Speaker 1: Today's biggest news from The Australian. I'm Claire Harvey with
Speaker 1: the front's afternoon headlines. Did a senior National Party politician
Speaker 1: say Pauline Hanson was a witch who should be burned
Speaker 1: at the stake? That was the allegation from Hanson. She
Speaker 1: accused the late former Nationals leader Tim Fisher, renowned as
Speaker 1: a gentle and softly spoken statesman, of uttering the phrase
Speaker 1: during her early years in politics. Hanson renewed the claim
Speaker 1: while attacking Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen, who took offense at
Speaker 1: a billboard that called her a witch. Hanson had previously
Speaker 1: made the same claim back in nineteen ninety eight. Back then,
Speaker 1: she said Fisher and former Liberal minister Alexander Downer had
Speaker 1: said she should be put in front of a firing
Speaker 1: squad or burned at the stake. At the time, Tim
Speaker 1: Fisher denied the claim. Now, Tim Fisher's widow, Judy Brewer,
Speaker 1: has spoken to The Australian, describing the accusation as offensive
Speaker 1: and saying she contacted Henson's Offers demanding evidence of the
Speaker 1: alleged remark, but received no reply. Brewer said she felt
Speaker 1: she must now ask for either some evidence or an
Speaker 1: apology to ensure Fisher was not being posthumously defamed for
Speaker 1: political purposes. That exclusive is live now at the Australian
Speaker 1: dot Com dot a U. Six years after sacred sites
Speaker 1: in Western Australia's Juken Gorge were leveled by Rio Tinto,
Speaker 1: Andrew Forrest's Fortescue mining group has struck a deal with
Speaker 1: traditional owners to manage the site together. In twenty twenty,
Speaker 1: Rio Tinto legally blasted the Duken Gorge site for iron ore,
Speaker 1: exposing a gap in WA's Aboriginal heritage laws. Ancient artifacts
Speaker 1: were excavated from the site before its destruction. The Putu, Kunti,
Speaker 1: Kuruma and Pinicura people have since insisted on having greater
Speaker 1: input to mining conducted on the site, which is in
Speaker 1: the state's remote Pilbra region. The new deal with Fortescue
Speaker 1: will allow them to buy mining equipment and lease it
Speaker 1: back to the miner in order to generate profits and
Speaker 1: jobs for their communities. The native title holders struck a
Speaker 1: similar deal with Rio Tinto last year. The twenty twenty
Speaker 1: six feet for World Cup has kicked off across North
Speaker 1: America with Australia's Soccorus to take on Turkey in their
Speaker 1: first group stage match on Sunday afternoon Australian Eastern Time.
Speaker 1: You can catch all the action from the World Cup
Speaker 1: at the Australian dot com dot au and come back
Speaker 1: to the front first thing in the morning for our
Speaker 1: look at the documentary that zooms in on what the
Speaker 1: Michael Jackson biopic left out years of serious sexual assault allegations.
Speaker 1: That's right here, Saturday morning,