Foot traffic near Melbourne’s town hall recorded at highest since 2015, as Eras tour concert coincides with busiest day of 2024
The pre-pandemic hustle and bustle of the central business districts of Sydney and Melbourne is returning, and in Melbourne’s case it’s busier than it’s been for nearly a decade.
But the weekend crowds appear to be doing most of the heavy lifting.
Continue reading...Reports set to cover issues relating to 149 detainees freed from detention after high court ruling
Monthly reports detailing the status of immigration detainees released as a result of a high court ruling will be rolled out, with Anthony Albanese saying the easing of concerns about community safety was a priority.
So-called “community protection” reports were to be released by the Australian Border Force and Home Affairs on issues relating to the 149 detainees who were freed from detention in November.
Continue reading...Announcement comes as motoring body says EV blazes are rare, and after four unrelated lithium battery fires recorded in a single day
Firefighters in New South Wales will need to complete compulsory training on electric vehicles amid a boom in their sales and a spate of lithium battery fires across the state.
The state recorded four lithium battery fires in a single day on Friday, with emergency services responding to blazes in Bankstown, Silverwater, Lake Macquarie and Berkeley. The deaths of two people in a house fire in Lake Macquarie in February were believed to be the first fatalities caused by a lithium battery fire.
Continue reading...Bureau of Meteorology expects the cyclone to strengthen to a category-two system overnight and into category three by Sunday evening
A tropical cyclone has formed over the Top End, with Territorians warned to prepare for destructive wind gusts, heavy rainfall and potential flooding over coming days.
Tropical Cyclone Megan formed over the Gulf of Carpentaria, east of Groote Eylandt, on Saturday afternoon and was expected to move south-east, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
Continue reading...Fipronil is banned for use on crops in the EU, China, Vietnam and California
A “wildly toxic” chemical used to combat fire ants and the varroa mite in Australia is banned in Europe and harmful to humans – and it is poisoning waterways and killing native fauna, experts warn.
Fipronil acts as an insect nerve agent and is banned for use on crops in the EU, China, Vietnam and California because of its effect on pollinators. The insecticide was used in sugar baits across New South Wales in the now abandoned fight against the invasive varroa mite and has been injected into 35,539 fire ant nests in south-east Queensland and northern NSW since January 2023 as part of the national red imported fire ant eradication program.
Continue reading...New scrutiny of planemaker’s 787 Dreamliner over terrifying drop adds to safety crisis after cabin panel blowout on 737 Max 9 jet
Another Boeing jet is facing scrutiny after the planemaker reportedly told airlines to check the cockpit seats of 787 Dreamliners following a terrifying drop during a flight from Sydney to Auckland.
Dozens of people on Latam Airlines Flight 800 were said to have been hurt this week when the plane fell sharply, throwing passengers around the cabin.
Continue reading...Coles and Woolworths leverage their dominant position over smaller suppliers and consumers alike – and both groups are getting angry
Farmers are pressuring supermarkets to raise produce prices, and shoppers want shelf prices lowered. Can both win?
As inflation eases, supermarkets would typically lean on suppliers to cut prices, with some of those savings passed on to frustrated shoppers to dissuade them from buying less or switching grocery stores in search of a better deal.
Continue reading...At least 70 people have had to cancel or postpone travel while one man remains stuck in an Istanbul airport
Palestinians fleeing Gaza with valid Australian visas only for them to be cancelled mid-flight or at airports have been described as “collateral damage” for the federal government’s failures.
One charity group helping Palestinians to leave the war zone, the Palestine Australia Relief and Action (Para) group, said it has already had to cancel or postpone the upcoming flights of at least 70 people, including sick and elderly, and is frustrated by the lack of clarity.
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Continue reading...Health Services Union secretary says new benchmark pay rate will make sector competitive with public health system
Aged care workers will receive an average pay rise of 23% after the Fair Work Commission delivered its decision in a long-running work value case.
The commission’s expert panel said those involved in direct care including nurses and home care workers deserved pay rises “substantially” higher than the interim 15% pay rise ordered in November 2022.
Continue reading...Fast food chain working to resolve problem but denies it has been hit by cybersecurity attack
McDonald’s restaurants in multiple countries including the UK and Australia have been hit by a “technology outage”, which the fast food chain denied had been caused by a cybersecurity attack.
Australia, the UK, Japan and China were among the markets where services were affected, with restaurant, drive-through and online orders hit.
Continue reading...Women’s health clinic boss claims ‘witch hunt’ after Dr Rudolph Lopes suspended in weeks following 30-year-old’s death
A doctor working at a women’s health clinic in Melbourne has been suspended as a regulator revealed it was aware of concerns about other practitioners there. The facility’s boss claims it is a “witch hunt”.
It follows the death of 30-year-old mother Harjit Kaur, who died in January at the Hampton Park Women’s Clinic after what was described as a “minor procedure”.
Continue reading...Girl, 13, taken to hospital with minor injuries after suspected shark attack at Bargara beach in Bundaberg
A teenage girl has been taken to hospital after being injured in a suspected shark attack in Queensland’s north.
Paramedics were called to Bargara beach in Bundaberg on Friday afternoon after reports of a shark attack.
Continue reading...Firefighters responded to blazes set off by an ebike, an EV charging station, a garden hedger and a loose battery in a garbage truck
Lithium-ion batteries sparked four fires in just one day in New South Wales this week, amid growing concern over the rise in battery-related blazes.
One man was taken to hospital and a 10-storey apartment block was evacuated after an ebike battery exploded in Bankstown in Sydney’s south-west on Thursday, while firefighters also responded to blazes set off by an electric vehicle charging station in Berkeley, a garden hedger in Lake Macquarie, and a loose battery in a garbage truck passing through Silverwater.
Continue reading...Judge says evidence for his conclusion that Craig Wright did not create bitcoin is ‘overwhelming’
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of bitcoin, is not the Australian computer scientist Craig Wright, a high court judge has ruled, ending a fractious two-month trial in London.
In a highly unusual decision, the presiding judge, Mr Justice Mellor, issued the verdict within seconds of the case concluding, promising to issue a “fairly lengthy written judgment” in due course.
Continue reading...One worker says she feels ‘disrespected’ by proposed agreement, which includes in-store gift cards if staff vote to accept
Some Coles workers say an offer from the supermarket giant of in-store gift cards if they vote to accept a new enterprise agreement is “insulting”, and the agreement doesn’t give them a meaningful pay rise despite the company’s increased profits.
One employee said she felt “disrespected” by the offer, which comes at a time when some staff say they are skipping meals and shopping at other supermarkets because they can’t afford food from their own workplace.
Continue reading...Lobby group, which is meeting on the Gold Coast with Peter Dutton giving the keynote address, warned in 2023 that hundreds of pharmacies would close
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The federal government received 87 applications to open new pharmacies in the months after the announcement of 60-day prescriptions– 50% more than were received in the same period the year prior.
The increase occurred despite warnings from lobby group the Pharmacy Guild, and from the federal opposition, that the dispensing changes may lead to pharmacy staff cuts, fee increases for services and hundreds of pharmacy closures.
Continue reading...Government report says placing children in prison isolation can affect their health and wellbeing in ‘severe, long-term and irreversible ways’
A Queensland government report has raised concerns over the use of solitary confinement in youth detention, detailing the case of two First Nations children with disabilities who died after spending extensive time in isolation at overcrowded and understaffed youth detention centres.
The Child Death Review Board’s annual report, tabled in state parliament on Thursday, details the anonymised cases of two boys, Harry* and Jack*. The report does not explicitly state their cause of death but Guardian Australia understands it to be suicide.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Barwon MP and former police staffer Roy Butler says it’s wrong to assume offenders view longer sentences as a deterrent
An influential independent New South Wales MP has spoken out against new laws from the Minns government that would make it harder for young people to get bail.
The Barwon MP, Roy Butler, a former police administrator, said it was wrong to assume that young offenders would always view extended sentences as a punishment and a deterrent to antisocial behaviour.
Continue reading...Housing pressures and the cost of living crisis mean Steven Miles’ government is under threat from the Greens in Brisbane and the LNP in the regions
The old Inala roller skating rink in Brisbane’s south-west has been vacant for more than 15 years. For many locals, it is a symbol that progress moves slower in the outer suburbs.
Earlier this month, the Greens’ campaign for the Brisbane city council election announced plans to buy the building and turn the site into a public pool.
Continue reading...Northcote’s High Street and Sydney’s Foster Street make urban hit list. Follow the day’s news live
Ballarat mayor: ‘ripple effect’ of miner’s death will be with community for a long time
Ballarat mayor Des Hudson also spoke to ABC News Breakfast about the Ballarat mine incident, and said:
It’s a tragic story where a worker who has gone to work at the start of the day and unfortunately has got returned home to his family or loved ones. That’s not the way any workday should pan out. So, our hearts and minds and love is with the family of that person who has died.
And the ripple effect of this will be with them for a long time as they work through the process. Obviously, there will be an investigation as to what happened, as you would expect in any workplace death. But also just that sense of loss that I’m sure will be with them in the days, the weeks and the months ahead as well as they continue to have to come to work.
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