Former Ukip leader has reportedly been offered large sum to appear on ITV show, which begins this month
Nigel Farage has been seen at Brisbane airport in Australia, adding to speculation that he will be joining the lineup in this year’s I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!.
The former leader of Ukip and the Brexit party did not confirm when asked whether he was entering the jungle as part of the ITV show, but did tell a reporter that he “might be going in”.
Continue reading...Isabella Walsh has contacted embassies and consulates to repatriate 10 objects that her father wanted to be returned
An Irish woman has been inspired by the Guardian to return her late father’s collection of 19th-century African and Aboriginal objects to their countries of origin.
Isabella Walsh, 39, from Limerick, has contacted embassies and consulates in Dublin and London to repatriate 10 objects, including spears, harpoon heads and a shield, after she read about other cases in the newspaper.
Continue reading...Grattan Institute says Australia’s regional roads are a ‘dangerous disgrace’ due to paltry federal funding
Regional Australian roads have become a “dangerous disgrace”, according to a new report that warns they will get worse due to paltry funding that favours cities and forces poorer regional councils to waste repair money erecting signs in tribute to government grants.
In a new report, the Grattan Institute has found that roads across the country have become riddled with potholes and other hazards because inadequate federal and state government funding has left councils under-resourced and without sufficient knowledge or data to maintain the roads they are responsible for.
Continue reading...Transport Workers Union chief says ground crew and pilots fear ‘mistakes being made due to their unsustainable working conditions’
Travellers could be hit with unexpected disruptions as Virgin Australia’s cabin crew and ground workers close in on strike action over claims of “poverty pay” and “unsustainable” conditions.
On Monday, the Virgin cabin crew members of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) will apply to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for a protected action ballot, which, if granted, means they can vote to take industrial action that they have been threatening to do over claims of “poverty pay, job insecurity and unsafe conditions”.
Continue reading...Burnt-out car was found on Sunday morning on Mansfield-Woods Point Road in Piries
Four people are suspected to have perished after a car crashed and burst into flames in Victoria’s north-east high country.
The burnt-out car was found on Sunday morning on Mansfield-Woods Point Road in Piries, south-east of Mansfield.
Continue reading...Sirul Azhar Umar, sentenced in Malaysia over a politically charged murder, cannot be deported by Australia because he would face the death penalty
A Malaysian bodyguard sentenced over the politically charged murder of a pregnant woman is among dozens of people released from immigration detention after Wednesday’s high court ruling.
Sirul Azhar Umar, a bodyguard to former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, has languished in immigration detention in Australia since having his claim for asylum in Australia rejected in 2019.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Australian scientific agency rejects ‘ghostwriting’ claims made by US law firm representing victims of Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The Greens have warned that fossil fuel companies must not be allowed to “gag scientists” after lawyers representing victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill claimed to have uncovered evidence of the Australian government’s independent science agency collaborating with BP on academic studies.
The Downs Law Group has said documents it received as part of litigation against BP reveal the oil company’s lawyers reviewed and gave corporate approval to nine scientific studies by CSIRO employees, raising questions about the studies’ impartiality.
“[W]e do not have a revised final with CSIRO authors”
“Planned for December. Approved?”
“Appear to be other papers that CSIRO is drafting and I will need confirmation they are indeed under way so I can track them and make sure they go through the review process”
“CSIRO paper from last year which made it through the review process and was approved”
Continue reading...Australian foreign minister calls on Israel to show greater restraint around medical facilities and for Hamas to release hostages
Penny Wong has called for “steps towards” a ceasefire in Gaza, including greater restraint from Israel towards medical facilities and for Hamas to release Israeli hostages.
The Australian foreign minister told ABC’s Insiders she is “deeply concerned” about the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza but steps towards a ceasefire “cannot be one-sided”, because Hamas is yet to release hostages taken in its 7 October attacks.
Continue reading...Statet MP Jeff Bourman says his ‘Hunters for the Hungry’ proposal will help deal with ballooning deer numbers
The lone Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party MP in Victoria’s parliament has made one of his first major policy pushes of the year – to give deer meat to food banks and homeless shelters due to the high numbers being hunted.
State parliament will on Wednesday debate a motion from the upper house MP Jeff Bourman to set up a pilot program to distribute venison from government-controlled culls to food charities.
Continue reading...The government is backing hundreds of infrastructure projects across Australia, however some may now be cancelled due to cost overruns
The Australian government has committed to hundreds of infrastructure projects around the country, mostly road and rail projects.
However, as many as 250 projects that have yet to begin construction may be scrapped or delayed as a cost-saving measure to pay for at least $33bn in cost overruns.
Continue reading...Police say two-year-old was pronounced dead in hospital before another boy was found at the same address, south-west of Rockhampton
Two toddlers are dead after being found inside the same parked car, several hours apart, in a central Queensland town.
Queensland police said they were investigating “the sudden deaths” of the two boys, aged two and three, after they were discovered in a car parked in the back yard of a Woorabinda home on Friday night.
Continue reading...After eight weeks of evidence that heard of ‘chronic and shocking’ underfunding, Elisabeth Armitage wraps up landmark inquiry into killings of four women at hands of their partner
The words of a grieving family have brought a coroner to tears in the final day of an inquest examining the killing of four Aboriginal women in the Northern Territory.
“It cannot be normal that men hurt us women. Everyone must do more from the start, not just after women get hurt or killed,” wrote Ngeygo Ragurrk’s sister, Edna.
Continue reading...Kelly Bayer Rosmarin to appear in person before inquiry next week as it investigates network crash that endured for up to 14 hours last Wednesday
The embattled chief executive of Optus will appear in person before a Senate inquiry next week, as it investigates Wednesday’s outage that left millions of its customers without internet or mobile phone coverage for up to 14 hours.
Optus has confirmed that Kelly Bayer Rosmarin will appear before the inquiry – which was brought on by the Greens and the Coalition in the Senate on Thursday – in the coming days.
Continue reading...Travel website apologises to partners left out of pocket, but those told they do not qualify for compensation say it adds insult to injury
Travel website Booking.com has apologised and offered some hotel operators cash compensation for leaving hotels and partners out of pocket for months, but those who have been left out of the payment say it adds insult to injury.
In an email sent out to hotel operators this week, the Booking.com chief executive, Glenn Fogel, apologised for “the impact that our finance and payment systems maintenance and the resulting delay in payments may have had on you and your business”.
Continue reading...Just nine weeks after breaking his back during a horror bike accident, this Sydney teen is ready to show the world what he can do
Fletcher Crowley is in many ways like any other 17-year-old boy growing up on Sydney’s northern beaches.
He loves hanging out with his mates, cracking jokes, riding bikes and being outdoors. He’s just started year 12. He’s close with his mum and dad, who he says are “so chill” – although he was still nervous about them finding out he had a tattoo.
Continue reading...Jacinta Allan asks for increased police presence around Hawthorn Road after authorities break up scuffles near a synagogue close to where the Palestinian-owned burger shop was damaged by a blaze
The Victorian premier has condemned the “deeply distressing” violence that erupted between pro-Palestine and pro-Israel protesters on Friday night, after a suspicious fire at a nearby burger shop in Melbourne’s south-east.
Jacinta Allan said she was briefed on the incident on Saturday morning by Victoria police, and asked for an increased police presence in area around Hawthorn Road in Caulfield.
Continue reading...Many mortgage lenders reporting increased competition, meaning savvy borrowers can negotiate for a better deal
In real estate, everything is negotiable, including your mortgage.
While many lenders have withdrawn cashback incentives in recent months, there are still large discrepancies between the best and worst mortgage offers in the market, which means many borrowers are paying too much.
Continue reading...Calls for ALP to support a ceasefire grow as rank and file members quit and migrant communities in heartland seats threaten to turn away
When asked how Muslim and Arab communities feel about Labor’s stance on the conflict in Gaza, Randa Abdel-Fattah doesn’t hesitate.
“They are feeling rage, disappointment and betrayal,” the activist and author said.
Continue reading...The pair confirmed the news in a US magazine after weeks of speculation fuelled by Mewis wearing a large diamond ring
The Australian football star Sam Kerr is engaged to her partner and fellow professional player, Kristie Mewis.
Mewis confirmed the news in People magazine, after several weeks of speculation fuelled in part by social posts featuring her wearing a diamond ring on her engagement finger.
Continue reading...Anthony Albanese announces immigration plan with special visa category for people affected by rising sea levels in the vulnerable Pacific island nation
Australia will offer residency to people affected by climate change in the low-lying Pacific nation of Tuvalu, as part of a sweeping new treaty that also locks the two countries into close security ties.
At a time when many Pacific leaders are pressing Australia to take stronger action against its fossil fuel sector, the treaty explicitly recognises the vulnerability of Tuvalu to rising sea levels.
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