source : the age
The veterans’ affairs minister has defended a proposed cap on healthcare for ex-ADF members, but admits more needs to be done for women’s health in defence ranks.
It follows an impassioned Senate speech by independent Jacqui Lambie yesterday, in which she detailed her own health struggles as a veteran and demanded the government abandon the cap.
The federal budget, handed down in May, contains a $5000 annual limit on allied health services, which comes into effect from July 2027.
Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh has been under fire from veteran groups and the coalition about the cap, with warnings it would exacerbate health issues.
Once one of Asia’s richest men, property tycoon Hui Ka Yan, was sentenced to life in prison by a Chinese court on Thursday, marking an ignominious milestone for the country’s beleaguered real estate sector.
Hui founded China Evergrande Group in 1996, transforming it into a massive conglomerate. It became a symbol of the country’s rapacious debt-fuelled property boom and its subsequent collapse in 2021, after Beijing cracked down on the sector and it became the world’s most heavily indebted developer.
The fallout left a massive backlog of uncompleted housing projects, with some estimates putting the figure as high as 1.4 million pre-sold apartments across China left unfinished or unbuilt. Evergrande’s collapse triggered a sector wide crisis, with other real estate developers also collapsing or defaulting.
The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court convicted Hui, also known as Xu Jiayin, and Evergrande of engaging in large-scale financial fraud in inflating the group’s assets and concealing its liabilities. He pleaded guilty in April to eight charges, including misuse of funds, fundraising fraud, illegally taking public deposits, illegally extending loans, fraudulently issuing securities and bribery.
Returning to one of the big stories today, and NSW’s police force provided an update into the bungle that led to a family being wrongly informed their missing loved one had been found alive.
For about 10 minutes on Thursday, Lily Hooper’s family believed the 18-year-old had been discovered alive in dense bushland in the NSW Southern Highlands. But they were then told police were still working to determine her condition.
Shortly after, police confirmed Hooper had been found dead.
Police Assistant Commissioner Joseph Cassar said the incorrect report that Hooper had been found alive about 11.30am resulted from a communications error.
The family of killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom has released a statement, after news today that Israel will not proceed with criminal investigations over the IDF strikes that killed her and several other aid workers in Gaza in 2024.
The family said they were “deeply disappointed” by the outcome of the inquiry and decried the timing of the announcement as “an insult to my sister’s memory”.
“Zomi and her colleagues deserve more than an internal, opaque process that ends with a short statement by the Israeli military absolving their soldiers of criminal wrongdoing,” the family said in a statement, repeating their calls for an independent inquiry.
The issue continues to dominate debate in Canberra today: earlier, Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi said she wasn’t surprised that Israel had “abrogated all responsibility and accountability for their murder”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said on Thursday that the US “Economic D-Day” against Iran was a diversion from America’s economic problems and warned that further pressure would fail.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced what he called the “most crushing economic operation” ever taken against a country, targeting Iran with economic warfare and isolation.
Reuters
The Liberal Party’s federal deputy leader says Anthony Albanese also has questions to answer, after the Victorian premier announced more details about his state’s upcoming royal commission into the construction sector.
Ben Carroll said today former South Australia chief justice Christopher Kourakis, AC, will steer the royal commission into the Integrity of Major Public and Civil Infrastructure Construction Projects in Victoria.
On ABC News, Liberal deputy leader Jane Hume was asked if she supported fellow Victorian Tim Wilson’s calls for a national royal commission into the sector.
Hume said Wilson had since recanted that, and that her party’s position was to make sure the Victorian probe got to the bottom of the corruption there.
The national internet regulator is threatening a gaming giant with legal action if it fails to take steps to protect kids from grooming.
Roblox on Thursday received an enforceable undertaking following concerns about exploitation and abuse guardrails on its platform.
The eSafety Commission alleged the game was not meeting its obligations under the Online Safety Act’s codes and standards.
Roblox does not have adequate measures to prevent contact between adults and under-16s, the office alleged. The company said it met its obligations.
An elderly couple have been found by rescuers after spending two nights in their car on a remote forest track when it got stuck on a sightseeing drive.
The alarm was raised on Tuesday night when Clementina, 81, and her partner Peter, 79, failed to meet with family for dinner in north-west Tasmania as planned.
The pair, who were visiting from South Australia, had earlier in the day set off to do some sightseeing and were last seen about 44 kilometres west of Burnie.
They were found by police around 10.30am on Thursday a short distance from their car, which had become stuck on a track in the Dial Range area.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Israel’s decision to close its internal investigation into the killing of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom without criminal proceedings was “an outrage”.
He was responding to a question from independent MP Sophie Scamps, who echoed international human rights expert Chris Sidoti in calling for the Israeli ambassador to be expelled from Australia.
Albanese said the government was consulting with Frankcom’s family before further steps were taken.
“Israel’s decision falls far short of the accountability that we expect, despite the admission by Israel that their strikes were the result of serious failures,” he said.
Independent MP Zali Steggall has asked the prime minister how he plans to protect women and girls after a string of sexual assault allegations made headlines again this week.
“Two high-profile sexual assault allegations by boys and men, ranging from 14-year-old students to AFL players, are currently under police investigation,” Steggall said.
“And three 17-year-old boys have now been charged over the alleged group sexual assault of a teenage girl. These are not isolated incidents. They point to a broader culture and problem around respect and keeping women and girls safe.”
Anthony Albanese said reported rates of sexual violence had risen by more than 70 per cent between 2010 and 2024, that too often those involved were under 18, and the violence must end.
