Category Archives: Australia news

One in 10 Australian men report having sexual contact with under-18s, study finds

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UNSW study finds nearly one in six men over the age of 18 had sexual feelings towards under-18s

Francene Reo’s stepdad told her it was therapy. In 1976, the Newcastle supreme court found it was child sexual abuse.

At that time, charging someone for incest was so unusual “they didn’t even know how to word the charges”, she said. Reo’s stepdad spent five years behind bars for his years of severe offending, which took place for 10 years when she was aged six to 16. She didn’t speak about it for decades.

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Australia news live: ‘hunger for justice’ has swept the world, Assange’s father tells Melbourne pro-Palestine rally

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Organisers of Sydney pro-Palestine rallies say they have been attended by 30,000 people, as thousands gather in cities around the country. Follow today’s news updates live

Julian Assange’s father to address pro-Palestinian rally in Melbourne

A pro-Palestine rally will be addressed by the father of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, with organisers confident a large crowd is set to attend.

The Australian public are disgusted at the Albanese government’s refusal to call for ceasefire.

We’ve had people come who have never before been to a rally and the following week they return with their relatives and friends.

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‘Absolutely absurd’: lawyers criticise opposition proposal to re-detain immigration cases

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James Paterson refuses to back Peter Dutton’s plan to send people back to immigration detention but pushes alternative method of jailing them

The federal opposition’s home affairs spokesperson, James Paterson, has refused to back Peter Dutton’s suggestion the government could simply re-detain 93 people released from indefinite immigration detention after a landmark high court ruling.

But the Liberal frontbencher’s alternative proposal – to use terrorist-style preventative or continuing detention orders – has been lashed as “absurd” by leading lawyer Greg Barns SC who claimed there was no evidence any of the released detainees were at high risk of reoffending.

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Billionaire miners Andrew and Nicola Forrest buy Australian hatmaker Akubra

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Outgoing chairman Stephen Keir IV says family-owned company ‘thought long and hard about selling business after five generations’

Iconic Australian hatmaker Akubra is changing ownership for the first time in five generations.

Tattarang, owned by Australian businessman Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest and his wife Nicola, has acquired Akubra from the Keir family, who trace their ownership back 147 years.

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Mulgrave byelection: Labor retains Daniel Andrews’ seat despite swing against Victorian government

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Dandenong mayor Eden Foster leading 54-46 on a two-party preferred basis after Saturday’s byelection

Victorian Labor has retained Daniel Andrews’ seat of Mulgrave despite a significant swing against the government in the former premier’s seat.

The Dandenong mayor, Eden Foster, was leading with more than 40% of the primary vote in Saturday’s byelection, which was down more than 10 percentage points from Andrews’ showing at last year’s state poll.

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South Australian police chief’s son dies after alleged hit and run during schoolies

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Grant Stevens’ teenage son Charlie sustained a brain injury after allegedly being run down south-east of Adelaide, with a man later charged

The son of South Australia’s police commissioner has died in hospital after being struck by a car in an alleged hit-and-run incident during schoolies celebrations.

Charlie Stevens, 18, sustained an irreversible brain injury after being run down about 9pm on Friday in Goolwa, about 90km south-east of Adelaide, an emotional SA police deputy commissioner Linda Williams told reporters.

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‘Straight out of Utopia’: healthcare workers denounce $558m expansion of Albury base hospital

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NSW and Victoria government documents show support for push by doctors to combine the Albury and Wodonga hospitals into one new facility – but that’s not what was announced

A $558m redevelopment of Albury Base hospital jointly proposed by the New South Wales and Victorian state governments has outraged healthcare workers and community groups, who claim both governments misled them during a years-long consultation.

“If I was going to design a system to hide the dismal plans they’ve provided us, I’d design it exactly the way they’ve done it,” says Michelle Cowan from local community group Better Border Health. “These are the oldest tricks in the book. It’s the most cynical exercise so they can say they’ve ticked the consultation box.”

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‘Draconian’ conditions come into effect for 93 foreigners released after being illegally detained by Australia

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Labor says ‘significant number’ of released detainees were convicted of serious criminal offences as experts express concern over rushed bill

All 93 foreigners identified by Australia’s home affairs department as being affected by a recent high court judgment that found they were being illegally detained have now been released.

The immigration minister, Andrew Giles, confirmed on Saturday the 93 people had been released and that all of them would be forced to comply with strict visa restrictions, including wearing electronic monitoring devices.

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Schoolies tragedy: South Australian police commissioner’s teenage son on life support after being hit by car

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Grant Stevens’ son Charlie suffers irreversible brain injury, with police alleging car’s 18-year-old driver failed to stop

The son of South Australia’s police commissioner is on life support after being struck by a car while on schoolies celebrations, in an alleged hit-and-run incident.

Charlie Stevens, 18, sustained an irreversible brain injury after being run down on Friday night in Goolwa, about 90km south-east of Adelaide, SA’s police deputy commissioner, Linda Williams, told reporters.

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Australian naval divers injured after being subjected to Chinese warship’s sonar pulses

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Acting prime minister criticises Chinese ship’s ‘unsafe and unprofessional conduct’ after Australian sailors had requested it stay clear

Australian naval divers have been injured after an “unsafe and unprofessional” run-in with a Chinese warship.

The acting prime minister, Richard Marles, on Saturday said the Australian government had expressed “serious concerns” to Chinese officials after the HMAS Toowoomba encountered a People’s Liberation Army-Navy destroyer on Tuesday.

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‘Nobody cared’: Victim’s ‘betrayal’ over revelations at Victoria’s school child sexual abuse inquiry

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Victim-survivor shocked by education department’s admission it moved accused paedophile teachers to other state schools

When the dark history of Victoria’s education department was laid bare this week in public hearings, Glen Fearnett sat metres away from bureaucrats as they divulged the state’s failings to protect children.

Fearnett is a victim-survivor of abuse and has been central in pushing for a formal apology for the abuse he and other victim-survivors suffered at Beaumaris primary school, in Melbourne’s south-east.

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Pink linen, bubbles and 14 ‘mirages’: AI ranked this Sydney bar most influential in the world – is it worth the hype?

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An elegant Rat Pack theme and constant clatter of shaking ice cubes proves a winning combination for Maybe Sammy

Remember Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown gyrating in sync, flicking rum bottles and iced glasses in the air before a throng of permed and adoring city slickers?

Well, this isn’t exactly like a scene from Cocktail – there’s not a single perm in central Sydney in 2023. But the rest of the Maybe Sammy experience? It’s got the moves.

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Melbourne has waited decades for an airport train. But is a federal funding commitment enough to get it done?

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Unlike governments interstate, Jacinta Allan was uncharacteristically subdued about Canberra’s funding review

Throughout her decades in politics, Jacinta Allan hasn’t been afraid to pick a fight with the federal government – no matter which party was in power.

But on Thursday, when the Albanese government announced it would cut $4.8bn worth of infrastructure funding in Victoria after a months-long review, the premier was uncharacteristically subdued.

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How big are the fires burning in Australia’s north? Interactive map shows they’ve burned an area larger than Spain

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La Niña, invasive grass and land management practices are all factors in the larger-than-average bushfires that have burned an area bigger than Spain. This interactive map shows the total area burned, overlaid on different capital cities

Huge bushfires have burned a significant amount of northern Australia in recent months, with the collective area burned larger than many countries, including Spain.

Experts say the massive fires are primarily due to a higher-than-average fuel load built up over the recent wet La Niña years, with an invasive grass species also contributing to more intense burns.

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Ten metres high and 10 tonnes: Louise Bourgeois’ giant spider crawls into Sydney

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Titled Maman, the bronze, steel and marble arachnid will be the looming centrepiece of the Art Gallery of NSW’s major summer exhibition

Looming over the sandstone steps of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, a giant spider is redirecting foot traffic.

The giant spider, titled Maman, is one of the late French-American artist Louise Bourgeois’ most renowned – and most outsized – works, towering at almost 10m at its highest point and sprawling just as wide. When I visit on the final day of installation, it is cordoned off – though at regular intervals, visitors peer through the gaps to gawp at the spindly creation within. People take photos from various angles in an effort to bypass the fence; others, circumnavigating the sculpture, end up down back alleys trying to find their way back.

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No beds and lack of nurses: how Anne Pedler’s last hours were spent ramped in an ambulance

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Exclusive: Australian Medical Association finds people spending more time waiting outside hospitals amid ‘unforeseen levels of ramping’

The last hours of Anne Pedler’s life were spent in an ambulance ramped outside Launceston general hospital because no bed was available for the 71-year-old.

Pedler arrived at the hospital at 12.45am on 6 August 2022 with a diagnosis of a pulmonary embolism – a sudden blockage of the vessels responsible for sending blood to the lungs. Despite being triaged as urgent, Pedler was still ramped at 8.30am – when she suffered cardiopulmonary arrest.

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WA government fails to back up premier’s claim expanding gas industry will be good for planet

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Western Australian government declines to say whether Roger Cook’s claims backed by publicly available government or third-party analysis

The Western Australian government has produced no evidence to back up a claim that expanding the state’s gas industry – and increasing its greenhouse gas pollution in the short term – will be good for the planet as it will lead to a “dramatic reduction” in global emissions.

The premier, Roger Cook, made the claim at a media conference on Thursday. Cook made similar arguments at a WA energy transition summit on Friday, when speakers including the federal resources minister, Madeleine King, backed the development of new gas reserves alongside renewable energy and critical minerals.

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Labor’s emergency laws after immigration detention ruling may amount to ‘extrajudicial’ punishment

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Legal experts say constitutional challenges to new laws are likely as Labor braces for possible compensation claims following high court decision

A legal challenge to emergency legislation responding to the high court’s decision on indefinite detention is likely, with advocates warning the Albanese government the changes may be unconstitutional.

Alison Battisson, the director of Human Rights For All, and David Manne, the executive director of Refugee Legal, have both warned the changes may amount to “extrajudicial” punishment.

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Queensland Muslims ask for police protection over New Zealand far-right activist’s pro-Israel protest

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Destinys Church founder Brian Tamaki says his event will include 200 men performing the haka and a speech from Avi Yemini

Queensland Muslims say they are fearful and have requested police protection after a New Zealand far-right activist scheduled a pro-Israel protest for the same central Brisbane location – but an hour earlier – than a planned pro-Palestine rally on Sunday.

The “Anzacs” rally in Brisbane is being promoted by Brian Tamaki, who is the founder of Destiny Church and has a history of Islamophobic comments.

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Australia news live: school strike for climate protests draw huge crowds in Melbourne and Sydney; Albanese says Apec leaders ‘very interested’ in Tuvalu deal

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This blog is now closed

‘A ceasefire is where we need to get to,’ Zoe Daniel says

Asked by RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas if she supports calls for a ceasefire, Zoe Daniel says:

If you call for a ceasefire, you’re letting down the Jewish community, if you don’t you’re allowing death and destruction to happen in Gaza.

At the end of the day, if I say to you right now, yes, I support ceasefire, that will make zero difference to what is happening in in Gaza.

I’m a former foreign correspondent. I know the logistics of this, of course, a ceasefire is where we need to get to, but you have a terrorist organisation in the middle of this. If there’s just a ceasefire, and there’s no capacity there to try to dismantle Hamas, does that allow Hamas to regroup? What does that actually lead to? That said, I’ve said to you before, very clearly, and I still stick to the position that the Israeli government has to adhere to international law and the rules of war, and I think, in some ways, has not been.

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