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Peter Dutton has lashed out at Labor over the January 26 public holiday, suggesting the government is seeking to divide the nation.
Although Labor is not proposing to change to the date of Australia's national day, Mr Dutton says the party is fighting "culture wars".
In recent years, there have been major marches held around Australia, in support of changing the date.
Many First Nations people say the day represents pain and mourning, because it marks the commencement of colonisation.
Mr Dutton says the failure of the Voice referendum lifted a "dark cloud" that was hanging over Australians, who now feel they can speak freely.
"They were sick of being told that they should be ashamed of their country and Labor's division and putting people into different categories, and it just, it has no future and there's no utility to it. We should unite as a country. We should be proud of who we are, and on Australia Day we should celebrate and spend time with our friends and family and be thankful for the country that we live in."
The comments come after a statue of Captain Cook was vandalised in the Sydney suburb of Randwick this morning.
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Master Builders Australia has welcomed Labor's plan to provide $10,000 to eligible apprentices in the housing and clean energy sectors.
The payments would be made in five instalments over the course of an apprenticeship, with the policy set to cost $626 million.
Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn says Australia needs 1.2 million more homes by 2030 but will fall short by 350,000 homes at the current rate they are being built.
Ms Wawn says the Federal Government's policy will help secure skilled labour required to pick up the pace.
"Greater uptake and completion of apprentices in the building trades is a critical component to solving the housing crisis. We know that we need more people starting, but more importantly we need more people completing only 50 per cent of apprentices that start a building trade complete. And so 10,000 is a good start."
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The International Criminal Court's top prosecutor, Karim Khan, is seeking arrest warrants for two top Taliban officials.
The requests relate to alleged crimes against humanity for gender-based persecution.
Mr Khan named Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhunzada and Supreme Court chief Abdul Hakim Haqqani.
Since regaining control of Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban has barred women from jobs, most public spaces and excluded them from education beyond primary school.
The request for arrest warrants also marks the first-time attacks against the LGBTQI community have been considered a crime against humanity.
Mr Khan says more applications will follow.
"Perceived resistance or opposition to the Taliban was and is brutally repressed through the commission of crimes, including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts. These are the first applications for arrest warrants in the situation in Afghanistan. My office will file further applications for other senior members of the Taliban soon."
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NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says he is confident Europe will pay for U-S arms to supply Ukraine if need be.
The comments come as world leaders including President Donald Trump address the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Mr Rutte played down Donald Trump's talk of acquiring Greenland, stating the incoming President never said he would invade the Arctic territory.
He says President Trump is right in his assessment of the region's importance, suggesting NATO needs to come together with a holistic strategy to "fend off the Russians and the Chinese".
The NATO boss also says Western countries must continue to arm Ukraine, arguing a failure to do so will be more expensive in the long run.
“We have to make sure that Ukraine can negotiate from a position of strength, and we have to prop them up. And if the U.S. will decide to spend, to do more in terms of weapons support, I am convinced that they will also ask the Europeans to pay more. And this is only logical because we are close to Ukraine and we have to.”
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In the United Kingdom, the teenager who killed three young girls in a frenzied stabbing attack last year has received a minimum sentence of 52 years.
Then 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana [[rude-a-cab-ana]] murdered the girls - aged six, seven and nine - last July at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, in England's northwest.
The murders sparked a series of anti-immigration riots across the U-K, after misinformation about the killer's identity was spread online.
Crown Prosecutor for Mersey Cheshire Crown Prosecution Service, Sarah Hammond, spoke outside the court after the sentence was handed down.
“Axel Rudakubana is a murderer. And utter devastation followed as he acted out a meticulously planned rampage of murder and violence. His purpose was to kill, and he targeted the youngest, most vulnerable, no doubt, in order to spread the greatest level of fear and outrage, which he did.”
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Aryna Sabalenka is within touching distance of a third successive Australian Open title after steam-rolling her semi-final opponent, Spaniard Paula Badosa.
On track to becoming the first player since Martina Hingis to claim a three-peat of titles at Melbourne Park, Sabalenka lived up to her number one billing on Thursday night, posting a 6-4 6-2 victory.
She will now battle Madison Keys for the title, after the American saved a match point before upsetting second seed Iga Swiatek 5-7 6-1 7-6 (10-8) in the second semi-final.
