Category Archives: Australia news

Four teenagers arrested amid investigation into alleged homophobic attacks involving dating apps in WA

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Detectives charge boys with armed robbery offences after app allegedly used to arrange meetings

Police investigating a series of alleged homophobic assaults have accused four Western Australian teenagers of assaulting two men they separately arranged to meet via an online dating app.

The arrests came after police said they were investigating incidents in which men had agreed to meet someone they connected with on a dating app, and had then allegedly been assaulted by several males while being subjected to homophobic slurs.

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Australia’s population passes 27 million milestone after post-pandemic migration boost

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ABS data shows the jump from 26 to 27 million people by March 2024 took just one-and-three-quarter years, ‘far quicker than the average’

There are now more than 27 million people calling Australia home – a quick jump of 1 million people in less than two years thanks to post-pandemic overseas migration.

The national population grew by 2.3% to 27.1 million in the year ending 31 March, according to new data released by the Australia Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

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Moira Deeming kept ‘Liberal party mentor’ Peta Credlin in the loop ‘at all times’ amid Nazi stoush, court hears

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Trial shown messages between MP and Sky News host discussing defamation action against Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto

Moira Deeming viewed the Sky News host Peta Credlin as a Liberal party “mentor” when the pair liaised after the MP was ousted by the Victorian party last year, the federal court has heard.

Deeming is suing the Victorian Liberal leader, John Pesutto, for allegedly falsely portraying her as a Nazi sympathiser after she helped organise and spoke at the “Let Women Speak” rally on 18 March 2023 which was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis. She was expelled from the party less than two months later after initially being suspended in the days after the rally.

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NSW police reopen two investigations after landmark gay hate crime inquiry

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Police commissioner Karen Webb hopes new technology and fresh eyes lead to breakthrough in two of state’s 854 unsolved murders

New South Wales police have reopened active investigations into two of the state’s 854 unsolved murders as part of their response to a landmark inquiry that found they failed to properly investigate dozens of potential gay hate crimes over 40 years.

The two murders are being investigated while detectives look at a further 213 case files prioritised by a special unit of the state’s police force – Taskforce Atlas - which was launched to oversee the implementation of the gay hate crime inquiry’s recommendations.

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NSW government announces free weekend train travel in bid to avoid industrial action – as it happened

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Australia “abstained with great disappointment” on the Palestinian-drafted resolution at the United Nations general assembly in New York early this morning, the Australian ambassador to the UN has said.

The resolution – which sought to act on a recent advisory opinion of the international court of justice – was passed with 124 votes in favour and 14 against. Australia was one of 43 countries to abstain, including the UK, Canada and Germany.

That is why we abstained with great disappointment.

We wanted to vote for a resolution that directly reflected the ICJ Advisory Opinion.

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Australia abstains from UN vote on occupation of Palestine after ‘disappointment’ with resolution’s scope

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The Australian ambassador to the UN said Australia supported many of the principles of the resolution that called on Israel to end the occupation of the Palestinian territories

Australia “abstained with great disappointment” on a United Nations general assembly resolution that called on Israel to end the occupation of the Palestinian territories within 12 months, the Australian ambassador said.

Despite casting an abstain vote on Thursday morning, the Australian ambassador to the UN, James Larsen, said Australia “supports many of the principles of this resolution” and was “already doing much of what it calls for”.

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NSW police bust alleged criminal network behind $1.8bn of Sydney cocaine sales this year

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Police allege the criminal gang, dubbed The Commission, controlled the price of cocaine in Sydney by manipulating supply

A drugs gang dubbed “The Commission” linked to the distribution of more than $1.8bn worth of cocaine across Sydney in four months has been “uprooted” by police.

The New South Wales police operation began in July, when a 21-year-old man from Guildford in the city’s west was charged with with two counts of supplying a prohibited drug in a large commercial quantity.

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Fatima Payman singles out Rupert Murdoch as she decries mainstream media’s treatment of Muslim women

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Independent senator accuses mogul of causing ‘division, marginalisation and fearmongering’, and says the media too often reduces her to a stereotype

The independent senator Fatima Payman has accused mainstream media of reducing Muslim women to “stereotypes” and singled out Rupert Murdoch, alleging moguls like him cause “division” and “fearmongering”.

“Like many of you, I’ve faced challenges in navigating mainstream media as a Muslim woman in politics,” she said in a keynote speech on Sunday at the 10th anniversary of independent Muslim media outlet Amust in the south-west Sydney seat of Blaxland.

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Global heating is making El Niño and La Niña forecasts less reliable, BoM says

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Exclusive: Meteorologists say climate change and the amount of heat being added to the oceans make predictions based on the past less reliable

The Bureau of Meteorology is shifting the way it communicates about climate phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña, because global heating is making predictions based on the past less reliable.

This week the bureau kept the country on a “La Niña watch” and said if the climate system in the Pacific does develop, it’s likely to be short-lived and weak.

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Coalition plan to give first home buyers access to super would benefit ‘those who already own housing’

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Saul Eslake report finds plan would cause Australian property prices to rise at a faster rate

The Coalition’s plan to allow first home buyers access to their superannuation would heavily favour older and wealthier people, with the median couple aged 25 to 34 likely to be able to withdraw only $18,000.

That is the conclusion of Saul Eslake, the principal of Corinna Economic Advisory, in a report commissioned by the Super Members Council which points to “six decades of evidence” that policies to boost housing demand “result in more expensive housing to the benefit of those who already own housing”, rather than boosting ownership.

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Australians stranded on Kokoda track resume walk after protests shut down sections

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Naoro village residents block sections of track and demand Papua New Guinea government release funds long promised for community projects

Australians walking the Kokoda track have had treks cancelled while others have been stalled for long periods on the historic route as protests by landowners closed sections of the trail.

A group of 64 walkers, including 52 Australians, were left stranded on Monday after frustrated landowners from Naoro village blocked off the track, demanding the Papua New Guinea government release funds earmarked for community livelihood development projects.

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Sydney lawyer who gang-raped three teenagers during buck’s party had ‘no remorse’, judge says

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Judge raises questions about Maurice Hawell’s prospects of rehabilitation after he, brother Marius Hawell and Andrew David were all found guilty of the sexual assaults in July

Maurice Hawell, a Sydney lawyer convicted over the gang rapes of three teenage women during his buck’s weekend, was only remorseful for his own situation and showed no empathy towards his victims, a judge says.

Maurice Hawell, 30, Marius Hawell, 23, and Andrew David, 30, were all found guilty of the sexual assaults in July after a joint trial lasting almost four weeks.

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Sydney man charged over alleged fake terror plot as AFP crack secret messaging app

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The 31-year-old allegedly used the encrypted ‘Ghost’ platform to talk about machine guns, bombs and flags with terrorist insignia, the AFP said

A Sydney man has been charged for allegedly using an encrypted messaging platform called “Ghost” to fabricate a terror plot as police swooped on multiple targets after breaching an “un-hackable” system.

The alleged fabricated plot involved high-powered weapons and explosive devices and had been devised to get authorities to withdraw charges for a person involved in a separate criminal matter, Australian federal police said.

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Australia news live: Labor’s preliminary refusal of Pep11 gas project ‘an amazing step forward’, Scamps says; total fire ban announced for parts of NSW

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Follow today’s news live

On the double-dissolution threat floated by Anthony Albanese yesterday, Sarah Hanson-Young says:

Again, why, why be so bullish about this? The Australian people don’t need a panicked prime minister who wants to press the exit button because he can’t get his own way.

They want a government that’s willing to work across the parliament. Now, a third of Australians voted for parties other than Labor or Liberal at the last election. And they did that because they want a parliament that works for them.

We want to fix it. We want to give the government the opportunity to fix it. I’m not just interested in saying no to things. I want to get outcomes. I guess that’s my concern.

This prime minister seems to have such a chip on his shoulder, doesn’t want to work with anyone. Just wants to do it all his way. I don’t think this is a very good sign for the future. Come on, come on, prime minister, you know, let’s put – put aside the politics and get on with getting some outcomes.

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Albanese government forging ahead with social media age restrictions despite Meta’s new Instagram teen accounts

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Communications minister Michelle Rowland welcomes Meta’s announcement but suggests it doesn’t strongly enforce its present age limit on Instagram

The Albanese government is forging ahead with its plans for an age restriction on social media despite Meta announcing new restrictions for teens on Instagram, with the communications minister arguing children’s use of social media is unbalanced.

On Wednesday Instagram announced changes to teen accounts, including giving parents the ability to set daily time limits for using the app, block teens from using Instagram at certain times and to see accounts their child is exchanging messages with and the content categories they are viewing.

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September Supermoon: the best place and time to see tonight’s bigger and brighter full moon

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Find a viewing spot that is dark and looks towards the east, which is where the moon will rise. A flat location will give a ‘really cool’ perspective, experts say

If you look up into the sky on Wednesday night, you’ll likely notice the full moon gleaming bigger and brighter than usual.

You’ll be looking at the second supermoon of the year – the term for when the moon’s orbit is closest to Earth while it is full.

How to take a good photograph of the full moon on your phone or camera

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Labor urged to commit to universal childcare after report finds many children miss out on critical learning

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Productivity Commission report also says controversial activity test should be scrapped through overhaul of subsidies

Early education advocates have urged the Labor government to commit to universal childcare in the lead-up to the election, after a major report warned too many children were missing out on critical learning due to high costs and access issues.

The Productivity Commission has recommended that the federal government increase funding and simplify subsidies for early childhood education and care. It also said the controversial “activity test” should be scrapped, and called on state governments to provide out-of-hours care for older children in public schools.

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Video of Chinese jet’s apparent intercept with Australian defence plane ‘deeply troubling’ propaganda, Coalition says

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Shadow defence minister calls on Australian prime minister to raise matter with Chinese president, saying it is ‘not the actions of a friend’

The release of a video appearing to show a Chinese military aircraft in a “dangerous” interception with an Australian surveillance plane has been criticised as “risky” and “deeply troubling” propaganda by the Australian opposition, who are calling for the prime minister to raise the matter with China’s president.

The footage, posted on video-hosting site BiliBili with the watermark of Chinese state television’s military affairs channel, appeared to show a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) J-16 fighter intercepting an Australian P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft. The incident took place in international airspace over the South China Sea in 2022.

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Albanese targets Greens on ‘gesture-based’ climate politics in speech defending Labor’s business policies

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PM says Labor’s nature-positive legislation provides ‘vital certainty’ and talks up mutual respect in an address before the Business Council of Australia

Anthony Albanese has accused the Greens of “gesture-based climate amendments” to Labor’s environment legislation in a speech defending his government’s reform record and its relationship with big business.

In an address to the Business Council of Australia on Tuesday evening, Albanese said Labor is “pro-business and pro-worker” and sought to distinguish himself from Peter Dutton by arguing he respects their views even when he disagrees.

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CFMEU faces fresh investigations into alleged corruption in Queensland, NSW and SA branches

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Union’s administrator accepts all seven of Geoffrey Watson SC’s recommendations, including looking into alleged links to motorcycle gangs

The construction wing of the CFMEU is facing investigations into alleged corruption and criminal links in its Queensland, New South Wales and South Australian branches and a further inquiry in Victoria backed by new coercive powers, after its interim administrator accepted the findings of an initial investigation in full.

Responding on Tuesday to an interim investigation conducted by barrister Geoffrey Watson SC into the CFMEU’s combined Victorian and Tasmanian branch, administrator Mark Irving KC accepted all seven of Watson’s recommendations, including that alleged links to outlaw motorcycle gangs and other organised crime be further investigated.

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