Tasmanian public sector workers are set to walk of the job en masse in a push for better pay and conditions. Multiple unions are at loggerheads with the Liberal state government amid ongoing wage negotiations. Large rallies are planned on Wednesday afternoon in Hobart, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie, and smaller meetings elsewhere. Public school teachers will leave work around lunchtime, joining health workers, firefighters, cleaners, child safety officers and others in strike action. Unions have described the stop-work action as the biggest in the state since 2018.
A Nationals senator is urging the federal government to address a shortage of reliable gas, rather than increasing taxes on energy. Matt Canavan has asked Treasury officials to name the kind of market interventions it is planning and whether a price cap is possible. Treasury is requesting the government formulate a range of solutions to resolve the energy crisis as households struggle to cope. Matt Canavan says Australians need help ahead of Christmas.
The US Ambassador to the United Nations reassured Ukrainian farmers that extending a wartime deal to facilitate Black Sea shipments of Ukrainian grain and other commodities is a priority for the U-N. The agreement, which Russia and Ukraine signed separately with the U-N and Turkey, is set to expire on 19 November. A Russian diplomat on Tuesday cited Moscow's dissatisfaction with its implementation. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield says Russia has "exacerbated the worst food security crisis any of us have ever seen."
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh at the COP27 Climate Summit accused Israel of stealing Palestinian natural resources and destroying nature on its occupied territories.
The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed at talks in Washington to expedite negotiations between the two South Caucasus nations that have clashed repeatedly over control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. US State Department spokesman Ned Price met with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has told a Swiss newspaper that Qatar [[cutter]] is a mistake and a bad choice for World Cup hosting. It's the first country in the Middle East to have the tournament but many have been critical of the decision because of Qatar's human rights record. Mr Blatter says he will be watching the event but admits that football and the World Cup are too big for Qatar.
Australia's women's tennis players have made a winning start to the Billie Jean King Cup finals beating Slovakia 2-1.
