NT WorkSafe has charged the celebrity croc-wrangler and his aviation company Helibrook with ‘reckless conduct for operating unsafe aircraft’
Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright and his aviation company have been hit with a slew of new charges over a fatal chopper crash that killed his co-star.
Chris Wilson plunged to his death in a remote area of the Northern Territory in February 2022 while attached to a helicopter owned by Wright and being flown by pilot Sebastian Robinson.
Continue reading...Marape hails Whitlam for ‘hearing the cries of the founding fathers of Papua New Guinea for our own self-determination’. Follow the day’s news live
David Littleproud continued:
But there needs to be greater architectural reform, which is also what Professor Fels articulated, which is what the Nationals have said. When there’s too much market concentration, you have too much power.
And all we’re saying is that whether it is in the supermarket [or farm gate], we want fair prices from the farm gate to the supermarket gate.
I think that he demonstrated the need and reinforced what the Nationals have been calling for, when there’s evidence, clear evidence around price gouging.
We saw that with meat prices where farm grade prices dropped by 60% or 70% in June. Yet, the checkout price only dropped by 18%. They put pressure all the way down through the supply chain. And what Allan Fels has said in his inquiry is that we need to have more ACCC price investigations, where there’s clear evidence. And that’s what we were calling for and the government ignored that. And I think shoppers have paid too much.
Continue reading...The council narrowly voted against a community consultation on the ‘location and context’ of the explorer’s Port Phillip memorial
A Melbourne council has narrowly voted against asking local residents whether it should restore or permanently remove a Captain Cook statue that was sawn off at the ankles just before Australia Day.
There was heated debate at a Port Phillip council meeting on Wednesday night over a motion to consult the community on the statue’s future, before it was voted down five votes to four. Some councillors were reprimanded and a member of the packed public gallery was asked to leave after several interjections.
Continue reading...Fifty-one-year-old was last seen leaving her home in Victoria early on Sunday morning to go for a run
Emergency crews continue to search for the missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy, who disappeared five days ago after going for a run.
The 51-year-old was last seen leaving her Eureka Street home at Ballarat East about 7am on Sunday.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Letter to prime minister demands federal government pay at least a quarter of public school funding cost
School principals have joined the teachers’ union in demanding the Albanese government boost its offer to co-fund the gap in public school funding with states.
The Australian Education Union, leaders of all major principals’ organisations and the Australian Council of State School Organisations have written to the prime minister demanding the federal government pay at least a quarter of the cost of fair public school funding.
Continue reading...Open letter urges commission to take stronger action over Israeli actions in Palestine as organisation says focus is on issues within Australia
The Australian Human Rights Commission is facing pressure from staff over what they claim is an inadequate response to Israel’s war in Gaza.
Staff across eight of the commission’s teams – at least 24 of the 122 staff employed – wrote to the commission’s president, Rosalind Croucher, last week. The letter expressed “frustration at the commission’s failure to fulfil its mandate as an accredited national human rights institution in regard to Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank”.
Continue reading...The festivities’ popularity isn’t lost on older migrants from Asia, who arrived in a country very different from today’s Australia
Simon Chan has watched Sydney’s lunar new year celebrations grow over the past two decades, from the small-scale events of the early 90s to what are today thought to be the largest outside Asia.
“Its almost like having a World Cup or the Olympics again, obviously on a smaller scale but the feeling is similar,” says Chan, the president of the Chinese Australian Forum, adding: “We see thousands and thousands of people descend on these events, its massive here.”
Continue reading...Committee says safeguard mechanism will help cut emissions and ban on projects emitting more than 100,000 tonnes of CO2 not needed
A Senate committee has recommended the parliament vote down a bill that would insert a climate trigger into Australia’s national environmental laws.
The bill, introduced by the Greens, would for the first time require the environment minister to consider the climate impact of a major development during the assessment process under Australia’s environmental laws.
Continue reading...Ombudsman’s scathing report finds agencies have ‘little acknowledgement’ of impact of detention on detainees’ health
The Australian government has failed to set up an appropriate process to deport people held in immigration detention, a scathing report by the independent watchdog has found.
The commonwealth ombudsman found the Australian Border Force and home affairs department’s processes do not contain “timeframes for steps” towards deportation “or otherwise adequately reflect the significant impact of any delay upon a person’s liberty”.
Continue reading...Greens say Israel’s actions ‘a slaughter’ and Labor says other parties trying to ‘divide our community’
The Australian government has demanded that Israel comply with orders issued by the International Court of Justice, but rebuffed the Greens’ calls to describe the war in Gaza as “a slaughter”.
In a fiery debate in parliament on Wednesday, the Greens said the government’s claim to be playing a constructive role was “a sick joke”, while the Coalition accused Labor of “trying to walk both sides of the street”.
Continue reading...Queensland government approves Winchester South mine despite report warning of potential ‘climate change consequences’
The Queensland government has approved a mega coalmine project which environmentalists say poses “unacceptable threats” to Queenslanders’ human rights.
The project now goes for federal approval, where it could become the biggest coalmine given the green light since the Albanese government came to power.
Continue reading...State’s investment in Pacific Metal Group in October 2022 was described by treasurer Tim Pallas as a ‘win for everyone’
The Victorian government is set to lose millions of dollars it invested in a scrap metal recycling company, after the business went into administration earlier this year.
The Victorian Business Growth Fund investment in Pacific Metal Group, reportedly worth $10m, will probably be lost after the company collapsed in January after a fire at its scrapyard in Laverton North.
Continue reading...Adam Bandt says changes to industrial relations bill mean ‘when you clock off, you’ll be able to switch off’
Labor’s so-called “closing loopholes” bill is set to pass parliament after deals with the crossbench, including inserting a Greens amendment creating a right to disconnect from work for employees.
On Wednesday the Greens announced the Albanese government had accepted the right to disconnect, which will prevent employees being punished for refusing to take unreasonable work calls or answer emails in their unpaid personal time.
Continue reading...The ‘Juno’ training helicopters will support essential training for aircrew before the arrival of new Black Hawks from the US later this year. Follow the day’s news live
The ADF expects that the training helicopters will be available for operations in Oakey in Queensland by around the middle of this year.
The government will argue these helicopters have been chosen because they can perform a variety of roles “including personnel and equipment transport and Defence assistance to the civil community”.
We need a highly capable Army. When the tough but necessary decision was made last year to expedite the withdrawal of the MRH-90s from service, it meant that we needed to look at all options when it came to filling the capability gap and the training which our servicemen and women need.
We have been working with the United States and United Kingdom on ways in which we can bridge this gap, and their support and willingness with the acceleration of the Black Hawks and leasing of training helicopters will have a significant impact.
Continue reading...Anthony Albanese and James Marape to meet on Thursday amid rising domestic pressures on the PNG leader
Australia will roll out the red carpet to the visiting Papua New Guinea prime minister, James Marape, amid efforts to stall China’s security talks with the Pacific country.
Marape is due to arrive in Canberra on Wednesday before he addresses a joint sitting of the Australian parliament on Thursday – the first Pacific leader to be afforded this honour.
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Continue reading...PM says opposition ‘tying themselves in knots’ as parliament resumes. Follow the day’s news live
School funding data
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Continue reading...The SES rescued three people from flood waters as the tropical low moved south over the Queensland border, with more wet weather forecast
New South Wales was lashed with torrential rain in the early hours of Tuesday, and three people were rescued from flood waters in their cars, as ex-tropical cyclone Kirrily moved across the state.
After wreaking havoc in Queensland, the ex-tropical cyclone crossed the border into western NSW on Monday afternoon, bringing heavy rainfall and flash flooding to inland communities, before reaching Sydney around 5am and bringing 21mm of rain and localised flash flooding.
Continue reading...Climber, identified by police as a 29-year-old Newry man, believed to have reached top of 163m-tall residential building about 7.30am
Police say they have spoken to a man who scaled a 163m-tall residential tower in Melbourne’s city centre without a harness, while another person filmed him using a drone.
According to Victorian police, the man was seen climbing the side of 60 A’Beckett Street about 7.30am. He did not appear to be using any safety equipment.
Continue reading...Vyleen White was stabbed to death in Redbank Plains car park in front of her six-year-old granddaughter
Queensland police have charged a teenage boy with the murder of Ipswich woman Vyleen White in a shopping centre car park on Saturday.
The 16-year-old Bellbird Park boy has been charged with one count of murder, one count of unlawful use of a motor vehicle and three counts of stealing.
Continue reading...Study finds ‘unprovoked’ attacks were more common for surfers than swimmers
Australia is home to a disproportionate number of deadly shark attacks, with isolated areas carrying a greater risk of fatalities, international research has found.
The 10 fatal attacks globally in 2023 doubled the five in the previous year, with four of last year’s deaths occurring in Australia.
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