NSW police commissioner says ‘I unreservedly apologise’ for miscommunication over 18-year-old bushwalker Lily Hooper’s death – as it happened
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says the government is “outraged” over the decision by the Israel Defense Forces not to pursue a criminal investigation into the strike on an aid convoy in 2024 that killed seven people, including Australian Zomi Frankcom.
In a statement issued this morning Wong says it falls “far short of the accountability we expect” and she will call in Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman, and has “directed Australia’s ambassador to Israel to convey our views directly to Israel as the Australian government considers next steps”.
Wong adds:
The Australian government learned of Israel’s decision late last night, moments before it was announced, on World Humanitarian Day – which is especially insulting to Zomi’s loved ones, humanitarians and all Australians.
Zomi represented the best of Australia. Her courage deserves to be celebrated. Her family deserves justice.
The decision not to investigate further came despite the IDF’s admissions that the strikes on Zomi and her colleagues’ vehicles were the result of serious failures to follow procedures, mistaken identification and errors in decision-making, Wong said.
This was confirmed by Special Adviser Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin’s report.
Democracies seek and accept higher standards. The Australian government will not stop pressing Israel for justice for Zomi and her colleagues.
Key events
Governor general ‘devastated for the women’ hurt by Sydney Swans incident
Government ‘outraged’ over IDF decision not to investigate killing of aid workers
Welcome
Gaming platform Roblox put on notice by eSafety commissioner
The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant is doing the media rounds this morning, after putting Roblox, which has been accused of hosting grooming and sexual exploitation on its platform, on notice to improve its safety measures or face court.
Speaking to ABC RN Breakfast, Inman Grant says eSafety has been investigating the platform for more than two years but found “children’s accounts were not protected at the highest levels of privacy by default. And there were things like children’s profiles and biographies and account names being available.”
We’re surprised when we look closely at Roblox, that basic functionality, like not allowing adult predators or any adult to contact a child without explicit consent, was enabled … but if a predator has a roadmap for grooming that tells them that this child is 12, they go to a specific school and they like Taylor Swift, it’s not only on platform that we worry about either. Often this is the primary hunting ground where they identify the kids and then they move them to other platforms.
Asked why then the platform was exempt from the under-16s social media ban, Inman Grant says its because the legislation focuses on social media, not gaming platforms.
But she adds that she told Robox, “the more social media functionality that they developed, the more likely they were to be captured by this [social media ban].”
The governor general, Sam Mostyn, says she is “devastated for the women” affected by the alleged behaviour of Sydney Swans players linked with a sexual assault allegation.
In remarks published by the ABC, Mostyn raised alarm at Australia’s “appalling statistics” on domestic and sexual violence against women. She said the allegation “shocked and troubled” her, adding:
My thoughts remain with the alleged sexual assault victim, and I hope she is very well supported. I am also devastated for the women of the Swans … and women across the industry who have been hurt by this incident.
Sadly, the lack of respect for women across the country remains an issue for us all to be concerned about, particularly in sport. … I note Australia still has appalling statistics when it comes to domestic and sexual violence against women.
Mostyn, a former Swans board member and the first female AFL commissioner, reflected on her experience in her comments.
Bringing a woman’s perspective to the game was incredibly important, and today we need to remain committed to bringing more women into positions of influence in the AFL and all sports.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says the government is “outraged” over the decision by the Israel Defense Forces not to pursue a criminal investigation into the strike on an aid convoy in 2024 that killed seven people, including Australian Zomi Frankcom.
In a statement issued this morning Wong says it falls “far short of the accountability we expect” and she will call in Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman, and has “directed Australia’s ambassador to Israel to convey our views directly to Israel as the Australian government considers next steps”.
Wong adds:
The Australian government learned of Israel’s decision late last night, moments before it was announced, on World Humanitarian Day – which is especially insulting to Zomi’s loved ones, humanitarians and all Australians.
Zomi represented the best of Australia. Her courage deserves to be celebrated. Her family deserves justice.
The decision not to investigate further came despite the IDF’s admissions that the strikes on Zomi and her colleagues’ vehicles were the result of serious failures to follow procedures, mistaken identification and errors in decision-making, Wong said.
This was confirmed by Special Adviser Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin’s report.
Democracies seek and accept higher standards. The Australian government will not stop pressing Israel for justice for Zomi and her colleagues.
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you for the final sitting day of the week.
The government has expressed outrage after the Israel Defense Forces decided not to open a criminal investigation against those responsible for killing Australian Zomi Frankcom and six others after airstrikes hit a convoy of World Central Kitchen vehicles.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says she will call in the Israeli ambassador to Australia to make the government’s views known – more on that shortly.
And the government and Coalition have had a busy few days, together passing gambling reforms, the NDIS overhaul and today it’s expected the parliament will also pass news bargaining incentive legislation.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.