Category Archives: Australia news

Pacific Islands Forum communique taken down after Chinese envoy calls Taiwan reference ‘unacceptable’

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‘Visibly angry’ Qian Bo demands correction of Taiwan’s ‘development partner’ label despite its use for more than three decades

A summit of Pacific leaders has ended in drama after China’s regional envoy demanded the scrapping of language about Taiwan, with the communique later republished without the offending paragraph.

The Pacific Islands Forum (Pif) summit in Tonga this week brought together Australia, New Zealand and 16 Pacific island countries or territories, only three of which still have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

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One driver dead, another in hospital after explosive crash on Bruce Highway in Queensland

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Male truck driver airlifted to hospital from Bororen, 400km north of Brisbane, as ammonium nitrate spill sparks 2.5km exclusion zone

People were ordered to evacuate from the site of a fiery crash after a semi-trailer carrying chemicals and a ute collided on a major highway and the truck exploded.

An emergency alert was issued advising residents in an exclusion zone to “leave immediately” after the Bruce Highway crash at Bororen, 400km north of Brisbane, early on Friday.

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Australia news live: BoM predicts warm spring as Sydney faces high fire danger and four states warned of high winds

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Windy weekend in prospect as BoM forecasts warmer-than-usual spring. Follow the day’s news live

Good morning and welcome to the end-of-week news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the overnight stories to get you up to speed before hosting duties switch to Emily Wind.

Mano Yogalingam was 23 years old and had “his whole life in front of him”. But the stresses and strains of living with the prospect of being deported back to Sri Lanka pushed him over the edge and he took his own life this week. Our top story this morning hears from refugee advocates who say the death of the Tamil asylum seeker has exposed the failings of the fast-track immigration system. “All of these people have been failed by the system. It’s a total cobweb of cruelty,” one said.

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‘Hold them captive’: Australian billionaire boss aims to end staff going out for coffee

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Chris Ellison, of Perth-based mining firm Mineral Resources, has already banned working from home

A billionaire mining boss who has already banned home working has said he does not want staff to step out of the office for coffee either.

Chris Ellison, the managing director of Mineral Resources, said the industry could not afford to continue down the path of flexible working, and that his company was investing in amenities at the firm’s head office in Perth, Western Australia, to keep people from leaving the building.

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There were 99 men for every 100 women in 2023, the Australian Bureau of Statistics says

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Darwin was the youngest city and had the highest disparity between numbers of men and women

Darwin had the youngest population of Australian state and territory capital cities in 2023, while Adelaide had the oldest, according to new population data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

The statistics show that cities tend to be younger hubs than the regions, while mining, military bases, universities and prisons heavily influence the demographic picture in some areas.

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Commonwealth Bank CEO labels Greens’ tax policy ‘insidious populism’ after firm’s $9.8bn profit

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Matt Comyn tells parliamentary inquiry that criticism of business profits ‘erodes trust in institutions’

The Commonwealth Bank chief executive, Matt Comyn, has described a proposed excessive profits tax as “insidious populism” and labelled criticism of profitable businesses as “fact-free rhetoric” that is damaging trust in public institutions.

Appearing before a parliamentary inquiry on Thursday, the head of Australia’s biggest bank appeared frustrated by questions about payment surcharges and corporate relationships and abruptly turned his attention to address criticism of big business.

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Sale of chemical used in suicides of three transgender women should be restricted, Victorian inquest finds

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Sodium nitrite has been used in dozens of deaths in the state and federal government should take action, coroner says

The sale of a chemical used by three transgender women who took their own lives should be restricted by the federal government, the Victorian coroner says, after an inquest heard it has been used in dozens of suicides in the state.

Victoria’s coroners court last year held an inquest into the suicides of five transgender women who died between 2020 and 2021, including that of Matt Byrne, 25, who took her life after a botched back yard surgery.

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Australia news live: Josh Burns breaks ranks to call for gender and sexuality questions in census

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Follow today’s news headlines live

Severe weather warnings are in place across southern parts of the country for strong winds, including Victoria and Tasmania.

Here’s a wrap of the warnings currently in place, according to the Bureau of Meteorology:

Victoria – a strong cold front is expected to reach Victoria later today, clearing to the east tomorrow morning. Locations which may be affected by the wild weather include Portland, Bacchus Marsh, Falls Creek, Mt Hotham, Mt Buller and Omeo.

For the Central, West and South Gippsland and East Gippsland areas, a warning for abnormally high tides is in place.

Tasmania – a strong cold front is also expected to reach Tasmania later today, crossing the state tomorrow morning. The entire state is covered by the severe weather warning.

New South Wales – north-westerly winds are forecast to strengthen later today as a strong cold front approaches from the west. Locations which may be affected include Wollongong, Nowra, Bowral, Batemans Bay, Katoomba and Goulburn.

Meanwhile, fire danger ratings for the greater Sydney and Illawarra have been downgraded to “moderate” today after reaching “high” yesterday.

Western Australia – gusty, showery conditions are expected over parts of the South West Land Division today.

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Siya was born in Melbourne but excluded from Medicare. A coroner says this contributed to her death 23 days later

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Victorian coroner finds baby’s death was entirely preventable after inquest hears Covid lockdowns also affected care

In the depths of Melbourne’s longest Covid lockdowns, Siya Patel’s parents knew something was wrong with their newborn daughter.

Yet despite their best efforts to navigate the state’s then heavily restricted healthcare system, their baby died from a brain injury caused by dehydration due to insufficient oral intake on 12 September 2020.

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‘Immoral and unacceptable’: Tuvalu calls on Australia to set urgent deadline to end fossil fuels

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A day after agreement was ratified at the Pacific Island Forum, the country’s climate minister says ‘root cause of climate change’ must be addressed

Tuvalu’s climate minister has declared that “opening, subsidising and exporting fossil fuels is immoral and unacceptable”, just a day after Australia ratified a climate and security deal with the low-lying Pacific nation.

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, welcomed the agreement with Tuvalu on Wednesday, saying Pacific island countries were “fully aware of the commitment that we have to climate action” but gas would continue to play a role.

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Sex discrimination commissioner urges Labor to reverse decision excluding gender and sexuality census questions

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Anna Cody worries the Albanese government’s backflip could ‘strengthen the voices of discrimination’

The sex discrimination commissioner has called on the Albanese government to put gender and sexuality questions in the census, as the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, appeared to open the door to revising the controversial decision to exclude them.

On Thursday Anna Cody wrote to the government warning backtracking on a commitment to ask about gender and sexuality “carries serious implications for the health, wellbeing and general equality of LGBTIQA+ Australians and their families”.

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NSW health minister apologises to women failed by maternity care after birth trauma inquiry

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Ryan Park pledges to fast-track a number of initiatives, including to improve access to continuity of care and ensure informed consent

The New South Wales health minister, Ryan Park, has apologised to women who were failed by the maternity care they received, as the government supported all 43 recommendations from a state inquiry into birth trauma.

Thousands of women shared harrowing details with the inquiry, which was established in 2023 to understand experiences of childbirth that lead to physical or psychological harm.

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Police seek answers over Queensland woman’s body found on NSW beach six months after ‘highly unusual’ disappearance

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Wendy Hansen was last seen near Bundaberg in February before her remains were discovered at Coffs Harbour in June. Police say her death is suspicious

Mystery surrounds the death of a Queensland woman whose remains were found in dunes at a New South Wales beach, hundreds of kilometres away from where she was last spotted.

NSW police have launched a homicide investigation into the death of Wendy Hansen, who vanished six months ago.

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Qantas profit down 16% to $2.1bn as surging demand for cheap fares helps Jetstar

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International business revenues fell significantly on last year’s result, while budget carrier’s earnings rose 23%

Qantas Airways has posted a $2.1bn annual underlying profit – down 16% from last year’s record result – amid a surge in demand for budget Jetstar fares and mounting public anger at its service and ticket policies.

Australia’s biggest airline said bookings and travel demand remained stable across its flying brands, although moderating air fares had eroded profits, especially on international flights.

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Australian PM caught on camera joking with senior US official over funding of Pacific policing plan

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Anthony Albanese tells journalists to ‘chill out’ over comments filmed in the wings of Pacific Islands Forum

The Australian prime minister has been caught on camera in Tonga joking with a senior US official about going “halvies” on the cost of a newly announced Pacific policing plan.

The deputy secretary of state, Kurt Campbell, appeared to suggest in the video that the US had been planning to pursue an unspecified security-related proposal but had been encouraged by Australia not to proceed.

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Australia’s electricity grid to remain reliable if renewable projects delivered ‘on time and in full’, Aemo says

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Investments in solar, wind, batteries, pumped hydro and transmission links must be delivered ‘on time and in full’

Australia’s electricity authority has declared the country’s main power grid will remain reliable as it shifts from coal domination to running overwhelmingly on renewable energy – but only if investments in new generation are delivered “on time and in full”.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) reached its conclusion in a report that considered what needs to be built over the next decade to maintain the National Electricity Market, which links the five eastern states and the ACT.

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Brittany Higgins had counselling days after her alleged rape, court hears

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Lawyer Rachael Young tells the court Higgins had encountered a delay in accessing parliament’s employee assistance program

Brittany Higgins had counselling within days of her alleged rape in Parliament House, a defamation trial has been told.

Higgins is being sued by her former boss, senator Linda Reynolds, over a series of social media posts the ex-defence minister alleged damaged her reputation.

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Nine-month-old baby undergoes surgery after man allegedly pours hot coffee on him

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Police increase patrols near Hanlon Park in Brisbane after nine-month-old boy taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries

The mother of a baby boy hospitalised after hot coffee was allegedly poured on him by a stranger has described the experience as “torture”.

The nine-month-old underwent surgery after suffering burns to his face and chest following what police described as a “cowardly” and random attack in a Brisbane park.

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Woman claims she was asked to catalogue sex tapes before high-profile Sydney man raped her, court told

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The man, who cannot be named, denies he raped the woman or asked her to watch sex tapes

A high profile Sydney man allegedly asked his intern to catalogue sex tapes of himself and his ex-wife moments before he allegedly raped her, a court has heard.

The woman, who was 19 at the time she was allegedly raped, appeared before the NSW Downing Centre district court on Wednesday, in the second day of a trial expected to last 10 weeks. She said the footage was “incredibly explicit sexual intercourse”.

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Sydney property developer who ‘washed’ money for tax fraud scheme blackmailer forced to repay $11m

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Liquidators to recoup millions sent to blackmailer who threatened to expose Plutus Payroll tax fraud scheme

A Sydney property developer who helped “wash” money for a blackmailer convicted for threatening to expose tax fraud will have to cough up more than $11m.

Plutus Payroll and its directors stole $105m from the Australian Taxation Office by skimming off GST and transferring it elsewhere, according to court findings.

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