Here is a look at what is making news around the country today.
Today’s national news includes Japanese F-35s to be joining military exercise in Australia for the first time, Australia sending a warship to join the US, Philippine military drills, Sen Lidia Thorpe saying voice referendum should be called off, and Australia setting up Pacific Championship in rugby league diplomacy play.
Nation
Australia’s voice referendum should be called off—Sen Thorpe
Australian senator Lidia Thorpe has said the country’s planned referendum on an Indigenous “voice” to parliament should be called off because it is just “window dressing”, Aljazeera reported. “It has caused nothing but harm and division. And, for what? There won’t be change until this society changes. Until this society’s thinking, values, attitudes and systems have been revolutionised to ensure real self-determination, we cannot continue the legacy of the Australian colony,” the Senator said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that the voice, which would establish an Indigenous advisory committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues in parliament, would help improve the lives of Indigenous people by giving them a say and making sure policies are more informed.
Politics
Australia sends largest warship to join military drills with Philippines and US
Australia’s biggest warship, HMAS Canberra, will be taking part in a joint military exercise with US forces and the Philippines in the South China Sea, the Voice of America has reported. China’s ambitions in the South China Sea, and other geopolitical and trade disputes, have fractured Australia’s relationship with Beijing in recent years. Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, Australia’s Chief of Navy, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Monday that Canberra wants to maintain peace in the region. Earlier this year, officials said that the Philippines and Australia had discussed joint patrols in the South China Sea.
Defence
Japanese F-35s to join the military exercise in Australia for the first time
Four Lockheed-Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters from the 3rd Air Wing at Misawa will undertake a two-week deployment to take part in exercises in the Northern Territory. The deployment will see the jets take part in exercises flying via Andersen Air Force Base on the U.S. territory of Guam to Darwin and Tindal in the NT. This will mark the first time Japan has sent its F-35s overseas for training and follows the deployment of five Mitsubishi F-2 fighters to Australia for the first time in 2022 when the JASDF took part in the multinational Pitch Black air combat exercise, Defense News has reported.
Sports
Australia to set up Pacific Championship in rugby league diplomacy play
Australia said it would commit $7 million for a Pacific rugby league championship, in a “football diplomacy” move seen as boosting Australia’s soft power amid competition for influence with China, Reuters reported. Women’s and men’s teams from seven countries will compete in the Pacific Rugby League Championships, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday. Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tonga will field teams. The first games will be played in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea this year, between October and November.
0 Comments