Category Archives: Australia news

Sale of chemical used in suicides of three transgender women should be restricted, Victorian inquest finds

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Sodium nitrite has been used in dozens of deaths in the state and federal government should take action, coroner says

The sale of a chemical used by three transgender women who took their own lives should be restricted by the federal government, the Victorian coroner says, after an inquest heard it has been used in dozens of suicides in the state.

Victoria’s coroners court last year held an inquest into the suicides of five transgender women who died between 2020 and 2021, including that of Matt Byrne, 25, who took her life after a botched back yard surgery.

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Australia news live: Josh Burns breaks ranks to call for gender and sexuality questions in census

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Follow today’s news headlines live

Severe weather warnings are in place across southern parts of the country for strong winds, including Victoria and Tasmania.

Here’s a wrap of the warnings currently in place, according to the Bureau of Meteorology:

Victoria – a strong cold front is expected to reach Victoria later today, clearing to the east tomorrow morning. Locations which may be affected by the wild weather include Portland, Bacchus Marsh, Falls Creek, Mt Hotham, Mt Buller and Omeo.

For the Central, West and South Gippsland and East Gippsland areas, a warning for abnormally high tides is in place.

Tasmania – a strong cold front is also expected to reach Tasmania later today, crossing the state tomorrow morning. The entire state is covered by the severe weather warning.

New South Wales – north-westerly winds are forecast to strengthen later today as a strong cold front approaches from the west. Locations which may be affected include Wollongong, Nowra, Bowral, Batemans Bay, Katoomba and Goulburn.

Meanwhile, fire danger ratings for the greater Sydney and Illawarra have been downgraded to “moderate” today after reaching “high” yesterday.

Western Australia – gusty, showery conditions are expected over parts of the South West Land Division today.

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Siya was born in Melbourne but excluded from Medicare. A coroner says this contributed to her death 23 days later

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Victorian coroner finds baby’s death was entirely preventable after inquest hears Covid lockdowns also affected care

In the depths of Melbourne’s longest Covid lockdowns, Siya Patel’s parents knew something was wrong with their newborn daughter.

Yet despite their best efforts to navigate the state’s then heavily restricted healthcare system, their baby died from a brain injury caused by dehydration due to insufficient oral intake on 12 September 2020.

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‘Immoral and unacceptable’: Tuvalu calls on Australia to set urgent deadline to end fossil fuels

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A day after agreement was ratified at the Pacific Island Forum, the country’s climate minister says ‘root cause of climate change’ must be addressed

Tuvalu’s climate minister has declared that “opening, subsidising and exporting fossil fuels is immoral and unacceptable”, just a day after Australia ratified a climate and security deal with the low-lying Pacific nation.

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, welcomed the agreement with Tuvalu on Wednesday, saying Pacific island countries were “fully aware of the commitment that we have to climate action” but gas would continue to play a role.

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Sex discrimination commissioner urges Labor to reverse decision excluding gender and sexuality census questions

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Anna Cody worries the Albanese government’s backflip could ‘strengthen the voices of discrimination’

The sex discrimination commissioner has called on the Albanese government to put gender and sexuality questions in the census, as the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, appeared to open the door to revising the controversial decision to exclude them.

On Thursday Anna Cody wrote to the government warning backtracking on a commitment to ask about gender and sexuality “carries serious implications for the health, wellbeing and general equality of LGBTIQA+ Australians and their families”.

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NSW health minister apologises to women failed by maternity care after birth trauma inquiry

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Ryan Park pledges to fast-track a number of initiatives, including to improve access to continuity of care and ensure informed consent

The New South Wales health minister, Ryan Park, has apologised to women who were failed by the maternity care they received, as the government supported all 43 recommendations from a state inquiry into birth trauma.

Thousands of women shared harrowing details with the inquiry, which was established in 2023 to understand experiences of childbirth that lead to physical or psychological harm.

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Police seek answers over Queensland woman’s body found on NSW beach six months after ‘highly unusual’ disappearance

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Wendy Hansen was last seen near Bundaberg in February before her remains were discovered at Coffs Harbour in June. Police say her death is suspicious

Mystery surrounds the death of a Queensland woman whose remains were found in dunes at a New South Wales beach, hundreds of kilometres away from where she was last spotted.

NSW police have launched a homicide investigation into the death of Wendy Hansen, who vanished six months ago.

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Qantas profit down 16% to $2.1bn as surging demand for cheap fares helps Jetstar

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International business revenues fell significantly on last year’s result, while budget carrier’s earnings rose 23%

Qantas Airways has posted a $2.1bn annual underlying profit – down 16% from last year’s record result – amid a surge in demand for budget Jetstar fares and mounting public anger at its service and ticket policies.

Australia’s biggest airline said bookings and travel demand remained stable across its flying brands, although moderating air fares had eroded profits, especially on international flights.

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Australian PM caught on camera joking with senior US official over funding of Pacific policing plan

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Anthony Albanese tells journalists to ‘chill out’ over comments filmed in the wings of Pacific Islands Forum

The Australian prime minister has been caught on camera in Tonga joking with a senior US official about going “halvies” on the cost of a newly announced Pacific policing plan.

The deputy secretary of state, Kurt Campbell, appeared to suggest in the video that the US had been planning to pursue an unspecified security-related proposal but had been encouraged by Australia not to proceed.

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Australia’s electricity grid to remain reliable if renewable projects delivered ‘on time and in full’, Aemo says

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Investments in solar, wind, batteries, pumped hydro and transmission links must be delivered ‘on time and in full’

Australia’s electricity authority has declared the country’s main power grid will remain reliable as it shifts from coal domination to running overwhelmingly on renewable energy – but only if investments in new generation are delivered “on time and in full”.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) reached its conclusion in a report that considered what needs to be built over the next decade to maintain the National Electricity Market, which links the five eastern states and the ACT.

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Brittany Higgins had counselling days after her alleged rape, court hears

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Lawyer Rachael Young tells the court Higgins had encountered a delay in accessing parliament’s employee assistance program

Brittany Higgins had counselling within days of her alleged rape in Parliament House, a defamation trial has been told.

Higgins is being sued by her former boss, senator Linda Reynolds, over a series of social media posts the ex-defence minister alleged damaged her reputation.

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Nine-month-old baby undergoes surgery after man allegedly pours hot coffee on him

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Police increase patrols near Hanlon Park in Brisbane after nine-month-old boy taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries

The mother of a baby boy hospitalised after hot coffee was allegedly poured on him by a stranger has described the experience as “torture”.

The nine-month-old underwent surgery after suffering burns to his face and chest following what police described as a “cowardly” and random attack in a Brisbane park.

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Woman claims she was asked to catalogue sex tapes before high-profile Sydney man raped her, court told

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The man, who cannot be named, denies he raped the woman or asked her to watch sex tapes

A high profile Sydney man allegedly asked his intern to catalogue sex tapes of himself and his ex-wife moments before he allegedly raped her, a court has heard.

The woman, who was 19 at the time she was allegedly raped, appeared before the NSW Downing Centre district court on Wednesday, in the second day of a trial expected to last 10 weeks. She said the footage was “incredibly explicit sexual intercourse”.

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Sydney property developer who ‘washed’ money for tax fraud scheme blackmailer forced to repay $11m

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Liquidators to recoup millions sent to blackmailer who threatened to expose Plutus Payroll tax fraud scheme

A Sydney property developer who helped “wash” money for a blackmailer convicted for threatening to expose tax fraud will have to cough up more than $11m.

Plutus Payroll and its directors stole $105m from the Australian Taxation Office by skimming off GST and transferring it elsewhere, according to court findings.

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CFMEU administrator moves for ‘clean sweep’ of union super fund directors at Cbus

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Exclusive: Former national construction union secretary digs in, while ETU suspends Labor and ACTU contributions in protest of ‘trial by parliament’

The administrator of the construction union wants a “clean sweep” of union-appointed board directors on the Cbus industry super fund, prompting two resignations and a plan to sack another former union official.

On Wednesday a spokesperson for the Construction Forestry Maritime Employees Union confirmed Rita Mallia, who was sacked from her New South Wales construction president role on Friday, and former ACT secretary, Jason O’Mara, had resigned as member directors of the fund, which is one of Australia’s largest, with $94bn under management.

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Australia overcomes last-minute concerns to secure sweeping Pacific police training plan

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Anthony Albanese says it is ‘a Pacific-led initiative’ that reflects the desire of neighbours to ‘stand with each other’

Pacific island leaders have agreed to back a sweeping regional policing plan after Australia and other supporters overcame last-minute concerns the proposal was part of a geopolitical play to exclude China.

But each Pacific nation will decide whether to contribute to the proposed new multinational police unit, which will provide a rapid response to disasters or other major security challenges.

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New peregrine in town: female falcon becomes latest to nest atop Melbourne skyscraper

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The cameras that made the falcons a social media phenomenon are rolling again for a new breeding season

For more than three decades, Melbourne’s famed Collins Street peregrine falcons have treated a CBD skyscraper ledge as home.

Now, the cameras that made them a social media phenomenon are again rolling for a new breeding season, with the first egg laid this week.

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Gig economy workers could win minimum employment standards under new laws

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Transport union will apply for food delivery drivers and couriers to be given superannuation, insurance and a pay safety net

Food delivery riders and parcel couriers could be granted minimum employment standards for the first time, as changes to employment law come into effect.

Independent contractors, including gig economy drivers and riders for companies such as UberEats, Menulog, DoorDash and Hungry Panda, could receive mandated workplace protections including superannuation, personal injury insurance and a safety net on pay to ensure they recover their costs each week, as the Transport Workers Union (TWU) makes landmark applications to the Fair Work Commission on Wednesday.

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‘Impossible’ to make policy for LGBTQ+ community without extra census questions, crossbenchers say

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Crossbench MPs demand explanation for government’s decision to drop proposed ABS questions about sexuality, gender diversity from census

Crossbench MPs are seeking an urgent explanation from the Albanese government about why it dumped new topics on sexuality and gender diversity from the next census – a decision that left the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras “deeply concerned and disappointed”.

The move, confirmed by the assistant minister for the Treasury, Andrew Leigh, on Sunday, comes more than a year after the Australian Bureau of Statistics issued its statement of regret over the distress felt by the LGBTQ+ community as a result of being left out of the census.

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Brisbane’s bus rapid transit service to expand to outer suburbs in time for 2032 Olympics

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The city’s LNP mayor and the state Labor government have agreed to work together on 22 new stations, including the airport

Brisbane’s Metro bus rapid transit service is set to expand to the outer suburbs of the city in time for the 2032 Olympics in a plan which now has the backing of the Labor state government.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and premier Steven Miles will on Wednesday jointly announce a “long-term” plan for 22 new stations, expanding the service to Springwood, Capalaba, Carseldine, and the Brisbane airport.

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