Category Archives: Australia news

‘Out of sight and out of mind’: conservationists alarmed as NT land clearing threatens endangered ghost bat habitat

Posted on by

Conservationists urge Plibersek to call in Daly River pastoral clearing application for assessment under commonwealth nature laws

A farming operation in the Northern Territory has proposed clearing almost 6,000 hectares (14,800 acres) of woodlands in a stronghold for the threatened ghost bat, Australia’s largest predatory bat.

The territory’s peak conservation organisation, the Environment Centre NT, and a scientific expert on the species have called on the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, to use her powers to call in the project in the Daly River region for assessment under commonwealth nature laws.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Peter Dutton wants a social media ban for children. But would ‘real life’ rules work?

Posted on by

The opposition leader’s announcement that age-verification would be a Coalition government priority is a big promise that technology may not be able to fulfil

Both the federal government and opposition say they are on board with the idea to ban teens under 16 from using social media, but the prime minister set an important qualifier on Thursday when he said he would support such a ban “if it can be effective”.

Guardian Essential poll last week found two-thirds of voters were in favour of raising the age teens can access social media from the 13 that the companies have set themselves up to 16.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia news live: person ‘likely’ with dementia made call to police before 92-year-old allegedly assaulted by police, Karen Webb says

Posted on by

Follow the day’s news live

Chalmers asked about findings that jobseekers unable to afford ‘basics of life’

The treasurer Jim Chalmers was up on ABC News Breakfast just earlier, asked about new Anglicare data showing Australians on income support are “structurally unable to afford the basics of life”.

This is the primary motivation for the substantial cost of living relief that we’re providing in the budget. Whether it is the tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer, energy bill relief for every household, help with student debt and cheaper medicines, plus the increases to jobseeker – which were in the budget before last – all of these are important ways that we can not just understand and acknowledge the pressures that people are under, but actually respond to them.

Continue reading...

Two NSW police officers charged with assaulting 92-year-old man in Sydney

Posted on by

Elderly man taken to hospital with a fractured and significant bruising after alleged assault in Picton, police say

Two New South Wales police officers have been charged with assaulting a 92-year-old man who was later admitted to hospital with a fractured elbow and significant bruising to his head and arms.

The alleged assault occurred at a home in Picton, in Sydney’s south-west, in January after police were called to a domestic violence incident by the elderly man’s wife, who had made two calls to triple 0 and “likely” had dementia.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Chris Dawson loses appeal against conviction for murdering wife more than 40 years ago

Posted on by

Dawson’s lawyers had argued in the NSW court of criminal appeal that the 2022 verdict was unreasonable

Chris Dawson has lost his appeal against his 2022 conviction for murdering his wife more than 40 years ago.

A panel of judges in the New South Wales court of criminal appeal delivered their ruling on Thursday after Dawson’s lawyers earlier argued that the guilty verdict against him was unreasonable.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Judge in Greg Lynn murder trial says jury can’t find him guilty of manslaughter as an alternate verdict

Posted on by

Justice Michael Croucher summarises case to jurors after ex-Jetstar pilot pleaded not guilty to murdering campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay

The jury in the trial of a former Jetstar pilot accused of murdering two elderly campers in the Victorian high country will not be able to consider an alternative charge of manslaughter, the state’s supreme court has heard.

Gregory Stuart Lynn, 57, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, at a remote camping site in the Wonnangatta Valley in March 2020.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia’s unemployment rate dips to 4% as economy adds 40,000 new jobs

Posted on by

Jobless rate eases as employers shrug off rising costs to keep adding to their workforces

Australia’s unemployment rate eased last month as employers shrugged off rising costs including higher interest bills to keep adding to their workforces.

The jobless rate was 4% in May, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. That was in line with economists’ predictions and was a slight drop from April’s 4.1%.

Continue reading...

NSW planning official referred to corruption watchdog Icac over house purchase allegation

Posted on by

Liberal MP Alister Henskens used parliamentary privilege to accuse unnamed bureaucrat of using inside knowledge to purchase property for potential profit

The New South Wales government will refer claims of serious misconduct by a senior planning bureaucrat to the corruption watchdog Icac after concerns were raised by a former Coalition minister speaking under parliamentary privilege.

The Liberal MP for Wahroonga, Alister Henskens, on Thursday evening told parliament he had received “credible evidence” to suggest the planning department official had used insider information for personal gain through the government’s housing plan.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

South Australia introduces ‘world-leading’ bill to ban political donations from elections

Posted on by

Premier says move will end the ‘nexus between money and political power’ and challenges state and federal counterparts to follow suit

The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, has announced plans to ban political donations from state elections, paving the way for nation-leading electoral reforms.

The state’s electoral amendment bill announced on Wednesday night will ban electoral donations and gifts to registered political parties, members of parliament and candidates. The state will provide funding to allow parties and candidates to contest elections, run campaigns and promote political ideas.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australian live sheep export ban could set a ‘concerning precedent’, industry warns

Posted on by

Legislation to ban live export of sheep by sea by 2028 introduced to parliament but all farming lobby groups oppose the move

Farming lobby groups say legislation to end live sheep exports by 2028 sets a “concerning precedent” for other agricultural export markets.

The comment was made at the first of two public hearings into legislation to phase out live sheep exports by 2028. The snap inquiry was called on 3 June after the agriculture minister, Murray Watt, introduced the legislation to parliament and is due to report by 21 June. It has already received 89 submissions.

Continue reading...

Bacchus Marsh Grammar: Victorian premier blasts ‘disgraceful’ conduct after AI fake nude photo allegations

Posted on by

Jacinta Allan says no place for ‘misogynistic conduct’ as police investigate allegations fake nude images of students circulated online

Victoria’s premier has said there is no place for “misogynistic conduct” in the state following allegations deepfakes depicting about 50 female students from a private school in regional Victoria were circulated online.

Police are investigating the “incredibly graphic” nude images which appeared to have been created using artificial intelligence and photos of the girls’ faces taken from social media sites, and then circulated online.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Panda diplomacy: Chinese premier Li Qiang could announce two new rare bears for Australia during state visit

Posted on by

Wang Wang and Fu Ni have not conceived during more than a decade at Adelaide Zoo, sparking speculation they may be replaced

Australia’s giant pandas – having failed to breed – could be swapped for a new pair.

Chinese premier Li Qiang is expected to make an announcement about the future of the rare bears when he visits South Australia on the weekend.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘Disregard for truth’: inquiry calls for greater scrutiny of private consultants following PwC tax scandal

Posted on by

But Greens say the consulting services inquiry report does not go far enough, calling for stronger action and penalties

Embattled consultancy PwC should be “open and honest” about its breach of confidential government information, and the public service needs to be better equipped to ensure value for money is obtained from consultants, according to the long-awaited findings of a Senate inquiry.

The committee has also recommended stricter regulations for large partnerships, including PwC, be considered, and that consultancy contracts worth more than $2m receive greater government scrutiny.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘He was selfish’: Greg Lynn covered up deaths because he believed he would be blamed, murder trial told

Posted on by

Victorian supreme court hears closing arguments in trial of ex-Jetstar pilot who has pleaded not guilty to murdering Russell Hill and Carol Clay

A former Jetstar pilot accused of murdering two elderly campers in the Victorian high country covered up the deaths because he believed he would be blamed after he incorrectly stored his guns, his defence barrister has told the state’s supreme court.

Gregory Stuart Lynn, 57, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, at a remote camping site in the Wonnangatta Valley in March 2020.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Record number of people leave New Zealand amid cost of living pressures

Posted on by

More than half those who left recently headed to Australia with promises of higher pay and better working conditions

New Zealand citizens are leaving the country in record numbers, with large numbers heading to Australia, new figures show.

Stats NZ’s provisional international migration data shows there were an estimated 130,600 migrant departures in the year to April – the highest on record for an annual period.

Continue reading...

New ‘targeted’ search in Samantha Murphy investigation – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

Sydney’s light rail network disrupted today amid industrial action

A reminder for Sydney commuters that the light rail network will be disrupted today amid planned industrial action.

Recent estimates have Australians consuming around 3,300,000 bags of cocaine per year, with every single one of them bought off the black market. There is no way of knowing whether any of them have been cut with deadly substances like fentanyl or nitazene.

We have to acknowledge that the majority of people who use cocaine do so recreationally and there is absolutely no chance of stopping people using the drug. We therefore need to consider all options to reduce harm, including regulating cocaine in a similar way to how we regulate alcohol.

Continue reading...

Australian punk rock pioneers the Saints announce national tour

Posted on by

Joining founding guitarist Ed Kuepper and drummer Ivor Hay in new five-piece lineup for November tour will be Mudhoney singer Mark Arm

The Saints – the Brisbane band who jump-started the punk movement in Australia with their hot-wired debut single (I’m) Stranded – have announced a national tour in November with a new five-piece lineup, more than 50 years after their rough beginnings.

Joining founding guitarist Ed Kuepper and drummer Ivor Hay will be singer Mark Arm, from the Seattle band Mudhoney. Arm replaces the original singer and primary lyricist, Chris Bailey, who died in April 2022.

Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning

Continue reading...

Australia’s power and gas companies want Coalition to retain Labor’s 2030 climate target

Posted on by

Coal and gas-fired power plant owners say interim target an important step to net zero by 2050

The owners of Australian coal and gas-fired power plants have joined the country’s leading business groups in saying the Coalition should keep Labor’s 2030 climate target if it wins the next election.

The Australian Energy Council, which represents electricity companies and gas wholesalers and retailers, the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Industry Group said maintaining an interim target – legislated as a 43% cut compared with 2005 levels – was an important step in getting to net zero emissions by mid-century.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Details of $25m in Australian taxpayer-funded VIP flights to stay secret

Posted on by

Calls intensify for the federal government to fully explain why it no longer publishes the information

The details of more than $25m in taxpayer-funded VIP flights for Australian ministers and dignitaries will be kept secret, fuelling calls for the federal government to fully explain why it no longer publishes the information.

The government has cited national security advice for the decision to no longer publish the flight logs, but advocates have argued transparency provides a deterrent to improper use and “right now, it’s potentially open slather”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australian capital city rents have biggest monthly fall in over four years but crisis ‘far from over’

Posted on by

Sydney house rents still nation’s highest but an expected rise in vacancy rates this winter could provide some relief to tenants, expert says

Average asking rents in Australia’s capital cities fell 0.5% in May, the largest percentage monthly decline in more than four years.

New data released by SQM property research shows the fall in average capital city rents – to $723 in May – was the largest monthly percentage decline on that measure since April 2020.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...