1. It appears likely that the Federal Election will be held on September 7th. Fairfax reports that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will visit the Governor General on Monday to seek approval for the date, which is one week earlier than the date proposed by former PM Julia Gillard earlier this year.
2. Julian Assange has said that he is confident that he will win a seat in the Senate, despite living in exile in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. In an interview with Network Ten’s Meet the Press, the Wikileaks founder said that his party has polled strongly, and that he believes that being elected will allow him a safe passage home to Australia.
3. The people of Singleton, in NSW’s Hunter Valley, were left surprised by the Federal Government’s announcement that their town will serve as the back-up location for a refugee detention centre, if the PNG Solution falls through. Mayor of Singleton, John Martin told the ABC that his small town would not be able to cope with the increase in population and that he knew nothing of the plan until the mini-budget press conference yesterday afternoon.
4. A 23-year-old Sydney woman has died after being stabbed during a domestic dispute. The woman was found with a stab wound to the chest in her unit in the city’s Eastern Suburbs early this morning. Police believe that her killer was a man “known to her.”
5. An American family have had their house raided by police after the NSA handed over their internet search history to authorities. The Catalano family of Long Island, NY, were reportedly targeted for Googling “pressure cookers” and “backpacks” in the same week, as well as actively following the Boston Bombings online. Officers quizzed the family on their knowledge of homemade bombs before determining that there was no need to lay charges.
6. One of the world’s smallest countries is facing a constitutional crisis after its Prime Minister and Governor General simultaneously decided to sack each other. The tiny Commonwealth island nation of Tuvalu – which lies in half way between Australia and Hawaii – has been having parliamentary trouble since 2010, when a no-confidence motion passed in parliament. It is now up for The Queen to decide whether she approves of the Governor General’s dismissal.
7. The Church of England is being sued by a millionaire gay couple for refusing to let them marry. Fathers of five, Barry and Tony Drewitt-Barlow, are suing the Church on the grounds that their special exemption from Britain’s (yet to be enacted) gay marriage laws is discriminatory. The pair are practicing Christians, and would like to be married in their local parish church.
Top Comments
Who in their right mind would vote for someone that is not guaranteed to actually be in the country for any of the next political term. It's a joke and giant political / media stunt if you ask me!
Please, please,PLEEEEAASE Kev -- call the election on Monday, to be held on the 7th of September.
Then I only have to put up with a couple of days electioneering before I disappear into the outback for a few weeks :).
And it'll be all over and done with by the time I get back :D.
Pretty please, with a fair suck of the sauce bottle on top!