Category Archives: Australia news

Queensland farmers call for probe into price gouging after premier writes to grocery giants

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Peak body says farmers aren’t getting ‘fair value’ as Steven Miles demands answers from supermarkets on overcharging claims

A peak body representing Queensland farmers has increased pressure for an inquiry into price gouging after the state’s premier wrote to the big supermarket chains demanding answers over a “widening gap” between the prices farmers receive and those customers pay.

The Queensland premier, Steven Miles, sent a letter to the CEOs of Coles, Woolworths, IGA and Aldi on Friday telling them about his “growing concern” about the disparity between checkout prices and the value farmers receive for their stock.

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Australian capital city rents up 13% over year as further hikes predicted for 2024 amid housing shortage

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Housing advocates call for urgent reform to address growing crisis as capital rents hit average of $600 a week

Australia’s record shortage of rental properties will continue to drive prices up for tenants, analysts say, with a new report revealing combined capital city rents rose 13.2% year-on-year.

Data from PropTrack, the property analytics division of REA Group, has revealed national rental prices rose 11.5% over the past year, with combined capital city rents up 13.2% to an average of $600 a week, driven by large increases in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

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HyperVerse crypto promoter ‘Bitcoin Rodney’ arrested and charged in US

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Internal Revenue Service alleges Rodney Burton was part of a network that made ‘fraudulent’ presentations claiming high returns for investors based on crypto-mining operations that did not exist

A promoter of the HyperVerse crypto investment scheme has been arrested and charged in the US for his alleged role in the scheme, with court documents claiming he was part of a network that made “fraudulent promotional presentations” to investors and potential investors.

Rodney Burton, who goes by the name “Bitcoin Rodney”, was arrested in Florida on Friday and remains in custody pending transfer to Maryland, where the charges were laid. He has been charged with operating and conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.

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Rate of GPs bulk billing all patients in Australia drops to below one in four, data reveals

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Cleanbill report reveals national rate of bulk billing dropped 11% last year to 23.6%, with 514 clinics removing the service

Fewer than one in four Australian general practices provide bulk billing to all patients, with more than 500 clinics switching to private billing in the past year, according to a new report.

Online healthcare directory Cleanbill on Monday released its Blue Report providing data on the rates of bulk billing – where the full cost of a consultation is paid for by Medicare without any additional gap fees – across 6,818 practices.

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Calls for nationwide pill testing after suspected MDMA overdoses at Melbourne music festival

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Eight people were in induced comas after the Hardmission event at Flemington on Satuday

The suspected MDMA overdoses at a Melbourne music festival that left eight young people in medically induced comas over the weekend has sparked renewed calls for nationwide pill-testing programs.

Harm reduction and social justice advocates, and the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA), were among those urging state governments to legalise pill-testing, saying the scale of the overdoses highlight the urgency of the issue.

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This article was amended on 8 January 2024 after Ambulance Victoria clarified that eight people were in induced comas, not seven.

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Labor ‘not giving up’ on republic push – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

Liberal senate leader and shadow foreign minister Simon Birmingham says a reported bomb threat against a person flying the Palestinian flag in Botany “has no place in our nation”.

He wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

Australia is a democratic nation of free speech. Whether driven by disagreement, intolerance or Islamophobia this act has no place in our nation.

Whatever anyone’s views about flying the Palestinian flag at this time, this is illegal and reprehensible behaviour to be condemned.

ENOUGH! TAKE DOWN FLAG! ONE CHANCE!!!

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Victoria weather: warnings of further rain amid evacuations and dozens of flood rescues

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Parts of Seymour and Yea subject to evacuation orders as BoM forecasts more intense rain and wild weather

Residents in north-eastern Victoria are bracing for further flooding in the coming days, after heavy rainfall inundated the state and forced two towns to evacuate.

An evacuation order was issued for parts of the Goulburn Valley town of Seymour, in central Victoria, shortly before noon on Monday, before similar orders were put in place for sections of nearby Yea.

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Golden Globe awards 2024: Australians win big as Sarah Snook, Margot Robbie and Elizabeth Debicki land gongs

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Snook wins best actress in a TV drama series for her performance as the ambitious Shiv Roy in Succession, which also won best TV drama

Australians have won big at this year’s Golden Globes, with Sarah Snook and Elizabeth Debicki taking home acting awards and Margot Robbie winning for Barbie’s box office success.

Snook won the best actress in a TV series – drama for her performance as the ambitious Shiv Roy in Succession, which also won best TV drama.

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ACT police take aim at ‘moron tourism’ for bad behaviour at Summernats

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Senior officer says ‘pest’ drivers and not ‘real’ car enthusiasts were causing problems during festival in Canberra

A group of “morons” who would fail to enter the ACT if there were IQ requirements at the border are to blame for bad behaviour at one of Australia’s premier car festivals, a senior police officer has said.

ACT Policing seized 13 cars, including a Holden Commodore for doing a burnout metres from pedestrians, during this year’s Summernats festival in Canberra.

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Homemade bomb planted on car at Sydney home flying Palestinian flag

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Explosive device made of jerry can, rags, disposable lighter and large bolts found on bonnet of vehicle in suburb of Botany

Bomb squad officers have been called to a south Sydney home after an improvised explosive device was planted on the car of its pro-Palestinian residents.

The homemade device that appeared to be made of a jerry can with rags stuffed into it, a disposable lighter and large bolts was found on the vehicle’s bonnet in Botany on Friday afternoon.

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Man sues Victorian police after being shot in leg during routine response to noise complaint

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Andrew Wilczewski, 50, was shot in his yard in 2020 while holding a shovel, after an officer scaled his fence

A man who was shot in the leg by a junior police officer during a routine response to a noise complaint has sued Victoria police for compensation.

Andrew Wilczewski, 50, was shot in his back yard while holding a shovel, allegedly “fearing for his safety”, after an officer scaled his back fence and started banging on windows.

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Hundreds call for help in Victoria and SA amid heavy rain and severe storms

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‘The amount of moisture across Victoria at the moment is incredible,’ the Bureau of Meteorology says

Hundreds of people across Victoria and South Australia have called for help after heavy rain and severe storms lashed the two states.

Residents in Victoria’s north and north-east were warned to expect rainfall totals up to 200mm when thunderstorms sweep across the state on Sunday and Monday.

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Man charged after four stabbing attacks in Melbourne overnight that seriously injured victims

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Victoria police say random attacks were not terror-related with 31-year-old man facing 15 charges

A man is facing more than a dozen charges after he allegedly stabbed four strangers in Melbourne overnight in what police say were “completely random” and unprovoked attacks.

Officers on Sunday arrested the 31-year-old Melton man who allegedly used public transport to travel across the city when committing three separate attacks on Saturday night.

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Alleged Melbourne home invader shot dead after struggle, police say

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Man found dead in driveway of Donnybrook home with gunshot wounds after ‘firearm claimed off one of the offenders’, detective alleges

A man found dead in a driveway in Melbourne’s outer north was allegedly part of a group of home invaders before he was shot during a struggle, police say.

The man, who was yet to be identified, was found outside the property on Middlemount Street in Donnybrook, 30km north of Melbourne’s CBD, at about 4.20am on Sunday.

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More than 1,000 ‘distressing’ social media posts removed at Australian government’s request during Gaza war

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Figures show rise in incidents of online extremism and violent content, partly fuelled by Israel-Gaza conflict

More than 1,000 violent and extremist posts have been taken down from social media at the federal government’s request since 7 October following an increase in referrals brought on in part by the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

It follows a warning by the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, in the days following Hamas’s 7 October attacks in southern Israel that it was the job of social media companies to “prevent the spread of distressing violent and terrorist content”.

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Perth overtakes east coast to become Australia’s hottest capital city property market

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Buyers and renters compete for limited stock as the Western Australian capital favours sellers and landlords, CoreLogic analysts say

The Australian property boom has shifted from east to west, with buyers and renters tussling for a limited number of Perth homes and creating a housing crisis for those left behind.

Perth has become the hottest selling market among state capitals, with homes listed for a median 11 days before being sold, according to CoreLogic data calculated for Guardian Australia.

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Former Australian spy Alisdair Putt dies during ‘World’s Toughest Row’ across the Atlantic

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Race organisers say former war crimes investigator suffered a heart attack while skippering a boat from the Canary Islands to Antigua

A former Australian spy and war crimes investigator has died skippering a rowing boat in a race across the Atlantic Ocean.

Alisdair Putt, who had planned to spend his 62nd birthday on the boat, suffered a heart attack while competing in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic rowing race from the Canary Islands to Antigua.

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Unit owners in Sydney’s Mascot Towers offered chance to wipe debts years after defects found

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Deal suggested by NSW building commissioner comes after residents were forced to evacuate in 2019

Owners of apartments in Sydney’s Mascot Towers may reach a potential settlement to clear massive debts for the first time since being forced to evacuate their units due to defects.

The New South Wales building commissioner, David Chandler, has offered a lifeline to residents of the buildings, in the city’s inner-south, who have been faced with significant repair bills since cracks were discovered in the basement in 2019.

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Baby in critical condition in Victoria after being delivered in ‘freebirth’

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Ambulance Victoria says woman and baby taken to hospital after incident in town of Ocean Grove

A newborn baby is in a critical condition in hospital after being delivered in an apparent “freebirth” in regional Victoria.

The medical industry has expressed concern about the practice, which is typically characterised as a birth without help from a healthcare professional.

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Sleeper services may return on Sydney-Melbourne route after new trains arrive, as night patronage booms

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Exclusive: NSW government says it is open to all options even though new rolling stock, now due in 2026, will have reclining seats only

The permanent withdrawal of sleeper carriages on Sydney-Melbourne trains may be averted after new rolling stock enters service, thanks to the increasing popularity of intercity rail.

New Spanish-built trains ordered by the previous Coalition government were initially meant to enter service in January 2023, but are now not expected to be running before April 2026. As yet, there is no firm arrival date.

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