This blog is now closed
Queensland leaders to lock horns again in election debate
After their deputies traded blows, the Queensland premier and opposition leader are set to face off again ahead of the state election, AAP reports.
Continue reading...Beachgoers warned not to touch the material, which may be tar balls formed from oil spills or seepage at sea
Sydney’s Coogee beach has been ordered closed until further notice after “mysterious black, ball-shaped debris” washed up along its length.
Lifeguards discovered the debris on Tuesday afternoon at the popular eastern suburbs beach. Randwick city council environmental officers collected samples and have sent them for testing. In the meantime, beachgoers were advised not to touch or go near them.
Continue reading...Anthony Albanese says ‘dodgy’ trading practices, ‘hidden fees and traps are putting even more pressure on the cost of living’ and need to be stopped
The “dynamic pricing” of concert tickets will be banned as the federal government cracks down on “dodgy” trading practices and tackles hidden fees and subscription “traps” for online shopping, gym memberships and airline tickets.
Anthony Albanese and the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will on Wednesday announce plans to ban unfair trading practices under Australian consumer law, the latest consumer-focused competition and pricing changes proposed by the government and badged as cost-of-living relief.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...A spokesperson for the airline says it is doing ‘what we can with what’s available now’ after Environmental Defenders Office singles out ‘carbon neutral’ claim
Climate campaigners have asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to investigate whether “fly carbon neutral” and other sustainability claims by Qantas are misleading or deceptive.
The greenwashing complaint, filed by the Environmental Defenders Office on behalf of research and advocacy organisation Climate Integrity, urged the competition watchdog to investigate the airline’s marketing materials and the credibility of the company’s transition to net zero.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Uncertainty of humanitarian visa will make traumatised new arrivals’ recovery tougher, charity founder says
The Albanese government’s new temporary humanitarian visa pathway for Palestinians fleeing the conflict in Gaza is a welcome first step, advocates say, but they warn the three-year option to stay is not good enough for those who have no home to return to.
Rasha Abbas, founder of the charity group Palestine Australia Relief and Action, said members of the community had been socially, financially and emotionally supporting the traumatised new arrivals who had been denied access to healthcare, housing or working rights for the past 11 months.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Investors say climate change poses biggest risk to their assets, and urge Albanese government to see the economic dangers of a slow path to net zero
Institutional investors dealing with portfolios in the trillions of dollars aren’t typically the most vocal climate campaigners. You won’t find many superannuation fund staff, fund managers, asset consultants or brokers with a placard on the streets or on top of a Newcastle coal train.
But you may increasingly find them on a screen you’re watching. Or at least their message.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Follow today’s news live
The federal government has announced targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on five Iranian individuals it says is “contributing to Iran’s missile program.”
A statement from the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said Iran’s missile program “poses a material threat to regional and international security”, with the 1 October attack on Israel a “dangerous escalation that increased the risk of a wider regional war.”
Australia will continue to hold Iran to account for its reckless and destabilising actions.
We’re holding ministers accountable when the premier of Tasmania refused to. This project – for people who don’t know – is $500m over budget, five years delayed.
It’s a completely debacle. Someone needed to take responsibility. The premier [was] saying he wouldn’t do that, the parliament decided it would act and, at the last moment, the deputy premier resigned.
Continue reading...Consumer advocate says results are a ‘worrying reminder’ children are at risk from insecure battery components on most items
An LED-lit tutu skirt, a spinning top and a set of building blocks are among a number of dangerous toys that were sold by Chinese-owned shopping platform Temu, Choice has found.
Choice tested 15 toys operated by circular coin or button-style batteries, including watches, a writing tablet, a musical keyboard, a cartoon projector and a electronic pet game from Temu in May.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Treasurer says uncovering ‘unfair’ practices also part of proposed surcharge revamp designed to give consumers better deal and cut small business’s costs
The federal government is preparing to ban debit card fees and instruct the consumer watchdog to investigate excessive card costs, as the unpopular system of transaction charges gets set for an overhaul.
The proposed changes would mean consumers no longer pay a fee when using their debit card to buy their morning coffee or make a major retail purchase. Credit card fees would still apply.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Exclusive: Residents who fought the black summer bushfires are concerned access tracks are not being maintained
Residents of a Blue Mountains town who were forced to defend themselves against an out-of-control backburn during the black summer bushfires are concerned fire trails in the area are not being maintained ahead of the fire season.
Guardian Australia has seen photographs of fallen trees obstructing two fire trails in Bilpin near the Tutti Fruitti cafe and surrounding homes, which were destroyed when the Rural Fire Service lost control of the backburn it lit near Mount Wilson in December 2019.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Steven Miles says he would prefer Crisafulli minority government over horse-trading if he fails to win absolute majority at October election
The Queensland premier, Steven Miles, says he would rather see a minority LNP government in power after the 26 October state election than horse-trade with independents and minor parties.
In an interview with Guardian Australia, Miles says he wants a majority in his own right, ruling out any sort of supply and confidence agreement with One Nation, the Katter party, the Greens or independents.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Exclusive: Survey finds 72% of 2,158 workers want Albanese government to rethink housing tax breaks – particularly renters and over-65s
Unions NSW has thrown its support behind reform of the negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions, arguing that the housing market is “fundamentally broken”.
The Unions NSW secretary, Mark Morey, is now calling on the Albanese government to reform the tax concessions and reinvest “profound savings” in housing, such as by expanding the Housing Australia Future Fund.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Multinational claims upcoming ABC report into it will likely be ‘inaccurate and unbalanced’ as experts say without intervention smaller venues will struggle to survive
Calls are mounting for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to investigate business practices in the live music industry, as the ABC prepares to air a Four Corners report scrutinising the Australian arm of the live entertainment behemoth Live Nation.
The public broadcaster began promoting the Monday night program late last week, alleging monopolistic behaviour and “maximising profits at the expense of both consumers and artists”.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...PM says Steven Miles’s plan to hold plebiscite on nuclear if Labor wins 26 October poll is a ‘matter for Queensland’ but he supports the stance
Anthony Albanese has backed Steven Miles’s opposition to nuclear power while joining the Queensland premier on the first day of pre-poll voting in the state election.
At a joint press conference in the Gold Coast on Monday, the prime minister was asked about Miles’s plan to hold a plebiscite on nuclear if Labor wins this month’s poll.
Continue reading...Peter Malinauskas says South Australia’s renewable energy credentials make it a logical host for UN’s annual climate summit
South Australia has launched a bid to host a major UN climate conference in 2026 in Adelaide, with the premier, Peter Malinauskas, declaring it would draw more than 30,000 people and could be worth $500m to the state.
Australia is vying with Turkey to host the year-ending climate summit known as Cop31, with a decision expected next month at this year’s conference in Azerbaijan. The Albanese government’s existing bid is that it would co-host the event with Pacific nations.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Rivas, who is accused by Chile of being a torturer and kidnapper, launches challenge in the federal court
A former Bondi nanny and cleaner accused by Chile of being a torturer and kidnapper for Pinochet’s military dictatorship in the 1970s has launched a last-ditch legal appeal to avoid extradition.
Adriana Rivas, 70, has been in prison in Australia since 2019, when she was arrested on an extradition request from Chile – seeking her for trial on seven counts of aggravated kidnapping relating to the disappearance, and presumed murder, of seven members of Chile’s communist party who disappeared in 1976.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...This blog is now closed
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price on Voice referendum, one year on
The shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, was on ABC News Breakfast earlier on the first anniversary of the Voice referendum.
We have been calling for an inquiry into statutory authorities for the last 18 months, which we believe need to be looked at closely because of their failures to ... well, not all statutory authorities, but some, in terms of their failures of how they’re supposed to serve the interests of those that they are supposed to represent.
And this has been ongoing now and something that the Albanese Government has continued to ignore. But those voices – especially of Traditional Owners – that I have been speaking to, are growing louder, with more concern. And, really, there is a need to fix the structures that currently exist, and it begins with an inquiry.
There’s no evidence at all that current laws led by the Albanese government are stifling businesses from employing people. In fact, we’ve actually created nearly 1 million jobs since coming to office a bit over two years ago … So unfortunately, for some of the leading business groups calling for this, the evidence of what’s going on in the economy just doesn’t back up their wish list.
Continue reading...Independent Alex Greenwich says ‘heartbreaking’ to lose his proposed laws governing treatment of gay students and teachers but ‘it’s not over’
Transgender people in New South Wales could soon be able to change their sex on their birth certificates without getting surgery, but gay teachers will still be able to be fired from some schools after a watered-down proposal received the premier’s support.
The premier, Chris Minns, will this week ask the Labor caucus to back independent MP Alex Greenwich’s equality bill after a raft of amendments were made, including dropping changes to the Anti-Discrimination Act governing schools.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Controversial devices were barred by former Labor government but will return to watch houses after tough-on-crime CLP’s election win
Spit hoods will again be used to restrain children in the Northern Territory, the police commissioner has confirmed.
The controversial devices were banned in NT youth detention centres following a landmark royal commission established in 2016 and were subsequently eliminated in South Australia and New South Wales in all custodial settings.
Continue reading...‘Our mob across the country wanted structural reform', Pat Anderson told online audience; ‘that’s what we’re still fighting for,’ Prof Megan Davis said
A key proponent of the Indigenous Voice to parliament, rejected at a referendum a year ago, has challenged Australians to be “bigger and wider – to be grand” and to forge from that bruising experience “an authentic Australian nation”.
Pat Anderson’s rallying cry on the eve of the anniversary came at the close of an hour-long online event for key ‘Yes’ advocates to reflect, lament and commit to “stay true to Uluru”.
Continue reading...