Australian news and politics live: ‘No starvation in Gaza’, Israel’s Canberra embassy says

The Crisafulli Government will launch a $50 million “regional reset” program to support at risk youth showing early signs of “disengagement, antisocial, or criminal behaviour”.

Part of the “Making Our Community Safer Plan”, the program will be delivered by the Kokoda Youth Foundation, and will provide 12 month placements for youth aged 12-17.

It includes three short term “resets”, where the youth receive “24/7 support and supervision” while partcipating in “activities to develop emotional, social, and physical skills”.

Premier David Crisafulli said the program will help restore safety in regional Queensland.

“Only with more police, stronger laws, rehabilitation and early intervention that works will we start to turn the tide on Labor’s Youth Crime Crisis,” Mr Crisafulli said.

Youth advocacy experts have voiced concern over the program and said it will be ineffective.

New youth justice laws are set to be fast-tracked in the Northern Territory after a 15-year-old boy allegedly stabbed another teenager on Saturday night at the Royal Darwin Show.

The Northern Territory government will table legislation to overhaul the current Youth Justice Act this week.

Deputy Chief Minister Gerard Maley said the overhaul would “put victims first, protect frontline staff and hold serious youth offenders to account”.

The proposed changes include consideration of the accused youth’s full criminal history when sentencing for adult offences and removing detention as a last resort.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has quashed plans by pro-Palestinian protestors to march across Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The Palestine Action Group had notified NSW Police of the “March for Humanity” set to take place at 1pm on August 3 and had called on NSW authorities to “facilitate” the march, which is in response to the “extraordinary situation” in Gaza.

But Mr Minns said it would have to find an alternative route.

“The NSW Government cannot support a protest of this scale and nature taking place on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, especially with one week’s notice,” he said.

“The Bridge is one of the most critical pieces of infrastructure in our city—used every day by thousands of people. Unplanned disruption risks not only significant inconvenience, but real public safety concerns.

“We cannot allow Sydney to descend into chaos.

“NSW Police are in discussions with organisers about other routes they can take and are working to ensure community safety is upheld.”

Just like Barnaby Joyce, scrapping net zero is on One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson’s agenda for Parliament today.

She has given notice to the Senate that she will move an urgency motion calling on the government to scrap its net zero emmissions target.

“While China and India are exempt from cutting emissions until 2060 or 2070, and the USA refuses to play ball, we’re punishing our own country for contributing just 1% of global emissions. Between them, those three nations emit over 50% but it’s Australians who are made to suffer,” she wrote in a post on social media.

“Net zero is a scam. It’s destroying our industries, gutting our manufacturing, crippling farming and food production, driving up the cost of living and pushing families into poverty, homelessness and despair.

We are being led by fools. Shame on every politician who continues to push this madness. I will not stand by while Australia is driven into the ground.”

Asian stocks have lifted and the euro firmed after a trade agreement between the United States and the EU lifted sentiment and provided clarity in a pivotal week headlined by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan policy meetings.

The US struck a framework trade agreement with the European Union, imposing a 15 per cent import tariff on most EU goods - half the threatened rate, a week after agreeing to a trade deal with Japan that lowered tariffs on auto imports.

Countries are scrambling to finalise trade deals ahead of the August 1 deadline, with talks between the US and China set for Monday in Stockholm amid expectation of another 90-day extension to the truce between the top two economies.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.4 per cent and the Nasdaq futures gained 0.5 per cent while the euro firmed across the board, rising against the dollar, sterling and yen. European futures surged nearly one per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei slipped after touching a one-year high last week while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.27 per cent, just shy of the almost four-year high it touched last week.

- via Reuters

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has shared a photo from on board the UK’s HMS Prince of Wales as it joined multinational Exercise Talisman Sabre.

“Australia and the UK are working together to ensure a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” she wrote on social media.

She was joined by Defence Minister Richard Marles, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey.

“Talisman Sabre 2025 is Australia’s largest and most sophisticated bilateral military exercise, bringing together over 40,000 personnel from 19 nations. Our capability and coordination highlights the strength of our defence partnerships and our work to keep Australians safe.”

Australia’s biggest technology company has named a new chief executive as it looks to move on from distracting governance issues involving its billionaire co-founder.

WiseTech Global today named Zubin Appoo as its next chief executive, succeeding interim boss Andrew Cartledge, who is retiring at the end of the year.

Andrew Harrison, WiseTech lead independent director, said the board had sought to hire someone who could “seamlessly partner” with co-founder and executive chairman Richard White, who owns a 36.3 per cent stake in the $40 billion company, while also operating independently and decisively as CEO.

Four members of WiseTech’s board quit in February, citing “intractable differences” about the ongoing role of Mr White in the company he founded three decades ago.

Mr White stepped down as WiseTech’s CEO in October, as the board hired two law firms to review “specific issues raised in recent media coverage”, including about his personal life.

Read the story

David Littleproud has fended off sugggestions Banaby Joyce’s private members bill to scrap the National Party’s commitment to net zero emissions is a threat to his leadership.

“No, we have 19 very independent people who will make their own mind up and that’s the beauty and the culture of the National party, I’m not making anything of this I’m pretty relaxed about it,” the Nationals leader said on Sky News.

Mr Littleproud said that in the end, a Nationals review currently underway may reach the same conclusion as that of Mr Joyce’s Bill.

“We may get to the same decision I don’t want to pre-empt it, but what we also want to do is put forward alternatives,” he said on Sky News.

Mr Littleproud said the partyroom had unanimously voted to review its climate change policies but “Barnaby didn’t want to wait for the rest of the partyroom”.

Pro-Palestine protesters are planning to march across Sydney Harbour Bridge for the first time in nearly two years of rallies, setting the stage for a potential confrontation with police.

In a statement, the Palestine Action Group said on Sunday it had filed a Form 1 notifying NSW Police of the “March for Humanity” set to take place at 1pm on August 3.

The group called on NSW authorities to “facilitate” the march, which is in response to the “extraordinary situation” in Gaza, including mass civilian starvation.

The protest is likely to face stiff opposition after, then-NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb previously applied to the Supreme Court to stop a pro-Palestine event.

The vigil, held on the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attacks, was ultimately given the green light after a court hearing and 11th-hour discussions with protesters.

Nationals maverick Barnaby Joyce says Australia’s approach to defence is “putting the future of your children and grandchildren at threat” amid fears over China’s military build-up and aggression toward Taiwan.

“We’ve had a massive build-up of (China’s) armed capacity, including their nuclear capacity, and no real explanation as to why and (Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong) brought that to our attention lately,” he told Sunrise.

“Australian people really haven’t grasped exactly what’s before us”.

“We need to become as strong as possible as quickly as possible. We really are putting the future of your children and grandchildren at threat.

“China does not believe in a democratic world order. They believe in an alternate order that does not include democracy and ultimately … where we lie in that, if we don’t get this right, is as a vassal state.

“You will be dominated by economically, socially in your media, by a totalitarian regime.”

​Read the full story. ​