PM

An additional 12,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees, who were part of an intake announced by the Abbott government in 2015, have now been issued visas. The Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, is expected to detail the progress at the Migration and Settlement Awards ceremony tonight in Canberra. More than 10,000 of the refugees have already arrived, with priority for the additional places given to persecuted minorities, women, children and families. But integrating the new community comes with logistical and cultural challenges.

The Opposition says the Prime Minister's decision to change the Racial Discrimination Act makes it easier for people to be insulted or humiliated because of their race. Malcolm Turnbull insists that he's restoring integrity to a law that's been discredited, while defending free speech. He said today he'll introduce legislation to strengthen the race hate laws, while also making it more difficult for vexatious claims to get a hearing. But the debate could all be for nothing, as the legislation is unlikely to get through the Senate.

Ethnic groups are likely to band together to pressure the senate to kill off the coalition's plans to change section 18C of the racial discrimination act, saying the changes will lead to an increase in intolerance. But commentator Andrew Bolt, who lost a controversial racial discrimination case, says the changes are welcome but don't go far enough to protect free speech.

A former Don Dale guard has told the Northern Territory's youth detention royal commission he and other staff weren't trained to deal with angry teenagers. The guard was called into Don Dale on the night detainees were tear-gassed in 2014. Mr Kelleher said he could have resolved the incident, if he'd been given a chance.

At the child sexual abuse Royal Commission, professional standards directors from several Anglican dioceses have raised concerns about the police handling of historical abuse complaints, particularly in Western Australia. One director named the interference of the Anglican Church itself as the biggest challenge he faces in his job.

Laws around the production and dissemination of child abuse material are about to be put to the test after revelations that New South Wales police launched an investigation into the alleged rape of a girl in Sydney. Police have already charged a 15-year-old schoolboy with filming the alleged assault and distributing images. But it's also been alleged that the video of the assault was shared among 50 teenagers, all of whom could face serious penalties for being in possession of child abuse material.

Venezuela boasts the world's biggest oil reserves, but it has an economy in ruins. It also has a reputation as one of the most dangerous countries in the world and one with tough restrictions on foreign journalists. But Foreign Correspondent's Eric Campbell and producer Matt Davis went undercover in Venezuela to explore the struggling nation.

A leaked report has revealed new details of the drug culture inside the West Coast Eagles AFL Club in the mid-2000s. Former Richmond great Kevin Bartlett says the report calls into question the Eagles 2006 premiership flag. While others have condemned the AFL's decision to keep the document secret for almost a decade. It comes a day after one of the club's biggest stars of the era, Ben Cousins, was sent back to jail.

In Victoria, the parliamentary expenses scandal that continues to dog the State Government has deepened. An audit of the claims of two Victorian MPs has found at least one of them was 'arguably opportunistic' in his use of a parliamentary entitlement. It's another problem for the Government, which is already facing voter backlash.

In Queensland, an investigator may become the investigated in a saga embroiling the State Government. The Premier's right hand man has stood aside from probing a Minister's dealings, amid unrelated accusations over his wife's Government contracts. The State Opposition is calling on the Government to take action, but the Premier says they should await the corruption watchdog's investigations.