Latest news with #DUTTON
SBS Australia
02-05-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Election day has finally arrived
The finish line draws nearer, but campaigning isn't done. ALBANESE: "I'm working with guts out to ensure there's a majority government" DUTTON: "Right up until polls close, people are contemplating what does our future as a country look like." Whilst around six million Australians cast their vote early in the election, the party leaders are banking on the some people still being open to changing their mind. The latest YouGov poll predicts Labor will win a majority... with the coalition to lose 11 seats, down to 47 seats - which would be the worst result in almost 80 years. Peter Dutton says he's still in the race. REPORTER: "How are you feeling? Do you need a miracle to win?" DUTTON: "I feel confident. I feel good about where our candidates are. We've selected some amazing people.. And they have done more work. They're more connected with their local electorates, and that's why I think you will see a lot more surprises seat by seat." As the Prime Minister was quietly confident on the last full day of campaigning. REPORTER: "Who do you credit for finding your political mojo again?" ALBANESE: "I'm me. I've always been me." But there are dozens of seats around Sydney and Melbourne on a knifes edge, including Bennelong in Sydney's North. The Coalition wants to flip the seat, which Labor's Jerome Laxale secured by just 1,954 votes in 2022, hoping the abolition of North Sydney and past voting demographics will swing the seat in its favour, which is now notionally Liberal on a 0.04 margin. Bennelong voters told SBS... "I guess I want to vote for anyone but Peter Dutton. He's divisive, and he got he's got no policies. I think both are just as bad as one another, so I've got to vote for the lesser evil." "We're running up too much debt, way too much debt, massive spending. Yeah, I think the Liberals address that they always have. "And what about Anthony Albanese?" "He annoys me. Just the spend pattern, and he lies." "25 to 55, the best generation, and somebody squeeze you like this, because all prices up." "The thing that I've been most concerned about is for the young people to get onto the market, because I have a son who would like to get onto the market, and it's a big, big, big struggle." "What do you think of Peter Dutton?" "I think he's really sincere, and I think he's really, really wanting to do the best he can all the time." "I vote for Liberal. I change. I don't vote Liberal anymore because I don't trust them. " Cost of living has been at the heart of the election. Labor pitching tax cuts and affordable healthcare, while the Coalition promised short term relief and to fix the economy. Peter Dutton banking Australians blaming the Prime Minister for falling living standards. "We can bring three bad years of a Labor government to an end. Help families recover from that by way of assistance, and making sure that we can invest sensibly, to bring interest rates down, to bring inflation down, to keep our country safe." Whilst Anthony Albanese hopes voters will back Labor in for another three years. "We stand putting our views before the Australian people. We have run a solid campaign where we have put out policies for the future. Australians have a choice, building a better future or going back."
SBS Australia
02-05-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
A frantic final day of campaigning
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with . TRANSCRIPT: A frantic final day of campaigning for the major parties as polling shows a clear leader; At least ten killed in a multicar pileup at a Philippines tolling booth; Transgender players banned from women's football in the UK. Both major party leaders are embarking on a high speed blitz across key marginal seats today in a final bid to shore up support before polls open on Saturday. The frantic final day of campaigning follows new analysis that predicts the Coalition will experience its worst result in nearly 80 years in Saturday's election. The YouGov modelling points to the Coalition losing 11 seats to drop to 47 seats - though Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says he believes they can win. REPORTER: "How are you feeling? Do you need a miracle to win?" DUTTON: "I feel confident. I feel good about where our candidates are. We've selected some amazing people... And they have done more work. They're more connected with their local electorates, and that's why I think you will see a lot more surprises seat by seat." The analysis also points to an 84 seat win for Labor, well above the 76 needed for an outright majority. But the Prime Minister says he puts no faith in polling since Labor's 2019 shock defeat to the Scott Morrison-led coalition, in defiance of predictions. "We take nothing for granted. No prime minister has been re-elected in this country having served a full term since 2004. We have a mountain to climb." Richard Marles has called for calm with one day left of early voting before the main election day, amid concern of rising tensions at polling booths across the country. The Deputy Prime Minister has cited homophobic comments made by member for Bennelong Jerome Laxale's father this week as an example of what he says has been an increasingly hostile campaign atmosphere. Mr Marles has told Channel Nine it was an unacceptable comment. "Jerome, our member for Bennelong, has dealt with it. It was unfortunate, but he's dealt with it. But I think what we have seen on polling booths across the last two weeks is a level of combativeness that I've not seen before. And you know, it's not healthy. I mean, obviously it's not very pleasant. If you're one of the people handing out and you're in that, in in that kind of environment. But a bigger issue is it's just not good for voters." A speeding passenger bus has slammed into a row of vehicles lined up at a highway toll booth in the northern Philippines, killing 10 people including children. More than two dozen others have been injured in the multiple-vehicle collision in Tarlac city, north of Manila. The bus driver has been taken into custody. He has reportedly told investigators he fell asleep at the wheel shortly before the accident. The South Australian government has formally apologised to women in the state who were injured by faulty pelvic mesh implants. Health Minister Chris Picton says he was sorry for the pain, embarassment, and gaslighting they endured. Meanwhile more than 1,000 women injured from the defective implants are still awaiting assessment for compensation, two years after device makers Johnson and Johnson, Ethicon and Boston Scientific agreed to pay $405 million in a settlement approved by the Federal Court in early 2023. Administrators for the company have now told the court difficulties in obtaining the necessary medical records are to blame for the delay. Iron ore giant Rio Tinto says it is committed to remedying the past after being criticised at its annual general meeting for its relationship with traditional owners. A spokesperson from the Robe River Kuruma Aboriginal Corporation had told the Perth AGM that the group had yet to update its agreement with traditional owners. That is despite pledging to reform its business practices after it blew up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in Western Australia in 2020 for an iron ore mine. The event sparked public outrage and led to a government inquiry and the exit of the company's chair and chief executive. A Brazilian nun acknowledged as the world's oldest person has died at the age of 116. Her congregation, the Company of Saint Teresa of Jesus, says Sister Inah Canabarro died of natural causes just weeks short of becoming 117. She had been confirmed in January as the world's oldest person by LongeviQuest, an organisation that tracks supercentenarians around the globe. LongeviQuest says the world's oldest person is now Ethel Caterham, a 115-year-old British woman. Transgender women football players are to be banned from English women's teams. The sport's governing body the Football Association says its decision follows a UK Supreme Court ruling last month on the legal definition of a woman under equality law. It is not clear how many players would be affected by the policy that takes effect on the 1st of June. But activist and player Natalie Washington says this will mean the end of her particular sporting career. "The FA (The Football Association) has been quite steadfast in their support for the participation of trans women up to now, so I was... I was shocked and I was clearly upset and disappointed that, you know, this means that I'm having to stop playing football."
SBS Australia
24-04-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
SBS News in Easy English 24 April 2025
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with . Coalition leader Peter Dutton has vowed to reassess the security clearance of Palestinians in Australia who have been granted visitor visas after fleeing Gaza. Mr Dutton will also recognise West Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network says the policies would suppress what they have described as valid critiques of Israel. But Mr Dutton says it's about being tough on border security. DUTTON: "Our nation is the greatest in the world, and we welcome migrants coming to our country. We have the most successful migration program, but we're not going to compromise on those settings which provide screening on people coming in from a war zone." REPORTER: "Those people from Gaza though were vetted when they exited the Rafah border crossing by Israel, and then Home Affairs as well, so do you not trust our security agencies or our allies?" DUTTON: "Well, we'll take and advice and - but we'll conduct proper security checks." A man has been charged over a data breach that hit the New South Wales court system earlier this year. The 38-year-old man is accused of accessing the state's JusticeLink system which holds files for thousands of cases. But Acting Attorney-General Ron Hoenig says no personal information has been detected online or on the dark web. He also says no one protected by apprehended violence orders has been identified as being at increased risk of harm. Santos has been given final approval for its multi-billion dollar Barossa gas project, after years of delays and fervent opposition from environment groups. The green light has come from offshore oil and gas regulator, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority - or NOPSEMA. Gas is now expected to flow from the Adelaide-based company's six wells in the coming months from its site off the coast of Darwin. Pipeline work on the controversial project had been halted in late 2022, after a court challenge from three Tiwi Island elders that the company eventually won last year. The latest snapshot of the Great Barrier Reef has found widespread bleaching across the northern regions of the marine park. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority's newest report says the bleaching is largely because of prolonged exposure to higher-than-average water temperatures. The report has emerged at the same time as a survey from the International Coral Reef Initiative. Caribbean Steering Committee co-chair Melanie McField says that report shows 84 percent of the ocean's reefs have experienced harmful bleaching. "We've just reached 1.5 degrees (Celsius) in the ocean and you see the repercussions... It's unprecedented... very alarming. So I think people really need to recognise what they're doing, you know, by the inaction. It's the kiss of death for coral reefs." The New South Wales government has pleaded with residents to get vaccinated against the flu. The call comes on the back of figures that show an uptick in influenza B cases this year, particularly in school-aged children and young adults. Public Health Association of Australia chief executive Terry Slevin says many people think the flu is a minor illness. But Health Minister Ryan Park says influenza can be very serious. "It is absolutely imperative that we do what we can as we track towards what is likely to be a difficult flu season. What we're observing in North America and Europe is a challenging flu season that they've come out. That normally trends for us in a similar way, so we can expect a significant impact on the community over the coming months." Food charities have reported a surge in people coming to them for help - including families with two incomes. 77 percent of the hundreds of free food providers surveyed in the OzHarvest network say they have seen an increase in people seeking food. But just over half of them say they have had to turn people away. Australian Council of Social Service CEO Cassandra Golding has told Channel 9 not enough is being done to help people in that position. "Food has become a really discretionary item for far too many people. Wow. We're still waiting to see what the major parties will offer. Well, look, we are still waiting for the major parties to offer to help people who are out there with the least." A group of First Nations youngsters from Western Australia have finished one of the world's most gruelling treks. Nineteen teens have hiked the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea as part of a leadership development program. 16-year-old Stanis Jack from Kalgoorlie was among the group. He says they were retracing the path followed by Australian soldiers to repel the Japanese army's advance on Port Moresby in 1942. "I've learned a lot from Kokoda. Leadership is one thing - talking to people and encouraging them. Then the other one is never giving up, always giving your best in everything you do."
