The latest national news update from the National Indigenous Radio Service.
Teen aviator to touch down in Australia
Teen aviator Lachlan Smart is just eight days from being the youngest person to fly solo around the world when he touches down in Broome next Friday.
The 18-year-old Queenslander began his record attempt on July 4. He departs Jakarta, Indonesia early on Friday and expects to land in Broome in far north West Australia at about 4pm.
Since leaving Australia, he has touched down in 18 countries and when he completes his journey at the Sunshine Coast on August 27 he will have travelled about 45,000km.
If successful, he will become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo in a single-engine aircraft.
Gordon kills off Qld tree clearing bill
Independent MP Billy Gordon has withdrawn support for his former party’s vegetation management reforms, delivering the Palaszczuk government its first major defeat in Queensland’s hung parliament.
The Cook MP’s vote was crucial in securing the passage of Labor’s divisive tree-clearing legislation, which would reverse the former Liberal National Party (LNP) government’s more relaxed 2013 framework.
Part-way through a marathon debate yesterday afternoon, Mr Gordon released a statement declaring he would not back the changes, saying the proposed vegetation management reforms don’t strike the necessary balance between Indigenous economic development, protecting the environment and supporting farmers.
Minister flags Vietnam pact on Long Tan
The Federal Government has flagged Australia and Vietnam setting up a memorandum of understanding on future Long Tan commemorations after this week’s anniversary commemorations were stalled over local sensitivities to the event.
Vietnam had originally banned a planned service – to be attended by hundreds of Australian vets – but have since allowed small groups to visit Long Tan, after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull spoke to his Vietnamese counterpart by phone, urging him to show empathy for those who had made the journey.
As a concession, a wreath-laying ceremony will go ahead while small groups of 100 or less would be able to visit the Long Tan battle site.
Two charged over Melbourne murder
A man and a woman have been charged with murder over the death of a 33-year-old man in Melbourne’s north last year. The victim was found dead at his home on Kirkland Court in Epping on October 14
Police said early on Friday that a 34-year-old Port Melbourne man and a 32-year-old Epping woman had been charged with murder and the man was also charged with attempted murder over an incident involving the same victim in July 2015.
The pair faced an out-of-sessions court hearing and have been remanded to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on August 19.
Woman injured as shots fired at Vic home
Meanwhile, still in Melbourne a woman has suffered pellet wounds to her lower back after shots were fired into a house at Panton Hill.
The woman was taken to hospital with minor injuries after emergency services were called following the shooting at about 9.30pm last night.
Three other occupants in the house were not injured.
Truck driver dies in Sydney crash
Two trucks have collided in Sydney’s southwest, killing one of the drivers. Police say the crash happened at Padstow at about 3.20am this morning, with the driver dying at the scene.
The driver of the second truck was uninjured and was taken to hospital for mandatory testing.
Big year for earthquakes in Australia
A second earthquake in a week has been recorded off the coast of Queensland, with Geoscience Australia says there’s been numerous quakes in the past 12 months.
The magnitude 5.8 earthquake, about 70km out to sea north east of Bowen yesterday, was the second recorded off the coast of Queensland in a week.
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake occurred off the coast of Bundaberg, 800km south of Bowen, on Saturday.
Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Jonathan Bathgate said the magnitude of the Bowen earthquake was significant but not the biggest in recent years in Australia.
