Category Archives: Australia news

King Charles makes relaxed start to Australian tour but spends less than 10 minutes at lunch in his honour

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After a day of rest, monarch appears at Sydney lunch in his honour and gives hosts an hourglass while joking about swift passage of time

King Charles III did not linger long at the luncheon put on in his honour, at the second scheduled event of his short Australian visit. And his gift to the gathering was a reminder of the fleeting passage of time.

There was a menu fit for a king, and very Sydney: chargrilled asparagus and olive dust; marinated octopus and squid ink wafer; barramundi and duck confit.

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Jane Hume defends Dutton over clashes with ABC journalists after testy exchange in WA – as it happened

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The family of stabbing victim Vyleen White has helped the Queensland Liberal National party to launch its election campaign.

The LNP is promising to introduce “adult time for adult crime” amid claims of a youth crime “crisis” in the state.

In our family’s hour of need, both men came to our home. But there was only one who is a true leader.

We as a family will not allow her death to be in vain.

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Teal independent says likely byelection win in Sydney was a ‘race to the top’ with Liberals

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Jacqui Scruby was on track to comfortably take Pittwater and said the results showed voters appreciated a ‘different way of doing politics’

Teal independent Jacqui Scruby, the likely winner of the NSW byelection in Pittwater, says the contest in the blue-ribbon seat has shown how strong candidates can encourage a “race to the top” in politics.

“It was a very competitive byelection,” Scruby said on Sunday.

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Victorian premier pushes ahead with housing plan to rezone affluent areas despite anger from locals

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Brighton residents chant ‘Shame, premier, shame’ as they surround the pub where Jacinta Allan announces policy

Victoria’s premier has taken aim at opponents of government plans for high-rise apartments to soar above Melbourne’s inner suburbs.

Jacinta Allan on Sunday announced a plan to create 50 new “activity zones” to help deliver more than 30,000 additional homes across Melbourne by 2051.

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Pocock condemns ‘seriously regressive’ elements of Dutton’s $5bn plan to tackle housing crisis

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ACT senator says opposition proposal to freeze national building codes shows ‘climate change denial’, as Labor calls policy a ‘card trick’

David Pocock has called parts of Peter Dutton’s new $5bn housing policy “seriously regressive” as housing experts questioned whether it would saddle families on the fringes of cities with invisible costs.

The opposition unveiled its plans to alleviate the country’s housing crisis on Saturday.

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LNP leader launches Queensland election campaign with promise of mandatory isolation for child offenders who assault guards

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David Crisafulli pledges minimum isolation periods for youths who attack staff despite evidence of dangers of solitary confinement

The Liberal National party leader, David Crisafulli, has promised to introduce “mandatory isolation periods” for children who assault workers in youth detention, as the Queensland opposition formally launched its state election campaign on Sunday.

Speaking to a crowd of LNP candidates and party faithful in Ipswich, Crisafulli focused much of his remarks on what he has dubbed the state’s “youth crime crisis”.

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Teal independent Jacqui Scruby coasts to byelection win in Sydney Liberal heartland

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Scruby was backed by Climate 200 in the fight for the northern beaches seat

A Climate 200-backed independent is on track to secure a comfortable victory in the latest contest between the Liberal party and teal candidates.

The Liberals were defending three heartland seats in northern Sydney byelections on Saturday, and were on track to easily hold two of those as votes were counted on Saturday night.

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Australia to review all 66 military export permits to Israel approved before Gaza conflict

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Department of Defence considering international commitments on exports amid ongoing war in Middle East

Australia is carrying out a review of all 66 defence-related export permits for Israel that were approved prior to the Gaza conflict.

Guardian Australia understands the review is being done in a similar manner to the UK government’s recent reassessment of arms licences to Israel, with the outcome to be announced “in coming months”.

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Victorian government to rezone affluent areas in bid to attract ‘locked out’ young people to 50 suburbs

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Planning overhaul will clear way for buildings of up to 20 storeys near stations including Brighton and Toorak in a move likely to draw strong opposition

The Victorian Labor government is set to seize planning control of some of Melbourne’s most affluent suburbs in an effort to build thousands more homes, setting the stage for a fight with the opposition and local government.

The premier, Jacinta Allan, will announce an overhaul of planning rules in 50 inner-Melbourne areas located near public transport, including in Brighton, Malvern and Toorak, to allow for greater density.

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Modern day grave robbers are using emojis and codewords to secretly trade real human bones

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The trade is flourishing online, experts say, as bone collectors exploit legal loopholes to buy and sell human remains

A modern form of “grave robbery” is flourishing online, experts say, as bone collectors exploit legal loopholes to buy and sell human remains.

In Australia, where it is illegal to buy or sell human remains (albeit with some exceptions), people sell photographs of the remains then add the bones as a “gift”.

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Protecting the Green Triangle: experts warn of ‘irreversible’ groundwater decline

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The groundwater system in western Victoria and south-east South Australia has begun to show signs of collapse, threatening the water security of SA’s second biggest city

Some of the best-quality groundwater in Australia underlies the upper and lower south-east of South Australia and parts of south-western Victoria.

But almost 200 years of draw down for agriculture, farming and domestic use has changed the surface drainage. Underground water in some areas has collapsed and water quality is deteriorating, putting at risk not only a fragile natural ecosystem but a $5bn regional economy.

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Labor retains power in ACT election as swing goes to independents

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ABC election pundit Antony Green calls win for Labor-Greens coalition on Saturday night

Australia’s “for ever government” has lived up to its name, with Labor retaining power to extend its record reign in the ACT beyond a quarter of a century.

The ACT Labor leader, Andrew Barr, already the longest-serving political leader in the country, fended off a negative swing and an independent surge to win his third election as chief minister.

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Commonwealth Bank says it has resolved duplicate transaction issue after funds wiped from accounts

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CBA says ‘the process to reverse these transactions has been completed’ and any fees charged will be refunded

The Commonwealth Bank says it has resolved the error which left customers’ balances lower than they should have been after the bank charged some transactions twice, and left some worrying about how they would buy essentials and pay rent.

The duplicates involved transactions from recent days and resulted in some people having their bank accounts overdrawn.

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Woman and two children found dead after being seen in distress in Sydney river

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Emergency services recover bodies of children, aged five and seven, at Floyd Bay in Lansvale

A woman and two children, aged five and seven, have died after being seen in distress in waters in Sydney’s south-west.

Emergency services were called to a boat ramp at Floyd Bay on the Georges River in Lansvale on Saturday morning after a woman and two children were seen in the water in distress.

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Queensland warned of severe thunderstorms and large hail after east coast battered by wild weather

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Storms and showers predicted to linger around Australia’s east coast over the weekend

Damaging conditions are due to ease after days of wild weather but the risk remains of major thunderstorms.

Residents in Queensland’s Wide Bay and surrounding land areas have been put on alert for a risk of severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and large hail on Saturday.

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Sydney beaches reopen after tar balls wash ashore but mystery remains over source

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NSW Maritime executive director says balls appear to be made up of fatty acids, chemicals found in cleaning and cosmetic products, and fuel oil

A baffling tar ball emergency that closed major beaches in Sydney’s eastern suburbs appears to be over.

The remaining beaches closed to bathers at Coogee, Maroubra and Clovelly have been cleared to reopen on Saturday after Bondi and several others reopened on Friday.

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Could Australia’s outdated voltage standards be taking years off the life of your toaster?

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Lowering voltage about 5% could lower emissions and save customers on the national electricity market around $110 a year, research shows

Ever wondered why your trusty toaster abruptly failed or your widescreen TV suddenly went on the fritz, far too early in the life of the appliance?

Excessively high voltage levels might be to blame for their premature demise, energy experts say.

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Crikey sacks columnist Guy Rundle for text to ABC that claimed ‘every grope is now sexual assault’

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Exclusive: CEO Will Hayward calls comments ‘appalling’ and that he would ‘no longer be publishing his work’

Crikey’s correspondent-at-large Guy Rundle has been sacked after he sent a text to ABC Radio saying sexual assault complaints have gone up because “every grope is now a sexual assault”.

Guardian Australia understands the ABC told the publisher of Crikey, Private Media, that the message was one of dozens of “inflammatory” texts sent by the writer on a variety of topics in recent months to the RN Breakfast show, hosted by Patricia Karvelas. The sexual assault text is the first one Karvelas has read out on air along with his name.

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King Charles’s visit puts the monarchy’s Australian future back in focus

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Hopeful Republicans are calling it the ‘farewell tour’, as the king toes the tried and tested constitutional line

As the king arrives in Australia for the first time as head of state, republican rumblings are once more on the media radar.

Will it be, as the Australian Republic Movement (ARM) optimistically opines, the monarchy’s “farewell tour”?

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In the rain of King Charles: royal couple touch down in Australia

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Amid a downpour at Sydney airport, the monarch arrives with Queen Camilla for a five-day visit

Minutes after a drenching downpour came to an end at Sydney airport, King Charles and Queen Camilla stepped on to Australian soil for their first visit as reigning monarchs.

The five-day trip is the couple’s first Australian visit since the King ascended to the throne in 2022 and the first by a reigning monarch since his mother Queen Elizabeth toured the country in 2011.

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