AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 19 at 1330
Legal: Dade (MELBOURNE)
A retired AFL player's partner has accused Melbourne Football Club of three breaches as she mounts legal action over "a serious invasion of privacy".
Ex-Demons star Steven May's partner Sachi Dade is suing the club, senior coach Steven King and football boss Alan Richardson in the Federal Court.
She has alleged three privacy breaches were committed across two days on February 4 and 5, her barrister Nicholas Petrie told the court via video link on Friday.
The third breach involved a Teams meeting attended by 15 people, the court was told.
Mr Petrie said his client was seeking a claim for exemplary damages as part of the action.
It follows a SEN report in April that confidentiality obligations were breached regarding May and Ms Dade's personal situation during a Teams call with the partners of players.
UK Vote (LONDON)
Polls have closed in Makerfield, where voters have taken part in what could be one of the most consequential by-elections in British political history.
Andy Burnham, who is standing as Labour's candidate in the Greater Manchester constituency with the hope of returning to parliament to replace Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister, urged people to "vote to change politics".
Sir Keir on Wednesday said he was willing to offer the Mayor of Greater Manchester a "big" job in his government, should his rival win when Thursday's votes are counted.
But allies of the mayor said he was not interested, insisting "the benefit Andy has is the wind of change for not having been associated with the government's failings".
The prime minister has repeatedly insisted he has no intention of standing aside and is understood to have amassed a war chest to fund his campaign to fight any leadership challenge, as first reported by The Times.
Sudan (GENEVA)
The United Kingdom, Norway and a group of countries including Australia have raised the alarm at the United Nations Human Rights Council that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan could imminently escalate their assault on the central Sudanese city of al-Obeid, possibly resulting in large-scale atrocities.
"We are deeply concerned at the risk of imminent escalation on the ground, leaving approximately 500,000 civilians at risk of falling victim to large-scale atrocities, including more than 100,000 internally displaced persons," Tormod Endresen, the ambassador for Norway, told the council in Geneva.
Norway shared a joint statement calling on the RSF to immediately cease its assault on al-Obeid.
The statement was presented on behalf of the Coalition for Atrocity Prevention and Justice for Sudan, comprising the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sierra Leone and Norway, which said they were also joined by 21 other countries.
Ukraine (KAZAN)
Russia will carry out "massive co-ordinated strikes on a regular basis" against Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says after a major Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow.
Ukrainian forces struck a major Moscow oil refinery on Thursday for a second time in a week, sending huge plumes of black smoke over the capital and disrupting hundreds of flights at its airports in one of its biggest drone attacks, officials said.
The Ukrainian attacks left 17 people injured and damaged civilian infrastructure in the capital, local officials said.
The attack by dozens of drones came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had held "an important co-ordination call" with the presidents of the United States and France and had won key pledges of further support from this week's G7 summit.
Iran (WASHINGTON, D. C.)
US Vice President JD Vance says a 60-day window laid out in a memorandum of understanding approved by President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders has begun.
"I would say the 60-day period officially started today," Vance told reporters at a White House briefing on Thursday.
Asked what happens after the 60-day period in terms of governance of the Strait of Hormuz, Vance repeated the US view that the major supply route for oil and gas shipments should be free of tolls.
Iran largely closed the waterway during the war.
"The final negotiations can set the terms of what comes afterwards," Vance said.
During the 60 days, negotiators are expected to tackle some of the most contentious and unresolved issues that were left open in the initial accord.
Tax (CANBERRA)
Despite handing startups more concessions from capital gains tax hikes in the federal budget, the government has been warned that the changes will exacerbate a brain drain of top talent from Australia.
New carve-outs will allow "innovative businesses" to continue to access the existing 50 per cent capital gains tax discount, while eligibility for the existing 50 per cent active asset reduction for small businesses will be expanded.
Labor's May budget replaced the 50 per cent discount with an inflation indexation model and a minimum 30 per cent tax rate.
While sold as making the housing market fairer for first home buyers at the expense of property investors, the changes were extended to all assets, including shares and businesses.
Because startups often have a negligible initial cost base to index from, the proposed changes would double the maximum effective tax rate on capital gains to nearly 47 per cent, diminishing the incentive to take a risk and start a business.
NDIS (CANBERRA)
The delay of a major report into plans to overhaul the $56 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme has been labelled "disrespectful," as disability advocates plead for participants to be protected from harm.
A parliamentary inquiry into Labor's proposed changes will hand down its report on Friday afternoon, after a last-minute decision earlier this week to delay its release.
The Albanese government is trying to claw back billions in savings to stop the NDIS from continuing to grow at an "unsustainable" pace, under changes that will kick 160,000 people off the scheme.
Public hearings have been told by disability groups the reform would lead to people dying, while increasing complexity for support providers.
People with Disability Australia interim president Jarrod Sandell-Hay, also an NDIS participant, said he hoped the report acknowledged concerns aired during the inquiry.
KPMG (SYDNEY)
The leaders of a high-profile consultancy face a grilling from a powerful federal oversight committee after making an 11th-hour decision to withhold information from their interrogators.
KPMG, which has more than half a billion dollars in taxpayer-funded government contracts, is feeling the heat over an audit leak scandal and the treatment of a whistleblower, raising concerns about its governance and integrity frameworks.
Ahead of Friday's hearing, it told the committee it would not provide the requested documents linked to those matters because they were confidential, subject to professional privilege and could prejudice the "administration of justice".
"We appreciate that this is not the response the committee was seeking," chairman Martin Sheppard wrote in a letter tabled by Labor's Deborah O'Neill, the committee chair.
In finance ...
Tax (CANBERRA)
Long-promised capital gains carve-outs for startups have been revealed and tax changes rolled back for some trusts as Labor tries to ease the blowback from its contentious budget.
The concessions, unveiled on Thursday, will keep the existing 50 per cent capital gains tax discount for "innovative businesses" following a fiery campaign by startups and entrepreneurs that has taken the shine off Treasurer Jim Chalmers's reforms.
On top of the carve-out, one of four existing small business capital gains concessions - the 50 per cent active asset reduction - will be extended to businesses with a turnover up to $10 million a year from the existing threshold of $2 million.
About 2.7 million, or 98 per cent, of all existing small businesses, would be eligible as a result of the change, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
Markets Aust (SYDNEY)
Australia's share market is set to finish the week with little gains as a mining stock rout drags on.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 89.4 points by midday on Friday, down one per cent, to 8,821.7, as the broader All Ordinaries slipped 88.3 points, or 0.97 per cent, to 9,038.5.
The top-200 is up 0.14 per cent since Monday, after a US-Iran peace deal-fuelled rally buckled in the second half of the week.
BHP led the basic materials sector lower, falling 3.7 per cent after the mining giant flagged a $US2 billion ($A2.9 billion) cost blowout relating to its Canadian Jansen potash project.
"BHP continues to invest in its long-term growth strategy," the miner's Americas chief executive-elect Brandon Craig said.
"Jansen is an important pillar of BHP's strategy and will deliver exposure to a future facing commodity with strong demand fundamentals and portfolio diversification benefits."
In entertainment ...
Legal: Carpenter (LONDON)
Sabrina Carpenter has been granted a permanent restraining order against a man who was arrested at her Los Angeles home but continued to return.
The Please Please hitmaker had sought protection from William Applegate, who was apprehended by police on her property, and again the following day.
Now a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has ordered the 31-year-old to stay 100m away from Carpenter, her sister Sarah, and Sarah's boyfriend George for the next five years.
Applegate testified at the hearing to oppose the request for the restraining order, but failed to persuade the judge, TMZ reports.
The 27-year-old singer was granted a temporary restraining order at the start of this month after her team filed for protection on May 19.
TaylorJoy (LONDON)
Anya Taylor-Joy was bullied at school over her looks.
Despite later becoming one of Hollywood's most sought-after stars and a favourite of the fashion world, the 30-year-old actress says she was repeatedly told by fellow pupils she was not beautiful after moving to Britain as a child.
Florida-born Taylor-Joy opened up about her early experiences in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, reflecting on the challenges she faced after relocating from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to London aged six.
Taylor-Joy said she found herself ostracised almost immediately after starting school in London.
The Hollywood Reporter reported that after kissing a classmate on the cheek, she was alienated by fellow pupils and repeatedly told she was not beautiful.
Taylor-Joy made the comments while posing for a fashion shoot accompanying the interview, wearing designs by Ludovic de Saint Sernin, Rabanne, Datt Official and Lanvin.
In sport ...
AFL Modra (ADELAIDE)
Tony Modra's wife has thanked the two first responders who rushed to the AFL great's aid after a truck accident.
Modra is in a critical condition in an Adelaide hospital with head injuries after an accident on his cattle property on Thursday afternoon.
The former Adelaide and Fremantle star was injured when a tree branch was believed to have broken through the windshield of a truck he was driving.
Modra's wife Erica has expressed her gratitude to the two responders who were first at the scene of the accident at Back Valley, about 90km south of Adelaide.
Former Crows captain Mark Ricciuto, who remains one of the injured footballer's best friends, relayed text messages from Erica Modra on his Triple M breakfast show on Friday morning.
RU Aust (SYDNEY)
Veteran prop James Slipper and uncapped trio Declan Meredith, Lachlan Shaw and Miles Amatosero have all been included in the Wallabies squad for next month's Nations Championship Tests in Australia.
After retiring last November, 37-year-old Slipper could surpass All Blacks great Sam Whitelock as rugby's second most-capped player in history after answering an SOS call from coach Joe Schmidt.
Fellow loosehead Angus Bell also features in the 37-man squad following a season-long sabbatical with Ulster in Ireland.
Looking to press their 2027 World Cup claims, Brumbies pair Meredith and Shaw and Waratahs lock Amatosero are in line for potential debuts against Ireland in Sydney on July 4.
Meredith, 29, grew up in Cairns and played his junior rugby for Barron Trinity Bulls before moving to Canberra and earning his selection following strong performances at flyhalf for the Brumbies.
Ends Bulletin
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