Category Archives: Australia news

Shoppers sceptical of whether Coles or Woolworths specials offer actual savings, Choice survey shows

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New data from consumer group reveals four in five shoppers say it is hard to know whether markdowns represent value for money

Most shoppers don’t believe Coles or Woolworths specials or sales promotions make it clear they offer actual savings, new data from consumer group Choice shows, with four in five consumers finding it difficult to discern real discounts.

Of almost 11,000 people surveyed, 88% of respondents said they were worried about the rising costs of groceries, while 83% of respondents said they thought some of the supermarkets’ marked down items made it hard to know if they were value for money.

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Papua New Guinea massacre: fears violence could spiral over tribal conflict

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Prime minister James Marape to seek help from Australia to support police after the deadly killings in Enga province

Authorities in Papua New Guinea are bracing for an escalation of violence after dozens of men were killed in a tribal massacre on Sunday.

In the wake of the killings, the prime minister, James Marape, is facing calls to declare a state of emergency to address the ongoing fighting.

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Hastie’s defence comments ‘unhinged and misleading’, Conroy says – as it happened

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Ex-cyclone Lincoln could gather strength and redevelop

A massive storm that lashed the Top End with heavy rain could gather strength and redevelop into a tropical cyclone, AAP reports.

We’ve seen all the leaders of major parties say they take on board and accept in the recommendations … but it appears very little has changed on the ground. We still have unlimited and unmonitored alcohol consumption in Parliament House and in the workplace.

That’s why I put to the prime minister random testing could be introduced. Because we know from – even from driving, it’s a deterrent. As soon as you have a risk of getting caught, it changes behaviour.

People have had enough of politicians thinking there’s different standards that apply to them in Parliament House than what applies in other workplaces.

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Labor accused of trying to ‘silence Aboriginal voices’ over possible changes to gas project consultations

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Bill also criticised by Greens and Environmental Defenders Office who claim it will help fast-track offshore gas developments

An Indigenous activist who took on Woodside in the federal court has accused Labor of seeking to “silence Aboriginal voices” over changes that may water down consultation requirements for offshore gas development.

Mardudhunera woman Raelene Cooper, a founder of the organisation Save Our Songlines, has spoken out about a bill that aims to preserve approvals for offshore gas projects against reconsideration if rules are tightened in future.

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Australians back stronger regulation on vapes including a ban, study finds

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Professor says vaping stores need to be shut down for people to realise supply is being regulated

Australians are concerned about the widespread availability of illegal vapes and many support a ban, new research has found.

A study published in the February edition of the international medical journal BMJ Open saw researchers consult with 139 Australians aged 14-39 living in Sydney and Melbourne about vaping regulations. Interviews were conducted across 16 focus groups.

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Ten of Australia’s top companies lack clear plans to stop using or supporting fossil fuels, report says

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UTS researchers say firms including Coles, Woolworths, Telstra, Rio Tinto and Qantas have no ‘comprehensive, independently verified and fully costed plan’ to reduce emissions

Ten of Australia’s best-known corporations – including Coles, Telstra, Woolworths and Qantas – have no clear plans to stop using or supporting fossil fuels despite having targets to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report.

The companies were also failing to report clearly the impact of their businesses on the climate warming caused directly or indirectly from land clearing.

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Rough sleepers dying ‘alarmingly’ premature deaths, Sydney homeless data shows

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People suffering from schizophrenia especially at risk, homelessness advocates say

One of Sydney’s largest homelessness services says its client data shows the city’s rough sleepers are dying at “alarmingly” premature rates, particularly those with schizophrenia.

Matthew Talbot Hostel, based in the inner-city suburb of Woolloomooloo,
said data from about 4,000 patients attending its health clinic shows those experiencing homelessness are dying at an average age of 55.9.

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Australia detains alleged key player in North Korean tobacco smuggling scheme after US request

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Exclusive: Jin Guanghua was arrested by the AFP in Melbourne last year and is facing extradition to the US

A Chinese national has been quietly arrested and detained in Australia for 11 months at the request of US authorities investigating an alleged tobacco smuggling conspiracy that generated an estimated A$1.1bn (US$700m) in revenue to North Korea.

Jin Guanghua, 52, was arrested by the Australian federal police in Melbourne last March. Described in US court documents as an Australian resident, Jin was kept in custody in Melbourne for several months before being transferred to immigration detention while awaiting extradition.

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Bob Brown arrested at Tasmania logging protest – as it happened

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Birmingham backs Dutton’s asylum boat comments

The shadow foreign minister, Simon Birmingham, was on ABC RN earlier this morning.

It is our responsibility to hold the government to account and if there are cuts to the Border Force budget, if there are reductions in terms of any aspects of maritime surveillance, if the Border Police Commissioner is saying that his resources are being stretched, then these are the things for us to absolutely call the government out on.

Vegetation clearing and repairs to damaged powerlines and poles continue. However, given the extent of the widespread damage, it may still take some days in extreme circumstances to restore electricity to all of those impacted.

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Mornington Peninsula hotel owner forced to sell business after gambling watchdog finds payout error cover-up by staff

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Owner of Rye hotel hit with $80,000 fine and required to sell business after staff falsified records to cover up an erroneous cash payout

The owner of a Victorian hotel has been fined $80,000 and will be forced to sell the business after staff tried to cover up an illegal gambling payout.

Senior staff at the Rye hotel on the Mornington Peninsula falsified records to cover up an erroneous cash payment of $2,039 to a patron, Victoria’s gambling watchdog has said.

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Albanese signs WA GST pledge on reporter’s arm and signals possible support for state’s nickel miners

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PM says federal government will make ‘no changes’ to Western Australia GST payments, which could hit $50bn over a decade

The federal government is considering “time-limited support” for the nickel industry in Western Australia as it faces growing international competition from Indonesian producers, Anthony Albanese has said.

The prime minister also pledged to maintain WA’s lucrative share of GST payments by signing a promise on a newspaper front page and on a reporter’s arm in marker pen, before encouraging the journalist to get it tattooed on his body.

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Barnaby Joyce says he has given up alcohol for Lent as Perin Davey admits having two drinks before Senate hearing

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New England MP accuses opponents of exploiting issue for political gain, while footage emerges of deputy Nationals leader appearing to slur her words

Barnaby Joyce says he’s giving up alcohol for Lent while accusing political opponents of seeking to exploit the issue of parliamentarians’ consumption of alcohol, as the conduct of politicians again falls under the spotlight.

The shadow veterans affairs minister made the comments on Monday after the deputy Nationals leader, Perin Davey, admitted she had two drinks before a Senate committee hearing in which she appeared to slur and stumble over words.

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Sydney lightning strikes: four people ‘knocked unconscious’ and train network faces delays

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About 75,000 lightning strikes were detected across the city and afternoon commuters facing delays with T1 Western and T9 Northern lines affected

Four people have been taken to hospital with burns after being struck by lightning in Sydney’s botanic gardens.

A spokesperson for New South Wales Ambulance said the quartet was standing underneath a tree when struck at about 12.45pm on Monday.

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Woman committed to stand trial in Queensland charged with murder of her baby

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Both Noemi Kondacs and the baby’s father, Reinhardt Bosch, have been charged over son Rhuan’s death in Yugar, near Brisbane, in 2022

A woman accused of murdering her seven-month-old baby boy has been committed to stand trial in a Brisbane court.

Noemi Kondacs was charged with murder and torture after her arrest on the day Rhuan Immanuel Bosch died in November 2022.

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Australia news live: Taylor Swift shows to go ahead at Sydney Olympic Park after no asbestos found – as it happened

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NSW environment watchdog gives venue green light after tests; agency says schools at Marsden Park and Orchard Hill found to have mulch containing bonded asbestos. This blog is now closed

Asked about the Barnaby Joyce incident and “issues of alcohol in Parliament House”, Chandler-Mather says the public is right to expect “a high standard for politicians”, even though they “don’t always deliver”.

Look, personally, in general I don’t think drug testing and alcohol testing in any workplace is necessarily a good idea. People are justifiably upset at the standard politicians hold themselves to.

When we talk about immigrants, we’re talking about the nurses and teachers, construction workers. Secondly, we saw during Covid net migration reached near zero and house prices continue to … go up. Property is treated as a massive speculative asset that drives up the price of housing.

I want to be clear, we have enough homes for people to live in. We have enough construction materials to build the homes for the new people coming to this country. We don’t have the political will to take on a housing system and property developers who restrict supply to make money for themselves and treat housing as a huge speculative asset.

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Thousands of NSW students to stay home after asbestos found in mulch at two more Sydney schools

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Positive tests recorded at schools in Marsden Park and Orchard Hills takes total number of sites to have tested positive to 34 since early January

Thousands of New South Wales students will be forced into remote learning for a week after asbestos was found at another two Sydney schools, as testing continues across the city.

The state’s environment watchdog confirmed the additional positive results on Sunday while investigators continued to trace and test mulch that may be contaminated with asbestos.

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Asylum seekers taken to Nauru amid renewed political stoush over border arrivals

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Move comes after second group found in Western Australia and believed to have arrived on same boat as group found 25km away on Friday

More than 40 asylum seekers have been taken to Nauru after they were found in a remote part of Western Australia.

Guardian Australia has confirmed a second group of 13 asylum seekers was found at an Indigenous campsite at Pender Bay, about an hour after a group of 30 men were found at Beagle Bay on Friday.

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Australian cities hollow out as younger families move out and inner suburbs get older

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Many families move to afford a freestanding house, but higher density living could save them money, experts say

Sydney could become a “city with no grandchildren”, the New South Wales Productivity Commission has warned, but analysis of census data shows similar trends in most big capital cities.

Australian cities are being hollowed out as younger families are priced out, leaving many inner ring suburbs getting older.

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Murder victim Kelly Wilkinson repeatedly visited police in fear. They said she was ‘cop shopping’

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Exclusive: Family calls for inquest, saying Wilkinson visited police ‘almost every day’ before she was murdered by her husband in 2021

In the final frantic days before she was murdered, Kelly Wilkinson visited multiple police stations, warning she was in danger. Official police notes say she was “cop shopping”.

On Wednesday, Wilkinson’s estranged husband, Brian Earl Johnston, a former US Marine, pleaded guilty to her murder. A court has previously heard that Johnston tied Wilkinson to a clothesline and set her on fire on 20 April 2021.

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Second Sydney primary school among four more sites testing positive for asbestos contamination

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Single piece of bonded asbestos found in a garden bed at Allambie Heights public school

A second primary school in Sydney’s north is among four additional sites that have returned positive results for asbestos contamination.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority on Saturday confirmed Allambie Heights public school in northern Sydney, two residential estates under construction in Sydney’s south-west and Munn Park in Millers Point tested positive for traces of asbestos-laden mulch.

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