Category Archives: Australia news

Brothers wanted over alleged Queensland shooting murder of Chloe Mason believed to be camping in NSW

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Warrants for the arrest of Codye Thomson and Kaine Thomson-Gleeson have been issued over the killing of 23-year-old in Caboolture

Two brothers wanted for an alleged shooting murder north of Brisbane last month are now on the run after they were released after being questioned last month, according to Queensland police.

Police named 29-year-old Codye Thomson and 32-year-old Kaine Thomson-Gleeson as wanted for the alleged offence, on Friday.

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Man falls 20 metres to his death from cliff at national park in northern Sydney

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Body recovered from water after tragic accident near a picnic area on the Duckholes Trail in Ku-ring-gai Chase national park

An investigation is under way after a man fell from a cliff and died at Ku-ring-gai Chase national park in northern Sydney on Friday afternoon.

The man believed to be in his 40s reportedly fell 20 metres from a cliff at the Duckholes Trail, Terrey Hills, into the water below.

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Heatwave descends on south-east Australia with temperatures forecast to exceed 40C

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Bureau of Meteorology says Melbourne’s hot weather will peak at 38C on Saturday while Penrith will reach 39C on Sunday and 40C on Monday

Much of south-east Australia will swelter through a heatwave over the weekend that is expected to exceed 40C in some places, bringing extreme fire danger before a cool change comes through.

Melbourne was expected to peak at 38C on Saturday, reaching 37C on Sunday and dropping to 22C by Monday as the cool change brings widespread showers.

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Man dead and woman in hospital after jetski crash north of Cairns

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Investigations under way after jetski crashed into mangroves on the Barron River north of the Stratford Boat Ramp in far north Queensland

A 56-year-old man has died in a jetski accident north of Cairns, after crashing into mangroves.

The man and a 60-year-old woman were riding on a jetski on Friday on the Barron River when they crashed north of the Stratford Boat Ramp at about 10am, police say.

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Missing hiker found in wilderness in Tasmania’s far west

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Man in his 50s was reported missing on Thursday night when he failed to return after attempting a walk from Cockle Creek, on the South Coast Track

Police have located an interstate hiker who went missing while attempting a solo walk in Tasmania’s far south-west.

The man, in his 50s, was reported missing on Thursday night when he failed to return after he was last seen attempting a walk from Cockle Creek on the South Coast Track.

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Surfer missing off South Australia’s west coast believed to be victim of shark attack

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Witnesses say 28-year-old man from Port Lincoln was attacked just after 7pm on Thursday while surfing south of Streaky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula

Emergency crews are searching for the body of a man believed to be the victim of a fatal shark attack in South Australia.

A 28-year-old man from Port Lincoln was attacked by a shark just after 7pm on Thursday while surfing near Granites beach, south of Streaky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula, according to witnesses.

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Australian airlines more delayed than foreign competitors, but government decides not to nudge laws

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Experts say lack of competition in Australia’s airline market is a likely factor behind prevalence of delays

More than one in four flights operated by major Australian airlines in 2024 arrived at their destinations late, with local punctuality rates lagging significantly behind average carriers in comparable countries.

Experts say a lack of competition in Australia’s airline market is a likely factor behind the prevalence of delays, and that the Albanese government missed a golden opportunity to nudge local carriers into performing better when it decided to omit a cash compensation scheme for delayed and cancelled flights from its landmark aviation reforms.

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Peter Dutton would need to cap partner visas to make his migration cuts, expert warns

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Former immigration official Abul Rizvi believes the current planning level for partner visas is acting as an ‘illegal’ de facto cap

The Coalition’s proposed cuts to Australia’s permanent migration would require Peter Dutton to legislate to allow a cap on partner visas, a migration expert has warned.

Abul Rizvi, a former deputy secretary of immigration, believes the current planning level for partner visas, introduced by the Coalition and continued by Labor, is acting as an “illegal” de facto cap and would need to be removed.

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Japan urges Australians to head off the beaten track as record numbers flood tourist hotspots

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About 807,800 Australians visited Japan between January and November last year, nearly 200,000 more than the previous record in 2019

Japan’s tourism board has urged holidaymakers to swap Tokyo and Kyoto for towns in Tohoku and Kanazawa as Australian tourists flood Japan’s cities in record numbers.

About 807,800 Australians visited Japan between January and November last year, nearly 200,000 more than the previous record in 2019, according to provisional estimates from the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO).

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Man released without charge after woman’s fall to death from seventh-floor Sydney balcony

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Multiple calls made to triple zero before 39-year-old found critically injured outside high-rise unit block on River Road in Parramatta

A man has been released without charge after a woman fell to her death off his balcony.

The 40-year-old man was arrested on Thursday morning after the woman was found dead at the bottom of his apartment block, forcing investigators to examine the scene, their relationship and multiple triple-zero calls.

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Man shot dead by police in NSW hospital car park after allegedly aiming gun at officers

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Man believed to be in his 30s fatally shot by officers outside Manning hospital in Taree on the mid-north coast

A man has been shot dead in a hospital car park after allegedly aiming a gun at police.

Police arrived at Manning hospital in Taree on the New South Wales mid-north coast just before 1pm on Thursday after reports a man had fired shots into the air at a home several kilometres away.

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Suspect questioned over alleged sexual assault of Virgin Australia flight crew member in Fiji

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Airline sends support staff to Nadi after reports of assault during a night out in the early hours of 1 January

A suspect known to Fijian police has been questioned over an alleged sexual assault of a Virgin Australia flight crew member amid ongoing investigations.

Fijian authorities were investigating allegations the crew member was assaulted while celebrating New Year’s Eve, and separately, that another crew member was robbed.

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Searchers find hiking poles of man missing for a week in Kosciuszko national park

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Hadi Nazari, 23, last seen on Boxing Day descending the challenging Hannels Spur track

Hopes are dwindling that a missing hiker will be found alive as experts warn of the rough terrain and scarce water availability.

The 23-year-old hiker, Hadi Nazari, was descending a challenging trail in the Kosciuszko national park about 2.30pm on Boxing Day when he was last seen by friends, who raised the alarm when he did not arrive at the campground where they arranged to meet.

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Falling house prices and drop in Victorian rental numbers could mark rise of owner-occupiers

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Buyers looking to move in could benefit from 6.5% drop in market since March 2022 as state claims largest share of first home buyer finance

Owner-occupier buyers in Victoria could benefit from an investor sell-off that has been gathering momentum alongside falling house prices, an expert says.

Data from Victoria’s Department of Families, Fairness and Housing revealed the number of rentals fell by almost 25,000 – or 3.6% – across the state over a year.

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Baby Remi, among the first born of new Beta generation, arrives in Australia just minutes after new year

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Baby girl born in NSW’s Port Macquarie base hospital at 12.05 belongs to generation Beta, many of whom will live to see 22nd century

A baby girl named Remi, born just minutes into the new year on the NSW midnorth coast, is believed to be the first Australian birth of 2025 – and the first of “generation Beta”.

Tzu-Ling Huang and Liam Walsh had a quiet New Year’s Eve planned at their home in Comboyne, but their daughter surprised them and arrived two weeks early.

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US places sanctions on Australian man over alleged global narcotics trafficking role

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David Jonathan Thackray, who was jailed in New Zealand in 2014, is one of three Australians now subject to such sanctions

An Australian man has been sanctioned by the US treasury department over his alleged involvement in the global narcotics trade.

Australian David Jonathan Thackray and New Zealand national Ho Kai Leung were among 12 individuals and eight entities sanctioned by the department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) in an action it said was being taken against “global narcotics traffickers”.

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Richmond Tigers player Noah Balta charged with assault after incident in country NSW

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Footballer who signed a seven-year AFL deal in October has been charged after 30 December incident in Riverina town of Mulwala

Richmond Tigers star Noah Balta has been charged with assault after an incident in country New South Wales.

The AFL club has released a brief statement to confirm a media report that the defender had been charged.

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Scott Morrison rings in the New Year with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago resort

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Former Australian prime minister posted a photograph with himself, his wife Jenny and Donald and Melania Trump on X

Former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has spent New Year’s Eve with US president-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Morrison posted a photo on X featuring himself and his wife, Jenny, alongside Trump and his wife, Melania, at the Palm Beach, Florida club.

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Future fizzles: the promises and predictions for 2025 in Australia that came true (or didn’t)

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From cheaper energy to recyclable packaging and phasing out Australia Post motorbikes – here’s what has and hasn’t been achieved

An Australian republic, renewable-powered supermarkets, recyclable packaging and the phasing out of Australia Post motorbikes.

These are just some of the promises, targets and predictions that years ago were set for 2025 – which is now finally here.

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100% of packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable.

70% of plastic packaging recycled or composted.

50% average recycled content across all packaging.

Phasing out problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic packaging.

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‘Heck of a light show’: spectacular bloom of bioluminescence returns to Tasmania’s coastline

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Phenomenon known as ‘sea sparkles’ or ‘red tide’ is caused by masses of noctiluca scintillans, a pink-coloured algae

Masses of glittering algae have returned to Tasmania’s coastline in a spectacular bloom of bioluminescence that experts say is the largest seen in years.

The phenomenon, known as “sea sparkles” or “red tide”, was caused by masses of noctiluca scintillans, a pink-coloured algae that experts say was beautiful to look at, but considered bad news for the environment.

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