Coalition MP Sussan Ley joins calls for gender quotas in Liberal Party

Coalition Frontbencher Sussan Ley has joined calls for the Liberal Party to adopt quotas to increase the number of female MPs in the Parliamentary Party.

The Assistant Minister for Regional Development said while she hasn't historically been a fan of affirmative action policies like those adopted by Labor, measurements must be taken to increase representation.

Victorian Government facing possible class-action after privacy breach

The Victorian Government is under fire for breaching privacy laws after personal details of citizens were released in an online data dump.

The Government tabled around 80,000 pages of documents in Parliament, including private citizen correspondence, regarding then-Planning Minister Matthew Guy’s rezoning of Phillip Island farmland between 2011 and 2013.

India decriminalises homosexuality

India’s Supreme court has decriminalised homosexuality overnight, after abolishing the law introduced by British rulers in 1861.

Chief Justice Dipak Misra says the law had become a weapon for harassment for the LGBT community and represented a violation of fundamental rights.

India is now one of more than 120 countries decriminalised homosexuality and is now is pressuring other South Asian nations who still have laws in place.

America's privacy protection for abortion facing abandonment

On his third day of confirmation hearings, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is facing pressure after confidential documents pertaining to his personal stance on abortion were leaked to the press.

The leaked documents have fortified belief by pro-choice advocates that Kavanaugh will move to revisit 1973’s Roe v Wade case, which found restrictions on women procuring an abortion a violation of their Constitutional right to privacy.

Brisbane City Council’s travel expenses double

Brisbane City Council's overseas travel expenses have risen to $185,000 - a figure more than double that of the previous financial year and 6 times more 2015 to 2016 period.

The 30 trips involved Council Officers visiting China and several European destinations for conferences and site inspections, including a $37,000 trip for three council officers to attend the 2018 Trade Fair for Water, Sewage, Waste and Raw Materials Agent.

Surfing pay gap on solid ground

The world surf league has announced it will award equal prize money for both men and women competitions across events within 2019 and beyond.

 

This move has been met with positivity as Australian Surfing champion has said the change is a move in the right direction, saying that whilst the prize money is great, the message means even more and hopes that this change serves as a model for other global sports organisations.

 

Bedouin Villagers to seek new home

An Israeli court has faded backlash from Palestinian and right groups for greenlighting the demolition of a Bedouin Village within the occupied West Bank, displacing 180 residents

 

The Ramallah based Palestinian Authority has stated that the project to raze the village implies Israel's plans to confiscate Palestinian lands, killing any hopes for a future Palestinian State

 

Rise in Meningococcal cases, but thankfully not Zombie numbers

Three more cases of meningococcal have been diagnosed in Western Australia, raising the state’s number of cases to 24 for the year.

 

A young child and two adults are recovering in hospital after being diagnosed with the potentially deadly disease.

 

All were infected with serogroup W, which follows a recent increase in the number of cases in the state. However, the three cases are not linked. 17 of these cases in Western Australia have been of the serogroup W strain.

Imagine Compulsory Health Insurance No Longer

New South Wales Minister Brad Hazzard has called for his state and federal counterparts to support a new proposal, which requires any tourist visiting Australia to take out private health insurance.

 

This would extend conditions that already apply to foreign students and some working visa holders.

 

Minister Hazzard says every time an uninsured visitor does not pay for their treatment in one of our public hospitals, taxpayers foot the bill.