Category Archives: Australia news

Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers to challenge witnesses in bid to prevent Toowoomba rape case proceeding to trial

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Lehrmann, 28, is accused of raping a woman twice in October 2021 but denies the allegations

Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers intend to cross-examine witnesses in an attempt to prevent allegations he raped a woman in Toowoomba from proceeding to trial.

Lehrmann, 28, is accused of twice raping the woman in October 2021, and the charges have been subject to a committal process since January to determine if there are sufficient grounds for a trial.

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New Queensland Labor leadership hits pause on $2.7bn Gabba stadium rebuild

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Independent body to review plans for Olympic and Paralympic games as new premier and deputy distance themselves from Palaszczuk-era policies

Queensland’s new leadership team have signalled a “pause” on the controversial $2.7bn Gabba rebuild while they reconsider their approach to the 2032 Olympics.

In a backflip announced on Tuesday, premier-to-be Steven Miles said he would establish an independent body to oversee infrastructure for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic games amid mounting criticism of the Palaszczuk government’s in-house alternative.

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Stronger than expected budget position to fuel calls for cost of living relief, economists say

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Majority of additional revenue disclosed in mid-year budget update likely to be banked to avoid further stoking inflation

The Albanese government’s mid-year budget update will reveal a fiscal “sweet spot” fuelled by strong commodity prices, population growth and a resilient labour market, economists say.

But experts believe the government is likely to play down the positive budget position in order to curb calls for more cost of living relief that could stoke inflation and keep interest rates higher for longer.

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Can’t read a map or use a first aid kit: Australians lack hiking skills, survey shows

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The nation’s outdoorsy reputation may not be fully deserved, according to the AllTrails app study, with many too scared to go on walks

Australians’ outdoorsy reputation may not be earned when it comes to survival skills, according to a new survey.

Just one in three Australians know how to deal with getting lost, while two in three Australians entirely reconsider going on trail walks due to safety concerns, according to research commissioned by popular hiking app AllTrails.

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‘Stop the rapid loss of nature’: Labor warned to clamp down on biodiversity offsets in environment law overhaul

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Biodiversity Council says offsets should be a last resort and only used for ‘nature that we can replace’

The federal government should significantly constrain the use of biodiversity offsets under its environmental law reform agenda and stop them being used for critically endangered wildlife, according to a report by a partnership of 11 universities.

The Biodiversity Council also called on the Albanese government to define its so-called “nature positive plan” in law and set targets for what it will mean in practice, warning that without a clear mandate in legislation the term “will simply become another political slogan”.

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With Cyclone Jasper looming over Queensland Steven Miles opts for an unfamiliar new tone

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Having built a public reputation as a wisecracking political warrior, the premier designate is attempting to show he’s up to the task

At his first press conference as Queensland’s premier-in-waiting, Steven Miles came across as a man fighting his own instincts.

Miles, who built a public reputation as a wisecracking political warrior, spoke about the approaching Tropical Cyclone Jasper and his plans for government with little emotion or animation.

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Albanese’s high-speed rail body yet to appoint CEO or begin planning any train projects

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Opposition accuses Labor of achieving ‘absolutely nothing’ towards its fast rail ambition

Six months after its establishment, the Albanese government’s high-speed rail body is yet to appoint a chief executive or begin planning any train projects, as the opposition accuses it of achieving “absolutely nothing” towards its fast rail ambition.

Labor took its renewed push for high-speed rail along Australia’s east coast to the 2022 election, along with a commitment of $500m for planning and early works for the first stage of the corridor from Sydney to Newcastle.

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Up to 220 Indonesians could be compensated after children wrongly jailed in Australia as people smugglers

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The children were wrongly deemed to be adults by federal police and Australian courts, who were relying on a wildly inaccurate technique

Up to 220 Indonesians could receive compensation after they were wrongfully prosecuted and detained as adult people smugglers in Australia despite being children at the time.

Earlier this year, the federal government agreed to settle a significant class action brought by a group of Indonesian children who were falsely prosecuted as adult people smugglers between 2010 and 2012.

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Tropical Cyclone Jasper to become more severe, prompting Queensland weather warnings for 500mm rain, heavy winds

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BoM expects storm to strengthen into category 2 cyclone on Tuesday before arriving near Cairns in far north Qld on Wednesday afternoon

Residents in north Queensland have been told to prepare for up to five days without power, amid warnings that the approaching tropical cyclone Jasper could dump 500mm of rain in 24 hours.

Jasper is expected to intensify on Tuesday, ahead of making landfall north of Cairns on Wednesday afternoon.

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Australia news live: ABC cancels The Drum; two feared dead in NSW plane crash

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Education review due

Education minister Jason Clare spoke to ABC News Breakfast just earlier about the much-anticipated review into Australia’s education system, released today.

You talk about entrenched disadvantage in our schools, this report tells us we’ve got one of the most segregated school systems in the OECD, not by the colour of your skin but the size of your parents’ pay packet. Children are more likely to fall behind at school if they’re from a poor family and from the bush, but if they’re at a school where a lot of people are experiencing disadvantage it’s even harder to catch up. There’s a number of things we need to do to turn that around.

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Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial live: judge orders Sky News to produce alleged secret recording of Brittany Higgins’ lawyer

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Lehrmann is suing Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson in the federal court of Australia for defamation. Follow the latest news and updates from the trial today

Project producer says David Sharaz told him Higgins had been to police again

Llewellyn is now being asked about what role, if any, The Project played in Higgins reactivating her complaint about the alleged rape with ACT police in 2021.

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Bruce Lehrmann seeks ‘secret’ Sky News recordings of Brittany Higgins’ lawyer and fiance talking in Sydney bar

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Recordings of Leon Zwier and others reportedly revealed lawyer discussing how Higgins could respond to cross examination in defamation trial. Zwier has denied coaching his client through her fiance

So-called “secret” recordings of Brittany Higgins’ lawyer speaking to Higgins’ fiance David Sharaz at a Sydney bar while she faced cross-examination are being sought by Bruce Lehrmann as he sues for defamation.

The recordings were taken of Leon Zwier and others at the Park Hyatt Lobby Bar on December 4 and reportedly revealed the lawyer discussing how Higgins’ could respond to questions in cross-examination.

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Ed Husic says Israel action in Gaza ‘very disproportionate’ and children shouldn’t bear brunt of conflict

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Labor minister immediately criticised by Peter Dutton who says Husic’s comments are ‘ill-considered’ and ‘offensive’

Federal Labor frontbencher Ed Husic has described Israel’s military action in Gaza as “very disproportionate”, declaring that children “are not Hamas” and should not bear such a heavy impact from the war.

Husic, the industry minister, said on Tuesday that Australians should be free to express concerns about the loss of innocent life in Gaza without being “professionally blacklisted”.

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Firefighter dies while responding to Grose Vale house fire in Sydney’s north-west

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The NSW premier has paid tribute to a firefighter who was killed after the house he was in collapsed

A firefighter has died after he collapsed while responding to a house engulfed in flames in Sydney’s north-west.

The 51-year-old man was among the first crews to arrive at the house at Grose Vale, west of Richmond, just before 8am on Tuesday.

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Australia news live: Shannon Fentiman announces tilt at Queensland Labor leadership

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Palaszczuk made decision ‘in the interest of the state’, Swan says

ALP national secretary Wayne Swan has spoken to ABC RN about Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s resignation announcement yesterday.

That’s always ever present for any leader at any time but I think she made the decision in the interest of the state and I think in her own interest as well.

I think people are sensibly discussing what the options are and if one candidate has a pretty clear majority then I think it would be unlikely that you’d see a battle, because it would simply be very difficult for the government over a period of time when they need to re-establish a leader in the job.

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Sex crimes squad informed of 2017 complaint against Alan Jones

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Jones strongly denies allegations as NSW police confirm there is no current investigation into Jones but say sex crimes squad will try to contact complainant this week

New South Wales police say they will this week try to speak to a person who made a complaint about Alan Jones to officers in 2017, after the police commissioner, Karen Webb, said last week that no complaints had been made about the broadcaster.

She made the comments during a press conference on Friday after allegations of indecent assault were published in the Sydney Morning Herald the day before. Jones has strongly denied the allegations and has threatened legal action.

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Driver charged over fatal Daylesford pub crash ignored blood glucose level warnings, court hears

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Five patrons at the Royal Daylesford Hotel about an hour’s drive from Melbourne were killed after a car crashed into the beer garden

A man charged over the Daylesford beer garden crash that killed five people received multiple alerts on his phone suggesting his blood glucose levels were low shortly before the incident, a Melbourne court has heard.

On Monday morning, Victoria police charged William Swale, 66, with five counts of culpable driving causing death, two counts of negligently causing serious injury and seven counts of reckless conduct endangering life over the 5 November crash.

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Protocols protecting young people’s right to silence ‘forgotten’ by NSW police, watchdog finds

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Officers interviewed people who wished to remain silent despite court judgments finding practice was improper, law enforcement commission says

New South Wales police officers have been interviewing young people in custody in a way that compromises their right to silence, with a report by the state’s law enforcement watchdog finding it is a “systemic problem”.

The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (Lecc) found that NSW police had also failed to act with any urgency to prevent officers interviewing vulnerable people, including Aboriginal people and young people, after they had received legal advice and said that they did not wish to be interviewed.

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Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial live: Brittany Higgins’ mother tells court hearing of her daughter’s alleged rape was a ‘mother’s worst nightmare’

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The defamation action against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson was due to finish on Thursday but may extend until Monday. Follow the latest news and updates from the trial today

  • A warning for readers: this blog contains graphic details of allegations of sexual assault.

Defence liaison officer told Higgins found in ‘state of undress’, court hears

Payne gave evidence that early in the week following the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins, he had been told by minister Linda Reynolds’s chief-of-staff, Fiona Brown, about an incident involving Lehrmann in Parliament House.

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Tropical Cyclone Jasper prompts Queensland weather warnings for wild winds, heavy rain, possible flooding

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Cyclone weakened to category 1 on Sunday night but BoM says it is expected to intensify before crossing coast of far north Qld near Cairns

Residents of far north Queensland are bracing for wild weather, possible power outages, and internet and water supply disruptions with the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Jasper.

As of 4.30am on Monday, Jasper had weakened again to a category 1 system and was about 600km east of Cairns and 530km northeast of Townsville.

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