Australia news live: Australia joins sanctions against ‘extremist settlers’ in West Bank; Barbecues Galore no more

Penny Wong issues statement overnight announcing joint action with western allies to combat ‘horrific levels of settler violence against Palestinian civilians’

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Australian retail chain Barbecues Galore will wind up its operations in the coming weeks after failing to negotiate a rescue deal, affecting 500 jobs.

Receivers confirmed on Tuesday that 62 company-owned stores will close, with staff facing redundancies. The brand’s other 27 franchise-owned stores are expected to work through “transitional arrangements” during the wind-up period.

All employees will be paid their full accrued redundancies and termination payments in the ordinary course of separation.”

Unredeemed gift cards will be treated as unsecured creditors after the 30 June deadline, so customers are encouraged to use their gift cards while they can do so.

In response to the deteriorating situation in the West Bank, we the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, France, Norway and the United Kingdom, have taken coordinated action to introduce sanctions and other measures to hold extremist settlers accountable for the horrific levels of settler violence against Palestinian civilians.

Extremist violent settlers, with the backing of their supporters, continue to attack Palestinians and abuse their human rights. They use violence to displace Palestinians, destroy property and perpetuate the illegal settlement enterprise, undermining the viability of the State of Palestine and the prospects for peaceful coexistence.
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