Evening News Bulletin 29 October 2024

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TRANSCRIPT
The federal government inquiry into Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has found Australians are unlikely to abide by strict health restrictions in future health emergencies.
The government has released the finding of the inquiry, which suggests Australians lost trust in government as the pandemic went on, due to a lack of sufficient explanation as to why lockdowns and other restrictions were occurring.
This explains the conclusion that people will not be obedient in future situations.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler is defending Australia’s COVID response, saying there were many parts of it that simply couldn’t be planned for.
“The first lesson from this report is that like most countries, frankly, our pandemic plans were grossly inadequate for the scale of the challenge that COVID-19 presented to us. The report makes clear, for example, that our plans, such as they were included, no plan that would deal with the closure of the international border, which was such a central part of our response. No plan to deal with quarantine, which was also incredibly important.”
In releasing the report, the federal government has also announced $251 million in funding to establish an Australian Centre for Disease Control.
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Crossbenchers have joined the opposition in questioning Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s judgment.
It comes after it was revealed Mr Albanese made direct calls to former Qantas boss Alan Joyce to obtain free upgrades on his flights.
The Coalition has suggested it raises questions about the relationship between Labor and the airline, which the Prime Minister has rejected.
But Independent Senator David Pocock says it’s about being open and honest with the Australian public.
“Sure, you can abide by the rules of declaring things, but I think Australians want a greater level of transparency and accountability from politicians, and it’s really frustrating that every time the crossbench pushes in the Senate on more lobbying, transparency on the release of ministerial diaries, the major parties team up, defeat the motion or defeat the bill.”
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The Australian Army has unveiled a new fleet of Black Hawk helicopters to replace the Taipan fleet.
It comes after a fatal Taipan helicopter crash in July 2023 which killed four people off the coast of central Queensland.
The new Black Hawk fleet is expected to be available to rapidly respond to domestic and international security challenges.
Head of the Joint Aviation Systems Division Jeremy King says in replacing the Taipan fleet, they’ve made many improvements.
“From our perspective, we’ve moved on from the Taipan. It’s about making this platform perform in the roles and the missions that are required. So I’m not in the business of talking comparisons. From our perspective, it’s all about getting this platform into service and making it as capable as we possibly can. We’re certainly learning every day. I think what you’ve seen here is a whole bunch of experiences that we’ve learned in a very short amount of time in terms of the investigations are going, we eagerly await the findings of those investigations, and we’ll look to adjust and incorporate those into the way we operate.”
Forty aircraft are scheduled for delivery by 2030 and will operate from Holsworthy in New South Wales and Oakey in Queensland.
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Australia has denounced Israel’s move to ban a United Nations Palestinian aid organisation from operating.
Israel’s Knesset has passed laws, which won’t come into effect immediately, banning the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees from working in Israel.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has joined leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Britain in expressing grave concern over the law.
Ms Wong has reiterated calls for Israel to comply with the binding orders of the International Court of Justice to enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance at scale in Gaza.
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The federal and New South Wales government have pledged $60 million to establish a Net Zero Manufacturing Centre at a TAFE campus in Newcastle.
It will aim to speed up an apprenticeship model which focuses on the skills required for net zero manufacturing.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the upgraded centre in Tighes Hill will allow for more jobs which will be required to support the renewable energy sector.
“There’s nothing more important than job creation, and there’s nothing more important than having a plan for where the economy’s going and making sure that we invest in new industries and that we invest in the capacity of workers to be able to fill jobs in those industries.”
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New research has found a non-cancerous prostate condition is seriously compromising the physical and mental health of men in Australia.
The condition, an enlarged prostate, affects more than 2.8 million men aged 50 and over in Australia.
Research, commissioned by medical technology company Boston Scientific, has found the condition is currently under-diagnosed and under-treated.
General Practitioner Dr Ethan Salleh says that’s especially true for migrant and refugee communities.
“We know that people from culturally and linguistic diverse communities may come from a culture where they do not talk about reproductive or urinary tract systems due to shame, due to the taboos associated with that part of the body, and hence, they do not come forward to talk about it.”
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In cricket, Matthew Wade has confirmed his retirement from international matches.
He will join the Australian men’s team coaching staff for the one day international series against Pakistan next month.
The 36-year-old last played for Australia at the Twenty20 World Cup earlier this year.
He last played Test and one day internationals for Australia in 2021.
He’ll continue playing both one day internationals and Twenty20 cricket domestically.