Category Archives: Australia news

Teen fighting for life and another injured after Melbourne street fight shooting

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Detectives believe the boys, aged 15 and 17, were shot in a targeted attack during a Collingwood brawl involving up to 50 youths

Two teens are lucky to be alive after a targeted shooting during a street fight that embroiled dozens of youths, police say.

A 17-year-old boy is fighting for his life in hospital while a 15-year-old has been hospitalised with serious injuries after both were found with gun shot wounds on Vere Street in Collingwood, inner Melbourne, about 1am on Friday.

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Albanese accuses Dutton of ‘not having the guts’ to face media in first major election year speech

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PM labels opposition leader ‘weak’ for failing to make a single national press club address since 2022

Anthony Albanese has branded Peter Dutton “weak” for skipping appearances in front of the national media in Canberra, accusing the opposition leader of “not having the guts” to face tough questions as the prime minister sought to flip the script on his opponent after enduring months of character attacks.

Albanese, in his first major speech of the 2025 election year at the National Press Club, portrayed himself as a “tough” leader for making difficult decisions such as breaking an election promise in order to recast the stage-three tax cuts – despite negative media coverage – and defending his first-term achievements.

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Victoria and South Australian schools to be fully funded after securing landmark federal government agreement

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But Queensland and New South Wales still hold out on agreement that will see southern states get a 5% boost in commonwealth public school funding

Victoria and South Australia have secured a landmark 5% increase in commonwealth public school funding meaning they will be fully funded by 2034, leaving just Queensland and New South Wales holding out on signing up to the historic education agreement.

The move is a major win for the states and for Labor ahead of the federal election, bringing an end to more than six months of disputes over who will pay to deliver on fully funding public education for the first time.

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Captain Cook statue in Sydney doused with red paint ahead of Australia’s controversial national day

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Randwick mayor says vandalism does ‘disservice to reconciliation’ but Greens councillor says statue marks ‘devastating impacts of colonisation’

A statue of Captain Cook in Sydney’s eastern suburbs has been damaged and doused in red paint for a second year in a row.

New South Wales police were investigating after the damage to the sandstone statue of the explorer and naval captain was discovered on Friday morning before the Australia Day long weekend.

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Rudd and Keating statues decapitated in mass vandalism attack on 20 prime ministers’ busts

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Early investigations point towards four people and a white ute spotted around Ballarat Botanical Gardens on Thursday morning

Vandals have cut off the heads of the statues of Kevin Rudd and Paul Keating in Ballarat, and damaged 18 others.

A total of 20 busts on Prime Ministers Avenue in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens in Victoria were attacked between 2am and 5am on Thursday. The avenue features busts of Australia’s first 29 prime ministers.

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‘A hugely significant sighting’: red goshawk photographed for first time in central Australia

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Bird snapped by Newhaven wildlife sanctuary ecologist is likely a juvenile on risky 1,500km journey away from parents, expert says

Recent wet weather in the arid plains of central Australia prompted the wildlife ecologist and bird enthusiast Dr Tim Henderson to stop last week at a small lake to see if any waterbirds had shown up.

While there, above his head came a sight many birdwatchers wait a lifetime for: the red goshawk, Australia’s rarest bird of prey. It had a throat full of food, and was in a location it had never been photographed and had not been recorded at for about 30 years.

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Albanese plans cash boost for apprentice tradies amid doubts over Labor housing target

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PM to promise $10,000 payments to keep young people in construction as cost of living blamed for a shortfall in builders

Apprentice tradies stand to get an extra $10,000 from a re-elected Labor government as Anthony Albanese tries to encourage more young people into construction to help build the 1.2m homes he promised by 2030.

The prime minister will make the $626m promise at the National Press Club on Friday, in his first major speech for the year which will set out Labor’s re-election bid.

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Woolworths selling downsized’ Brut deodorant for more than double unit cost of old product

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Consumer advocates call for more transparency around ‘shrinkflation’ as supermarkets continue to defend against price-gouging allegations

Australia’s biggest supermarket chain, Woolworths, is selling a significantly smaller stick of Brut deodorant for more than double the unit price of the old product, in an extreme example of “shrinkflation” that leaves shoppers paying more for common household products.

While not unlawful, the pricing decision rubs against heightened public criticism of strategies employed by supermarkets, which have consistently defended themselves against price gouging allegations during a cost-of-living crisis.

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More than 60 NSW mental health beds close as leaked memos reveal hospitals’ plan for mass psychiatrist resignations

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One psychiatrist raises concerns about proposed back-up arrangements as health officials rush to fill staffing gaps

More than 60 mental health beds in public hospitals are temporarily closing in New South Wales as some hospitals are being given directives to limit psychiatric assessments because of mass resignations.

A senior psychiatrist told Guardian Australia that the emergency plans to manage psychiatric patients will mean decisions on discharge or the need for further care will be delayed, causing bed blockages across the health system. The doctor spoke on condition of anonymity.

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Australia news live: Bruce Lehrmann seeks judge-only trial on rape charges; off-duty police officer in hospital after Sydney attack

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Follow today’s news live

Asked about the future of the weekly pro-Palestinian protests across Australia, Malarndirri McCarthy said as long as they are respectful and peaceful, “they are part of our democratic way”.

It’s interesting, isn’t it? I mean, we are a democracy. Whatever the rally or protest is, we enable that. We allow that so long as it’s peaceful and respectful.

Police across every jurisdiction in the country know they have to be prepared. Rally organisers, whoever they may be, also know they need to consult to be able to have access to those streets. Come on, let’s be mindful that these rallies, so long as they are held in a respectful manner, in a peaceful manner, they are part of our democratic way.

I think when I look at the polls, Karl – and I think I’ve talked to you about this over the years, you know, when we went into the 2019 election – every poll said we were going to win. The reality is, you have to work every single day right up – and the only poll that does really count, and I believe that especially after that loss, is the one on election day.

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Cat becomes accidental frequent flyer after being left on a plane by mistake

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Mittens made three trips in 24 hours between New Zealand and Australia after she was not spotted in cargo hold

A Maine Coon cat named Mittens became an accidental jetsetter this month when her cage was overlooked in a plane cargo hold and she made three trips in 24 hours between New Zealand and Australia.

Mittens, eight, was booked for one-way travel with her family from Christchurch, New Zealand to their new home in Melbourne, Australia on 13 January. Her owner, Margo Neas, said on Wednesday that she waited for Mittens to be unloaded from the plane’s freight area, but three hours passed with no sign of the cat.

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ABC executive who sacked Antoinette Lattouf departs broadcaster

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Exclusive: Chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor’s role was substantially downgraded by Kim Williams

The ABC’s chief content officer, Chris Oliver-Taylor, will leave the ABC after his role was substantially downgraded by the new ABC chair, Kim Williams.

Oliver-Taylor’s tenure was marred by the fallout from his decision to sack the casual Sydney radio presenter Antoinette Lattouf.

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‘Drinking PFAS’: water providers call for broad ban on ‘forever chemicals’ amid proliferation fears

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Fifty-one sites in NSW have significant PFAS contamination requiring continued monitoring and remediation, EPA tells Senate inquiry

Experts and water providers have called for a broad ban on so-called “forever chemicals” at a Senate inquiry into PFAS, warning of environmental harm and increasingly costly removal.

The Water Services Association of Australia’s executive director, Adam Lovell, said a ban should be imposed on PFAS in non-essential consumer products. “We need to reduce now, as much as possible, how much PFAS is in the environment.

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Threat of more Sydney train chaos lingers despite government’s pay deal hopes

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Prospect of further public transport disruption remains despite unions’ commitment to halt work bans

Hopes of an end to industrial action that has thrown Sydney’s train system into chaos may be dashed as the NSW government faces the prospect of pay negotiations with unions breaking down.

The Minns government had been optimistic that negotiations could deter further train disruptions, after six combined rail unions on Wednesday morning committed to halt work bans that have wrought havoc across Sydney’s transport network in recent months.

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Australian independent publishing stalwart Text acquired by global giant Penguin Random House

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Local publishing house says it will ‘retain creative control’ and no redundancies are planned for Melbourne office

The world’s largest general book publisher has acquired one of Australia’s leading independent publishers, the Text Publishing Company.

Penguin Random House announced the acquisition on Wednesday, with the chief executive of its Australian operations, Julie Burland, saying the move consolidated the publishing house’s longstanding relationship, where its Australian arm distributes and sells all of Text’s titles in the Australian and New Zealand markets.

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Sydney man arrested over Newtown synagogue fire

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Adam Edward Moule is ninth person charged under Strike Force Pearl investigation into spate of antisemitic attacks across Sydney

The arrest of a man who allegedly attempted to set a synagogue on fire in Sydney’s inner west this month is a “big breakthrough”, the New South Wales premier has said, as investigations continue into a spate of antisemitic vandalism in the city.

Adam Edward Moule, 33, had his case briefly mentioned at Downing Centre local court on Wednesday and was scheduled to appear again on Thursday before the same court.

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Housing completions fall behind accord target – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

Watt defends government response to antisemitism as ‘very strong’

Asked if the federal government has been going enough to combat antisemitism, Murray Watt said it had responded “very strongly here”.

Unfortunately, there are some people in the community who are engaging is disgusting behaviour and the AFP and state police have demonstrated they will be caught and go to jail, which is where they belong.

I [will] leave it to the AFP to confirm some of the details about this, but I think this demonstrates exactly how far our police authorities are going to try to crack down on the shocking behaviour …

[The number of arrests made] sends a really clear message from the whole community that there is no tolerance that this kind of hate, and you will be caught if you do these kind of disgusting attacks.

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Anthony Albanese has pledged action on antisemitism – but Peter Dutton is still setting the agenda | Josh Butler

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The prime minister’s about-face after attack on Sydney childcare centre has left him once again looking like he’s playing catchup

Anthony Albanese has pledged action on antisemitic attacks – but his decision to call a snap national cabinet meeting less than a day after rebuffing that suggestion has left him once again looking like he’s playing catchup.

The prime minister condemned an arson and graffiti attack on a childcare centre in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra this week as a hate crime and “vile, antisemitic violence”. Scheduled to hold a press conference in western Sydney on Tuesday morning, he rerouted to the city’s east instead, visiting the site of the attack and then holding a press conference with the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns.

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Water quality expert calls for wider PFAS ban as NSW community seeks blood tests on ‘poisoned’ land

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Cost of fixing ‘forever chemical’ pollution should be borne by manufacturers and polluters, not governments and consumers, expert tells Senate inquiry

A water quality expert says the Australian government should expand a planned ban of PFAS as a New South Wales indigenous community called for funding for blood tests for people living on “poisoned” land.

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a group of several thousand synthetic compounds, are found in a wide variety of products including waterproof fabrics, food packaging, hygiene products and firefighting foam. They are sometimes referred to as “forever chemicals” because they are slow to break down and persist in the environment for extended periods.

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‘Catastrophic’: Great Barrier Reef hit by its most widespread coral bleaching, study finds

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More than 40% of individual corals monitored around One Tree Island reef bleached by heat stress and damaged by flesh-eating disease

More than 40% of individual corals monitored around a Great Barrier Reef island were killed last year in the most widespread coral bleaching outbreak to hit the reef system, a study has found.

Scientists tracked 462 colonies of corals at One Tree Island in the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef after heat stress began to turn the corals white in early 2024. Researchers said they encountered “catastrophic” scenes at the reef.

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