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The child sexual abuse Royal Commission has heard Australian priests are not sure if they can report child abuse to the authorities if a child has revealed their abuse in the confessional. Some priests argue the abuse is not the sin of the child and as such it is not covered by the confessional seal. Other priests aren't so sure.

This Sunday, Darwin will remember 75 years since the bombing of the city, also the first World War Two attack on mainland Australia. Hundreds died in the Japanese raids that day, just two months after the bombing of Pearl Harbour. Ninety-six-year-old Brian Winspear was there on the day and has returned to the city on a mission to ensure it's not forgotten.

Indigenous leader Noel Pearson says he has been vindicated by an investigation into the troubled school at Aurukun in far-north Queensland. The school was temporarily closed in May last year after student unrest. Queensland's Auditor-General has found no evidence of financial impropriety in his report into the school's operations. But the report did find that there were poor governance mechanisms in the partnership between government and Noel Pearson's organisation.

It's been yet another dramatic and bruising 24 hours for the US President Donald Trump. His pick for Labor Secretary has withdrawn, he's veered away from long held US middle east policy, and has once again lashed out on twitter at the media. Donald Trump has also stuck out at his own intelligence officials, over what he's termed 'unfair treatment' of his former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

The first parliamentary fortnight for the year has wrapped up but it hasn't been a tidy one and there are plenty of loose ends, with the Government now seemingly at odds with itself over tax policy. The Finance Minister has categorically ruled out making any changes to capital gains tax concessions. But the Prime Minister appeared to concede in Question Time that the Government has looked into it as a way of repairing the budget and improving housing affordability.

The people of Jakarta will be heading back to the polls in April after yesterday's ballot failed to produce an outright winner for the position of governor. Despite mass protests and blasphemy charges against him, the city's incumbent Christian Governor marginally won yesterday's ballot but he has a tough battle to gain the votes he needs in the weeks ahead.

The National Native Title Council says it doesn't want the Native Title Act being used as a political football by the Greens. Greens MP Adam Bandt today accused the Government of rushing through changes to the act to benefit the Adani coal mine in Queensland. But the Native Title Council, which represents traditional owners, says the legislation must be passed quickly to safeguard Aboriginal people's rights.

The contracts for a gas pipeline connecting the Northern Territory to the eastern states have been drawn up, but some Aboriginal people say they're not ready to sign-off on the deal. The Aboriginal land council representing traditional owners across Central Australia says the deal's done and it's too late to speak up. But the group says they want a guarantee their land and the pipeline won't be part of a plan to frack Northern Territory land.

Notorious paedophile priest Brian Spillane has today been sentenced to a further nine years jail for sexual assaults committed while he was a teacher and chaplain at St Stanislaus College in Bathurst. He's one of 12 people connected to the Catholic boys school and abuse survivors and police are baffled as to why the school has not been investigated by the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Assault.

New data commissioned for the child sexual abuse Royal Commission shows the highest percentage of claims made against Catholic Church authorities relate to abuse in schools at 46 per cent. The Royal Commission is considering the Catholic Education system and its current practices for the protection of students.