Indigenous advocate Warren Mundine has labelled South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas a “fool” for “continuing to push for the Voice” in his state. “Peter Malinauskas is a bloke who I’ve worked for in the past – the Premier of South Australia,” Mr Mundine told Sky News host James Macpherson. “He is a fool for continuing to push for the Voice in that state.”

Prince Harry has come under fire for accepting the prestigious Pat Tillman Award which he will receive at the ESPYs. The award is named after former NFL player Pat Tillman who left the league to fight in Afghanistan after the events of 9/11 and unfortunately died in service. However, the mother of Pat Tillman has criticised ESPN for nominating Prince Harry as the recipient of the award. “She was very honest … she didn’t think that Harry was a worthy recipient,” Skynews.com.au Digital Reporter Reilly Sullivan told Sky News Digital Presenter Gabriella Power. “She thinks that there’s a lot of other people out there doing a lot of work with veterans and devoting their time to veterans who would be a better fit for the award.”

Former foreign minister Alexander Downer says it is “critically important” NATO shows a “sense of unity” on Ukraine. US President Joe Biden has met with new UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House. Mr Biden delivered an address to NATO members in Washington in his highest-profile policy speech since the first presidential debate. “It’s the single most important of all the Western alliances, and it’s critically important that they show a sense of unity in the context of Ukraine, show a sense of determination to … make sure the Russians are defeated,” Mr Downer told Sky News host Steve Price. “That will send a message to other countries which are determined to undermine the position of the West.”

Indigenous advocate Warren Mundine has called out the Albanese government for being “so arrogant” by having “no plan B” for when the Voice to Parliament referendum failed. “The Albanese government had no plan B,” Mr Mundine told Sky News host James Macpherson. “They were so arrogant that they thought they could push the Voice through, and it’s now blatantly obvious they had no plan post that.”

United States Studies Centre’s Victoria Cooper says Kamala Harris is the “obvious secondary” to Joe Biden. Actor George Clooney is calling for US President Joe Biden to stand down after his presidential debate performance. “I think Kamala Harris does kind of present as the obvious secondary to Biden,” Ms Cooper told Sky News Australia. “Not only can she pull from the same pool of funding that Biden has, but she can also claim many of the wins of the Biden-Harris administration.”

United States Studies Centre’s Victoria Cooper says Joe Biden standing down from the 2024 presidential election would be a “hard message to sell”. Actor George Clooney is calling for US President Joe Biden to stand down after his presidential debate performance. “Joe Biden and his team, if he does decide to stand down, will certainly be looking for a very palatable message that is kind of a tricky balance for him,” Ms Cooper told Sky News Australia. “You have to be able to say you are fit to run for the next couple of months until the election, and I’m fit to be your president right now, versus I’m not fit to be your president in four years' time. “It’s quite a hard message to sell.”

US President Joe Biden hosted a dinner for NATO leaders where he made another gaffe during an address on Wednesday night. Social media users mocked the oldest-ever sitting president ahead of his “big boy” press conference on Thursday. “It’s not going to get better, it’s going to get worse,” wrote one user. Upon the arrival of NATO leaders, President Biden and his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, greeted them. The White House dinner event celebrated 75 years of NATO, where Biden toasted the members’ shared ties and alliances. “75 years ago, when our nations created NATO, former President Truman said, and I quote, ‘What we’re about to do here is a neighbourly act,’" Biden said.

Sky News host James Morrow explains why Kamala Harris is the "rational" choice for the Democratic candidate for the US presidential election if President Joe Biden steps aside. "It's got to be Kamala Harris, that is the only rational way this works," Mr Morrow told Sky News Australia. "Could you imagine what it would be like if they threw over who would be the first black woman president for a white guy like Gavin Newson? It's just not going to happen."

Sky News host James Morrow discusses whether US President Joe Biden will step aside as the Democratic candidate. “It seems to me that Joe Biden is absolutely digging in,” Mr Morrow told Sky News Australia. “Joe Biden is very stubborn; his campaign history throughout his entire career is one of stubbornness.”

A new report from Treasurer Jim Chalmers, if adopted, will “completely undermine” the Albanese Labor government’s own gas strategy, says Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie. Her comments come after the release of the treasurer’s Sustainable Finance Strategy. “Once again, Labor is sending very, very conflicted messages,” Ms McKenzie told Sky News Australia. “They’re trying to have two different conversations with the Australian public on a very important and serious issue which is our energy security and sovereignty as we head towards net zero by 2050.”

President of North Star Opinion Research Whit Ayres says US Vice President Kamala Harris would “not pose the biggest threat” to Donald Trump. US President Joe Biden is resisting mounting pressure to drop out of the presidential race despite some of his most high-profile supporters no longer backing him. “She is as weak as Joe Biden in the public opinion polls,” Mr Ayres told Sky News Australia. “Her favourable rating is in the 30s, her unfavourable rating is in the 50s.”

President of North Star Opinion Research Whit Ayres has advised the Democratic Party to get Joe Biden to drop out “as soon as they possibly can”. The US President is resisting mounting pressure to drop out of the presidential race despite some of his most high-profile supporters no longer backing him. “Then to have an open contest for the convention that will occur in the middle of August,” Mr Ayres told Sky News Australia. “It would be a riveting spectacle; they could have a whole lot promising younger candidates come to the fore and the best man or woman would rise to the top.”

President of North Star Opinion Research Whit Ayres discusses recent Cook Political Report polling which shows five states have moved towards the Republicans and away from US President Joe Biden. Mr Biden is resisting mounting pressure to drop out of the presidential race despite some of his most high-profile supporters no longer backing him. “This is in addition to the seven swing states where Joe Biden is already behind,” Mr Ayres told Sky News Australia. “This is just a sign of things to come; more the aftermath of an utterly devastating debate that Joe Biden had on June 27th.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has revealed Labor’s candidate for the electorate of Forde in Queensland will be Rowan Holzberger. “I’m sure that Rowan will be a hard-working candidate,” Mr Albanese said during a press conference on Thursday. “He will be someone in touch with the needs of the people of this electorate in Forde.”

Shadow Immigration and Citizenship Minister Dan Tehan says the Albanese government “should have been” focusing on inflation from the moment it came to office. “It’s been in office for over two years now and it hasn’t been driving down inflation like it should have been,” Mr Tehan told Sky News Australia. “They haven’t been working with the Reserve Bank to drive down interest rates, they haven’t been working with the Reserve Bank to make sure that they can drive down inflation. “This is a mess of their own making.”

Shadow Immigration and Citizenship Minister Dan Tehan has called for the Albanese government to provide “some action in real support” to Ukrainians on the ground. “We need to see the government commit to providing spending to help Ukraine defend itself,” Mr Tehan told Sky News Australia. “We saw that horrific attack over the last couple of days where we saw innocent civilians in Ukraine killed after being targeted by the Russians.”

Sky News host Caleb Bond discusses a push from Sydney City Council to decrease speed limits to 40km/h in certain areas. “The reality is that Australia is a car nation because it is a big nation and it has urban sprawl,” Mr Bond said. “People need a car to get around, it is just the reality of life in a country like Australia. “Instead of acknowledging that, governments and councils keep putting the speed limit down. “Punishing you because you dare to live out in the suburbs but work in the city.”

Shadow Immigration and Citizenship Minister Dan Tehan has called on the government to “step up” its aerial and maritime surveillance. “We’re obviously seeing a spike in attempted people smuggling,” Mr Tehan told Sky News Australia. “We also need the prime minister to stand up with the immigration minister and send a very clear message to the people smuggler that they won’t be successful.”

Former US ambassador Joe Hockey says US President Joe Biden is being given every opportunity to “decide his fate”. This comes as actor George Clooney is calling for President Biden to stand down after his presidential debate performance. “As the polls plummet, as fundraising starts to diminish, you are going to see more and more pressure on Joe Biden to make a decision,” Mr Hockey told Sky News Australia.

Investigations are underway into the cause of a factory fire in Melbourne's west. Crews were called to the chemical blaze in Derrimut before midday yesterday. More than 50 trucks and 200 firefighters worked for around four hours to bring the fire under control. A watch and act warning remains in place for residents in Altona, Derrimut and Laverton as toxic smoke lingers from the fire.