Category Archives: Australia news

Indigenous Australians split over voice vote despite memory of colonial horror

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But memories of colonial project to wipe out Tasmania’s natives boost yes campaign on island

Patsy Cameron stands in her dining room in Tomahawk – a small fishing village on the north-east coast of Tasmania, Australia. She tells a story – a few decades old – of how she boarded a plane back from Darwin, her hands full of cultural objects she had bought. The man next to her turned and said: “They should have shot them all like they did to the Tasmanians.” She started crying. He responded by offering her a piece of cake, and an apology.

Behind her is a cabinet full of shell necklaces and drawings of her ancestors. The home she shares with her husband, Graham, is filled with cultural artefacts that the historian learned to make by reading diaries and anthologies of colonisers. Piece by piece she has put history back together. Piece by piece she is reviving her culture.

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Sydney smashes 1 October heat record as Victoria fights bushfires

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The previous hottest start to October in Sydney was 33.1C but Sunday’s mercury peaked at 35.6C

Sydney has endured its hottest ever start to October on record as fire danger warnings were issued across NSW – and as two bushfires threatened campers and towns in eastern Victoria.

According to data from the Bureau of Meteorology, two years had tied for Sydney’s hottest 1 October on record: 33.1C was recorded at Observatory Hill weather station in both 1961 and 2009.

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Australia news live: two die after reportedly attending music festival; bushfire evacuation warning for campers in eastern Victoria

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The two men in their 20s reportedly attended the Knockout music festival at Sydney Olympic Park. Follow the day’s news live

Reserve Bank not likely to move on interest rates

Australian borrowers are likely to be spared more interest rate pain this week, following the first Reserve Bank of Australia board meeting under its new governor.

Sydney: 594 auctions with a clearance rate of 71.7%

Melbourne: 159 auctions with a clearance rate of 66%

Brisbane: 82 auctions with a clearance rate of 70.7%

Adelaide: 58 auctions with a clearance rate of 79.3%

Canberra: 64 auctions with a clearance rate of 62.5%

Tasmania: No auctions held with two expected this weekend

Perth: Six of 13 auctions have been held

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People power and a tsunami of ads: the yes voice campaign’s last-ditch effort for an unlikely victory

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Can the campaign for the Indigenous voice defy the polls and climb the ‘goat track’ of victory?

The yes campaign plans to staff every polling booth in the country with volunteers advocating for the voice, hoping their sheer numbers of supporters – and a renewed messaging focus on the consequences of a no vote on Indigenous Australians – can be enough to counter a no campaign that holds the advantage.

But despite talk in some quarters of the vote already being lost, voice supporters hope a final fortnight – including a tsunami of ads, an enormous pre-poll effort and the effects of the much-dissected “vibe” – will combine to carry the first referendum success in 46 years.

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Spike in instant noodle burns prompts school holiday warning from Sydney children’s hospital

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Ten children have recently been treated for scalding at Westmead hospital, with injuries to thighs or genital area the most common

School holidays have led to a spike in the number of children suffering scalding burns from instant noodles, prompting a warning from a major New South Wales hospital.

Five children have been referred to the children’s hospital at Westmead in the last week after sustaining scald burns from instant noodles. Another five were treated for the same mishap earlier in September.

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Gladys Berejiklian is fighting to clear her name after Icac’s adverse findings. Is it a risk worth taking?

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The former NSW premier will launch her legal appeal next month, but some say the extended public attention may further damage her reputation

Using the courts to clear one’s reputation can seem like a logical path, but it can also backfire spectacularly.

Even victory can prove pyrrhic, as waves of publicity accompanying every court appearance lead to a retelling of the original slur.

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Childcare fees may need to be capped to curb erosion of subsidies, ACCC says

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Watchdog’s latest report says childcare in Australia is ‘relatively less affordable for households than in most other OECD countries’

Caps on childcare fees may be required to prevent providers hiking prices in response to more generous government subsidies, the competition watchdog has warned.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s second report into childcare, released on Sunday, warns that childcare in Australia is “relatively less affordable for households than in most other OECD countries”. The ACCC said there would be “substantial benefit” in the government considering “direct price controls”.

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Call for national strategy to force Australian vaping industry to clean up waste

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Lithium-ion batteries embedded in the products have been blamed for an increasing number of hazardous fires at landfill sites

Campaigners are calling for a national strategy to force vape manufacturers, importers and retailers to take responsibility for the industry’s waste, given the threats it poses to the environment and human health.

Clean Up Australia says consumers are confused about how to responsibly dispose of their used products, which are variously classified as electronic waste or hazardous waste depending on where someone lives in Australia.

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Travel website Booking.com leaves hoteliers thousands of dollars out of pocket

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As the website boasts about increased revenue, some partners say they have not been paid for months

Travel website Booking.com has left many hotel operators and other partners across the globe thousands of dollars out of pocket for months on end, blaming the lack of payment on a “technical issue”.

The issue is widespread in Thailand, Indonesia and Europe among hoteliers who are venting their frustrations in Facebook groups as rumours swirl about the cause of the failure to pay.

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Confused cows and more time after work: the pros and cons of daylight saving across Australia

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At 2am on Sunday the clocks roll forward an hour in NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the ACT. So why aren’t Queensland, WA and the NT onboard?

Depending on who you ask, it’s either the most wonderful time of the year or the bane of their existence.

As most Australians sleep through Saturday night and into Sunday morning, time will skip ahead one hour – but only in some states and territories.

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Man dies after suspected whale collision capsizes boat in Sydney

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NSW water police respond after reports of the incident off Cape Banks at La Perouse

One man has died and another is in a stable condition in hospital after a boat capsized after it was reportedly struck by a whale in Sydney.

NSW water police responded to reports that two people were in the water off Cape Banks at La Perouse at about 6am on Saturday morning, after their unoccupied boat was found circling in the waters.

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Australian gardener becomes first person to survive deadly flesh-eating bacteria

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Woman treated with antibiotics and hyperbaric oxygen therapy to survive infection by pathogen that causes blackleg disease in cattle and sheep

An Australian woman has became the first documented person in the world to survive a pathogen that is usually the cause of the deadly “blackleg” disease in cattle and sheep.

The woman’s doctors this week published the case in the Medical Journal of Australia, detailing the successful treatment of the pathogen, after the only other two known cases in humans – one in the US and the other in Japan – had proved fatal.

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Unseasonable heat to hit south-east Australia over grand final weekend

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Experts warn of increased risk for vulnerable Australians and say sports codes will need to put heat policies into effect earlier in the season

South-east Australia is set to swelter this weekend, with temperatures forecast to reach highs of 29C in Melbourne and 36C in Sydney.

The unusual heat is likely to impact both the NRL and AFL grand finals, with the NRL reportedly planning ahead with extended breaks and play potentially delayed depending on the conditions.

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Head of Australia’s competition watchdog calls for new mandate to police airline industry

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Exclusive: Gina Cass-Gottlieb says ACCC needs greater powers to help new entrants compete with Qantas and Virgin

The head of the competition watchdog has called for a fresh mandate from the Albanese government to monitor the airline industry and help new entrants compete with established players Qantas and Virgin.

The chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, said the regulator sees “a case” for a mandate to look into competition, prices and industry practices after an earlier direction expired in June.

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Kenyan politician who said ‘the devil has gone now’ after bashing three-year-old son jailed for manslaughter

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Quincy Zuma Wambitta Timberlake, who ran for president in Kenya before moving to Brisbane, sentenced to 11 years

A refugee to Australia who had been a presidential candidate in Kenya said “the devil has gone now” after punching his son in the stomach and throwing the three-year-old against a bathroom wall.

Quincy Zuma Wambitta Timberlake was sentenced on Friday to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of Sinclair, who died on his bedroom floor at Kallangur, north of Brisbane, in June 2014.

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Penny Wong refuses to release documents related to Qatar Airways decision – as it happened

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The foreign minister claims public interest immunity over Dfat advice. This blog is now closed

Rishworth won’t confirm adoption of any disability royal commission recommendations, ahead of report release

Families and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth has refused to confirm if the government will be adopting any of the recommendations made in the disability royal commission report ahead of its public release today.

I’m not going to comment on any specific recommendations.

Obviously, we need to also make sure people with disability have choice and control.

You never change a country for the better through fear, you change it through hope and optimism and compassion and justice.

That’s what this referendum is about.

This is a body that won’t provide funds, that won’t run programs, that will just give advice to the government, and that experience of past bodies, and issues that have arisen has been factored in by Indigenous Australians when they’ve made this request.

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Cadia goldmine: Newcrest pleads guilty to breaching clean air regulations

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NSW Environmental Protection Authority alleged company had exceeded standard concentration of solid particles under air pollution laws

Mining company Newcrest has pleaded guilty to breaching clean air regulations in the operation of the Cadia goldmine, near Orange in central west New South Wales.

The NSW Environmental Protection Authority began proceedings against the company in August, alleging that the operation of surface exhaust fans attached to the main ventilation shaft for the underground goldmine, dubbed vent rise 8, had caused it to exceed the standard concentration of solid particles under air pollution laws.

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José Ramos-Horta says Australian intelligence agencies ‘know very well’ China deal is of no concern

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Timor-Leste’s president alludes to 2004 spying scandal as he brushes off concerns about new strategic partnership with Beijing

Australian intelligence agencies “know very well” that Timor-Leste’s decision to upgrade diplomatic relations with China is nothing to worry about, the country’s president has said, in an apparent reference to the 2004 spying scandal.

José Ramos-Horta has sought to ease any concerns among Timor-Leste’s neighbours about the country’s new comprehensive strategic partnership with China, despite the agreement flagging plans to expand military exchanges.

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Clive Palmer to launch million-dollar ad blitz for no vote in voice referendum

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United Australia party leader to especially target South Australia and Tasmania in reported $2m national campaign over fortnight up to 14 October poll

The campaign against the voice will be supported by millions of dollars from mining magnate Clive Palmer, who will reportedly launch an ad blitz against the referendum in the final fortnight.

Both the yes and no campaigns are preparing for a final sprint to the 14 October polling day, with major ad buys to target key states in the referendum.

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Queensland court awards temporary order prohibiting the naming of high-profile man accused of rape

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The man, facing two counts of rape in Toowoomba, was set to have been named under law changes due to take effect on Tuesday

A high-profile man accused of rape has been granted a temporary court order preventing him from being named when new Queensland laws come into effect next week.

In January the man was charged with two counts of raping a woman in Toowoomba in 2021, but he is yet to be committed to stand trial.

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This story was updated on 29 September 2023 after an earlier version said an interim order had been made by the court. A temporary order has been made.

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