‘Swiftposium’: Australia to host academic conference on Taylor Swift

Event at University of Melbourne in February will explore singer’s influence on gender, mental health and urban landscapes

Australia is set to fulfil student Swifties’ wildest dreams when it hosts an international academic symposium in 2024 devoted to the global cultural and economic impact of Taylor Swift.

The three-day “Swiftposium”, hosted by the University of Melbourne from 11 to 13 February 2024, coincides with the singer’s Eras tour, which kicks off in Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 16 February.

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William Tyrrell disappearance: advice on potential charges to be given to NSW police within months, coroner hears

Advice from prosecutors about the boy’s high-profile disappearance will be provided by the end of January

Advice from prosecutors regarding possible charges over the 2014 disappearance of three-year-old William Tyrrell will be given to New South Wales police in the coming months, a coroner has heard.

A coroner heard on Friday that police are seeking the advice from the office of the director of public prosecutions about the case, with that opinion due to be delivered by the end of January.

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Australian Eurovision entrant Danny Estrin reveals cancer diagnosis as Voyager cancel European tour

Lead singer of Perth synth-metal band, which placed ninth in Eurovision, set for ‘immediate treatment’

The frontman for Voyager, Australia’s representatives at this year’s Eurovision, has announced he has been diagnosed with cancer that requires “immediate treatment”.

Danny Estrin announced the shock diagnosis on Instagram, saying he was “absolutely devastated” the band would have to cancel its upcoming European tour.

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What does Lachlan Murdoch’s elevation mean for News Corp in Australia?

The future of the Australian newspaper, which Rupert Murdoch launched in 1964, is less assured with Lachlan favouring Sky News Australia and Foxtel

With Lachlan Murdoch to become the sole chair of News Corp as well as the chief executive of Fox Corp, the global Murdoch empire will be run at least some of the time from Australia.

Lachlan, 52, moved his family back to Sydney in March 2021 because his Australian-raised wife Sarah prefers the lifestyle and the schooling it can provide for their three children.

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Australia should wipe out climate footprint by 2035 instead of 2050, scientists urge

The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering says ministers must ‘make up for lost time’ with more ambitious policy

Australian engineers and technology scientists have urged the Albanese government to “make up for lost time” and set itself a “monumental challenge” by setting a target to wipe out the country’s climate footprint by 2035 – 15 years earlier than currently proposed.

The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, representing nearly 900 leading engineers and scientists, called on the government to set a goal of reaching net zero emissions in just 12 years, arguing it could be achieved with existing mature, low-carbon technology.

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How should UK, US and Australia respond to Canada-India row?

Justin Trudeau’s accusation that India may be behind Sikh separatist killing puts western leaders in awkward position

Canada’s accusation on Monday that India may have been behind the car park murder of the Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Najjar in June – which New Delhi rejects outright – comes at an uncomfortable and unwelcome time for Britain, the US and Australia.

London, Washington and Canberra have all been prioritising closer ties with New Delhi, seeing it not just as a strategic bulwark against the fast-rising China, but also as a partner in the economic isolation of Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.

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AFL criticised for promoting series of bets that have 85% loss rate for gamblers

Analysis of 90 advertised same-game multis from Sportsbet shows only 15% would result in a win

The AFL has been promoting bets that have an 85% fail rate while taking a cut of the losses, drawing criticism from politicians and harm reduction advocates who want such ads banned.

Sportsbet suggests same-game multis during televised coverage, in segments hosted by the former AFL star Nathan Brown. These bets allow gambling on a combination of outcomes such as possessions and goal scorers, and all must succeed before money is paid out.

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Ivani’s genetic disease is worsening as she ages. Her mother hopes Australia’s new biobank will help

Exclusive: National Muscle Disease Bio-databank will store blood test and skin biopsy samples from children with diseases such as muscular dystrophy

Bindu Shree remembers her daughter Ivani had “such a nice plump face as a baby”, but now she sees gravity pulling down her four-year-old’s cheeks as the muscles in her face become weaker.

When Ivani was diagnosed with a genetic muscle disease at four months, Shree’s first response was to ask the doctors, “What’s the treatment? What can we do to help her?”

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AEC struggles to get Twitter to remove posts that ‘incite violence’ and spread ‘disinformation’ ahead of voice

Exclusive: Documents reveal platform has repeatedly ruled tweets reported by the Australian Electoral Commission are not against its terms of service

The Australian Electoral Commission has struggled to get Twitter to remove posts that it says are inciting violence against staff and promoting disinformation about the electoral process ahead of the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum, documents reveal.

Correspondence between the agency and social media company – now known as X – obtained under freedom of information laws, show frustration over “nil actions” by Twitter on AEC reports in April and May, with a referral left pending for up to 15 days and some appeals left even longer.

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NSW police look to replace mental health response program lauded as ‘so successful’

Exclusive: Force considering alternatives to Pacer program that has seen 48% reduction in people detained by police under Mental Health Act

New South Wales police are looking to replace a program designed to provide “person-centred, trauma-informed care” to people with severe mental health challenges despite the police minister describing it as “so successful”.

Under the Police, Ambulance, Clinical, Early, Response (Pacer) program, mental health clinicians employed by NSW Health are stationed with police to ensure police powers are only used when necessary in responding to mental health crises.

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Anthony Albanese expected to announce inquiry into Australia’s Covid response – reports

A three-strong panel will look into how governments responded, according to reports, but the opposition says it won’t have enough powers

A leading infectious diseases expert says an inquiry into the Covid pandemic must look at all aspects of governments’ responses, including factors beyond medical issues, such as decisions around lockdowns and school closures.

The federal government is on Thursday expected to announce a special commission of inquiry into the Covid pandemic, the Australian Financial Review reported late on Wednesday.

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Australia news live: Central Land Council executive condemns Jacinta Price’s ‘denial of history’ in press club comments as ‘disgraceful’

The CLC executive – 90 elected members who represent 75 communities across nine regions – said comments insult survivors of 1927 Coniston massacre. Follow the day’s news live

New report combats ‘inaccurate assertions’ about teaching courses

Almost three-quarters of Australian teachers are satisfied with their training programs, a new report has found, undermining the suggestion poor course content is leading to workforce shortages in the field.

Rather than focusing on the unsubstantiated claim that teachers are generally dissatisfied with ITE programs, we should instead focus on the willingness and capacity of ITE providers to continually improve these programs.

This will require a shift in focus from policymakers - away from the overwhelming emphasis on ITE and towards effective, system-wide [development] that becomes a regular part of teachers’ workload rather than a bolt-on.

Not a preamble. Not a footnote in the Constitution. First Nations people want structural change that can make a practical difference.

A mechanism that can make children’s lives better. Not just something that will feel good - something that will do good.

As the Minister, I will go to the voice and say: ‘this school attendance program isn’t working’. Help me to get the best possible advice to fix it … From every corner of the country – about how we can do better.

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Australian-first 7.5% levy to hit all Airbnb and short-stay accomodation in Victoria

Daniel Andrews also announces redevelopment of 44 public housing towers and more renter protections

Australia’s first widespread levy on short-stay accommodation and the redevelopment of 44 monolithic public housing towers have been announced by the Victorian government as part of an overhaul of policy.

The 7.5% levy on platforms such as Airbnb and Stayz, announced by the premier, Daniel Andrews, on Wednesday, is expected to raise about $70m annually to fund social and affordable housing.

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Gunman Stanley Turvey shot dead by Victorian police after three-day manhunt

Police say Turvey was armed when officers found him at an Ardmona house, near Shepparton

A gunman is dead after being shot by police after a dramatic three-day manhunt across Victoria.

Victorian police said Stanley Turvey was armed with a weapon when he confronted officers at a house in Ardmona near Shepparton on Wednesday morning.

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Qantas CEO ordered into mediation with union to decide compensation for sacked workers

Vanessa Hudson and Transport Workers’ Union national secretary Michael Kaine to attend proceedings as penalties expected to run into hundreds of millions of dollars

A federal court judge has ordered the new Qantas chief executive, Vanessa Hudson, to attend mediation proceedings with a union chief to settle compensation and penalty claims, with the bill for illegally outsourcing 1,700 workers potentially running into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

On Wednesday, legal representatives for Qantas and the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) told the federal court they were open to a mediation process to settle the final compensation stemming from their long-running legal battle. The airline ultimately lost the case last week when the high court unanimously upheld a full federal court decision for laying off staff at 10 airports in November 2020.

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Court finds boy, 14, is too young to be held criminally responsible for death of Melbourne teen Declan Cutler

Supreme court says there’s reasonable possibility the child, then aged 13, didn’t know his conduct was ‘seriously wrong’

A Victorian judge has ruled a boy, who was aged 13 when Melbourne teenager Declan Cutler was killed, is too young to be held criminally responsible for his murder.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, faced a judge-alone trial in July after he was identified as one of eight boys who attacked and killed 16-year-old Declan as he left a birthday party last year.

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Bushfires stretch along east coast as Sydney expected to break September heat record

Dozens of blazes in NSW, Queensland and Tasmania as extreme heatwave moves north

Dozens of fires are burning across the east coast of Australia during the spring heatwave with residents forced to evacuate homes and Sydney expected to set a new September heat record.

There were 63 grass and bushland fires burning along the New South Wales coast on Wednesday morning including 12 that were uncontained.

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Australian health, wellbeing and connectedness shrinking in the cost-of-living crisis, research finds

Australian Cohesion Index shows material pressures eroding trust in government and in other people, particularly among young and financially distressed

Demographer James O’Donnell likes to talk about Australia’s Matildas moment – a span of time in the recent past when people from all walks of life rallied behind a common aspiration and shared a sense of national identity.

“That was a really unifying moment,” O’Donnell says. “Then we go straight into this divisive debate around the voice to parliament. How that is playing out in the data is something we are still grappling with.”

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‘Missing half the equation’: scientists criticise Australia over approach to fossil fuels

Prof Lesley Hughes and others says there is ‘cognitive dissonance’ between Labor’s stated commitment to the climate crisis and its policies

The Australian government is “missing half the equation” in acting on the climate crisis by backing a shift to renewable energy but having no plan to get out of fossil fuels, according to an author of a new scientific review.

Prof Lesley Hughes is a leading climate change scientist and member of the independent Climate Council and government advisory body the Climate Change Authority. Hughes said there is a “cognitive dissonance” between Labor’s stated commitment to addressing the problem and the pace at which it is moving.

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Indigenous and culturally diverse Australians more likely to attend arts events, study finds

Diversity advocates say more funding and leadership opportunities are needed to match the high participation rates

Advocates representing diverse Australian artists have called for more funding after a landmark study found that Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse (Cald) Australians were more likely than other Australians to create, attend and engage with the arts.

Results from the fifth National Arts Participation survey of 9,396 Australians aged 15 and above, conducted in September and October 2022, were released on Wednesday – the first survey to take place since the Covid pandemic decimated the arts industries.

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