Category Archives: Australia news

Linda Burney hailed for ‘courage’ and ‘dedication’ amid departure as minister for Indigenous Australians

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Burney, a Wiradjuri woman and the first Aboriginal woman to be elected to the federal House of Representatives, has ‘a record of profound firsts’, PM says

Kindness, grace, resilience and integrity are the values Linda Burney says have driven her 21-year political career, and they were on display as she announced her departure as minister for Indigenous Australians on Thursday.

Burney is relinquishing the ministry but will stay on as the member for Barton until the next election. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said he would announce her successor on Sunday.

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Elizabeth Struhs’ accused killers ‘felt at peace’ after deciding to stop her diabetes medication, court hears

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Police recorded mother Kerrie Struhs saying child’s insulin was withheld after her father ‘experienced the power of God’, Queensland trial hears

A mother accused of killing her daughter told police she “did a lot of praying” when the eight-year-old stopped breathing after six days without her diabetes medication, a judge has heard.

Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49, refused to enter a plea to the charge of manslaughter over the death of her daughter Elizabeth Rose Struhs on 7 January 2022.

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NSW Greens office targeted with Islamophobic and white supremacist graffiti

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Police say they are searching for a male who allegedly vandalised the inner-west Sydney office in what is the latest political graffiti attack

Police are investigating after the New South Wales Greens’ office was graffitied with Islamophobic and white supremacist messages.

The graffiti, which occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning at the office in inner west Sydney, called an Islamic prophet a white supremacist.

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The bombshell legal ruling that made it impossible for Australia to delay sanctions against Israeli settlers

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Labor is ‘carefully considering’ the ICJ findings on the occupied Palestinian territories – and soon it will have to give its view

It’s the bombshell legal ruling that made it politically impossible for the Australian government to continue to delay imposing sanctions on Israeli settlers.

While much of the Australian media were focused on the latest twists in the US presidential election, the international court of justice delivered sweeping findings against Israel’s conduct in the occupied Palestinian territories, ratcheting up pressure on all governments to take a firmer line.

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Nine newspapers staff vote for five-day strike on eve of Paris Olympics

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Editorial staff from the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian Financial Review, the Brisbane Times and WAtoday reject improved pay offer

Journalists employed by Nine Entertainment’s publishing division have voted overwhelmingly to strike over pay from Friday for five days, hampering the company’s coverage of the Paris Olympic Games.

Nine is the official broadcaster of the 2024 games, paying $100m for the broadcast rights for this year alone.

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Man dies after trying to drive truck on to NSW ferry; global sea ice levels hit record low – as it happened

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Q: Why target the individuals when it’s state policy?

Penny Wong said the Australian government has been “clear in terms of state-to-state relations about our view on settlements”.

They are unlawful under international law. We’ve been clear about that … We have also said that we want to continue to take steps towards a two-state solution.

That may not be the view of some people in the Israeli government, but that is the view of the Australian government.

These individuals have been involved in violent attacks on Palestinians, including things such as beating, sexual assault and torture, resulting in serious injury and in some cases death.

We have imposed these after careful consideration and we would expect that all Australians would recognise the weight of these.

Settlements are unlawful under international law. We are continuing to act in ways that we can to look to how we protect a pathway to a two-state solution, and part of that is to ensure we also impose penalties who perpetrate violence against Palestinians.

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Ex-coalminer awarded $3.2m for black lung in Australian first

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A judge accepts Craig Keogh will never work again after developing pneumoconiosis from working in NSW and Queensland mines

A coalminer who developed black lung due to his employers’ negligence has been awarded a landmark legal victory and a multimillion-dollar payout.

Craig Keogh, a machine operator at New South Wales and Queensland mines, became the first Australian to win a black lung case at trial, paving the way for other sufferers to make successful compensation claims.

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In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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Australian judge dismisses class action claiming Roundup causes cancer

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Justice Michael Lee rules there is not enough evidence the popular weedkiller caused cancer in more than 800 non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients

There is not enough evidence to prove an ingredient used in a popular weedkiller causes cancer, an Australian federal court judge has found.

Justice Michael Lee handed down his judgment in the class action against widely used herbicide Roundup on Thursday afternoon.

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Discovery of poliovirus in Gaza ‘incredibly alarming’, Unicef executive director says

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Exclusive: Territory is ‘one of the most, if not the most dangerous place to be a child right now’, Catherine Russell says, and ‘we desperately need this conflict to end’

The “incredibly alarming” discovery of the poliovirus in Gaza only adds to the besieged territory’s status as one of “the most dangerous places to be a child right now”, the head of the UN children’s agency has warned.

The executive director of Unicef, Catherine Russell, said during a visit to Australia that Gaza was increasingly lawless.

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Australia’s health star rating system exploited by companies making ultra-processed foods, experts say

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Labelling focused on nutrients such as protein or fat distracts from ‘poor quality’ or ‘chemically transformed’ products, according to experts

The food industry in Australia is allowed to use labelling and marketing tactics to distract from the harmful ingredients in ultra-processed foods due its outsize political power, health experts say.

As state, territory and federal health and food ministers meet on Thursday, experts are concerned the current voluntary food labelling regimes are failing to meet international standards for warning consumers against industrial techniques used in food processing.

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‘Inexcusable’: should climate hypocrites get the petrostates label?

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Suggestions definition of petrostate is too narrow as many rich countries that could phase out fossil fuels double down

“Drill, baby, drill!” Donald Trump’s ominous avowal to pump up the oil and gas production of the US has horrified many people around the world about the intentions of the Republican candidate, who has also declared he wants to be “dictator for a day”. Rather than the prospective leader of the free world, the election frontrunner sounds more like the tyrant of a petrostate.

That should not be entirely surprising given the country’s recent record: it has ramped up fossil fuel production to become the world’s biggest producer. As a Guardian investigation reveals, the total number of projected licences by the US for 2024 could lead to an estimated 397m tonnes of planet-heating emissions.

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Revealed: wealthy western countries lead in global oil and gas expansion

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The US and the UK among countries with low dependence on fossil fuels criticized for ‘hypocrisy’ on climate pledges

A surge in new oil and gas production in 2024 threatens to unleash nearly 12bn tonnes of planet-heating emissions, with the world’s wealthiest countries – such as the US and the UK – leading a stampede of fossil fuel expansion in spite of their climate commitments, new data shared exclusively with the Guardian reveals.

The new oil and gas field licences forecast to be awarded across the world this year are on track to generate the highest level of emissions since those issued in 2018, as heatwaves, wildfires, drought and floods cause death and destruction globally, according to analysis of industry data by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

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Australian scientists genetically engineer common fly species to eat more of humanity’s waste

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Black soldier flies could help cut planet-warming methane produced when organic waste breaks down, Macquarie University team says

A team of Australian scientists is genetically engineering a common fly species so that it can eat more of humanity’s organic waste while producing ingredients for making everything from lubricants and biofuels to high-grade animal feeds.

Black soldier flies are already being used commercially to consume organic waste, including food waste, but tweaking their genetics could widen the range of waste their larvae consume while, in the process, producing fatty compounds and enzymes.

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NT military exercise suspended after pilot escapes crash – as it happened

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Import ban fails to curb flow of Nazi-linked items

The number of items imported into Australia bearing Nazi imagery has not been slowed by a national ban on the symbols, AAP reports.

The importation into Australia of Nazi memorabilia, both historically genuine items and modern recreations, has not abated with the passage of [the ban].

Where these goods are imported in quantities which indicates the goods are likely to be traded, the Australian Border Force refers the goods to the Australian federal police to consider investigation under the criminal code.

Consumers are crying out for clear information on how to save money, protect their health and reduce emissions – and they want that information online where they make their purchasing decisions.

We call on the state and federal governments to give consumers the real truth about the risks of gas appliances, by mandating comprehensive pollution labels on all their ads and websites.

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Brett Whiteley and Sidney Nolan works among former Melbourne lord mayor’s acollection to be sold at auction

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Twenty artworks from Ron Walker’s deceased estate to go under the hammer, along with seven Arthur Boyd paintings

The former Lord mayor of Melbourne Ron Walker was known for his billion dollar property deals, casino developments and a knack for snaring major sporting events such as the Grand Prix and Commonwealth Games. But tonight a very private passion of the businessman, who amassed an estimated personal fortune of A$978m before his death in 2018, will be on show.

Twenty artworks from Walker’s deceased estate, along with seven Arthur Boyd paintings and one sculpture from the personal collection of the retired Sydney veteran art dealer Denis Savill, will be auctioned off by Smith & Singer (formerly Sotheby’s Australia) in Melbourne. Works by Brett Whiteley, Sidney Nolan, Charles Blackman and Albert Tucker are also among the trove.

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Australia in biggest ‘baby recession’ since 1970s as pandemic birth boom fades

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Sydney has biggest drop in births as economist says couples delaying children because of cost-of-living crisis

Australia is in the grips of a “baby recession”, which some have attributed to rising cost-of-living pressures and economic uncertainty.

The number of births in Australia dropped to 289,100 in 2023, the lowest recorded since 2006, analysis from KPMG Australia showed.

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‘Significant assault’: two staff from Nine’s Olympic broadcast team attacked in Paris in suspected robbery

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The incident follows the alleged sexual assault of an Australian tourist in Paris last weekend

Two Nine Entertainment staff members in Paris to cover the Olympic Games have been attacked in what colleagues have described as a suspected robbery of a “serious physical nature”.

Nine reporter Christine Ahern said the two staff members were working in the international broadcast centre in the northeastern suburbs of Paris and were walking back to their accomodation on Monday afternoon when they were attacked by a group.

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NSW teachers to embrace ‘step by step’ explicit instruction method amid major syllabus shake-up

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State becomes first to mandate methodology in overhaul educators hope will allow disabled and disadvantaged students catch up to their peers

The New South Wales curriculum has had its biggest shakeup in five decades with better connections between subjects, more detailed concepts and skills, and a move away from the student-led approach to learning towards “explicit instruction”.

On Wednesday, new K-6 syllabuses for health, creative arts, human society and its environment, and science were released to teachers, with updated maths and English syllabuses in classrooms from this year.

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Olympic team officials briefed after Australian woman allegedly raped by five men in Paris

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Australian chef de mission Anna Meares says athletes have been advised to take care outside Olympic village after reports of assault

Olympic team officials have been briefed on the alleged sexual assault of an Australian woman in Paris.

French police are investigating the allegation that the tourist was sexually assaulted by five men, according to local media.

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Australia not ruling out sanctions against Israel settlers as concerns grow over ‘troubling’ behaviour

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Exclusive: Senior Australian government source says ICJ ruling the continued Israeli occupation of territory seized in 1967 was illegal ‘can’t be ignored’

The Australian government is increasingly alarmed at Israel’s “troubling pattern” of behaviour and has not ruled out a more assertive response, including sanctions against settlers.

In the wake of a sweeping international court of justice ruling read out in a courtroom in The Hague late on Friday that said the continued Israeli occupation of territory seized in 1967 was illegal, a senior Australian government source said the advisory opinion “can’t be ignored”.

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