TRANSCRIPT
- The managing director of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra departs as an external review is announced;
- The incoming Chief Minister of the Northern Territory outlines her 'tough on crime' plan;
- In the A-League, Brazilian World Cup star Douglas Costa signs on with Sydney FC.
Former federal arts minister Peter Garrett will lead an independent review into the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, after a pianist was sacked for dedicating a performance to journalists killed in the Gaza conflict.
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra says the decision to cancel a subsequent scheduled performance by Jayson Gillham was an "error".
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has also announced managing director, Sophie Galaise, will leave the role.
It comes after musicians expressed a vote of no confidence in Sophie Galaise as the managing director.
The musicians also said the senior leadership's response to their concerns about Gillham's cancellation was "insufficient, and in many cases dismissive".
The review - led by Mr Garrett - will involve evaluating the orchestra's "policies, procedures and processes and cover protocols".
And will cover protocols around freedom of speech and artistic expression on stage.
The board of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra says it will release details of the terms of reference of the review when they're finalised - and is "committed to sharing the high-level findings".
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The incoming chief minister of the Northern Territory says boot camps could be used for young offenders to reduce crime.
After eight years in opposition, the Country Liberal Party will now form majority government in the NT, led by Lia Finocchiaro.
The granddaughter of Italian migrants, she is one of the youngest chief ministers in the Territory's history and the first female CLP chief minister.
Indigenous legal groups have been calling for more diversion programs, instead of putting more people in jail.
Ms Finocchiaro says she will be taking a 'tough on crime' approach.
"That’s why we’re lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 10 so that young people can be held accountable and that appropriate consequences for their age are delivered, such as boot camps. This is important work that needs to be done and there do need to be more diversion options for our courts."
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A 58-year-old man has been charged with a string of violent offences, after allegedly stabbing his partner while driving in Sydney's south yesterday - crashing - then going on a stabbing rampage of bystanders who came to help.
Antony Benson has been charged with domestic violence related grevious bodily harm with intent to murder, reckless wounding, and wounding an officer with intent to resist arrest.
His domestic partner, a 48-year-old woman, remains in hospital in a stable condition.
Mr Benson has been refused bail.
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A network of six Australian universities has told a parliamentary inquiry that draft legislation to limit international student numbers from next year, needs to be modified - to avoid further complexity and uncertainty.
The draft bill, announced in May, outlines powers for the federal education minister to cap international students by education provider, campus location and course.
To enrol more students, institutions would be required to establish additional purpose-built student accommodation.
The Executive Director of the Australian Technology Network of Universities, Dr Ant Bagshaw, says the ministerial control as outlined in the bill is too broad.
"What we're looking for is institutional sustainability and how institutions plan over a long time. That is how universities work. They work in long time scales. So what we've got here is no certainty about how many students will be able to enrol next year. So one of the consequences at the moment is the capital expenditure, which is actually necessary for institutions for domestic and international students - but also necessary as part of our broader economic contribution to the country."
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In the A-League, Sydney FC have signed former Juventus and Bayern Munich star Douglas Costa in a massive recruitment coup.
Costa is signing onto the A-League for two seasons.
He will land in Sydney as their biggest signing since Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero in 2012.
The news comes after the Australian Professional Leagues slashed club distribution to just $530,000, down on close to $2 million handed out last season.
With more than 13 million social media followers worldwide, it is hoped Costa will attract a bigger audience to the cash-strapped competition.
Costa's worldwide transfer fees over his 16-year career total close to $140 million.
