The latest national news update from the National Indigenous Radio Service.
Australia complicit in mass killings
An international tribunal has found Australia, the UK and the US were all complicit in facilitating mass killings in Indonesia in 1965.
It has been estimated half a million Indonesians were killed in the anti-communist purge, triggered by a failed coup that lead to the deaths of six army generals.
While the International People’s Tribunal at the Hague has ruled that Indonesia committed crimes against humanity, the finding carries no legal weight.
A tribunal report found Australia, the US and the UK used propaganda to manipulate international opinion in favour of the Indonesian army, despite being aware of the killings.
Indonesian president Joko Widodo has said he will not apologise for what was one of the worst massacres of the 20th century.
Herbert recount to start in Townsville
Recounting for the Queensland seat of Herbert will begin in Townsville today, as the final result for the July 2 election remains unknown almost three weeks after the federal poll.
The Australian Electoral Commission announced the recount after the initial tally ended with Labor’s Cathy O’Toole just eight votes ahead of the sitting coalition MP, Ewen Jones. Any margin less than 100 votes sparks an automatic recount.
The recount will take up to two weeks, meaning Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will have to wait to find out if he has 76 or 77 seats in parliament.
Having 77 members will give the Coalition the ability to appoint a Speaker, while still retaining an absolute majority on the floor of parliament.
Daniel Morcombe film funding slows down
A crowd-funding campaign to finance a film about the parents of murdered Queensland schoolboy Daniel Morcombe has fallen well behind its target of $10,000 a day.
The Kickstarter campaign to raise $300,000 in 30 days for the movie Where Is Daniel? – based on the book of the same name written by Bruce and Denise Morcombe – has reached $83,290 at the halfway point.
The film is being directed by Peter Cousens, the man behind the 2014 film Freedom, starring Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding Jr.
Qld woman injured hunting for Pokemon Go
Pokemon Go has claimed another victim. A teenager has a broken arm after a tree branch fell on her while she was hunting Pokemons in the Botanic Gardens in Brisbane’s CBD last night.
The Queensland Ambulance Service says the young woman was taken to Royal Brisbane Hospital in a stable condition around 9.30pm.
Rowdy passengers force Jetstar diversion
A Jetstar flight from Sydney to Phuket has been forced to land in Indonesia because of a group of rowdy passengers who had to be taken off the plane.
Flight JQ27 was diverted to Bali on Wednesday night after a group of six passengers travelling together became extremely disruptive and refused requests from the crew.
The passengers were handed over to Indonesian police in Bali and the flight then continued onto Phuket.
Report calls for major agriculture reform
Farmers are being burdened by red tape, according to a new report that recommends sweeping changes to agriculture regulation.
The Productivity Commission’s draft report released today names bans on genetically modified crops in some states as regulation that is unsupported by evidence and should be scrapped.
Commissioner Paul Lindwall has also taken a swipe at controls on foreign investment in agriculture, insisting a recent tightening by the federal government “lacks a sound policy justification”.
Flood waters rising in NSW Central West
Residents around the central NSW town of Canowindra are bracing for flooding as the Belubula River nears its peak.
More than 27mm of rain has fallen in the region, west of Orange, since 5pm Tuesday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
The SES is warning that low-lying areas along the river, including the town, could be inundated.
