Good afternoon. The no campaign leader and former Labor minister Gary Johns has been criticised after comments he made proposing blood tests to prove Aboriginality for welfare payments have emerged.
“If the current three-part test on Aboriginality is to remain, then, just as Aborigines insist in native title claims, blood will have to be measured for all benefits and jobs,” Johns wrote in his book published last year.
The no campaign activist is now?facing calls to resign?over the “extreme” and “offensive” comments, which Labor senator Jana Stewart, a Mutthi Mutthi and Wamba Wamba woman, said were “outdated views, from over 100 years ago”.
In other news, ABC journalist Stan Grant has permanently stepped down as Q&A host.
- Stan Grant to move on to other ABC roles |?RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas?will replace the high-profile Indigenous journalist?as Q&A host. Grant (pictured) stepped down from hosting Q+A after receiving “grotesque racist abuse”.
- Kathryn Campbell resigns from Department of Defence |?Campbell?has resigned in the wake of the robodebt royal commission report, with?Defence confirming it had accepted her resignation. It comes after confirmation last week that Campbell had been suspended without pay.
- Former Liberal MP ‘distressed’ at identity reveal |?The former federal MP Lucy Wicks has criticised Sydney radio station 2GB for?naming her as the Liberal figure?behind a formal complaint against a state MP, Taylor Martin, that included allegations of harassment through “demeaning, degrading, and abusive texts”.
- WA Labor government popularity crashes |?A poll of 1,000 voters shows?a resurgence of support?for the Liberal party, which now has a 54% to 46% two-party preferred lead over Labor. The last poll conducted in May, after leader Mark McGowan stepped down and was replaced by Roger Cook as premier, had Labor ahead at 61-39. Labor’s primary vote has also fallen to 32%, from 52% previously.
- Townsville cocaine bust |?Two men have been accused of?importing more than $61m worth?of cocaine by sea after Australian federal police seized 247kg of the drug allegedly hidden in a yacht in Queensland.
- Victoria fails to reach Commonwealth Games compensation deal |?Victorian government lawyers negotiating the cost of the state’s shock cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games?have flown home?without reaching a compensation deal. A Victorian government spokesperson today said “negotiations are continuing in Australia over coming weeks”. The premier, Daniel Andrews, has vowed to get the “best deal” in negotiations for taxpayers.
- John Farnham is cancer-free, son says |?James Farnham?says his father?(pictured) is “doing fantastic” after undergoing a 12-hour operation to remove a tumour in his mouth and reconstruct his jaw.
- US woman dead after grizzly bear attack |?A woman?has been found dead?in Montana after coming into contact with a grizzly bear on a trail west of Yellowstone national park. Rangers issued an emergency closure of the area where the woman was found, which is popular with hikers.
- Israeli protests over judicial reforms |?The country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu,?remained in hospital?to recover from an emergency heart procedure as tens of thousands of supporters and opponents of his government’s controversial judicial overhaul plan held rival rallies ahead of a key vote in parliament. The US president, Joe Biden, has urged Netanyahu to scrap the vote.
- Radioactive Fukushima fish |?A fish living near drainage outlets at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in May?contained levels of radioactive cesium?that are 180 times Japan’s safety limit. The revelation comes as Japan prepares to release 1.3m tonnes of treated water from the Fukushima plant, which has sparked concern in the region.
