‘Swedish doom-goblin' Greta Thunberg sets sail for Gaza
Sky News host Rita Panahi discusses Human Rights Activist Greta Thunberg's attempt to gain access to Gaza.
'Swedish doom-goblin Greta Thunberg is in a boat, and she is headed to Gaza,' Ms Panahi said.
Ms Thunberg claims the boat she is on will attempt to 'break the siege' of Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
36 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Cynthia Nixon bemoans Sex and The City for being 'incredibly white'
Cynthia Nixon disliked how "incredibly white" 'Sex and The City' was. The 59-year-old actress played Miranda Hobbes in the hit HBO series, but Cynthia thinks 'Sex and The City' wasn't reflective of the real world. Speaking to Sky News, the actress explained: "The one thing that didn't really sit well with me in the past was how incredibly white the show was." Cynthia reprised the role of Miranda to star in 'And Just Like That...', the 'Sex and The City' revival show. And Cynthia believes the new series presents a more well-rounded view of the world. She explained: "I think to expand the universe of, you know, who gets to be centred in the show has been a tremendous boon. Whether you're talking about people of colour, whether you're talk about queer people, people of different ages. We used to have a wonderfully fascinating lens, but it was fairly narrow. "We've moved in our view of queer people … for so long, if you wanted to put a gay person on screen, one of the ways to make them palatable was to really emphasise their funniness and I think we have many very funny gay characters, but we're able to, I think, have a more well-rounded view of them." Meanwhile, Cynthia recently revealed that she has an "intense" friendship with her 'And Just Like That...' co-stars. The actress has relished the experience of reuniting with Kristin Davis and Sarah Jessica Parker to shoot the revival series. Cynthia - who also starred in two 'Sex and the City' films - told People: "I just think the longevity, I mean the intensity of it, but also the longevity of it, because there's something about knowing and loving a person, but then when you know them for so long, you know their children and their parents and their spouses and their friends." Cynthia has developed a close bond with her co-stars over the years, and she now understands them "in their complete context". Reflecting on her relationship with Sarah and Kristin, she said: "When you understand somebody in their complete context, I feel like that's when you really know them."
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
'Un-Australian': Western Australia's $60 billion sweetheart GST deal safe under Coalition, despite massive budget blowout
The Coalition has confirmed it will not propose any changes to the controversial GST arrangement that disproportionately benefits Western Australia. It comes amid renewed calls from NSW, Queensland and Victoria to revisit the national carve up of GST revenue, which hands WA better services despite lower taxes. Shadow treasurer Ted O'Brien and shadow finance minister James Paterson told Sky News the Coalition's position would not change the existing arrangement. 'The Coalition will not be proposing changes to the current GST settings with respect to Western Australia,' the shadow economic team said. The statement reinforces the Coalition's acceptance of the 2018 GST deal, which guarantees WA at least 75 cents for every dollar of GST raised in the state. NSW, Victoria, and Queensland typically receive less than 75 cents per dollar of GST raised within their borders and do not have a guaranteed minimum. The arrangement also includes a 'no worse off' guarantee designed to protect other jurisdictions from losing funding, but critics say it has come at a heavy cost. Independent economist Saul Eslake was scathing in his response to the Coalition's decision, telling Sky News it shows they were 'not serious about returning the budget to balance'. Mr Eslake has previously described the WA GST deal as the 'worst public policy decision of the 21st Century', citing two key reasons. Firstly, he argues the deal fundamentally undermines the purpose of the GST system, which is meant to ensure states and territories have the capacity to provide similar public services while imposing comparable tax burdens. Instead, the deal allows WA, Australia's richest state, to enjoy better public services while paying lower state taxes. 'The 'WA GST deal' which Albanese champions means that residents of Australia's richest state, WA, will get better public services whilst paying lower state taxes than other Australians,' he said. 'It is giving WA $7 billion in 2025-26, and at least $8 billion per annum in 2026-27 through 2029-30. 'More than WA needs in order to be able to provide the same standard of services whilst levying the same burden of taxes as the average of all states and territories. Which I think is 'un-Australian'.' Secondly, Mr Eslake said the massive cost blowout of the deal, which has surged from $9 billion over eight years to nearly $60 billion over eleven years, marks it as one of the most expensive policy failures. 'That's the biggest blow-out in the cost of any single policy decision, ever, with the possible exception of the NDIS, which was at least for a noble purpose," he said. Calls to revisit the GST carve-up have intensified from the eastern states which argue the current system is unfairly weighted in WA's favour. NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey and Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki have both urged the federal government to reconsider the arrangement and pursue a model based more on population. WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti accused eastern commentators of being 'obsessed with wanting to tear WA down' on Tuesday. 'If you're a true economic commentator, you would realise that WA is driving the national economic agenda,' she said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has likewise stood firm on the deal, saying he supports the position on WA GST given he did not propose changes in the election campaign. 'We support the position on WA that I took to the election, that I took the 2022 election, and that were enshrined at the National Cabinet,' Mr Albanese said on Tuesday. 'Importantly, as well, part of that is that no state's been worse off (under) that guarantee—and that guarantee is in place.' The deal was originally set to expire in 2026-27 but has been extended until 2029-30 as part of a broader agreement with states on the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Mr Eslake has urged bipartisan cooperation to end the costly arrangement, proposing the Productivity Commission be tasked with designing a simpler, more transparent system for distributing GST revenue. 'If the Coalition were to offer the government bipartisan support for reversing the 2018 changes… then the government would have absolutely no valid reason not to accept that," he said.
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Albanese government throwing $9 billion per year at net zero climate targets, new IPA findings reveal
The federal government's spending on climate change and net zero has soared to more than $9 billion a year, new research has found. Analysis from the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) has shown that spending on climate-related programs has increased fifteenfold over the past decade. According to IPA's analysis of federal budget papers, spending on net zero has risen from about $600 million to $9 billion annually since 2015. At the same time, the Albanese government has seen emissions actually rise year on year to figures higher than under the former Morrison government. IPA deputy executive director and economist Adam Creighton said the array of 'programs' and 'funds' related to climate change and net zero was 'ridiculous'. 'Spending on climate change and net zero in the most recent federal budget has reached around $9 billion annually,' he said. Mr Creighton said the true cost was likely even higher once state-level and private sector compliance costs were considered. Despite this, Energy Minister Chris Bowen has repeatedly claimed renewables to be the 'cheapest and cleanest form of energy'. Meanwhile, the Australian Energy Regulator's default market offer has rise by as much as 50 per cent in parts of the country since 2022. Mr Bowen and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have still not conceded that they did now lower power bills by $275 as promised at the 2022 election. 'We have never denied that energy prices are higher than we would like,' Mr Bowen said at the National Press Club energy debate ahead of the election. 'If we keep the path we're on, energy prices will fall by 13 per cent over the next 10 years.' According to the IPA, the high energy prices in Australia have been caused, at least in part, by the ambitious net zero target. 'Decades of poor decision making, based on flawed and misleading advice and ideology, is crushing … household budgets,' Mr Creighton said. The Albanese government has reaffirmed its commitment to net zero since winning its mandate in the 2025 federal election. However, Environment Minister Murray Watt recently gave approval to the North West Shelf gas project, which Mr Albanese said was needed to address energy reliability. 'You don't reduce emissions and take action on climate change by just having good wishes,' Mr Albanese said on Tuesday. 'We need to make sure that there is security of energy supply at the same time as we support the transition which reduces our emissions. 'What you do is have a target, which is what we have with net zero.' Sky News understands the Albanese government won't support a climate trigger in national environmental laws, as proposed by the Greens. Mr Albanese is not expected to announce Australia's 2035 climate target until closer to September, Sky News recently revealed. The new climate target could be put as high as a 75 per cent emissions reduction by 2035 from 2005 levels as internal deliberations and departmental advice continue. The growing price tag has renewed political pressure on the opposition, with internal divisions surfacing over the future of the Coalition's commitment to net zero by 2050. Senior Coalition figures have been openly debating whether to revisit or abandon the net-zero target. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said it was necessary to 'take the time to get this right' on net zero, and that the joint party room would evaluate its position. 'We have to play—as a country—our part in the global response to climate change,' she told reporters at Parliament House last Thursday. 'Net zero, Paris targets, gas—all of the resources conversations around critical minerals, they're all part of that. 'We have to get this right. We have to play our part, but we have to make sure that we don't do it at any cost.' The Nationals nominally reaffirmed support for net zero by 2050 but leader David Littleproud confirmed that the commitment is now under review.
