Welcome, readers, to Afternoon Update.
Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has shrugged off criticism after Monday’s protest during King Charles’s visit to Parliament House, telling those who took issue with her actions to “get used to truth-telling”.
After the high-profile heckling, which included shouts of “you are not my king”, Peter Dutton claimed Thorpe should resign from parliament.
The deputy leader of the Greens, Mehreen Faruqi, came to the defence of Thorpe, labelling Dutton’s remarks as “contemptible” and saying Australia needs “to move forward to a republic that comes with truth-telling and treaty”.
Responding to the comments on Radio National, Thorpe said: “I’m not looking to be re-elected – I’m looking to get justice for my people.”
Top news
Anti-abortion activist targets high-profile SA women | The architect of “forced birth” abortion legislation in South Australia, Joanna Howe, has painted high-profile women as being in a “baby-killers club” on social media. The comments come as a 2023 interview has revealed the answer to the abortion question that Queensland’s LNP leader, David Crisafulli, has dodged more than 132 times.
Matt Kean lambasts former colleagues’ energy policy as ‘wild fantasy’ | The Climate Change Authority chair has criticised key tenets of the Coalition’s energy policy, including extending the life of ageing coal-fired power stations before nuclear plants can be built.
Woman wedged upside down between boulders for seven hours | A woman in her 20s who slipped head-first into a three-metre crevice while trying to retrieve her phone in regional New South Wales has been rescued by emergency workers, who spent an hour freeing her.
Israel claims bunker under Beirut hospital holds millions of dollars | Israel has accused Hezbollah of keeping hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold in a bunker under the Sahel hospital in Dahiyeh. The hospital’s director said the allegations were untrue.
Central Park Five members sue Trump | Five men collectively dubbed the Central Park Five have sued Donald Trump for defamation after he falsely said that they had pleaded guilty to a brutal rape 35 years ago. The five men have always denied the crime and were later exonerated.
El Chapo’s sons negotiating plea deal with US | Ovidio Guzmán and Joaquín Guzmán López – two of drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera’s sons – are negotiating a deal for a more lenient sentence, which could open the door for them to become cooperating witnesses for the US government.
Liam Payne had ‘pink cocaine’ in system at time of death | The former One Direction singer had multiple drugs including crack cocaine and methamphetamine in his system when he fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Argentina, according to anonymous sources.
Meta to use facial recognition in fight against celebrity scam ads | The parent company of Facebook and Instagram announced it would begin trialling the use of facial recognition technology to detect deepfakes of celebrities used for investment scam ads.
Celebrated musician in The Pianist dies at 72 | Polish musician and teacher Janusz Olejniczak, who played the piano parts in the 2002 Oscar-winning movie, has died of a heart attack, his family said.
In pictures
King Charles visits National Centre for Indigenous Excellence
As part of today’s royal itinerary, King Charles has been meeting with Indigenous leaders in Sydney to learn about their work in supporting local communities and strengthening culture.
What they said …
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“Mickey will be freed.”
Wildlife services are working to rescue a cockatoo called Mickey that has been “living on brioche” inside a Sydney supermarket for four weeks. The New South Wales environment minister, Penny Sharpe, promised the bird would be rescued after false rumours of a “kill order” spread online.
In numbers
China dropped tariffs on Australian wine in March, and the latest levels of shipment by both volume and value are the highest since the 12 months ending August 2021, Wine Australia said.
Before bed read
My first time at teacher-less pilates: “There is a soothing quality to the digital instructor’s voice, like an early childhood educator or a cult leader”
There is no human teacher at Michael Sun’s reformer pilates class but it is more affordable than a typical session. Is the trade-off worth it?
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: BENE. You have five goes to get the longest word, including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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