Category Archives: Australia news

Coalition’s climate and energy policy in disarray as opposition splits over nuclear and renewables

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Simon Birmingham contradicts Nationals’ leader, saying renewables are ‘an important part of the mix’ while Queensland LNP leader rules out nuclear

The federal Coalition’s climate and energy policy is in disarray, with a senior Liberal contradicting the Nationals’ anti-renewables push and the Queensland LNP leader ruling out allowing nuclear energy in that state.

After the Nationals further undermined the push for net zero by 2050 by claiming the Coalition would “cap” investment in large-scale renewable energy, the Liberal leader in the Senate, Simon Birmingham, declared on Tuesday it is an “important part of the mix”.

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NSW budget 2024: the biggest winners and losers

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From bulk billing GPs and frontline workers to renters and the environment, here’s who won and lost in the Minns government’s state budget

The New South Wales government has unveiled a bold plan to ease costs for GP clinics in order to nudge doctors into bulk billing more patients, as part of a suite of budget measures it hopes will deliver cost-of-living relief to citizens.

However, in announcing a $3.6bn deficit, the Minns government’s budget of “must-haves not nice-to-haves” leaves a raft of key societal issues without new funding or a clear path to improvement.

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Government could repatriate Australian women and children from Syrian detention camps if it had ‘political will’, court says

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The federal court dismissed the case brought by Save the Children and ruled that the government had no legal obligation to bring them home

If the federal government had “the political will” to repatriate Australian women and children from Syrian detention camps “it would be a relatively straightforward exercise”, the full bench of the federal court has said in a judgment.

But there is no legal obligation on the government to bring its citizens back to Australia, the court ruled.

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Australian federal politicians awarded 3.5% pay rise by independent tribunal

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Anthony Albanese will take home $607,471 a year from July – up from $586,929 – while Peter Dutton will receive $432,239

Members of Australia’s federal parliament and other public officer holders will pocket thousands more each year from July after the independent remuneration tribunal announced a 3.5% wage rise.

The decision by the Remuneration Tribunal, an independent body that determines the pay of federal politicians and bureaucrats, will mean backbench MPs will now take home about $233,643 a year – up from $225,742 the previous year – or about $4,493 a week before tax.

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Curfews on released detainees are not punitive and less onerous than Covid restrictions, commonwealth says

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Ankle bracelets only ‘produce slight discomfort or embarrassment’ and can be hidden under clothes, commonwealth tells high court

Curfews imposed on non-citizens released from immigration detention are not punitive because they are less “onerous” than the Covid-19 curfews in Victoria and New South Wales, the federal government has suggested.

The commonwealth makes that claim in its defence to a legal challenge against the electronic monitoring and curfews imposed on people released as a result of the high court’s ruling that indefinite detention is unlawful.

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Seven hires comedian Mark Humphries to parody weekly news

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Humphries’ weekly satirical sketches ran for five years on the ABC before being axed last year

Less than a year after the ABC dropped the regular satirical segment on 7.30, Seven News has hired comedian Mark Humphries to continue the tradition of making fun of the news at the end of the week.

Seven’s new director of news and current affairs, Anthony De Ceglie, has recruited Humphries to perform a segment for the Sydney bulletin, with a view to expanding the spot nationally.

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Chinese premier Li Qiang’s Australia visit overshadowed by officials’ apparent attempt to block Cheng Lei’s view at event

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The first visit to Australia by a Chinese premier in seven years was marked by anti-China groups protesting China’s disregard for human rights

The Australian government has rolled out the welcome mat as China’s premier, Li Qiang, visited Canberra, but his trip may have been overshadowed by an apparent attempt by Chinese officials to block the view of the formerly detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei during a signing ceremony.

The first trip to Australia by a Chinese premier in seven years is the most striking symbol yet of the easing of tensions in a previously turbulent relationship.

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Coalition to impose ‘cap’ on renewable energy investment, Nationals leader says

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David Littleproud claims Australia doesn’t need ‘large-scale industrial windfarms’ like the planned offshore zone south of Sydney

David Littleproud has claimed Australia doesn’t need “large-scale industrial windfarms” like the planned offshore zone south of Sydney, adding the Coalition will “cap” federal government investment into renewable energy if elected.

The Nationals leader visited Wollongong on Monday, where he promised the opposition would instead offer a “calm” and “methodical” energy pathway to net zero by 2050.

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Virgin Australia plane makes emergency landing – as it happened

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Ex-Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann arrives at a Toowoomba court

Bruce Lehrmann arrives at a Toowoomba court for a committal hearing into allegations he raped a woman in 2021.

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An affair, a hunting trip and two people dead at a high country camp: how the Greg Lynn case unfolded – a timeline

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The former Jetstar pilot pleaded not guilty to murdering Russell Hill and Carol Clay in the Wonnangatta Valley in 2020. Here’s everything you need to know in the lead-up to the verdict

Former pilot Gregory Stuart Lynn, 57, has faced a four-week trial after pleading not guilty to murdering campers Russell Hill, 74 and Carol Clay, 73 in Victoria’s high country in 2020.

As the jury considers a verdict, here’s everything to know about how the missing person investigation and trial unfolded:

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Climate 200 names nine new Coalition seats where it hopes to replicate teal wave at next election

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Exclusive: After months of speculation the fundraising giant has identified more electorates where independent campaigns meet its criteria for support

Climate 200, the fundraising giant that bankrolled the teal independent wave at the last election, has thrown its support behind independent campaigns in nine more Coalition-held seats.

After months of speculation, the group said it would support independent campaigns in the Queensland electorates of McPherson, Moncrief, Fisher and Fairfax as well as the New South Wales electorates Cowper and Bradfield, and Casey, Monash and Wannon in Victoria.

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Labor urged to put human rights record before trade as Chinese premier visits Canberra

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Anthony Albanese should seek commitments for concrete action in his talks with Li Qiang, campaigners say

Human rights advocates have called on Anthony Albanese to place China’s human rights record ahead of economic and trade discussions in his meeting with China’s second most powerful leader on Monday.

They said it was time for Australia’s Labor government to demand concrete action from China in addressing human rights complaints against it as “statements of concern” were not achieving results.

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From social housing to $1.5m for a studio: minister hits out at ‘dud deal’ sale of Sydney’s Sirius building

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Exclusive: Rose Jackson says losing public housing in expensive central suburbs leaves society worse off, and this week’s state budget will address issue

A decade ago the only way to secure a bed in Sydney’s brutalist icon, the Sirius building, was a proven need and time on the social housing waitlist. Now the price of admission starts at $1.55m – for a studio apartment.

The last of the 76 apartments in the redeveloped complex in the shadow of the Harbour Bridge are on the market after the building was sold to a developer by the former Coalition state government for $150m in 2019.

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Pornography and social media driving rise in labia surgery, Australian report finds

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More than half a million people have had or considered having the procedure due to lack of education and diverse representation, survey shows

Pornography and social media are driving a rise in people having or considering labia surgery, with images and videos distorting perceptions of what genitalia look like, a new report has found.

The surgery, known as labiaplasty, is one of the fastest growing cosmetic procedures among young people in Australia and worldwide.

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One man dead and two rescued after yacht capsizes on Great Barrier Reef

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A snapped keel is believed to have caused the vessel to overturn off Lady Elliot Island near Gladstone, Queensland

One man is dead and two others have been winched to safety after their yacht capsized, triggering a major search and rescue operation off the central Queensland coast.

A snapped keel is believed to have caused the vessel to overturn off Lady Elliot Island near Gladstone early on Sunday.

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China’s panda promise to Adelaide put in black and white as human rights protesters bear witness

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Wang Wang and Fu Ni have lived at the city’s zoo for 15 years but are due to head home by the end of 2024

Li Qiang has announced a panda swap for Adelaide zoo, a diplomatic move long anticipated but timed to coincide with the first visit of a Chinese premier to Australia since 2017.

Making the announcement at the zoo, Li said two new giant pandas would replace Wang Wang and Fu Ni, who have lived at the zoo for 15 years as the only specimens of their kind in the southern hemisphere.

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Australia news live: Minns ‘really sorry’ final Vivid drone show cancelled with 20 minutes notice; Malinauskas welcomes ‘exciting’ panda news

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The current pair, Wang Wang and Fu Ni, will return to China this year. Follow the day’s news headlines

Labor ‘continuing to consult’ on Makarrata commission, Albanese says

Anthony Albanese says he will attend Arnhem Land’s Garma festival in August to “talk about a way forward” on Indigenous policy after the defeat of the voice referendum, keeping open the prospect of setting up a Makarrata commission to advance truth and treaty processes.

Treaty process is undergoing at the various states and that’s appropriate. With regard to Makarrata, we’re continuing to consult on those issues. said.

Indigenous leaders, of course, were very disappointed by the referendum result. I’ll attend Garma once again this year and sit down with people and talk about a way forward.

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Peter Dutton’s plan to ditch 2030 emissions target would drive up power bills, Penny Wong says

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Comments come after opposition leader claims higher grocery prices are result of Labor ‘not taking into account gas and nuclear’

Penny Wong has warned that ditching 2030 greenhouse gas reduction targets would lead to higher electricity prices as Peter Dutton foreshadowed an election campaign fought on energy policy.

The opposition leader told Sky News on Sunday that energy would be a “big difference between the two parties as we head into the next election”, a week after backing away from Australia’s legislated 2030 emissions target of a 43% cut compared with 2005 levels.

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‘Twists and turns’ in Australia-China ties are over, Li Qiang says – but Penny Wong highlights tensions

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Coalition blunders have left countries locked in ‘permanent contest’ over Pacific, minister says

China’s second-most powerful leader has announced that the “twists and turns” in Australia-China relations are over – and invited Australian officials to pick a new pair of pandas for Adelaide’s zoo.

But Penny Wong chose to highlight the tensions that remain in the relationship before a series of talks with Premier Li Qiang, who arrived in Australia on Saturday evening and was met by protesters outside the zoo on Sunday.

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Man charged over alleged murder of Sydney surfer Guy Haymes after family appeal for information

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‘Fun-loving’ former competitive surfer was well-known on NSW’s northern beaches

Police have charged a man with the murder of Sydney surfer Guy Haymes, days after his family appealed for information about the death of the “fun-loving” northern beaches identity.

Haymes, 59, a former competitive surfer affectionately known as “Creature”, was found with critical head injuries on 27 February, outside a unit complex on Pittwater Road at Manly.

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