Facebook suspends RMIT FactLab after voice no campaigners criticise factchecker

Meta spokesperson says suspension was decided after voice opponents raised criticism and apparent lapse in accreditation

Facebook has suspended a key factchecker which monitors and debunks online claims after repeated criticisms from Indigenous voice no campaign leaders and some conservative media outlets about the factchecker’s work.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has temporarily suspended RMIT FactLab as one of the partner organisations for its factchecking program, which can slap warning or information labels on dubious content.

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Protesters interrupt ANU event – as it happened

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Victoria bans Nazi salute, symbols and gestures in public

The Victorian government will today introduce legislation to parliament to ban the Nazi salute.

Victorians have zero tolerance for the glorification of hateful ideology. We’re making sure people who use these symbols and gestures to harass, intimidate and incite hate are held accountable for their cowardly behaviour. While we wish making these laws wasn’t necessary, we will always tackle antisemitism, hatred and racism head-on – because all Victorians deserve to feel accepted, safe and included.

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Veronica Nelson’s family urges Victorian government to hear ‘cries for help’ and go further with bail reforms

Exclusive: MPs urged to implement Poccum’s law, named in honour of First Nations woman who died in a cell while on remand

The family of First Nations woman Veronica Nelson has urged the Victorian government to “listen to [her] cries for help” and go further with its proposed changes to bail laws, which will be debated in parliament this week.

Nelson died alone in a Melbourne prison cell while on remand in January 2020 after her calls for help went unanswered. The 37-year-old Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta woman had been arrested for shoplifting and refused bail before her death.

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Julie Bishop says no result in Indigenous voice referendum would send ‘very negative message’ to world

Former Liberal foreign affairs minister says at yes campaign event ‘Australia’s international reputation can be affected by a no vote’

Former Liberal foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop has claimed a no result in the voice referendum would send a “very negative message” to the world about the openness and empathy of Australian society.

Speaking at a yes campaign event in Perth, Bishop strongly backed the voice in her role as Australian National University chancellor.

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Unesco removes ‘hurtful’ document claiming Tasmanian Aboriginal people ‘extinct’

Inaccurate statement by the International Union for Conservation of Nature made as part of the 1982 process for world heritage status for Tasmanian wilderness area

A UN agency was forced to remove a “hurtful” document that for more than 40 years publicly claimed Tasmanian Aboriginal people were extinct.

The inaccurate claim, stating that “Tasmanians are now an extinct race of humans”, was made as part of the nomination process for the declaration of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and its addition to the world heritage list in 1982.

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Bridget Archer says it is ‘irresponsible’ to cast doubt on integrity of voice referendum after questions over crosses

Shadow minister Jane Hume calls it an ‘inconsistency’ that a cross on a ballot paper will not count as ‘no’

The Liberal MP Bridget Archer has warned it is “irresponsible to cast doubt on the integrity” of the Australian Electoral Commission, after senior members of the Coalition and some no campaign groups raised concerns over whether crosses count as valid votes in the voice referendum.

On Sunday, the shadow minister for finance and special minister of state, Jane Hume, called it an “inconsistency” that a tick would count as yes but a cross would not count as a no.

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Michael Long begins long walk for Indigenous voice to parliament: ‘The hatred’s got to stop’

AFL legend wants Australians to join recreation of his Long Walk of 2004 which ended with a meeting with then PM John Howard

The AFL legend Michael Long has declared it high time for Australia to embrace Aboriginal people as he embarked on a walk to Canberra in support of an Indigenous voice to parliament.

Recreating his Long Walk in 2004, the son of two stolen generations members will trek hundreds of kilometres in the lead-up to the referendum.

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Pilbara native title case: the fight to decide if Fortescue pays compensation to Indigenous owners

The Yindjibarndi people say WA and Andrew Forrest’s mining company must pay for the destruction of sacred country and community

In the heart of the Pilbara, two cultures and two systems of law have collided in the red dirt – and in a bitterly contested native title case being fought in the federal court.

To the Fortescue Metals Group – the mining company founded and chaired by billionaire Andrew Forrest – and the state of Western Australia, that red dirt means one thing: iron ore.

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Voice referendum date to be revealed in Adelaide as South Australia emerges as swing state

Guardian Australia analysis shows yes and no campaign advertising is focused more on SA, Tasmania and WA, and less on east coast states

The date of the voice to parliament referendum will be announced in Adelaide due to its strategic importance for both the yes and no campaigns, with the potential for South Australia to be the swing state that decides the outcome of the vote.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, confirmed on Wednesday he would announce voting day for the voice referendum in Adelaide next week on the 30 August. Referendum day is widely expected to be 14 October.

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Australia news live: two teenagers charged over Sydney building fire

Follow today’s live news updates

Children’s mental health not improved since Covid, research shows

The pandemic may be behind us but its impacts are still prevalent in the mental health of young people, new research shows.

Now that pandemic restrictions have been lifted, life has not necessarily gone back to how it was pre-pandemic. Wellbeing clearly dropped during Covid and has shown little signs of improvement since then.

The pandemic, sweeping changes in children’s lifestyles – from physical activity and screen time to sleep and diet – and the pervasive influence of social media aren’t regional anomalies. They’re global phenomena likely impacting children’s wellbeing worldwide.

Chief justice designate Gageler has earned a reputation as having an unequalled knowledge and understanding of constitutional law, an expertise that was sharpened before and during his term as solicitor general of Australia.

Justice Beech-Jones has provided extraordinary service to the law in NSW, commencing practice as a solicitor in Sydney for the firm now known as Freehills, before being called to the bar in 1992. His honour’s appointment to the high court of Australia, to replace the vacancy left by Justice Gageler’s elevation, will enhance Australia’s system of justice.

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NSW police watchdog to oversee investigation into arrest of Indigenous man with disability in Taree

Teenager remains in custody and faces seven charges, including hindering or resisting a police officer

The New South Wales police watchdog will oversee an investigation into the violent arrest in Taree last week of a handcuffed Aboriginal teenager with a disability.

The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC), an independent watchdog that has oversight of NSW police, has confirmed it is involved in the force’s internal inquiry and that police have received a serious misconduct complaint about the incident.

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Senator responds to report – as it happened

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Conroy says comments at Labor conference about strategic balance in Pacific

Conroy is asked about comments he made at the Labor conference, saying it is against Australia’s interest to have one power dominate our region, especially one that breaches international laws.

And is it your view that China is trying to do that, dominate our region?

I’m not going to be going into what other countries are doing but it’s clear that we’re seeing great strategic competition in our region, and it’s appropriate that we respond through increased diplomatic engagement and an increasing deterrence in the Australian Defence Force.

They all play complementary roles in promoting peace and stability in our [region].

So this is about peace and stability in our region by deterring conflict and I know you will respond that saying, well, aren’t we just engaging in military buildup, but in the end, the only way we pursue peace and stability is by presenting strength. This is what this is about.

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Albanese accuses Gary Johns of ‘failure’ to show respect to Indigenous Australians after offensive comments

PM says top no campaigner’s role a ‘concern’ while Liberal MP Matt Kean says Warren Mundine and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price ‘will have to clean up this mess’

Anthony Albanese has criticised the no campaign’s decision to give Gary Johns a prominent position in its campaign while the Liberal MP Matt Kean has accused the top voice critic of treating colleagues Warren Mundine and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price with “complete disrespect” and “cowardice”.

In a speech at the CPAC conservative conference, Johns, the president of the anti-voice group Recognise a Better Way – which had been founded by Mundine – claimed some people in Indigenous communities lived in a “stupor” and recommended they “learn English”.

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CPAC Australia: hardline culture warriors rail against Indigenous voice, ‘fake news’ and ‘woke corporates’

Tony Abbott, Warren Mundine and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price were among those urging attendees to oppose the voice to parliament

“We are one,” the motto above the CPAC logo proudly blared on the lanyards around the necks of attendees for the Conservative Political Action Conference in Sydney on Saturday.

It clashed somewhat incongruously with the even bigger text attached to the bright red media passes given to the few journalists who came to cover the event: “FAKE NEWS”.

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CPAC Australia: Advance director says claim Indigenous voice would cause division popular with focus groups

Prime minister Anthony Albanese tells Labor conference to ‘campaign like you have never campaigned before’ on voice to parliament

The director of the controversial conservative campaign group Advance says the no campaign aimed to take advantage of voter confusion about the Indigenous voice to parliament, claiming it was able to “shape the conversation” because “very few people” knew about the consultation body.

Matthew Sheahan said the anti-voice group settled on its central argument – that the referendum would cause division – because that theme had been popular in focus groups. He also took credit for the government getting “caught up” in details of the Uluru statement from the heart and treaties.

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Woodside faces Indigenous legal challenge to seismic blasting at WA gas site

Traditional owner alleges company failed to adequately consult on effect of Scarborough project blasting on sea country

A traditional owner has filed a legal challenge to the approval of seismic blasting for Woodside’s Scarborough offshore gas project in Western Australia.

Mardudhunera woman Raelene Cooper is seeking a judicial review of the offshore petroleum regulator Nopsema’s decision to grant the approval despite concerns consultation with traditional owners had been inadequate.

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Australian War Memorial researchers identify 285 Indigenous servicemen who fought in the Vietnam war

A national ceremony in Canberra will mark the 50th anniversary of the end of Australia’s involvement in the war

Researchers at the Australian War Memorial say they have identified 285 Indigenous servicemen who fought in the Vietnam war and seven involved in the battle of Long Tan.

Veterans on Friday mark the 50th anniversary of the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam war, which will be commemorated in a national ceremony in Canberra.

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Aboriginal 18-year-old with disability thrown to ground during NSW police arrest while having seizure

Exclusive: Police launch internal investigation over arrest at Taree, as footage shows officer performing a leg sweep while man is handcuffed

New South Wales police have launched an investigation after a young Aboriginal man with disability was violently arrested while having a seizure and thrown to the ground while handcuffed in Taree.

The 18-year-old was arrested on Tuesday after police received reports a man had allegedly tried to break into two homes. Police said the man then fled. A man was arrested on Gwenneth Avenue.

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Catholic church uses death of paedophile priest in bid to stop survivor suing NSW diocese, court hears

Church claims it cannot get fair trial over alleged abuse by the notorious David Joseph Perrett in legal tactic that has drawn widespread criticism

The Catholic church is seeking to use using the death of a “prolific paedophile” priest to permanently prevent a dying Indigenous man from seeking justice for alleged abuse suffered on camping trips in rural New South Wales.

Two survivors are suing the church’s Armidale diocese for the alleged abuse by notorious priest David Joseph Perrett during camping trips from an Aboriginal mission in the mid-1970s.

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Australia news live: authorities given stop and search powers near Qld border in bid to stop fire ants; Matildas public holiday not on national cabinet agenda, PM says

Agricultural officers given power to stop and search cars and trucks near the Queensland-NSW border. Follow the latest news live

Search efforts continue for third Indonesian crew member

Search efforts are continuing today for the third Indonesian crew member who remains missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Indonesia.

The search continues for a crew member who is still missing.

Our thoughts are with them and their loved ones.

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