Category Archives: Australia news

Two dead in light plane crash in Queensland – as it happened

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The PM has said he has raised Julian Assange’s case with President Biden, but he shied away from calling him to intervene, saying Biden ‘doesn’t interfere with the Department of Justice’.

We keep our discussions private. I made clear Australia’s position that I made as Labor leader, the same position I hold as prime minister, which is that enough is enough, it is time that this issue was brought to a conclusion.

Well, the Australian officials are working very hard to achieve an outcome which is consistent with the position that I’ve put.

Look, this is - this is of major benefit, not just to the workers and the base there at Virginia and other places, but, of course, particularly for South Australia and Western Australia. This will be a jobs bonanza, and it will do more than the direct jobs as well.

A bit like the former auto industry did … this is highly advanced manufacturing for Australia. We will reap the benefit for decades to come.

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Peter Dutton accused of trying to gain ‘political advantage’ over Israel-Hamas war

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Opposition leader says government ‘squibbed’ key United Nations vote, but trade minister says his comments are not ‘helpful at this time’

A senior Australian government minister has accused the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, of trying to gain “political advantage” over the “terrible, terrible conflict” in the Middle East.

Dutton said on Sunday that the government had “squibbed” a key vote at the United Nations, after Australia abstained from casting a vote in a UN resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza. He also said it was “very significant” that the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, had failed to secure a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, since the crisis began three weeks ago.

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Toyota sales chief says EVs ‘impractical’ for Australian drivers as Tesla retaliates against ‘cynical’ attack

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Sean Hanley says hybrid vehicles are ‘better fit’ in Australia but Electric Vehicle Council says brand’s comments could undermine lithium industry

Australia’s most popular car brand, Toyota, has launched a stinging attack on electric vehicles claiming they are not ready for our roads, not as green as they seem and remain “impractical for the vast majority of Australian motorists”.

But Australia’s most popular electric car brand and industry groups claim the argument is a “cynical” attack by a company “too slow off the mark” and at risk of losing the future automotive race.

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Russian delegation stymies creation of Antarctic conservation area

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Efforts at major conference in Tasmania stall despite evidence that such areas would save crucial foraging and breeding grounds for Antarctic wildlife

A major international conference on the Antarctic marine environment has failed to agree on new conservation areas despite hearing evidence the southern continent is facing a range of crises, including historically low sea ice levels, plummeting wildlife numbers and the first cases of bird flu.

Longstanding proposals to create nearly 4m sq km of marine protected areas did not receive consensus support largely due to opposition from the Russian government delegation, which arrived late due to visa-related delays and then repeatedly stalled discussions, according to multiple sources at the meeting in Hobart.

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Family of Sydney man shot dead during psychotic episode demand police retract claim he was ‘known’ to them

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Call by family of Steve Pampalian comes as Greens accuse police of curating the narrative around other people fatally Tasered or shot

The family of Steve Pampalian who was shot dead by New South Wales police in Sydney while suffering a psychotic episode is calling on the force to retract its suggestion he was “known to police” or provide evidence to support the claim.

The demand comes as the NSW Greens accused police of curating the narrative around other people fatally Tasered or shot in recent months, including Clare Nowland and Krista Kach.

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Thousands of men in private Facebook groups that are ‘cesspits’ of racism and misogyny

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While women’s groups on the platform support and warn others, men’s groups feature mostly derogatory comments

Thousands of Australian men are in private Facebook groups that are “cesspits” of racism, misogyny, doxing, slut-shaming and fat-shaming.

Some of them appear to be set up in response to women’s groups that are dedicated to exposing cheaters. Those sites, hundreds of which have sprung up around the world and in many parts of Australia, also “out” men for violence and abuse.

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Australia abstains from UN resolution calling for truce in Gaza, prompting criticism at home

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Representative explains resolution ‘did not recognise terror group Hamas as perpetrator of 7 October attack’

Australia has abstained from casting a vote in a UN resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza, arguing it was “incomplete” because it did not mention Hamas as the perpetrator of the 7 October attack.

On Friday, the United Nations general assembly overwhelmingly called for an “immediate, durable and sustainable humanitarian truce” between Israel and Hamas and demanded unhindered aid access to the besieged Gaza Strip.

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Doctors from around the world unite to call for urgent climate action

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Health bodies demand all governments immediately cease expansion of new fossil fuel infrastructure and production

Global health bodies are demanding international governments urgently phase out fossil fuels and fast-track renewable energy as health professionals increasingly see patients suffering from harm caused by climate change.

The world’s leading GP and health bodies, representing more than three million health professionals worldwide, will deliver an open letter on Saturday calling for urgent action against climate change to protect the health of communities.

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Residents evacuated in middle of the night from three fast-moving Queensland bushfires

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Firefighters continue to battle major blazes near Tara, where more than 30 homes have already been lost

Residents in Queensland’s Western Downs and Gladstone regions were ordered to evacuate in the middle of the night, as dozens of fires continue burning around the state.

Just before 1am on Saturday multiple emergency warnings were issued for the communities of Tara, Wieambilla and The Gums in the Western Downs region, west of Brisbane.

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Man charged as search continues for pet pythons allegedly dumped in Sydney street

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Snakes Bagel and Mango are used to a much warmer climate than found in Coogee and owner is ‘scared for their safety’

New South Wales police have charged a man after two pet pythons were allegedly dumped on to the street in Coogee, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs last week.

The 2.5-metre snakes, named Bagel and Mango, have been missing since last Saturday, with the pet’s owner posting on a Facebook group that they were dumped in an alleged fit of anger by her former partner during their break-up.

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Kate has endometriosis – and gastro problems. New research shows she’s not alone

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Genetic links have been revealed between the crippling chronic condition and painful gastrointestinal disorders

After 16 rounds of surgery for endometriosis, Kate Fisher underwent a hysterectomy at age 34.

She thought it would mean an end to the debilitatingly painful periods – instead, she began shedding from her bowel each month.

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Sydney turns over a new leaf and says goodbye to much-maligned plane trees

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Trees once described as ‘about as much use to our wildlife as concrete posts’ to gradually be phased out in favour of more drought-tolerant plants

The City of Sydney has said it will gradually phase out the use of plane trees across the streets of the city.

Plane trees, which account for almost 10% of the street and park trees across the whole City of Sydney but are the dominant species in some areas, have had their fair share of critics over the years.

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Australian politician’s speech at tobacco conference in September allegedly in breach of WHO treaty

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Exclusive: Discussion on panel came as federal government was developing reforms to address high rates of youth nicotine addiction

An Australian politician spoke at the tobacco industry’s flagship conference in South Korea, despite the federal government developing reforms to address alarming rates of youth nicotine addiction.

It is the first time in more than a decade that a serving Australian politician has spoken at a tobacco industry-funded conference. Attending such events could breach a World Health Organization (WHO) treaty, to which Australia is a signatory.

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Lilie James remembered as ‘vibrant’ and ‘adored by all’ as elite Sydney school reassures parents

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Heartbroken family issue statement and thank community for support after 21-year-old killed at St Andrew’s Cathedral school

Friends, family and colleagues are remembering the Sydney water polo coach and university student Lilie James for her “bright, bubbly personality”, as students prepare to return next week to the elite private school where she was killed.

James, 21, was found dead with serious head injuries in a bathroom attached to the St Andrew’s Cathedral school gymnasium at about midnight on Wednesday.

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Firebombing death of bus driver in Brisbane could have been avoided with better decisions, coroner finds

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Decision to discharge ‘low risk’ Anthony O’Donohue from mental health service in 2016 found to be ‘not satisfactory’

The firebombing death of a young bus driver “might not have occurred” if different decisions had been made about the care of the mental health patient who had been deemed “low risk” before killing him, Queensland’s state coroner has found.

Terry Ryan handed down his findings a day before the seventh anniversary of the death of Manmeet Sharma, a 29-year-old from India who had been working as a bus driver for the Brisbane city council for just three months.

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Woman found guilty over woodchipper murder of ex-partner in Queensland

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Brisbane supreme court finds Sharon Graham, 63, was architect of plot to kill Bruce Saunders for insurance money

A woman accused of being the architect of a murder plan that involved a man being fed into a woodchipper has been found guilty.

Sharon Graham, 63, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Bruce James Saunders at a property near Gympie on 12 November 2017.

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‘Difficult and expensive’: US report raises Aukus doubts after Joe Biden reassures Anthony Albanese at White House

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Congressional report says sale of three to five Virginia class submarines would cut the number available to the US navy fleet

The US Congressional Budget Office has raised fresh concerns about Aukus, just one day after the US president, Joe Biden, assured the visiting Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, that the deal would ultimately be approved by congress.

Biden told Albanese after talks at the White House on Wednesday that the passage of legislation allowing for the transfer of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia was a matter of “not if, but when”.

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Penny Wong urges Australians in Lebanon to ‘consider leaving’ – As it happened

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Pay deal averts six-day strike by dairy workers

A looming strike at one of Victoria’s major milk companies has been averted after the processor struck a pay deal with the union.

There is some concern around Mount Isa, and we are looking at what we can do to support that area being so remote in the western part of our state.

So looking at the weather we have today, still very extreme fire danger in the western part of Queensland. We are certainly looking at another challenging day.

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Paul Keating says voice referendum was ‘wrong fight’ and has ‘ruined the game’ for a treaty

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Exclusive: Former PM accuses John Howard and Tony Abbott of ‘outrageously and wilfully misinterpreting’ result in attempt to return to ‘great assimilation project’

Indigenous Australians were always “fighting the wrong fight” with a voice to parliament, the former prime minister Paul Keating has said, and the failure of the referendum has now “ruined the game” for a treaty that could have properly acknowledged prior Indigenous ownership and dispossession.

In an interview with Guardian Australia, Keating accused the former Liberal prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott, and the historian Geoffrey Blainey, of “outrageously and wilfully misinterpreting” the referendum result in an attempt to return to “the great assimilation project”.

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How Bruce Lehrmann’s media interviews cost him his anonymity in Toowoomba rape case

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The ‘high-profile man’ has been identified after TV appearances about the Brittany Higgins case came back to burn him

“Let’s light some fires,” said Bruce Lehrmann in June, during the first of his two-part “bombshell” interviews on Channel Seven’s flagship Spotlight program.

“Everything needs to be out there, in the open, so people can assess this for what it is.”

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