Live news from Australia: Mark Speakman resigns as leader of the NSW Liberal Party and supports Kellie Sloane to take his place

Georgie Purcell, a member of the Victorian Animal Justice Party, claimed she was sexually harassed in the state legislature during a debate on proposed legislation to limit non-disclosure agreements in the workplace.

Purcell claimed the harassment happened while she was a political staffer and politician, but she did not name anyone. In 2022, Purcell was elected to the Victoria parliament for the first time.

In the upper house, she stated:

I've experienced numerous instances of sexual harassment in parliament. At the age of 26, it was my first year working as a staff member.
"If you do that again, I won't be responsible for what happens next," he said to me in my member of parliament's office during those early months when someone came into my office for a talk and I leaned over to fetch something from the refrigerator. I will never forget that.

In my experience with another person here, it was the late-night messages, the persistent phone calls and texts, the deluge of digital correspondence, and the knocks on our doors when we are unable to see who is on the other side.


Purcell said that throughout her tenure as an MP, she had reported sexual harassment, which swiftly spread throughout the legislature:
The first queries were: "What did she anticipate?" Take a look at her attire. Take a look at the tattoos. Take a look at her history. The stripper cannot be sexually harassed. As I passed in the corridor, I heard the murmurs.

It was not made clear when the accusations occurred or what the report's conclusion was.


The goal of Victoria's groundbreaking proposal to restrict the use of NDAs in the workplace is to stop victim-survivors from being silenced.
Albanese nature fast-track regulations are opposed by land councils.

An Albanese government initiative to expedite project approvals under national nature rules has drawn criticism from land councils in the Northern Territory.


The land councils were in front of a Senate committee that was reviewing proposed changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

The proposed amendments would replace the current rules' three ways of project assessment with a new, streamlined process that would authorise developments in less than 30 days.

Concerns about the proposal's potential to decrease openness and community consultation have already been voiced by grassroots organisations.
The Central Land Council's policy manager, Dr. Josephine Douglas, described the idea as a major shift that would limit public access to project information and communities' ability to participate. Douglas stated:

Because of this, land councils oppose the idea of simplistic, undemocratic evaluation procedures, particularly for fossil fuel projects.


We want to see traditional owners involved in projects that impact the environment, their nation, and themselves. Additionally, it must be sincere and customised to each group's cultural issues as well as the effects of a project.
The Central Land Council expressed disappointment that the only Indigenous organisations attending the hearings before to the measures' anticipated Senate debate next week were the land councils.
Speakman claims that Gen Z anticipates action on the environment and expense of life.
This is about addressing the core issues that people care about and what they are now concerned about.

The affordability of housing is a major factor in it. However, Gen Z anticipates that my generation will leave the world in a better state than it is now, which calls for environmental responsibility and care rather than blindly rejecting science.