Category Archives: Australia news

Hey Hey It’s Saturday’s John Blackman dies age 76

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The radio and voiceover veteran was diagnosed with aggressive skin cancer in 2019

John Blackman, the Australian radio and television presenter who was best known as the voice of Hey Hey It’s Saturday, has died aged 76.

His death was announced on Channel Seven’s Morning Show by entertainment reporter Peter Ford. No cause was given but Blackman had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of skin cancer in 2019, which resulted in his jaw being removed. He underwent extensive surgeries again in 2022 when the cancer reappeared.

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Australian universities rise in world rankings but experts warn international student cap could hurt ‘cutting-edge’ status

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University of Melbourne reaches new high of 13th while University of Sydney and University of NSW also in top 20 of QS rankings

Australian universities have improved their global rankings despite warnings that a proposed international student cap on the horizon could dissuade thousands from applying at the country’s institutions.

The chief executive of Universities Australia, Luke Sheehy, is due to say in a speech on Wednesday that Australian universities face a collective shortfall of more than $500m this year as a result of already existing visa rule changes and “policy chaos” – and this could claim up to 4,500 jobs.

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As global heating cuts Australia’s snowfall ski season may go downhill, report warns

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‘The webcams do not lie,’ says Annalisa Koeman, whose family has been operating a mountain lodge for decades

Bookings have been slow ahead of the ski season at the mountain lodge in Thredbo that Annalisa Koeman’s parents built in the 1960s and have run ever since.

Last ski season started with some good snow falls “but it went downhill from there. It was a disastrous end. The ski lifts closed two weeks early,” says Koeman, managing supervisor at Kasees Apartments and Mountain Lodge.

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News outlets producing ‘covert marketing’ for McDonald’s, KFC and Domino’s, study finds

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Exclusive: Researchers also say ‘implied endorsement’ raises public health concerns, given poor nutritional quality of the foods

Fast food chains are successfully influencing news outlets to produce “covert marketing” for their brands, a new study has found.

The study, led by the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health, analysed all press releases from McDonald’s, KFC and Domino’s Pizza in Australia between July 2021 and June 2022.

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Taking the Mickey: is a Melbourne Disneyland anything more than a fantasy?

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Many locations – from Frankston to Fishermans Bend – have been proposed as sites for the famous theme park. But will the dream ever become reality?

In what has become a recurring theme in many Disney films, Jiminy Cricket sang “When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true” in the 1940 film of Pinocchio.

Pinocchio wishes to be a real boy, Peter Pan wishes to never grow up, Ariel, the Little Mermaid, wishes to become human. And – in what can also be described as a fairytale desire – Melbourne, Australia, wishes to host the next Disney theme park.

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Number of asylum seekers on Nauru jumps as Australia transfers 37 people who arrived by boat

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Deterrence policy against asylum seeker boats is under strain, with three vessels arriving in a week in May

The number of asylum seekers on Nauru appears to have topped 100, with a further two groups of 37 people sent to the Pacific Island.

The people, classified as “unauthorised maritime arrivals”, include 33 Bangladeshis who were found on Christmas Island on 9 May, one of who is a woman. Their boat was destroyed by bad weather.

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Australia politics live: $600,000 speechwriter not responsible for Bill Shorten’s ‘zingers’, Matt Keogh says

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Workplace relations minister Tony Burke has conceded role wouldn’t ordinarily be paid that much. Follow today’s news headlines live

For a bit of a change of pace, you may enjoy this essay from Malcolm Turnbull in Foreign Affairs, where he outlines how he believes world leaders can deal with a second Trump presidency.

Turnbull bases a lot of his arguments on his own dealings with Donald Trump while prime minister. He runs through the infamous refugee deal phone call (the transcript of which was leaked) and the trade back-and-forths over tariffs.

The caricature of Trump as a one-dimensional, irrational monster is so entrenched that many forget that he can be, when it suits him, intelligently transactional. Like most bullies, he will bend others to his will when he can, and when he cannot, he will try to make a deal. But to get to the deal-making stage, Trump’s counterparts have to stand up to the bullying first.

I would certainly like to see the performance lifted. I would like to see better outcomes, particularly for the more vulnerable cohorts.

We also have work going on, in response to a parliamentary inquiry into the employment services system, going on in parallel to overseeing this new system.

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Charlise Mutten murder trial: alleged killer admits version of events changed but blames it on ‘confusion’, court hears

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Justin Stein says he made ‘a number of mistakes’ when he told his mother about nine-year-old’s death, trial told

The man accused of murdering schoolgirl Charlise Mutten has blamed inconsistencies in his versions of events on his confusion over details, including when the nine-year-old was killed.

Justin Stein has pleaded not guilty to murdering Charlise in January 2022, claiming it was the girl’s mother, Kallista Mutten, who shot her.

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P&O Cruises Australia to shut down early next year

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Parent company says P&O would be integrated into its sister line Carnival Cruise Line in March 2025

P&O Cruises Australia will shut down early next year after nearly a century of voyages.

The cruise ship liner’s parent company, Carnival Corporation & plc, made the announcement on Tuesday, confirming that P&O would be integrated into its sister line, Carnival Cruise Line, in March 2025 and cease to exist.

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Man charged with stabbing murder of 21-year-old surfer in Coffs Harbour

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Kye Schaefer died after being found with ‘significant’ stab wounds early on the morning of 2 May

A man has been charged with the murder of a surfer in Coffs Harbour on the mid-north coast of New South Wales.

21-year-old Kye Schaefer died after being found with “significant” stab wounds early on the morning of 2 May.

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Sydney teacher charged after allegedly filming students’ private parts on phone

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Guy Meogrossi, 30, faced court on charges of producing child abuse material and filming a person’s private parts without their consent

A teacher has been charged with producing child abuse material after he allegedly used his phone to make recordings of students at a school in Sydney’s south west.

Police were called to the school on Monday afternoon after reports of an incident that involved teacher using his phone to make recordings of students.

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‘I could see the steel flashing in his hand’: Greg Lynn made ‘quick decisions’ after campers’ deaths, murder trial hears

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Former pilot, who has pleaded not guilty to murdering Russell Hill and Carol Clay, told police the deaths were the result of an accident

A former airline pilot accused of murdering two elderly campers told police he went through a “decision making pathway” drawn from his experience in the cockpit when considering how to cover up their deaths.

Gregory Stuart Lynn, 57, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Russell Hill and Carol Clay at a remote camping site in Victoria’s alpine region in March 2020.

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Charlise Mutten murder trial: alleged killer Justin Stein says he didn’t know schoolgirl’s body was on back of ute

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Justin Stein, who denies murdering the nine-year-old, gave evidence in the NSW supreme court as his defence case began

The man accused of killing Charlise Mutten says he didn’t know the schoolgirl’s body was on the back of his ute when he was caught on camera towing a boat and buying bags of sand.

Justin Stein has pleaded not guilty to murdering nine-year-old Charlise in January 2022, claiming it was the girl’s mother, Kallista Mutten, who shot her.

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Bill Shorten’s Julianne Stewart speechwriter paid $300,000 a year by Services Australia, Senate estimates told

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Julianne Stewart has secured two-year contract despite agency employing 200 media and communication staff

A professional speechwriter contracted to work with the government services minister, Bill Shorten, is expected to cost taxpayers $600,000 over two years, despite Services Australia employing 200 media and communication staff.

Appearing in Senate estimates on Monday, Services Australia confirmed Julianne Stewart has secured a government contract worth about $300,000 a year, which is in its second year. The arrangement came to light after the tender was published on the government’s AusTender website.

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Mark Latham refused to pay Alex Greenwich $20,000 to avoid defamation lawsuit over graphic tweet

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Former NSW One Nation leader said he would ‘strenuously defend’ explicit tweet describing a sex act that MP claims was defamatory, court documents reveal

Political firebrand Mark Latham did not hand over $20,000 to avoid an independent MP’s lawsuit over an explicit tweet, instead saying he would strenuously defend any defamation claims against him.

Court documents reveal that in a settlement offer made in April 2023, Alex Greenwich said he would not resort to litigation if the then New South Wales One Nation leader paid the money and issued a public apology.

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Bus driver charged over Brisbane CBD crash that fatally pinned 18-year-old to wall

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Tia Cameron died after a bus mounted a kerb and pinned her against a wall during peak hour on 8 March

A bus driver has been charged with careless driving over a crash that fatally pinned an 18-year-old woman against a wall in Brisbane’s city centre.

The horror crash unfolded during peak hour on 8 March when the bus mounted a kerb and pinned Tia Cameron against a wall in the CBD.

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‘Real concern’ over state of NSW social housing as history of gas leaks at Whalan complex revealed after deadly blast

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Investigation under way into cause of explosion at social housing complex in Sydney’s west that left one woman dead

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has indicated there could be more money on the way for social housing stock and repairs in this month’s budget after a woman died when a townhouse with a history of suspected gas leaks in Sydney’s west exploded.

Mhey Yumol Jasmin’s body was found in the rubble on Monday morning after two days of searching at the Whalan social housing complex, where two gas meters were found to be damaged in recent months.

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Former ADF chief to report on Zomi Frankcom’s Gaza aid convoy death in ‘coming weeks’ – as it happened

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Wage increase should be more than inflation so workers get real pay rise: McManus

Sally McManus says workers are still coming from behind:

I won’t be too happy if it’s 3.5%. That’s smack on inflation. I think it should be more than inflation.

People should see a real wage increase.

One of the things that, you know, some people argue is … this weird wage price spiral idea which has been well and truly debunked over the last few years.

Just because one group of workers get a pay rise, like, the lowest paid … that’s not going to automatically flow on to everyone else.

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Allowing Josh Frydenberg to recontest Kooyong a ‘crazy’ idea, Liberal senator says

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Jane Hume is against opening preselection for former treasurer while Karen Andrews argues he would be ‘absolute asset’

Senior Liberals are split on reopening preselection to allow Josh Frydenberg to recontest Kooyong for the party, which the shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, has denounced as a “crazy” idea.

On Monday Karen Andrews, the former home affairs minister, came out in favour of Frydenberg, arguing he would be an “absolute asset” and the Liberal party should do “all that we can” to attract him back into parliament.

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Brisbane’s homes now second-most expensive in Australia, with average value of almost $1m

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Queensland’s capital is second only to Sydney with a median house value of $937,479, as lack of supply bites

For the first time in 25 years, Brisbane is Australia’s second-most expensive city for housing.

The Queensland capital edged out Canberra in May, the latest CoreLogic report shows, with a median house value of $937,479. Sydney continues to have the priciest homes in the country.

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