Category Archives: Australia news

After collapse and controversy, Adelaide writers’ week has a new director: ‘I don’t envy anyone in this position’

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Rosemarie Milsom, who formed and runs Newcastle writers festival, will take over from Louise Adler after the literary festival imploded over invitation to Randa Abdel-Fattah

In January, as the implosion of Adelaide writers’ week made headlines around Australia and the world, Rosemarie Milsom was watching closely.

The Adelaide festival board, which oversees AWW, had overridden the literary festival’s director, Louise Adler, and disinvited the Palestinian Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah over past comments she’d made about Israel and Zionism. This decision resulted not in a quieter, less-controversial festival as the board members may have hoped, but a boycott by 200-odd writers, the resignation of Adler – followed by the whole board – a potential defamation lawsuit against the South Australian premier and the collapse of AWW.

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‘A history of the Earth’: Twelve Apostles revealed to be as old as 14m years

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Tectonic plate movements over millions of years have lifted and tilted the layers, with records of ancient earthquakes in the rocks

Microscopic fossils embedded in limestone have helped reveal the true age of Victoria’s Twelve Apostles as 8.6m to 14m years old.

The conclave of giant golden pillars is visited by 2.8 million tourists each year, a highlight for those travelling along the Great Ocean Road south-west of Melbourne.

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Ben Roberts-Smith planned to leave Australia and researched buying wellness business in Spain, court documents show

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Partner of soldier accused of war crimes says the couple discussed possibility of moving overseas to ‘create some normalcy in our lives’

Ben Roberts-Smith was planning to leave Australia to live overseas and had a business class flight out of the country booked in four days’ time when he was arrested at Sydney airport this month, court documents allege, with investigators telling a court “his willingness to return to Australia to face prosecution cannot be judged”.

Roberts-Smith was ultimately granted bail last week under strict conditions, a move opposed by prosecutors who said there was potential concern he was a flight risk and might try to avoid ever having to face trial for a series of alleged murders he committed in Afghanistan.

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David Malouf, Australian author of Remembering Babylon and Ransom, dies aged 92

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Acclaimed Brisbane-born writer was known for his work exploring his own childhood, great myths and colonial Australia

David Malouf, the acclaimed Australian author of books including Ransom, An Imaginary Life and the Booker prize-nominated Remembering Babylon, has died aged 92.

Malouf died on Wednesday, his publisher, Penguin Random House Australia, said in a statement on Thursday.

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Governments failed to deliver $160m of river improvements including for now-parched NSW wetlands, report finds

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NSW and Queensland governments ‘severely underdelivered’ on promised infrastructure to improve water flows, independent review finds

Two state governments have drastically underdelivered more than $160m in infrastructure measures to improve river health in the northern Murray-Darling basin eight years since they were promised, a major independent review has found.

This includes failure by the New South Wales government to secure any of the private land access needed to improve water flows over floodplains in the state’s Gwydir region, where scientists had to scramble to rescue turtles in dried up wetlands last week.

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Podcast interviews of NSW couple jailed for abusing their daughter in the spotlight

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Exclusive: Corrective Services investigates how Richard Guilliatt of The Australian was able to interview Rob and Karen Gilfillan for Shadow of Doubt

Corrective Services New South Wales is investigating how a journalist from The Australian was able to interview a man and a woman convicted of abusing their daughter for a podcast that raised questions about their guilt.

After legal restrictions were lifted last month the victim said the podcast had been highly detrimental to her mental health.

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Mouse plague hits WA grain farmers as numbers surge in SA: ‘You literally can’t get away from them’

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CSIRO researcher says there are reports of up to 4,000 mouse burrows per hectare in parts of Western Australia

Grain growers are on high alert as mouse numbers in Western Australia reach plague proportions and numbers surge in South Australia.

Steve Henry, who researches mice and their impact on the grain industry at CSIRO, says more than 800 mice per hectare is considered a plague.

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Fourth man charged over alleged kidnapping murder of Sydney man Chris Baghsarian

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Three other men already charged over February abduction and death remain before the courts

A fourth man has been charged over the kidnapping and murder of an elderly Sydney man, who was allegedly abducted in a case of mistaken identity.

More than two months after 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian was abducted from his home in Sydney’s north in the early hours of 13 February, police arrested a 19-year-old on Tuesday over two offences, including murder.

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Uber driver Michael was assaulted by passengers. He says the platform’s response added insult to injury

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Drivers booted off the platform say they have little recourse to appeal as rideshare giant increasingly relies on automated systems

Michael Thorn thought he’d suffered enough after his Uber passenger punched him in the head, sending him to hospital. But then the rideshare platform deactivated his account.

“It’s even worse than getting belted,” Thorn said.

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Rebel Wilson labelled ‘nuts’ by PR team she allegedly hired to attack colleague, court hears

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Wilson is being sued for defamation by actor Charlotte MacInnes over social media posts alleging a sexual harassment complaint

Rebel Wilson was labelled “nuts” by a PR team she allegedly hired to create websites attacking a co-producer of her directorial debut, a court has heard.

The Pitch Perfect actor directed, co-produced and acted in The Deb, a musical comedy set in rural NSW that remained unreleased for two years due to legal disputes.

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‘The witches are back’: first look at Practical Magic 2 as Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman return for spooky sequel

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The Kissing Booth’s Joey King and Game Of Thrones’ Maisie Williams star alongside the original cast members as the next generation of the cursed Owens family

The midnight margaritas are officially back on the menu. Within 24 hours of its debut, the first official teaser for Practical Magic 2 has surged into the Google Trends top 10, attracting millions of views and signalling an enthusiastic appetite for the return of the Owens family and all things witchy.

Academy Award winners Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman will return as sisters Sally and Gillian, with Kidman sharing a video of her and her fellow star on set last year, captioned: “The witches are back”.

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Man jailed after mimicking Bondi beach terror attack on footbridge and making slurs against Jewish people

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Zayne Jason William McMillan’s lawyer says client’s tirade was antisemitic but claims he ‘does not consider himself racist against Jewish community’

A man seen mimicking the Bondi beach terror attack before making slurs against Jewish people has been jailed.

Zayne Jason William McMillan, 23, was heavily intoxicated when he and a friend went to Bondi beach, six weeks after the shooting, in which 15 people were killed.

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Former VFL footballer Barry Cable cleared of historic child sex abuse charges

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The 82-year-old was accused of abusing girls in the 1960s but was acquitted in Perth despite judge finding the alleged victim was probably telling the truth

The former champion footballer Barry Cable has been acquitted of a slew of historical child sexual abuse charges despite a judge finding the alleged victim was likely telling the truth.

The 82-year-old faced a judge-only criminal trial over allegations he abused a girl aged about eight or nine at his family home in the late 1960s.

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Consumer watchdog zeroes in on Woolworths’ allegedly fake discounts as it meets supermarket giant in court

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Vinegar, Tim Tams and baby rice are among the products to be scrutinised in the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s case

The consumer watchdog is back in court and taking on Australia’s largest supermarket chain, alleging Woolworths deliberately misled shoppers with fake discounts.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) case against Woolworths begins in the federal court in Sydney on Tuesday, almost two months after hearings wrapped up in its very similar case against Coles.

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Water NSW criticised for ‘appalling’ decision after hundreds of turtles left to die in wetlands

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River ecologist says ‘classic bureaucratic tangle’ led to government agency stopping flows to Gwydir wetlands region in March

A leading scientist has criticised an “appalling” New South Wales government agency decision to stop water flowing to wetlands in the state’s north-west, saying it was “absolutely crazy” that researchers had to scramble to save animals buried in drying mud.

Guardian Australia reported on Saturday that turtles, waterbirds, frogs and sheep had died after Water NSW abruptly stopped flows to the Gwydir wetlands region near Moree in March.

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Australia news live: ‘weeks’ to restore production at Geelong refinery after blaze, Viva says; Chalmers warns of ‘big risks’ to inflation and growth

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Meanwhile ACT independent David Pocock is calling for a 25% tax on gas exports to fund welfare and housing. Follow today’s news live

Treasurer says capital gains changes and other tax reform still under consideration

Sticking with the budget, Chalmers said the government hasn’t made any decisions on capital gains tax reform.

We haven’t taken any decisions on those policies, whether the specific ones you mentioned [or others].

There’s more work to do on our options for tax reform in this budget.

The savings package won’t be exactly the same as what we would have been contemplating over the summer, but it will be a substantial savings package.

When we came to office the NDIS was out of control and it had strayed a long way from its original intended purpose.

It was growing around 22% when we got to office.

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Ben Roberts-Smith denies war crimes allegations – As it happened

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Defence Minister Richard Marles says the success of Australia’s alliance with the United States should not be measured against a single president or federal government in Canberra, insisting the longstanding ties will endure.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised Australia for not assisting with the war in Iran, while federal Labor, including Marles and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, say the White House has not made any specific request for assistance.

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Australia’s coalmine emissions are increasing. Is this how a major policy to cut climate pollution is meant to work?

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The Albanese government overhauled policy and promised significant pollution cuts – but carbon offsets are still being used as an excuse

Is this how a national scheme to cut climate pollution is supposed to work?

Australian government data released this week shows emissions from Australian coalmines increased last financial year. About 80% of the coalmines pumped more into the atmosphere than their government-imposed limit.

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‘Independent’ group Energy for Australians that ran anti-Labor ads received more than $1m from coal lobby

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Coal Australia denies its donations to the ‘community-driven association’ amount to astroturfing, but critics accuse the group of misleading the public

An “independent, community-driven association” that ran anti-Labor adverts during the last federal election was entirely funded by a coal industry lobby group, the Guardian can reveal.

Energy for Australians accepted more than $1m from Coal Australia – a group advocating for coal whose members include major miners Yancoal, Peabody, New Hope and Whitehaven.

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Jacinta Allan wants voters to see Victoria’s 12-year-old Labor government as ‘new and united’. Can she cling to power?

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With a reshuffled cabinet, the premier is hoping to quell leadership rumblings as her party seeks an unprecedented fourth term

As the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, stood alongside the fresh faces in her reshuffled cabinet on Wednesday, she attempted to send her increasingly jaded electorate a blunt message: despite its 12 years in power, her government is – apparently – new.

In her opening four-minute preamble to reporters, Allan - whose Labor government will in November seek an unprecedented fourth term - repeated the word 17 times. In one sentence alone, she referred to her “new cabinet”, “new portfolios”, “new solutions” and “new areas that are going to drive this government forward”.

Benita Kolovos is Guardian Australia’s Victorian state correspondent

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