Category Archives: Australia news

Muslim Votes Matter says anonymous bid to create political party under same name an attempt to ‘mislead’ voters

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Exclusive: Push to register unaffiliated party with identical name to grassroots group follows Avi Yemini’s plan to use ‘Free Palestine party’ to funnel votes to One Nation

Muslim Votes Matter (MVM) has complained to the Victorian Electoral Commission over an anonymous bid to register a political party under the same name ahead of the state election, accusing it of deliberately misleading voters.

MVM was established before the 2025 federal election as a grassroots advocacy and lobbying movement, responding to concerns about the lack of political representation for Muslim and minority groups in Australia.

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Antony Catalano: media mogul accused of assaulting wife excused from attending court due to fears over press scrutiny

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Catalano’s lawyer says press attention ‘potentially detrimental’ to Australian Community Media co-owner’s mental health

A media mogul charged with assaulting his wife has avoided facing court in person over concerns growing media attention could be detrimental to his mental health.

Antony Catalano, 59, was charged with assault, false imprisonment and making threats to kill over an incident in the early hours of March 13.

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Nationals MP Colin Boyce says he’s considering move to One Nation after ‘wake-up call’ in Farrer byelection

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Exclusive: Queensland MP says ‘I think everybody should be thinking about their political future’ after devastating result for Coalition

Nationals MP Colin Boyce is considering shifting to One Nation after the Farrer byelection saw the Coalition’s vote tank to about 20% of the primary vote.

Speaking to the Guardian in Albury after One Nation recorded its historic victory in the House of Representatives, the MP for the central Queensland seat of Flynn said the result was a “wake-up call”.

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Budget to include extra $2bn for infrastructure – as it happened

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Wilson promises Coalition will be ‘very clear’ on migration

Wilson is asked about comments made by the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, after the byelection that hinted at a rightward shift toward “ending mass migration” and stopping net zero policies.

I can assure you in the coming weeks we’re going to make it very clear what we’re for. Australians need to know that we’re in favour of families, community, small business and self-starters.

My focus on migration is how we make sure we get new Australians integrated successfully.

One of the reasons Australians have become very nervous about migration is they feel that people are coming to Australia and getting the benefits without making the contribution. And I want the best, boldest, most confident new Australians we can have.

There would be some nervous Labor MPs because what people want to see is change.

One of the most consistent messages is that people want someone who is going to fight for them and their future.

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‘A sobering indictment’: 14 homeless people die a year in public parks or countryside in Australia, analysis finds

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‘In just a few weeks homelessness has killed a baby, a young mother and a student,’ head of advocacy group says, calling for more investment in upcoming budget

Fourteen rough sleepers are dying in public parks or countryside areas each year on average in Australia, an analysis of hidden death reports reveals.

The deaths of a young international student sleeping rough in Hyde Park, a young homeless mother who died of sepsis in Western Australia, and a newborn baby at a makeshift homeless camp near Wagga beach have prompted an outpouring of grief and shock in recent weeks.

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Mysterious disappearance of man on popular WA hiking track sparks police search

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Samuel Whitsed, 27, is believed to have travelled from Victoria to hike Bibbulmun Track near outskirts of Perth

Three months after a hiker was last seen at a popular walking track, police have become increasingly concerned for the missing man’s welfare.

Police have scoured dense bushland for a Victorian man after he disappeared from a popular hiking trail on the other side of the country.

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David Pocock applauds $387m in extra funding for CSIRO after tens of thousands sign petition

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Analysis commissioned by independent senator found national science agency’s funding is at its lowest since 1978

The Albanese government will boost funding to CSIRO by $387.4m in a bid to meet the long-term costs of the national science agency.

It follows months of advocacy by scientists and staff after hundreds of job cuts and cost-cutting measures.

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Rebel Wilson is a ‘fantastical liar’ who ‘made up terrible allegations against multiple people’, court told

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Barrister for actor Charlotte MacInnes, who is suing the Pitch Perfect star for defamation, also accused Wilson of ‘a complete revision of history’. Wilson has rejected defamation claims

Rebel Wilson has been accused in court of being a liar who made up terrible claims about her colleagues and completely rewrote history.

The Pitch Perfect star copped the blunt assessment in the dying hours of a fiery defamation battle where she is being sued by Charlotte MacInnes, the lead actor in musical comedy The Deb which Wilson directed, co-produced and starred in.

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One Nation candidate David Farley sought involvement with independent ‘Voices’ movement

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Exclusive: Farley discussed preferences and suggested platform before Voices group endorsed his rival Michelle Milthorpe as its candidate

One Nation’s Farrer candidate, David Farley, sought to cooperate with the community independent “Voices” movement before the last election, including discussing preferences and suggesting a platform for a House and Senate campaign, before the group endorsed Michelle Milthorpe as their candidate.

Documents seen by Guardian Australia show Farley – who is expected to win the Farrer byelection ahead of Milthorpe on Saturday – had been keen to meet with the independent Voices campaign in 2023 and 2024, including buying a ticket to their event, sharing ideas, and even discussing election preferences.

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Water flows to parched NSW wetlands could be turned back on within weeks as drought fears loom

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Water minister Rose Jackson calls drying in Gwydir region ‘devastating’ as bill passes upper house

Water flows to parched New South Wales wetlands where an urgent rescue mission to save dying wildlife unfolded are a step closer to resuming after legislation passed the state parliament’s upper house.

The water minister, Rose Jackson, told the parliament on Thursday night the impact of a halt to environmental flows in the internationally significant Gwydir region had been “devastating” as she introduced legislative amendments she said would allow flows to resume.

Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter

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Antisemitism has become ‘almost fashionable’ among Australians, Jillian Segal tells royal commission

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On its fourth day of public hearings, royal commission into antisemitism also hears Jewish Australians have been pressured to resign and verbally abused

Jewish Australians have been told to use “less obviously Jewish” names, felt pressure to resign and been verbally abused by colleagues in the wake of 7 October 2023.

On its fourth day of public hearings, the antisemitism royal commission also heard evidence from Australia’s antisemitism envoy, who said hatred towards Jews had become “almost fashionable”, while a Sydney nurse said New South Wales Health was “not safe for Jewish people”.

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Australian director Phillip Noyce shoots feature film for Saudi Arabia celebrating ‘heroism of security men in combating drugs’

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Exclusive: Regime, which executed 243 people last year for drug offences, accused of investing in entertainment to whitewash its human rights record

The acclaimed Australian film-maker Phillip Noyce is being paid by the Saudi regime to make a feature film portraying the repressive state’s narcotics officers as heroes.

The Watchful Eyes, based on a real Saudi ministry of interior narcotics case, is billed as a dramatic depiction of the “heroism of security men in combating drugs”.

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‘Terrifying’: political candidate violently abused and schoolboy thrown into bin, antisemitism royal commission hears

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The third day of hearings of the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion heard further evidence from Jewish Australians

Violent antisemitic abuse was allowed to proliferate across a Jewish political candidate’s social media as part of a broader trend designed to intimidate Jewish Australians from public life, a royal commission has heard.

Joshua Kirsh launched a campaign as an independent candidate for the New South Wales upper house in late 2025 but found his advertisements online bombarded by antisemitic tropes, abuse and threats.

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Horrified Wagga residents call for proper sanitation at homeless camp where baby was found dead

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Tent where twins were born up to a 15-minute walk away from nearest public toilets or running water

The tent where a newborn baby was found dead at Wagga beach at the weekend was part of a homeless encampment up to a 15-minute walk away from the nearest public toilets or running water, with residents in a nearby apartment block saying conditions were “worse than a Syrian war camp”.

The tragedy has prompted fury in the community, with residents of Wagga Wagga calling on authorities to take urgent action to make the encampments safe and sanitary.

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Search called off for Australian hiker missing in rugged Canadian national park

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Police suspend ‘extensive’ six-day air and ground search in Nova Scotia, citing ‘no new information’

Teams in eastern Canada have called off an “extensive” six-day air and ground search of a rugged park for a missing Australian hiker.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said this week it had suspended operations after an effort involving dogs, 100 people, aircraft and ground crews yielded “no new information” in the whereabouts of Denise Ann Willams.

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Australian author Craig Silvey pleads guilty to possessing and distributing child exploitation material

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Prosecutors drop two other charges against Jasper Jones author, 43, including allegations he produced child exploitation material

Award‑winning author Craig Silvey has pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child exploitation material, while a charge that he produced such material has been dropped.

Silvey, 43, was first charged in January after detectives from Western Australia police’s child abuse squad raided his Fremantle home, allegedly catching him communicating online with child exploitation offenders and seizing his electronic devices.

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NSW police urged Jewish man to drop claim he was subject to antisemitic slurs and death threats, commission told

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Nir Golan was told that there was not much police could do and the case would get thrown out

New South Wales police encouraged a Jewish man to abandon a case against a man who made antisemitic slurs, death threats, and performed Nazi salutes at him in public because the investigation would be “a lot of wasted effort”, the antisemitism royal commission has been told.

Jewish Australian Nir Golan gave evidence on Tuesday, telling commissioner Virginia Bell that police had encouraged him to drop any action because “there’s not much that they could do and the case would ultimately get thrown out”.

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Two volunteers among three dead off NSW coast after rescue boat rolls while trying to help sinking yacht

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‘Hero’ rescuers aged 78 and 62 confirmed dead, while four others made it to shore after yacht broke up

Two marine volunteers who died while attempting a dangerous rescue mission have been remembered for their courage and heroism.

The men were deployed as part of a six-person Marine Rescue New South Wales team after a good Samaritan saw a yacht in distress near the breakwater at south Ballina, in the state’s north, on Monday night.

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Australia’s property investor borrowing rises at fastest rate in a decade – despite interest rate rises

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Owner-occupier mortgage growth slowed under growing costs while investor loans grew by $42bn in the year to March, a 9.6% increase

Property investor borrowing rose at its fastest rate in a decade in March, according to the Reserve Bank, despite higher interest rates and speculation about property tax changes.

Owner-occupier loan growth slowed under the weight of growing mortgage costs but investor lending is continuing its record surge.

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News live: Bell says royal commission will look at ‘ugly displays of hostility’ towards Jewish Australians as hearings begin

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Meanwhile treasurer says next week’s budget will save more than it spends. Follow today’s news live

Jim Chalmers says next Tuesday’s budget will not extend the 26 cent fuel tax cut beyond June.

But with Australia “hostage” to the wild swings in global oil prices amid the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran, the treasurer said there was “a range of contingencies” prepared to help support households and the economy from any escalating damage as a result of the Middle East conflict.

The budget will be calibrated for the conditions, but it will also still be consistent with our ambitions.

The election began a year of delivery, and the budget will begin a year of more ambitious reform, reform which is made more not less, urgent by global inflation and global economic uncertainty.

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