Lebanon–Israel extend ceasefire by three weeks; NDIS reforms draw First Nations concern
Lebanon and Israel have agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks following talks at the White House, with US President Donald Trump saying discussions between the countries’ ambassadors to Washington “went very well.” The initial 10-day truce, which took effect last Friday, had been due to expire on Monday.
Trump added he expects the president of Lebanon and the prime minister of Israel to visit the White House in the coming weeks, noting that Hezbollah remains a factor in the broader situation. In Australia, First Nations advocates have urged meaningful engagement on planned changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, voicing concern about how the reforms will affect Indigenous communities.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler told the National Press Club on Wednesday that about 160,000 people will be moved off the NDIS by 2030 onto separate state-run support systems.
The First Peoples Disability Network Australia said it does not oppose reform but is alarmed by the potential impacts, pointing to longstanding service gaps, including that one in three NDIS participants in remote and very remote communities cannot access the supports in their plans.
Meanwhile, a push for a fresh tax on gas exports is facing headwinds ahead of the May federal budget. Calls have grown for a 25 per cent levy on gas exports, as a Greens-led Senate inquiry questions industry executives today. Resources Minister Madeleine King said there has been no change in the government’s position on a tax for the sector.
Independent senator David Pocock argued that gas producers should contribute more directly for the resource, saying companies should pay for the gas itself rather than rely on deductions tied to large capital investments. In the arts, a 15-metre-long work by Walmajarri artist John Prince Siddon has been unveiled in the foyer of Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, where it will remain for two years.
Dedicated to children enduring conflict, the piece features Sesame Street characters alongside kangaroos, birds and reef fish. Siddon said he drew on icons from his own childhood and titled the work Warramungah, describing the word as an exclamation of surprise on seeing familiar figures.
Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio distanced the US government from a suggestion that Italy should replace Iran at the FIFA World Cup. The idea, floated earlier this week by Paolo Zampolli, a special envoy to Donald Trump, has been dismissed by Italian officials and sports authorities.
Rubio said the US had not told Iran’s footballers they could not come, adding that any issue would relate to some entourage members with ties to the IRGC, not the athletes themselves.