Category Archives: Australia news

Australian universities to cut about 2,400 jobs and hundreds of courses as sector blames ‘confused’ government policies

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Vice-chancellors say they’ve been forced to restructure but critics point finger at ‘unaccountable’ university management

Hundreds of university courses within teaching, languages, archaeology and media are among those being slashed as the tertiary sector pushes back against “confused” government policies.

Almost half of Australia’s universities have restructured in the past year, leading to the merging or disbanding of more than 50 schools of study and drastic reductions in course options for students, particularly in the humanities.

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‘We want builders on site, not filling in forms’: Albanese government cuts red tape in bid to boost home building

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Pausing changes to Construction Code, establishment of ‘strike team’ within environment department and use of AI in planning among reforms

The Albanese government has promised to cut red tape and fast track environmental approvals for new homes in an effort to address Australia’s housing crisis.

On Saturday, the government announced plans to pause further residential changes to the National Construction Code and to streamline the assessment of more than 26,000 homes under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

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David Littleproud vows to take nuclear energy to next election and claims ‘no malice’ behind brief Coalition split

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Nationals leader rails against regional Australia becoming littered with transmission lines, solar panels and wind turbines at LNP conference

The Nationals are vowing to introduce nuclear power to Australia’s energy mix, promising to take the policy to the next election after it contributed to a split in the Coalition.

Nationals leader David Littleproud explained to party faithful on Saturday what led to his party’s week-long decoupling from the Liberals following the May federal election rout.

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An EV road user charge is looming. Could it slam the brakes on Australia’s clean car transition?

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The revenue from fuel excise is falling but it’s not only because of EVs, which make up less than 2% of cars on the roads

Every time a driver puts 10 litres of fuel in their car, they’re paying about $5 in tax that goes to the federal government.

That is, of course, unless they drive an electric vehicle. No petrol or diesel being bought means the government loses that 51c per litre.

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Lobbying rules in NSW are woefully inadequate but Icac’s calls for reform keep getting ignored

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The state’s corruption watchdog is up against the age-old dynamic of cosy relationships: no one on the inside of politics wants to change

Australia’s parliaments aren’t just filled with MPs, staff and media – but also armies of lobbyists seeking an audience or a coffee with the people who can affect their interests with the stroke of a pen.

Millions of dollars are at stake. Will the government rezone land? Tweak a law that makes an activity legal? Exempt an activity from tax or grant an environmental approval?

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Woman charged with concealing birth of deceased child after infant’s body found in WA drain

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The infant’s mother, in her 30s, had been assisting police with enquiries since Wednesday

A woman has been charged with concealing the birth of a deceased child after the body of a baby boy was found in a storm water drain in Perth.

The woman, in her 30s, had been assisting police with enquiries since Wednesday following the discovery of the infant on Monday afternoon.

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Outback Wrangler star agreed helicopter pilot had ‘thrown everyone under the bus’ in covert recording played in court

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Matt Wright has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice

The reality TV star Matt Wright’s home was bugged with listening devices and phone taps for three months as police sought evidence of a cover-up following a fatal helicopter crash, a jury has heard.

Covert recordings of Wright’s conversations have played a key part in his trial at the Northern Territory supreme court in Darwin.

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News live: Australia says Israel’s West Bank settlement plan is ‘unacceptable’ and demands press access to Gaza

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Albanese government joins 20 other countries in condemning Israeli plan to expand Jewish settlements. Follow today’s news live

Australia signs international statement to allow media access to Gaza

It’s been a busy night for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

In light of the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, we, the undersigned members of the Media Freedom Coalition, urge Israel to allow immediate independent foreign media access and afford protection for journalists operating in Gaza.

Journalists and media workers play an essential role in putting the spotlight on the devastating reality of war. Access to conflict zones is vital to carrying out this role effectively. We oppose all attempts to restrict press freedom and block entry to journalists during conflicts.

The decision by the Israeli higher planning committee to approve plans for settlement construction in the E1 area, East of Jerusalem, is unacceptable and a violation of international law.

We condemn this decision and call for its immediate reversal in the strongest terms.

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Victoria’s mountain ash forests could lose a quarter of ‘giant’ trees as temperatures rise

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Eucalyptus regnans – which regularly reach 60 to 80m tall – lose about 9% of their trees for every degree of warming, research finds

Victoria’s mountain ash forests are thinning rapidly as the globe heats up, and could lose a quarter of their “giant” trees that grow up to 80m tall in the coming decades, research has found.

Forests of Eucalyptus regnans – one of the tallest tree species in the world – lose about 9% of their trees for every degree of warming, according to a University of Melbourne-led study published in Nature Communications.

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‘Gender ideology’, quotas and anti-discrimination laws on the agenda for Queensland LNP state conference

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Despite premier David Crisafulli’s wish for his party to maintain a moderate outlook, members have presented a number of divisive social issues for debate this weekend

At this weekend’s state conference, Queensland Liberal National party members will debate banning gender-affirming care for children, repealing a ban on conversion practices and adopting a policy “whereby batteries, solar panels and wind turbines should no longer be deemed as renewables”.

Seven separate motions reference “gender ideology”, gender-affirming care or transgender people, but the word “abortion” does not appear on the agenda for the LNP’s first convention since winning last year’s state election.

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Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer asks defamation appeal for more time to prepare but justices tell her ‘start now’

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Zali Burrows told she has had ‘plenty’ of opportunity to consider issue in case despite repeated requests to adjourn early

Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation appeal lawyer has repeatedly asked the federal court to adjourn early to give her more time to prepare, but the justices refused, telling the solicitor she has had “plenty” of time.

Sydney criminal solicitor Zali Burrows is representing Lehrmann, who is appealing Justice Michael Lee’s April 2024 judgment, which found the former Liberal staffer was not defamed by Lisa Wilkinson and Network 10 when The Project broadcast an interview with Brittany Higgins in 2021 in which she alleged she was raped in Parliament House.

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Netanyahu says Australian PM Albanese’s record ‘forever tarnished by weakness’ after Australian Jewish group urges calm

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Israeli prime minister ignores pleas to resolve dispute with Australia through ‘diplomacy rather than public posturing’

Benjamin Netanyahu has ignored pleas from Australian Jewish groups to calm his feud with Anthony Albanese, further criticising the prime minister and escalating an ugly spat between the two leaders.

Australia’s peak Jewish group, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), on Wednesday labelled Israeli prime minister Netanyahu’s attack on Albanese as “inflammatory and provocative”, and a “clumsy intervention” which had affected Australia’s Jewish community.

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Woman assisting police after infant found dead in Perth storm water drain

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Police say woman in her 30s ‘receiving appropriate care and support’ after workers made confronting discovery on Monday

A woman is assisting police after a baby boy was found dead inside a storm water drain.

Two workers carrying out routine maintenance made the confronting discovery in Alexander Heights in Perth’s northern suburbs on Monday afternoon.

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Concern Australian doctor ‘pushed’ out as chair of medical insurer board over social media posts on Gaza war

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Dr Stephen Parnis says public comments based on ‘my views and conscience’ in resignation email that has prompted letter writing campaign in his support

High-profile emergency physician Dr Stephen Parnis has stepped down as chair of the board of a leading medical insurance provider in an apparent response to concerns about statements he has made on social media opposing the war in Gaza.

Parnis, a former vice-president of the Australian Medical Association, announced in an email to members of the Medical Insurance Group of Australia (Miga) last Monday that he was giving up his role as chair of the board.

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Here is what actually needs to be done to address Australia’s childcare abuse crisis – and politicians can’t say they didn’t know

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Review after review has made recommendations to government that have never been implemented. It’s time to take childcare safety out of the too-hard basket and commit to real reform

On Friday, state education ministers will meet Jason Clare to discuss the thorny and critically important issues facing the country’s childcare sector.

There could not be a more significant moment for the conversations that we are having about the safety of the more than 1 million Australian children who attend childcare.

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Australia’s peak Jewish group condemns Netanyahu’s ‘clumsy’ attack on Albanese and calls for end to ‘spat’

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Executive Council of Australian Jewry says Australian and Israeli governments should use ‘diplomacy rather than public posturing’

Australia’s peak Jewish group has lambasted Benjamin Netanyahu’s attack on Anthony Albanese as “inflammatory and provocative”, adding that the “clumsy intervention” showed a “woeful lack of understanding of social and political conditions in Australia” – notwithstanding what the group describes as “unseemly” conduct from Australia’s leader.

The concerned intervention by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) came as Australia and Israel entered the third day of a diplomatic tit-for-tat prompted by Australia’s visa cancellation of far-right Israeli politician Simcha Rothman on Monday.

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Josh Willie named new Tasmanian Labor leader after party officially concedes election defeat

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Leadership spill comes day after Dean Winter bid to form government via no-confidence motion in parliament fell flat

Tasmanian Labor has replaced Dean Winter as parliamentary leader, with Josh Willie elected unopposed to serve as the state’s new opposition leader.

The party, which has been in opposition for 11 years, met for more than seven hours on Wednesday before announcing Willie’s appointment.

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Victoria’s urgent childcare review recommendations unveiled: major reforms but no ‘silver bullet’ to stop ‘dangerous individuals’

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Allan government commits to accepting all 22 recommendations, with several also directed at federal government

Major reforms to working with children checks, a new database and regulator, more unannounced visits to childcare centres and an urgent rethink of how the entire early childhood education system is funded have been recommended as part of Victoria’s urgent review into the childcare sector.

The review, written by former South Australian premier Jay Weatherill and senior bureaucrat Pam White, was released in full by the state government on Wednesday.

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Australian novel attracts controversy over fictionalised depiction of gay codebreaker Alan Turing

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Nick Croydon, the CEO of QBD Books, has faced criticism for his thriller The Turing Protocol

A novel written by a prominent book industry figure in which persecuted gay man Alan Turing has sex with a woman and fathers a child has been criticised online for its portrayal of the codebreaker.

The Turing Protocol was released in July and was written by Nick Croydon, the CEO of QBD Books, the largest Australian-owned bookshop chain, where the book is being heavily promoted.

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Australian Book Week is here – and we’d love to see your children’s costumes

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The annual event, which promotes literacy, is celebrating 80 years as part of Australian school life

Book Week is in full swing, marking it’s 80th year celebrating all things reading and literacy for Australia’s schoolchildren.

The theme for the week, which runs from Saturday 16 to Saturday 23 August, is “Book an Adventure”, encouraging children to explore new worlds through stories.

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