Shorten to meet with South Korea's PM

24 September 2017

Canberra: Labor leader Bill Shorten will meet with South Korea's prime minister during a four-day trip which will also include security talks in Japan.

Mr Shorten and Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong will head to the global security hotspot today.

The agenda includes meetings with the former Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Foreign Minister of Japan.

The trip comes after increased tensions in the region.

A text message being sent to Australians by the Yes campaign. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplie

Ausies confused by ‘Yes’ SMS

Sydney: The marriage equality campaign has taken a new turn, after many Australians received a text message on Saturday calling on them to vote ‘Yes’ in the postal survey.

The text message that came from a phone says: “The Marriage Equality Survey forms have arrived! Help make history and vote YES for a fairer Australia. VoteYes.org.au.”

Many confused Australians after they got an SMS, complaining about it being an invasion of their privacy.

Bishop slams North Korea in UN speech

NY: Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop has used her address to the United Nations to call out North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, and keep up pressure on China and Russia to enforce sanctions on the rogue nation.

Ms Bishop's harsh words in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile ambitions came after Mr Kim described US President Donald Trump as a "mentally deranged US dotard" and his foreign minister suggested the regime could test a nuclear weapon over the Pacific Ocean.

Work Starts on Western Sydney Home of Sport

24 September 2017

Work has officially kicked off today on the 30,000 seat Western Sydney Stadium at Parramatta which will set a new standard for sports fans when it opens in 2019.

 “Western Sydney Stadium is a win for sports fans, revolutionising the spectator experience and injecting millions of dollars into the local economy, and creating 2,000 jobs,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“This stadium will be a major boost for Sydney’s infrastructure and will be another venue that we can use to attract major events to NSW."

Treasurer cracks down on Australia's banks

Canberra: Treasurer Scott Morrison has unveiled tough new accountability measures that will force bank bosses to defer their pay.

Under a draft of Bank Executive Accountability Regime legislation, banks will be forced to defer almost half of executives pay on a sliding scale for a minimum of four years.

The sale will be measured according to the size of the bank and the executive's seniority, with the bank also subject to fines of up to $210 million if they breach obligations.

Hume Highway reopened after NSW grass fire

Sydney: Traffic has queued for almost 10 kilometres after a grassfire crossed over the top of motorists on the Hume Highway in NSW and led to a road closure.

The blaze near Wingello, midway between Sydney and Canberra, was the most serious of about 90 fires to break out across NSW on Saturday as the mercury reached 40C in some areas.

The main arterial road between Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne was closed for about five hours before it was reopened.

NSW disabled children mistreated in school

Sydney: A NSW cross-party parliamentary committee has tabled its report into how to improve the treatment and supervision of children within the state's care.

The number of allegations of mistreatment of children with disabilities in NSW schools is unacceptably high, a NSW parliamentary inquiry has found.

"There are so many adverse findings but the most disturbing is the fact that the policy to support children is the opposite of the reality in schools," Labor spokesman for education Jihad Dib said.

Borrowers should brace for 2018 rate rise

Sydney: Economists have been flagging their updated interest rate views following yet another strong employment report.

In the four years the federal coalition has been in power it has never been put in the awkward position of having to explain an official interest rate rise.

A rise obviously will be a burden for borrowers, but perversely it can also be seen a good news story because it will show the Reserve Bank is confident the economy is finally firing on all cylinders.