulfed a seven-story building in Sydney’s CBD on Thursday.
Calls are growing for a parliamentary inquiry into use of force by New South Wales police, with justice experts saying too much focus is being placed on the actions of individual police officers rather than the “festering” systemic problem.
A government meet-and-greet to connect Australian industry with the world’s largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, has been criticised by environmental groups as “akin to a joint trade show with a tobacco major”.
Updated
Circling back to another update on the building that caught fire in Sydney’s CBD on Thursday.
Police are still working to locate two people who may have been among 15 sleeping rough in the building the night before the fire.
They have confirmed 13 of those people were safe and well.
It comes as a third teenager has came forward today to assist police with their inquiries into the fire. Police have not yet confirmed the cause of the fire, nor have any charges been laid.
