Category Archives: Australia news

The 1920s desecration of a Gutenberg Bible shocked the US – but miraculously gave a Jewish family new life in Australia

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Michael Visontay discovered that a ‘crime against history’ in the book world set off a chain of events that led to his family’s delicatessen in 1950s Sydney

It was a brazen act of extreme literary vandalism that desecrated one of the world’s most valuable books. But it also allowed a family of Holocaust survivors to forge a new life in Australia.

The extraordinary tale was uncovered by the author and journalist Michael Visontay while researching his family history during Covid lockdown and has now been published as a book, Noble Fragments.

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‘Deaths of needless poverty and despair’: homelessness report reveals surge in fatalities

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‘Staggering’ annual death toll of 1,500 revealed in 10-year analysis ‘a shocking indictment on our society’, expert says

Almost 1,500 people are dying in homelessness every year, with new research from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showing a 63% surge in preventable deaths.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare today released an analysis of a decade of data, showing 12,500 people who had accessed homelessness services died over the 10-year period to 2022.

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Banks and bookmakers tricked by ‘sophisticated’ gambling syndicate may have breached anti-money laundering laws

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Exclusive: Documents seen by Guardian Australia show syndicate placed bets with Sportsbet while using another person’s name

Banks and bookmakers that were hoodwinked by a gambling syndicate that created multiple accounts in other people’s names to hide their true identities may have breached their anti-money laundering obligations.

Guardian Australia has confirmed a gambling syndicate paid $1,000 to desperate men for their ID documents, which were used to create multiple bank and betting accounts in their names. Cash was deposited into these bank accounts and gambled with at least nine bookmakers.

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Community service ‘not enough’ says mother of unborn child killed in collision with teenage driver

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Girl, 17, given community service and driving suspension in state’s first use of Sophie’s Law

A mother who lost her unborn baby in a crash has hit out at a landmark sentencing after the teenage driver responsible avoided detention, saying it is “not enough”.

An emotional Haylee Loccisano expressed her frustration outside court after the 17-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was given community service and a driving suspension for the fatal crash under new laws.

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Third Australian fell ill after suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos

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Exclusive: Dual national understood to be in stable condition after tragedy which has claimed six lives

A third Australian also fell ill after a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos that has claimed six lives, Guardian Australia has confirmed.

Melburnians Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, died in hospital in Thailand after the tragedy, which also claimed the lives of people from Denmark, the UK and the US.

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Labor to sit out Prahran byelection as ex-Greens MP Sam Hibbins departs amid controversy

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Exclusive: Victorian Greens confident of retaining inner Melbourne seat as former MP ‘absolutely disputes’ claims by intern

The Victorian Greens are confident they can hold on to the inner-Melbourne seat of Prahran despite new allegations against their former MP, Sam Hibbins, as Labor opts to sit out the byelection.

Guardian Australia understands Labor’s administrative committee will meet on Tuesday evening, where it is expected they will decide not to field a candidate in the byelection, which was triggered by Hibbins’ resignation at the weekend.

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Eastern Australia heatwave to make way for ‘volatile’ stormy weather

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Risk of blackouts has receded in Sydney, while a WA bushfire has prompted emergency evacuation in parts of Shire of Dandaragan

The heatwave baking much of eastern Australia will rapidly make way for conditions offering the “perfect ingredients” for thunderstorms later this week, raising risks of heavy rainfall and even flash floods.

Temperatures reached the high 30s across much of western Sydney on Tuesday with Penrith’s 39.7C the hottest – about 12C above the November average. Similar readings were forecast for Wednesday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

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Senate crossbenchers side with Coalition to oppose Greens motion to dump anti-abortion bill – as it happened

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The independent MP Zoe Daniel was on ABC News Breakfast earlier to discuss her alternative to the under-16 social media ban, which she introduced as a private member’s bill yesterday.

Daniel said her bill would implement an overarching statutory duty of care on social media companies “that goes to safety by design – but that in and of itself is not enough”.

What you need to make that work is the companies to assess the risks, mitigate the risks, be transparent about how they’re doing that.

The bill builds in penalties so if the companies do not comply, they could be fined up to 10% of global revenue. Also, their onshore executives could be held accountable for that … and the bill also has a provision to enable users to have control over the algorithm, as exists overseas, particularly in the EU …

[There are] obviously privacy concerns, and given the government’s had to pull their misinformation [and] disinformation – or their censoring the Australian public – bill from the Senate this week, we want to make sure we get strong, robust laws that don’t damage the [right to] privacy and make compulsory Australians having to have digital IDs.

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Chinese ambassador to Australia extends olive branch to Dutton but warns against letting differences ‘hijack’ relationship

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Thaw to continue despite points of contention over territory disputes in south-east Asia, Taiwan, China’s ties to Russia and human rights abuses

China’s top envoy in Australia has extended the olive branch to Peter Dutton’s Coalition, urging the major parties not to let “differences” between the two countries “hijack our cooperation”.

At a press briefing in Canberra on Tuesday, the ambassador, Xiao Qian, said Beijing was “happy” with the diplomatic stabilisation between Australia and China under Labor – but “not complacent”.

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‘Crisis’ of domestic violence in NT needs immediate action, advocates say after landmark report released

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Northern Territory domestic homicide rate seven times the national rate, with systemic failings contributing to deaths, coroner’s report finds

Women’s safety advocates are urging governments and the police to take immediate action after a landmark coroner’s report exposed systemic failings that contributed to the deaths of four Aboriginal women in the Northern Territory.

The NT coroner Elisabeth Armitage on Monday handed down findings into the deaths of Miss Yunupiŋu, Ngeygo Ragurrk, Kumarn Rubuntja and Kumanjayi Haywood, making 35 recommendations aimed at stemming what she called the “epidemic of violence”.

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Victoria to introduce Australia’s strictest poker machine rules, with $1,000 limit to be slashed by 90%

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Andrews-era reforms to be introduced in state parliament on Tuesday will cap load-up to $100, $400 less than in New South Wales


The Victorian government will use the final sitting week of the year to introduce to parliament long-awaited gambling reforms, which will slash the maximum amount punters can put into poker machines at a time from $1,000 to $100.

The gaming minister, Melissa Horne, will on Tuesday introduce the gambling legislation amendment (precommitment and carded play) bill 2024 to parliament, about 16 months after the former premier Daniel Andrews announced the changes.

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Toddler believed to have been left alone in car for hours before death, Queensland police say

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Detectives investigate death of two-year-old girl in Innisfail, where temperatures peaked above 30C on Monday

Police investigating the death of a two-year-old girl at Innisfail in north Queensland believe the toddler had been inside a vehicle for several hours before she was found unresponsive on Monday.

The far north police Supt Mick Searle said detectives would undertake a “very complex and detailed” investigation into the girl’s death.

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Australian student injured in West Bank says life ‘flipped upside down’ as Palestinian community demands answers

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Ranem Abu Izneid, injured by shrapnel in Israeli-occupied Abu Dis, says ‘there is no hope for me to regain my vision’

An Australian dentistry student has lost her vision after being struck by shrapnel in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, sparking outrage in the Australian Palestinian community.

Ranem Abu Izneid, 20, was studying in her room on 15 November at Al Quds University in Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem, when she heard bombs and soldiers shouting.

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Largest great white shark ever caught in Queensland control program was pregnant with four pups

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Female almost the length of a shipping container was found dead on a drumline in August, primary industries department has revealed

The largest great white shark ever caught in Queensland’s shark control program died while pregnant with four pups, the primary industries department has revealed.

A female white shark was found dead on a shark-catching drumline near Gladstone in August. Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries took samples for research purposes and has been collaborating with researchers interstate, a spokesperson said.

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Child dies after being found unresponsive in a vehicle in north Queensland

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Police are investigating after the child died in Innisfail on Monday

A child has died after being found unresponsive in a vehicle in north Queensland.

Police officers were called to a vehicle in Innisfail about 1pm on Monday after reports a child had been found unresponsive.

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Fire ant rafts could float down Queensland river after recent heavy rains, expert warns

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Growing infestations along the Logan river pose ‘very high risk’ of spreading downstream, Invasive Species Council says

An increase in fire ant infestations along Queensland’s Logan River is raising concerns Australia’s worst invasive species could form floating rafts and spread downstream.

The Invasive Species Council advocacy manager, Reece Pianta, said governments should urgently ramp up eradication efforts along the Logan River, in south-east Queensland.

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Australian police offer to help Laos investigation into suspected methanol deaths as Melbourne teenagers mourned

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Prime minister pays tribute to Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles while families vow to turn tragedy into ‘mission for change’

Australian federal police have offered to help the Laos investigation into multiple deaths linked to a suspected mass methanol poisoning event.

Melburnians Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, were among six foreign tourists to die.

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Musk argues social media bill may not be lawful – as it happened

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Does the delay on gambling ad restrictions have anything to do with the demands of lobbyists?

Clare O’Neil said it wasn’t about lobbying, but “about making sure that we get this right”.

And the minister has pointed to previous attempts to scale back gambling advertising that have actually resulted in more gambling advertising. This is a delicate area, and we’ve got to get the balance right, and that’s what the minister is seeking to do.

These complicated matters, they just are. You know, if this was a really simple problem to fix, then it would have been fixed a long time ago.

I would say our government deserves credit for stepping up and saying we’re going to take action on this, and the minister [Michelle Rowland] is doing what is appropriate, which is diligently working through what the proposals will look like.

The minister is working with people, experts, stakeholders, others who will be affected by this legislation, and the government has said will come forward with … proposals early next year.

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Australia urged to do more on climate crisis after playing role in trillion-dollar Cop29 shortfall

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Wealthy nations agree to take the lead in helping developing countries shift to a low-carbon economy

The Australian government has been urged to “step up” and do more to address the climate crisis after it played a role in a contentious deal on global finance to help poor countries deal with the problem.

The Cop29 UN climate summit in the Azerbaijan capital of Baku ended at 4am on Sunday with a consensus agreement that developing countries would be paid at least US$300bn (A$460bn) a year in global climate finance by 2035 to help them shift to a low-carbon economy and adapt to the impacts of extreme weather.

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If David Crisafulli wants ‘generational government’, the LNP can’t afford to wage ideological warfare

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New Queensland premier must tread carefully to avoid ‘culture wars’ that plagued previous LNP government

It’s been just a month since the Liberal National party emerged from Queensland’s political wilderness, and David Crisafulli has already been talking about how it can govern for decades.

And the new premier knows the precise answer to that question.

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