Category Archives: Australia news

A translation of the Nauruan president’s remarks will stay suppressed for a decade – but secrecy in Australia’s offshore policy is nothing new

Posted on by

From Scott Morrison’s ‘on-water matters’ to the Albanese government’s MOU with Nauru, successive governments’ attitude to legitimate scrutiny has been one of hostility

Offshore, secrecy dominates. But it doesn’t stop at the water’s edge.

In February, Australia brokered a new offshore arrangement with Nauru, striking a deal to send members of the so-called NZYQ cohort – non-citizens with criminal histories – to the Pacific island. Australia would give Nauru more than $400m in exchange.

Continue reading...

How to make sustainable seafood choices this Christmas to ease the pressure on Australia’s oceans

Posted on by

Australian Marine Conservation Society’s GoodFish guide aims to showcase the most environmentally friendly seafood sources

As a challenging year for marine life heads into its final weeks, GoodFish has shared its list of sustainable choices for the festive season to help take the pressure off Australia’s oceans.

“It’s a time to be more careful than ever,” said Adrian Meder, sustainable seafood program manager at the Australian Marine Conservation Society, which produces the GoodFish guide.

Continue reading...

Three-metre giant oarfish, ‘palace messenger’ of doom, washes up on Tasmanian beach

Posted on by

The enormous, serpentine fish, regarded in Japanese folklore as a herald of disaster, usually live deep below the surface and are only sighted when sick or dying

It was a beautiful warm day in north-west Tasmania when a fish with a reputation as a harbinger of doom washed ashore.

Tony Cheesman, who lives in the seaside town of Penguin, was walking his two dogs, Ronan and Custard, along the beach at Preservation Bay on Friday morning when something silvery and surrounded by gulls grabbed his attention.

Continue reading...

Woman jailed for 20 years over death of Australian surfer brothers and American man in Mexico

Posted on by

Mexican woman Ary Gisell Silva, 23, admitted she instigated robbery of Jake and Callum Robinson, as well as American Jack Carter Rhoad

A Mexican court sentenced a woman to 20 years in prison for her involvement in the April 2024 killings of two Australian surfers and an American at a surfing hotspot in Baja California, judicial authorities said Thursday.

The victims were Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, aged 30 and 33, respectively, and Jack Carter Rhoad, a 30-year-old US citizen.

Continue reading...

Kellie Sloane appointed NSW Liberal leader following ouster of Mark Speakman

Posted on by

The former journalist and first-term MP had Speakman’s endorsement and support across the factions

Kellie Sloane has become the third woman to lead the NSW Liberal Party after a party room meeting agreed on Friday morning to make her leader of the opposition.

The right’s Alister Henskens, the shadow attorney-general, did not stand.

Continue reading...

Statistically, there’s a reliable way to predict a domestic violence homicide like Hannah Clarke’s

Posted on by

Queensland researchers studying intimate-partner killings found one thing common to more than half the cases

When researchers in Queensland catalogued data from seven years of intimate-partner killings, they found one thing common to more than half of those cases – a victim’s own sense of fear about their impending death.

Statistically, the most reliable way to predict a domestic violence homicide is to believe the victim.

Continue reading...

‘Gobsmacking’ solar farm that could power AI datacentres ‘possibly unparalleled’ in Australia or world

Posted on by

SunCable says massive energy project proposed in NT could position Australia as global leader but critics are concerned about scale

Energy company SunCable says a massive solar farm it has proposed building in the Northern Territory could power an AI datacentre precinct in the region to position Australia as a global leader in “green industrial development”.

The development would be Australia’s largest solar farm and would generate up to 20GW of electricity, or 10 times the output of a large coal-fired station. It would add to the company’s plans to build a 12,000ha solar farm at Powell Creek Station, south of Elliott, as part of its proposed Australia-Asia Power Link project.

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

Continue reading...

Labor urged not to ‘go soft’ on gambling ads after reports the government may resist a total ban

Posted on by

Crossbenchers and gambling harm advocates criticise suggestion the long-delayed recommendation may not happen due to under-16s social media ban

Crossbench politicians and gambling harm advocates have urged the Albanese government to follow through on the late MP Peta Murphy’s long-delayed recommendation to ban wagering ads, amid media reports Labor may baulk at putting major restrictions on television and online promotions.

The Australian Financial Review reported on Thursday the government may not pursue a total ban on online gambling ads, partly due to the under-16s social media ban helping stop children seeing digital advertisements.

Continue reading...

Australian living in Thailand faces trial over alleged criminal defamation of Malaysian government

Posted on by

Murray Hunter charged with offence which carries a potential penalty of two years in jail, or a 200,000 baht (AUD$9,500) fine

An Australian academic and journalist faces up to two years in prison after being charged – in Thailand – with defaming the Malaysian government.

Murray Hunter, a longtime resident of southern Thailand, will stand trial in Bangkok next month, charged with criminal defamation over articles critical of the Malaysian government’s internet regulator.

Continue reading...

Papua New Guinea ‘not happy’ as Australia walks away from bid to host Cop31

Posted on by

Australia had been pushing to host climate conference next year with south Pacific nations, which are increasingly threatened by rising seas and climate-fuelled disasters

Papua New Guinea has voiced frustration after Australia ditched a bid to co-host next year’s UN climate talks with its Pacific island neighbours.

“We are all not happy. And disappointed it’s ended up like this,” foreign minister Justin Tkatchenko told Agence France-Presse after Australia ceded hosting rights to Turkey.

Continue reading...

Tropical cyclone Fina intensifies to category two and could hit NT coast on Friday

Posted on by

If it makes impact on Friday, it would be the earliest cyclone of the season to make landfall in Australia since 1973

If tropical cyclone Fina crosses the Northern Territory coast on Friday, it could equal the earliest cyclone to make landfall in Australia.

Fina intensified to category two storm on Wednesday night, the Bureau of Meteorology said, and was moving east about 370km north-east of Darwin before making an expected turn south on Thursday.

Continue reading...

Krysty was diagnosed with breast cancer months after getting the all-clear. New Australian guidelines aim to help women like her

Posted on by

Exclusive: New federal guidelines advise GPs to provide additional care to patients with higher breast density, which can make cancers harder to detect in mammograms

When Krysty Sullivan had a routine mammogram in 2019, she was given the all-clear.

Eleven months later, she felt a lump.

Continue reading...

Researchers say real impact of deforestation being hidden in Australia’s official figures by ‘sleight of hand’

Posted on by

Report commissioned by conservationists suggests some recorded new growth is misclassified or otherwise not equivalent to losses in species-heavy forests

At face value, the amount of forest in Australia is officially increasing, and has been since 2008.

But if an old-growth tree is felled in a forest and seedlings grow elsewhere, is the official account ecologically sound? Not according to new analysis, which suggests that the way Australia calculates forest cover obfuscates the impacts of ongoing deforestation.

Continue reading...

South Korean decision to close all coal-fired power plants by 2040 sounds alarm for Australian exports

Posted on by

Decision announced at Cop30 climate conference signposts risks for Australia’s reliance on fossil fuel exports, analysts say

The Australian government has been urged to prepare for a shift away from thermal coal exports and accelerate green industries after one of its main international customers signed up to close all coal-fired power plants by 2040.

South Korea, Australia’s third-biggest market for coal burned to generate electricity, announced at the Cop30 climate conference in Brazil that it was joining the “powering past coal alliance”, a group of about 60 nations and 120 sub-national governments, businesses and organisations committed to phasing out the fossil fuel.

Continue reading...

Owner of scandal-plagued Panthera Finance tells court it was not technically operating illegally in Victoria

Posted on by

Francom claims that because Panthera had ‘acquired’ the debts, it was not technically engaged in collecting debt owed to a third party

One of Australia’s largest debt collection firms has claimed that scandal-plagued Panthera Finance was not technically banned from operating in Victoria after it was blacklisted by the state’s consumer watchdog.

Consumer Affairs Victoria launched legal action against Panthera Finance last year, alleging it operated in the state illegally after a federal court ruling in 2020, and despite warnings that doing so could amount to a criminal offence.

Continue reading...

Brad Battin faces spill after group of Victorian Liberal MPs say they have lost confidence in his leadership

Posted on by

Sources say shadow treasurer Jess Wilson has received enough support to test leadership of the party a year out from state poll

A group of Victorian Liberal MPs has told the party leader, Brad Battin, they no longer have confidence in his leadership, paving the way for a vote on whether to replace him.

The intervention on Monday afternoon – delivered almost one year before the state goes to the polls – could trigger a ballot on his position as early as Tuesday morning.

Continue reading...

Former MP from Katter’s Australian party claims victory in Townsville mayoral race after swing against former leader

Posted on by

Nick Dametto says he is proud to ‘build the capital of northern Australia’ after byelection triggered by resignation of controversial former mayor

Townsville has voted decisively against its former controversial mayor and instead looks likely to elect a bodybuilding, bull-riding former state MP from the populist right in what has been described as one of the biggest swings in Australian electoral history.

Nick Dametto, 42, who was the deputy leader of Katter’s Australian Party’s and a Queensland parliamentarian before resigning and handing in his membership last month to run as an independent in Saturday’s byelection, had received more than 61% of the vote as of Sunday, with just over 30% counted.

Continue reading...

Coalition announce emissions policy after joint party room; more magic sand products recalled over asbestos contamination – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Total fire ban in parts of New South Wales

While a storm system continues to affect parts of New South Wales’ east, the state’s west faces extreme fire danger.

I expect it will be pretty much what the Nationals have wanted all along because it’s been really clear that they have set the agenda in terms of the energy and climate policy of the Liberal Party.

I’m genuinely concerned and genuinely disappointed that this has happened because we do need to take action on climate change.

I think my a lot of my community will be going ‘Why on earth has the Coalition done this if they are seeking to ever take back seats’ like mine?

Continue reading...

Thirteen people injured after demolition derby car ploughs into grandstand during NSW event

Posted on by

Two in critical condition after driver crashes into crowd at Walcha Motorcycle Rally about 90km from Tamworth

A demolition derby car lost control and ploughed into a grandstand, injuring 13 rural motoring enthusiasts on Saturday night.

Emergency services rushed to Walcha’s showgrounds, which 90km from Tamworth in New South Wales, early in the evening after a crash at the Walcha Motorcycle Rally.

Continue reading...

Factchecking five Coalition claims about net zero, from power prices to the $9tn cost

Posted on by

As Liberals join Nationals in abandoning a 2050 emissions target, we unpick some of the opposition’s talking points

Are you trying to make sense of some of the big claims made by Liberal and National party MPs for abandoning their support for Australia reaching net zero emissions by 2050?

We’re here to help.

Continue reading...