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Details: Written by Grant Broadcasters; Category: Received; Published: 25 April 2023; Hits: 79

Thousands have gathered to commemorate the contribution of Australian defence personnel at Anzac Day dawn services across the country.

Events have been held in major cities, suburban centres and country towns honouring men and women who served in past conflicts and those serving today.

At the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led tributes on the 108th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings during World War I.

"Every Anzac Day, from the greatest memorial to the simplest cenotaph, we honour all who have served in our name and all who serve today," he said.

"It is a collective act of remembrance, reflection and gratitude - one carried out by multiple generations of Australians and devoted to multiple generations."

The Canberra dawn service started with the sounds of a didgeridoo played by Sub-Lieutenant Jordon Bradshaw, permeating the silence in front of the more than 30,000 attendees.

Wreaths were laid in commemoration by Governor-General David Hurley and New Zealand High Commissioner Annette King.

Ceremonial lanterns, which were placed in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Monday evening, were carried by veterans and serving members into the war memorial as the reveille was played by a lone bugler.

Mr Albanese said it was important to remember the contribution of defence personnel who did not make it home.

"As we gather here, in towns and suburbs across the country, and in former battlefields across the world, we are surrounded by their names and the places that made their final claim on them, laid out in an atlas of grief," he said.

"If we are to truly honour our veterans, we owe them something more than just gratitude. Just as they stepped for us, we must step up for them," he said.

The prime minister said it was also important to acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who donned the khaki "fought harder for Australia than Australia was sometimes willing to fight for them".

Principal Air Chaplain James Cox said the Anzacs at Gallipoli had established traditions of selfless service.

"Let us therefore dedicate ourselves to taking up the burdens of the fallen and, with the same high courage and steadfastness with which they went into battle," he said.

At the Sydney dawn service, Rear Admiral Christopher Smith said it was important to acknowledge the sacrifice of servicemen and women.

"We gather today not to glorify war, but to remember ourselves, that we value who we are and the freedoms we possess," he said.

Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria James Angus highlighted the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War at Melbourne's dawn service.

"Every Anzac Day is both historic and tragic. Historic because each anniversary marks another war, another battle. Tragic because of the terrible price paid by young Australians," he said.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Anzac Day was one of the most meaningful dates on the national calendar.

"The values for which we stand are more enduring than any conflict, as long as we have - like our forebears - the courage and commitment to defend them always," he said.

The Anzac Day march in Canberra will mark 30 years of peacekeeping efforts in Somalia, featuring 120 veterans who served as part of Operation Solace, including the governor-general, who commanded the 1RAR battalion.

The march is expected to feature more than 1000 veterans.

This year marks 50 years since the end of Australian involvement during the Vietnam War, during which more than 500 Australians died and over 3000 were injured.

Services will also take place to mark Anzac Day in France, Papua New Guinea and Turkey.

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Details: Written by Grant Broadcasters; Category: Received; Published: 24 April 2023; Hits: 85

Gold Coast co-captain Touk Miller has a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee and faces an extended stint on the AFL sidelines.

Miller was hurt in Sunday's win over North Melbourne but scans allayed fears of a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament tear.

Instead, the Suns star will be out for the "short to medium" term, says Suns football manager Wayne Campbell.

"We expect him to miss a fair portion of footy," Campbell said.,

"We can't really put a timeframe on that until after he's seen the surgeon.

"But he will be unavailable in the short to medium term."

Miller's co-captain Jarrad Witts said the injury was another blow for his 14th-placed side, which has just two wins.

"It's tough, he gives everything to this club, it's not ideal at all," Witts said.

"He's such an important player and part of our team, he has led from the front for a long time."

Witts called on Gold Coast's midfield to cover Miller's absence as a collective.

"There's a few more guys rolling through there to carry that load, you can't replace Touk but there's guys doing well," he said.

"It has helped us that we've put a few more numbers through there. Someone will have to come in and carry that load."

Details: Written by Grant Broadcasters; Category: Received; Published: 24 April 2023; Hits: 74

Sex work would be treated the same as any other lawful business under recommendations broadly accepted by the Queensland government, bringing the state closer to becoming the fourth jurisdiction to decriminalise the sector.

In a report released on Monday, Queensland Law Reform Commission suggests eliminating sex work offences against consenting adults, with general work health and safety rules to apply.

Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman is calling for sex work to be brought "out of the dark" through a properly regulated industry that prioritises the safety of workers.

"The Palaszczuk government broadly supports the QLRC's recommendations and is committed to decriminalising the sex work industry - improving safety for workers while meeting the expectations of the community," Ms Fentiman said.

"The current laws stigmatise sex workers, increase their vulnerability to exploitation and violence and fail to protect their human rights."

The reforms have been welcomed as a significant step forward for sex workers.

"Sex work is work and laws that criminalise sex work workplaces and our safety strategies diminish our ability to work safely or legally," state co-ordinator of Respect Inc Lulu Holiday said.

"Decriminalisation will be a life-changing policy shift for sex workers and our families because we will no longer be criminalised, the rest of Queensland thinks it has already happened and will probably not even notice it has changed."

The law reform review says advertising would not be prohibited on TV or radio, with the same codes and standards as all other businesses to apply.

An exemption that allows accommodation providers to discriminate against sex workers would also be scrapped.

The report makes a distinction between sex work and sexual exploitation, which should be subject to newly defined criminal offences for coercing individuals or involving children in commercial services.

While the decriminalisation of sex work is a question for individual states, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appeared to back a more regulated approach.

"Clearly criminalising prostitution doesn't really work and drives it underground and leads to worse behaviour and worse treatment of people who are involved in what can be, of course, a dangerous industry," he told KIIS FM on Monday.

Victoria became the third jurisdiction to fully decriminalise sex work in 2022 after NSW in 1995 and the Northern Territory in 2019.

"Decriminalisation is a cost-effective, high compliance model for government and supports workplace health, safety and rights for sex workers," said Mish Pony of Scarlet Alliance, Australian Sex Workers Association, the national peak body for sex workers.

Queensland has two legal forms of regulated sex work: services provided in a licensed brothel and those provided by sole operators in-house or as outcalls.

Any other form of sex work is illegal including services provided by escort agencies, unlicensed brothels, massage parlours, street work and two or more sex workers operating from a single premises.

The state has 20 licensed brothels and most sex work occurs outside the regulated or licensed sector.

Based on the experience in other jurisdictions, decriminalisation will not increase the number of sex workers, the review found.

Most sex work is arranged online or via phone, not by soliciting on the street, the commission was told.

The attorney-general asked for an investigation into a new framework for the industry in August 2021.

"We will now consider how to best implement laws and regulations that will afford sex workers the same rights and legal protections as any other business or industry," Ms Fentiman said.

Some 160 submissions were received, with input from individual sex workers, brothel managers, clients and advocacy organisations.

The LNP opposition declined to comment on Monday.

Details: Written by Grant Broadcasters; Category: Received; Published: 24 April 2023; Hits: 74

Sex work would be treated the same as any other lawful business under recommendations broadly accepted by the Queensland government.