Qantas has shown off the first of 12 modified Airbus A350–1000ULR jets to be used for nonstop flights between Sydney and London at a ceremony at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France. Photograph: Tim Hepher/Reuters
Qantas has shown off the first of 12 modified Airbus A350–1000ULR jets to be used for nonstop flights between Sydney and London at a ceremony at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France. Photograph: Tim Hepher/Reuters
Joyce defends hardline immigration policy after Pauline Hanson’s address
One Nation’s treasury spokesperson Barnaby Joyce has defended the party’s hardline position on immigration following Pauline Hanson’s wide-ranging National Press Club address yesterday.
In a combative interview with the ABC’s Sarah Ferguson last night, Joyce backed Hanson’s call for a monocultural Australia, arguing that immigration must be tightly restricted to preserve “Australian culture”.
When Ferguson pointed out that 51% of Australian residents were either overseas-born or had an overseas-born parent, Joyce denied the party was alienating more than half the country.
What we’re saying is Australia has to have the capacity to bring in an Australian culture, a culture with guardrails, a culture that is able to absorb people so that we have harmony, we have peace, and we have a unity of purpose.
If you get a Balkanisation in Australia where there are so many people in so many different corners that they basically live their culture not an Australian culture, then inherently that just does not work out.
All major medical organisations, including the Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (Ranzcog), the Australian Medical Association, and the College of Midwives, opposed the bill.
The vast majority (more than 90%) of abortions are done in the first trimester.
SA Health data show that in 2023, fewer than 1% (47) occurred after 23 weeks’ gestation.
“Of these 47 terminations, 37 were conducted for the physical or mental health of the mother, and 10 were for fetal anomalies,” SA Health has said.
“In the first 18 months after the legislation was implemented, there were less than five terminations performed after 27 weeks and no terminations after 29 weeks.”
“Any abortion conducted at this stage is due to the life-limiting condition of the fetus and, or, serious threats to the pregnant woman’s health and life. It also requires the approval of two doctors,” Ranzcog said in a statement.
The first bill to recriminalise abortion in the nation’s history passed South Australia’s upper house last night – but failed in the lower house despite the support of the premier and opposition leader.
Abortion was decriminalised in all states and territories by 2024, but there have been multiple recent attempts to put it back in the Criminal Act.
The latest bill to criminalise late-term abortions passed South Australia’s upper house by one vote last night, with the help of the votes of the three newly elected One Nation MLCs.
Game was elected as a One Nation MP but quit the party to form her own party, Fair Go. On Tuesday night – before introducing the bill yesterday – she announced she was leaving her own party to join Family First.
Initially, the bill banned all abortions from 25 weeks, no matter the threat to maternal health (the only exemption was in the likelihood of maternal death) or the level of foetal abnormalities. An amendment included exemptions for severe foetal abnormalities.
But the bill still failed to pass the lower house last night despite the support of the premier, Peter Malinauskas, and the opposition leader, Ashton Hurn.
Qantas has set a new date for the launch of its nonstop service between Sydney and London: October 2027.
The first Project Sunrise Sydney to London services, on a specially manufactured A350 plane built by Airbus in France, will cut four hours off the travel time, Qantas said in a media release.
At the same time, it released new photos of the first of the 12 planes it has ordered that have the expanded fuel capacity to make the flight without stopping.
Delivery of the planes has been repeatedly delayed. The project was put into hiatus in 2020 when Covid hit. In 2021, then-CEO Alan Joyce anticipated a 2024 start to commercial flights. In November last year Qantas said the first commercial services would begin in the “first half of 2027”.
The first Project Sunrise Sydney to London tickets will go on sale in February 2027, the airline now says.
Qantas says Project Sunrise will eventually connect Australia’s east coast with other international destinations, with Sydney-New York confirmed as the next service to follow Sydney-London. Launch timing for these services will be announced next year, the airline said.
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.
The first bill to re-criminalise abortion in the nation’s history passed South Australia’s upper house last night – but failed in the lower house despite the support of the premier and opposition leader. More details soon.
Barnaby Joyce has defended One Nation’s hardline position on immigration after Pauline Hanson’s wide-ranging National Press Club address yesterday, with the party’s treasury spokesperson saying that the country “has to have the capacity to bring in an Australian culture”. More coming up.
<small>Source: The Guardian</small>
