Breakfast News Briefing - 4 August 2025

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello from the Amplifying newsroom. I'm Ashley Nolan. There's reports
a class action could be launched against the Act government
over light rail works. The Camber Times says a lawyer
whose office is in the middle of light rail construction
is leading the bid on behalf of civic businesses. He's
accused the government of being completely oblivious to the plight

(00:21):
of traders affected by the works. Thirty eight community leaders
have signed an open letter calling for the Act Legislative
Assembly to support an independent MLA's Closing the Gap Bill.
MLA Thomas Emerson says, if passed, it would make the
Act the first state or territory to require by law

(00:42):
all government officials to implement the principles of the National
Agreement on Closing the Gap in their work. It's National
Missing Persons Week, with Canberra's fourteen long term missing people
the focus for Act Police leading Senior Constable Collin McKillip says,
but also using the opportunity to bust a few myths.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
You don't have to wait twenty four hours to report
someone missing. It's critical that if you have concerns for
someone's welfare and their whereabouts are unknown, that you make
a report to police as soon as possible.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Act Police took six hundred and forty missing person reports
last year. One of Australia's oldest unopened bottles of beer
is on display at the War Memorial as a tribute
to friendship from the Second World War. Stan Lewis and
Fred Hume were both enlisted in nineteen forty one, vowing
to open the bottle when they returned, but when Stan

(01:36):
didn't return, the family held onto it, later donating it
to the War Memorial. If you see a platypus in Canberra,
water Watch wants to know about it. It's officially Platypus Month,
with locals invited to help track and report sightings of
the animal so we can learn more about their populations
in the capital region. If you spot one, you can

(01:57):
report it through the Platypus Portal online. Eleven leaders and
former leaders from across the political spectrum have signed up
to a new panel aimed at increasing the number of
women in public office. The Women for Election Board includes
former independents as well as labor and Liberal ministers. Its
National Stroke Week, with locals encouraged to learn the signs

(02:19):
of stroke like face, drooping, arm, weakness and speech difficulty.
Stroke Foundation CEO Lisa Murphy says there's over six thousand
people living with stroke in the ACT.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
But around six hundred and sixty people have a stroke
every year, so that's six hundred and sixty new strokes
every year in the ACT.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
Tens of thousands of people took to the Sydney Harbor
Bridge on Sunday to protest the war in Gaza. Acting
Assistant Police Commissioner Adam Johnson says officers feared the worst
could happen with such a big crowd. We were really
overwhelmed numbers, so we had to really make a decision
that was risky in itself to stop people with messaging,
make sure they'd stop, and then to turn around and

(02:58):
go back the way they came. Veteran Ossie actor Lynn
McGranger has won the Gold Logie for Australia's most Popular
TV Personality.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
And the Gold Logie goes to.

Speaker 1 (03:12):
Lynn McGranger, the Home and Away star, also taking home
silver for Best Lead Actress in a Drama. The ABC's
Fisk swept the pool with five awards. And that's the
latest in news. We'll have another update for you right
here later today.