Category Archives: Australia news

Do not call her a racist: anti-Pauline Hanson strategists tell campaigners character attacks won’t work in Victoria

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Exclusive: strategic rethink urges progressive activists to respectfully steer one-on-one conversations with One Nation supporters towards economic concerns

The message from strategists was blunt: do not, however tempting, personally attack Pauline Hanson or call her a racist.

The request has been made to progressive campaigners and unionists who have been asked to start one-on-one conversations with One Nation supporters before the Victorian election in November.

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Labor has had 12 years to fix Victorian roads. Turning to ‘pothole populism’ now may be too late

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Potholed roads are ‘devastating political advertising’ for the Victorian government – but Ben Carrol’s made them the focus of his campaign

At a press conference to celebrate the sold-out NFL match played at Melbourne’s MCG on Friday, the Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, was heckled on one issue.

“Fix the potholes,” a punter called out as they walked past the Victorian premier’s press conference.

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NSW government paid for homeless man to be sent back to New Zealand instead of offering housing

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Local council and state government attempting to move on residents living in an encampment by the river in Wagga Wagga

The New South Wales government paid for a homeless man in Wagga Wagga to be sent back to New Zealand instead of offering him temporary accommodation, in an attempt to move on residents living in an encampment by a river.

The local council and state government have been attempting to clear out the encampment for several months after a newborn baby died in May when its mother gave birth to twins in a tent.

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‘Small price to pay’: The young homeowners welcoming falling house prices even as it hurts them

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Some buyers say they are ready to absorb the fallout of housing weakness if it means boosting home ownership across the board

Falling property prices have come at the worst possible time for Alex Hogan and his partner. They are now weighing up whether they can afford to have another child.

Locked out of the established housing market, the Queensland couple resorted to buying a block of land to build a family home.

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Alleged drone operator charged with murder after mistaken identity shooting in Sydney

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NSW police say 18-year-old was operating drone when arrested and likely ‘conducting surveillance on someone or some premises’

A Sydney teenager has been charged with murder after police accused him of operating a drone as part of a suspected botched gang hit in the city’s west.

Joshua Macdonald, 40, was shot dead at a Merrylands West home on 2 September in what police believe may have been a case of mistaken identity. He was not known to police and had no links to organised crime.

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Court case brought by Zionist federation against journalist Mary Kostakidis ended ‘by consent’

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Former SBS newsreader had been accused by Zionist Federation of Australia of breaching Racial Discrimination Act when sharing X posts

Federal court proceedings brought by the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) against journalist Mary Kostakidis have been discontinued “by consent” with “no order as to costs”.

The former SBS newsreader had been accused by the federation of breaching the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) by sharing two X posts about a speech by the late Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah in January 2024.

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NSW police seize 36 illegal ebikes on northern beaches that are now destined for the crusher

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Officers found one 14-year-old’s ebike was capable of hitting 90km/h. Owners have two weeks to appeal the seizure before the bikes will be crushed

Dozens of high-powered and illegal ebikes have been seized by police on Sydney’s northern beaches just weeks after the force was granted new powers to destroy dangerous bikes.

The operation was part of a coordinated push with the New South Wales government to ensure people only ride legal ebikes that have not been modified to reach high speeds.

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As China rises, Australia is increasingly enmeshed in the US war machine. Is the alliance still worth the risk?

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Australia is being exploited by an ally that could draw it, however unwillingly, into war with China, experts warn

“Physical security matters,” said Kevin Rudd, at his axiomatic best before the National Press Club this week.

“Our first responsibility is to secure our people’s future in this most contested region of the world.”

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Dementia patients warned off seeking home care in case Australia’s aged care algorithm cuts funding

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Exclusive: FoI documents show senior health officials were warned of concerns about assessment tool weeks after it launched

People with dementia were warned not to apply for home support because of fears their care would be downgraded by the government’s aged care algorithm.

Documents released to Guardian Australia under freedom of information (FoI) laws reveal the warnings came within weeks of the November rollout of the algorithm, which is used to determine funding packages and priority of need for older Australians requiring home support.

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NSW police settle trespass case after visiting Indigenous children’s home 150 times in 20 months

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Trespass case launched by two mothers settled after officers often went to families’ houses between midnight and 4am

Two Indigenous mothers have settled a trespass case against New South Wales police, after officers turned up at one of their homes 150 times in 20 months to conduct bail checks on her sons.

The case, which was launched against NSW police in April 2024, was settled on confidential terms three weeks before it was to go to trial in the supreme court.

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Former Carlton president apologises to ex-wife as lewd photo defamation case settles

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Luke Sayers says he accepts Cate Sayers did not post photo of his genitals as she says settlement closes ‘painful and difficult chapter’

The embattled former AFL club president Luke Sayers has apologised to his former wife for the harm he caused as her defamation case over a lewd photo settled.

Lawyers for Sayers, the immediate past president of the Carlton football club, read out the apology in the Victorian supreme court on Friday after indicating the settlement.

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‘I don’t want to be here’: Andrew Hastie was a reluctant but ‘straightforward’ witness in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case

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The Liberal MP and former SAS soldier is under attack from One Nation after complying with a subpoena to give evidence in the failed 2022 civil case

“I don’t dislike Mr Roberts-Smith at all. I pity Mr Roberts-Smith. I pity this whole process. I don’t want to be here.”

Andrew Hastie was a reluctant witness in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case. Hastie appeared only under force of subpoena in 2022: compelled to attend court, obliged to swear an oath, and to tell “the whole truth and nothing but the truth”.

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Grace Tame apologises for comments labelling rape of Israeli women during Hamas attacks ‘propaganda’

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The former Australian of the Year said she stood with survivors of sexual violence ‘everywhere’ and ‘no matter who they are’

Grace Tame has apologised for her comments labelling the rape of Israeli women by Hamas during the 7 October attacks as “propaganda” and “debunked”, saying her words were “misinterpreted”.

The former Australian of the Year issued the apology in an Instagram video on Thursday. The comments were made in an ABC interview about Israel and Gaza in March.

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SMH columnist Peter FitzSimons tells Alan Jones trial alleged victim was ‘revolted’ by abuse

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FitzSimons tells court that complainant C told him Jones, who has pleaded not guilty, would touch his penis and he ‘kept pushing it away’

Sydney Morning Herald columnist Peter FitzSimons has told the Alan Jones trial an alleged victim he spoke to in 2019 was “tearful” and sounded “emotionally traumatised” when detailing alleged assaults by the 2GB broadcaster.

The commentator and author gave evidence in the Downing Centre local court on Thursday about a telephone call he had with the alleged victim known as complainant C in October 2019.

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Victoria’s koalas in chronically poor health and population is half what was previously estimated

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Exclusive: State government delayed releasing major report into the health of the koala population for more than 12 months

The Victorian government sat on a report for more than 12 months that found the state’s koala population was in chronically poor health.

The review of the state’s koala populations, led by state science agency the Arthur Rylah Institute in conjunction with scientists from major universities, was completed for the Victorian government in June 2025.

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Man shot dead in Sydney community centre car park

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NSW police say a vehicle was seen driving away from the scene in Punchbowl in the city’s south-west

A man has been shot dead in a car park of a Sydney community centre in the city’s south-west.

Emergency services were called to the community centre on Rossmore Avenue in Punchbowl on Wednesday evening after reports of a shooting.

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White Australia party is ‘modern manifestation’ of Nazi movement and should be banned, commonwealth tells high court

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The former National Socialist Network is challenging ban in high court, arguing law breaches implied freedom of political communication

The White Australia party is a “modern manifestation” of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi movement and would motivate hate crimes against sections of the country, the high court has heard.

The White Australia party, formerly known as the National Socialist Network (NSN), was designated as an illegal hate group in May after the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (Asio) passed on its recommendation to the home affairs minister, Tony Burke.

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Albanese says ABC ‘should do better’ after it revealed his membership of golf club given $6m grant

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Funding from $560m invitation-only scheme prompts calls to make grant rules more transparent

Anthony Albanese has claimed he did not know he was a member of his local golf club when his government gave it $6m for renovations, accusing the ABC of inappropriate reporting.

The money came from an opaque $560m invitation-only grants scheme to fund projects Labor promised at the 2025 election, largely for Labor-held seats, prompting calls to make grant rules more transparent.

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Flushing the toilet can release a ‘plume’ of breathable pathogens – and closing the lid won’t stop their escape

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New research shows turbulent flushes create toilet-generated aerosols that can transmit legionella, influenza and norovirus

Flushing toilets release particles into the “breathing zone” of adults and can remain suspended in the air for at least 20 seconds, a new study has found.

And closing the lid might not be enough to avoid a “plume” of potential pathogens.

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Mother flagged faulty smoke alarms before house fire that killed father and five children, court hears

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Pre-inquest conference into Queensland deaths hears witnesses did not hear any smoke alarms during 2023 fire

A landlord was repeatedly warned about improperly installed smoke alarms before a house fire that killed a father and five children in Queensland in 2023, a coroner has heard.

Deputy state coroner Donald MacKenzie held a pre-inquest conference into the Russell Island deaths on Tuesday.

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