Category Archives: Australia news

Birdsville notches up another temperature record as Australia faces more heat before New Year’s Eve

Posted on by

The town hit 47.2C by mid afternoon, but locals are already well-versed in the art of staying cool

It might have been the hottest place in the country on Boxing Day, but when the tiny outback town of Birdsville hit 47.2C by mid-afternoon, locals were already well-versed in the art of staying cool.

Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist, Dean Narramore, said Birdsville was “looking like it’s going to be the hottest in the country,” even though places across the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and New South Wales had reached the mid 40s.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Two women fighting for life after suspicious house fire in Townsville

Posted on by

Investigators appealing for information after blaze erupted around 3am on Boxing Day

Two women are fighting for life after a house fire authorities consider suspicious.

Detectives were investigating the cause of the Boxing Day blaze, which erupted shortly after 3am in Gulliver, a suburb of Townsville.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Victoria fires live updates: emergency bushfire warnings and road closures in Grampians, Vic; dangerous fire conditions in South Australia and NSW

Posted on by

Fires burning in Grampians national park, Bullengarook, Creswick and at the Gurdies after residents of Bornes Hill, Moyston and Pomonal ordered to leave. Follow the latest updates live

Authorities in Victoria have issued an emergency warning for a bushfire at Mafeking in the state’s west.

Locals have been told to take shelter immediately.

Continue reading...

Boxing Day sales: crowds flock to stores around Australia in search of bargains

Posted on by

Shoppers expected to splurge on homewares and beauty products, with retail spending projected to top $1.3bn on Boxing Day

Shoppers have flooded stores to make the most of Boxing Day bargains.

Australians are projected to spend $1.3bn on Boxing Day and a further $2.4bn during the last days of December, Australian Retailers Association and Roy Morgan research shows.

Continue reading...

Melbourne stabbing: Man arrested after woman found dead at Langwarrin home on Boxing Day

Posted on by

Homicide squad detectives investigating after 59-year-old found dead at Wood Duck Court in Langwarrin

Police have arrested a 63-year-old man in relation to the death of a woman in Langwarrin in Melbourne’s south-east.

The 59-year-old woman was found about 6:30am on Boxing Day, after emergency services responded to reports that a woman had been stabbed at an address at Wood Duck Court.

Continue reading...

‘We can’t believe it’s real’: Luca Bennett’s parents mourn loss of ‘perfect son’ swept off rocks at NSW beach

Posted on by

Search operation for 15-year-old moves into ‘recovery phase’ after he went missing at North Avoca Beach on the Central Coast

Tributes are flowing for 15-year-old Luca Bennett as rescue crews scale back a search for the teenager after he was swept off rocks at a popular beach.

Luca went missing about 3pm on Christmas Eve off North Avoca Beach on the New South Wales Central Coast.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Russia criticises Canberra’s ‘hostile stance’ as it looks into reports Australian fighter captured in Ukraine

Posted on by

Family and friends hold grave fears for man identified as Oscar Jenkins who was reportedly captured by Russian soldiers in Donbas region

Moscow is looking into reports that the Russian army may have captured an Australian citizen fighting with Ukrainian forces, while a foreign affairs official noted Canberra’s “hostile stance towards Russia” at a briefing.

Family and friends hold grave fears for Australian man Oscar Jenkins who was reportedly captured by Russian soldiers while fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Two Australian teens convicted under counter-terrorism laws as AFP and Asio warn of ‘early signs of radicalisation’

Posted on by

Agencies urge parents, teachers and healthcare workers to be vigilant, paying particular attention to gaming sites and messaging platforms

Asio and the AFP have revealed that two Australian teenagers, 16 and 14, have been convicted under the country’s counter-terrorism laws.

The anonymised details of the two unrelated cases were published as part of an unprecedented coordinated plea from security agencies in the Five Eyes countries – Australia, the US, Britain, Canada and New Zealand – for their citizens to do more to stop young people falling prey to radical, violent ideologies.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

McKinsey paid $1.6m to ‘guide’ Australian climate policy despite working for fossil fuel companies

Posted on by

Guardian Australia was told firm disclosed its private sector work, but it is not known which clients were listed

Consultancy firm McKinsey was paid $1.6m over 11 weeks to “inform” and “guide” Australian energy and climate policy, despite its work for the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies.

The firm, whose links to oil and gas giants are well known, conducted “detailed market, economic and policy analysis” and produced modelling that underpinned “internal energy and climate policy work”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Celebrity scam ads still targeting Australians despite tech giants’ crackdowns

Posted on by

Scammers developing sophisticated new methods will always find loopholes to access lucrative markets, experts say

Scammers are finding loopholes in restrictions brought in by Google and Meta to combat fake celebrity scam ads and experts warn they will be hard to stop while Australia remains a lucrative target for cybercriminals.

On Monday, Meta announced it would require businesses targeting financial advertising at Australians to verify themselves, including through the Australian Securities Investment Commission (Asic), to check they hold an Australian financial services licence.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Why Christmas Day weather predictions this early in December are basically ‘rubbish’

Posted on by

Some media outlets are already offering forecasts nearly three weeks out – but the BoM advises people to check in on 18 December

Wondering whether to pack a poncho or sunhat for carols? Locking in plans for a picnic or pool party on 25 December?

Some media outlets are already offering a Christmas Day forecast – nearly three weeks out from the festivities – but is it too early to rely on the festive weather forecast?

Continue reading...

Melbourne billionaire Adrian Portelli faces nine charges over alleged unlawful lottery

Posted on by

His company Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, which operates under the name LMCT+, is facing a further 10 charges

Adrian Portelli is facing nine charges in South Australia of assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery.

His company, Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, which operates under the name LMCT+, is facing 10 charges for conducting or assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Gallagher warns of robodebt repeat if public service is cut, but denies ‘scare-mongering’

Posted on by

Finance, women’s and public services minister says Coalition’s promised cuts means ‘failures of systems’

Katy Gallagher has denied running a scare campaign against the Liberals on the possibility the public service would be gutted if the opposition was elected next year, while warning she has “no doubts” the slash-and-burn would lead to another robodebt-style saga.

Several Coalition frontbenchers have ramped up their attacks on federal bureaucracy in recent months, accusing the Albanese government of mismanaging the budget by hiring more than 30,000 people to undertake key service delivery jobs, including in Centrelink and the NDIS.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Gallagher says she expects Pocock to trump her in ACT Senate race; more ball-shaped ‘debris’ on Sydney beach

Posted on by

Follow today’s news live

Detectives investigating four separate incidents of children being approached by drivers in white vans in Melbourne

Victoria police detectives are investigating four separate incidents in Melbourne in the last month of children being approached by drivers in white vans.

People like Mr Rogan prey on people’s vulnerabilities: they prey on fear, they prey on anxiety, they prey on all of the elements that contribute to uncertainty in society.

They entrepreneur fantasy outcomes and conspiracy outcomes as being a normal part of social narrative – I personally find it deeply repulsive.

Continue reading...

Uniformed NSW police again face Sydney Mardi Gras ban

Posted on by

Officers could be barred from marching in 2025 over concerns force hasn’t improved relations with LGBTQ+ community

New South Wales police are facing a ban from the upcoming Mardi Gras parade over concerns about the force’s relationship with the queer community.

At the event’s annual general meeting on Saturday, members will vote on three resolutions on police participation in the parade after uniformed officers were banned from joining the 2024 march.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson to cut short Australian book tour due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’

Posted on by

Former UK prime minister cancels Melbourne event but will proceed with Sydney show on Friday

Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson will cut short his Australian book tour after cancelling a Melbourne event this week.

Johnson was due to speak at a dinner at the Sofitel hotel in Melbourne on Saturday to promote his political memoir, Unleashed. The event was to follow another show in Sydney, which will go ahead on Friday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Australian debt collection giant will cease to exist after claims it dodged its own blacklisting

Posted on by

Panthera’s new owners will seek to take a ‘strong moral and ethical focus, based on robust corporate social responsibility’

Panthera, one of Australia’s biggest debt collection firms, has been sold and its brand will cease to exist after claims that it circumvented a blacklisting barring it from operating in Victoria.

Panthera has been mired in scandal since the federal court found in 2020 that it had unlawfully harassed Australians for money they did not owe.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Chris Dawson launches appeal against carnal knowledge conviction after failing to overturn murder verdict

Posted on by

76-year-old was convicted in 2023 of a historical charge of carnal knowledge as a teacher of a girl aged under 17

Wife-killer Chris Dawson is seeking to overturn his conviction for sexual activity with one of his teenage students after a bid to appeal his murder verdict failed.

The 76-year-old was convicted at Sydney’s Downing Centre district court in June 2023 of a historical charge of carnal knowledge as a teacher of a girl over 10 and under 17.

Continue reading...

Agency in charge of Australia’s $368bn submarine program faces staff morale crisis

Posted on by

Exclusive: the 17-month-old department has lost a senior leader and ranked second worst for staff wellbeing in the annual public service census

The agency overseeing Australia’s almost $400bn acquisition of nuclear submarines is facing a staff morale crisis and the threat of an external review of its operations, with a key deputy director leaving after just a year.

The Australian Submarine Agency, or ASA, was established 17 months ago to oversee submarine purchases under the Aukus pact but Guardian Australia understands it has become the subject of growing government concern about its priorities, governance and leadership.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Rio Tinto investor urges mining giant to drop primary London listing

Posted on by

Hedge fund with £197m stake leads push to prioritise Sydney exchange as FTSE 100 firm outlines ambitious copper production targets

An activist investor in Rio Tinto has demanded the miner scrap its primary London listing and focus on Australia, as the FTSE 100 firm outlined its long-term investment strategy.

Palliser Capital called on the metals and minerals firm to drop its “outdated” dual listing structure across the London and Sydney financial markets.

Continue reading...