Record crowd for Swans AFLW clash + Australia’s gun buyback explained

**Chris Spyrou** (0:07)
Hey, Chris Spyrou with you, welcome to The Briefing. The government wants Australia to undertake its biggest gun buyback in a generation in the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre.
Some states are on board, some are on the fence, while others have completely ruled it out. So what do we know about the scheme and do the criticisms of it stack up?

**Stephen Bendle** (0:26)
Significant change was made 30 years ago.
It hasn't kept up with ownership patterns, the type of firearms that are available, where they are scored. We need to make more change to restrict firearms in the community.

**Chris Spyrou** (0:41)
That chat is coming up in the second half of this episode. First, let's get into the headlines for Sacha Barbour Gatt on Monday, the 24th of August.

**Sacha Barbour Gatt** (0:49)
Thanks, Chris. Happy Monday. And let's start the week in Sydney, where a record crowd has turned out to watch the Swans AFLW clash following a tumultuous week for the club. Five men's players, Isaac Heaney, Nick Blakey, Chad Warner, Riley Bice and James Jordan, were all stood down after breaching team standards. Now, that's over a late night of partying in Melbourne last Sunday, following the sides win over Essendon, with Victoria Police now investigating an alleged sexual assault at the team's hotel. No charges have been laid at this stage.

**Chris Spyrou** (1:21)
Yesterday afternoon in what was an historic double header, 16,672 people gathered at the SCG to watch the Swans women take on Essendon, the side winning by 25 points. It's more than double the Swans' previous AFLW attendance record. Captain Lucy McEvoy telling Fox Sports the crowd was unbelievable.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:50)
You know, our members and fans are so tight, and they know that we're united as a club, and we're better than what we were at the start of the week, and I'm just so grateful to have the support that we do today, and the girls are having a turn at On-Front, so it was really good.

**Chris Spyrou** (2:02)
Several fans decided to protest the men's game which followed, but those that stayed gave the team a standing ovation after the final siren.

**Sacha Barbour Gatt** (2:10)
Now, the Swans did beat North Melbourne by 53 points without the five players who have been banned for the rest of the season, including the finals. And we saw a number of the players, Chris, visibly emotional after the clash. Many were wiping away tears, among them, Captain Callum Mills, who had this to say.

**SPEAKER_4** (2:31)
And how we stayed so united as a club this week.

**Chris Spyrou** (2:33)
Yeah, I'm really proud of that.

**Sacha Barbour Gatt** (2:34)
So yeah, there had been talks, Chris, of like a mass protest and even some floating the idea that everyone should abandon the men's game after turning out for the women. But it's believed hundreds walked out in the end and protested the men's match. It's interesting because listening to the fans speak afterwards, a lot of news crews were down there doing interviews with spectators who did turn out. Some were talking about, you know, I just felt like I couldn't be there. I couldn't stay. Others who did choose to stay, say, you know, the players, you know, allegedly involved in what happened and who were found guilty by the swans of breaching club behavior standards.
You know, they weren't there and the men on the field had had a tough week as well. So they wanted to support them specifically. Another woman put it that, you know, it shows where we're at as a society, that it's not just a swans issue, it's a public issue. But in terms of the numbers, so the crowd attendance for the men's game was 30,058, which is significantly less than their regular season games and also the lowest at the SCG this season. So people did vote with their feet and kind of made it clear to the club that even if it wasn't the entire team, you know, there are people who aren't happy with the swans and what happened last week.

**Chris Spyrou** (3:46)
It's the milestone authorities were dreading when it's arrived. Australia's worsening bird flu outbreak has claimed its first mammal. Authorities have confirmed a long-nosed fur seal found dead at Beachport in South Australia has tested positive for the H5 strain. It's believed the seal caught it from the wild birds it shares the coastline with. And Agriculture Minister Julie Collins says it's a heartbreaking development, but not a surprising one.

**SPEAKER_5** (4:12)
Sadly, we also know that once the H5 bird flu is spreading in the central environment, it is not possible to avoid significant losses. That's why our government has worked so hard to prepare for H5 bird flu coming to Australia and why we're acting. As I've said numerous times, we have delivered over $113 million to bolster our preparedness and our response capability for the H5 bird flu.