Category Archives: Australia news

‘If not now, when?’: Thomas Mayo pleads with voters not to delay Indigenous voice to future generations

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Leading yes campaigner questions how many lives will be ‘lost or cut short’ in the meantime if referendum does not succeed

The leading yes campaigner Thomas Mayo says problems facing Indigenous Australians cannot be fixed without a mechanism like the voice to parliament and has pleaded with voters to back the referendum rather than delaying the vital reform to future generations.

Mayo called the voice “the moral and logical thing” for Australians to support, saying it was inevitable that something like the advisory body would need to be set up at some point.

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Abattoirs overwhelmed as farmers offload livestock before big dry begins

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Growth in herd sizes and declaration of El Niño push industry into ‘somewhat of a panic’

Wait times for farmers seeking to offload livestock to feedlots and abattoirs are increasing from weeks to months in some areas, putting further strain on producers facing a grim summer outlook.

A rapid shift to drier conditions, low commodity prices and labour constraints have created the “perfect storm” in Australia’s meat processing supply chains, according to the industry.

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Experts slam ‘disproportionate’ NSW approach to pro-Palestine rallies as government threatens ‘full force’ of law

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Human Rights Law Centre’s Alice Drury says response from police and government to rallies sets ‘very dangerous precedent’

Human rights and legal experts have condemned the New South Wales government’s “escalating”, “unnuanced” and “disproportionate” rhetoric and response to pro-Palestinian protesters following a rally at the Opera House.

NSW authorities have vowed to stop marches from proceeding while protesters have promised to “march next week and every week” after a “static demonstration” in Hyde Park this Sunday.

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Guardian Australia picks up seven Walkley award nominations

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Indigenous affairs editor Lorena Allam and political editor Katharine Murphy among journalists named as finalists

Guardian Australia has picked up seven nominations in the 68th annual Walkley awards for excellence in journalism.

Guardian Australia dominated the short feature writing and commentary and analysis categories, taking out two of the three nominations in both.

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Australia news live: Julian Leeser makes last-minute plea for voice; thousands rally for Israel

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Former shadow attorney-general says the referendum should be about ‘hope’; Peter Dutton and NSW premier speak at Sydney gathering. Follow the day’s news live

Morrison-era climate agency to be reviewed on effectiveness in preparing for natural disasters

A climate agency created in the wake of the Black Summer bushfires will be put under the microscope as Australia heads into a hot weather season predicted to deliver extreme weather events.

Our government is committed to building greater national climate and disaster risk information capability, to provide authoritative data and analytical tools for governments, industry, and the public.

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Australians ‘hold you in our hearts’, Anthony Albanese tells Jewish community

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Amid rising tensions between supporters of Israel and Palestinians, the prime minister says Jewish people will be protected from any antisemitic threat

Anthony Albanese has told Australian Jews that his government is committed to keeping them safe amid rising inter-community tensions following the Hamas attack on Israel and the prospect of all-out war in the Middle East.

As thousands of people gathered in Sydney on Wednesday night to commemorate the deaths of civilians and show support for Israel, the prime minister addressed the Jewish community at St Kilda Shule in Melbourne.

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Former PMs pour cold water on claims Anthony Pratt told them Trump’s US submarine secrets

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A US news report claimed Donald Trump discussed secret US naval capabilities with the billionaire Australian businessman

It was a revelation that could have had explosive ramifications.

US news outlet ABC News reported that an “excited” Donald Trump allegedly discussed top-secret details of US nuclear submarines with the Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt, who later allegedly shared the information with at least 45 people, including “three former Australian prime ministers”.

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Voice no campaigner claims Uluru statement supporters want ‘their own military’

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Kerry White, a Narungga elder, former One Nation candidate and Warren Mundine backer, also claims the stolen generation was not ‘stolen’

A no campaigner linked to Warren Mundine’s Recognise a Better Way group has falsely claimed supporters of the Uluru statement want “their own military” and voiced a conspiracy theory that the creation of Indigenous treaties would see the UN take over Australian land.

Kerry White, a Narungga elder, one-time One Nation candidate, and committeemember of the Recognise a Better Way group set up by Mundine, went on to allege the stolen generation “wasn’t stolen” and that there was “nothing wrong” with assimilation policies.

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NSW set to enshrine net zero emissions by 2050 in law and create monitoring panel

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Exclusive: Labor government to introduce centrepiece climate legislation on Thursday, saying it shows it is ‘serious’ about driving down emissions

New South Wales is poised to have its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets of 50% by 2030 and net zero by 2050 enshrined in law and an independent advisory panel created to monitor the state’s progress.

The Minns government will on Thursday introduce its centrepiece climate change legislation to NSW parliament to entrench the targets and set up the Net Zero Commission and fulfil two election commitments.

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Woodchipper murder plotters acquired larger unit to carry out plan, court told

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Trial in Brisbane of Sharon Graham hears that a bigger machine was found to carry out the killing of her ex-partner, Bruce Saunders

A woman asked two men to murder her ex-partner to gain $700,000 from his insurance and later asked them why he was still alive, a jury has been told.

Sharon Graham, 62, faced the second day of her trial at Brisbane supreme court on Wednesday after pleading not guilty to the murder of Bruce Saunders at a rural property in Goomboorian, about 70km north-west of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

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Australia needs climate trigger laws, conservation groups say after failed challenge to coalmines

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Calls come after federal court dismisses legal action against environment minister’s decisions on two mine expansions

Conservation groups say Australia’s environment laws must be changed to include a climate trigger after the federal court dismissed a legal challenge against the environment minister’s decisions on two proposed coalmine expansions.

Known as the living wonders case, the legal action launched by the Environment Council of Central Queensland (ECoCeQ) alleged the minister, Tanya Plibersek, failed to protect the environment from climate harm when she decided the projects could move the next stage of the federal assessment process.

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Key Labor MP urges new independent watchdog for job services providers

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Julian Hill has warned the National Employment Services Association the era of ‘massive multibillion-dollar “set and forget” tenders’ is over

Job services providers should face a new regulator with powers to oversee pricing and quality, according to the government chair of an inquiry into employment services.

The era of “massive multibillion-dollar ‘set and forget’ tenders” is over, the Labor MP Julian Hill has warned the National Employment Services Association, the peak body for providers responsible for enforcing mutual obligations on jobseekers, on Wednesday.

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Flemington racecourse flood wall ‘served its purpose’, Victoria Racing Club boss tells inquiry

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Report into Maribyrnong floods says it is still unclear if construction of wall contributed to damage of residents’ homes

The head of Victoria Racing Club says a flood wall it erected around Melbourne’s Flemington racecourse “served its purpose” after the site was left undamaged during last October’s flooding that left nearby homesinundated.

Victoria Racing Club and Melbourne Water fronted a parliamentary inquiry on Wednesday into last October’s floods, after a report – commissioned by the water authority – into the Maribyrnong flooding that affected more than 500 homes was handed down on Friday. The review concluded it was unclear whether the flood wall had exacerbated flooding for residents, saying the available material did not allow a conclusion to be made.

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Cheng Lei: Australian journalist released after three years in Chinese detention

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Anthony Albanese announces Cheng has been freed and is back in Australia after being detained in August 2020 over national security-related accusations

The Australian journalist Cheng Lei – jailed for three years in China on ill-defined allegations of sharing Chinese state secrets overseas – has been freed and reunited with her family in Australia.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese,said she had been returned to Australia on Wednesday afternoon.

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Airbnb petitions Victorian government to exclude single rooms and cheap stays from new levy

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The introduction of 7.5% levy on short-stays will have ‘disproportionate impact on budget accomodation’, company’s head of public policy says

Airbnb will urge the Victorian government to exclude private room bookings and other “budget accommodation” from its recently-announced 7.5% levy on short-stays, and has cautioned other states from immediately following suit.

At a media event on Wednesday morning, the company’s head of public policy in Australia and New Zealand, Michael Crosby, said he was “disappointed” the levy was limited to short-stay platforms, having previously pushed for a 3-5% tax on all accommodation providers.

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Israel-Hamas war likely to result in increased cyber-attacks, Australia told

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Cybersecurity organisation CyberCX says groups previously focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are refocusing on Israel-Hamas war

The Israel-Hamas war is likely to result in Australian organisations being targeted online by ideologically motivated threat actors, a leading cybersecurity organisation has warned.

CyberCX’s intelligence update on 10 October states that analysis of the activity of threat groups since Israel formally declared war on 8 October had noted at least 30 groups ideologically aligned with Russia, Ukraine, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh had shifted their messaging on social media.

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Australia news live: Sydney pro-Palestine rally to go ahead without NSW police approval; Cheng Lei freed from China

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Follow the day’s news live

Heavy traffic near Sydney airport after truck crash and fluid spill

Traffic remains heavy near Sydney airport after a two-truck crash caused a fluid spill.

This is one of the most important priorities for us coming out of what’s occurred in the previous days.

Minister Wong is [working] really hard on that. The Australian government will do whatever is necessary to protect [its] citizens.

We’ll do whatever is necessary to make sure we can secure the safety of Australians … We’re working very hard to make sure we protect Australians not just overseas, but here at home.

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‘We are vulnerable’: demand for drought aid rises as El Niño takes hold in Queensland

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Rural Aid charity says requests for mental health support, financial counselling and emergency livestock feed doubles in a month

Demand for emergency rural aid is rising as farmers face a dry and unproductive summer ahead.

The latest Australian agricultural seasonal outlook forecasts farm incomes will plummet by 41% on average this financial year.

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Lack of data on sexual harassment among Australian medical workers condemned as ‘inexplicable’

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Workplace expert wants Medical Board of Australia to include specific question on sexual harassment in survey of workforce

A former medical director of the United Nations has called on Australia’s regulator of health professionals to specifically ask about sexual harassment in its regular survey of trainee doctors, saying it is “inexplicable” that this data is not collected.

The Medical Board of Australia (MBA) sponsors the medical training survey, a longitudinal survey that tracks the quality of medical training and questions respondents on workplace culture, including experiences of harassment, racism, discrimination and bullying.

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Queensland to make stealthing illegal under new affirmative consent laws

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Exclusive: removing a condom without consent will be considered rape and could attract a maximum penalty of life in prison

Removing a condom during sex without consent will be considered rape and attract a maximum penalty of life in prison under sweeping laws introduced to Queensland parliament on Wednesday.

The new laws, aimed at criminalising the tampering with or removal of a condom without consent – commonly referred to as stealthing – will be introduced into parliament as part of an affirmative consent model.

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