Category Archives: Australia news

Australia’s critical infrastructure under regular and rising attack from hackers, ASD warns

Posted on by

Signals Directorate says infrastructure of interest to malicious actors because of its broad attack surface and connected systems

Just days after a major ports company was forced to shut down operations due to a cyber-attack, the Australian Signals Directorate has issued a strong warning that Australia’s critical infrastructure is under regular targeted and opportunistic cyber attack.

DP World Australia, the country’s biggest ports operator, closed its Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle port operations after detecting unauthorised access on its network on Friday.

Continue reading...

Whistleblower David McBride’s trial delayed slightly over key public interest argument

Posted on by

Former military lawyer has pleaded not guilty to five charges in ACT supreme court over decision to leak material that was used as basis for ABC series on war crimes

David McBride’s trial has been slightly delayed to allow him a second chance to argue he was duty-bound to act in the public interest while leaking confidential military information to journalists.

Meanwhile, Australia’s intelligence agencies are supporting an effort to keep some material involved in the case secret, including from jurors, saying its disclosure could jeopardise “the security and defence of Australia”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Immigration detention: Labor to rush through emergency legislation after high court ruling

Posted on by

Home affairs minister says it’s ‘garbage’ that legislation could completely reverse high court decision that led to 81 leaving immigration detention

Labor is set to rush through emergency legislation this week to deal with the fallout of the high court’s decision that indefinite immigration detention is unlawful.

The move follows demands by the Coalition that parliament “should not rise” until legislation is passed, upping pressure on the government by demanding a response even before the high court gives its full reasons.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Wages grew by 1.3% for Australian workers in the September quarter amid tight labour market

Posted on by

Wage price index increase in line with expectations as Fair Work minimum wage decision helped pay packets close gap with inflation

Australians’ wages grew in the September quarter as decisions by the Fair Work Commission and a tight labour market helped pay packets close the gap with inflation.

The country’s wage price index rose 1.3% in the quarter alone and 4% compared with the September quarter a year ago, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

NSW police say they have busted ‘biggest criminal network in Australia’ with links to Lebanon

Posted on by

Strike Force Tromperie targeted syndicate allegedly linked to movement of $1bn through firearm, drug, tobacco and money laundering offences

Australian police say they have disrupted if not eliminated what they allege is “the biggest criminal network or enterprise in Australia” following 43 raids that resulted in 28 arrests.

A year-long investigation involving New South Wales police, the NSW Crime Commission and Australian Border Force targeted the activities of the syndicate hailing from Lebanon.

Continue reading...

‘We deserve our fair share’: state Labor leaders clash with federal government over infrastructure plan

Posted on by

Albanese government move to make states pay at least 50% of new infrastructure project bills receives pushback from premiers

State Labor leaders are at odds with the Albanese government over its plan to split the cost of building nationally significant infrastructure.

On Tuesday, the federal minister for infrastructure and transport, Catherine King, announced it would no longer be “the default” for the federal government to pick up the bulk of the tab for new roads, rail and other major projects.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: students protesting over climate crisis ‘are being the adults’, Adam Bandt says

Posted on by

Follow the day’s news live

Shorten reiterates support for two-state solution

Patricia Karvelas then raises with Bill Shorten what was said on Q+A last night, when Nasser Mashni, the president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, argued that hopes for a two-state solution “ended years ago”.

Oh, no, our policy has been to support a two-state solution.

There was a policy which we developed many, many years ago about respecting the security of Israel and the right of Palestinians to have a say in controlling their own land. I don’t think that’s a radical policy.

I think it’s unexceptional what the foreign minister said. We’re in very close step to the United States and other western nations. We’ve called for humanitarian pause, but we completely recognise that Israel’s dealing with Hamas who don’t want to negotiate, so the idea that we want an enduring peace, as Penny said, of course, is what we want.

We all know we’re a long way off that and Hamas should be prevailed upon by world opinion to hand back the hostages to say that they’re going to stop trying to kill Israelis and destroy Israel.

Continue reading...

Australia and other western governments ‘paralysed’ in response to Gaza conflict, says UN expert

Posted on by

Francesca Albanese, special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, tells National Press Club many leaders are ‘muttering inaudible words of condemnation’

A United Nations expert has accused Australia and other western governments of paralysis over the Israel-Gaza crisis, saying leaders are either “muttering inaudible words of condemnation” or staying silent in fear.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, said in a speech in Canberra on Tuesday that “violence begets violence” and warned that Palestinian children were being left “without hope” for their future.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘None’ of 81 people released from immigration detention arrived during Albanese government, Labor says

Posted on by

Immigration minister Andrew Giles hits back at Peter Dutton, saying parties have ‘shared rejection and revulsion’ at criminal conduct of those released

Labor has hit back at Peter Dutton for politicising the high court’s ruling on indefinite detention, arguing that “none” of the 81 people released so far arrived on the Albanese government’s watch.

On Tuesday the opposition leader claimed the government should not have released people from immigration detention on the basis there was “another” – unspecified – “option available” to prevent their release and still comply with the court ruling.

Continue reading...

Neil the 600kg seal stops Tasmanian woman going to work after taking nap in front of her car

Posted on by

Amber Harris woke to the sound of what she thought was somebody breaking into her car but found a tired southern elephant seal

A 600kg seal took a nap in front of a Tasmanian woman’s car, stopping her from going to work on Tuesday.

Amber Harris woke up at 6.20am to the sound of what she thought was “somebody breaking into my car”, she told ABC Hobart.

Continue reading...

Victorian premier suggests businesses could pay more if Coalition votes down WorkCover reforms

Posted on by

The government may increase premiums paid by businesses if Labor’s WorkCover bill is defeated, Jacinta Allan says

The Victorian premier has threatened to further hike premiums paid by businesses to fund the state’s workers’ compensation scheme if parliament does not pass proposed reforms she says will secure its financial future.

The Coalition party room on Tuesday voted to oppose the WorkCover bill in its current form, joining the Greens and several other crossbenchers in effectively denying Labor the numbers it needs to pass the legislation in the upper house.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘Alarming’: convincing AI vaccine and vaping disinformation generated by Australian researchers

Posted on by

Experiment produced fake images, patient and doctor testimonials and video in just over an hour

Researchers have used artificial intelligence to generate more than 100 blog posts of health disinformation in multiple languages, an “alarming” experiment that has prompted them to call for stronger industry accountability.

Artificial intelligence platforms such as ChatGPT contain safeguards that stop it from responding to prompts about illegal or harmful activities, such as how to buy illicit drugs.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Renters on jobseeker need at least 78% of income for one-bedroom apartment in capital cities, report finds

Posted on by

Index reveals rental affordability has plunged over year with situation particularly difficult in Sydney

Rental affordability has plunged in the past year with low-income Australians now completely priced out of living alone, a new report has revealed.

The ninth annual National Shelter-SGS Economics and Planning Rental Affordability Index has found affordability has worsened in the past year in every capital city except Hobart and Canberra.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Animals to be recognised as sentient beings under proposed Victorian cruelty laws

Posted on by

New draft of animal care and protection act may make Victoria first state to explicitly recognise animal sentience

The Victorian government will follow the ACT and could become the first Australian state to recognise that animals are sentient beings, under a draft overhaul of cruelty laws to be released in the coming weeks.

Guardian Australia understands a long-awaited draft of the new animal care and protection act will be released for public consultation next month, before a final bill is tabled in parliament in 2024.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Firms that donate to political parties twice as likely to win government contracts, analysis finds

Posted on by

Transparency group says donating companies should be banned from government contracts but constitutional expert disagrees

Companies that make political donations are more than twice as likely to win government contracts and should be banned from working with departments for an entire electoral cycle, according to a key transparency group.

But a constitutional expert has warned a ban could be an overreaction that confuses coincidence with corruption, given public servants who award contracts may have no idea of recent donations to political parties.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

More Australians support providing assistance to Palestinians than Israel in Gaza conflict, Essential poll finds

Posted on by

But majority want Australia to stay out of the conflict entirely as less than a third of those polled approve of federal government’s response

Australians’ sympathies in the Israel-Gaza conflict have flipped, with more now wanting to provide assistance to Palestine than Israel and a big drop in those who say Israel’s reaction to the 7 October attack by Hamas is proportionate.

The Guardian Essential poll of 1,150 voters, released on Tuesday, also found that Anthony Albanese’s approval rating is now negative for the first time in his prime ministership.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

NSW government seeks third extension of racing boss’s term as sector faces ‘challenging’ times

Posted on by

Animal Justice party to fight state government’s ‘absurd’ move to extend Racing NSW chairman Russell Balding’s term

The New South Wales government will seek a third extension of Russell Balding’s term as chairman of Racing NSW despite Treasury recommending two-term limits for directors of state-owned firms.

The extension will require legislation to be passed before the end of the year, with Balding’s position ending on 18 December, alongside that of the deputy chair, Saranne Cooke, who the government also wants to retain.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: Gaza civilian casualties ‘unacceptably high’, Plibersek says; ANZ posts record profit as customers ‘muddle through’ rate rises

Posted on by

Environment minister says ‘well‑behaved and peaceful’ pro-Palestine protests in Australia are ‘just part of democracy’. Follow the day’s news live

Minister focuses on multicultural cohesion

Pressed on why he wouldn’t call for a ceasefire, Andrew Giles says:

We have seen a considered and careful response by the Australian government through foreign minister Wong pushing towards the sort of outcomes that I think every Australian was to see.

In the last few weeks as minister for multicultural affairs I’ve spent an extraordinary amount of time engaging directly with Australians who have a close personal connection to this conflict.

Palestinian Australians, Jewish Australians and members of the wider Arab and Muslim communities and I’m, of course, deeply affected by every one of these conversations.

Continue reading...

DP World hack: Australian port operator hit by cyber-attack says cargo may be stranded for ‘days’

Posted on by

DP World pulls plug on its internet connection after finding hackers inside its systems

Australia’s biggest ports operator, which has been the target of a cyber-attack, says it should be up and running again within days.

DP World Australia closed its Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle port operations after detecting the breach on Friday, leaving cargo and containers stuck on the docks.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Eighty people already freed from Australia’s immigration detention since landmark high court ruling

Posted on by

Minister seeks to allay community concern about releases but admits ‘full ramifications’ of decision yet to be determined

The immigration minister has revealed that 80 people have so far been released from immigration detention since the high court ruled it is unlawful to hold those with no realistic prospect of deportation.

On Monday Andrew Giles sought to allay community concern about the releases, which have included Malaysian hitman Sirul Azhar Umar, by saying “all [80] are on appropriate visa conditions” including regular reporting.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...