Category Archives: Australia news

Body of ‘hero’ Australian found two days after saving German tourist from drowning in Bali

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Witnesses said Craig Laidley had almost reached safety when a wave dragged the 56-year-old back into heavy seas

Friends and family of Australian man Craig Laidley have paid tribute to a “hero” who drowned saving someone he didn’t know.

His body was found in Bali on Friday, two days after he was swept out to sea while assisting a struggling swimmer.

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Weather tracker: Storm destruction and 5cm hailstones hit south-east Australia

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Hail swath estimated at 120 miles damages crops in western Victoria as winds break windows and rip tiles from roofs

On Wednesday, the Australian state of Victoria was hit by thunderstorms. The town of Casterton was particularly badly affected, receiving 21mm of rain in just 30 minutes, followed by large hailstones.

Vehicles and properties were severely damaged, with reports of broken windows and tiles blown off roofs due to strong winds.

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Major football codes and gambling firms directly lobbied Albanese’s office on ad ban, documents show

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NRL, AFL and betting companies intensified efforts to try to influence PM in lead-up to finals

Newly released documents show how in the lead-up to footy finals the NRL, AFL and major wagering companies accelerated and intensified their efforts to directly lobby the prime minister’s office to influence a proposed gambling ad ban.

The gambling industry’s peak body sought to bypass the responsible minister and discuss ad ban issues directly with Anthony Albanese, according to documents tabled in parliament on Friday, which revealed details of letters, emails and meeting agendas and memos.

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Australia news live: Bondi beach reopens after tar-ball pollution; tornado warning for Victoria

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Waverley council says no remaining evidence of the debris could be found at Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches. Follow today’s news live

Max Chandler-Mather continued, and told ABC News Breakfast:

I would argue in this instance in the context of one of the worst housing crises we have seen in generations … now is precisely the time where we need more than tinkering around the edges and we need substantial change.

There is a building consensus we need to scrap these tax handouts. Increasingly the biggest barrier is a prime minister [who has just] gone through multiple days of scandal for buying another property and being a property investor.

So I think there’s a real moment here the government should seize to make real substantial change to the lives of hundreds of thousands of renters, and the bottom line is the Greens are ready and willing to work with Labor to do it.

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Toddler, 3, dies after allegedly being hit by car in Melbourne’s south-east

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Man charged with dangerous driving after girl allegedly struck by a vehicle in Endeavour Hills

A three-year-old girl has died in hospital after being hit by a car on a major thoroughfare in Melbourne’s south-east on Thursday.

Emergency services were called to Heatherton Road, near the intersection of James Cook Drive, in Endeavour Hills about 8.30am on Thursday, following reports a child had been struck by vehicle.

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Negative gearing reform could help 292,000 Australian renters become owners, Greens claim

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Parliamentary analysis shows benefit of change, party says, and calls Anthony Albanese ‘biggest blocker’ to change

More than a quarter of a million renters could own their own homes if Labor revived dumped plans to wind back generous tax breaks for residential property investors, new analysis shows.

A Parliamentary Library analysis of NSW Treasury modelling and census data, commissioned by Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather, found home ownership would rise by 4.7%, or 292,902 more owner-occupier houses, if negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts were wound back.

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King Charles has arrived in Australia for his first visit as monarch. Here’s where to see the royals

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Sydney and Canberra are on the royal couple’s itinerary, with opportunities for the public to see them between official functions

King Charles and Queen Camilla have touched down in Australia for the couple’s first visit to the country since Charles became its reigning monarch.

They were last in Australia in 2018, when then Prince Charles opened the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. This shorter, more compact tour will take in just Canberra and Sydney, with dozens of engagements packed into the pair’s four days on the ground.

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Energy prices soar after volatile wind saw heavier gas, hydro and battery use, Australian regulator says

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But wholesale prices are down by 25% compared with the June quarter in New South Wales, down 9% in Victoria and down 12% in Tasmania

Wholesale power prices across much of eastern Australia were sharply higher in the September quarter from a year earlier because of increased reliance on gas, hydro and batteries, the Australian Energy Regulator said in its quarterly report.

Average prices ranged from $114/megawatt-hour in Queensland to $201/MWh in South Australia. The biggest year-on-year increases were in Tasmania, with prices up 290%, Victoria’s increasing 114% and SA’s 76% higher.

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Melbourne psychologist who had sexual relationship with client barred from practising for five years

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Tribunal cancelled Jonathon Walker’s registration after it found ‘evidence of coercion’ towards vulnerable patient

Melbourne psychologist Jonathon Walker, who coerced a young, vulnerable client and moved her into his home after they began an intimate relationship, has had his registration as a health worker cancelled.

The Victorian civil and administrative tribunal (Vcat) also disqualified Walker from reapplying for registration as a psychologist or any other health practitioner for five years, and in its decision Vcat said Walker had limited insight into his misconduct.

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Do you know more? melissa.davey@theguardian.com

In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org

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Sydney Harbour Bridge closed after multi car crash leaves one dead

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One person has died and a second is in a critical condition after a bus and multiple cars collided

One person has died and another is in a critical condition after multiple cars and a bus collided on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

New South Wales police said emergency services were called to the bridge at about 1.40pm on Thursday, following reports of the multi-vehicle crash. They found three cars and a bus had collided.

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Australia news live: Queensland LNP candidate alleges he was assaulted; Sydney Harbour Bridge closed after fatal crash

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New polling from the Australia Institute shows that Australians view the supermarkets as “public enemy No 1” in the cost of living crisis.

The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work surveyed 1,014 voters, and 83% said supermarkets deserve some blame – or a great deal of blame – for the soaring cost of living.

Australians are pointing the finger squarely at supermarkets as public enemy No 1 in the cost-of-living crisis … More people blame supermarkets for the cost-of-living crunch than governments or banks.

The public’s appetite for increased supermarket competition is unmistakable. Nearly two-thirds of voters see it as crucial for alleviating cost-of-living pressures … There’s likely to be political rewards for taking actions that increase supermarket competition.

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Nine apologises unreservedly after bombshell report reveals systemic bullying and harassment

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Nine board commits to implementing all recommendations for a ‘reset of culture’

Nine Entertainment has a systemic issue with the abuse of power and authority, bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment across the company, an independent report has found.

“Driving these behaviours is a lack of leadership accountability; power imbalances; gender inequality and a lack of diversity; and significant distrust in leaders at all levels of the business,” the company said in a statement after receiving the report on Thursday.

The Nine board has apologised to affected staff and pledged to implement all 22 recommendations in the report for a “reset of culture at Nine”.

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Flipping out: ACT Liberal leader Elizabeth Lee apologises for giving journalist middle finger on eve of election

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Elizabeth Lee gave one-fingered salute to reporter after leaders’ debate with chief minister Andrew Barr

The ACT Liberal leader, Elizabeth Lee, has apologised for raising her middle finger at a journalist after a heated news conference days out from the territory election, explaining it as a “moment of frustration” on the campaign trail.

The moment, captured by cameras at the news conference as the opposition leader walked off, was branded “extraordinary” by the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles.

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Heavy rain, large hail and damaging winds expected as severe storms forecast for much of Australia

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Severe thunderstorms caused by strong cold front and low pressure system to hit most of the country, with South Australia the ‘focal point’, BoM says

Five states and territories are at risk of severe thunderstorms bringing hail, damaging winds and possible flash flooding as a strong cold front and low pressure system moves south.

Senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, Miriam Bradbury, said storms throughout multiple states had intensified through the afternoon and evening on Wednesday, with particularly severe weather in western Victoria.

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Coffs Harbour man charged for allegedly threatening and grooming 15-year-old girl online

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The 28-year-old allegedly attempted to force her to send him footage of herself performing ‘various compromising acts’, court hears

A Coffs Harbour man has been charged after allegedly grooming a 15-year-old girl and threatening her in an attempt to force her to send videos of herself performing sexual and self-harm acts.

The 28-year-old man is alleged to have met the teenage girl online, groomed and threatened her in an attempt to force her to send him footage of herself doing “various compromising acts”, according to a New South Wales police statement.

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UK says India’s cooperation with Canada’s legal process is ‘right next step’

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Growing diplomatic row as police say they have evidence of Delhi’s links to murder of Sikh leader in Canada

Britain joined its Five Eyes intelligence partners on Wednesday in saying India’s cooperation with Canada’s legal process was “the right next step” in the deepening diplomatic row between the two countries, adding that it had full confidence in Canada’s judicial system.

Canadian police said on Monday they had credible evidence that Indian agents including India’s high commissioner to Canada were linked to the murder of the Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil in June 2023 and accused Delhi of a broader effort to target Indian dissidents in Canada.

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Albanese’s $4.3m home purchase could increase pressure to change property tax laws, Labor MPs suggest

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Prime minister says he is focused on solving the housing crisis but the opposition has accused him of being out of touch with voters

Anthony Albanese may face renewed backbench pressure to ease capital gains tax concessions, as Labor MPs privately express dismay at his decision to buy a $4.3m waterfront home on the New South Wales Central Coast before an election in the middle of a housing crisis.

Some Labor MPs have suggested the feared political backlash over the prime minister’s house purchase may force the government to look again at removing some of the generous concessions to residential property investors.

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Australia cancels visa of pro-Palestine academic who called 7 October day of ‘considerable celebration’

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US law professor Khaled Beydoun left the country after being told his visa status was under consideration, government source confirms

The US law professor who told a pro-Palestine rally on 7 October that the first anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel marked “considerable celebration” for its role in elevating “global literacy” on Palestine has had his visa cancelled.

An Australian government source confirmed Khaled Beydoun, an associate professor in law at Arizona State University, had left the country last week after being informed his visa status was under consideration by the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, after the remarks.

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One Nation silent on future of Queensland election candidate who likened Covid vaccine to Holocaust

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Deputy premier says Gary Williamson, who is running in the seat of Redlands, should be ‘disendorsed immediately’

One Nation has refused to comment on the future of a candidate at the Queensland state election who likened the Covid vaccine to the Holocaust amid calls for him to be stood down.

Health experts and a Jewish community leader condemned the comments by Gary Williamson, a bricklayer who is running for the seat of Redlands, when revealed by Guardian Australia on Wednesday.

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Rival logos go missing in photos of Nike-sponsored Melbourne Marathon festival

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Race organisers apologise after posting edited images of two runners where their Asics and Puma branding was obscured

The Nike-sponsored Melbourne Marathon festival has apologised for posting an edited image of a winning runner with the logo of a sports apparel rival obscured.

The image depicted Leanne Pompeani with her arms outstretched after she won the half-marathon but the Asics logo on her running singlet was rubbed out.

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