Hi there. It's Monday, October 24, and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news.
Let's start here
Greens senator Lidia Thorpe will refer herself to parliament's powerful privileges committee over her undisclosed relationship with a former member of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang.
In a statement, she said:
"I have decided to write to the president of the Senate today requesting a referral of myself to the Senate Committee of Privileges.
"The Greens Party Room backed my decision today.
"I am more than willing to participate in any inquiry."
A separate investigation into any potential conflicts of interest has also been launched.
What else is going on
- In just two years we've had three federal budgets and the federal government is about to hand down another one tomorrow. Why so many? Political reporter Stephanie Dalzell explains the budget bonanza here ahead of the big announcement
- A blaze that erupted at a marina in the Whitsundays has caused extensive damage to a luxury yacht. No one was on board at the time of the fire, but two men aged in their 40s and 60s were assessed for smoke inhalation
- A woman's body has been found on the banks of a flooded river in NSW’s Central West, believed to be a missing passenger of a car swept off a nearby causeway last night. The driver of the car, a 45-year-old man, and two male passengers – aged 43 and 26 – managed to escape the vehicle
- The Bureau of Meteorology says weather across much of the country is likely to settle mid-week, but showers and possible storms will continue in Victoria, Tasmania and southern New South Wales on Wednesday and Thursday
What Australia has been searching for online
- Slim Dusty. If you Googled anything today you might have seen the latest Google Doodle paying tribute to the Australian country music icon, including a few words from his daughter Anne Kirkpatrick — she says while she "shared much of him with Australia and thousands around the world, we wouldn’t have had it any other way"
- Matthew Perry. The internet has had plenty to say about the Friends star's new memoir, which includes revelations about his battle with substance abuse and his time on one of the world's most recognisable sitcoms
You're up to date
See you tomorrow.
ABC/wires
