Category Archives: Australia news

Judge suggests Revenue NSW ‘not following the law’ on homeless woman Covid fine

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Exclusive: State government has admitted 33,000 Covid fines were invalid but questions remain about additional 29,000 fines issued during pandemic

A New South Wales supreme court judge considering a challenge to a $3,000 Covid fine imposed on a homeless woman has suggested the state’s fines body was “not following the law” as declared in a previous ruling that saw more than 33,000 Covid penalties scrapped.

A year ago, a decision by justice Dina Yehia prompted the state government to withdraw tens of thousands of fines after they were found to have been issued unlawfully because they did not provide enough detail about the offence.

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Immigration detention: Rohingya refugee NZYQ given sex offender counselling sessions in ‘very special deal’

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Commonwealth warned lack of counselling would weaken its case as advocates say those still in immigration detention cannot access similar programs

The Rohingya refugee who overturned indefinite detention in the high court was given 52 counselling sessions for sex offenders, but only after a judge warned failure to provide it would weaken the commonwealth’s case against him.

One advocate labelled it a “very special deal”, complaining that those still in immigration detention, as well as the 92 other people released as a result of the high court’s decision, do not have access to similar programs.

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Intimate partner homicide data-tracker unveiled after four SA women killed in one week

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Statistical dashboard with up-to-date figures on victims is ‘crucial’ in helping police and policymakers tackle domestic violence, minister for women says

A new intimate partner homicide dashboard offering more up-to-date figures will soon be available after the deaths of four South Australian women in one week.

The government will introduce the federal statistical dashboard by mid-2024 to provide more timely reporting on intimate partner homicide. The new dashboard will enable police, governments, policymakers and all those who are working to end violence against women and children, to better understand what is happening and when. It will initially provide quarterly updates but is expected to provide more up-to-date figures as the initiative develops.

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Killing kangaroos could be banned in metro Melbourne in plan hailed as ‘step in the right direction’

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Reduced kangaroo populations and urban sprawl prompt proposal to end commercial culling in 10 council areas

Hunters would be banned from killing kangaroos in all Melbourne metropolitan areas from 2025, under a proposed overhaul of Victoria’s commercial culling program.

A plan by the state’s Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action for kangaroo harvesting between 2024 and 2028 proposes excluding 10 council areas across the urban ring of Melbourne due to reduced kangaroo populations and urban sprawl. The proposal was first reported by the Herald Sun.

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Perth fires: 18 homes destroyed as fire crews brace for more dangerous conditions

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Authorities say it will take at least another three to four days to bring blaze in city’s north-east under control

The number of homes an out-of-control bushfire has destroyed in metropolitan Perth has been revised up to 18, as firefighters prepare for a weekend of scorching temperatures.

The Western Australian premier, Roger Cook, returned from a trade mission to China on Friday and toured the fire grounds.

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Black Friday: Australian shoppers tipped to spend more than $6bn in four-day sales period

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Retailers say online sales on Friday were 10-25% up on last year, with the shopping event becoming bigger than Boxing Day

Retailers say Black Friday has gotten off to a strong start, with Australians tipped to spend a record amount as they seek savings during the cost-of-living crisis.

The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has predicted shoppers will spend $6.36bn across the four days between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, up 3% from last year, according to their research in partnership with Roy Morgan.

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Bruce Lehrmann tells court he did not have sex with Brittany Higgins while she was ‘semi-conscious or passed out’

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At defamation trial against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, Lehrmann says two later emails he sent Higgins failed to mention evening because it was ‘uneventful’

Bruce Lehrmann has denied during his defamation trial having sexual intercourse with Brittany Higgins while she was “semi-conscious or passed out” on a couch in Parliament House.

At Lehrmann’s civil case against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, Matt Collins KC for Ten put a series of propositions to him about what happened between 1.48am and 2.30am on 23 March 2019.

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Australian warship HMAS Toowoomba sailed through sensitive Taiwan Strait close to China

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Incident comes after maritime altercation between Toowoomba and Chinese warship last week off Japan’s coast that injured navy divers

Taiwan says an Australian warship has sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the sensitive and narrow waterway that separates the democratically governed island from China.

The ship, which it did not name, entered the strait on Thursday and sailed in a southerly direction, the defence ministry said on Friday.

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Australia news live: Bruce Lehrmann back in the witness box as defamation case kicks off third day

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Former Liberal staffer’s defamation trial against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson continues in the federal court. Follow the day’s news live

The minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, has said the government is yet to decide how to best consult with First Nations people after the loss of the Indigenous voice referendum.

Burney was on RN Breakfast earlier and said today’s Closing the Gap meeting, the first since the referendum, would focus on the silver linings from the loss.

What we have seen is a group of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people get involved in the political process.

We had 6 million Australians say yes. And the thing that really excited me about the outcome in places like the Tiwi Islands, where … Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people wanted this change. And those votes are really important.

Education is the most powerful cause for good in this world, that is where you learn.

If you want to protest, do it on the weekend. School is on, we expect them to be there.

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Boy’s death after falling from Cha Cha carnival ride ‘preventable’, Victorian coroner finds

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Restraints weren’t up to standard at time Eugene Mahauariki, 6, fell from ride at the 2017 Rye Easter Carnival

Eugene Mahauariki’s death after falling from his favourite ride at an Easter carnival six years ago was preventable and the restraints did not meet Australian standards, a coroner has found.

The six-year-old boy died in hospital four days after falling from his seat on the Cha Cha at Rye Easter Carnival in Victoria on 17 April 2017.

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Australian banks buckle to pressure over scams and vow to block transfers to suspect accounts

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Consumer groups have long lobbied for institutions to crack down on scams by rejecting transfers if name and bank details of recipient don’t match

Australian banks have buckled under pressure and will do more to fight scams by introducing technology that will block customers from transferring money to some fraudulent accounts.

The banks had initially resisted calls – including from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Consumer Action Law Centre (Calc) – to block transfers if the name and bank details of the recipient did not match.

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Thalidomide survivors call on Labor to reopen lifetime support program to new applicants

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Lisa McManus says it is ‘ignorant’ to think all those affected by drug are included in 146 people registered to closed scheme

Thalidomide survivors have asked the government to reopen a lifetime support program to new entrants ahead of next week’s national apology.

Survivors left with significant birth defects and other health issues have welcomed the apology but hope the government will use the occasion to pledge more help.

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What’s Dutton’s strategy for picking the NSW Senate spot winner? Back both frontrunners

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Leading moderate Andrew Constance is up against rightwinger Zed Seselja to fill the Liberals’ seat – but a dark horse could spoil the party

The Liberal leader, Peter Dutton, wants to back a winner. Even if it means endorsing two candidates in the New South Wales Senate race.

Dutton has backed the former ACT Liberal senator Zed Seselja for the spot that was opened up by Marise Payne’s resignation, with Seselja the hope of the party’s hard right.

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Report critical of big four consultancies was censored by Australian government agency, academic claims

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Peter Carey tells inquiry he was asked by Accounting Standards Board to omit details because partners from PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and EY sat on the board

A government agency allegedly censored a major study that was critical of the big four consultancy firms because their partners sat on its board, according to the academic who wrote the report.

The allegation, which has been disputed by the agency, was made during a parliamentary inquiry into the ethics and professional standards of the consulting industry. It has led to questions about potential “regulatory capture” and possible undue influence.

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‘Alive with rats’: north Queensland town of Karumba overrun by plague of swimming rodents

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A sea of rats has been washing up dead on the beach, with others scurrying across boat ramps into garden sheds and homes

The north Queensland town of Karumba is home to saltwater crocs, brolgas and black swans – and, more recently – hundreds of swimming rats.

A sea of rodents has been washing up dead on the beach in recent days, with others scurrying across the boat ramps into garden sheds and homes.

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Man found dead after statewide search – as it happened

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Hostage release essential if truce to last, Paterson says

Rewinding to Liberal MP James Paterson’s appearance on RN Breakfast this morning, wheN he said more needs to be done to free the hostages Hamas is holding in Gaza.

We don’t know how many of them are still alive, and their continued release would be essential for any continuing ceasefire because otherwise Israel continues to have a legitimate military objective.

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Lies, whisky and an after-hours visit: Bruce Lehrmann admits he didn’t tell police truth during defamation trial cross examination

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Former Liberal staffer also tells defamation trial that he didn’t tell Brittany Higgins he was leaving office because he ‘wasn’t even sure she was still there’

Bruce Lehrmann said he must have been “mistaken” when he told the Australian Federal Police he did not have any alcohol in his office – and under cross-examination he conceded he had multiple bottles of whisky and gin at the time.

The former Liberal staffer also admitted telling three different stories – including two that were lies – about the reason for his after-hours visit to Parliament House but denied sexually assaulting Brittany Higgins after they entered the ministerial office together.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). The crisis support service Lifeline is at 13 11 14.

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Melbourne school students defy education minister and strike in support of Palestine

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Hundreds rally in CBD to call for an end to the war in Gaza and for Australia to stop military aid to Israel

Amid chants of “free, free Palestine”, hundreds of Victoria school students have walked out of classrooms to call for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and for Australia to stop military aid to Israel.

Students gathered at the steps of Flinders Street station in the Melbourne CBD on Thursday afternoon, rallying for Palestine. The crowd spilled out on to the road, bringing traffic to a standstill at the busy Flinders and Swanston Street intersection.

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Who is Helen Toner the Australian woman ousted from the board of OpenAI?

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Sam Altman and Toner reportedly discussed a paper she had written criticising the timing of OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT shortly before Altman was fired

After a tumultuous few days at OpenAI, Sam Altman has returned to the helm. But who is the young Australian board member who was reportedly in dispute with the chief executive in the lead up to his firing?

Helen Toner, along with two of the other three board members responsible for firing Altman less than a week ago, is now off the board of OpenAI.

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Twelve people in border force custody after arriving by boat on isolated section of WA coast

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Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson says group’s reported arrival ‘is a further sign that Labor has failed on border security’

A group of people was detected at an isolated section of the northern Western Australian coast on Wednesday after arriving by boat, prompting Coalition accusations about resumption of dangerous boat journeys.

The Coalition has claimed the group, of whom 12 are now in Australian Border Force (ABF) custody, is the 10th people smuggling venture to reach Australia since the election of the Albanese government. It is not yet clear if they are asylum seekers or fishers.

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