Category Archives: Australia news

‘I couldn’t hide from it any more’: lockdowns drove Chantelle to the brink, and she wasn’t alone

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Exclusive: Sydney University’s Alone Together study finds one-third of group of young adults had moderate to severe symptoms over the two years of lockdowns

In 2020 Chantelle Fogg was 23 and the primary carer for her teenage brother. She had been stood down without pay from her job in hospitality and was in a marriage that was breaking down.

“I had put up with [a lot] for [many] years … and it wasn’t until I was at home all the time, and it was in my face and I couldn’t hide from it any more, that I decided that I’d had enough,” she said.

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Alleged Russian organised crime suspect charged over explosives and firearms cache in Victoria

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After a lengthy, multiple-agency investigation, officers unearthed guns and ammunition at a Mornington Peninsula property

Three men, including an alleged Russian organised crime suspect, have been charged after a cache of explosives, guns and drugs were seized from a rural Victorian property.

A lengthy investigation led officers to a property at Tyabb on the Mornington Peninsula on Wednesday where they dug up six storage cases of sophisticated explosive devices.

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Flood warnings prompt evacuations in NT as Queensland braces for incoming cyclone

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Bom says it’s still ‘too early to say’ how strong a potential cyclone may be and when it could reach land

Far north Queensland is bracing for a second natural disaster in about a month while flooding has forced people to flee their homes in the Northern Territory.

Meanwhile, a swathe of Western Australia is enduring temperatures approaching 50C.

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Police hunt for attacker after taxi driver and food delivery driver stabbed in Sydney suburb

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According to a police spokesperson the same man was involved in both the attacks in Redfern

A 38-year-old taxi driver and a 25-year-old food delivery driver were stabbed in two separate incidents in a Sydney suburb, with police now appealing to the public for information.

Emergency services were called to the intersection of Walker and James streets in Redfern before 11pm, where they found a 38-year-old taxi driver with injuries to his chest and hand.

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Fire ants detected south of Byron Bay after gardener raises alarm

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NSW authorities are working to determine how long the pest has been in the area and how they arrived

Invasive fire ants are continuing their march south, prompting a plea for vigilance, after a nest was detected at Wardell, south of Byron Bay, the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries says.

A gardener raised the alarm on Friday after disturbing the nest and being bitten, suffering what was described as blistering pain.

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Labor MP condemns Netanyahu’s rejection of Palestinian state as a step toward apartheid

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Julian Hill labels Israeli prime minister’s position ‘appalling’ as he calls for financial consequences for Israeli settlers

Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration he rejects any moves to establish a Palestinian state after Israel’s offensive in Gaza has been labelled “appalling” and a step toward “apartheid” by influential Labor MP Julian Hill.

Hill has called for a suite of measures to respond, including financial consequences for Israeli settlers and an international push to fast-track recognition of a Palestinian state. The left faction convener argued that the “vast majority of the world recognises Israeli sovereignty only within the 1967 borders”.

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‘We’ve got to break them up’: farming groups say supermarkets use market power to distort prices

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Claim comes amid state and federal inquiries into Australian grocery sector and what producers say is a widening gap between wholesale and shelf prices

Farming groups have accused the major supermarkets of using their power to distort the market, leading to elevated prices for shoppers and low prices for producers.

The claim comes amid falling global prices for agricultural goods that have failed to dent grocery bills, and growing scrutiny of supermarket pricing practices through newly announced federal and state parliamentary inquiries.

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Linda Reynolds seeks advice on bid to freeze Brittany Higgins’ assets in France

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The former minister aims to apply order in France where her former staffer, whom she is suing for defamation, now lives

Linda Reynolds says she is awaiting advice on whether a bid to freeze Brittany Higgins’ assets could apply in France where the former Liberal staffer she is suing now lives.

The Western Australian senator is suing Higgins, and her partner David Sharaz, in the state’s supreme court over social media posts that contained a list of complaints against the former defence minister.

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BoM forecasts category three storm – as it happened

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Victoria police recover over $600,000 worth of drugs in raids

A man has had to let go of his prized Lego collection yesterday after police seized more than $600,000 worth of 1,4-Butanediol – a chemical that mirrors the drug GHB when ingested.

34kg of iodine – a precursor to methylamphetamine.

32kg of hypophosphorus acid – a precursor to methylamphetamine.

Illegal steroids.

Methylamphetamine.

A handgun.

An extendable baton.

Ammunition.

Three digital devices.

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‘We’ll do better’: NSW transport boss apologises for missed email on Rozelle parklands asbestos

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‘It was unfortunate this discovery was over a holiday period,’ Howard Collins says while warning of further traffic delays at Rozelle interchange

The head of Transport for New South Wales has admitted it wasn’t good enough that it took a week for the department to respond to reports of potential asbestos in mulch at the Rozelle parklands.

The TfNSW coordinator general, Howard Collins, said the department was “so grateful” to the member of the public who alerted the agency to the asbestos contamination on 2 January.

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Faulty ebike battery sparks fire that guts Sydney apartment

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Several people lucky to escape North Bondi blaze that has prompted a warning about lithium-ion batteries

Several people have been lucky to escape after a faulty ebike battery sparked a fire that engulfed a Sydney beachside apartment.

The ebike had been left to charge in the bedroom of a North Bondi unit overnight, Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) said on Friday while warning of the risks posed by lithium-ion batteries.

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Queensland cyclone warning: premier urges residents on parts of coast to prepare for potential ‘severe impact’

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Storm brewing in the Coral Sea could develop into a cyclone and hit the coast mid-next week, BoM weather update says

The Queensland premier, Steven Miles, has urged residents of parts of the state to be prepared for an incoming cyclone, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning of a potential “severe impact” if it hits the coast mid-next week.

On Friday morning, the BoM forecast that there was a 55% chance a storm brewing in the Coral Sea would develop into a tropical cyclone to be named Kirrily by late Sunday, rising to 75% on Monday. It could become a category three system or even stronger before hitting land.

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Kalgoorlie faces a week without electricity amid heatwave due to WA power outages

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Businesses close, and water supply, internet and fuel affected as outback town swelters in temperatures forecast to hit 40C

Residents in Australia’s largest outback town, Kalgoorlie, are facing up to a week without power while sweltering through a major heatwave that has forced the closure of businesses and medical centres.

More than 20,000 homes and businesses began to face blackouts in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt, Goldfields and Great Southern regions on Wednesday following severe storms and bushfires, including “most homes and businesses” in Kalgoorlie, according to WA police.

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Queensland launches inquiry into grocery price gouging following premier’s meeting with major supermarkets

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Executives of Woolworths, Coles and Aldi have agreed to appear at hearings, Steven Miles said, amid concerns from farmers and consumers

Queensland’s state government will launch an inquiry into alleged grocery price gouging – despite the jurisdiction having few powers to combat the issue, the premier said.

The premier, Steven Miles, said terms of reference are being drafted and the committee will be formed in the first sitting week of parliament for the year, next month.

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Former Sydney teacher didn’t begin relationship with student until after she left school, court told

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Maths teacher claims student made ‘constant calls’ to family home and says they tried to ‘put a stop to it’

A former elite Sydney high school teacher accused of unlawful sexual activity with a student didn’t start a relationship with her until the girl actively pursued the teacher after she left the school, a court has heard.

The mathematics teacher, who cannot legally be named, is on trial at Downing centre court for allegedly forming a sexual relationship with a minor after she became their pupil in 1984. The teacher has pleaded not guilty to one charge of carnal knowledge.

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Concerns a Sydney apartment complex is at risk of collapse downplayed by NSW watchdog and planning minister

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Building commissioner says he is confident defects at 900-apartment complex in Macquarie Park ‘will be rectified’, while minister says faults don’t pose a risk

The New South Wales building watchdog and the state’s planning minister have downplayed concerns over 900 apartments in Sydney’s north that were at risk of collapse after defects were discovered in the basements of the buildings.

The building commissioner, David Chandler, on Thursday said he was distressed that people who lived in the Macquarie Park building had been stressed by the news and he moved to assure the public there was “no risk to this building”.

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Thousands of Western Australian households left without power after wild storm

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Heavy rain and winds hit central wheat belt, goldfields, south coastal and great southern districts shortly after BoM severe weather warning, leading to widespread power outage

About 15,000 households are without power in the south-western region of Western Australia after a thunderstorm tore through the area.

Western Power confirmed the number of homes without power had dropped from the 23,000 reported on Wednesday evening, but could not give a timeframe for power restoration.

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Data shows ‘collapse’ in full-time roles – as it happened

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Pat Conroy says Ukraine-requested helicopters are not cleared for flight

The defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, is speaking to ABC RN about a request from Ukraine to receive Australia’s retired fleet of MRH-90 Taipan helicopters. The helicopters were retired earlier than planned after a crash in Queensland killed four Defence personnel during a training exercise last year:

Anyone who suggests that these aircraft have been cleared is wrong and they are making, quite frankly, really offensive suggestions at a time when people are really grieving.

I think it’s really important that those investigations keep working to establish the cause of that accident. These aircraft are [not in] flying condition, and we still do not know whether they’re safe to fly.

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Record number of flesh-eating Buruli ulcer cases prompts warning in Victoria

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Health authorities warn people living in or visiting coastal areas to cover up in warmer months as a precaution against the mosquito-linked condition

Victorian health authorities tracked a record number of flesh-eating ulcers cases last year, prompting a warning to cover up in warmer months.

In 2023, 363 Buruli ulcer cases were diagnosed in Victorians but most were not severe. The ulcers, caused by bacteria, can create significant skin damage including painful lumps, limb swelling and occasionally severe pain.

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Threat of another cyclone looms for Queensland as heavy rain continues across Australia’s north

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Damaging weather and heavy rain pummels Darwin as BoM forecasts another cyclone could cross Queensland’s east coast from Tuesday

Queensland residents face the threat of another cyclone reaching their shores within days as intense rain continues across Australia’s north.

A tropical low building in the Coral Sea is expected to turn towards the coast from Sunday, with the system most likely becoming a tropical cyclone by Monday.

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