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ABC Listen, podcasts, radio,

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Hello, welcome to PM, I'm Stephanie

0:08

Smail coming to you from the

0:10

lands of the Turbul and Yughara

0:13

people in Brisbane. Tonight, Beijing accuses

0:15

Australia of using a helicopter off

0:17

the Korean coast to spy on

0:19

China. Military experts say

0:21

that's highly unlikely. The

0:31

mayor of Rafa in southern Gaza

0:34

describes a humanitarian disaster as the

0:36

Israeli invasion continues

0:38

and banning library books about

0:40

same-sex parenting. What does the

0:42

controversial move by a Sydney

0:44

council say about Australian society?

0:47

It's an open shot in a culture war.

0:49

In our democracy, people have a right to

0:51

pick and choose what books they borrow from

0:53

the library. But a library should be reflective

0:55

of Australia's wider set of values. The

1:02

diplomatic spat over an incident involving

1:05

an Australian military helicopter and a

1:07

Chinese fighter jet is growing, with

1:09

Beijing now claiming the Australian aircraft was being

1:11

used to spy on China. The

1:15

helicopter was part of a mission to enforce

1:17

sanctions against North Korea. A Chinese

1:20

jet dropped flares in front of it,

1:22

forcing the pilot to take evasive action.

1:26

I spoke to the ABC's Foreign Affairs

1:28

reporter for the Asia Pacific, Stephen Jedjits,

1:30

a short time ago. Stephen, what

1:32

did China initially say about this incident

1:34

and what are they saying about it

1:36

now? Well, there have been

1:38

two different statements from the Chinese government.

1:41

The first came from the Chinese Foreign

1:43

Ministry and the second, not that long

1:45

after, from the Chinese Ministry of Defence.

1:48

The Chinese Foreign Ministry essentially

1:50

said that Australia was getting

1:52

provocatively, to use

1:54

its word, close to China's airspace,

1:57

but didn't actually go within that

1:59

airspace, nonetheless. That said, the the

2:01

fact that this is Friday and

2:03

allegedly came relatively close to Johnny

2:05

territory a was in itself a

2:07

provocation and said that the Chinese

2:10

saw therefore took all reasonable steps

2:12

which was basically code for using

2:14

this or this jets or to

2:16

drop place in the path of

2:18

the Australian chop up. So that

2:20

was the first response. The second

2:23

response, though from the Ministry of

2:25

Defence is quite a different one,

2:27

not necessarily contradictory, but starkly different.

2:29

The Ministry. Of Defense said that

2:31

it was using his friday was

2:34

using it separatists or patient in

2:36

this mission to essentially stopped North

2:39

Korea importing illegal material into it's

2:41

country as a pretext for

2:43

Us spying operation on China

2:45

Us. As specifically it said

2:47

that strides he has quite

2:49

deliberately used it's helicopters asked H.

2:51

M. S. Hobart to conduct what

2:54

it's called reconnaissance missions in the

2:56

yellow seats targeting naval exercises that

2:59

China was serve. Was engaging in at

3:01

the time in the region. And

3:03

has Israeli I responded yet to the

3:05

slightest statement from Beijing. A

3:07

stranger has declined to respond directly.

3:10

A spokesperson said the defense minister

3:12

made it pretty clear that her

3:14

stride wasn't going to respond. On

3:16

the record. That did say that

3:18

the it stood by it's initial

3:20

account of exactly what happened others

3:22

within the government. Speaking of, the

3:24

records are much more scathing. They

3:27

say that this is straight out

3:29

misinformation or this information and that

3:31

it's simply not true that Australia

3:33

had any interest in trying to

3:35

spy on what China was doing.

3:38

Ah, They say that's what the

3:40

government originally said was a statement

3:42

of the truth, namely to destroy.

3:44

He was taking part in the

3:46

multinational attempt to try and monitor

3:48

ships in the region that might

3:50

be taking material into North Korea

3:52

that would help prop up it's

3:54

weapons program. What? the military experts have

3:56

to say about these did i think

3:58

it's plausible that the israeli helicopter

4:00

was indeed spying on China? Well

4:03

look we've spoken to three or

4:06

four military experts who know this

4:08

territory and who know this subject

4:10

matter pretty well. All

4:12

of them are without exception very

4:14

skeptical of what China has said.

4:16

Now of course all of them

4:18

say that they can't be certain

4:20

and it's impossible to know without

4:22

being on the ground but all

4:24

of them really struggled to come

4:26

up with a plausible situation where

4:29

Australia might want to use a

4:31

helicopter to spy on military exercises.

4:33

There's a couple of reasons for this

4:35

skepticism. The first is that there's really

4:38

no benefit to Australia using helicopters in

4:40

a situation like this. If you are

4:42

intent on trying to spy on what

4:44

China is doing with its military exercises

4:46

then it's far more effective to simply

4:48

use satellite technology to try and track

4:51

it that way. Satellite technology is now

4:53

pretty good and it's a much better

4:55

way to try and get an idea

4:57

of what might be happening at sea.

5:00

The second reason why they're somewhat skeptical of

5:02

this account is that it would be a

5:04

really stark departure from what

5:06

Australia has done previously.

5:09

Experts say that engaging in

5:11

freedom of navigation operations so

5:14

close to China particularly

5:16

for a really marginal intelligence

5:18

game would be a very

5:20

provocative and uncharacteristically provocative move.

5:23

So it just doesn't fit

5:25

within the pattern of conduct

5:27

and behaviour from the Australian

5:29

Navy over recent years. So

5:31

for those reasons most naval

5:34

experts say that while they can't

5:36

be certain they're fairly confident that

5:38

China's latest account of what happened

5:40

in the Yellow Sea on Saturday

5:42

is most likely untrue. The

5:44

ABC's Foreign Affairs reporter for the

5:47

Asia-Pacific Stephen Jedjits there. Urgent

5:50

talks are due to resume soon

5:52

in Cairo to negotiate a ceasefire

5:54

agreement between Israel and Hamas. While

5:57

the United States is optimistic Israel has

5:59

warned warned, if negotiations for the

6:01

return of hostages fail, its military

6:04

operations in the southern Gaza city

6:06

of Rafa will intensify. Hundreds

6:09

of thousands of Garthans who were

6:11

sheltering in Rafa have been fleeing

6:13

to already overcrowded and unsanitary camps,

6:16

where food and water supplies are

6:18

low. Declan Goots reports. Residents

6:23

from the eastern part of Rafa have

6:25

fled here to a makeshift camp at

6:27

Mwasi and are busy putting up shelters.

6:33

We're here setting up tents for nearly 70

6:35

people. They threatened us and dropped

6:37

leaflets and as you can see we're preparing

6:39

these tents to cover ourselves. Regarding

6:41

means of living, there are no toilets or

6:43

running water or anything. Conditions

6:45

at the camp for the thousands forced

6:48

to flee Israel's military operation in Rafa

6:50

are dire. The

6:54

bombardment started early, so at about 6 o'clock

6:56

we left. We came here and now we're

6:59

out on the street. We are six families

7:01

and we don't have a tent or drinking

7:03

water or food. We fled from death and

7:05

it feels like the children will die here

7:07

on the street because of the cars. We

7:09

don't know what to do. While

7:12

these people have fled, some are still in

7:14

Rafa. The city's mayor is

7:16

Dr Ahmed Al-Sophie. What's

7:20

happening now is the Israelis are

7:22

taking full control on the Rafa

7:24

crossing. There's non-stop shelling

7:26

by missiles and airstrikes between

7:29

Karim Shalom border crossing and

7:31

the Rafa border. The shelling is

7:33

targeting the area that belongs to

7:35

a council called Al-Shufa. The

7:39

mayor says the humanitarian situation is

7:41

critical. Out

7:44

of fear from shelling and bombing,

7:47

the Palestinians have moved to an

7:49

open land which is empty. There's

7:51

no houses, no tents, no facilities,

7:53

no service. There's nothing. They're suffering

7:56

from fear and hunger. About 1

7:58

million Palestinians have already already moved

8:00

there. They need help. They need

8:02

tents and food and life essentials.

8:05

We need 100,000 tents for the people. Dr.

8:09

Ahmed Al Sofi is pleading for

8:11

the international community to intervene. Israel

8:13

has announced it's reopening the Karim

8:15

Shalom crossing and inspecting aid trucks

8:18

after pressure from the US. He

8:20

is State Department spokesman Matt Miller.

8:22

We're working to make sure that

8:24

that actually happens so

8:26

humanitarian assistance can continue to come through and I

8:28

should add that Karim Shalom didn't close just

8:31

because of an action by Israel,

8:33

closed because it was bombed by

8:35

Hamas. Dr. Ahmed Al The White

8:37

House described the border closures as

8:39

unacceptable. White House spokeswoman Kareen Jean-Pierre.

8:41

We believe Rafa border crossing should

8:43

also be quickly reopened for the

8:45

movement of humanitarian assistance. We are

8:47

insisting that there should be no

8:49

disruptions of humanitarian assistance flows. It

8:51

is important. We know you all obviously

8:54

have been reporting on this, how dire the

8:56

situation is currently in Gaza and we want

8:58

to see these two crossings open. Narrator Separately,

9:00

the US revealed today it had put a

9:03

shipment of bombs to Israel on hold. Because

9:05

of concerns, they could be used in a

9:07

bigger attack on Rafa. While

9:09

the US has toughened its approach to

9:12

Israel, it may be too late to

9:14

stop rapidly growing anti-American sentiment in Muslim

9:16

countries. This is Deakin

9:18

University Middle East expert Shahram

9:21

Akbarzadeh. Those signals don't really

9:23

make a substantial difference. The

9:25

fundamental fact is that the

9:28

United States has been the

9:30

mainstay supporter of Israel

9:32

in the international community. It

9:34

has blocked a number of

9:36

efforts at the UN Security

9:38

Council to call for

9:40

a ceasefire and it has shielded

9:42

Israel. So the message that the

9:45

US is sending is quite clear.

9:47

He says declining trust in Muslim

9:49

countries across the Middle East will

9:51

embolden Iran and may lead it

9:53

to boost investment in missile research

9:55

and development. There have been public

9:57

opinion surveys that demonstrate.

10:00

that people's opinions of the

10:02

United States as

10:04

a reliable partner, as

10:07

a peace broker is

10:10

plummeting significantly. So

10:12

all the signs for the US

10:14

are quite worrying. Meanwhile negotiations for

10:17

a ceasefire are due to resume

10:19

this morning local time. Prime Minister

10:22

Netanyahu has made it clear that

10:24

he will not be signing a

10:26

ceasefire deal so there's really little

10:29

hope about an end to hostilities.

10:31

So in your view a question of

10:33

a ceasefire is probably off the table

10:35

completely at the moment. Israel has committed

10:38

itself to destroying Hama. It will

10:40

not be achieving that

10:42

objective by signing a

10:44

ceasefire. Deakin University Professor

10:47

Shiram Akbazadeh ending that report

10:49

by Declan Guch and Bushra

10:51

El-Kir. There's been

10:53

an angry backlash over a move

10:55

by a local council in Sydney

10:58

to ban books featuring same-sex parents

11:00

from its libraries. Cumberland City Council

11:02

in Western Sydney is under fire

11:04

after the motion narrowly passed six

11:07

votes to five. Experts

11:09

say the move is homophobic and

11:11

they're warning the ban could be

11:13

in breach of anti-discrimination laws. Alison

11:16

Shao reports. It was an ordinary

11:18

local council meeting in Western Sydney

11:20

that turned heated. Hands off our

11:22

kids. Hands off our kids Madam Mayor.

11:24

Conservative Independent Cumberland City Councillor

11:26

and former Mayor Steve Christo

11:28

brought a motion to ban

11:31

same-sex parenting books from council

11:33

libraries. We hope to implement

11:35

a policy that these kind of books,

11:37

same-sex parents books, do not

11:39

find their way to our kids. Our kids

11:41

shouldn't be sexualized. It's that simple. This

11:44

community is a very religious

11:46

community whether they are Catholic,

11:48

Orthodox, Islamic, Hindu, whatever their

11:50

background they all have the

11:52

same beliefs. Family, religious values

11:54

and conservative. They don't want

11:56

such controversial issues going against

11:59

their beliefs. indoctrinated into

12:01

their libraries. Councillor Diane

12:03

Coleman voted against the motion and spoke

12:05

passionately at the meeting. Why are we

12:07

going to have a book burning here

12:10

in Cumberland shortly? The gloating is pathetic,

12:13

Councillor Christie, just stop it. You

12:16

look like the nastiest person ever

12:18

holding that up like that. You've

12:20

moved a motion. That

12:23

saying that children with same-sex

12:25

parents are not equal and

12:27

not okay and not acceptable

12:29

in Cumberland. The motion passed

12:31

with six councillors voting in

12:33

favour. Five councillors voted against

12:35

it, including Mayor Lisa Lake.

12:37

I'm certainly concerned about the

12:39

message that books that

12:42

relate to their reality are no longer

12:44

worthy of being on the bookshelf. Local

12:46

councillors, they need to reflect their communities,

12:48

but they also need to be leaders.

12:51

She says the ban breaches legislative

12:53

rules for libraries. Look, there's no

12:56

doubt that the censorship is a

12:58

breach of the State Library guidelines.

13:00

There's also something called the free

13:03

access to information statement from

13:05

the Australian Library and Information

13:07

Association. So there's breaches of those

13:10

guidelines and statements. Mayor Lisa Lake

13:13

says she'll be having discussions with

13:15

other councillors to try to overturn

13:17

the decision. Today, Councillor Steve Christie

13:19

stood by the motion and his

13:21

call to ban the book. They

13:24

don't want any form of

13:26

sexualised experiences, whether that be

13:28

heterosexual or homosexual experiences, infiltrating

13:30

libraries and kids for the

13:32

kids. Let them go in,

13:34

enjoy a library book without

13:36

this kind of pressure. The

13:39

State Government has now threatened the

13:41

Cumberland City Library's funding after the

13:43

vote. There's also concern the ban

13:45

is a breach of anti-discrimination laws

13:47

in Australia. Professor Catherine Galba is

13:50

the head of the School of

13:52

Political Science and International Studies at

13:54

the University of Queensland. The content

13:56

of those books is protected by

13:58

relevant anti-discrimination laws. in

14:01

Australia. So this decision is clearly

14:03

discriminatory. The argument that was made

14:05

for the banning of these books

14:07

is that they sexualized children. That's

14:09

absurd and moreover it's

14:11

homophobic. She says it's unclear if

14:13

local governments have the jurisdiction to

14:15

enact measures like this even

14:18

though they're responsible for running libraries.

14:20

Perhaps a very close inspection of

14:22

the Local Government Act

14:24

and the powers of the local council might

14:26

be in order to see whether they actually

14:29

have the power to pass

14:31

the motion that they pass. Earlier

14:33

this year the same council passed

14:35

a motion to ban drag queen

14:38

storytime events. Dr. Josh Roos is

14:40

a political sociologist at Deakin University.

14:42

He says these incidents show the

14:44

infiltration of US style politics into

14:47

the Australian community. We're seeing the

14:49

import of a US policy into Australia. I

14:51

would argue doesn't have a place here. It's

14:53

an open shot in a culture war. It's

14:55

difficult to see this as anything other than

14:57

an attempt to build political capital by a

14:59

particular set of figures at local council potentially

15:01

prior to an election. Some people may

15:04

be wondering is this just how

15:06

democracy works? We don't live in

15:09

a community in which you can build

15:11

an enclave and disestablish from

15:13

the rest of society. People have

15:15

a right to pick and choose what books

15:18

they borrow from the library but a library

15:20

should be reflective of Australia's wider set of

15:22

values. LGBTQ organizations say they're

15:24

shocked and disappointed by the

15:27

decision by Cumberland Council. Ashley

15:29

Scott is executive officer of

15:31

Rainbow Families. Our community

15:33

is incredibly diverse and it's important

15:36

that people within our

15:38

community but also allies and people that

15:40

are not part of the Rainbow Families

15:42

community are really aware of the diversity

15:44

of families and are having these conversations

15:46

with their children, with their

15:49

kids, with young people at an

15:51

early age so that kids understand that

15:53

not everyone has a mum and a

15:55

dad and that's okay that diversity isn't

15:57

something to be frightened of, it's actually something

16:00

to... be celebrated. Executive Officer

16:02

of Rainbow Families Ashley Scott ending

16:04

that report from Alison Shao. This

16:06

is PM, I'm Stephanie Smale. You

16:08

can hear all our programs live

16:11

or later on the ABC Listen

16:13

App. Well

16:19

the federal budget is now only

16:21

days away and with every day

16:23

comes new indications about what it

16:25

contains. The waste industry has welcomed

16:27

the news that a so-called recycling

16:29

tax which was planned for waste

16:31

exports from July will be scrapped.

16:34

The Environment Minister says the levy

16:36

would have pushed more items that

16:38

could have been recycled into storage

16:40

or landfill. Now the industry wants

16:43

to see a complete overhaul of

16:45

the rules governing recycling in Australia.

16:47

Rachel Merely reports. When

16:51

you drag your recycling bin to the

16:53

curb for collection you hope it's all

16:55

ending up in the right place. The

16:57

National Waste Report says we recycle roughly

16:59

60% of the waste we produce.

17:07

Lael Stone is the Chief Executive

17:09

of the Waste Management and Resource

17:12

Recovery Association. The reason we're still

17:14

sending material overseas and it's an

17:16

amount of paper and amount of

17:18

plastic predominantly is because

17:20

we import around about

17:23

one to two million tons of packaging

17:25

material every year. What we're

17:27

doing is sending that material back to China

17:29

and other places we import from

17:31

where they remanufacture it.

17:34

For example, I think we have about two

17:36

and a half million tons of paper and cardboard

17:38

placed on the market in Australia, some of that

17:40

local, some of that imported. We

17:42

only have market demand and processing capacity

17:44

for about 1.6, 1.7

17:47

million. We have a surplus.

17:49

What we were trying to do is

17:51

use it all on shore but as yet

17:53

we can't. That's the material that's being sent

17:56

off to be recovered into products in

17:58

a global economy because We do import

18:01

The Environment minister Chang you play

18:03

the Sec has confirmed that a

18:05

plan levy which was part of

18:07

a suite of laws and regulations

18:09

introduced by the previous governments will

18:11

be scrapped. Gail. Flown welcomes

18:13

the moves that wants to

18:15

see more reform other regulations

18:17

of the recycling sector. Look,

18:20

we're really grateful that common

18:22

sense has prevailed. An additional

18:24

charge on recycling. Going overseas

18:26

because it has not costs demands

18:29

and Australia is a good thing.

18:31

However, we are still left with

18:33

a number season charges. That.

18:35

Will put additional costs imposed

18:38

on recycling Am operators are

18:40

so the licensing. See the

18:42

season charges for exemptions and variations and

18:44

we do not think that that should

18:46

be coming in or time we do

18:48

not have their regulation may require. I'd.

18:51

Only the packaging or credit market

18:53

demanded struggle Sudan to burrow. is

18:55

the Chief executive of the Australian

18:57

Council of Recycling to apply face

18:59

to the export of those materials

19:01

runs counter to the priority of

19:03

enabling a good trade ever soccer

19:05

materials and much is that we're

19:07

not apply face to the import

19:09

of material that with same become

19:11

waste we not even applying say

19:13

to the import of recycled commodities

19:15

into a stray from other countries

19:17

we are on the i'll hand

19:19

apply face to the export. Of

19:21

those commodities, it is not

19:23

a good policy to be

19:25

applying disincentive to the tried

19:27

of astronomy soccer commodities. We

19:29

need to prioritize markets but

19:31

domestic and international so that

19:33

finished product is made out

19:36

of astride him cycled material.

19:38

Just Angel is the director

19:40

of the Boomerang Alliance and

19:42

organization comprising fifty five community

19:44

and environment groups around a

19:46

stranger who want to see

19:48

change in the use of

19:50

plastics and packaging. he says

19:52

the decision to scrap the levy

19:54

needs to be justified with dasa

19:56

to make sure exporters and sending

19:58

more packaging of sure than they

20:01

need to. Yeah this decision has

20:03

been made without the

20:05

context of a product stewardship plan

20:07

for example for packaging. So

20:09

if this plan says there has

20:12

to be a certain proportion of

20:14

recycled content in the packaging that

20:16

we all get in our consumer

20:18

products then that's the metric and

20:21

we don't want a situation where

20:23

this decision has allowed the mass

20:25

export of recycled content material and

20:27

starved the domestic sector of

20:30

producing finished products with maximum amounts

20:33

of recycled content. That's what's best for

20:35

the economy and that's what's best for

20:37

the environment. Rachel Meeley reporting

20:40

Australia's agriculture sector is warning

20:42

plans to make producers pay

20:44

a biosecurity levy could push

20:46

food prices even higher. The

20:49

federal government wants farmers to

20:51

help pay for the nation's

20:53

biosecurity measures to protect themselves

20:55

from potentially devastating disease outbreaks

20:58

but political pressure against the

21:00

controversial plan is building as

21:02

Gavin Coot reports. Beef week at

21:04

Rockhampton in central Queensland is an

21:07

important fixture on the calendar for

21:09

pastoralists and politicians alike but the

21:11

prospect of a biosecurity levy has

21:13

become a flashpoint at this year's

21:15

triennial event and is pitting farmers

21:18

against the federal government. The agricultural

21:20

community has been against it from the very

21:22

moment it was announced. Gillian Fennell

21:24

is a pastoralist from the far north

21:26

of South Australia who's at beef week

21:28

and is among a broad cross-section of

21:30

representatives from the sector who are protesting

21:33

the planned levy. Under the proposed new

21:35

funding model set to come in from

21:37

July taxpayers would contribute about 44 percent

21:39

of total biosecurity funding. Importers will

21:42

contribute about 48 percent and producers

21:45

will directly contribute about six percent.

21:47

With a senate inquiry into the

21:49

proposed levy due to report later

21:51

this week and legislation going to

21:53

parliament next week Gillian Fennell and others

21:55

in the sector are now stepping up their

21:57

opposition. We really need the senate to

22:00

stop and take a look at what's

22:02

happening here and say stop this process

22:04

now, let's go back to the drawing

22:07

board and develop something that is transparent,

22:09

equitable and will deliver what we actually

22:11

need for the agricultural industry. And it

22:13

makes sure it's something that's fair. We

22:16

don't mind paying our fair share. But

22:18

if an advice security incursion happens into

22:20

Australia, the importers, the people who are

22:23

bringing the risk to our shores, it

22:25

won't affect their business, but it will

22:27

devastate ours. Is there hope that the government

22:29

might shift its position on this? Well,

22:31

I really hope our hope lies with the Greens and

22:33

the independents because they are the ones who will hold

22:35

the power in the Senate and they are the ones

22:37

who will be able to stop to this process. And

22:40

I really hope because they are

22:43

parties that seem or say that

22:45

they value equity and transparency. So

22:47

I'd like them to see them

22:49

stand by their values and actually

22:52

make a decision that will enhance

22:54

the equity and transparency for this

22:56

levy collection. The federal government estimates

22:58

the new levy on producers will add $153

23:00

million to the

23:03

biosecurity bottom line over three years.

23:06

But Georgie Somerset, the president of

23:08

peak Queensland lobby Agforce, says it's

23:10

still unclear what the levy would

23:12

achieve. So we believe strongly in

23:14

biosecurity and traceability, that our

23:16

belief is that this tax is not going to

23:18

deliver the benefits of agricultural because we're not sure

23:21

that it's going to contain

23:23

agricultural. But if we're going to get

23:25

into general revenue, it's not going to

23:27

deliver that benefit. The government insists it's

23:30

consulted widely with the industry on the

23:32

proposed levy. But the National Farmers Federation

23:34

president David Johinky wants a complete rethink

23:37

of the policy. We're calling on the

23:39

oil senators and the

23:41

court agencies to vote against the

23:43

state of legislation. We're saying that the

23:45

state governments already pay a fair share and

23:48

with the Productivity Commission

23:51

and the Australian University agree that there

23:53

is a better way to do this. We

23:55

want to work collectively with government to make

23:58

sure that we have a system that's sustainable

24:00

into the future. But that doesn't

24:02

mean tax of Australian farmers. Agriculture

24:04

Minister Murray Watt argues the tax

24:06

would have a minimal impact on

24:09

producers while playing a vital role

24:11

in helping fend off biosecurity threats.

24:13

We would be asking banana farmers

24:15

to pay one tenth of a

24:17

cent per kilogram of bananas. Now

24:20

I think that's a pretty small investment

24:22

to ask farmers to make to protect

24:24

their livelihoods. We've run the figures again

24:26

overnight around cattle on average we're talking

24:28

about 50 cents a

24:31

head of cattle

24:33

to protect the cattle industry from an 80 billion

24:36

dollar loss in foot and

24:38

mouth disease if it entered the country.

24:41

I genuinely think these are very small

24:43

investments for farmers to pay to protect

24:45

their livelihoods and don't come close to

24:47

matching what taxpayers are putting in and

24:50

what importers are putting in. Agriculture

24:52

Minister Murray Watt ending Gavin

24:55

Coop's report. The

24:57

parents of two Perth brothers who

24:59

were killed during a surfing trip

25:01

in Mexico have spoken of their

25:03

heartbreak. Callum and Jake Robinson were

25:06

murdered along with their friend Jack

25:08

Carter Road in Baja California last

25:10

week. After travelling to

25:12

the region to identify them the parents

25:14

have thanked those who've reached out in

25:16

support. Isabel Massali reports. From

25:19

a beach in San Diego that

25:21

had become Callum Robinson's second

25:23

home. His mother shared the update

25:26

she and many others had feared. It is

25:28

with heavy hearts that we share the news

25:30

that Callum Jake had been murdered. Our

25:34

hearts are broken and

25:36

the world has become a darker place for us.

25:40

They were young men enjoying their

25:42

passion of surfing together.

25:45

Perth brothers Jake and Callum Robinson along

25:47

with their friend Jack Carter Road were

25:50

on a surfing trip in Baja California

25:52

when they disappeared last week. Their

25:55

bodies were later found dumped in a well

25:57

in a remote area. Others

26:00

known about what happened to the trio

26:02

but the local attorney general says their

26:04

primary hypothesis is the men were killed

26:06

in a robbery. Authorities

26:08

say they can't rule out links to

26:10

organised crime but a Mexican national is

26:12

due to appear in court tomorrow, expected

26:15

to be charged with the murders. After

26:18

identifying their sons, Deborah and Martin

26:20

Robinson wanted the world to know

26:22

more about their loved ones. We

26:24

have always been very proud of

26:26

their academic and sporting achievements and

26:29

admire their life choices. Callum

26:32

was a lovable, larger than life character

26:34

and considered the United States his second

26:36

home. Known as the

26:38

Big Kyler, he

26:40

played professional lacrosse in the PLL

26:42

and represented Australia in the World

26:44

Championships. His brother Jake

26:47

was a happy, gentle and

26:50

compassionate soul who

26:53

was pursuing a career in medicine. They

26:55

thanked various consulate staff, agencies and

26:57

the Foreign Minister Penny Wong for

27:00

their support and Deborah

27:02

Robinson ended with this message. Now

27:04

it's time to bring them

27:07

home to family and friends and

27:11

the ocean waves in Australia. Please

27:18

live bigger, shine

27:20

brighter and love

27:23

harder in their memory. Thank

27:26

you. The

27:28

deaths of the Robinson brothers and their

27:30

friend have impacted the surfing community and

27:33

with Callum's career in lacrosse it's

27:35

also been a difficult time for

27:37

clubs across Perth, Australia and in

27:39

the US. Glenn Meredith

27:41

is the head coach of the Australian

27:43

men's lacrosse team. He first met Callum

27:45

back in 2012 when he got a

27:47

tip off and flew over to Perth

27:49

to catch Callum's local game. Probably within the

27:52

first four or five minutes of watching Cal play

27:54

Murray and I said we've got a beauty here.

27:56

He was probably the best

27:59

athlete I've ever seen. and morphed into already a

28:01

better athlete than that. So

28:03

it was pretty apparent to us early on that Cal

28:05

was something pretty special. And, you

28:07

know, so any of those who knew Cal look on the

28:09

field, he was a competitor, a beast, he played the game

28:11

really hard, but off the field, he was the gentle giant

28:14

and wouldn't hurt a fly. He says he

28:16

watched Calum grow into a kind and

28:18

smart man with a terrific career from

28:21

representing Australia to moving to the US

28:23

and playing in the Premier Lacrosse League.

28:26

It just is devastating for the lacrosse community. In

28:28

general, that someone's young life in the prime of

28:30

his life is cut down like this. And in

28:33

my time with the sport, without any question, this is the

28:35

this is the biggest event that's ever happened in Australia, lacrosse

28:38

at the top end in my time in the sport. And

28:40

I've been in it for around 50 years now. The impact

28:42

this is having on the

28:44

people inside lacrosse at high levels and

28:46

to Calums family and friends in West

28:49

Australia is devastating. Lacrosse clubs across

28:51

Australia are encouraging their members to

28:53

seek counselling and open up to

28:55

their teammates, family or friends. It's

28:58

a message Glenn Meredith backs, along with

29:01

the words of encouragement from Mother Deborah

29:03

Robinson to live bigger, shine

29:05

brighter and love harder in their

29:07

memory. He certainly lived life to the fullest.

29:09

There's no question, Cal, of all the people in the

29:11

Australian mental across team, Cal would be the

29:14

person who lived life to the fullest. This

29:16

is this is not a normal thing to happen.

29:18

This is a very, very rare, isolated incident that is

29:21

just such a massive tragedy. I

29:24

think we need to keep his memory going through the

29:26

Australian mental across program and in lacrosse in general. So

29:29

down the track or in some way, we can try

29:32

and make some sort of sense or positive out of

29:34

what is just a horrendous situation. Lacrosse

29:36

coach Glenn Meredith ending that

29:39

report by Isabel Masali. Thanks

29:41

for joining me for PM. I'm Stephanie Smale.

29:43

You'll find all our interviews and reports

29:45

on the PM webpage. And you can catch

29:48

the program live or later on the

29:50

ABC Listen app. We'll be back at the

29:52

same time tomorrow. Goodnight. Hi

30:06

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