Category Archives: Australia news

Influential NSW independent speaks out against laws that make it harder for young people to get bail

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Queensland Labor vulnerable on two fronts as Greens target Brisbane’s commuter belt

Posted on by

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.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia news live: alleged fry pan-wielding university stabber pleads not guilty; Melbourne and Sydney make list of ‘world’s coolest streets’

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

Don’t expect a ‘big cash splash’ in this year’s budget, Jim Chalmers tells taxpayers

Posted on by

Treasurer says falling iron ore prices and a weaker labour market mean the large upgrades to revenue seen in the last two budgets will not be repeated

Australians should not expect a “big cash splash” from this year’s federal budget although the government will bank a smaller share of any increase in expected revenues, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, told a Sydney audience.

Chalmers said there would likely be “additional cost-of-living help in the budget but it won’t be anywhere near the magnitude of the tax cuts”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Man who pretended to be Uber driver to sexually assault three women in Melbourne jailed for at least six years

Posted on by

Victim tells court she thought she was going to die when she realised Francesco De Luise was not her Uber driver

A father-of-three who lurked outside Melbourne nightspots pretending to be an Uber driver to pick up and sexually assault three young women will be locked up for at least six years.

Francesco De Luise, 60, faced Melbourne’s county court on Thursday after pleading guilty to six sex offences, including rape, sexual assault and sexual activity directed at another person.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Ballarat goldmine collapse: miner killed in underground rockfall in Victoria

Posted on by

Two miners were pinned under a rockfall at the Mount Clear mine in Ballarat, Victoria, with one later rescued

A man has died and another is fighting for his life in hospital after a mine collapse in Victoria’s Goldfields region.

Thirty people were working about 3km from the entrance of the Ballarat Gold Mine at Mount Clear when the incident occurred about 4.50pm on Wednesday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

NSW to double penalties for worst environmental crimes in wake of asbestos crisis

Posted on by

Planned overhaul of Environment Protection Authority’s powers to be biggest since it began in 1991, government says

Penalties for the most serious environmental crimes would double and the New South Wales environmental watchdog would have powers to recall potentially contaminated products from consumers under major changes to environmental protection laws proposed by the Minns government.

The environment minister, Penny Sharpe, said the government was proposing the largest set of amendments to the Environment Protection Authority’s (EPA’s) powers since the regulator was established in 1991.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Chinese foreign minister’s visit to Australia locked in hours after Beijing signals wine tariff lift

Posted on by

Canberra expected to push for removal of remaining trade impediments after Wang Yi arrives next week

China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, will visit Australia for the first time in seven years, with next week’s trip being locked in just hours after Beijing offered a reprieve to Australian winemakers.

China imposed tariffs of up to 200% on Australian wine at the height of the diplomatic dispute in 2020, alongside measures affecting a range of products including barley, red meat, seafood and coal.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Second surplus on track for Australia but budget will report a fall in revenue, says treasurer

Posted on by

Jim Chalmers says slide in iron ore prices and uptick in jobless rate mean budget will report a much smaller revenue upgrade than in recent years

The government remains on track for a second straight surplus but the recent slide in iron ore prices and an uptick in the jobless rate mean the budget will report a much smaller revenue upgrade than in recent years, the federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says.

The coming budget, to be released on 14 May, will aim to address slowing economic growth, “persistent cost of living pressures”, and increased global uncertainty, Chalmers will tell a Committee for Economic Development of Australia lunch in Sydney on Thursday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia news live: prosecutors begin withdrawing visa breach charges; asbestos detected at two central Queensland facilities

Posted on by

Follow the day’s news live

More from AAP on this:

The New South Wales government says it is working on reducing wait times and improving access to care.

We are throwing everything in our ruck sack at improving access and reducing wait times in our hospitals.

This includes boosting staff and infrastructure; but also rolling out urgent care and providing those alternate pathways to care, to treat people outside the hospital; and establishing an ED taskforce to drive improvements in wait times and access to care.

Continue reading...

Queensland man facing 116 charges against children after allegedly targeting minors online since August

Posted on by

Sunshine Coast man charged with offences including rape, stalking and making child exploitation material

Police allege a Sunshine Coast man groomed two girls aged between 12 and 14 online before sexually abusing them.

Dion Adam Lingard, 31, will face Maroochydore magistrates court again on 18 March on 116 charges including rape, indecent treatment and stalking.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

WA floods: severe weather hampers search for seven people missing in remote Western Australia

Posted on by

Road conditions are dangerous along the route the group is believed to have taken from Kalgoorlie to Tjuntjuntjara, police say

Severe weather is hampering search efforts for seven people who are missing amid ongoing flooding in remote Western Australia.

The group – which includes four children and two elderly drivers – left Kalgoorlie, about 600km east of Perth, on Sunday and were travelling in two vehicles north-east to the Tjuntjuntjara Aboriginal community.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Rohan Dennis, husband of former Olympic cyclist Melissa Hoskins, faces court charged with causing her death

Posted on by

Former cycling champion Rohan Dennis charged with recklessly striking his wife with his car in Adelaide’s inner north on 30 December

The husband of former Olympic cyclist Melissa Hoskins has faced court for the first time after allegedly striking her with his car and causing her death.

Rohan Dennis, a former world champion cyclist, was arrested in January and charged with causing death by dangerous driving, driving without due care and endangering life.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australian shepherds: the dog breed that’s not really Australian, but is winning titles and hearts alike

Posted on by

An Australian shepherd named Viking won best in show at Crufts, and the ‘extremely smart’ breed is increasingly popular for its temperament and beauty

On a property out of Tamworth in country New South Wales, the uncle of the Australian shepherd Viking – winner of the most prestigious title at the 2024 Crufts dog competition in the UK – is a champion in his own right.

Bradley, who was born in Russia to the same litter as Viking’s mother, is nine years old and a semi-retired multi-champion of dog shows overseas and in Australia.

Continue reading...

AFP officers mistakenly handcuffed and arrested Iraqi refugee after acting on bad tip-off

Posted on by

Agency says bad intelligence led to the wrongful arrest of Nahi Al Sharify at his Sydney home in February, leaving him traumatised and distraught

Australian federal police agents mistakenly handcuffed an Iraqi refugee on strict visa conditions due to bad intelligence, the agency has confirmed.

Nahi Al Sharify has been in community detention since January 2023 but his case has been included in the NZYQ cohort when about 150 detainees were freed in November, despite the 40-year-old having no criminal record in Australia or elsewhere.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘Poor taste’: Brisbane school holds nappy changing activity to mark International Women’s Day

Posted on by

Stretton State College shares photo of students with nappies and dolls among images of events to celebrate the day

A Brisbane school has been criticised for acting “in poor taste” after posting images of a nappy changing activity held on International Women’s Day on Facebook.

Stretton State College posted the photo of students with nappies and dolls among images of different events held to celebrate the day. They included selling cookies and a photo station with a border featuring the slogan “inspire inclusion”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Pet perils: injuries from animals are on the rise after Australia’s surge in dog and cat ownership

Posted on by

Animal-related hospitalisations have been increasing for years but have surged since the start of the pandemic, AIHW study finds

In the north-west New South Wales town of Gunnedah, there are much deadlier things than a puppy. They are used to deadly brown and red-bellied snakes.

So Sarah Carter was surprised when her corgi Maxi landed her in hospital.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Peak motorist body requests clarity on Albanese government’s proposed clean car policy

Posted on by

Automobile Association wants to see the calculations behind national vehicle efficiency standards

The nation’s peak motorist organisation has called on the Albanese government to release in full the modelling underpinning its proposed new laws aimed at removing the worst polluting cars from Australian roads and hastening the uptake of cleaner vehicles.

The Australian Automobile Association (AAA), in its submission responding to the government’s proposed national vehicle efficiency standard (NVES), reiterated it has long supported such a scheme. But it said Labor should “be more transparent” about how it arrived at the calculations supporting its preferred, more ambitious targets.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australian renewable sector recorded ‘alarming’ slowdown in 2023, energy body finds

Posted on by

Clean Energy Council report details ‘particularly poor’ investment in large-scale plants but says roof-top solar and batteries are ‘storming ahead’

Investments in renewable energy plants showed an “alarming” slowdown in 2023, with financial approvals for new solar farms shrinking more than a third while no new windfarms won backing, the Clean Energy Council said in its annual report.

The yearly results come as separate data revealed fossil fuel power stations expanded generation in the first two months of 2024 as heatwaves in the east of Australia sent demand soaring.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia’s poorest schools to be fully funded in ‘landmark’ commonwealth investment in NT

Posted on by

Commonwealth moves closer to fully funding all public schools in deal that will make ‘immediate difference’ in Northern Territory

The federal government is one step closer to fully funding all public schools after reaching an agreement with the Northern Territory to double the commonwealth’s funding contribution.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, chief minister of the NT, Eva Lawler, and education minister Jason Clare and his counterpart Mark Monaghan will sign the statement of intent on Wednesday morning.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...