Should the voting age be lowered to 16 in Australia?
Michael Rowland reports.
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SBS Australia
23 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
'This is our bridge': Pro-Palestinian march takes over iconic Sydney landmark, in pictures
A sea of people filled the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday — drawing attention to the conditions in Gaza. The protests occurred following days of controversy. On Sunday, the city's iconic bridge was closed for over 5 hours so protesters could rally on it. The protest organiser have said on their social media "hundreds of thousands" attended the rally. The Harbour Bridge was closed in both directions from 11.30am to 5pm. Source: SBS News / Jack Giam While crossing the Harbour Bridge, the protest organiser from the Palestine Action Group, Josh Lees told SBS News: "We've been told the protest is so big by the police that we are not going to be able to stop where we were planning ... We are gonna have to march back over the bridge again, which is good. Because this is our bridge, this bridge belongs to the people of Sydney." Protesters walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins NSW Police acting assistant commissioner Adam Johnson said the police's current estimate was that around 90,000 people had attended the event. During the rally, NSW Police released a statement asking protesters to stop walking across the bridge for safety reasons. Source: SBS News / Jack Giam Craig Foster, former Australian of the Year and retired football player, was also among the speakers at the Sydney rally. Assange has rarely been seen in public since his release from a UK prison in June. Source: Getty / Lisa Maree Williams Political figures such as Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, federal Labor MP Ed Husic and former Labor minister Bob Carr also attended the protest. In her speech at the protest, Faruqi criticised NSW Premier Chris Minns, who had said his government could not support a protest of this scale taking place, especially at short notice. UNICEF reports that "severe malnutrition" among children in Gaza is increasing faster than aid can arrive, citing the Palestinian Ministry of Health data. Source: SBS News / Jack Giam Hours after the march started, NSW Police issued various statements urging the protesters to "stop walking north", citing "safety issues". Geo-targeting alerts were sent to the people in the area. During the rally, NSW Police told participants to stop proceeding across the bridge to "avoid a crowd crush at the northern end of the harbour bridge". Source: Getty / Izhar Khan In a press conference after the rally, NSW Police acting deputy commissioner Peter McKenna, said most Sydney marchers were "very well behaved" but added that at certain points police "were really concerned about a crowd crush". "But gee whizz, I wouldn't like to try and do this every Sunday at that short notice," he added. NSW Police's different geo-targeted alerts during the protests have been taken as a sign of the huge number of people who attended the protest by Josh Lees, the protest organiser from the Palestine Action Grou Source: SBS News / Jack Giam Protesters also gathered at the State Library in Melbourne to rally in solidarity with the protesters in Sydney, planning to march down to the King Street Bridge. Protesters also gathered at the State Library in Melbourne. Source: AAP / Con Chronis One protester faced off with riot police, repeatedly yelling "shame on you" at them. Source: AAP / Con Chronis However, they had to leave the King Street bridge, which police had blockaded in advance of their arrival.
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Campaign to protect Sydney Mardi Gras amid ‘internal divisions' over police participation
Sydney's annual Mardi Gras parade is 'the most visible celebration of LGBT people around the world', but activists warn internal division has put its future at risk. An informal group of Mardi Gras members are campaigning to bring 'disillusioned' members back into the fold ahead of an annual general meeting expected in December. Also seeking new members, the Protect Mardi Gras campaign aims to 'protect' the inclusive character of the world-famous event and resist efforts to ban NSW police from participating. Organiser Peter Stahel said Mardi Gras members got 'within a handful of votes' in 2024 of banning police from attending the event following a string of controversies. 'It is the most visible celebration of LGBT people in the world, and it's incredible precious. I truly believe it saves lives – I really do,' Mr Stahel said of Mardi Gras. 'That's why we're doing this. We're not doing it because we want to protect the cops. We want to protect the cops' right to be in the parade. 'We want to protect that because of the power of Mardi Gras and the good that it does for people who are oftentimes really struggling to come to terms with who they are.' Mr Stahel believed the push to ban police, and the subsequent pushback against that, went beyond a 'difference of opinion'. He feared pushes to alienate certain groups from the parade would lead to other groups potentially being formally alienated as well in the future. 'They think we should ban cops. I disagree, but they're still welcome at Mardi Gras, right?' My Stahel said of groups opposed to police participation. 'So, what they're saying is 'anyone we disagree with shouldn't be invited'. 'Mardi Gras is built on this principle that in order to create change, you need to build alliances. 'You need to bring people in, you need to convince people, you need to change hearts, you need to change minds.' Mr Stahel said campaigners were not pushing back on 'understandable anxieties or concerns about the police'. 'What we are saying is, even if only one in 100 cops are a true ally, it makes no sense to reject that one person,' he said. 'Let's celebrate this person. Let's celebrate the fact that they are brave enough to stand up and be visible. 'That's what Mardi Gras has been doing since 1998 when the cops first joined the parade.' Mr Stahel pushed back on claims Mardi Gras had 'lost its way' as a protest, its origin rooted in bringing in people who might not otherwise have been able to be involved. The campaign has received the backing of 78er Peter Murphy, one of the initial activists who marched in the original Sydney Mardi Gras in 1978. While he said activists faced 'real and raw' police brutality in the early days, 'progress does not come only from shouting people down'. 'It comes from showing up, educating, challenging, and building alliances.' he said. Mr Murphy pushed back against what he said was a movement to ban 'LGBTQIA+ police, military, certain political parties, and corporate sponsors'. 'Their goal isn't to broaden the movement – it's to use it to punish,' he said. 'Their strategy is to stack the AGM, take over the board, and totally change what Mardi Gras is and has been.' Attempts to ban police from Mardi Gras were only narrowly defeated at last year's AGM. Members voted 493 to 459 against banning police. The failed resolution was moved by the Mardi Gras board and based on community consultation that it said found 54 per cent of respondents opposed police participation. It came after the alleged murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies by NSW Police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon – who has not entered any pleas and whose matter is still before the courts – as well as the Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes. One of the groups advocating for police to be excluded is Pride in Protest. In a video shortly after the December AGM, the group said it was not a matter of if police would be excluded from the march but when. The group has been contacted for comment.
SBS Australia
3 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Evening News Bulletin 3 August 2025
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . TRANSCRIPT: The search continues for a woman missing in New South Wales floodwaters; A former prosecutor of Donald Trump now being investigated in the US; Australian rider Sarah Gigante into second place in the Tour de France Femmes. Police are urging people not to drive on submerged roads as the search continues for a woman swept away in floodwaters in the New South Wales Hunter Valley. Investigators say the 26 year old was with another woman visiting the Hunter from Sydney, but they had decided to return home due to their concerns about the area flooding. Hunter Valley police superintendent Steve Laksa says the pair attempted to cross a causeway before they were caught in the current. "Do not enter any waterway. If you need assistance, make sure you contact the SES or the NSW Police and seek that assistance." In the US, the Smithsonian has defended its decision to remove references to Donald Trump's two impeachments from an exhibit in Washington DC. The museum has released a statement on X saying the placard about Trump was always meant to be temporary and did not meet the museum's standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation. The revelation that Trump was no longer listed among impeached presidents has sparked concern that history was being whitewashed to appease the president. But the museum says it had NOT been asked by the administration or other government officials to remove the reference - and that a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments. Federal officials have opened a probe into Jack Smith, the former special counsel who investigated then-candidate Donald Trump before his reelection for a second term. Mr Smith examined Mr Trump's part in the January 6 attack on the Capitol, as well as allegations of classified documents being mishandled. The Office of Special Counsel says it's looking into accusations made by Republicans — without offering evidence — that Smith violated federal law which bans certain public officials from engaging in political activity. Donald Trump himself has led those accusations. "This is a pure witch hunt for purposes of interfering with the elections of the United States of America. It's totally illegal. " The Australian Council of Trade Unions has stepped up its calls for the government to reform the nation's tax system. The union says tax concessions like negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, which halves the amount of tax paid by those who sell assets owned for a year or more, have incentivised property investment and tied up capital that could otherwise be invested more productively. ACTU secretary Sally McManus says it's worsened housing affordability - with the result that people can no longer afford to live near to where they work. The ACTU has proposed limiting negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount to a single investment property. A Warlpiri elder has used his appearance at the Garma Festival to call on the Prime Minister to end Aboriginal deaths in custody. Reading from a letter penned to the PM, Ned Hargraves has said Anthony Albanese has the power to turn around the outcomes for his community. A coronial inquest found Kumanjayi Walker's death in 2019 was preventable, coroner Elisabeth Armitage saying she could not rule out that racism may have played a part in the teenager's death. Mr Hargraves has told NITV that his community of Yuendumu had lost trust in the police after that fatal shooting, as well as the death of his grandson Kumanjayi White in May. "You have no right to come and take my grandson's life away, and I feel very angry about it and frustrated. Because this is what had happened to him. No more like this happens again. So we say, enough is enough." Australian rider Sarah Gigante has surged into second place in the Tour de France Femmes after stage eight of the race. She is now 2 minutes and 37 seconds behind the leader Pauline Ferrand-Prevot. The previous yellow jersey holder was Gigante's AG Insurance Soudal team-mate Kimberley Le Court Pienaar. She is now in 11th place after crashing on the descent from the Col du Frene with 63 kilometres remaining.
