TRANSCRIPT
- Counter-terrorism command now involved in investigating the latest attack on a Sydney synagogue
- The Coalition steps up its pre-election campaigning
- England captain Heather Knight calls for more support for the Afghanistan women's team
New South Wales Police Commissioner, Karen Webb, has urged the public to help investigators in identifying two people behind an attempted arson incident at a synagogue in Sydney’s inner west.
Anti-Jewish graffiti was spray-painted across the front wall of the synagogue in Newtown.
It follows a series of antisemitic incidents, including an attack on the Southern Sydney Synagogue in the suburb of Allawah in the early hours of Friday morning [[10 Jan]].
Commissioner Webb says police are seeking a man and a woman believed to be responsible for the attack in Newtown.
She says the incident is being treated as a hate crime - and counter-terrorism command are also involved in the investigation.
"This is not just hate. This is malicious and it's damage. And it could go to the death of individuals if that fire had of taken hold. And it is important that the community knows that we won't tolerate it. In the last 24 hours, these matters have now been taken over by counter-terrorism command under Strike Force Pearl."
State premier Chris Minns says resources are being provided to ensure there is a zero tolerance approach to this kind of violence.
"We don't want to see these horrific criminal attacks escalating in New South Wales. That means the comprehensive police response will continue. As will the government's support for Jewish institutions to beef up and upgrade security presence and personnel in coming weeks. This is obviously a fraught time in the city's history. But we need to stick together. We need to make sure police are adequately resourced to conduct these investigations."
There has been an increase in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents in Australia since the 2023 October 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel, which triggered Israel's scaled-up military campaign in Gaza.
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Nationals Leader David Littleproud says he is confident the Coalition has the right strategy to win over voters at the upcoming federal election.
A date has yet to be confirmed for the election, but it must be held by May 17.
Pre-election campaigning has already started, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visiting Queensland earlier this week to make a series of funding announcements.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has chosen to launch his first pre-election rally in a critical battleground in suburban Melbourne.
The seat of Chisholm is held by Labor's Dr Carina Garland, who won the seat from Liberal Gladys Liu in 2022 - after a 6.9 per cent swing to the ALP.
Mr Littleproud told Channel Nine, cost-of-living is the big focus.
"We've got to get back to basics to solve the nation's problems and Australia's problems. And the biggest problem facing Australians at the moment is the cost of living. You have got to fix the fundamentals. So we have got to bring in electricity bills down quickly. And the only way to do that to bring in gas quickly. Long-term is nuclear. And that also feeds into your food prices. And we have got to take on the supermarkets. You got to have proper penalties to make sure they're not doing farmers over. They're not doing you over."
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Fire Chief Kristin Crowley have held a joint media briefing to convey a unifying message amid criticisms over the response to deadly fires.
The official death toll is 13, with as many as 10,000 structures destroyed from between the Eaton Fire and the coastal Palisades Fire, which is considered the most destructive fire in the county's history.
Fire Chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, Kristin Crowley has criticised local authorities, saying not enough money has been allocated to firefighting.
She also criticised the lack of water that meant homes were completely lost to fires, without the ability to reduce its impact.
Ms Bass says she also feels grief, shock and anger over the devastation brought by the fires.
"The fire chief and I are focused on fighting these fires and saving lives. And any differences that we might have will be worked out in private. But right now, our first and most important obligation to Angelenos is to get through this crisis. We will get through the fires. And then we will, we will rebuild our city and we will rebuild our city even better."
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In sports, the captain of the England women's cricket team, Heather Knight, has urged the International Cricket Council to do more for the exiled Afghanistan women's team, saying the players have been forgotten and deserve to be heard.
Of 25 contracted Afghanistan players, 22 fled to Australia when the Taliban returned to power.
The players will participate in a T20 match at the Junction Oval, Melbourne on January 30, against a side assembled by the Cricket Without Borders charity.
It will be the first time they have been able to come together as a group since leaving their country following the Taliban takeover.
Speaking ahead of the the Women's Ashes, Knight says she plans to meet some of the players this week.
"Honestly, I think it has been forgotten a lot, which is a really bad thing. And obviously, it is a really complex situation with what's going on. But I think the biggest positive can be those group of women being talked about... They're playing a game at Junction (Oval) I think, the first day of our Test match. I would love to see that broadcast far and wide. Those women are playing cricket, which is a really cool thing. That could be a really positive message from a pretty heartbreaking situation that obviously is going on in their home country."
