Verve Communications Director Prue MacSween has taken aim at councils being invaded by “greenie wokes”. Ms MacSween’s remarks come amid Randwick Mayor Philipa Veitch’s calls for a Captain Cook statue to be removed. “I think we should get rid of councils,” Ms MacSween told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio. “They’re just an irritant. “They don’t do their jobs properly.”

Verve Communications Director Prue MacSween has criticised Randwick Mayor Philipa Veitch’s calls for a Captain Cook statue to be removed. The mayor claimed the statue is a symbol of “colonial oppression”. “This is one woman’s personal view,” Ms MacSween told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio. “We don’t put her in there for her personal views. “She’s got to be accountable for rubbish and rates.”

Labor Senator Linda White’s sudden death at 64 has prompted tributes from both sides of the political spectrum. Ms White took parliamentary leave last month due to an ongoing health issue. The cause of death is yet to be made public. Ms White was elected to the Senate during the 2022 federal election. Before entering politics, she served as Assistant National Secretary of the Australian Services Union and Vice President of the ACTU.

Sky News Digital Editor Jack Houghton says Google’s Gemini AI image generator “demonises” conservative views and promotes the hard left as “champions of equality”. “Google's AI Gemini, a multi-billion dollar large language model, has some serious issues,” Mr Houghton said. “It has been plagued with issues since launch including refusing to generate images of white people, to the extent that one user was given images of black Nazis for the prompt "1943 German Soldier". “The program also created female popes, black Vikings and many ahistorical, fairly racist images, triggering this touch up by the New York Post.” Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai recently came out admitting the failures of the AI language model were completely unacceptable.

A judge rules Donald Trump is disqualified from the Illinois ballot. Shane Gillis returns to Saturday Night Live in fine form. Plus, Joe Biden's doctor somehow declares him 'fit for office' after he took his annual physical health exam this week.   See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

Sky News host Erin Molan has pushed for the former politician who is now connected to a foreign intelligence operation to be named. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese backed the head of ASIO’s decision to not name the former politician who was recruited by foreign spies. “Mike Burgess says the former leader betrayed our country and sold us out to hostile foreign states,” she said. “No 'alleged' or 'being investigated' used there – the act occurred, proven. “So why is this traitor being protected?”

Sky News host Danica De Giorgio says calls for MPs to be alcohol and drug tested in parliament is a “complete overreaction”. A recent poll said 55 per cent of people believe MPs should be alcohol and drug tested if they are suspected of being under the influence of either alcohol or drugs in parliament. “We need to have trust that our workplaces are dry and the majority of workplaces in Australia – let’s be honest – are dry,” Ms De Giorgio told Sky News host Erin Molan. “It’s ridiculous – we don’t need to waste more taxpayer’s money. “I think it’s a complete overreaction.”

Sky News host Danica De Giorgio has branded the decision by Facebook’s parent company, Meta, to not renew its deal with Australian news media organisations to pay for news content as “appalling”. The deals were struck with major Australian news outlets, including Sky News Australia, News Corp, Seven, Nine and The Guardian. “I think it is appalling,” Ms De Giorgio told Sky News host Erin Molan. “They’re a $1 trillion organisation, for goodness sake, and they cannot pay just for simple news services? “In the end, in times of crises, who do people turn to? They turn to reputable news outlets like Sky News and journalists to give them the most up-to-date information, and there is nothing wrong with paying for such a good service.”

Sky News host Danica De Giorgio says a “narrow victory or a loss” for Anthony Albanese in Dunkley could be “fatal” for his leadership. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to skip the Dunkley by-election and the Sydney Mardi Gras for his birthday. “Labor … hold this on a margin of 6.3 per cent, but because of Anthony Albanese's own failings over the last few months, it means we don’t know how this will swing – it could go either way,” Ms De Giorgio told Sky News host Erin Molan. “A narrow victory or a loss for Anthony Albanese is still possibly fatal for his leadership because this is a referendum on him, it’s a referendum on his leadership. “People have perceived him to be Airbus Albo; they sent us to a referendum that none of us wanted to do in the middle of a cost of living crisis. “If you’re looking for a real test of cost of living, go to Dunkley.”

News Corp Columnist Angela Mollard says anti-Semitism is “rife” in London, following Prince William’s “unprecedented” step into the Israel-Hamas war debate. In a joint message yesterday, Prince William said he and his wife were ‘extremely concerned’ about the rise in anti-Semitism. “This was cancelled from earlier in the year, so he definitely had to turn up yesterday to this event; otherwise, there was going to be massive questions asked,” Ms Mollard told Sky News host Erin Molan. “To your point about Gaza, yes, that was really unprecedented for a royal to step into that conversation. “He needed to address the issue of anti-Semitism, which is rife in London at the moment.”

Geelong Advertiser Editor Nadja Fleet says the Future Geelong Summit is all about getting the “spotlight” back on the Victorian city. Business and industry leaders in Geelong attended the summit on Friday to discuss issues facing the region. “We want to make sure that Geelong gets the attention that the city needs,” Ms Fleet told Sky News Australia. “Some of the things that we’ve found out during the campaign leading up to Future Geelong and the workshop that we’ve done is that people want this city to be the most livable city in Australia if not even the world. “I know that sounds very ambitious but I think we’ve got some – quite a few foundations already here that would help us get there.”

Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson says publicly naming the politician said to have assisted in sending national secrets to a foreign power would initiate defamation proceedings and cause ASIO tactics to be brought into the open. “It is not my role, nor Mike Burgess should do that in a public forum because that would initiate defamation proceedings,” Mr Paterson told Sky News Australia. “In order to defend yourself, you may have to make a truth argument. “Which would require you to reveal classified sources and methods. “Understandably, our intelligence agencies don’t want to do that.”

Anthony Albanese has responded in a fiery fashion after being questioned on what his Party policy for the next election would be on further tax reforms following the Coalition’s commitment to bring a tax relief strategy. “Let me know what it is,” the Prime Minister responded to a reporter during a media conference on Friday. The reporter pushed again, asking Mr Albanese if he would do the same as the Coalition. “What? Makes some vague statement that something will happen sometime,” Mr Albanese answered. “Well, that's not a commitment – that's a joke. “These tax cuts we have put in place are fair, and they don’t like them.”

News Corp Columnist and Demographer Bernard Salt says Geelong needs help to “develop and cultivate” agribusiness, and says he is “optimistic” for the area’s future. Mr Salt joined Sky News Australia after speaking with business and industry leaders in Geelong to discuss issues facing the region. “My view of Geelong and its future and of Australia generally is that I’m very, very optimistic, largely being driven, of course, by strong population growth, both natural increase as well as immigration,” he said. “I think there is scope to moderate the immigration levels that we’ve had over the last 12 months or so. “But we’re a young aspirational nation that will continue to grow into the future.”

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow has reacted to the Supreme Court’s decision to evaluate Donald Trump’s immunity case. Maddow revealed if the Supreme Court were to side with Trump, it would be “fully insane”. The host then spoke about a scenario if Trump were to win, it could lead to Trump deciding he never wants to leave the White House. “The conclusion that we can arrive at now, based on what they have done, without having to wait for the ruling, is that they’re ensuring that Trump will not face trial, and when they inevitably rule that presidents aren’t immune from prosecution after they leave office, what that will tell Donald Trump if by then he is president, is that he can never leave the office of the presidency,” she said. Maddow then theorises Trump will be free to “commit any crimes he wants to” even if he is voted out by 2028. “If he is voted out in 2028, he cannot leave office and he is welcome to commit any crimes he wants to, as long as he is still president, in order to ignore the result of that election and stay in power for life because otherwise he's gonna go to prison when he gets out,” she said.

Anthony Albanese says he would find it “quite extraordinary” if any Labor minister would go against the wishes of ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess to name a former politician who assisted in sending national secrets to foreign intelligence. “I have confidence in ASIO, I have confidence in the Director-General,” Mr Albanese told a media conference on Friday morning. The Prime Minister’s comments come after Mr Burgess dropped a bombshell report which revealed an unnamed former politician was involved in espionage efforts against Australia’s interests. “When you have national security agencies, he doesn’t approve his speeches through the prime minister. “He has been given a job to do, he does it diligently.”

 Hamas claims 100 Gazans killed by Israeli forces, Houthi rebels say they will conduct 'surprise' operations in the Red Sea, relatives of a family murdered by a Sydney taekwondo instructor arrive in Australia, Celeste Manno's murderer sentenced to 36 years in jail, Oprah Winfrey announces she is leaving WeightWatchers, and an Adelaide couple welcome their first child on a leap day. See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

The Texas Governor was scathing in his assessment of Joe Biden as the president made his second visit to the US southern border since taking office. Both Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump visited the border on Thursday. The 2024 presidential campaign is ramping up and immigration is a key issue. Texas Governor claimed that Joe Biden “does not care” about Texas or the border and “what’s going on”. While holding a press conference in Brownsville, Joe Biden said it’s “time to act” on the border crisis.

Thrill seekers have taken to the skies in Dubai in what’s been described as the world’s first jet suit race. Eight competitors took place wearing jet suits, flying along Dubai Harbour. They weaved between various obstacles, competing in pairs. The jet suits are fitted with five gas-turbine jet engines. Reportedly, they can reach top speeds of almost 130km an hour.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says NATO countries risk facing "tragic" consequences if they send troops to Ukraine. “[Western nations] must understand that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilisation,” he said. Putin’s comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron said sending troops to Ukraine should not be “ruled out” on Monday. Following Macron’s comments, multiple Western countries such as the US and UK have revealed they had no plans to send troops to Ukraine. During his speech, the Russian President also said it is “nonsense” that he would ever attack Europe but warned of a potential nuclear conflict if the West tried an “intervention" in Russia.