TRANSCRIPT
- The Prime Minister completes his Kokoda trek for Anzac Day.
- Police arrest seven teens in a counter-terrorism operation in Sydney.
- LIV Golf boss Greg Norman declares South Australia will be the sole Australian host state for the golfing tournament.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has finished his trek along the Kokoda track in Papua New Guinea alongside PNG Prime Minister James Marape.
The two leaders completed a 15-kilometre section of the gruelling 96-kilometre trail where Australian troops fought Japanese soldiers during World War II.
Mr Albanese is the first sitting prime minister to have walked the track, the site of a number of dense and mountainous battlefields.
Ahead of an Anzac Day dawn service in PNG capital Port Moresby, he told SBS News that the trek was a moving experience.
"It's inspirational what our soldiers did. And they couldn't have done it without the support of the local population here. But the hardship and sacrifice that they overcame is just extraordinary. We lost 625 Australians on the Kokoda track. It's extraordinary the courage that people far from home and in a very different climate and different environment showed."
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The New Zealand Defence Forces may be forced to play a smaller role in this year's Anzac Day Dawn Service at Gallipoli after losing their luggage.
The bags were lost while in transit in Dubai's international airport, with the city being hit by some of the strongest floods in recent history that have caused major disruptions.
Out of a total 65 bags, only 35 made it to Turkiye, with most of the NZDF's band's musical instruments not being delivered on time.
The Australian Defence Force members have been helping their New Zealand counterparts out, so there remains a small chance they could still participate in the ceremony in a more limited capacity.
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Federal police have confirmed a further seven young people have been arrested in a significant counter-terrorism operation related to a church stabbing in Western Sydney.
Authorities say over 400 police were involved in the execution of 13 search warrants across south-western Sydney.
Police say the seven juveniles are associates and ideological allies of the 16-year-old they've accused of a religiously-motivated terrorism act in his alleged attack on a bishop in Wakeley last week.
A further five young people are assisting officers with their investigation.
AFP Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett has assured the public that the operation is attempting to target radicalisation, not any particular religion.
"Now I know that some of this will be confusing and confronting for some Australians and parts of our community. Senior members of the AFP and our community liaison teams have today held discussions with faith communities who we value and respect. I want to be clear, we target criminality, not countries. We target radicalisation, not religions."
Police have also assured that there is no threat to public safety and there is no connection to Anzac Day commemorations.
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A new report has identified barriers and enablers to effective truth-telling between First Nations people and non-Indigenous people.
The research by University of New South Wales and Reconciliation Australia has sparked calls for further action from local councils and government departments to better their truth-telling processes.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents say truth-telling is considered an essential step in redefining the relationship with non-Indigenous people and institutions.
Chief executive officer at Reconciliation Australia, Karen Mundine, from the Bundjalung nation, says frank and honest truth-telling is key to ensuring Australia does not repeat the same mistakes.
"We know that if we do ultimately want to get to a treaty, or we want to address the relationship between First Nations, peoples and other Australians, we have to investigate our past, we have to understand the basis of the relationships that have been in the past, but continue to play out today. Because if we don't, we're going to continue to make the same mistakes, we're going to continue to perpetuate systems that either don't work for First Nations peoples, or in some cases actively exclude us and, and we see that play out time and time again."
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In sport, LIV Golf boss Greg Norman has declared South Australia will be the sole Australian host state for the tournament for the immediate future, forgoing offers from other states.
LIV Golf's Adelaide second edition starts on Friday at The Grange Golf Club, after the success of last year's inaugural event in Adelaide, which was recognised as Best Event at the World Golf Awards.
Crowd capacity has been increased by 50 per cent to about 120,000 over the three rounds.
Norman says the feedback from last year's event was a big factor in his decision.
"It is hard to imagine we are basically less than one-and-a-half years into this thing. The impact that we've had in such a short period of time has been extremely powerful. And one of the things that I am most proud of is the fact that what we have done to the game of golf - and how golf is looked on as an asset class. And if it wasn't for LIV, this additional investment dollars going into the game, into the sport - would never have happened."
