Category Archives: Australia news

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

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.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

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.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Perverse incentives leave young Australians locked out of community housing, study finds

Posted on by

Researchers find providers stand to lose 46% of possible income if they rent to young people compared with those on higher welfare payments

Thousands of young people are missing out on a safe place to live each year because community housing providers get more rent from older adults, research has revealed.

The lead author of the University of New South Wals research, Dr Ryan van den Nouwelant, said providers stood to lose 46% of the possible rental income if they chose a young person over an adult on a higher social security payment.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Thorpe and Faruqi to ask Senate to investigate alleged racism and sexism in parliament

Posted on by

Exclusive: Two senators sponsor motion calling for a review of rules covering discriminatory language and behaviour

Lidia Thorpe and Mehreen Faruqi will ask the Senate’s procedure committee to investigate racism and sexism in federal parliament, raising concerns about “white privilege” and how women of colour are treated in politics.

The two senators, former colleagues in the Greens before Thorpe quit the party for the crossbench, have co-sponsored a Senate motion calling for investigation into whether the chamber’s rules should be updated to “eliminate language, behaviour, decision-making, and practices that are sexist, racist or otherwise exclusionary and discriminatory”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

‘He was wedged like an hourglass’: rescuers describe 20-hour ordeal ending with amputation of rafter’s leg

Posted on by

Lithuanian tourist pack rafting on Franklin River still fighting for life in Tasmanian hospital

A 69-year-old Lithuanian man has been praised for his “extraordinary resilience” after emergency service workers were forced to amputate his leg during a 20-hour rescue operation in remote south-west Tasmania.

The man, who remained in a critical condition in Royal Hobart hospital on Sunday evening, had been travelling with a group of 11 tourists on a multi-day rafting trip on the remote Franklin River.

Continue reading...

Labor dumps misinformation bill after Senate unites against it

Posted on by

Communications minister Michelle Rowland will also not unveil any gambling ad ban legislation in the last sitting week of the year

The Albanese government has dumped its controversial mis- and disinformation bill, conceding there is “no pathway” to getting the proposal passed through the Senate.

The communications minister, Michelle Rowland, insisted misinformation and disinformation remained a grave concern for democracy, national security and online safety, but said the government would not proceed with the proposal. It is the second time Labor has pulled the bill, after an initial version also failed to gain support and raised concerns about freedom of speech online.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Parents of teenagers who died in suspected Laos methanol poisoning hope deaths ‘not in vain’

Posted on by

Bianca Jones’s father urged Laos government to investigate deaths to the ‘fullest’ and ensure it could not happen again

Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones’s devastated families have pleaded with Laos authorities to get to the bottom of a mass methanol poisoning tragedy.

The Australians, both 19, are among six foreign tourists who have died from a suspected methanol poisoning event in Laos.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Parents of surviving Bali Nine inmates ‘quietly hopeful’ as minister confirms talks under way to return them to Australia

Posted on by

Five remaining members would continue to serve sentences upon returning under proposal, trade minister Don Farrell says

The parents of the surviving Bali Nine members are “quietly hopeful” their children will be repatriated to Australia in a deal with the Indonesian government, according to a pastor who has been in close contact with them for 20 years.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, raised their repatriation during a meeting with the Indonesian president, Prabowo Subianto, on the sidelines of the Apec summit in Peru last week. Senior Australian ministers have confirmed negotiations between the two nations are ongoing.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...