Category Archives: Australia news

Up to 80,000 people in Australia may be affected by ‘sledgehammer’ powers to deport noncitizens to Nauru, lawyers warn

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Greens senator David Shoebridge accuses Tony Burke of ‘doing his Peter Dutton impression, dog-whistling and punching down on migrants’

Up to 80,000 people in Australia may be affected by the Albanese government’s proposed powers to strip basic legal protections from the noncitizens it plans to deport to Nauru, refugee lawyers warn.

The proposed federal powers, revealed last Wednesday, are expected to pass parliament this week with the Coalition’s support at a snap two-hour committee hearing scheduled for Wednesday night.

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Neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell arrested outside Melbourne court over alleged attack on Indigenous protest site

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Victoria police confirm arrest hours after the neo-Nazi confronted Victorian premier Jacinta Allan at a press conference

Neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell has been arrested outside a Melbourne court over an alleged attack on Camp Sovereignty, a sacred Aboriginal burial ground in Kings Domain and longstanding protest site on Sunday.

Victoria police have confirmed detectives from the Melbourne crime investigation unit arrested Sewell, 32, and two associates – a 23-year-old man from Mooroolbark and a 20-year-old man from Ardeer – outside Melbourne’s magistrates court about 3.20pm on Tuesday.

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Bob Katter distances himself from neo-Nazi group associated with megaphone at anti-immigration protest

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Separately, Greens call on Queensland MP to ‘apologise or resign’ for verbal altercation with Channel Nine reporter last week

The federal MP Bob Katter has distanced himself from a neo-Nazi group that claimed ownership of a megaphone he used at a Townsville rally against mass immigration, with the veteran politician claiming he has been the victim of “bullying” in the media.

The Greens have separately called on Katter, the member for Kennedy, to “apologise or resign” over his verbal altercation with a Channel Nine reporter last week, asking the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission to investigate his conduct.

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Palestinian Australian brothers allege racist abuse on Sydney train

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Shamikh and Majed Badra said men shouted abuse at them, allegedly because Majed was wearing a keffiyeh

Two Palestinian Australian men say they were subjected to racist abuse on a Sydney train on the same day anti-immigration marches took place across Australian cities.

Film-makers Shamikh and Majed Badra told Guardian Australia they were verbally abused on a train on Sunday afternoon, allegedly because Majed was wearing a keffiyeh.

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Victorian Liberal members to push for regulated cannabis market at state council

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Proposal to treat cannabis similarly to alcohol among 62 policy motions on draft agenda, alongside increased parental leave and scrapping net zero

Rank-and-file Victorian Liberal party members will use this month’s state council meeting to push for a regulated cannabis market for adult use, overhaul heritage and planning laws to tackle the housing crisis and introduce a full year of parental leave with a “daddy quota”.

The motions are among 62 on the draft agenda for the Victorian Liberal state council – the party’s annual general meeting – on 12-13 September. Other motions include proposals to scrap net zero targets, renters’ rights reforms and diversity quotas.

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Under-16s ban: how hard will it be for Australian social media users to prove their age?

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The age assurance technology trial found errors are inevitable – meaning users might have to provide other ID or appeal against wrongful bans

It could take just 40 seconds: that’s how long Australians might have to wait for age assurance technology to assess they’re allowed to be on social media from December, when the under-16s ban comes into effect.

But the reality is, for many users, it could be a much more complicated and time-consuming process.

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Bristol returns cultural artefacts taken from Larrakia people in Australia

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Objects including three-metre spears were collected in late 19th and early 20th centuries and donated to city’s museum

For decades, they have languished in storage in the basement of a museum in the English West Country. Finally, an extraordinary collection of weapons and ceremonial objects taken from the Larrakia people more than a century ago is beginning a winding journey home to the saltwater landscapes of the Northern Territory in Australia.

During an emotionally charged ceremony, Bristol city council formally handed over 33 objects including spears that would have been used to hunt creatures from fish to buffalo, some still gleaming with the red ochre used to decorate them.

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Australia could be a ‘dumping ground’ for goods made for us with forced labour, anti-slavery tsar warns

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Exclusive: Chris Evans says ‘blind spots’ in modern slavery laws means few prosecutions occur and some companies are ‘taking the mickey’ in their approach to reporting

Australia’s modern slavery laws are among the weakest in the developed world and the country risks becoming a “dumping ground” for goods made with forced labour, Australia’s first anti-slavery commissioner has said.

In a wide-ranging interview with Guardian Australia, the commissioner, Chris Evans – a former Labor senator and minister – said there were “blind spots” in Australia’s efforts that risked the country becoming a global laggard.

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Thousands of Tesla SUVs recalled in Australia over software fault that ‘can increase risk of injury’

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All 2025 Tesla Model Y variants affected by issue that risks window closing on body parts ‘with excessive force’

More than 7,000 Tesla electric vehicles have been recalled in Australia due to a software fault that could injure drivers.

Australia’s federal transport department issued the recall over the weekend, warning that all 2025 variants of the Tesla Model Y were subject to an issue affecting the driver’s side automatic window and its safety system.

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Neo-Nazis attack Indigenous protest site after anti-immigration rally in Melbourne as officer allegedly assaulted in Sydney

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At least 50 men, mostly clad in black, approached Camp Sovereignty as sun was setting on Sunday. Four people were injured

A group of women in Melbourne have been injured, and a police officer in Sydney was allegedly assaulted, after anti-immigration marches across Australia on the weekend.

A group of men, including some members of neo-Nazi group the National Socialist Network, attacked the standing First Nations protest site, Camp Sovereignty, in Melbourne’s Kings Domain on Sunday evening, according to video footage seen by Guardian Australia.

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Magda Szubanski thanks young fan who dressed as Sharon Strzelecki for Book Week for cheering her up amid chemo

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‘I’m really touched,’ Kath & Kim favourite tells 10-year-old, adding that cancer treatment ‘is smacking me around right now’

Magda Szubanski has shared an update about her health from her hospital bed as she continues treatment for an aggressive form of blood cancer.

Szubanski, well-known for her roles in Kath & Kim and Babe, posted a video to Instagram on Sunday to thank a young fan who had “really cheered me up” with her Book Week costume of Szubanski’s Kath & Kim character, the hapless netball fan Sharon Strzelecki.

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Pauline Hanson joins crowds in Canberra as anti-immigration protests heat up across country – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

Asked about the planned anti-immigration protests across Australia today, Julian Leeser says he’s concerned about some of the anti-Indian and antisemitic sentiment being expressed. But he also adds that there are people who will be attending these protests with “goodwill”:

There are people there of goodwill who want to change policies in relation to this country. But I would say to them be careful of the company you keep. I’ve seen some of the material for that particular protest and I’m really concerned about the anti-Indian sentiment that is being expressed and some of the antisemitic undertones of some of those protests.

We are working through this legislation through our processes but I will say this: This cohort of people have had ample opportunities to put their case. They have exhausted all appeal avenues and the question now is whether they can be removed to another country.

This is a legitimate arrangement. The only reason people can remain in Australia – and this is very well established under the migration law of this country – is if they have an Australian citizen or on a valid visa.

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Records fall as Sifan Hassan and Hailemaryam Kiros win Sydney Marathon

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  • Dutch star and Ethiopian run fastest times on Australian soil

  • Kenyan running great Eliud Kipchoge finishes ninth

The Dutch multi-distance phenomenon Sifan Hassan has set a race record to claim victory in the first running of the Sydney Marathon as a World Majors Series event.

Hassan clocked a women’s winning time of two hours 18 minutes and 22 seconds as Kenyan legend Eliud Kipchoge fell short of the podium in the men’s category on Sunday.

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Australian government criticised over ‘disgraceful’ $400m deal to deport foreign-born former detainees to Nauru

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An agreement relating to the NZYQ cohort, who previously faced indefinite immigration detention, was signed by home affairs minister Tony Burke on Friday

Human rights lawyers, refugee advocates and the Greens have accused the Albanese government of striking a “discriminatory, disgraceful and dangerous” deal to deport hundreds of foreign-born former detainees at a cost of almost half a billion dollars.

On Friday Australia and Nauru signed a memorandum of understanding allowing the government to deport about 280 members of the NZYQ cohort, a group of noncitizens living in the Australian community whose visas were cancelled on character grounds.

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Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performance in London interrupted by pro-Palestine protestors

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Jewish Artists for Palestine interrupted a BBC Proms performance at Royal Albert Hall on Friday, claiming the MSO ‘silenced artists’ and ‘silenced protest’

Pro-Palestine protesters have interrupted a performance by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) at the BBC Proms in London, accusing the organisation’s management of silencing artists who have criticised Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

The Jewish Artists for Palestine group interrupted the performance for more than 10 minutes on Friday night, with some members shouting from the upper stalls of Royal Albert Hall, including claims the MSO “silenced artists” and “silenced protest”.

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Suspected Porepunkah gunman Dezi Freeman had no convictions for violence or firearm offences, court record shows

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The 56-year-old made a series of threats against police and had a long history of minor offences, culminating in the loss of his driver’s licence in 2022

The suspected Porepunkah gunman had a criminal record stretching more than 30 years, but had not been convicted of any serious offences, court extracts show.

Dezi Freeman, 56, made a series of threats against police, and had his firearms licence cancelled, in the years before allegedly killing two police officers at a remote property in north-eastern Victoria on Tuesday. Victoria police is now investigating whether its risk assessment before the incident was adequate.

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Former NSW police officer who lost her arm after a car accident awarded $2.3m by the court

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County court judge found physical and psychological injuries from the accident caused ‘complete destruction of her capacity for any form of meaningful remunerative work’

A former police officer has been awarded $2.3m after a car accident during a cannabis clearing operation that led to the amputation of her arm and the “complete destruction” of her earning capacity.

In a district court decision handed down in Sydney on Friday, acting judge Leonard Levy SC found the state of New South Wales had breached its duty of care to the former officer Jillian Oliver, and that its negligence had resulted in the accident, her injuries, and her “catastrophic” physical and psychological situation.

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Murray Watt backs ‘no-go’ zones where development is banned – but not for Tasmania’s Robbins Island

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Environment minister says scientific evidence did not convince government that remote island qualified

Australia’s environment minister, Murray Watt, has backed the creation of “no-go zones” where development will be banned in some places under a revamped nature law, but said Tasmania’s remote Robbins Island – the site of a contentious windfarm proposal – does not qualify.

Watt this week said the Albanese government would accelerate its plan to overhaul the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act so that legislation was introduced to parliament this year, sooner than previously suggested.

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Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright found guilty on two charges after fatal helicopter crash but jury deadlocked on third

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Reality TV star accused of trying to cover up evidence following the February 2022 crash that killed co-star Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson

Reality TV star Matt Wright has been found guilty of two counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice after a deadly helicopter crash.

But a supreme court jury in Darwin on Friday failed to reach agreement on a third count after a four-week trial held before acting justice Allan Blow.

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Victoria warned to prepare for ‘destruction’ with severe weather and snow forecast

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Gusts reaching up to 130km/h expected to push further into south-eastern states on Saturday, bringing showers, hail and thunderstorms

Blizzards have been forecast for parts of Victoria and residents have been warned to prepare for power outages and “destruction” as damaging winds are expected to lash the south-eastern states into the weekend.

An intense cold front began moving across Victoria from South Australia on Friday, after rain, thunderstorms and destructive winds battered the Adelaide metro area and surrounds on Thursday night and Friday morning, and a tornado warning was briefly issued.

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