The death toll rises from a suspicious fire in Toowoomba

SBS Australia

08-05-2025

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TRANSCRIPT:
The death toll rises from a suspicious fire in Toowoomba;
Anthony Albanese throws down the gauntlet to the Greens ahead of a new second term parliament;
Western Australia signs a deal for an NRL team in Perth. [[A WARNING THAT THIS STORY MAY BE DISTRESSING FOR SOME LISTENERS]] Three children have now died in a house fire in the Queensland city of Toowoomba. The two children died in hospital after being rushed there in a critical condition, following their escape from the blaze with a woman and a man. The body of another child - believed to be a nine year old boy - had already been located in the home. Detective Superintendent George Marchaseni says a woman is under police guard in hospital as the investigation into the cause of the blaze continues. "What we know so far is that we are treating this matter as suspicious. We have detectives from the Darling Downs district along with the Homicide Investigation Unit assisting this investigation. We have also brought in other specialist teams to assist, and some of that takes part with the forensic and scientific investigation at the scene. As part of our investigation we'll be looking at any interaction or communication from the family with police prior to this incident." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has issued an ultimatum to the Greens who will be part of the senate in the new Parliament, telling them they need to be cooperative during Labor's second term. There has been a testy relationship between Labor and the Greens after the minor party blocked several of their bills in the first Albanese term. The Greens have kept their 11 Senate seats to become the likely sole balance of power in the upper house, even as the party faces losing three out of their four lower house seats - including that of party leader Adam Bandt. Syria is holding indirect talks with Israel in a bid to keep tensions from spiralling across the region. Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on parts of Syria last week, saying it was aiming to protect the country's Druze minority from coming under attack by pro-government gunmen. The attacks followed clashes between forces loyal to the President and fighters from the minority Druze sect that left nearly 100 people dead. Interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa says they don't want the situation to get any worse. "As for the indirect negotiations with Israel, these negotiations came through intermediaries as an attempt to contain the situation and prevent it from spiralling out of control for both parties. The Israeli interventions are random and have violated the 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Since our arrival in Damascus, we have declared to all relevant parties that Syria remains committed to the 1974 Agreement." Several hundred people have attended a rally in Pakistan's capital Islamabad to show support for the country's military amid continuing tensions with India. The rally has been organised by the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League political party, days after military exchanges between Pakistan and India, with both sides making competing claims about the events. The party's deputy information secretary Saleem Ilyas says the rally has shown the public's support for retaliating against India. "The main purpose of today's rally was to express solidarity with the Pakistan army and to assure it that the Pakistani people stand with it. This rally also sent a message to India that not only the Pakistani forces but also the people of Pakistan are here to give a befitting reply. We believe that the attack on mosques and educational institutions by India last night was a cowardly act." New South Wales will hold a parliamentary inquiry into the state's illegal tobacco trade, amid concerns of links with organised crime syndicates. The inquiry follows moves by Health Minister Ryan Park last year to introduce tougher laws for retailers to combat a growing tobacco black market. But Opposition Leader Mark Speakman says the government has overall not been doing enough. "There is a crisis in New South Wales when it comes to the illegal tobacco trade. It's not just a health crisis. It's a criminal crisis. We're seeing arson attacks across New South Wales. We're seeing small businesses doing the right thing struggling because of the illegal tobacco trade. And we're seeing for the first time a rise potentially in tobacco consumption in New South Wales" The critically endangered mountain pygmy-possum is showing signs of recovery in the Kosciuszko National Park. The Department of Climate Change and Environment has counted 107 marsupials at a single site – the highest on record - with almost 78 females carrying young in their pouches. The numbers of the pygmy possum had been ravaged by the 2019 summer bushfires, which were already under threat from drought that had impacted their main food source of bogong moths. The Western Australian government has officially signed a deal with the Australian Rugby League Commission to establish a team in Perth. The Bears entry to the competition has been rubber-stamped to happen as early as 2027.
The agreement ends more than a year of speculation over Perth's admission as an expansion franchise, which has routinely appeared locked in before regular setbacks.