Prime Minister Julia Gillard (with General John R. Allen, head of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan) says Australia will not abandon Afghanistan after its troop withdrawal.
On the sidelines of the NATO meeting in the US city of Chicago, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Afghan President Hamid Karzai sign a long term partnership agreement that will partly fund a new Afghan army; embattled Labor MP Craig Thompson is set to explain his side of the Health Services Union scandal to Parliament; the Australian Council of Trade Unions campaigns for a boost in the minimum wage; a terminally ill Brisbane mother sues her superannuation funds for denying her claims; and a federal government website urges people to walk more and play board games – among other things – to cut back on energy bills.
