Two girls, aged seven and eight, rescued from Georges River by passerby in September 2023
A woman from Sydney’s south west has been charged following an alleged attempt to drown her children last year.
She was charged with two counts of attempt to drown person with intent to murder.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Emails seen by Guardian Australia from Michelle Rowland's office say they ‘can’t commit to a revised timeframe’ on the long-awaited reforms
The communications minister’s office has apologised to multiple people harmed by the gambling industry after delaying long-awaited advertising reforms, admitting government action has taken “longer than hoped”.
Emails seen by Guardian Australia shows Michelle Rowland’s office “can’t confirm a revised timeframe” for when it will formally respond to a report from the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, which called for a total wagering ad ban some 18 months ago.
“I acknowledge the ongoing toll this is taking on you and others, and I’m personally very sorry that we have not been able to secure an outcome thus far,” a staffer for the minister said in an email.
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Continue reading...Operation Orion, a cooperative operation between 62 countries, finds some of the record haul on a new drug route being used by a ‘narco submarine’
Colombian authorities working with dozens of other countries have seized 225 tonnes of cocaine in the space of six weeks, a global record for any single anti-narcotics operation, finding some of that haul on a “narco submarine” travelling on a new drug trafficking route to Australia.
In the six-week Operation Orion, law enforcement agencies and other organisations from 62 countries halted six semi-submersible vessels stuffed with cocaine and confiscated 1,400 tonnes of drugs in total, including more than 1,000 tonnes of marijuana.
Continue reading...Structures thousands of times narrower than a human hair suggest future uses for nanobot technology
Australian researchers have created building blocks out of DNA to construct a series of nano-scale objects and shapes, from a rod and a square to an infinitesimally small dinosaur.
The approach turns DNA into a modular material for building nanostructures – thousands of times narrower than a human hair. Developed by researchers from the University of Sydney Nano Institute and published in the journal Science Robotics, it suggests exciting possibilities for future use of nanobot technology.
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Continue reading...Oldest Carnaby’s cockatoo in wild lived to 35, with eight recorded living beyond 21, researchers find
Western Australia’s endangered Carnaby’s cockatoos can live up to 35 years in the wild, making them one of the longest-lived bird species, according to a study that began in 1969.
Eight Carnaby’s cockatoos aged between 21 and 35 years have been recorded, according to research published in Pacific Conservation Biology.
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Labour market steadying as latest monthly CPI result looms
The consensus for much of the year has been the Reserve Bank’s 13-year high interest rates would squeeze demand in the economy, nudge up unemployment and help bring down inflation. And then it could start cutting its cash rate.
And then more recently, we’re actually starting to see [the labour market] tighten.
Continue reading...Inaugural address from Leeroy Bilney, outlining racist history of Australia and future challenges, greeted with acclaim
The First Nations Voice has delivered its first message to the South Australian parliament: “We are determined to prove you wrong.”
MPs had to squeeze together to make room for all those who turned up to Wednesday’s special joint sitting to hear the Voice’s inaugural address.
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Continue reading...Hanson alleges Payman, who was born in Afghanistan, has not shown evidence she has revoked that citizenship
An extraordinary row has erupted in the Senate as Pauline Hanson attempted to have Fatima Payman investigated for an alleged section 44 citizenship issue, with Lidia Thorpe throwing papers at the One Nation leader and flipping her middle finger as she stormed out of the chamber.
The Senate president, Sue Lines said, she had advised the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service of the incident between Hanson and Thorpe this morning, saying she was “incredibly disappointed” in the behaviour which she described as “physically threatening”.
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Continue reading...Coroner urged not to ‘sugarcoat’ police officer’s actions as inquest nears end
Zachary Rolfe’s ego “had a lot to do with” the death of Kumanjayi Walker, and the former police officer “invented” evidence about the Warlpiri man attempting to take his gun before the fatal shooting, a court has heard.
The inquest into the death of Walker is holding its final hearings, almost two years after it was due to be completed.
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Continue reading...Policy costs surging for many households, committee report finds, especially those facing ‘the brunt of climate-driven disasters’
A parliamentary select committee has recommended insurance companies be forced to disclose insurance premium calculations amid a surge in the cost of household policies, especially for those living in and around areas prone to natural disasters.
The recommendation, one of eight flowing out of an inquiry into the impact of climate change on insurance premiums, comes during a period of rising stress for many homeowners who have received huge price increases in their renewal notices with little explanation.
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Continue reading...Wildlife group claims win as environment department says granting licence for bird was ‘an error’
A magpie made famous on social media may again be separated from his canine friends after a special carers’ licence was revoked.
The supreme court overturned the licence just months after it was granted to Molly the magpie’s Gold Coast rescue family that includes his best mates, dogs Peggy and Ruby.
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Continue reading...US authorities allege Californian man Raj Matharu tried to conceal more than 1kg of drugs soaked into items of clothing
An alleged would-be drug smuggler soaked a cow onesie in methamphetamine, part of a whole suitcase full of clothes he tried to sneak aboard a plane, US justice officials have said.
Raj Matharu allegedly checked in two bags at Los Angeles international airport on a flight to Sydney, Australia, the US Department of Justice said on Tuesday.
Continue reading...‘This indicates that there is not enough money and resources being attracted to expanding the housing stock,’ urban economist says
New private residential construction is at its lowest level for almost four decades but spending on renovations has boomed, according to a new analysis.
The report by KPMG found that new private residential construction spending per capita is at its lowest level since 1987-88, as renovation spending surged from 34.2% of total residential construction spend in 2018-19 to 40% in 2023-24.
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Continue reading...Departmental analysis includes contentious measurements, but climate minister says government is cleaning up after ‘decade of denial, delay, dysfunction and utter neglect’
The Australian government will claim it is on track to meet its legislated 43% emissions reduction target by 2030 after a departmental analysis found it had improved its position over the past year.
The government said annual emissions projections, based on an assessment of government policies and other trends, suggest national climate pollution would be at least 42.6% less than 2005 levels by the end of the decade, compared with 37% last year. The forecast included the impact of an underwriting scheme for new large-scale renewable energy and batteries, and vehicle efficiency standards that from next year require auto companies to start selling more zero and low-emissions cars.
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Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...‘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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Continue reading...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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Continue reading...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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Continue reading...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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Continue reading...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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