Category Archives: Australia news

‘Amazing’: Queensland mum uses electric car to ‘save’ son’s life with dialysis during power outage

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Kristy Holmes always knew she could use her electric car for ‘good things’, but when storms caused a blackout, it proved life-saving

An electric vehicle owner has used her car’s emergency power system to run her 11-year-old son’s lifesaving dialysis machine and another has ridden to the rescue of his neighbours after devastating storms cut power in south-east Queensland.

When the power went down following storms and flash flooding on Christmas Day, many residents immediately felt the consequences: electric gates did not work, septic tanks began to fill, air conditioners could not run and fridges began to warm as a heatwave followed.

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Australia went to war in Iraq based on ‘oral reports’ to cabinet from John Howard

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Cabinet papers from 2003 show there was no formal submission before decision was taken to join US-led ‘coalition of the willing’

Australia joined the US-led invasion of Iraq, one of the most contentious decisions of John Howard’s prime ministership, without a formal cabinet submission setting out a full analysis of the risks.

Cabinet papers published by the National Archives on Monday show the full cabinet signed off on the decision on 18 March 2003 based on “oral reports by the prime minister”.

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John Pilger, campaigning journalist, dies aged 84

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Renowned Australian journalist and documentary filmmaker covered conflicts in Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Biafra

The Australian journalist and documentary film-maker John Pilger has died aged 84, his family have announced.

A statement posted to his account on X said: “It is with great sadness the family of John Pilger announce he died yesterday 30 December 2023 in London aged 84.

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Sliding doors: cabinet papers reveal how close Coalition came to endorsing emissions trading in 2003

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The Howard government drafted a statement declaring its support for an emissions trading scheme before abruptly changing course

The Howard government drafted a statement declaring its support for an emissions trading scheme 20 years ago, only for the idea to be scuttled by business lobbying, newly released documents show.

Cabinet papers from 2003, released by the National Archives on Monday, show the then Coalition government was in possession of clear advice from Treasury that a broad-based market mechanism would be the cheapest way to reduce emissions.

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Howard government worked with Canada to oppose UN declaration on Indigenous rights

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Cabinet papers from 2003 show the government pursued talks without consulting peak Indigenous body – which it then abolished

The Howard government fought strongly against recognising the right of Indigenous peoples to “self-determination” and worked secretly with Canada to try to change a draft UN declaration, newly released cabinet papers show.

The cabinet papers from 2003, released by the National Archives on Monday, show that some Australian government departments held concerns about potential impacts of the UN declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples, but Australia’s talks with Canada on amendments were being pursued with “no Indigenous consultation about the process or its product” as such input would be “premature”.

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Scientists decry wasted opportunity as thousands of frozen eggs languish in IVF storage across Australia

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Despite a surplus of eggs at fertility clinics around the country, very few end up being donated to research or other prospective parents

The vast majority of eggs frozen by prospective mothers go unused, causing headaches for IVF clinics and preventing potentially groundbreaking research.

Scientists are decrying a wasted opportunity as thousands of frozen eggs sit unused in storage instead of being used in potentially valuable medical research.

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Police investigating after Qantas crew pin down passenger on flight from Bali to Melbourne

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Video shows airline staff and other passengers holding a man down after disturbance on flight on Sunday

Federal police are investigating after Qantas cabin crew were forced to pin down a disruptive passenger on a flight from Bali on Sunday.

Video shows Qantas staff and other passengers holding the man down after a disturbance on a flight from Bali to Melbourne.

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New Year’s Eve 2023: heat and hail forecast in Australia’s weather mix as crowds gather early for fireworks

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Displays expected in cities across country to ring in 2024 while predicted wild weather on east coast could disrupt revelry

Heat and hail have been forecast across parts of the country as hundreds queue outside the Sydney Opera House to secure front-row seats for the New Year’s Eve fireworks.

Lines in Circular Quay began to form at 8am on Sunday as people sought to stake their claim to a view. By 11.24am, organisers announced the Sydney Opera House vantage point is full and advised members of the public to seek alternative options.

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New Year’s Eve fireworks in Australia: ‘your cracker night could end in hospital’, authorities warn

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Illegal use of fireworks can lead to thousands of dollars in fines and even jail. Here are the rules around the country

Hefty fines and even jail time are on the cards for those who set off illegal fireworks this New Year’s Eve.

People right across the country used to partake in the annual “cracker night” festival, setting off fireworks in their backyards, but most states and territories began banning this practice in the 1980s.

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Queensland storms: two men in hospital after lightning strikes as hail and heavy rain hit south-east

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Several waves of thunderstorms batter state as thousands in region remain without power

Two people have been hospitalised after their vehicles were struck by lightning in two separate incidents in Queensland on Saturday, as severe thunderstorms return to the south-east of the state.

Queensland Ambulance said one man was transported to Caboolture hospital – between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast – in a stable condition after the vehicle he was travelling in was reportedly struck by lightening while on the Bruce highway at about 9.20am.

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Marble Bar to reach 49C as severe heatwave grips parts of Queensland, NT and WA

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Conditions 8C to 12C above average across large parts of Australia’s north, with little reprieve for storm-ravaged areas

A severe heatwave is expected to affect parts of Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia heading into the new year.

Large swathes have been put on alert, with conditions 8C to 12C above average.

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‘There’s been some tears’: storm and flood-hit Queensland town battles heatwave as more wild weather forecast

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Many homes in Jimboomba are still without power. Now temperatures are nearing 40C, and more storms are forecast

Inside an unassuming hall in Jimboomba, north-west of Queensland’s Gold Coast, Sarah Weir is offering a reprieve from the heat, cool drinks and food, wifi, and even her shoulder to cry on.

“There’s been some tears,” she says.

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Two dead and 15 injured after five-car crash near Lithgow in NSW

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The Great Western Highway is closed in both directions and is expected to remain a crime scene for some time

Two people are dead and more than a dozen have been injured in a multi-vehicle crash west of the Blue Mountains in NSW.

Emergency services were called to the scene of the five-car crash on the Great Western Highway at Wallerawang, 15km north of Lithgow, just before 1pm.

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‘Flamin’ hot’ Doritos seasoning causing breathing difficulties in Australian factory workers, union alleges

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Smith’s Snackfood Company says it is installing extra fans in Adelaide factory where some workers reported symptoms including eye and skin irritation

Smith’s is installing extra fans in an Adelaide factory after workers claimed they were having difficulty breathing and experiencing skin irritation from dealing with the seasoning used to make “flamin’ hot” Doritos.

SafeWork SA is looking into the claims after the United Workers Union alleged employees at the Smith’s Snackfood Company factory raised significant safety concerns about the “improper handling of strongly irritating substances”.

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Queensland power supply to face strain as heatwave sends demand to near-record levels

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Surging consumption comes despite ‘very sleepy period’ for electricity use, energy expert says

Queensland’s electricity supplies are expected to be strained for a second day in a row as the heatwave roasting much of northern Australia lifts power demand to near-record levels.

The mercury exceeded its forecast maximum for Brisbane of 37C by early afternoon and was recently at 38.3.5C, or eight degrees above the December average, Bureau of Meteorology data showed.

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Two people dead and a dozen injured after multi-car crash in NSW – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

Tasmanian yacht Alive is in the box seat to take out Sydney to Hobart yacht race’s overall honours, with skipper Duncan Hine confident the 66-footer has a winning time on the board.

Hine and his crew finished the 628-nautical-mile blue water classic yesterday afternoon as clubhouse leaders on handicap time.

It’s a waiting game. We’re looking good, though. I believe we could do it again, but the reality may be different. Now we wait with bated breath to see if anyone can beat our time.

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South Australian shark attack: tributes flow for ‘talented and dearly loved’ teenage surfer

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Khai Cowley, 15, was killed by a suspected great white shark off Ethel beach on the Yorke Peninsula

A teenage boy killed in a shark attack off the coast of South Australia has been remembered as a talented and dearly loved member of the surfing community.

The 15-year-old, identified by friends and a family member as Khai Cowley, was mauled by a suspected great white while surfing off the remote Ethel beach on the Yorke Peninsula west of Adelaide about 1.30pm on Thursday.

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Data reveals most expensive Australian capital to buy petrol – and the cheapest

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Drivers in Brisbane bear brunt of record petrol prices this year – ‘only now are we starting to see some relief’

Australian motorists are copping the cost of volatile world oil prices but relief could be in sight.

Drivers in Brisbane bore the brunt of record petrol prices this year, making the Queensland city the nation’s most expensive capital to put fuel in the tank. Regular unleaded cost on average 193.4 cents a litre, an NRMA analysis of 2023 petrol prices across the country revealed.

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Thatcher ‘utterly shattered’ by MI5 revelations in Spycatcher, files reveal

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National Archives papers show prime minister tried in vain to avoid inquiry over Peter Wright’s memoirs

Margaret Thatcher was “utterly shattered” by the revelations in Spycatcher, the memoirs of the retired MI5 officer Peter Wright, files released publicly for the first time reveal.

The files also reveal the dilemmas faced by Thatcher’s government in its futile battle to suppress the book, including whether to agree to the Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer mediating an out of court “solution”.

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Kerry Packer was proposed as mediator in Thatcher’s fight to stop Spycatcher memoir

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Counsel for ex-MI5 officer Peter Wright suggested role for Australian media tycoon but idea was swiftly rejected

The Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer was suggested as a mediator in the fight by Margaret Thatcher’s government to prevent the publication of Spycatcher, the memoirs of former MI5 officer Peter Wright, according to newly released official papers.

The offer was made by Wright’s Australian counsel – and future Australian prime minister – Malcolm Turnbull as part of a proposed out-of-court settlement, files released by the National Archives show.

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