Category Archives: Australia news

Tropical Cyclone Kirrily crosses Queensland coast at Townsville

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Kirrily downgraded to category-one storm by BoM after heading inland on Thursday night

Tropical Cyclone Kirrily has crossed the coast of Queensland bringing heavy rain and very strong wind gusts.

The cyclone had been updated to a category-three storm on Thursday afternoon and crossed the Queensland coast at Townsville at 10pm. But it was then downgraded first to a category-two storm and then category one as it made its way inland, the Queensland Bureau of Meteorology said.

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Sussan Ley retreats from comments suggesting Coalition would repeal Labor’s stage-three tax cut changes

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Deputy opposition leader denies promising to roll back Albanese government’s changes and says Labor ‘lied’ about the tax cuts

The deputy opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has walked back earlier comments suggesting the Coalition would repeal Labor’s revamped tax cuts that more than double tax relief for Australians on the average income.

On Thursday, Ley clarified that the opposition’s position is to “support the existing stage-three arrangements” but denied promising to roll them back in a bid to head off a Labor campaign that the Coalition will claw back low and middle-income tax relief.

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Captain Cook statue sawn off and Queen Victoria monument defaced in Melbourne on eve of 26 January

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Both monuments reportedly spray-painted with ‘The colony will fall’ in apparent protest against Australia Day date

Victoria police are investigating “criminal damage” to a century-old Captain Cook statue in St Kilda in an apparent protest over the Australia Day public holiday.

Another statue, of Queen Victoria near the Melbourne city centre, was doused in red paint.

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Australia’s wholesale power prices fall by almost half as carbon emissions drop

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Grid faces fresh strains as heatwave roasting inland Queensland and NSW extends to Sydney

Wholesale power prices across Australia’s main electricity market almost halved at the end of 2023 compared with a year earlier, stoking hopes households may soon see smaller bills.

Spot prices in the National Electricity Market (Nem) that serves the eastern and southern states fell to an average of $48 a megawatt-hour in the December quarter, down 48% on the previous year, the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) said in a report released on Thursday. Carbon emissions also dropped to record lows.

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Albanese promises to double tax relief for average income Australians in stage-three overhaul

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Prime minister to use National Press Club address to defend new plan as the ‘right thing to do’

Anthony Albanese has pledged to more than double tax relief for Australians on the average income in a suite of low and middle income tax cuts paid for by trimming benefits to high income earners.

At the National Press Club on Thursday the prime minister will defend Labor’s plan by arguing it will still deliver “a tax cut for every taxpayer” and that modification of the stage-three tax cuts was “the right thing to do” in changed economic circumstances.

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Tropical Cyclone Kirrily forms as category one storm with Queensland coastal crossing likely on Thursday

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BoM warns of damaging winds, intense rainfall and flash flooding for some areas as residents urged to prepare and monitor forecasts

Tropical Cyclone Kirrily has officially been declared, developing into a category one storm in the Coral Sea, the Bureau of Meteorology has announced.

The storm is “expected to continue strengthening as it tracks west south-west towards the Queensland coast”, the BoM said on Wednesday evening.

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Three dead after being pulled from water off Phillip Island – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

Morrison to take up separate position at Dyne Asset Management

As we brought you just earlier, Scott Morrison will be taking up a role with international advisory and consulting firm American Global Strategies after his resignation from politics late February.

Well, firstly, I think we should be quite thoughtful of which category we’re talking about for farmers. If you’re talking about fruits and vegetables, we are in material deflation and have been for about four months … That is because of demand and supply in Australia. It’s a domestic product, it’s subject to demand and supply. It is causing pain for many of those farmers. But hopefully that situation will change with regard to the new year.

… We buy directly [where we can] from farmers, and we try and smooth out the price that they get so that they can plan and manage their business effectively.

But when you look at the red meat index, it does look like it’s trending up based on what’s happening offshore. So these things do flow through …

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Andrew O’Keefe avoids jail time for assault and drug possession convictions

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Judge tells court assault was ‘violent and degrading’ as former TV host ordered to serve 18 months on community corrections order

The former TV host Andrew O’Keefe has avoided jail despite being found guilty of “violent and degrading” domestic attacks.

The broadcaster was hit with three sets of charges over multiple incidents in 2021, including assault causing actual bodily harm, breaching a domestic violence order and possession of the synthetic stimulant drug mephedrone. O’Keefe denied the charges.

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In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org

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Asbestos found in mulch at new sites across Sydney following earlier Rozelle parklands discovery

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Hazardous material found in mulch at railway substations in Dulwich Hill, Canterbury and Campsie and alongside Prospect Highway, authorities say

Asbestos has been found in garden mulch at new locations in Sydney’s inner-west and west after the discovery of contamination at the Rozelle parklands earlier this month prompted wider testing.

The Transport for NSW (TfNSW) secretary, Josh Murray, confirmed on Wednesday that asbestos had been detected in recycled mulch used at three railway electricity substations as well as in landscaping works along a highway.

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Stage-three tax cut changes will have minimal effect on inflation, economists predict

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Banks say tax tweaks approved by Anthony Albanese’s cabinet may slow pace of RBA interest rate cuts and further reforms are needed to fill budget shortfalls

The Albanese government’s changes to the stage-three tax cuts won’t reignite inflation, although they may slow the pace of Reserve Bank interest rate cuts and more reforms are needed to close future budget gaps, economists say.

Cabinet has approved a revision to the cuts, legislated in 2019, that extends tax relief to those earning less than $45,000 a year to be paid for by reducing the benefit to higher-income earners, with full details still be formally released.

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WA police seize 30 tonnes of gold-bearing ore at back yard refinery allegedly linked to bikies

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Police charge 20 people with a total of 56 offences in three-day Kalgoorlie operation as part of crackdown on outlaw motorcycle gangs

Western Australian police say they have busted a backyard gold refinery in Kalgoorlie, seizing more than 30 tonnes of gold-bearing ore that was allegedly stolen from the region’s mines.

Investigators believe the alleged racket was connected with outlaw motorcycle gangs, and the gold-bearing ore was stolen with the intention of refining and laundering the gold to gain cash to purchase illicit drugs that would be sold to the community.

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Alice is among a growing number of Victorians battling this flesh-eating ulcer. Scientists say they now know why

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As Buruli ulcer cases rise in Victoria, Australian researchers say they have finally solved the ‘transmission enigma’

When Alice Mika was bitten by a mosquito last summer in Melbourne’s west, she didn’t think anything of it.

Then, a small raised bump appeared on her ankle more than five months later and wouldn’t go away. She saw her GP who prescribed antibiotics, believing it to be a spider bite.

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Cairns watch house worker sounds alarm over ‘massive deterioration’ in children’s physical and mental health

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Exclusive: anonymised notes reveal concerns about injuries, self-harm, security incidents and sickness in overcrowded cells

A child locked in the Cairns police watch house is self-harming by banging his head against the cell walls.

Anonymised notes about more than a dozen children in the far north Queensland watch house last week, seen by Guardian Australia, detail concerns about sickness spreading in the overcrowded cells, injuries and serious security incidents.

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Psychologists renew demand for doubling of Medicare-subsidised sessions

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Peak body also campaigning for a reduction in the growing gap fee as the cost-of-living crisis puts increases financial strain

Psychologists are renewing calls for the federal government to double the number of subsidised psychology sessions a patient can access, along with reducing the growing gap fee, as the cost-of-living crisis puts households under financial strain.

The Australian Association of Psychologists Inc, one of two psychology peak bodies, wants the federal government to lift the Medicare rebate by more than $50 for some sessions and increase the number of subsidised sessions from 10 to 20.

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‘Disturbing’ findings of NSW evacuation centre violence and sexual assaults triggers safety protocols review

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University of Newcastle research has found some women in emergency shelters during the devastating Lismore floods reported sexual assaults and violence

Safety protocols at mass evacuation centres will be investigated after researchers found women had been subjected to violence and sexual assaults in the immediate aftermath of the devastating northern rivers floods of 2022.

The review by the Department of Communities and Justice and the New South Wales police is slated to begin later this year and will consider the role of police officers and triaging, as recommended by University of Newcastle researchers.

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Labor urged to recognise Palestinian state ‘without further delay’ after Israeli PM’s rejection of two-state solution

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Palestinian diplomat Izzat Abdulhadi says Australia must do more than express disappointment at Benjamin Netanyahu’s stance

A Palestinian diplomat has implored the Australian government to recognise Palestine as a state “without further delay” after what he called the Israeli prime minister’s “appalling but not surprising” rejection of a two-state solution.

The comments from the head of the general delegation of Palestine to Australia, Izzat Abdulhadi, come after two Labor MPs also urged the government to fast-track recognition of Palestinian statehood, whereas the Coalition said the immediate priority should be “security and stability”.

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EY Oceania accused of potential conflict of interest over government contracts on climate policy

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Exclusive: Consultancy firm supported oil and gas industry lobbying while being paid for independent advice on Albanese’s signature climate policy

Consultancy firm EY Oceania was supporting the oil and gas industry’s lobbying efforts while being paid by the federal government for independent advice on its signature climate policy and gas emissions.

The firm, which is a member of the oil and gas lobby and audits Santos, insists there was no conflict of interest between its work for industry and government. But a bipartisan group of politicians and transparency advocates is not convinced and has demanded more information.

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Australia news live: SA swelters as heatwave warnings issued in other states; fire ants nest south of Byron Bay destroyed

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Follow the latest updates live

Homelessness increasing across Australia, report finds

In January every year, the Productivity Commission releases its Report on Government Services, which “monitor[s] the performance of Australian governments in the delivery of important services to the community”.

The first thing is to stay connected with the emergency messaging and understand the alerts that may and will come out as the cyclone approaches the coast.

But more importantly, use the next 48 hours to 72 hours to prepare yourself and your family for a potential cyclone crossing and flooding event after. You can do simple things like keep the fuel in your car topped up now, make sure you have enough food in your house for 72 hours, [and] make sure you have battery charging packs for your phone. Very simple things you can do.

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Pat Cummins says he supports changing the date of Australia Day

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  • Cricket Australia not branding Gabba Test for public holiday
  • Men’s cricket captain says country could ‘choose a better date’

Pat Cummins has called for a change to the date of Australia Day, backing the decision for the term not to be used in marketing for the Brisbane Test.

Cricket Australia (CA) have chosen not to brand this week’s second Test against West Indies as “the Australia Day match”, or use the term at the Gabba on day two on 26 January.

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Kurtley Beale trial: jury to be shown CCTV footage of Wallabies star allegedly groping woman

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Rugby union player pleads not guilty and denies groping and sexually assaulting the complainant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, at Bondi Beach venue in 2022

Footage showing the Wallabies star Kurtley Beale allegedly groping a woman at a pub before sexually assaulting her in a bathroom will be played to a jury as he fights the accusations.

More than an hour of recorded CCTV from the Beach Road Hotel near Bondi beach is expected to be played to the New South Wales district court jury hearing the case on Tuesday.

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