Category Archives: Australia news

Child protection department preparing for ‘likely transfer’ of powers to Indigenous Victorians under treaty

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Department expects ‘extensive’ changes to result from state government’s negotiations with First Peoples’ Assembly later this year, documents say

The Victorian department responsible for child protection and housing is preparing for a “likely transfer” of powers to First Nations groups as a result of treaties that will soon be negotiated with the government.

The Department of Fairness, Families and Housing (DFFH) is looking for an organisation to provide training to staff to “increase readiness for treaty”, according to tender documents seen by Guardian Australia.

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One in four cases before NSW local courts last year related to domestic violence, data reveals

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Average time taken to finalise domestic family violence matters in local courts balloons to 266 days, as legal services cry out for more funding

A quarter of all matters before local courts in New South Wales last year were related to domestic violence, new data shows, as community legal services warn of a critical lack in funding to help victim-survivors seek justice.

Data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (Bocsar) showed 26% of matters finalised in local courts in 2023 were related to domestic violence, up from 20% in 2019.

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King’s birthday honours list 2024: from a nun who spent 26 days outside parliament to ‘Australia’s job queen’

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Refugee advocate Sister Jane Keogh, rich lister Sarina Russo, Asio chief Mike Burgess and ex-premiers Dan Andrews and Mark McGowan among award recipients

Two former state premiers, a veteran refugee advocate and one of Australia’s richest women are among the hundreds of Australians to receive awards in this year’s King’s birthday honours.

While there are plenty of notable names sprinkled among the 737 Australians recognised, the governor general, David Hurley, noted that “the vast majority” are those quietly making a huge impact in their communities.

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Outgoing federal Labor MP backs Palestinian-Australian to replace her in Melbourne seat of Calwell

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Maria Vamvakinou announces she will quit politics at next federal poll and throws support behind former adviser Basem Abdo

Veteran Labor MP Maria Vamvakinou has announced she will end her political career at the next federal election and has backed a prominent member of the Palestinian-Australian community to replace her.

Vamvakinou, the member for Calwell in Melbourne’s outer north-west, has told the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, she will step down at the upcoming poll due by the middle of 2025.

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Peter Costello resigns as chairman of Nine Entertainment ‘effective immediately’

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Former federal treasurer stands down days after he was accused of assaulting a News Corp journalist at Canberra airport

Peter Costello has resigned as chairman of Nine Entertainment “effective immediately” days after the former federal treasurer was accused of assaulting a News Corp journalist at Canberra airport.

Costello said in a statement on Sunday evening: “The board has been supportive through the events of the last month and last few days in particular. But going forward, I think they need a new chair to unite them around a fresh vision and someone with the energy to lead to that vision for the next decade.”

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Labor urged to step up pressure on Israel – as it happened

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Coleman denies double standard over deportation direction

Coleman is being interrogated about his actions as immigration minister relating to direction 79, which was cited by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in “a number of cases” to justify allowing those with criminal convictions remain in Australia.

I’m not familiar with the specific examples.

I don’t agree at all. I made it stronger. That’s the decision I made. The decision that Andrew Giles made was, how do we ensure that people who would otherwise go back to New Zealand get to stay in Australia? That was a shameful decision and that’s why he sought to reverse it in direction 110. But he still kept the connection to the Australian community as a primary consideration, which is the whole problem with direction 99 in the first place. These guys have no idea how to manage the immigration system. That’s why we have seen such terrible results.

I’m very comfortable. We have to cut immigration.

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Landowners whose views are spoiled by power lines could receive $40,000 under Victorian plan

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Scheme would collect funds from power companies to pay communities affected by new transmission lines

Victorian landowners whose views are spoiled by new power transmission lines on neighbouring properties could receive one-off compensation payments of up to $40,000 under a plan being considered by the state government.

The new transmission planning agency, VicGrid, has opened consultation on a scheme that would collect funds from power companies to pay communities affected by new transmission lines.

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If home is your ‘castle’, how far can you go to defend it? In Queensland, it’s up for debate

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A Katter’s Australian party petition says homeowners should be allowed to use ‘whatever force necessary’ – but experts warn of dangers

“A Queenslander’s home is their castle” and they should be able to use “whatever force necessary” to protect themselves against intruders.

That’s according to a controversial petition from the Katter’s Australian party MP Nick Dametto to enact “castle law”, which has gained more than 36,000 signatures in support of importing the self-defence doctrine from the US that allows people to kill intruders threatening their homes..

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Non-citizen Andrew Giles wanted to be ‘rid of’ cannot be deported, court rules

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Exclusive: Safwat Abdel-Hady may now be able to pursue damages for false imprisonment after court found his detention was not authorised by Migration Act

A non-citizen convicted of offences related to alleged drink-spiking who Andrew Giles said he wanted to be “rid of” has had a major win in court, with the commonwealth conceding he cannot be deported.

On Tuesday the federal circuit court made declarations that “there was no real prospect of removal” of businessman Safwat Abdel-Hady currently or in the period 28 July 2022 to 13 February 2024 and his detention was not authorised by the Migration Act for those 18 months.

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‘Be prepared for many days of isolation’: emergency services urge NSW residents in flood-prone areas to evacuate

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Rain easing but SES says risk to communities remains as wet weather causes Warragamba Dam to spill for third month running

Some New South Wales residents told to flee rising flood waters have been given the all-clear to return as heavy rainfall, which caused a major dam to spill, eases and water levels recede.

Spills had slowed from Warragamba Dam late on Saturday but more than a dozen riverside communities had been warned the flooding emergency remained.

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‘We may not have snow’: Australian ski season opens with a whimper

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Mt Buller had the country’s only ski-on chairlift operating on season’s opening day on Saturday – but snow is forecast for the week ahead

It was a grassy start to Australia’s ski season, with one resort trying to remain upbeat “although we may not have snow on the ground” and a few pockets of human-made alternatives to play on elsewhere.

Mt Buller, in Victoria, was blessed with the only ski-on chairlift in the entire country on the opening day of the winter season on Saturday.

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Man accused of seeking $300,000 from woman he allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted in Sydney

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Man, 29, extradited from Victoria on Thursday after police alleged he threatened to release photos of assault

A man alleged to have drugged and kidnapped a woman before photographing himself sexually assaulting her and attempting to extort a $300,000 payment for the images has been extradited from Victoria to New South Wales.

Yanyu Mu, 29, was arrested at Oakleigh East in Melbourne’s south-east on Thursday, before being extradited to Sydney.

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Peter Dutton accused of trying to ‘rip up’ Australia’s commitment to Paris climate agreement

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Opposition leader reportedly told News Corp he would oppose the legislated 2030 emissions target – a 43% cut compared with 2005 levels – at the next election

Peter Dutton has been accused of planning to break Australia’s commitment to the landmark Paris climate agreement after he said he would reject the country’s 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target.

The opposition leader reportedly told the Weekend Australian that he would oppose the legislated 2030 emissions target – a 43% cut compared with 2005 levels – at the next election but remain committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

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Deepfakes of Australian politicians including Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher used in investment scams

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Exclusive: AI-generated footage of former PM Scott Morrison also used in more than a dozen Facebook ads that reached thousands of Australians

Images of the finance minister, Katy Gallagher, and the foreign minister, Penny Wong, have been used in deepfake investment scam videos in the latest examples of a concerning trend of politicians being used in online fraud.

The Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie and the former prime minister Scott Morrison have also had their faces used in scams through Facebook videos that appear to be generated by AI, with more than a dozen examples this week of paid ads reaching thousands of Australians before being removed.

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Slushy start to ski season as NSW resort towns say booking numbers down

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Resort operators remain hopeful of larger falls later in the season and have introduced other activities not dependent on snowfall

The ski season is off to a mushy start as eager skiers hoping for the first glimpse of snow this weekend are instead met with grass and slush.

In New South Wales, Perisher and Thredbo, the most popular ski resorts in Australia, will only have a beginner’s conveyor belt running, and Selwyn snow resorts will not have any lifts operating.

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Channel Seven journalist Robert Ovadia on leave after allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’

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Sydney-based television veteran denies ‘malicious’ allegation and being stood down as network says it is conducting internal investigation

Channel Seven journalist Robert Ovadia is on leave while Seven conducts an internal investigation into allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” by the television veteran.

A spokesperson for the network confirmed Ovadia was on leave.

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Court condemns soccer fans’ Nazi salutes at 2022 Australia Cup final

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Three men were convicted and fined $500 for ‘deliberately and intentionally’ performing the salute

Three Croatian men have been convicted and fined after separately making Nazi salutes during the 2022 Australia Cup soccer final.

Nikola Marko Gasparovic, 46, Dominik Sieben, 25, and Marijan Lisica, 45, performed the salute at Parramatta’s CommBank Stadium on October 1 2022, during the match between Sydney United 58 and Macarthur FC.

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Shannon Fentiman referred to Queensland ethics committee over ‘cross your legs’ stoush – as it happened

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Max-Chandler Mather weighs in on Bandt’s potential legal action against attorney-general

Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather spoke to ABC News Breakfast earlier about the ongoing stoush between his party and Labor, with Adam Bandt threatening legal action against the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, over comments on pro-Palestine protests.

Asking me to comment on the specifics of a case like that – outrageous comments by the attorney general, completely baseless and without fact … this is an attempt to distract from the fact that the Labor government is complicit in a genocide being carried out by Israel in Gaza.

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‘I could have run faster’: Cathy Freeman expresses regret over gold medal race at Sydney Olympics

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Olympian says women’s 400 metres would have reached a whole new level if her main rival Marie-José Pérec had competed in the final

In an extraordinary confession, Olympic legend Cathy Freeman says she never completely fulfilled her potential as an athlete.

Reflecting on her remarkable career as the Paris games approach, Freeman said she could have run even faster in her career-defining 400-metres final at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

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Andrew Giles issues new rules for visa cancellations that make community safety ‘highest priority’

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Immigration minister announces direction 110 after previous rules used to overturn visa cancellations for non-citizens who committed serious offences

New rules on visa cancellation that emphasise the importance of community protection and impact on victims of crime will still allow decision-makers to favour factors other than safety as their paramount consideration.

On Friday the immigration minister, Andrew Giles, revealed he had made ministerial direction 110 “strengthening our cancellation system to better reflect community expectations” after a spate of cases of visa cancellations of non-citizens who had committed serious offences being overturned by an independent tribunal. The new rules will be in force from 21 June.

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