TRANSCRIPT
- Australia to provide an additional $250 million in military assistance to Ukraine
- Two Australians found dead at a luxury hotel in the Philippines
- Sydney's Isaac Heeney no longer eligible for AFL's highest individual honour this season
**
The federal government has announced Australia is to provide an additional $250 million in military assistance to Ukraine.
It's the largest single Australian aid package since Russia's invasion - bringing the country's total military assistance to more than $1.1 billion.
It comes as world leaders discuss the conflict at the NATO summit in Washington, where Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles is in attendance.
**
Two Australians have been found dead at a luxury hotel in the Philippines, alongside the body of a Filipina companion.
The bodies were discovered with their hands and feet tied in a room at the Lake Hotel in Tagaytay, a popular resort city south of the nation's capital.
Police did not identify the victims but they are believed to be an Australian man in his 50s, his Philippines-born partner, and her relative.
Investigations into the incident are ongoing and consular assistance is being provided to the families of the two Australians.
**
Police claim a father who has been charged with the murder of three of his children allegedly locked doors to prevent people from escaping a burning home in Lalor Park in Sydney.
The 28-year-old man did not attend a hearing at Paramatta Court after initially being left in a coma following the blaze, and remains under police guard in hospital.
Three children, aged six, two, and five months, died in the blaze on Sunday, while four others were hospitalised.
The man has been charged with three counts of domestic violence-related murder and five counts of attempted murder.
The attempted murder charges involve the four other children and his 29-year-old partner, who all survived the fire.
Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty says the man has spoken with police after regaining consciousness, and is aware of the charges against him.
"Last night, he was taken off sedation as a result of his burns and smoke inhalation. He's regained consciousness, he was able to talk and communicate. He's spoken with police then and again he's spoken with police again this morning.He understands what’s going on and he's now been bail refused."
The man is due to appear in Penrith Local Court on the 6th of September.
**
The Israeli military's initial investigation into the 7th of October Hamas attack admitted failure to protect Kibbutz Be'eri, where over 100 residents were killed, and 32 taken hostage, with 11 of those still in Gaza.
The report cited unpreparedness, inadequate forces, poor communication, and an uncoordinated response but did not place responsibility for an Israeli tank firing on a house occupied by hostages.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant is calling for a national inquiry, including into his and Prime Minister Netanyahu's roles.
“We require a probe at the national level, a probe that will clarify the facts, allow the drawing of conclusions and lead to the assimilation of correct lessons. A probe on a national level has a name, a state investigation committee. The investigation committee needs be objective, it needs to check all of us, the decision makers and the executors, the government, the army, and the security bodies, in this government and the governments in the last decade which lead to the events of October 7th. ... The probe needs to check me, Minister of Defence. It needs to check the Prime Minister. It needs to check the Chief of Staff, and the head of the Shin Bet.”
The report was presented to Be'eri's residents, many of whom remain displaced.
**
First Nations filmmakers in South Australia are getting the opportunity to showcase their work to a wider audience with Adelaide the "Focus City" for this year's NAIDOC Week.
Around 100 people attended the “Blak Reels” event at the Art Gallery of South Australia, watching three short films by First Nations creatives.
Among the films featured was the multi-award-winning documentary Marungka Tjalatjunu, or Dipped in Blak.
It follows the journey of a queer theatre artist as he returns to his home town in Central Australia for spiritual healing.
The film’s writer and director, Derik Lynch, has told NITV he wants those in the First Nations queer community to know it's okay to seek help.
"I think it's very important to tell my story and to share it in terms of mental health. It's what we suffer as queer first nations people because we get overlooked and it's so important to put this message out there that it's okay to be queer and it's okay to stand up and be strong and be loud."
**
And in AFL, Sydney superstar Isaac Heeney's Brownlow Medal hopes are over after his appeal against a one-match suspension for striking St Kilda's Jimmy Webster was dismissed.
Heeney will miss the Swans' clash with North Melbourne on Saturday [[July 13]].
The ban also makes him ineligible for the AFL's highest individual honour this season.
Heeney had been one of the leading Brownlow contenders before he was charged by the league's match review officer with striking Webster during Sydney's upset loss last Sunday.
