Category Archives: Australia news

Poorer Australian regions lose out in ‘flawed’ allocation of doctors, GP body says

Posted on by

System of identifying shortages leads to skewing of resources towards wealthier areas, according to Royal Australian College of General Practitioners

Several poor rural regions are being disadvantaged by the way the Australian government identifies significant doctor shortages, while some wealthy areas are being classified as needing extra resources.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has argued that the system – which determines which regions need additional resources – is flawed and is exacerbating rural GP workforce shortages.

Doctors trained overseas are crucial to easing GP shortages across the country because for their first 10 years in Australia they must work in areas of need, known as a distribution priority area, to access Medicare benefits.

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

Continue reading...

Australian Catholic church’s insurer launches court bid to cover smaller share of abuse compensation

Posted on by

Scandal-plagued PwC would determine payout rates under scheme proposed by Catholic Church Insurance in effort to avoid insolvency

The Catholic church insurer wants to establish a scheme that would stave off its own insolvency by paying church bodies only a fraction of the money owed to abuse survivors at rates to be determined by the scandal-plagued consultancy PwC, documents show.

Catholic Church Insurance is facing significant financial turmoil due to the rising volume of abuse claims, estimating it has $381m in liabilities relating to professional standards payouts to various church entities, including dioceses and church-aligned charities.

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

Continue reading...

Australia’s taxes ‘inadequate’ for ‘adequate services’, former secretary of finance warns

Posted on by

Michael Keating to call for revenue review at Australia Institute summit as Labor provides update on multinational tax avoidance

Australia’s taxes are “inadequate” to finance government responsibilities including for aged care and defence, a former head of the finance department has warned.

Michael Keating, the secretary of the Department of Finance from 1986 to 1991, will call for a review of revenue at the progressive thinktank the Australia Institute’s revenue summit on Friday. The call is aimed at sparking debate about methods to close the tax gap including congestion charging, lifting and broadening the goods and services tax and adjusting the stage-three income tax cuts.

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

Continue reading...

Australia news live: devastation revealed in Queensland bushfire aftermath

Posted on by

There is ‘a lot of anxiety’ in the Western Downs where at least 16 houses have been destroyed, the mayor says. Follow the day’s news live

Civilians in the blockaded Gaza Strip will receive an extra $15m in humanitarian aid from the Australian government.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese made the announcement at a joint press conference with US president Joe Biden.

The plaintiff served years in prison that he otherwise would not have. At no stage did Victoria Police take positive steps to remedy its wrongdoing by expeditiously informing the plaintiff of Gobbo’s conduct in order to quash his conviction. Victoria Police has not apologised to the plaintiff.

Starting this court case is a significant moment for me. I am anxious about the future but also cautiously optimistic about finally holding police to account for what they did to me.

In the pursuit of justice, vindication came first, and now I see compensation as a measure of accountability.

Continue reading...

ACT moves to punish jurors who conduct their own research during trials

Posted on by

Attorney general says those in breach of proposed new rules could face up to two years in jail

The Australian Capital Territory will introduce new laws punishing jurors who conduct their own research.

Last year, the trial of Bruce Lehrmann collapsed in the ACT supreme court after a juror conducted their own research and brought in material from outside the courtroom.

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

Continue reading...

Anti-Woodside protesters gather at ABC studios amid fears Four Corners will reveal sources

Posted on by

WA police demanded the ABC reveal its sources for an episode featuring a Disrupt Burrup Hub protest against a Woodside gas project

Protesters gathered at ABC studios in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth on Thursday morning amid fears the broadcaster would reveal its confidential sources for a Four Corners program.

An episode of the investigative program that aired earlier this month featured Disrupt Burrup Hub as they planned a protest against Woodside Energy’s enormous gas project on the Pilbara’s Burrup peninsula.

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

Continue reading...

NSW Aboriginal affairs minister says it was his ‘aspiration’ to legislate treaty this term

Posted on by

David Harris insists Labor has not backflipped despite government delaying action until after next election

The New South Wales Aboriginal affairs minister, David Harris, says it had been his “aspiration” to legislate a treaty process with Indigenous people within the current term of parliament before Chris Minns announced it would be delayed.

Harris nevertheless insisted Labor had not backflipped on its reconciliation plans and remained committed to holding a consultation process that would inform a possible treaty.

Continue reading...

Cleo Smith detective leaked information to journalist he was in a relationship with, watchdog finds

Posted on by

WA Corruption and Crime Commission report finds Cameron Blaine shared sensitive case details with 22-year-old woman

One of the detectives who rescued kidnapped girl Cleo Smith leaked sensitive information about the case to a young journalist he was in a relationship with, a corruption watchdog has found.

Former Det Snr Sgt Cameron Blaine was among the officers who found the four-year-old at abductor Terence Kelly’s home in northern Western Australia on 3 November 2021.

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

Continue reading...

Woman found dead at St Andrew’s school in Sydney identified as water polo coach Lilie James

Posted on by

Police describe ‘confronting crime scene’ as officers search for another school employee to assist with the investigation

A young woman has been found dead at a school in central Sydney in what police have described as a “confronting scene” as they search for one of her male colleagues.

Police found the woman’s body in the gym bathroom at St Andrew’s Cathedral school on Bathurst and Kent streets just before midnight on Wednesday.

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

Continue reading...

Aukus will ‘get done’ despite jitters in Congress, Biden tells Albanese at White House meeting

Posted on by

Getting approval for nuclear submarine plan through legislature a question of ‘not if, but when’

Joe Biden has played down congressional jitters over the Aukus nuclear-powered submarine deal and has revealed he assured Xi Jinping that the countries involved are not aiming to “surround China”.

The US president welcomed the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to the White House and insisted he was “confident that we’re going to be able to get the money for Aukus because it’s overwhelmingly in our interest”.

Continue reading...

Hundreds flee deadly bushfire in Queensland to evacuation centres as NSW grass fires continue to burn

Posted on by

Police confirm a body was found near a dam in Tara, where fire remained at emergency level on Wednesday

Queensland firefighters are hoping a shift in wind direction on Thursday will help push a deadly, out-of-control bushfire that has destroyed 11,000 hectares of bushland away from the town of Tara.

About 350 people had fled the Tara fire to evacuation centres by Wednesday afternoon. By 6.45pm, authorities had told some residents in the region to leave immediately as their lives could be in danger.

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

Continue reading...

Eight more Australians leave West Bank – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Military deployment to Middle East will be for evacuation of Australians

Defence minister Richard Marles was asked on Today what the role of the aircraft and troops sent to the Middle East would be.

We’ve made our position really clear.

Israel has a right to defend itself and to move against Hamas. What is absolutely essential in doing that is that the protection from the centre and and all the steps that Israel takes, and that the rules of war are adhered to and we’ve been making that very clear, as well.

Continue reading...

First Nations man in critical condition after being shot by police in Queensland

Posted on by

Police say officers were called to a disturbance in Logan, south of Brisbane, on Wednesday afternoon

A First Nations man is in a critical condition after he was shot by police in Logan, south of Brisbane, on Wednesday afternoon.

The man, 40, was shot by officers on Croydon Road, close to the town centre of Logan Central, about 1pm. The Queensland Police Service said in a statement that officers had been called to a disturbance.

Continue reading...

Grim end to year predicted for Labor with high chance of at least two more interest rate rises

Posted on by

Strong quarterly inflation figures sends market scrambling as odds on for interest rate hike at Reserve Bank’s Melbourne Cup Day meeting

The Albanese government looks set for a dismal end to 2023 with the looming prospect of two Reserve Bank interest rate rises, compounding the disappointment of the failed voice referendum.

Wednesday’s surprisingly strong September quarter inflation figures prompted many economists to jettison views that official interest rates had peaked. Investors now price the odds of another quarter-point RBA hike to 4.35% on 7 November at 80%, doubling in a day, according to Bloomberg.

Continue reading...

Australia’s inflation rate rose 1.2% in September quarter boosted by higher fuel prices

Posted on by

Quarterly CPI was higher than economists’ expectations and will increase speculation that the Reserve Bank may again raise interest rates

Australia’s inflation rate quickened in the September quarter, boosted by higher petrol prices, adding to pressure on the Reserve Bank to hike interest rates again.

The headline consumer price index rose 1.2% in July-September, up from 0.8% in the June quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Wednesday. Economists had expected the quarterly rate to come in 1.1%.

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

The RBA has left its key interest unchanged at 4.1% for the past four months. Ahead of today’s inflation numbers, markets were pricing in about a one-in-three chance that the central bank would lift the cash rate to 4.35% at the 7 November meeting.

Continue reading...

Israel ambassador claims his country is the victim as Penny Wong warns of ‘desperate need’ in Gaza

Posted on by

Australian foreign minister calls for ‘humanitarian pauses on hostilities’ as Amir Maimon urges world not to ‘look away’ from Hamas’s actions

Israel’s ambassador to Australia has insisted the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “fair” after Penny Wong’s warning that the besieged strip had “nowhere near enough” access to aid supplies.

The Australian foreign minister called on Wednesday for “humanitarian pauses on hostilities, so food, water, medicine and other essential assistance can reach people in desperate need, and so civilians can get to safety”.

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

Continue reading...

Young people think vapes aren’t harmful because they are so easy to buy, study finds

Posted on by

More than a third of young adults are vaping and many of them are doing it even though they know vapes contain nicotine, Cancer Council data shows

More than one-third of young adults are using e-cigarettes, and almost three-quarters of parents suspect their child is vaping, a new study has found.

Young people can easily access vapes and availability is leading to a perception products are not harmful, according to public health experts.

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

Continue reading...

Australia approved 322 defence exports to Israel in six years as Greens fear equipment used in Gaza assault

Posted on by

Greens call for greater transparency on ‘what those weapons are and how much they cost’

Australia has approved 322 defence exports to Israel over the past six years, according to new figures that will fuel questions at a Senate hearing on Wednesday.

The government-compiled figures, which include 49 permits for Israel-bound exports last year and 23 in the first three months of this year, may cover both military-specific goods and also dual-use devices.

Continue reading...

‘Unjust and cruel’ lack of clarity still hangs over 64 refugees exiled in PNG

Posted on by

Questions remain following whistleblower claims of corruption and nepotism in the Australian-sponsored program

Refugees exiled in Papua New Guinea have labelled the lack of clarity about their fate “cruel and confusing” after explosive claims of “missing” Australian funds and assurances of resettlement from Port Moresby that have not been actioned by the Australian government.

Questions remain unanswered for the 64 refugees, many of whom were sent to Manus Island’s illegal detention centre more than 10 years ago. One refugee in Port Moresby, who wished to remain anonymous, said the lack of clarity about his fate was cruel.

Continue reading...

Renewed push for NSW to raise age of criminal responsibility to 14

Posted on by

Exclusive: With children as young as 10 ‘regularly’ before the courts, NSW must consider raising the age of criminal responsibility, says broad group of child advocates

More than a dozen organisations have formed a coalition to push the New South Wales government to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14, arguing the status quo is harming young people and entrenching social issues.

The group includes key agencies including First Nations organisations, legal and human rights groups, peak bodies and unions, each with different perspectives on why the change is overdue and how it can be done.

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

Continue reading...