Human brains are designed to detect faces as quickly as possible, which can lead to the perception of ‘false faces’
Faces: we see them in clouds, electrical outlets and even a $28,000 toasted sandwich said to look like the Virgin Mary.
Known as face pareidolia, seeing faces in inanimate objects or patterns of light and shadow is a common phenomenon.
Continue reading...Murder charge laid after missing woman’s body discovered in Victorian town of Little River, near Melbourne
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A man has faced court accused of murder after he was arrested while trying to board an overseas flight.
Allan Keys, 67, was arrested at Melbourne International Airport on Friday afternoon before he stepped onto the overseas-bound plane, Victoria police said.
Continue reading...Fifty ‘founder’ bilbies were released in fenced breeding area in 2019 with the aim of establishing first wild population there in a century
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Efforts to reintroduce bilbies in the far south-west of New South Wales are showing signs of success, with numbers climbing to almost 2,000, seven years after the first breeding trial at Mallee Cliffs national park.
Fifty “founder” bilbies, including 30 from Thistle Island off the coast of South Australia, were released in a fenced breeding area in 2019 with the aim of establishing a wild population in the Mallee Cliffs habitat for the first time in a century.
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Continue reading...Previously unreleased report obtained via freedom of information battle says Pezzullo exceeded ‘boundaries of normal public service practice’
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The former head of the Department of Home Affairs’ engagement with a Liberal powerbroker was “reckless”, “ill-advised” and beyond the boundaries of normal public service practice, a previously unreleased confidential report found.
The independent probe led to the sacking of Michael Pezzullo as secretary of the Department of Home Affairs in November 2023 after it concluded he had breached the government’s code of conduct at least 14 times. This included using his power for personal benefit.
Continue reading...Man and woman released pending further enquiries after arrests at separate properties in state’s north-east on Saturday morning
Two people have been arrested as part of the investigation into how Porepunkah fugitive Dezi Freeman was able to survive on the run for seven months before he was shot dead on Monday.
A man and a woman were arrested at separate properties in north-east Victoria on Saturday morning around 7am, before being later released.
Continue reading...Datacentres ‘directly competing’ with possible residential builds near public transport, one council tells NSW inquiry, amid growing concerns
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Datacentre developments are crowding out opportunities for housing and job-rich industries across Sydney, a New South Wales inquiry has heard, with one local council reporting a rise in blackouts linked to the industry’s expansion.
Several Sydney councils, all facing an influx of datacentre developments, have raised concerns about the health, environmental and amenity impacts on their local communities in submissions to the state’s datacentre inquiry.
Continue reading...Police allege drugs were to be collected from a drop zone in Bass Strait and distributed across the nation using trucking connections
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When a commercial trawler sank off Victoria with four crew members needing rescuing, police became suspicious about an alleged drug trafficking operation.
Nine men are accused over a conspiracy to import tonnes of cocaine and methamphetamine before distributing the drugs across Australia using trucking connections.
Continue reading...Police say they found a ballistic-style vest, several notebooks and literature they allege contained extremist references
Two New South Wales teenagers have been charged with allegedly possessing violent extremist material after police searched one of their homes and found a ballistic-style vest, several notebooks and literature they allege contained extremist references.
The Australian federal police and NSW police released a statement on Friday morning confirming the boys, aged 15 and 16 and both from Moree in northern NSW, had been charged with possession of alleged extremist material after a joint counterterrorism investigation.
Continue reading...Department says it’s received 834 requests for a review of tool’s assessments since it launched in November
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There appears to be no legal barrier for a human to override a controversial algorithm that determines financial support for elderly Australians, a Senate inquiry has heard, despite government assessors being banned from doing so.
The Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT), introduced in November as part of aged care Support at Home reforms, is used to assess eligibility and assign funding levels for aged care services.
Continue reading...Reversal of fortune comes just one week after she was dumped in favour of Dinesh Gourisetty, who then withdrew his nomination
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Moira Deeming will secure a top spot on the Victorian Liberal party’s upper house ticket unopposed – less than a week after members voted to dump her – after the withdrawal of candidates from a re-run ballot.
Deeming was on Sunday ousted from the number one spot for the western metropolitan region by Dinesh Gourisetty.
Continue reading...Lawyers for accused had argued names of family members should be suppressed due to fears for their mental and physical safety
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The alleged Bondi attacker has been denied a suppression order over his family member’s names and home and work addresses after a collective of media organisations won a challenge against the bid.
In the Downing Centre local court on Thursday, judge Hugh Donnelly decided to deny the request for a 40-year suppression order, ending an interim suppression order that was granted for Naveed Akram’s mother, brother and sister in early March which banned the publication of their names and addresses.
Continue reading...The Bureau of Meteorology says a blend of fine days and showers expected for most capital cities over the coming days
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Many Australians can expect mild temperatures and a chance of showers over the Easter weekend, while meteorologists predict a cyclone will form in the Coral Sea from Saturday evening.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a blend of fine days and showers for most capital cities over the coming days.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Justice Jim Henry published data from his own court revealing recent cases took more than a year to reach committal
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A Queensland supreme court judge says serious criminal cases are taking “excruciatingly longer” to finalise due to “glacial” delays in the state’s magistrates court, where some matters are spending several years in procedural limbo.
Justice Jim Henry, who is based at the supreme court in Cairns, published data from his own court revealing that of 31 recent criminal cases he finalised between November and February, on average each case took more than a year (370 days) in the lower courts before a committal.
Continue reading...Trans and gender-diverse people experience ‘significant and preventable barriers to their safety and dignity’, report finds
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The sex discrimination commissioner says there has been a concerted disinformation campaign against transgender rights since Australia’s postal survey on same-sex marriage.
The Australian Human Rights Commission released a report on Tuesday – coinciding with international trans day of visibility – finding that trans and gender-diverse people experience “significant and preventable barriers to their safety, dignity and full participation in society” spanning healthcare, housing, education, employment and public life.
Continue reading...Scientists tracked bird population in Canberra’s botanic gardens and found climate impacts starting to affect them
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A common and well-loved bird of bush and garden could go extinct within 30-40 years due to the weather impacts of climate change, researchers say.
Data derived from nearly 30 years of weekly observations tracked the lives of superb fairy wrens in Canberra’s botanic gardens, noting the changing weather’s impacts on them.
Continue reading...Brittlestars, sea anemones and a catshark among new-to-science species collected during expedition off the Queensland coast
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Marine scientists have discovered more than 110 new fish and invertebrate species in the Coral Sea – a figure they believe could exceed 200 as more are identified.
The species were found in waters between 200 metres and 3km deep in the Coral Sea marine park, Australia’s largest marine protected area, which spans nearly 1m sq km to the east of the Great Barrier Reef.
Continue reading...Greens amendments to force new watchdog to scrutinise uni fees and the Jobs-Ready Graduates scheme rejected by federal government
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The federal government is being accused of dodging promised reforms to bring down soaring university fees, after rejecting efforts to have them scrutinised by a new watchdog.
On Monday, legislation to establish the independent Australian Tertiary Education Commission (Atec) passed the Senate with a number of amendments, including to improve its resourcing and ensuring it had a focus on research.
Continue reading...Lawyers for Liam Alexander Hall say the 32-year-old is undergoing treatment in custody
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Lawyers acting for Liam Alexander Hall, a 32-year-old man accused of attempting to bomb an Invasion Day rally in Perth, have foreshadowed a potential not guilty by insanity plea.
Hall was scheduled to appear before magistrate Matthew Walton via video link from Western Australia’s most secure psychiatric facility on Tuesday, but did not. Instead the case was adjourned until May.
Continue reading...Treasurer Jim Chalmers says changes will help with cost of living and ‘Australians hate paying’ the surcharges
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Debit and credit card surcharges will be gone by October under Reserve Bank reforms, with big banks likely to foot the bill for the cost-of-living measures.
The new rules, announced on Tuesday, will enable businesses to remove added fees on Mastercard, visa and eftpos card payments.
Continue reading...Survey also found 65% of gen Z think ‘things are better if men do paid work and women do care work’
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Younger fathers are more likely to cling to outdated ideas that frame men as the money earners and women as caregivers, new research has found.
The Australian State of the World’s Fathers report is based on a global survey of 8,000 parents, with 533 from Australia.
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