Good afternoon. Bruce Lerhmann’s defamation trial against Lisa Wilkinson and Network Ten continues today, with the Ten journalist facing questions relating to the investigation and reporting of Brittany Higgins’ claims.
During an exchange with Lehrmann’s barrister, Matthew Richardson SC, Wilkinson defended her standards. Responding to whether or not further investigating was warranted, Wilkinson replied: “I feel we investigated the story extremely well.” However, the journalist did concede that certain aspects of Higgins’ story regarding her mobile phone had raised “alarm bells”.
The court was also played Wilkinson’s Logies speech about her Higgins interview, with Richardson suggesting Wilkinson put “pride and your ego ahead of my client’s right to a fair trial when you gave that speech”. Wilkinson replied: “I completely disagree.”
It was a big day for high-profile court proceedings in Australia as Kathleen Folbigg had her convictions for the killing of her four young children quashed. Folbigg spent two decades behind bars and now says “they took my words out of context and turned them against me”.
Top news
Responsible police officers have nothing to fear from body-worn cameras, NSW police watchdog says | The head of the watchdog that oversees the New South Wales police force has implored officers to always use body-worn cameras, arguing that if they are acting responsibly, “they should have nothing to worry about”. “Body-worn is there. Firstly, wear it. Secondly, activate it. Thirdly, download it when there are incidents involving it which call for that to occur,” the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission chief commissioner, Peter Johnson SC, said.
Australia considers US request to send warship to Red Sea as Houthis target shipping lanes | The United States has asked Australia to send a warship to the Red Sea amid ongoing attacks on commercial shipping from Iran-backed militia. The request, made recently, came from the US navy which wants the vessel to join an international taskforce, of which Australia is one of 39 member nations.
Labor MP Josh Burns says Australia’s UN Gaza ceasefire vote not relevant to ‘people on the ground’ | Speaking from Israel, the MP played down the significance of the UN resolution, saying violence won’t end “without Hamas being removed from power”. “The Israelis will not accept anything else, and as much as we might want to pray and wish for a return to the situation prior to October 7, the reality is that those two key aspects are still in the way of a peaceful future,” he said.
North Queensland residents remain unfazed after Tropical Cyclone Jasper | Forty thousand homes and businesses are without power, with flood warnings issued for the Daintree and Mossman River. There have been no reports of injury or loss of life as a result of the category two cyclone, but authorities are urging residents to stay indoors for the next 12 hours to allow for debris to be cleared from roads.
Unemployment rate ticks higher | Australia’s employers went on a late-year hiring binge in November, adding an extra 2,000 people a day even in a month that included a Reserve Bank interest rate rise. The economy added 61,500 jobs last month, all but 4,500 of them full-time ones, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. Economists had forecast the economy would swell their workforces by 11,500 jobs.
Rights groups decry Greek investigation into migrant shipwreck that left more than 500 dead | Human rights groups have deplored the lack of progress made by Greek authorities in their investigation into the controversial circumstances in which a migrant ship sank off the Peloponnese – leaving more than 500 dead – in one of the Mediterranean’s worst ever boat disasters.
In pictures
What they said …
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“At the heart of action on climate change must be profound respect for those people who have cared for our respective lands for millennia – Indigenous people across the world” – Chris Bowen
Australia’s climate minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to including First Nations people in the government’s response to the climate crisis and the transition to clean energy.
In numbers
The joblessness rate rose despite 61,500 new jobs being added to the economy because the number of people seeking work also grew strongly.
Before bed read
For the ultra-wealthy, it might mean dabbling in infusions of your child’s plasma, elaborate supplement regimes, or paying tens of thousands of dollars to have your corpse pumped with an anti-freeze solution and suspended in liquid nitrogen in the hope technological advances will one day cure your ailment and bring you back to life (though while running the risk you may end up as mush).
But for those without $2m to spend each year on the quest for immortality, you might take solace in the fact there are simple, evidence-based interventions to increase your chances of staying healthier for longer (even if you must age).
Read Lydia Hales’ piece on how to stave off ageing here.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: VALE. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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