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'Uncivilised, lazy, violent': Arrernte leader says narratives around Aboriginal people in Alice Springs must change

With election day just months away in the Northern Territory, a prominent Indigenous leader is calling on politicians — and the media — to change the narrative around Aboriginal people.
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A phot of an Indigenous man looking directly at the camera with Indigenous mural in background.

analysis:Fatima Payman has joined the club of 'Labor rats' and taken a piece of modern, diverse Australia to the crossbench

The local fallout from the Middle East war is signalling that Australian multiculturalism has moved into a new, more challenging phase, fraying its fibre. Even when it finally ends, the divisions and wounds will not be healed easily or soon.
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Government flags massive expansion of Antarctic marine park for 'untouched' Heard and McDonald Islands

The marine park that includes the subantarctic Heard and McDonald Islands is set for a massive expansion, with the federal government planning to protect an extra 300,000 square kilometres of ocean.
Four king penguins on a wide pebbly expanse in front of icy mountains. Two are standing, one is lying down and one is grooming

Labor calls for Senator Payman to quit, but in the meantime they may need her vote

Senator Fatima Payman announced that she quit the Labor Party and will be running as an independent.
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Senator Fatima Payman stands in front of a media pack in Parliament House to announce she's quitting the Labor Party

'Little drops make a mighty ocean': How the Labor Party lost Fatima Payman

Fatima Payman's split with Labor happened slowly, then suddenly. Her move has angered former colleagues, but her loss will be felt heavily.  
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Fatima Payman speaking at a media conference.

analysis:Fatima Payman was once hailed as the modern face of the Labor party. Now she's joined the crossbench

Senator Fatima Payman was once held up by colleagues the modern face of both Australia and the party she represented. On Thursday, she joined the crossbench. 
Fatima Payman sits on the crossbench in the Senate

Government opens up chequebook to offer water buybacks for Murray-Darling Basin farmers

The federal government will go to tender next month seeking the rights to up to 70 gigalitres of water from farmers in the southern Murray-Darling Basin, through the first major water entitlements buyback program since new laws were introduced last year. 
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A wide brown river and farms

Labor MPs call on Fatima Payman to quit her Senate seat after she joins the crossbench, alleging intimidation

First-term senator Fatima Payman has quit Labor to sit on the crossbench, after becoming the first Labor MP in decades to defy her party in a vote to recognise Palestinian statehood.
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Senator Fatima Payman stands in front of a media pack in Parliament House to announce she's quitting the Labor Party

Amazon wins $2b contract to store 'top-secret' Australian military intelligence

American technology giant Amazon will establish a "top-secret" data cloud to store classified Australian military and intelligence information under a partnership with the federal government.
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A man leans to work on a large server, standing in an aisle of servers with cables running everywhere.

Birmingham says government must explain Israeli ambassador call-in

Israeli ambassador Amir Maimon is reportedly summoned to a meeting in Canberra and warned his nation could not expect Australia's support if it goes to war with listed terror group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
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Amir Maimon looks down on the Press Club stage.

Fatima Payman leaves the door open to forming her own party after walking away from Labor — as it happened

Just hours after walking away from Labor and taking her place on the crossbench, Fatima Payman reveals what led her to quit.
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ABC News Current

'Am I a cash cow?' Australia loses favour with international students after visa fee hike

A steep hike in visa fees is pushing current and prospective international students to consider other universities outside of Australia.
A woman with short black hair sips a coffee.

Disability organisations facing redundancies as community prepares for royal commission and NDIS changes

Disability groups say federal budget funding cuts will leave them less able to support vulnerable Australians as the government rolls out widespread changes to services and supports. 
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A middle aged white woman without a right arm sits outside in a motorised wheelchair, wearing a striped shirt and big glasses.

analysis:All eyes are on Payman's future with Labor, but Dutton has his own woes playing out behind closed doors

The last week of parliament before the winter recess can often be messy — and this week proved to be no exception for either Anthony Albanese or Peter Dutton. 
Two older men in gray suits look concerned

Payman decision expected as caucus colleagues express concern over claims she was being guided by 'God'

The West Australian senator has told colleagues she is seeking religious guidance on her next move but is expected to make a decision on quitting her party today. 
A young woman wearing thin glasses, light red lipstick and a grey hijab looks to her right in closeup

Dutton's supermarket push leaves some colleagues feeling 'ambushed'

Peter Dutton's plan to force large supermarkets to sell stores has prompted a fierce internal debate, with some objecting to the potential cost of court cases.
Three men in suits, looking serious.

PM accuses Fatima Payman of month-long strategy, expects imminent announcement on future — as it happened

Anthony Albanese says he expects Fatima Payman to make an announcement in the coming days about her future with Labor.   
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A young woman in a hijab listens as she sits behind a microphone.

Sheep industry veteran says it's time to move on from live export fight and focus on new markets

Rob Egerton-Warburton, who has farmed for nearly 30 years running 20,000 merino sheep in the industry's WA heartland, says now that the live export ban is legislated the industry should look to fresh opportunities to survive.
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farmer in paddock

1 million viewers would have missed Sam Kerr's wondergoal under a proposed change to federal law

The Greens say 1 million people who watched the Matildas World Cup semifinal against England last year via streaming would have been blocked from seeing it under Labor's proposed changes to the anti-siphoning scheme.
Two female footballers celebrating after a game win

analysis:'Build more houses' sure sounds great as a solution to the housing crisis, but a few key factors scream 'buyer beware'

This seems as good a time as any to evaluate the reliability of what politicians tell us about the housing crisis — and how they're going to make things better.
Anthony Albanese looks across the table at Peter Dutton during Question Time.

Veterans' entitlements overhaul to streamline claims processing without reducing benefits

Legislation to simplify the way veterans' entitlements are processed is being introduced to parliament on Wednesday, with the government assuring those who are already receiving payments will not have their benefits altered.
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A man wearing glasses and a suit addressing a press conference

PM says Senator Payman’s actions are ‘not acceptable’

Anthony Albanese responds to reports that Fatima Payman may be aligning herself with the Muslim group organising candidates to oppose Labor at the next election.
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ABC News Current
Duration: 15 minutes 1 second

'She has made a decision': PM unfazed as Fatima Payman enlists 'preference whisperer'

Suspended Labor MP Fatima Payman has enlisted the advice of a minor party political "whisperer" as her party colleagues brace themselves for the possibility she will move to the crossbench.
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A young woman in a hijab listens as she sits behind a microphone.

Car import loophole allows manufacturers to rush polluting vehicles into Australia

A loophole in the government's New Vehicle Efficiency Standard could be exploited by car makers seeking to import higher-polluting vehicles, and would undermine the first three years of the new climate laws.
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Rows of cars in a car park, with stacked shipping containers behind them.

Prime minister backs push to immortalise Bob Katter with official parliamentary portrait — as it happened

Anthony Albanese says Katter is "an institution in his own right" and commissioning his portrait would be "above all, an act of respect".
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Bob Katter wearing sunglasses in QT