Category Archives: Australia news

Australia faces postwar-style reconstruction to reach net zero target, says Combet

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A ‘pipeline’ of clean projects is being assembled, says the head of the agency charged with multibillion-dollar transformation

Australia faces a postwar-scale reconstruction costing hundreds of billions of dollars in private and public investment to reach net zero emissions by mid-century, the former Labor climate minister and incoming Future Fund chair, Greg Combet, says.

Speaking at the National Press Club, Combet said the Net Zero Economy Authority – a new government agency proposed to help manage the country’s transformation from a dirty to a clean economy – was putting together a “pipeline” of clean industrial projects and would be “figuring out how to help bring them to concrete investment decisions”.

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Zomi Frankcom’s family say Australian aid worker killed in Israeli airstrike was ‘doing the work she loves’

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PM Anthony Albanese describes 43-year-old’s death as ‘completely unacceptable’ as tributes flow for World Central Kitchen worker online

Lalzawmi Frankcom, the Australian aid worker killed by an Israeli military airstrike in Gaza, died “doing the work she loves”, her grieving family has said.

“We are deeply mourning the news that our brave and beloved Zomi has been killed doing the work she loves, delivering food to the people of Gaza,” her family said in a statement. “She will leave behind a legacy of compassion, bravery and love for all those in her orbit.”

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Seven Gaza aid workers including UK, US and Australian citizens killed in Israeli strike, charity says

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Israeli military investigating after World Central Kitchen workers were in convoy struck in central Gaza

Seven people working with World Central Kitchen, a charity spearheading efforts to alleviate looming famine in Gaza, have been killed in an Israeli airstrike, the charity said, throwing humanitarian relief efforts in the Palestinian territory into chaos as the organisation said it would suspend operations.

The workers were travelling in two armoured vehicles branded with the charity’s logo, according to a statement released early on Tuesday. World Central Kitchen (WCK) said those killed were from the UK, Australia, Poland and Palestine, as well as a US-Canada dual citizen.

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Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial: Channel Ten wins bid to present fresh evidence

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Justice Michael Lee has reopened high-profile case to allow fresh evidence from former Seven producer Taylor Auerbach

Justice Michael Lee will allow Channel Ten to present additional evidence in its defence of the defamation case brought by Bruce Lehrmann, delaying the judgment until next week.

The case will be reopened and the evidence of a new witness, former Seven producer Taylor Auerbach, will now be tested on Thursday, the day the judgment was to have been handed down.

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New record set for number of international students in Australia

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The 700,000 visa holders helped push the total of temporary entrants to 2.8 million, another record

The number of international students in Australia has topped 700,000 for the first time, helping to drive the number of temporary entrants to 2.8 million, another new record.

There were 713,144 international students in Australia on 29 February, according to the home affairs department data published by data.gov.au on Monday.

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Ten lawyers tell court Lehrmann may have leaked confidential material to Spotlight program – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

Aviation firefighters will walk off the job amid revelations many of the nation’s airports are ill-equipped to handle emergencies, AAP reports.

Leaked risk assessments carried out by Airservices Australia reveal travellers at 13 airports including Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide airports, were found to be at extreme risk if there was a fire or aircraft incident because of a lack of firefighting resources.

These leaked documents confirm that Australia’s air travellers face a dire risk every time they set foot on an aircraft in Australia.

Clearly, this significant and ongoing risk to all Australian air travellers is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue.

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Worried about a bump on your date’s penis? There’s an app for that – but not everyone is convinced

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Company behind app says no personal information is collected but experts warn of ‘how easily’ data can be hacked

Yudara Kularathne came up with the idea for an AI-driven app when a friend was worried about a bump on their penis.

Kularathne was then a consultant physician in Singapore in 2019, but he saw the potential for an app that could instantly identify a suspected sexually transmitted infection from a photo of male genitalia.

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‘Poison portal’: US and UK could send nuclear waste to Australia under Aukus, inquiry told

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Labor describes claims as ‘fear-mongering’ and says government would not accept waste from other nations

Australia could become a “poison portal” for international radioactive waste under the Aukus deal, a parliamentary inquiry into nuclear safety legislation has heard.

New laws to establish a safety framework for Australia’s planned nuclear-powered submarines could also allow the US and UK to send waste here, while both of those countries are struggling to deal with their own waste, as no long-term, high-level waste facilities have been created.

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Labor ministers warned over expanded use of AI in immigration and biosecurity decisions

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Senate committee queries new regulations that mean decisions normally made by ministers and officials are now automated

The federal government’s increasing use of computers to make decisions is raising alarm – including from its own ranks – with a bipartisan committee warning automation could jeopardise important safeguards that human discretion provides.

Urging the government to heed the findings of the robodebt royal commission and the commonwealth ombudsman’s artificial intelligence guidelines, a Senate committee has queried moves by the home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, and the agriculture minister, Murray Watt, to expand the use of automated decision-making in immigration and biosecurity.

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Australian house prices hit record high for fifth consecutive month

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CoreLogic data shows prices rose 0.6% in March while separate index from PropTrack produces similar results

National home values set a record high for a fifth consecutive month in March as a resilient economy and the swelling population pointed to further increases to come.

The home value index compiled by data group CoreLogic showed prices rose 0.6% last month, matching February’s increase. Median home prices were $772,730, rebounding just over one-tenth since its recent nadir in January 2023.

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Labor’s proposed changes to water trigger laws could have ‘centuries-long consequences’, environment groups say

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Decisions about coal mining and unconventional gas where water resources are affected could be made by states and territories under proposal

Environment groups have criticised a proposed change by the Albanese government to national environmental laws, saying it puts “precious water resources at risk” and could have “centuries-long consequences”.

The proposal would allow states and territories to make decisions about coal mining and unconventional gas where water resources are affected. Currently the federal government has the final say on such projects under the so-called “water trigger”.

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Australia news live: heavy rain and strong winds to hit Victoria; Easter campers rescued from Queensland flood waters

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Five people rescued while dozens remained stranded at campsite in northern Queensland. Follow the day’s news live

Support for Labor drops in WA as Coalition gains ground among the young

Voters in Western Australia are shifting away from Labor towards the Coalition, as the opposition gains ground among young people.

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‘Extremely emotional scene’: father and grandfather die after bid to rescue toddler in Gold Coast pool

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Two men, aged 38 and 65, leapt into water after child fell into deep end on Sunday night

A father and grandfather have died trying to save a two-year-old child who fell into a Gold Coast pool on Sunday.

The toddler was reportedly playing beside the apartment block pool when they slipped and fell into the deep end about 7pm on Sunday, sparking a double Easter tragedy.

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Second energy firm wrongly received money from welfare payments under Centrepay scheme

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Services Australia is working with Ergon to return overpayments, prompting fears the issue first identified at AGL could be widespread

A second Australian energy company wrongly received money from the welfare payments of former customers, prompting fears that the issue identified at AGL could be widespread.

Guardian Australia revealed last week that $700,000 had been diverted via the government-run Centrepay debit system from the pockets of more than 500 welfare recipients to the energy giant AGL.

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Victoria trials reusable crates for fresh produce to cut ‘invisible’ waste from supply chain

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Pilot scheme supplies 1,000 folding boxes to farms and wholesalers to reduce single-use cardboard, paper and plastic

A pilot scheme to replace cardboard produce boxes with reusable plastic crates has been launched in Victoria, with the aim to cut “invisible” cardboard waste.

The Victoria Unboxed project, led by the food charity Sustain with Sustainable Victoria, has supplied 1,000 reusable plastic crates to transport produce from farms to venues, wholesalers and homes across Melbourne. The trial aims to reduce the need for single-use packaging, including cardboard, plastic and paper waste.

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Tayla Vlaeminck returns as Australia thrash Bangladesh in opening T20

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  • Australia’s quickest bowler has been out more than two years
  • Legspinner Sophie Molineux also impresses

Tayla Vlaeminck celebrated her return to international cricket by taking with a wicket with her fourth ball, as Australia thrashed Bangladesh in their series-opening Twenty20 international.

Playing her first game for Australia since January 2022, the Victorian quick beat Sobhana Mostary for pace, splattering the stumps and finishing with 1-30 as Australia restricted Bangladesh to 4-126, before chasing the target down without loss and with seven overs to spare.

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Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial: Network Ten asks to reopen its defence, citing ‘fresh evidence’

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Justice Michael Lee will hear an urgent application from Network Ten at 5pm on Tuesday

Network Ten will ask the federal court to reopen its defence on Tuesday at an emergency hearing scheduled less than two days before the judgement in the Bruce Lehrmann defamation case is due to be handed down.

Justice Michael Lee was scheduled to deliver his judgment in the federal court in Sydney at 10.15am on Thursday 4 April in the defamation case Lehrmann brought against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson.

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Measles alert for Sydney as experts call for improvement in indoor air quality

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Health authorities also warn RSV, flu and whooping cough cases on the rise around Australia

A measles alert was issued for Sydney on Sunday and other airborne illnesses are on the rise, while Australia’s Covid load is relatively low after the summer’s surge of the JN.1 variant.

New South Wales Health issued an alert on Sunday morning after a woman caught measles from a child who had been diagnosed days earlier.

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Queensland opposition leader casts doubt over future of state’s new pill testing regime

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David Crisafulli criticises pill testing trial in sign opposition may roll back harm minimisation polices if elected in October

The Queensland opposition leader, David Crisafulli, has criticised the state’s new pill testing regime, a potential sign his party would roll back Labor’s new drug policies if elected in October.

The sunshine state opened its first festival clinic on Thursday and will open the first fixed site clinic in Brisbane next month. The Labor government has committed to open a second once a site has been confirmed.

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Penny Wong blames ‘Peter Dutton-Adam Bandt alliance’ for failure to pass Labor’s deportation laws

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But Greens’ David Shoebridge says Labor has ‘jumped the shark’ with the legislation and it requires more scrutiny

Foreign affairs minister Penny Wong has blamed a “Peter Dutton-Adam Bandt alliance” for the government’s failure to rush through “draconian” deportation legislation in the parliament last week.

But Greens senator David Shoebridge, who has described the laws as “draconian”, said the Labor government was alone in supporting the laws without scrutiny, arguing it was “everybody in the parliament except for Labor” who wanted further examination of legislation “that looked like it had been drawn in crayon without any rational basis behind it”.

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