Category Archives: Australia news

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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Australia joins international call for local content quotas on streaming TV platforms

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Statement from peak bodies argues independence and viability of global screen industry under threat unless mandatory quotas for non-US content introduced

Australia has joined an international campaign calling on governments to provide better protection for local screen industries in a market dominated by global streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime.

Screen Producers Australia (SPA) issued a joint statement with counterparts in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada, demanding regulation to force streaming services to make content that is relevant to local markets where they operate.

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Consultants reported more than 520 conflicts of interest during audit of Australian aged care

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Commissioner says high number of real, potential or perceived declarations reflects a ‘robust conflict management processes’ but union says figure is ‘staggering’

Four consultancy firms reported more than 520 real, potential or perceived conflicts of interest while being paid more than $40m to audit the safety and quality of aged care homes over two years.

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) last year revealed some of the audits were rejected as they did not meet standards set by the federal government, which needed to launch a specialist unit to support the consultants and improve their work.

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Traditional owners call for special rights to prevent government repossessing land as Victoria prepares for treaty talks

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Indigenous traditional owner groups and advocates submit major land reform proposals to state’s truth-telling commission

Victorian traditional owner groups are calling for special land rights to prevent land they own from ever being repossessed by the government, as the state prepares for nation-first treaty talks to begin this year.

Indigenous traditional owner groups and Aboriginal advocacy organisations have submitted major land reform proposals to the state’s Indigenous truth-telling commission which is this year investigating housing and land inequality facing First Nations Victorians. The inquiry’s recommendations could inform treaty negotiations which are scheduled to begin later this year.

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Centrelink staff claim toilet breaks are being timed by management in ‘intrusive’ crackdown

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Call centre workers say systems are monitoring their performance minute-by-minute in bid to improve wait times

Centrelink call centre staff claim they are being monitored minute-by-minute, including the length of their bathroom breaks, as part of a management-led crackdown to improve average call wait times that have blown out to nearly double in the last year.

Staff spoke to Guardian Australia on the condition of anonymity, for fear of losing their jobs, claiming management systems, which assist team leaders in capturing call time figures and monitoring staff activities, acted more like a surveillance system, describing them as “intrusive and stressful”.

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Victorian Labor at odds with federal party on industrial relations bill

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State treasurer Tim Pallas warns amendments will encourage unions to refuse to bargain as he seeks meeting with Tony Burke

The Victorian government and employer groups have raised the alarm about amendments to Labor’s industrial relations bill, warning they will embolden unions to refuse to bargain with industry.

The Victorian treasurer, Tim Pallas, has written to the federal workplace relations minister, Tony Burke, warning the amendments will guarantee unions “will be no worse off on a clause by clause basis” if they dig in and seek an arbitrated outcome from the industrial umpire, encouraging unions to do so.

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China lodges protests at Australia’s response to Taiwan’s presidential election

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Ambassador says there is ‘no room at all’ for compromise on ‘sensitive’ issue, and offers gloomy assessment on prospects for release of writer Dr Yang Hengjun

China has lodged diplomatic protests with Australia for congratulating the winner of Taiwan’s presidential election, with the Chinese ambassador warning there is “no room at all” for compromise on the “sensitive” issue.

China’s top envoy in Australia, Xiao Qian, also dashed hopes that the Australian writer Dr Yang Hengjun might be released from custody in a similar manner to the Australian journalist Cheng Lei last year.

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Conservative politicians stoking Australia Day debate online with paid ads, analysis finds

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Several Liberal MPs share advertisements on Facebook lobbying against changing the date after Woolworths’ decision to pull national merchandise

Conservative politicians are dominating Facebook advertising about changing the date of Australia Day, analysis shows.

After Woolworths announced last week that it would no longer stock Australia Day merchandise due to declining demand, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, condemned the move as an “outrage” born from the retailer’s “woke agenda”, and said most Australians likely thought the same.

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Australia may ask tech companies to label content generated by AI platforms such as ChatGPT

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New report reveals low public trust of growing technology as government pledges stricter regulation for ‘high risk’ products

Tech companies could be asked to watermark or label content generated by artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT as the federal government grapples with “high risk” AI products evolving faster than legislation.

The industry and science minister, Ed Husic, will on Wednesday release the government’s response to a consultation process on Safe and responsible AI in Australia, which cites McKinsey research to suggest adopting AI and automation could grow Australia’s GDP by up to $600bn a year.

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Australia urged to speed up visas for Afghan women who fear being sent back to Taliban rule

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Many waiting for a ticket to Australia are in Pakistan, where local authorities are undertaking a mass deportation

Afghan women’s rights defenders who have fled the Taliban’s rule say they are at risk of imminent return to Afghanistan by Pakistani authorities, prompting calls for the Australian government to step in and expedite their protection visas.

The federal government has received more than 215,000 humanitarian visa requests from Afghan nationals since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021, granting 15,852 visas so far as of December 2023.

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Labor to increase humanitarian funding as Penny Wong warns she is ‘gravely concerned’ by Gaza conditions

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Foreign minister begins Middle East visit by announcing funding for those in Occupied Palestinian Territories affected by conflict and to address refugee crisis

The Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong, has begun a visit to the Middle East by pledging to nearly double humanitarian funding while saying she is “gravely concerned” by worsening conditions in Gaza.

After talks in Jordan on Tuesday, Wong announced $21.5m in new funding “directed to conflict-affected populations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and to address the ongoing regional refugee crisis, with a focus on women and children”.

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ABC Sydney staff threaten to strike over termination of radio host Antoinette Lattouf

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Comes as national broadcaster files its response to wrongful dismissal claim brought by presenter

ABC journalists in the broadcaster’s Sydney offices have threatened a walkout unless management addresses concerns over the handling of the termination of radio host Antoinette Lattouf.

On Tuesday morning, the Sydney Morning Herald reported it had seen a chain of leaked WhatsApp messages showing a letter-writing campaign from pro-Israel lobbyists targeting the ABC managing director, David Anderson, and the chair, Ita Buttrose, in the week starting 18 December over Lattouf’s December fill-in job on ABC radio in Sydney.

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BMA Saraji coalmine incident: worker crushed to death at Queensland mine

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Mining safety regulator launches investigation after 27-year-old man killed at BHP-owned mine in the Bowen Basin

The mining safety regulator has begun an investigation after an employee was crushed to death at a central Queensland coalmine on Monday.

The 27-year-old man was working at southern section of the BMA Saraji coalmine located in the Bowen Basin, near Dysart, south-west of Mackay. The mine is owned by BHP.

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