What happened Thursday 8 February, 2024
With that, we’ll wrap up our live coverage of the day’s news.
Here’s a summary of the main developments:
Australia’s climate has officially warmed by 1.5C since 1910, according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s long-term record of temperatures.
The eldest daughter of Queensland stabbing victim Vyleen White has joined local African community leaders to call for unity amid rising tensions and reports of racist attacks.
The Labor MP Josh Wilson has broken ranks with the government, condemning Israel’s bombardment of Gaza as “unconscionable”.
The New South Wales agriculture minister has opened the door to increasing the production of medicinal cannabis and reforming the state’s drug laws as the government prepares for a major expansion of the hemp industry.
Electricity and gas company AGL Energy has posted a return to profit but rejected accusations the sector is price gouging cash-strapped households.
Australia’s highest court has rejected the Catholic church’s bid to avoid paying damages to the father of a choirboy allegedly sexually abused by Cardinal George Pell.
Have a pleasant evening.
Israel ambassador invites Greens politicians to view 7 October footage
Israel’s ambassador to Australia has invited federal Greens MPs and senators to view footage of Hamas’ attacks from 7 October, after the party’s push for Australia to remove support for what it called Israel’s “slaughter” in Gaza.
On Thursday afternoon, the embassy posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) that ambassador Amir Maimon was inviting the MPs when they’re in Canberra next week to view the 42-minute compilation which has been shown to politicians and journalists.
Maimon said he was inviting the politicians to view the footage due to the “amount of time the Greens have devoted to attacking Israel in parliament this week”.
Following their comments in parliament this week, Ambassador @MaimonAmir invites the @Greens to view the raw footage of Hamas' October 7 terrorist attacks. pic.twitter.com/9gWvH4z1aG
— Israel in Australia (@IsraelinOZ) February 8, 2024
On Wednesday, the Greens failed in an attempt to suspend standing orders so they could propose a motion stating that parliament “does not support the State of Israel’s continued invasion of Gaza and calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire”.
The leader of the Greens, Adam Bandt, said Israel’s actions had “moved beyond self-defence – this is now a slaughter”.
The Greens were contacted for comment.
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