Category Archives: Australia news

Indonesian military apologises after West Papuan man filmed being tortured in water-filled barrel

Posted on by

In rare admission, commander of Indonesian military in the province says horrific footage is a ‘violation of the law’, and confirms 13 personnel have been detained


Warning: this article contains graphic content

Graphic footage of a West Papuan man bound in a water-filled barrel and being beaten and cut with knives by Indonesian soldiers has drawn a rare apology from the commander of Indonesia’s military in the province.

Major General Izak Pangemanan confirmed 13 military personnel had been detained and more than 40 questioned as part of an investigation into the torture of the unarmed man.

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

Continue reading...

Labor’s offshore gas bill labelled ‘a betrayal’ by First Nations activists

Posted on by

Leaders with responsibilities for sea country on way to Canberra to lobby against legislation

The Albanese government is facing major blowback over changes to its offshore gas bill, which the crossbench and environment groups have labelled “window dressing” that fails to prevent new rules watering down First Nations consultation.

Seeking to clear the decks before Easter, the government is expected to reveal tweaks to its proposed vehicle efficiency standards this week. And on Monday Labor introduced amendments to add safeguards to the offshore gas bill after widespread concerns, including from within it own ranks.

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

Continue reading...

NSW police officers at pro-Palestine rally allegedly wore badges associated with rightwing extremism

Posted on by

Legal Observers NSW says ‘several officers’ at Port Botany protest – where 19 people were arrested – wore thin blue line patch on uniform

At least one New South Wales police officer wore a “thin blue line” badge – which has been co-opted by far right and extremist groups – when working at a pro-Palestine protest at Port Botany, according to Legal Observers NSW.

Guardian Australia has seen a photograph of one officer wearing the badge on Sunday night and observers who attended the protest said “several” other officers also wore the patch showing a black-and-white Australian flag with a blue line running across it.

Continue reading...

NSW police commissioner says appointment of media adviser under review after new information received

Posted on by

Karen Webb says checks still under way in the appointment of Channel Seven journalist Steve Jackson to the role of police media adviser

The New South Wales police commissioner, Karen Webb, has revealed the appointment of a new police media adviser is under review after she received new information about the candidate.

A spokesperson for NSW police told Guardian Australia the review of the appointment of the Channel Seven and News Corp journalist Steve Jackson to the $320,000-a-year role “remains ongoing”.

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

Continue reading...

Thousands of foreign nurses a year leave UK to work abroad

Posted on by

Exclusive: Surge in nurses originally from outside the EU moving overseas prompts concern Britain is a ‘staging post’ in their careers

Almost 9,000 foreign nurses a year are leaving the UK to work abroad, amid a sudden surge in nurses quitting the already understaffed NHS for better-paid jobs elsewhere.

The rise in nurses originally from outside the EU moving to take up new posts abroad has prompted concerns that Britain is increasingly becoming “a staging post” in their careers.

Continue reading...

Labor on brink of historic win in SA byelection to snatch former Liberal premier’s seat

Posted on by

Cressida O’Hanlon has significant lead in Dunstan though there are many early votes yet to be counted

Labor’s Cressida O’Hanlon is nervously waiting, hoping to be confirmed as the next member of South Australia’s House of Assembly.

The 51-year-old business mediator is on track to win the seat of Dunstan with a 2.9%, two-party-preferred lead over her Liberal rival Anna Finizio.

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

Continue reading...

Tim Wilson defeats two women to win Liberal preselection in Goldstein and set up rematch against teal Zoe Daniel

Posted on by

Former MP held the seat in Melbourne’s bayside suburbs from 2016 to 2022

The former MP Tim Wilson has won preselection to become the Liberal party candidate in his former seat of Goldstein, setting up a rematch with the “teal” independent Zoe Daniel.

Wilson, who held the seat in Melbourne’s bayside suburbs between 2016 and 2022, won the vote of Liberal party members on Sunday afternoon, beating out two female challengers, Colleen Harkin and Stephanie Hunt.

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

Continue reading...

Liberal minority rule, Lambie alliance or Labor ‘traffic light’ coalition: where to now for Tasmanian politics?

Posted on by

As the dust settles from an unnecessary election, premier Jeremy Rockliff has some serious work to do to form a stable government

Jeremy Rockliff brought this on himself.

The Tasmanian premier – the leader of Australia’s sole Liberal government – called an election a year earlier than required, believing he could persuade voters to reject the “chaos” of minority government and reward his party with a fourth straight majority victory. Tasmanians didn’t buy it.

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

Continue reading...

Thousands rally across Australia in growing push to end native forest logging

Posted on by

Crowds gather in Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide and regional centres urging Albanese government to better preserve native wildlife habitats

Over 4,000 people have marched across Australia’s capital cities and in regional centres, calling for an end to native forest logging.

Crowds gathered in Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide, as well as regional centres of Newcastle, Bega, Kyneton, Lismore and Bellingen, as part of the March in March for Forests organised by the Bob Brown Foundation.

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

Continue reading...

Shutdown of 3G networks a ‘health and safety issue’ for some regional Australians

Posted on by

Telcos promised no loss of coverage but farmers outside official coverage areas fear their lifeline will turn off

Stacey Storrier was told she was “lucky” that she received mobile phone service at her home in the New South Wales Riverina region.

But when Telstra’s 3G network is switched off on 30 June, that luck will run out.

Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter

Continue reading...

Stamp duty: would Victoria be better off with a land tax instead?

Posted on by

As the state government considers reforming its contentious stamp duty, here are the benefits and pitfalls of replacing it with an annual tax

The Victorian government has given its strongest indicator yet it is open to reforming stamp duty – one of the state’s most contentious taxes.

The government this week released its response to a parliamentary inquiry that urged the state to investigate options to scrap stamp duty and replace it with a broad-based land tax.

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

Continue reading...

Peter Dutton in standoff with state Liberal leaders over federal Coalition’s nuclear plan

Posted on by

The federal opposition leader’s calls to include nuclear power in Australia’s energy mix has so far failed to win support from his state colleagues

The federal Coalition faces a battle with the states on its proposal for nuclear power stations at the sites of decommissioned coal power plants, with state premiers and opposition leaders alike largely against Peter Dutton’s proposal.

Labor governments and Coalition oppositions in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia are either outright opposed to the plan or have failed to endorse it.

Continue reading...

Australian intelligence chiefs want law to stop former spies taking skills overseas

Posted on by

Asio bosses fear ‘growing threat’ as foreign governments are allowed to gain knowledge of tradecraft

Australia’s intelligence chiefs have asked the government for new laws to stop former spies marketing their skills abroad, fearing current provisions are allowing foreign adversaries to gain invaluable knowledge of Australian tradecraft.

Asio is seeking specific consolidated legislation requiring that former spies gain explicit permission before they offer themselves as trainers, in light of what it says is the serious and growing threat of espionage and foreign interference.

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

Continue reading...

Liberals struggle to hold power in Tasmania as minor parties surge at election

Posted on by

Party leading poll with 36.9% of vote, but suffered 12% swing against it since last election three years ago

The Liberal party faces having to negotiate with an expanded crossbench to hang on to power in Tasmania after winning the biggest share of the vote in the state election, but falling short of a majority of seats in parliament.

By late on Saturday, the Liberals, led by premier Jeremy Rockliff, were leading the poll with nearly 36.9% of the vote, but had suffered a 12% swing against it since the last poll three years ago.

Continue reading...

Voting closes in Tasmania’s early election as hung parliament looms

Posted on by

Labor’s Rebecca White is hoping to unseat Australia’s only remaining Liberal government and return her party to power after 10 years in opposition

Australia’s last Liberal government is hoping they can defy opinion polls and be returned in majority, as polls close in Tasmania.

The state Liberals are chasing a record fourth successive term, while Labor is aiming to end a decade in opposition.

Continue reading...

Man charged with murder after alleged pre-arranged fight in Sydney’s west

Posted on by

Police allege the accused dumped an injured man on a street in Melonba and left him to die

A man will face court accused of murder following a pre-arranged fight after which he allegedly dumped his opponent in a western Sydney street and left him to die.

Emergency services were called to Georgina Crescent in Melonba about 8.45pm on Friday after reports a man had been found and was likely deceased.

Continue reading...

UK defence secretary given a ride from Canberra to Adelaide in Australian military fighter jet

Posted on by

In demonstration of Australia’s air combat capability, Grant Shapps travels in RAAF Super Hornet after meeting with Anthony Albanese

The UK defence secretary, Grant Shapps, has caught a ride in the back seat of an Australian air force fighter jet after meeting with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese.

The visiting dignitary met with Albanese in Canberra on Thursday before being flown to Adelaide in a FA-18 Super Hornet, according to a report by the ABC.

Continue reading...

Anti-abortion campaigner wins control of Brisbane LNP division

Posted on by

Concerns raised after former Cherish Life vice-president Alan Baker elected chair of party’s Griffith divisional council

A prominent anti-abortion campaigner has won control of a Brisbane division of the Liberal National party, prompting alarm among moderates that “fringe infiltrators” were attempting to increase their influence as polls point to a state election win.

Alan Baker, a former vice-president of the anti-abortion lobby group Cherish Life, was elected chair of the LNP’s Griffith federal divisional council (FDC) by two votes on Thursday night.

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

Continue reading...

Lidia Thorpe hits out at slow progress on new body to punish politicians for misconduct

Posted on by

Independent says allegations she raised in Senate in June are yet to be dealt with by parliament’s HR body

Lidia Thorpe has expressed frustration with the slow progress on a new watchdog to hold politicians accountable for bad behaviour, as the federal government prepares plans for a workplace body with the power to punish parliamentarians for misconduct.

The independent parliamentary standards commission, a key recommendation for fixing the culture in Parliament House, will be given the power to investigate and sanction MPs and senators and is expected to be up and running later this year if it gains multipartisan support.

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

Continue reading...

Planet-eating stars more common than previously thought, astrophysicists find

Posted on by

New research from Australian scientists shows strong evidence even mid-life stable stars like our sun have engulfed entire planets

Planet-eating stars are more abundant in the universe than previously thought, an Australian-led study has found.

The study, by the Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in Three Dimensions (Astro 3D), looked at “co-natal” or twin stars, born from the same molecular cloud, where one had “eaten” a planet and the other had not.

Continue reading...