SBS News in Easy English 8 August 2025

SBS Australia

a day ago

Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . Convicted Kiama MP Gareth Ward has quit the New South Wales Parliament, just before it was due to vote on his expulsion. He had previously resisted calls to resign while he awaits sentencing for sexual assault offences. The motion to expel the 44 year old was expected to have widespread bipartisan support. Both Premier Chris Minns and Opposition Leader Mark Speakman had previously said his presence in the lower house was no longer tenable. A compensation payment offered to Kathleen Folbigg after she was wrongfully convicted of killing her children and jailed for decades has been savaged by her supporters. NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley has confirmed the government will make an ex gratia payment to the now 58-year-old, more than a year after a claim was submitted to the government. He says Ms Folbigg requested details of the payment not be publicly shared, but her solicitor Rhanee Rego has confirmed she had been offered $2 million. Greens MP Sue Higginson has described the offer as a slap in the face, while Ms Rego has told Channel 9 the amount is a moral affront. "The government thinking that 20 years of taking a woman's life away after the loss of her four children, to return to a world where she has no job prospects, no superannuation, no life? That that is worth 2 million dollars? That is why we say it is really unfair." A new report has found up to a third of schools in Queensland are in poor condition. The Department of Education's Comprehensive Review of Infrastructure Renewal report says there is a maintenance backlog which could cost an estimated $441 million to address. Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek has blamed the report's findings on the previous Labor government, saying it is evidence the party did not spend enough on schools during their term in office. "This is a report that Labor commissioned because they knew there were issues. These were issues we had last time we were in government when we had a significant maintenance backlog. And it's clear they knew about the issue. And the report shows they under-invested in maintenance, and that's to the detriment of our teachers and students." New US tariffs for more than 90 countries around the world have come into effect. In a post on social media, US President Donald Trump has celebrated the commencement, which includes rates such as 50 per cent for goods from Brazil, 39 per cent from Switzerland, and 35 per cent from Canada. He has also announced a new tariff of 100 per cent on foreign computer chips that is likely to increase the cost of electronics and household appliances. He says there will be one big exemption. "We're going to be putting a very large tariff on chips and semiconductors. But the good news for companies like Apple is if you're building in the United States or have committed to build, without question committed to building the United States, there will be no charge." Britain's minister for homelessness has resigned from Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government following a row over claims that she evicted tenants from a property she owns. The I-Paper Daily reported that Rushanara Ali had given four tenants four months to leave her London home and then leased it again a few weeks later with the rent more than 700 pounds ($940) higher. Ms Ali has said in a letter to Starmer that she had followed all legal requirements. But she says continuing in her role would have distracted from the work of the government. Conservative Party Chairman Kevin Hollinrake has told ITN the former minister's actions are hypocritical. "She has spoken out about exploited tenants, about providing more protections for tenants. You can't say those things and then do the opposite as a landlord." Triple-murderer Erin Patterson is due before court today in Melbourne, a month after being convicted of killing three of her estranged husband's family members. The 50 year-old is expected to appear via a video link from prison, where she is awaiting sentencing for serving a lunch laced with poisonous death cap mushrooms in July 2023. Dates for her pre-sentence hearing, known as a plea, are expected to be set today.
The plea is an opportunity for victims and their loved ones to give statements about the impact of the crime on their lives.