Category Archives: Australia news

Australian properties for lease fall to record low as rents soar

Posted on by

PropTrack report finds number of December listings 30.2% below past decade’s monthly average as housing advocates say government policies are failing

Tenants are continuing to feel the pain of rising rents with the number of listings falling to another record low, according to the PropTrack Rental Report.

The report, released on Tuesday, found that total rental listings on realestate.com.au in December were at a record low, sitting 30.2% below the average over the past decade for the month.

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

Continue reading...

Australia to spend $80m on business case for Sydney-Newcastle high speed rail

Posted on by

The announcement of a business case budget is the latest development in the Albanese government’s slow moving high speed rail project

The Albanese government will spend $80m developing a business case for the Sydney-to-Newcastle stretch of its east coast high speed rail line, as the decades-long project inches further forward.

The transport minister, Catherine King, said the allocation of $78.8m was part of Labor’s $500m election commitment to the early stages of high speed rail, with the initial Sydney-Newcastle leg representing a “crucial waypoint” on the project.

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

Continue reading...

Guardian Essential poll: one in two voters back stage-three tax cuts changes

Posted on by

Labor’s bid to skew package towards low- and middle-income earners given boost, as only 22% say it should go ahead unchanged

Almost half of voters support revising the stage-three tax cuts to help low- and middle-income earners while only about one in five believe the plan should go ahead unchanged in July.

That is the result of the Guardian Essential poll of 1,201 voters, which provides a boost for the Albanese government’s plan to reform the tax package, finding only 22% of respondents agreed the previously legislated cuts should be left untouched.

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

Continue reading...

Australian air fares halved when three carriers rather than one fly route, data reveals

Posted on by

Assistant competition minister Andrew Leigh says it is often cheaper to fly from Darwin to Singapore than to Sydney as Labor targets monopolies

Ticket prices are halved when three airlines fly a route compared with a monopoly situation and fares fall further as more rivals are added, according to new findings designed to inform Australia’s competition and merger laws.

The assistant competition minister, Andrew Leigh, will tell a Melbourne audience on Tuesday there are worrying signs that competition intensity has weakened over recent decades, with evidence of increased market concentration and profit markups in several industries.

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

Continue reading...

Fears back-to-back cyclones may have damaged Great Barrier Reef

Posted on by

Strong waves and sediment-laden freshwater pushed out from river catchments may have damaged parts of reef system, experts say

Back-to-back cyclones crossing the Great Barrier Reef have experts concerned vast flood plumes and heavy waves may have damaged parts of the world’s biggest coral reef system.

Reef scientists and conservationists went into the summer worried that an El Niño weather pattern would elevate the risk of mass coral bleaching.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: NSW police say neo-Nazis rallying in Sydney ‘may well be recruiting’; PM plays down being booed at tennis

Posted on by

Follow the day’s news live

Paterson calls for ‘swift and decisive action’ against neo-Nazi groups

Over the weekend, NSW premier Chris Minns doubled down on his push to tighten anti-vilification laws after a group of neo-Nazis attempted to hold another rally in a public park.

I’d like to see swift and decisive action taken against these neo-Nazi groups who have no place in Australia.

I never thought we would see [something like this] in such a demonstrable way in a pluralistic country like Australia.

It’s the reason why the federal parliament, before Christmas, went to the extraordinary step of passing laws to ban Nazi symbols being publicly displayed, to ban the Nazi salute. And it’s critically important that those laws are rigorously enforced so that people understand there are consequences for this action.

Continue reading...

War crime accused seeks bail change to fly across Australia

Posted on by

Oliver Jordan Schulz, who is accused of murder over the shooting of a young Afghan, applied for his bail conditions to be loosened

A former SAS soldier and accused war criminal requires assessment by police checking in on him while on bail because his military training presents a physical danger, a court has heard.

Oliver Jordan Schulz, 42, is expected to be able to fly to Perth to visit his lawyers after a bail variation hearing at Sydney’s Downing Centre local court on Monday.

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

Continue reading...

Snowtown ‘bodies-in-the-barrels’ accomplice Mark Ray Haydon due for release in May

Posted on by

SA government seeks legal advice on whether new laws criminalising concealing or interfering with human remains could keep inmate in jail

A man imprisoned for his involvement the Snowtown murders, one of Australia’s most notorious crimes, could be free within months.

Mark Ray Haydon was convicted for his role in the so-called “bodies in the barrels” murders in Snowtown, South Australia, in the 1990s. Eight of the 11 people killed were found in barrels in a disused bank vault in the town, which is 150km north of Adelaide. A 12th death was linked to the killers.

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

Continue reading...

Victoria’s Robinsons Bookshop apologises after owner’s call for more ‘white kids’ on book covers

Posted on by

Susanne Horman’s comments have been ‘taken out of context’ and ‘misrepresented’, business says

Victoria’s oldest independent bookshop has apologised after its owner called for more picture books with “just white kids on the cover” and claimed that the chain would stop stocking “woke agenda” content that divided people.

Susanne Horman, the owner of Robinsons Bookshop chain, posted a series of tweets in December where she called for an “substantial shift” in Australian publishing, arguing the focus should be in line with public opinion, requests for books and “for what is good”.

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

Continue reading...

Working-class communities in Coalition-held seats the biggest winners in Labor’s stage-three tax cuts overhaul

Posted on by

Nearly 90% of areas in Australia better off under new plan, with taxpayers in remote and regional communities to gain the most, ANU analysis shows

Working-class communities in Coalition-held remote and regional electorates stand to gain the most from Labor’s proposed changes to income tax cuts, while voters in the byelection seat of Dunkley are also big winners.

The average taxpayer in Whitsunday, in the electorate of Dawson, East Pilbara in Durack, and Cairns in Leichhardt stands to gain over $600 more from Labor’s package than the Morrison government’s stage-three tax cuts, according to an analysis by the Australian National University associate professor Ben Phillips.

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

Continue reading...

NSW watchdog failed to act on contamination risk despite ‘damning’ asbestos findings

Posted on by

Exclusive: environmental regulator has known for more than a decade that contaminated soil fill might have been used in childcare centres, schools and parks

The New South Wales environmental regulator has known for more than a decade that producers of soil fill made from construction and demolition waste were failing to comply with rules to limit the spread of contaminants such as lead and asbestos into the community.

Internal documents from the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), obtained by Guardian Australia, warned widespread breaches by industry meant potentially contaminated product might have been applied to land across the state, including at childcare centres, residential areas, schools and parks.

Continue reading...

Billionaire Sydney property developer and philanthropist Lang Walker dies aged 78

Posted on by

Family pays tribute to ‘visionary’ who ‘changed the lives of so many people’ through his building projects and donations

Billionaire Sydney property developer Lang Walker AO has died, aged 78.

In a statement released on Sunday, his family hailed Walker as a “devoted and loving husband, father and grandfather” and “visionary” who shaped postwar Australia with his expansive builds.

Continue reading...

Deadliest six months on Australian roads since 2010 leaves industry demanding answers

Posted on by

Motoring association criticises data quality and say Australia has ‘no credible plan’ to reduce incidents as nation records 677 deaths since July 2023

The second half of 2023 was the deadliest six months on Australian roads since 2010, but there is “no credible plan” to make roads safer, the industry claims, as it pleads for better data to understand what is causing the surge in fatal crashes.

In the three months to September 2023, there were 341 road deaths nationally. The following quarter’s figures decreased only slightly from that, with a further 336 deaths recorded to the end of December. The total 677 road deaths in the final six months of 2023 was the largest half-yearly road toll since the first half of 2010, when 688 people died on roads across Australia.

Continue reading...

NSW premier warns ‘pathetic’ neo-Nazis they will be exposed after attempted rally in Sydney park

Posted on by

Gathering of at least 20 black-clad, masked men at Artarmon Reserve follows confrontation with police resulting in six arrests on Friday

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has doubled down on his push to tighten anti-vilification laws after a group of neo-Nazis attempted to hold another rally in a public park on Sunday morning.

Police responded to the gathering of at least 20 black-clad, masked men who gathered at Artarmon Reserve at 9am on Sunday.

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

Continue reading...

Tropical Cyclone Kirrily: disaster grants offered as tens of thousands in north Queensland remain without power

Posted on by

More than 23,000 residents without electricity days after category-three storm lashed coast on Thursday

Cyclone-affected residents have been offered disaster assistance in northern Queensland, where tens of thousands of customers remain without power.

Personal hardship assistance grants have been offered to residents of the Townsville and Burdekin shires after Tropical Cyclone Kirrily crossed the coast on Thursday evening.

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

Continue reading...

Oliver the most popular boys’ baby name in Queensland for 11th year in a row as Isla tops girls’ list

Posted on by

The two names also held the top spots together in 2021, highlighting the ongoing popularity of both names with Queensland parents

Oliver and Isla have topped the list of Queensland’s most popular baby names for 2023.

Isla was the most frequent name for 285 newborn girls in 2023, while Oliver retained first place for names for boys (451) – for the 11th year in a row.

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

Continue reading...

Queensland police launch internal investigation after officers fatally shoot man during ‘mental health incident’

Posted on by

Man declared dead at the scene in Mount Louisa on Sunday, with ethical standards command to investigate the death

Queensland police have launched an internal investigation after a man was shot and killed by officers during a “mental health incident” in suburban Townsville.

In a statement, the Queensland Police Service (QPS) claimed the man was armed with a knife and had “threatened” officers who had been called to attend a home at Mount Louisa just after midnight on Sunday. Police officers arrived at the scene an hour later.

Continue reading...

Australia pauses UN agency funding as staff investigated for suspected role in 7 October attack on Israel

Posted on by

Penny Wong says allegations are deeply concerning as UNRWA investigates several employees accused of taking part in Hamas attacks

Australia will temporarily pause its funding of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) while an investigation is under way into several employees accused of taking part in Hamas’s 7 October attacks in Israel, the foreign minister has announced.

Penny Wong on Saturday said Australia will join its likeminded partners in the US and Canada in pausing the funding. She said Australia was deeply concerned about the allegations.

Continue reading...

Nearly 50,000 still without power in Townsville in wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily as clean-up begins

Posted on by

Outages also affecting phone networks and water supplies for about 10,000 Queensland households, premier says, as restoration efforts continue

Thousands of Townsville residents are still without power as northern Queensland begins to clean up after ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily.

Damaging winds and rainfall totals from 100-150mm hit regions on Thursday evening but minimal property damage was recorded.

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

Continue reading...

Menindee fish kills: inconsistent pesticide levels sparks calls for review of water testing methods

Posted on by

Experts call for review after two sets of water samples from the Darling-Baaka River reported by the state’s top scientific bodies contained different results

Experts are calling for more sensitive water quality testing in the Darling-Baaka River amid concerns that pesticides could be contributing to poor conditions, blue-green algae blooms and fish deaths.

It follows two of the state’s top scientific bodies publishing test results from water samples taken near Menindee in far western New South Wales which contained inconsistent results.

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

Continue reading...