Category Archives: Australia news

Teenager didn’t tell anyone Alan Jones allegedly kissed and touched him as he feared losing financial help, trial hears

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Former 2UE and 2GB radio broadcaster is facing 22 charges. Jones, 85, has pleaded not guilty

A former schoolboy athlete has told the Alan Jones trial he didn’t tell anyone the broadcaster was allegedly kissing him and touching his genitalia when he was a teenager because he was “fearful” of losing Jones’s financial support.

The man, known as complainant J, alleged that after he drove Jones to a function in Canberra and they were alone in the hotel room, Jones kissed him in a “smothering” way. After the drive back to Sydney, Jones allegedly said to him: “You’ve been a really good boy. I’m going to give you some more money.” His regular weekly stipend increased by $100, the court heard. J also said Jones told him he didn’t have to tell anyone he was giving him money as it was “a gift”.

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One Nation unveils eight Victorian election candidates including former Liberal and anti-woke film animator

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Local councillor who says he used to work on Daniel Andrews’ security team also part of upper house lineup for November’s state poll

A former Liberal party candidate, the animator behind Pauline Hanson’s anti-woke film and a local councillor who says he worked on former premier Daniel Andrews’ personal protection team have been unveiled as One Nation candidates for the Victorian election.

Pauline Hanson held a press conference on Monday to announce the eight candidates who will lead One Nation’s upper house tickets at the November state election.

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A record number of First Nations people died in NSW prison custody last year. Advocates fear this year will be worse

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Exclusive: Karlene Whitton says her son Matthew Roberts took his own life three months into his jail term. ‘I keep picturing it every night’

First Nations advocates warn that prisons in New South Wales could exceed the record number of Indigenous deaths in custody set last year, after two men died this month.

Matthew Roberts, a 27-year-old Bundjalung, Yaegl and Gamilaroi man and father of two young boys, took his life inside Lithgow correctional centre on 7 July after he was remanded in custody in March. Another First Nations man, 21, died a week later at Clarence correctional centre.

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Queensland reveals concept plans for Brisbane Olympic stadium precinct – but critics say they are ‘fantasy vision’

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David Crisafulli says ‘Queenslanders will enjoy for generations’ as opponents point to lack of detail

The Queensland government has released new concept images for a parkland precinct to surround the 2032 Olympic stadium, as it seeks to quell concern at the loss of Brisbane’s largest inner-city parkland.

But opponents of the plans – now entering the early construction phase – to build a stadium at Brisbane’s Victoria Park say the concept images are a “fantasy vision” with no detail, and which overlook the likely need for carparks, roads, transport links and plazas to accommodate large crowds.

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EVs and hybrids approach half of Australian new car sales amid ongoing fuel crisis

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Australians bought EVs and hybrids at nearly same rate as petrol cars between April and June, Australian Automobile Association data shows

Australians are now buying electric and hybrid vehicles at the same rate as traditional petrol-powered cars, according to new data that shows EV sales doubled in the months after the peak of the fuel price spike.

Fuel prices are again on track to top $2 a litre, after the federal government’s fuel excise reductions – introduced to offset the impact of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East – come to an end on Sunday.

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Petrol prices on track to top $2 a litre as Bowen sounds death knell for fuel excise relief

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Petrol now costs more than $1.90 a litre in every capital city, with diesel expected to exceed $2.40 a litre

Petrol prices could surpass $2 a litre and diesel $2.40 in coming days, after the government’s 16-cent discount ends on Sunday.

The 32-cent per litre reduction in fuel excise, introduced in March at the peak of the fuel price spike, was halved to 16 cents in July.

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Missing Australian hiker found dead in Wyoming, officials say

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Body of William Standish discovered in Teton mountains as investigators say fatal fall likely cause of death

A 28-year-old Australian hiker who lost contact with his family while hiking the Continental Divide Trail between Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks in Wyoming has been found dead, according to authorities.

The man, identified as William Standish, was discovered by rescuers on Wednesday morning in the Wigwams, a series of rocky peaks on the west slope of the Teton mountain range, the Teton county coroner said. Investigators say it was likely he suffered a fatal fall.

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Gina Rinehart threatens ABC with legal action over Race Around the World program

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Hancock Prospecting says chair Kim Williams among those ‘on notice’ for failing to remove program that joked about turning Rinehart’s insides into a sausage roll

Gina Rinehart has threatened the ABC with legal action over crude comments aired on the national broadcaster, including a joke about mixing her guts into a sausage roll.

The four-minute film, titled A Very Relaxing Video, aired on the Race Around the World program on 12 July and concluded with the film-maker, Kate McGuinness, making crude and offensive comments about Rinehart.

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Labour hire firm paid Mick Gatto more than $1m to secure work on Big Build, CFMEU inquiry told

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M Group’s lawyer tells inquiry while the firm’s directors ‘may have done business with Gatto’ they were not ‘frontmen’ for him

A labour hire company accused of being a front for underworld figure Mick Gatto paid him more than $1m over nine years, with its lawyer telling an inquiry it did so to secure work on Victorian government Big Build sites where the construction union had influence.

Integrity expert Geoffrey Watson SC appeared before the Queensland inquiry into the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) on Friday, defending his Rotting from the Top report, which alleged Gatto controlled several M Group companies through “dummy directors” Michael Portia and Tony Paragalli.

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Archibald prize 2026: portrait of Jewish leader after Bondi terror attack wins people’s choice award

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Artist Michael Zavros says he was inspired by a deep respect for Alex Ryvchin’s leadership, as well as an uncanny likeness between the two men

An artist’s portrayal of a Jewish leader produced just weeks after the Bondi massacre has won the Archibald people’s choice category.

Michael Zavros won the $5,000 prize for his portrait of Alex Ryvchin, the co-head of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, who Zavros called an “unmistakably and unashamedly Jewish” leader.

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NSW to send paramedics not police to some mental health emergencies after multiple deaths

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Mental health experts to triage triple zero calls, but not all of the changes will be implemented 24/7 or statewide

New South Wales will send specialist nurses rather than police to some mental health emergencies after the state announced long-fought-for reform in the wake of multiple deaths at the hands of police.

Rose Jackson and Yasmin Catley, the mental health and police ministers, announced on Thursday a statewide change to how triple zero calls are triaged, with a new team of mental health experts assessing mental health calls 24/7 in a bid to provide better support.

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Anthony Fauci’s diaries take aim at News Corp journalist Sharri Markson’s ‘nonsense’ Covid-19 investigation

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US former top health official, who was subpoenaed to appear at a Senate hearing into Covid-19, says Markson’s reporting about virus’s origin ‘does not make any sense’

Dr Anthony Fauci, the US’s chief medical adviser at the start of the pandemic, has described a book by News Corp investigative journalist Sharri Markson backing the “lab leak” theory of Covid-19’s origins as a “bunch of nonsense” in his newly released diaries.

This week, Fauci, 85, was subpoenaed by the Republican senator Rand Paul to appear at a Senate hearing into Covid-19 and his handling of the pandemic.

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Victorian cults inquiry accidentally shares email address of anonymous survivors with group members

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Committee apologises for not concealing email addresses when alerting witnesses to final report

A Victorian parliamentary committee investigating the harmful impact of cults accidentally sent the email addresses of anonymous survivors who made submissions to current members of such groups and to journalists.

The committee, which had its report into “cults and organised fringe groups” tabled in parliament on Wednesday, emailed hundreds of recipients shortly after midday to inform them it had been published, but erroneously left their addresses visible.

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Daniel Andrews says Ben Carroll ‘can win’ Victoria election in rare public statement

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Former leader shows support for new Victorian premier while paying tribute to Jacinta Allan

Daniel Andrews has thrown his support behind Victoria’s new premier, Ben Carroll, saying he has what it takes to win November’s state election.

In a rare public statement on Wednesday, the former premier also paid tribute to Jacinta Allan, whom he handpicked to replace him as Labor leader when he resigned in September 2023.

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Royal commission into Victorian construction sector could boost Labor’s chances at state election, expert says

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Commission promised by new premier would be an ‘important signal’ for voters that the government was acting on alleged corruption

Victorian voters heading to the polls will probably get a taste of the evidence heard by a royal commission – including how taxpayer funds were used on Big Build projects – but it could actually help Labor’s standing, an integrity expert says.

William Partlett, an associate professor of law and a fellow at the Centre for Public Integrity, said the commission promised by the new premier, Ben Carroll, would be an “important signal” for voters that the government was taking action.

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Guardian Essential poll: Angus Taylor’s approval rating crashes and One Nation support plateaus

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Survey also shows Australians rounding on the government over its handling of inflation and the cost of living crisis

One Nation’s primary vote has plateaued and Angus Taylor’s approval rating has crashed, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll.

But it is not all smooth sailing for Labor with Australians rubbishing the government’s handling of the inflation and cost of living crisis.

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Angus Taylor has inadvertently taken centre stage in an Icac hearing – and the fallout could be profound

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If the opposition leader was funding one side of a vicious factional war, it would be hard for many in the party to stomach

Independent Commission against Corruption inquiries have an uncanny tendency to sprawl in unexpected directions.

Just ask former New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, who was caught on tape with her secret boyfriend, former NSW MP Daryl Maguire, during an investigation into his dealings with developers. Or former premier Barry O’Farrell, who was tripped up over a bottle of Penfolds Grange during an inquiry into state water contracts.

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About 900,000 Origin Energy customers affected by hack as company admits it was warned weeks before public told

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Chief executive, Frank Calabria, apologises and advises customers to look out for suspicious activity amid heightened scam risk

Origin Energy has admitted it was warned of the hack that accessed 900,000 current and former customers’ personal data three weeks before it first made the data breach public.

Australia’s largest energy retailer said a “significant” proportion of the 900,000 had been former customers, with those affected to be notified in the coming days.

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Ben Carroll announces royal commission into construction sector as first act as new premier of Victoria

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Jacinta Allan steps down from top job before expected spill, saying her deputy has her ‘unqualified support’

Ben Carroll has been sworn in as the premier of Victoria after Jacinta Allan resigned, with his first act as leader to announce a royal commission into alleged corruption in the construction sector.

Carroll’s elevation comes just four months before the state election and follows a tumultuous 48 hours for Labor, during which Allan resigned and a surprise challenger emerged in the leadership contest.

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Who is Ben Carroll, the man who has become Victoria’s new premier?

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Carroll, who was elected to parliament in 2012 and says he has always been ambitious, has been sworn in as premier after Jacinta Allan resigned

In 2023, when then-public transport minister Ben Carroll failed in his surprising bid to secure the leadership of the Victorian Labor party, he told a press conference: “I was always very keen to rise.”

The premier Daniel Andrews had resigned, believing he had locked in his succession plan: his loyal deputy Jacinta Allan as premier, and treasurer Tim Pallas as deputy.

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