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Investigations under way after alleged theft of non-fuctional guns from museum
An investigation is under way after a museum in Lithgow, in the NSW Central Tablelands, was allegedly broken into overnight.
Continue reading...Female senior constable alleges male officer stalked and harassed her at remote police beat
A Queensland police officer accused of inappropriate behaviour by four female colleagues over 15 years – including one case that resulted in a $1m plus payout – is being investigated over a claim he stalked a female officer.
Guardian Australia understands last month the male officer was issued with a notice barring him from attending a remote police “beat” after a female senior constable made allegations of stalking and harassment.
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Continue reading...Actuaries Institute report says rising insurance premiums will increase further because of natural disasters associated with climate crisis
Fast-rising home insurance premiums have plunged 1.6m households into affordability stress, an Actuaries Institute report has warned, with those in cyclone and flood-prone areas facing significant spikes in cost.
The figure is a 30% increase over the past year, and the institute has forecast it will only worsen as the frequency and intensity of natural disasters grows.
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Continue reading...With everything from coffee to mining equipment now being delivered by drone, operators are exploring technology to stop connection black spots sending drones dropping from the sky
Jani Talikka was a commercial pilot flying Boeing 717s, but after ordering a drone delivery as a customer, he decided to shift gears.
“I didn’t leave fixed-wing aviation because I disliked it – but drones are cutting edge,” he told Guardian Australia. “It’s rare you get to be a part of something like this at the start.”
Continue reading...Carriers and airports will have to adhere to customer rights charter setting out ‘reasonable and fair’ conduct – or be penalised
An ombudsman will police how airlines treat customers and enforce a passenger rights charter to ensure timely refunds and possibly cash compensation for delayed and cancelled flights under landmark Australian aviation reforms.
The Albanese government will release its much-anticipated aviation white paper on Monday which will also boost protections for passengers with disabilities who have historically been mistreated by airlines. Carriers will have to adhere to new standards and accommodate a broader range of wheelchairs.
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Continue reading...Meteorologists say major population centres including Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra should expect power outages and dangerous driving conditions
Millions of Australians are bracing for power outages and dangerous driving conditions as wild thunderstorms sweep across three states.
Thunderstorms were developing over Adelaide and south-east South Australia on Sunday and were expected to track across large swathes of New South Wales and Victoria during the afternoon and evening.
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Continue reading...BluLink gives emergency responders access to scene before they have even arrived
Livestreaming unfolding emergencies directly to police is now possible in New South Wales using an innovative technology system.
The statewide rollout of BluLink allows triple zero callers to provide police with GPS coordinates, live video streaming, digital media uploads and text messages via a link sent to them from emergency dispatchers.
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Continue reading...NDIS minister says participants will still be able to request funding for support that is not on approved list if it is genuinely needed
The national disability insurance scheme minister, Bill Shorten, has assured participants that under Labor’s changes, support not on a list of approved items could still be accessed if it is genuinely needed.
The comments come as the Greens and disability advocacy groups warn a draft list outlining which supports and services can be funded, and which ones cannot, will leave some participants worse off.
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Continue reading...NSW police allege 58-year-old driver stabbed his partner with box cutter before Engadine collision and then attacked witnesses who came to help
Four people including a police officer have been injured after a driver involved in a Sydney car crash allegedly stabbed his passenger before lashing out at witnesses who tried to help.
Two vehicles collided at the intersection of the Princes Highway and Old Bush Road in Engadine before 9am on Sunday, New South Wales police said.
Continue reading...Experts have questioned why so few homes are rated substandard, given the commission found one in three residents experience neglect, abuse or poor care
The star rating system of aged care homes was introduced in December 2022 to help older people and their families compare the quality and safety of services and providers.
Developed as a recommendation of the royal commission, the system has repeatedly come under scrutiny. Experts and unions have questioned why so few homes are rated substandard, given the commission found one in three residents experience neglect, abuse or poor care; and how homes on the non-compliance register manage ratings of three stars and above.
If you are having issues or concerns with your aged care, call OPAN on 1800 700 600. The National Dementia Helpline is also available on 1800 100 500.
Continue reading...Results of consultation will form independent report and motion will be voted on at annual general meeting later this year
The Sydney Mardi Gras board will vote on whether NSW police force members will march in its annual parade later this year.
In an email sent to members on Friday evening, the board announced three community consultation sessions – two online and one in person – would be held in September to gather feedback.
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Continue reading...The 28-year-old was last seen by his sister in the Derrimut area of the city’s west with four other men about 9pm on Friday
Police are trying to piece together what happened during the seven hours leading up to the death of a man found in a Melbourne park with apparent stab wounds.
The 28-year-old was last seen by his sister in the Derrimut area of the city’s west with four other men about 9pm on Friday.
Continue reading...US specialist on invasive species says the densities of the destructive pest are approaching what he has seen in Texas
Parts of Queensland have as many fire ants as Texas – a hotbed of the uncontrolled infestation that costs the US billions of dollars each year, an expert has warned
Dr Robert Puckett is an American specialist on invasive ant species and he’s followed Australia’s efforts to eradicate fire ants since they were discovered in Brisbane 23 years ago.
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Continue reading...‘We are moving into a pretty active week,’ meteorologist says, with a number of weather systems moving across the south
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned people to check their forecasts as “really intense warm conditions” expected to break temperature records in some places across central Australia give way to strong winds, storms and hail across the south-east of the country on Sunday.
“We are moving into a pretty active week, as we’d call it,” said Miriam Bradbury, senior meteorologist. “There are a number of weather systems moving through in southern Australia.”
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Continue reading...Retailers like Temple & Webster have slashed their pricing and tweaked their product range to lure gen Z and millennials – and it’s working
Many Australian businesses are feeling the pinch as customers can no longer afford the armchairs, gadgets, clothing brands and new bathrooms they could before the cost of living shot up.
But spending patterns remain uneven, and at times counterintuitive, leading to a mixed corporate earnings season marked by subdued but not collapsing demand.
Continue reading...Emergency services visited a Darkwood property, about 67km west of Coffs Harbour, after reports a dead body had been found
A woman has been charged with a domestic violence-related murder, after a man’s body was allegedly found in a surfboard bag at a rural property in Darkwood, west of Coffs Harbour.
A 35-year-old woman was arrested on Friday afternoon in Nambucca Heads and taken to Macksville police station where she was charged with the murder of a 62-year-old man.
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Continue reading...Landmark federal court judgment could trigger proceedings against three other energy retailers
AGL breached Australian energy rules more than 16,000 times through its use of the government-run Centrepay system to wrongly take welfare money from almost 500 people years after they ceased being customers, a court has ruled.
The landmark federal court judgment could trigger proceedings against three other energy retailers, which were referred to the regulator following a Guardian investigation into failures of the Centrepay system.
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Continue reading...Exclusive: Greens decry expansion of scheme to ‘all non-citizens’ – including those whose asylum claims were rejected after arriving by air – as a ‘bribe’
The federal government has quietly given itself the power to pay any unlawful non-citizen to leave Australia or for foreign countries to resettle them, in what the Greens have labelled an attempt to “bribe” asylum seekers.
New regulations made on 15 August expanded the return and reintegration assistance program (RRAP), which currently pays up to $7,500 cash plus expenses to people on bridging visas, or those who arrived by boat, to leave Australia.
Continue reading...New male baby of near-threatened species born at Werribee open range zoo to be named in public competition in coming weeks
A very large bundle of joy was quietly delivered to a Melbourne zoo last Sunday as a southern white rhino gave birth to a male calf.
Mother Kipenzi, 11, and father Kifaru, 15, welcomed their 60kg baby into the world in the early hours of 18 August, Werribee open range zoo announced.
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Continue reading...Moderate senator says the idea of new developments in established suburbs does not sit well with some Liberals
New South Wales Liberal frontbench senator Andrew Bragg has accused some of his party colleagues of “playing footsies with nimbys” for blocking real estate developments in Sydney’s suburbs that he says would help ease the housing crisis.”
The shadow assistant minister for home ownership told Guardian Australia that some Liberals were encouraging a not-in-my-back yard attitude to expanding housing stock in some metropolitan areas and obstructing measures that could help increase supply.
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