News in brief
Plibersek elected Deputy Opposition Leader
Federal Member for Sydney Tanya Plibersek has been elected Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party. Ms Plibersek was appointed Deputy Opposition Leader on Sunday during a Labor caucus meeting in Canberra, shortly after Labor MP Bill Shorten was elected party leader. “I am so overwhelmed,” Ms Plibersek told reporters afterwards. “This is beyond any ambition or dream I ever had. I don’t think there are many countries in the world where someone whose parents came here with nothing but a suitcase each could ever aspire to being a member of parliament, let alone this responsibility.”
Burns wins apology from ex-Katter candidate
The NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal (ADT) has upheld a complaint by Sydney anti-discrimination campaigner Gary Burns against former Katter’s Australian Party candidate Tess Corbett, who publicly compared gay people to paedophiles during this year’s Federal Election campaign. On Tuesday, the ADT substantiated Mr Burns’ complaint of unlawful homosexual vilification, finding Ms Corbett contravened the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 with her comments to a range of newspapers in January. The ADT ordered Ms Corbett to take out a prominent advertisement in The Sydney Morning Herald within 28 days, at her expense, to publicly apologise. She is also required to apologise to Mr Burns in writing within the same timeframe. Ms Corbett, who was preselected for the Victorian seat of Wannon, pulled out of the running before the election.
Diary to fight breast cancer
The 2014 Australian Women’s Health Diary, which supports lifesaving breast cancer research, is now available to purchase from Commonwealth Bank branches, newsagents, selected Woolworths supermarkets, BIG W, and Avon representatives. The annual diary, which retails for $14.95, can also be bought online at www.bcia.org.au or by calling 1800 423 444. The diary, which has been released each year since 1999, has raised more than $9 million for the Breast Cancer Institute of Australia (BCIA) to date.