Category Archives: Australia news

Anthony Albanese visibly emotional after defending Labor’s capital gains tax and negative gearing changes

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Prime minister launches impassioned argument in favour of much-maligned reforms announced in last week’s federal budget

A visibly emotional Anthony Albanese has launched an impassioned defence of Labor’s proposed changes to negative gearing, the capital gains tax discount and family trusts, saying he will “not allow Australia to become a country where aspiration is only for some”.

The prime minister has faced sustained criticism to the reforms, which include limiting negative gearing to new-builds while grandfathering existing properties, changing how CGT is calculated and imposing a new 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts.

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Three die in ‘horrific’ south Sydney vehicle crash after police welfare check

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A 42-year-old fled from police before being involved in a two-vehicle crash in Sans Souci, police say

Three people have died in a crash in Sydney after a man fled from police who had been attempting to carry out a welfare check.

Police officers had been called to a property in Gymea Bay, southern Sydney, at 12.25am on Saturday. When they arrived, a 42-year-old man drove away in a white Audi, New South Wales police said.

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Police drop case against artist who depicted high-profile Australians in uniforms with Nazi symbols

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Michael Agzarian was charged despite internal legal advice that the images were ‘political satire’, court hears

Police charged an artist who depicted prominent Australians in military uniforms emblazoned with Nazi symbols despite internal legal advice the images were “political satire”, a court has heard.

Police dropped the case against Michael Agzarian before the Downing Centre local court on Friday, almost a year after he had been charged with one count of displaying Nazi symbols by a public act without lawful excuse.

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Feral horse numbers surge in Kosciuszko national park after pause in aerial culling, survey shows

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Conservationists say population rebound demands rethink of retention zones that allow thousands of the animals to remain in the park

Feral horse numbers in the Kosciuszko national park have surged, with new survey data estimating populations climbed by thousands after the New South Wales government paused aerial culling in 2025.

Conservation advocates say the rebound in numbers demands an urgent rethink of retention zones that allow thousands of horses to remain in the park.

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One Nation’s rapid national expansion in disarray as ‘significant risks’ force dissolution of new branches

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Exclusive: Documents seen by Guardian Australia also show new branches and members will be subject to strict gag orders

One Nation’s rapid expansion of local branches across the country is in disarray, with the party being forced to dissolve and re-establish its new network less than eight months after the ambitious roll out began.

Documents seen by Guardian Australia show the party’s new general manager, Kelvin Morton, issued a directive to the party’s branches in April ordering committee members to properly reconstitute their branches after an internal review uncovered “significant risks”.

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MPs urged to ignore fearmongering and pass Labor’s ‘long overdue’ negative gearing and CGT changes

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Exclusive: Any attempt to use the budget measures as an excuse to raise rent is opportunistic profiteering, housing advocates say

Australia’s peak community and housing groups have urged federal parliament to quickly pass Labor’s changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax, saying the reforms would improve fairness for renters and young homebuyers.

The government may introduce its negative gearing and CGT changes into parliament as soon as the coming sitting fortnight, with hopes of passing the legislation soon after with the support of the Greens.

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Man charged with stealing camera equipment from Bondi shooting victim in aftermath of terror attack

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Police allege man took camera equipment from 61-year-old shooting victim then pawned it

New South Wales police have charged a man for allegedly stealing camera equipment from one of the victims of the Bondi beach terror attack in the aftermath of the shooting.

In a statement, police alleged that the man, Danny James Ridley, had been at the Hanukah event before the shooting on 14 December, in which 15 people were killed.

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‘Indefensible’: alleged child abuse survivor takes on Albanese government over $2.5bn Nauru deal

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Lawyers of Hazara man who was allegedly sexually abused by carer launch bid to prevent imminent deportation to Pacific island

The Albanese government’s $2.5bn deal with Nauru, under which hundreds of non-citizens will be sent to the tiny Pacific island, will face another legal challenge prompted by an alleged child abuse survivor.

Legal representatives for Abdul*, a Hazara man who was re-detained in immigration detention earlier this month, have launched a bid to prevent the 29-year-old’s imminent deportation to Nauru by challenging its compatibility with Australia’s constitution.

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‘Vein of racism’: race discrimination commissioner accuses One Nation and Coalition of scapegoating immigrants

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Exclusive: Australia faces a ‘pronounced political fault line’, Giridharan Sivaraman tells Brisbane seminar on human rights

One Nation and the federal opposition are “dehumanising” and “scapegoating” immigrants while drawing on a “deep vein of racism”, Australia’s federal race discrimination commissioner says.

Giridharan Sivaraman made the comments as part of a panel discussion at a Brisbane seminar on human rights, hosted by the state’s human rights commission.

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Kylie Minogue announces she had second cancer diagnosis in 2021

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In new Netflix documentary, pop superstar says she ‘got through it, again’, referring back to successful treatment for breast cancer in 2005

Kylie Minogue has revealed that in early 2021 she was diagnosed with cancer for a second time, after diagnosis and successful treatment for breast cancer in 2005.

The pop star discussed the previously unannounced diagnosis in a new Netflix documentary entitled Kylie, available from today. “My second cancer diagnosis was in early 2021. I was able to keep that to myself … Not like the first time,” she said, referring to her highly publicised first treatment.

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One person dead and four in hospital after alleged shooting in Sydney’s south-west

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NSW police establish crime scene at Canley Heights home after two pairs of men present at different hospitals

One man has died in hospital and four others have been left in serious condition after a shooting at a home.

Police set up a crime scene at a home in Canley Heights in south-west Sydney after the men self-presented to two nearby hospitals.

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Former governor general and Brisbane’s Anglican archbishop Peter Hollingworth dies at 91

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Hollingworth, appointed governor general by John Howard in 2001, resigned over his handling of child sexual abuse in the Anglican church

Former governor general Peter Hollingworth, who resigned over his handling of child sexual abuse in the Anglican church, has died.

Hollingworth, who devoted much of his life to fighting poverty, served as the Anglican archbishop of Brisbane for 11 years from 1990, the first Australian-born person to hold the position.

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‘Foolish’ CSIRO job cuts will mean Australia unable to provide climate projections to global reports, scientists warn

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Exclusive: Science agency is planning to sack a third of the team working on the national climate model, sources say

Job cuts at the national science agency mean Australia will no longer be able to submit climate projections to form part of global reports and will have significantly reduced ability to forecast future damage to the country, leading researchers have warned.

Multiple sources told Guardian Australia that CSIRO planned to sack a third of the team working on the national climate model that provides projections relied on by governments, councils, industry and farmers as they plan for the future.

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Pocock urges CGT changes as Albanese laughs off AI meme campaign

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Independent senator warns budget reform could drive tech investment offshore, as PM thanks startups for ‘very flattering’ images

Anthony Albanese has laughed off an AI-generated meme campaign against capital gains tax changes from startup founders, thanking them for “very flattering” doctored photos of him working in their businesses.

But independent politicians representing some of Australia’s startup hotspots have raised alarm over the proposed increase to capital gains tax, warning the tax changes could see innovative companies and tech firms move overseas to chase higher rewards.

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Australian medical college leader suspended from position over alleged health and safety breach

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Dr Sharmila Chandran suspended until 20 September as Royal Australasian College of Physicians agrees to work with regulator to meet its obligations

The charities regulator has suspended the president-elect of one of Australia’s oldest medical colleges for allegedly contravening a direction from the NSW work health and safety watchdog.

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) on Monday issued a notice suspending Dr Sharmila Chandran as a responsible person of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, which is a registered charity, until 20 September.

SafeWork NSW advised that Chandran’s alleged failure to comply with a directive not to contact RACP staff was exposing them to “immediate and serious risks” to their psychological health and safety, the ACNC said in a public statement.

The intervention follows months of conflict within the RACP’s board, which culminated in an extraordinary general meeting last month to which police were called.

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Signs of ‘feeding’ ritual at dingo burial site shed new light on bond between First Nations people and canines

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Never documented archaeologically before, evidence points to First Nations people caring for and nursing the animal

The discovery of a millennium-old dingo burial site in western New South Wales, including evidence of a “feeding” ritual never before documented archaeologically, has shed new light on the longstanding relationship between the canines and First Nations people.

The dingo was buried along the Baaka, or Darling River, in Kinchega national park near the Menindee Lakes.

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Man charged with three counts of DV murder after woman and children found dead inside Sydney home

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NSW police called to home in Campbelltown where they arrested a man, aged 47

A man has been charged with murder after the bodies of a woman and two children were found inside a Sydney home.

Officers attended the home in Campbelltown, in the city’s south-west, on Monday night “following a call from the home to triple zero” at about 7.50pm, New South Wales police said.

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Romaine calm: live frog found in discount supermarket lettuce bag

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‘Look, if I was in a French supermarket, I probably would have got a two for one deal on that one,’ woman in WA told national TV

When a group of housemates in Western Australia bought a pair of lettuces in a sealed plastic bag – reduced for quick sale to $1.15 – they got two other things for which they could not have bargained. One was a live frog reckoned to be the size of a man’s palm. The other, a slot on national television.

But despite describing it as “the most random thing” they had encountered upon opening a packet of leafy greens from the supermarket, Laura Jones and Billie Le Pine fronted their interview on ABC news breakfast with a series or ready made one liners.

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Pianist Jayson Gillham says he never considered apologising for Gaza comments, trial hears

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Federal court case begins for classical pianist who alleges Melbourne Symphony Orchestra unlawfully discriminated due to his views

A classical pianist who alleges the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra unlawfully discriminated against him because of his views on Israeli forces killing Palestinian journalists says he did not consider apologising for making the statement at the centre of the case.

Pianist Jayson Gillham is suing the MSO over a cancelled Melbourne concert he was contracted to perform on 15 August 2024, a cancellation which he claims was an attempt to silence him over his stance on the Gaza conflict.

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Tech founders use AI-generated images to poke fun at Anthony Albanese in protest against tax changes

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‘He’s having a great time with his new 47% equity,’ one entrepreneur jokes, warning that some startups may leave Australia behind

Tech entrepreneurs have mocked the government’s capital gains tax changes by posting AI-generated photos of Anthony Albanese as their “new founder” and warning that increased taxes could push people away from working for new businesses or send startups overseas.

Startups and entrepreneurs may yet receive a carve-out in the federal government’s planned changes to the CGT discount, with the prime minister saying he wanted to support innovation and the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, revealing that consultation was continuing with the sector.

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