Australia news LIVE: Albanese admits domestic violence a national crisis; Biden and Netanyahu speak as pressure grows on Israel

TPG customers across regional Australia will gain access to nearly 2,500 Optus mobile towers under a network sharing deal announced between the rival telcos on Monday.

TPG, which operates brands including Vodafone, TPG, iiNet and Felix, has signed an 11-year agreement that will effectively triple its national 4G and 5G coverage to 2,444 network sites.

The deal with Optus will mean 98.4 per cent of the Australian population can access TPG’s networks, and will see TPG pay Optus around $1.6 billion in fees across the 11 years.

“This network sharing arrangement will reset the competitive landscape for mobile services in regional areas and provide Australians with more choice than ever before,” TPG chief executive Inaki Berroeta said.

“In a country as large as Australia, this is the sustainable approach we need to maximise established infrastructure, and expand the reach of telecommunications services, competition and choice for consumers.”

The deal comes after TPG and Telstra walked away from a similar proposed $1.8 billion network sharing deal, which was blocked by the ACCC and then subsequently by the competition tribunal.

Optus interim-CEO Michael Venter called the agreement a significant win for regional Australia.

“Optus and TPG Telecom will be positioned to provide consumers with more choice and better services as we accelerate our investment in the regions,” he said.

“The agreement will reduce combined 5G network rollout costs in regional Australia, which will enable the rollout of 5G infrastructure to be completed two years earlier than previously planned.”

World Central Kitchen said it would resume operations in the Gaza Strip on Monday, a month after seven workers of the US-based charity were killed in an Israeli air strike.

Prior to halting operations, WCK had distributed more than 43 million meals in Gaza since October, representing, by its own accounts, 62% of all international NGO aid.

The charity said it had 276 trucks with the equivalent of almost 8 million meals ready to enter through the Rafah Crossing and will also send trucks into Gaza from Jordan.

“The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire,” said the charity’s chief executive officer Erin Gore.

“We are restarting our operation with the same energy, dignity, and focus on feeding as many people as possible.”

The April 1 deaths triggered widespread condemnation and demands from Israel’s allies, including the US, for an explanation.

Israel said its inquiries had found serious errors and breaches of procedure by its military, dismissing two senior officers and reprimanding senior commanders.

WCK is demanding an independent investigation.

Reuters

Embattled casino operator Star Entertainment Group has appointed one of its directors, Anne Ward, as its chair, effective immediately.

She replaces David Foster, who has been acting as executive chairman following the resignation of chief executive Robbie Cooke last month.

“For an interim period, Mr Foster will remain on the board of The Star and continue his executive responsibilities,” Star told the ASX this morning.

Star is continuing its search for a permanent chief executive and said Foster will also remain as a director of relevant subsidiary company boards until they can be reconstituted by individuals holding necessary regulatory approvals.

Ward is this morning due to appear before the Bell inquiry into the casino group’s culture, which is reviewing the casino operator’s fitness to hold a licence.

Last week Foster admitted to the inquiry that Star is not suitable to operate a casino in Sydney.

Star said Ward will receive the usual directors’ fees for performing the role of chairman as disclosed in The Star’s most recent remuneration report.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would not confirm or deny fresh accusations from Sarah Williams, the organiser of Canberra’s rally to end violence against women, that he told her “I am the prime minister. I run the country”.

Albanese, who was urged to speak by a large part of the crowd, began his speech by saying the organisers had said they did not want him to do so. Williams later called this a “flat-out lie”.

Speaking on Seven’s Sunrise, Albanese was asked multiple times if Williams’ accusation was true.

“I’m not going to get into that sort of debate,” he said.

“People, including Seven, were there for the recording of everything that went on. So you were all there, so the media were all around, they heard everything that was said there, the issue here is that every four days on average a woman dies at the hands of their partner.”

Asked if men need to do more in listening to women when they speak about this issue, Albanese agreed.

“Men do need to take responsibility and men need to talk to each other as well. Men need to be prepared to call this out. We need education from the youngest level … about respectful relationships.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has praised former prime minister Scott Morrison for opening up about his struggles with mental health.

Last week, Morrison revealed he took antidepressants to manage the anxiety he experienced while in office.

“I thought it was brave of Scott Morrison to talk in such a clear way about something that is so very personal, and I think good on him, the truth is that the pressures of the job are substantial,” Albanese said.

He continued:

To go back to our previous discussion on social media, you know, I don’t look at comments on social media. If I did, I wouldn’t be a very balanced or satisfied person because people will say things online.

Unfortunately, political discourse has become very difficult in this country … we see some of the division that’s there in the United States, a very divided society, which I don’t think is healthy for a democracy.

Scott Morrison, I give him credit for being prepared to speak about such a difficult issue and I wish him well in his next phase of his life.”

Doing the media rounds this morning, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told ABC Breakfast he wishes anti-domestic violence rally organiser Sarah Williams well when asked if he had reached out to her after Sunday’s Canberra march.

Albanese, who was urged to speak by a large part of the crowd, began his speech by saying the organisers had said they did not want him to do so. Williams later called this a ‘flat-out lie’.

Asked what happened to cause Williams to accuse him of lying, Albanese said it was important to focus on the issue of domestic violence and would not say if he had tried to reach out to her after what happened yesterday.

“I was very pleased to participate yesterday, as I did a few years ago in the rally that was held outside parliament house,” he said.

“I wish Sarah well, I wish Sarah well. She did very well in organising the rallies as did everyone there.”

Albanese acknowledged one of the measures that could be implemented to help address the crisis of domestic violence was trying to deal with misogyny and violent porn that young men are exposed to on social media.

“This is something that the eSafety Commissioner has raised, and it’s been raised by a number of authorities as well. I’m very concerned and every parent, I think, is concerned at the access to debilitating and offensive material that some young people can be exposed to,” he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has brushed off accusations that he is a liar, saying the marches were an emotional issue for people.

Speaking on Nine’s Today program, Albanese responded to rally organiser Sarah Williams’ accusation that he diminished young women’s experience at the Canberra march yesterday.

“The organisers throughout the country deserve credit for organising these rallies. I was happy not to speak. I was happy to speak. It was about raising awareness of the issue, [and] a call to action [to] all governments, quite clearly, we need to do more,” he said.

Asked how being called a liar sits with him, Albanese brushed it off.

“Oh look, I’m focused on the issue Karl [Stefanovic]. It was an emotional day for people and I get that, what is an emotional issue because women were saying yesterday, enough is enough,” he said.

Albanese acknowledged there was frustration and said everyone had to respond to the crisis including men, which he will be further discussing at a national cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

“We’ll be discussing what practical measures we can take to make a difference on this issue. You can’t solve it overnight. This isn’t an issue just for government, it’s an issue for men and their behaviour,” he said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns is by his father’s side in hospital after he had a massive heart attack on Sunday, which left him in an induced coma in intensive care.

Minns’ office put out a statement on Monday thanking health workers and doctors for the care his gravely ill father, John, was receiving in St George Hospital.

“The family are by his side,” the statement said. Minns recently cut short his family school holiday trip in Japan to return to Sydney after the Bondi Junction stabbing tragedy.

Two days later, Christian Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed in his Wakeley church while delivering a sermon.

Women’s Minister Katy Gallagher said an agreement was not reached between activist organisation What Were You Wearing and the government, leading to confusion over whether the prime minister was asked to speak at its Canberra rally on Sunday.

The organisation – led by Sarah Williams – has five demands including that the government declare domestic violence a national emergency, media regulation on publishing images of victims, mandatory victim blaming prevention training, alternative reporting options and better funding.

Asked on ABC Radio National whether Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked to speak, Gallagher said she was not aware of an invitation for the government to speak.

“I had wanted to speak, it was a rally in my hometown and I thought that was appropriate, but you know, there was some concern about the demand, you know, the five key asks that were being sought at the rally, and you know, a commitment that they were seeking from us, and we weren’t able to reach agreement on how to proceed,” she said.

“In the end, we decided to just walk and attend the rally … as a sign of respect and it’s a sign of solidarity with women around the country.”

Women’s Minister Katy Gallagher does not accept the government’s ten-year plan to end domestic violence is failing.

Speaking on ABC Radio National, Gallagher was asked if the ten-year plan was failing because gendered violence is worse this year compared to last year.

“We’re two years into a ten-year plan that had months and months of consultation and involvement from everybody who works in the sector,” she said.

“We need that plan to work, and I think every government is committed to doing that.”

Asked if Australia needs ten years for this issue to turn around, Gallagher disagreed.

“The goal in the national plan is to end violence against women and children in a generation … we acknowledge that whilst we can make a difference in a whole range of areas, shifting community attitudes is a longer piece of work and that’s not something that just governments can do, everyone in the community has a role to play here,” she said.