Category Archives: Australia news

Australia’s ski season could melt away early as snowfall drops to nearly half the average

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August should mean peak snow depth, Jindabyne worker says, but early blast of spring threatens ‘catastrophic’ premature end to season

Australia’s snow season has begun to melt away early as unseasonable warmth cuts snowfalls to almost half the average for this time of year, experts say.

A global-heating fuelled early blast of spring weather means the season may have peaked early, with snow fields melted by warm temperatures and washed away by showers.

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NSW judge faces ban after scathing report criticises his handling of sexual assault trial

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Report finds that during trial Judge Robert Newlinds repeatedly called crown case ‘hopeless’ and vilified the alleged sexual assault victim

A judge could be pulled from hearing criminal cases after a watchdog found he abused his power when criticising New South Wales’s top prosecutor and vilifying a sexual assault complainant.

A report found that district court Judge Robert Newlinds publicly criticised the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in his judgment on a sexual assault case in 2023, suggesting the trial had been run in a way unfair to the accused.

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Australia news live: winter heat record set in South Australia; NZ suspends import of all Australian tomatoes

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South Australia has notched up its hottest winter day on record. Follow the day’s news live

David Anderson says it was ‘the right time for me’ to resign from ABC

The ABC managing director, David Anderson, is speaking with ABC RN after yesterday’s announcement of his resignation.

And I think the right time for the ABC. It is something I had thought about now for months, and went away on leave, spoke to [ABC chair] Kim [Williams] a lot. Kim tried to get me to change my mind. [I] came back from leave with it, certain in my mind that I was making the right decision.

We’ve got a long lead time for the board to find a new managing director, and I’ve been asked to and I agreed to stay on until that person starts, which could very well be April next year.

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Melbourne’s e-scooter wars escalate as neighbouring councils unite in support after city centre ban

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Merri-Bek, Darebin and Moonee Valley mayors back e-scooter hire schemes after Melbourne city council ejects the vehicles from the CBD

Victoria’s e-scooters wars have ramped up, with mayors in Melbourne’s north uniting to back e-scooter hire schemes after the mayor banned them from operating in the inner city.

The mayor, Nicholas Reece, succeeded in banning the rentals in the city council area, arguing the e-scooters presented an unacceptable safety risk and that Melbourne’s city needed a reset.

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NSW hit by magnitude 4.8 earthquake felt as far south as Canberra

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More than 2,000 people reported feeling the quake, which struck 120km northwest of Newcastle, causing windows to blow in and a chimney to topple

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake has hit New South Wales, causing windows to smash and a chimney to fall over.

The quake – revised down from a magnitude 5 – hit Denman, 120km northwest of Newcastle in the upper Hunter region. It struck at 12.02pm on Friday, with a depth of 10km, and is the largest to hit the area in 20 years.

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Australia’s family court ‘keeps women unsafe’ and is used against them, inquiry hears

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Single Mother Families Australia CEO asked why magistrates and courts don’t share information live, saying the technology already exists

Family violence workers have told a parliamentary inquiry the family court system is “keeping women unsafe” and is being weaponised by perpetrators to subject victims to further harm.

The inquiry heard examples of perpetrators using the threat of family court proceedings to keep women in abusive relationships, including to instil fears they will be bankrupted or lose access to children.

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SafeWork NSW investigating Swillhouse hospitality group after staff allege harassment and discrimination

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High-profile Sydney bar and restaurant group issues public apology as award-winning bartender comes forward alleging workplace sexual assault

SafeWork NSW is investigating high profile Sydney bar and restaurant group Swillhouse after a series of allegations by staff of harassment, discrimination and unsafe workplaces.

A Sydney Morning Herald investigation this week alleged staff had experienced sexual assault and harassment and drug use within the group’s venues. A former Australian bartender of the year who worked for Swillhouse has publicly come forward as an alleged victim of sexual assault while working at the hospitality group.

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Humpback whale in Sydney Harbour freed from rope entanglement in hours-long rescue

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Operation to free young animal from ropes and buoys conducted ‘very carefully’

A humpback whale has been freed after being entangled in ropes in Sydney Harbour.

Jessica Fox, the second vice-president of volunteer organisation Orrca, confirmed the rescue late on Friday morning.

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Labor quietly extends work and Medicare rights to some visa-holders from Gaza and Israel

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Rights granted to two subclasses of bridging visa E as part of ‘additional assistance’ to those affected by conflict

The federal government has extended work rights and Medicare access to some visa-holders from Gaza and Israel as it prepares to shift those who arrived on visitor visas since the 7 October attacks on to bridging visas.

Without public announcement, the government issued a regulation on 5 August extending Medicare access to people holding two subclasses of bridging visa E who had already been granted work rights, and also to immediate family members who are also visa-holders.

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‘End the private school boys’ club’: slashing salaries of badly behaved MPs not enough, Lidia Thorpe says

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Independent senator says Australians are sick of ‘privileged, high-paid politicians’ not taking their jobs seriously in ‘toxic and unsafe’ Parliament House

Lidia Thorpe has questioned whether docking the salaries of highly paid federal politicians will be enough to deter bad behaviour as parliamentarians contemplate the introduction of a sanctions body for MP misconduct.

The independent senator believes racism in the halls of power should also become a focus of the workplace behaviour enforcement body, describing Parliament House as a “toxic and unsafe environment”.

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‘Heat engine’ fuelled by climate crisis bringing blast of summer weather to Australian winter

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August temperature records threaten to break as Oodnadatta in South Australia braces for 38C and BoM forecasts above 30C in Brisbane next week

Australia is on track to face its hottest August on record as a global heating-fuelled “heat engine” brings spring and summer warmth to Australia’s winter, experts forecast.

Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said the unseasonably warm weather was coming from a “heat engine” in Australia’s red centre, where clear skies in the coming week would drive maximum temperatures towards 40C, more than 10C above average, in northern SA, southern NT, and western NSW.

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Worker dead after vehicle crash at Byerwen coalmine in central Queensland

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Byerwen coalmine worker killed after 200-tonne truck ran over light vehicle, union says

A mine worker at the Byerwen Mine was killed when a 200-tonne truck allegedly ran over a light vehicle on Thursday afternoon, the mining union says.

It was the second death at the central Queensland mine in a month.

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Domestic violence victims’ addresses sent to offenders by Queensland police in major blunder

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State government apologises for data system breach as victim says it left her ‘completely defeated, broken, scared and worried’

The addresses of domestic violence victims have been shared with offenders by Queensland police, including a “vulnerable woman” who was then allegedly told to relocate by officers.

The state government apologised on Thursday after it emerged a woman felt “completely defeated” when her personal information was exposed by the serious data breach.

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NDIS deal passes both houses – as it happened

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Queensland Labor’s longest-serving state MP to retire

Queensland Labor’s longest-serving state MP has announced he will retire at October’s election.

Curtis Pitt is the last survivor of the “Tarago opposition”, the seven ALP MPs elected at the 2012 wipeout election.

The party won government back in 2015, after just one term.

In a Facebook post on Thursday morning, he announced his retirement after 15 years in politics.

It’s not a decision I’ve come to lightly. I’ve always said that the day I wake up and don’t feel I can give it 100 per cent, then it’s time for me to do something else.

When I think back, all of my kids have been born since I’ve been an MP. Having been a member of parliament for five terms, I know that I’ve missed so many important milestones and occasions.

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Driver charged after cyclist killed in alleged hit-and-run in Melbourne

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Southbank man, understood to be a food delivery rider, died at scene of crash on Plummer Street in Port Melbourne

A driver has been charged after a cyclist, understood to be a delivery rider, died in an alleged hit-and-run in Port Melbourne.

A car struck the cyclist on Plummer Street just after 8pm on Tuesday night, Victoria police said in a statement.

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Super to be paid on parental leave as Labor seeks to close gender gap

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From July 2025, 180,000 families expected to benefit from 12% superannuation paid to parents using paid parental leave

New mothers and fathers are set to have their superannuation topped up by the federal government when they are taking time off to care for their newborn.

Laws paying superannuation on top of government-funded paid parental leave have been introduced to federal parliament in an attempt to lower the gender gap for retirement savings.

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When globally famous gay penguin Sphen died in Sydney, his partner began to sing

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Zoo staff brought Magic to Sphen’s side to process the loss, and the penguin colony joined in his mournful call

Sydney gentoo penguin Sphen, whose same-sex love story made him and partner Magic an equality symbol worldwide, has died.

The couple shot to fame in 2018 when news of their same-sex male relationship in a Sydney aquarium made global headlines.

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Albanese given taxpayer-funded legal help after defamation threat from John Margerison

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Attorney general approves legal assistance ‘in relation to a defamation claim’ made against PM, along with approval for claims against Bill Shorten

The attorney general has approved legal assistance for Anthony Albanese and Bill Shorten in relation to defamation threats by a business associate of the former Liberal minister Stuart Robert.

On 12 August Mark Dreyfus approved assistance “in relation to a defamation claim” made against the prime minister on 23 July and for defamation claims on 23 and 25 July against Shorten, the government services and national disability insurance scheme minister, according to documents tabled to parliament.

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‘Grade five instincts’: why sook is the new insult of choice in Australia’s parliament

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In the rough and tumble of the House of Representatives, this barb stands out as an oldie but a goodie

In the hardbitten bear pit of politics, any sign of weakness is pounced on.

The latest favourite barb to be hurled about the federal chamber is “sook” – an oldie but a goodie. A slightly gentler insult than “snowflake”, “bedwetter” or “old jellyback”.

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Peter Dutton’s comments on Palestinians fleeing Gaza ‘bad for cohesion and harmony’, envoy says

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De facto ambassador to Australia says opposition leader’s commentary ‘not evidence based, not verified and unacceptable’

Peter Dutton’s comments about people escaping the bloodshed in Gaza are hurtful and “very bad for cohesion and harmony”, according to Palestine’s de facto ambassador to Australia.

After a week of intense parliamentary debate about Australia’s use of visitor visas for Palestinians fleeing the conflict, Izzat Salah Abdulhadi called the opposition leader’s commentary “very political”.

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