TRANSCRIPT
- A pilot dead after a helicopter crashes into the roof of a hotel in Queensland.
- Early voting begins ahead of the Northern Territory election next week.
- And in sport, top breakdancing judge praises Australian b-girl Raygun's kangaroo move for originality.
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A pilot has died in a helicopter crash on the roof of a hotel in far north Queensland.
Emergency services rushed to the scene after reports the twin-engine helicopter hit the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Cairns before 2am on Monday.
Between 300 and 400 people were evacuated from the hotel.
Police have confirmed the pilot was the only person on board. He died at the scene.
Forensic investigations are under way to formally identify them.
An exclusion zone remains in place, covering the city's Esplanade and Minnie, Aplin and Grafton streets.
This woman told Channel Nine, she saw the crash happen.
"The helicopter came tearing (coming with speed) from over here. It was tourist helicopter. It came screaming along in the sky - real fast. And then it went away for 10 minutes. And then it came back, right along here - real fast. It came smash, straight into this building."
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Early voting has started in the Northern Territory, ahead of the election next week.
Voters will select 25 members of the NT Legislative Assembly for fixed four-year terms.
Labor holds 14 seats, the Country Liberal Party has seven, and the opposition will need to win at least 13 to govern in its own right.
Crime, cost of living and housing have emerged as the key election issues.
The Human Rights Law Centre has called on all parties in the NT to commit to support new policies to reduce Indigenous incarceration rates.
Around 90 per cent of the NT's adult prison population is Aboriginal; and almost all children in youth detention in the Territory are also Aboriginal.
Voters can now cast their votes using mobile voting or the postal vote option.
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Albanese government frontbencher Ed Husic says messages to Israel are being ignored, and the government should remain open to further sanctions.
On Saturday, an Israeli air strike hit a school where displaced Palestinians were sheltering in Gaza City, killing at least 90 people.
Australia last month imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on Israeli settlers for the first time.
Mr Husic told the ABC, further actions should be considered.
"Israel is not listening to the words. And I think increasingly the international community will need to take a harder line on this. Words will not cut it. Actions will need to be brought to bear here. It's why I said a few weeks ago, we should remain open minded on the issue of further sanctions. We've announced some, we should potentially announce more."
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Federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie says the federal government should heed the call of the widower of former Labor MP Peta Murphy on gambling reforms.
The late Peta Murphy chaired the committee that made 31 recommendations about reducing online gambling harm and made a plea to her party to outlaw gambling advertisements.
Her partner, Rod Glover, has added his voice to calls over the weekend by former Prime Ministers John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull to implement the outstanding recommendations.
The Albanese government has implemented a self-exclusion register and banned credit card use for gambling.
Mr Wilkie says the federal government needs to do more.
"That we're going to put the welfare of our community ahead of your financial interests. It's as simple as that. If the government doesn't legislate a complete ban on gambling advertising then they will prove that they're as gutless as their predecessors."
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In sport, B-Girl Raygun, whose dance routine in the Paris Olympics breaking event received ridicule on social media, has received the full backing of the sport's federation.
Rachael Gunn, a 36-year-old Australian university lecturer known in breaking as B-Girl Raygun, was criticised online for her dancing, which included mimicking the movements of a kangaroo.
Gunn lost all three of her round robin battles by a combined score of 54-zero.
Breaking judge Martin Gilian - also known as MGbility - says Raygun was outmatched by her competitors, but she deserves praise for her creativity.
"You know, breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region. And this is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo, you know, the animal. For us, she basically represented break in hip hop. She was trying to be original and bring something new to the table. So from our perspective, there was nothing really shocking."
