Australia news live: Judge says Erin Patterson inflicted ‘untold suffering’ and should receive maximum sentence for mushroom murders

Justice Christopher Beale says possibility of parole is ‘main dispute’. Follow today’s news live

Victoria’s supreme court will hand down the triple-murderer Erin Patterson’s sentence shortly. The state’s supreme court will allow a television camera inside the courtroom to broadcast the sentencing hearing – with a 10 second delay – for the first time.

Patterson, 50, faces the prospect of spending the rest of her life in prison. Justice Christopher Beale will deliver her sentence from 9.30am in a hearing expected to last about 30 minutes.

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Australia news live: Alan Joyce secures final $3.8m bonus two years after leaving Qantas; neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell refused bail

Former chief executive left the airline after a series of corporate decisions sparked a reputational crisis. Follow today’s news live

Coalition of the willing meeting a ‘positive sign’ for Ukraine, former ambassador says

The former Australian ambassador to Russia, Peter Tesch, has appeared on ABC News Breakfast after Anthony Albanese joined a virtual meeting with world leaders signed up to the coalition of the willing for Ukraine on Thursday night.

The issue is that we are still no closer to a credible and durable peace settlement, because Moscow keeps walking both sides of the street, and that is provoking a degree of frustration. But in the absence of serious, additional pressure upon Moscow, it’s difficult to see a near-term solution here - notwithstanding Ukraine’s clear willingness to engage seriously in discussions.

And importantly, although the details are vague … President Trump at least remains engaged in that dialogue and that’s very important.

Our case for a 35% pay increase over three years will begin in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission later this month. As part of this case, which is one of the biggest industrial cases this state has seen, we will present evidence around the gendered undervaluation of nurses and midwives’ work and the work value changes our professions have seen over the past 16 years.

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Up to 80,000 people in Australia may be affected by ‘sledgehammer’ powers to deport noncitizens to Nauru, lawyers warn

Greens senator David Shoebridge accuses Tony Burke of ‘doing his Peter Dutton impression, dog-whistling and punching down on migrants’

Up to 80,000 people in Australia may be affected by the Albanese government’s proposed powers to strip basic legal protections from the noncitizens it plans to deport to Nauru, refugee lawyers warn.

The proposed federal powers, revealed last Wednesday, are expected to pass parliament this week with the Coalition’s support at a snap two-hour committee hearing scheduled for Wednesday night.

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Bob Katter distances himself from neo-Nazi group associated with megaphone at anti-immigration protest

Separately, Greens call on Queensland MP to ‘apologise or resign’ for verbal altercation with Channel Nine reporter last week

The federal MP Bob Katter has distanced himself from a neo-Nazi group that claimed ownership of a megaphone he used at a Townsville rally against mass immigration, with the veteran politician claiming he has been the victim of “bullying” in the media.

The Greens have separately called on Katter, the member for Kennedy, to “apologise or resign” over his verbal altercation with a Channel Nine reporter last week, asking the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission to investigate his conduct.

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Under-16s ban: how hard will it be for Australian social media users to prove their age?

The age assurance technology trial found errors are inevitable – meaning users might have to provide other ID or appeal against wrongful bans

It could take just 40 seconds: that’s how long Australians might have to wait for age assurance technology to assess they’re allowed to be on social media from December, when the under-16s ban comes into effect.

But the reality is, for many users, it could be a much more complicated and time-consuming process.

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Australia could be a ‘dumping ground’ for goods made for us with forced labour, anti-slavery tsar warns

Exclusive: Chris Evans says ‘blind spots’ in modern slavery laws means few prosecutions occur and some companies are ‘taking the mickey’ in their approach to reporting

Australia’s modern slavery laws are among the weakest in the developed world and the country risks becoming a “dumping ground” for goods made with forced labour, Australia’s first anti-slavery commissioner has said.

In a wide-ranging interview with Guardian Australia, the commissioner, Chris Evans – a former Labor senator and minister – said there were “blind spots” in Australia’s efforts that risked the country becoming a global laggard.

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Australian government criticised over ‘disgraceful’ $400m deal to deport foreign-born former detainees to Nauru

An agreement relating to the NZYQ cohort, who previously faced indefinite immigration detention, was signed by home affairs minister Tony Burke on Friday

Human rights lawyers, refugee advocates and the Greens have accused the Albanese government of striking a “discriminatory, disgraceful and dangerous” deal to deport hundreds of foreign-born former detainees at a cost of almost half a billion dollars.

On Friday Australia and Nauru signed a memorandum of understanding allowing the government to deport about 280 members of the NZYQ cohort, a group of noncitizens living in the Australian community whose visas were cancelled on character grounds.

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Murray Watt backs ‘no-go’ zones where development is banned – but not for Tasmania’s Robbins Island

Environment minister says scientific evidence did not convince government that remote island qualified

Australia’s environment minister, Murray Watt, has backed the creation of “no-go zones” where development will be banned in some places under a revamped nature law, but said Tasmania’s remote Robbins Island – the site of a contentious windfarm proposal – does not qualify.

Watt this week said the Albanese government would accelerate its plan to overhaul the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act so that legislation was introduced to parliament this year, sooner than previously suggested.

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Expelled ambassador says allegations against Iran ‘baseless’ during Sydney airport exit

Ahmad Sadeghi faced media questioning at the airport before boarding a flight out of Australia

Iran’s former ambassador to Australia – now persona non grata – has denied allegations his government was behind two antisemitic arson attacks in Australia, describing the accusations as “baseless” as he left the country.

Ahmad Sadeghi faced media questioning at Sydney airport before boarding a flight out of Australia.

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Labor accused of trying to ‘sneak through’ law change to strip non-citizens of fair process

Greens’ David Shoebridge calls amendment ‘one of the nastiest, meanest attacks’ on multicultural Australia

Refugee and human rights groups will launch a campaign demanding the federal government scrap a controversial migration amendment to explicitly remove procedural fairness in deportation decisions for foreign-born criminals, a proposal which advocates say is causing alarm among migrants.

The Senate on Thursday rejected a Greens push for an inquiry into the legislation, which the senator David Shoebridge slammed as “one of the nastiest, meanest attacks” on multicultural Australia.

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Brittany Higgins ordered to pay almost $350,000 in defamation damages to Linda Reynolds

Former defence minister’s reputation was damaged by social media posts by her former staffer, judge rules

Linda Reynolds has won her defamation case against Brittany Higgins in the Western Australian supreme court, marking the end of a protracted legal battle with her former staffer.

The state supreme court judge Paul Tottle ruled on Wednesday that the former defence minister’s reputation was damaged by social media posts published by Higgins in July 2023.

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Australian Jewish groups applaud expulsion of Iranian diplomats but say community faces renewed fears

Adass Israel synagogue board member says announcement of Iran’s involvement in December arson attack has caused ‘general fear’ among congregation

Australian Jewish groups have applauded the government’s “entirely appropriate” move to expel the Iranian ambassador in light of Iran’s alleged connections to antisemitic attacks in Australia – but say the “horrendous” news has renewed fears among the already traumatised community.

Responding to news the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps will be listed as a terrorist organisation in Australia, Jewish community members said the action was welcome but overdue.

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Murray Watt advised by own department to declare protection order over ‘significant Aboriginal area’ in WA

Exclusive: Environment department document states that Burrup peninsula site near Woodside gas plant ‘under threat of injury or desecration’

The environment minister, Murray Watt, has been advised by his department to declare a protection order over part of the Burrup peninsula in Western Australia due to its significance as an Aboriginal site, a government affidavit filed in the federal court shows.

A Murujuga traditional custodian, Raelene Cooper, applied in 2022 to protect the area’s cultural heritage from nearby industrial activities, including Woodside’s planned extension of its North West Shelf processing plant.

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Government to ‘feel the pressure’ after Gaza protests, says Greens leader – as it happened

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David Littleproud continues to insist the Coalition is not setting itself up for another election defeat by maintaining its support for nuclear power.

Speaking to 2GB on Sunday, Littleproud said the Coalition would take a different approach than it did at the last election by lifting the moratorium on nuclear power generation in Australia and “let the market do it”.

I just say to your city viewers, regional Australia is bearing the brunt of this. I’m seeing towns and I’m actually seeing families being torn up by these renewable projects that are tearing up their productivity, your food security and actually the native environment. And it’s all without premise.

Artificial intelligence was absolutely central to our discussions because it will be absolutely gamechanging in our economy and our society into the future.

Getting it to 8% will be a good effort but not good enough, as minister Mark Butler has pointed out, so we will continue to work with the states on providing the support that people need and deserve, particularly in this instance, when it comes to Thriving Kids.

Well, that’s the ongoing discussions that we’ve been having, whether it’s treasurers, health ministers, NDIS ministers, leaders, have been having this discussion since the deal was struck.

What’s the best way to implement. Two deals, not one. They are closely related. There are billions and billions of dollars tied up in them and so we’ve been trying to progress both of those deals at once for good reason because there are swings and roundabouts for both of us.

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Retirees ‘deserve’ super tax breaks, treasurer says, as government considers how to give younger Australians ‘fair go’

No plan to alter concessional measures on retirees’ superannuation as part of tax reforms, Jim Chalmers says

Retirees still deserve concessional treatment on their superannuation, the treasurer says, despite mounting calls for an overhaul of the tax system.

Jim Chalmers said fairness for younger generations needed to be considered as part of any change to taxes, after talks at the three-day productivity roundtable in Canberra.

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Australian universities to cut about 2,400 jobs and hundreds of courses as sector blames ‘confused’ government policies

Vice-chancellors say they’ve been forced to restructure but critics point finger at ‘unaccountable’ university management

Hundreds of university courses within teaching, languages, archaeology and media are among those being slashed as the tertiary sector pushes back against “confused” government policies.

Almost half of Australia’s universities have restructured in the past year, leading to the merging or disbanding of more than 50 schools of study and drastic reductions in course options for students, particularly in the humanities.

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‘We want builders on site, not filling in forms’: Albanese government cuts red tape in bid to boost home building

Pausing changes to Construction Code, establishment of ‘strike team’ within environment department and use of AI in planning among reforms

The Albanese government has promised to cut red tape and fast track environmental approvals for new homes in an effort to address Australia’s housing crisis.

On Saturday, the government announced plans to pause further residential changes to the National Construction Code and to streamline the assessment of more than 26,000 homes under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

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An EV road user charge is looming. Could it slam the brakes on Australia’s clean car transition?

The revenue from fuel excise is falling but it’s not only because of EVs, which make up less than 2% of cars on the roads

Every time a driver puts 10 litres of fuel in their car, they’re paying about $5 in tax that goes to the federal government.

That is, of course, unless they drive an electric vehicle. No petrol or diesel being bought means the government loses that 51c per litre.

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News live: Australia says Israel’s West Bank settlement plan is ‘unacceptable’ and demands press access to Gaza

Albanese government joins 20 other countries in condemning Israeli plan to expand Jewish settlements. Follow today’s news live

Australia signs international statement to allow media access to Gaza

It’s been a busy night for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

In light of the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, we, the undersigned members of the Media Freedom Coalition, urge Israel to allow immediate independent foreign media access and afford protection for journalists operating in Gaza.

Journalists and media workers play an essential role in putting the spotlight on the devastating reality of war. Access to conflict zones is vital to carrying out this role effectively. We oppose all attempts to restrict press freedom and block entry to journalists during conflicts.

The decision by the Israeli higher planning committee to approve plans for settlement construction in the E1 area, East of Jerusalem, is unacceptable and a violation of international law.

We condemn this decision and call for its immediate reversal in the strongest terms.

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‘Gender ideology’, quotas and anti-discrimination laws on the agenda for Queensland LNP state conference

Despite premier David Crisafulli’s wish for his party to maintain a moderate outlook, members have presented a number of divisive social issues for debate this weekend

At this weekend’s state conference, Queensland Liberal National party members will debate banning gender-affirming care for children, repealing a ban on conversion practices and adopting a policy “whereby batteries, solar panels and wind turbines should no longer be deemed as renewables”.

Seven separate motions reference “gender ideology”, gender-affirming care or transgender people, but the word “abortion” does not appear on the agenda for the LNP’s first convention since winning last year’s state election.

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