Australia’s 178 billionaires are $25.7bn richer than last year as 3.7 million live in poverty

Oxfam finds the 20 richest Australians now hold more wealth than the bottom 3 million households

The wealth of Australia’s billionaires increased by $25.67bn in the past year, equivalent to almost $50,000 a minute, according to new Oxfam Australia analysis of the 2026 Australian Financial Review Rich List.

The anti-poverty organisation said the total wealth of Australian billionaires in 2026 has reached more than $686bn, while Acoss figures show 3,706,000 people live in poverty, including 757,000 children under 15 years.

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‘Imminent threat’: charges laid against 13-year-old who allegedly planned attack on Queensland school

Alleged threat on regional school north of Brisbane was ‘quite well advanced’, state counter-terrorism police say

Queensland counter-terrorism police have charged a 13-year-old with planning an attack on a regional school north of Brisbane.

The teenager was arrested last Thursday after allegedly making threats at a business in Maryborough, armed with a knife.

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Queensland police shoot pet dog after running it over as distressed residents watch on

Graphic videos on social media appear to show upset onlookers after police accidentally ran over animal in Mount Isa street

Confronting footage has emerged of police shooting dead a pet dog as it lay prone in the middle of a street in front of screaming onlookers, after they accidentally ran over the animal in an outback mining city.

The graphic videos, posted to social media on Sunday afternoon, appear to show one resident in distress and being led away wailing and pulling at her hair in distress as a shot rings out.

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Capital city home prices fall across Australia as experts predict slump could last a year and cut values by 10%

Buyers abandon auctions and Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra median house prices end May lower than they were at the end of 2025

Home prices in Australia’s capital cities have begun to fall, with experts predicting the decline could last at least a year and wipe as much as 10% from values.

The median capital city home price fell in May, the first decline since January 2025, as high interest rates and inflation stretched buyer budgets, Cotality reported on Monday. Auction success hit a new low for the year.

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English Green party leader Zack Polanski tells Australian colleagues to ‘connect with anger’ to counter rightwing populism

Australian Greens should ‘take on’ Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, Polanski tells Victorian conference, just as he took on Nigel Farage’s Reform UK

Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green party of England and Wales, has told his counterparts in Australia that they need to start “connecting with people’s anger” and learn from the “storytelling power” of populist rightwing politics.

Speaking via video link at the Victorian Greens campaign conference on Saturday night, Zack Polanski said the party in Australia needed to start “taking on” Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, just as his own party had taken on Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

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Government declines to protect Indigenous sacred site to be bulldozed for Brisbane Olympic stadium

Environment minister Murray Watt decides against emergency declaration to halt construction but does not rule out ‘longer term protections’

The federal government has decided against an 11th-hour intervention to halt construction of an Olympic stadium and aquatic centre in the heart of Brisbane, in a park that traditional owners say is a First Nations sacred site.

The environment minister, Murray Watt, issued a statement on Sunday afternoon to say he had considered applications made under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act for him to stop construction in Victoria Park.

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Thousands without power in Perth as destructive storms hit WA

Wind gusts up to 125km/h forecast to hit city as residents urged to stay away from windows

Intense storms are lashing the western coast of Australia with an unusually deep low pressure system packing powerful winds and heavy rain.

The extreme weather eventbrought wind gusts of up to 125 km/h to Perth and communities along Western Australia’s coast on Sunday afternoon.

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Australia to buy only secondhand nuclear subs from US in major Aukus switch – as it happened

This blog is now closed

Extra negative gearing limits could hurt market and family budgets, Labor says

Clare O’Neil has rejected calls from the Greens and others to put further limits on negative gearing access, saying the government should not interrupt “immediate arrangements”.

There’s people in the debate who want to see the government go further. I really understand that but I just think we need to step back.

Negative gearing is a very immediate impact on a household and family budget and it’s not something that governments, when they’re making tax changes, should do, to interrupt people’s immediate arrangements.

We need to land this. We’ll do that in the appropriate time given the need … This is not a political timeline. It is a policy timeline … It’s important this gets resolved speedily and that’s what the government is working towards.

I think there’s a range of things that are on the table in those conversations and I won’t speak about them in detail …

The government wants to get the right outcome here and we are not going to be driven by the politics of the moment. It’s really important we reach the right landing point for this and I think I have spoken in previous interviews this week about some of the issues we see.

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New Aukus drone tech to protect critical undersea cables as Marles warns: ‘seabed is a battlefield’

Minister at Singapore defence summit also reveals Australia to buy only secondhand Aukus submarines from US

The defence minister, Richard Marles, has said the “seabed is a battlefield” in a combative speech urging Beijing to be more transparent about its maritime operations, and taking aim at weak international controls over so-called “shadow-fleet” vessels.

The warning came as the US, UK and Australia announced a new Aukus project to develop new underwater drone technology to protect undersea cables.

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‘Significant’ storm to hammer millions in WA and bring icy weather to NSW, Victoria and SA

Bureau of Meteorology says WA residents should brace for wind gusts higher than 125km/h – the strength of category two cyclones

A major storm system bearing down on millions of Western Australians on Saturday is bringing cyclone-strength winds, and is set to deliver a “wintry blast” to the east of the country early next week.

Residents across WA’s populated south-west were warned to tie down loose items and prepare for destructive wind gusts that could exceed 125km/h from Saturday evening.

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Vivid Sydney cancels all drone shows after 83 drones plunged into Darling Harbour

Fireworks displays will replace all drone shows at the iconic festival after a technical issue saw dozens fall from the sky on Monday night

Vivid Sydney has cancelled all remaining drone shows after 83 fell from the sky into Darling Harbour this week, prompting a “full assessment” of the aerial light show.

On Monday, audiences looked on as a performance called Star-Bound suddenly went awry, with “unforeseen technical difficulties” causing 83 drones to plunge into the waters of Cockle Bay and six to land on a boardwalk. No injuries were reported.

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Brisbane teenager accused of using a police car as a BMX ramp in viral stunt at Scientology church

Zeppelin Witheridge charged with public nuisance over ‘Scientology speedrun’ social media trend

A social media stunt that treats churches like video games has gone from TikTok to the dock, landing an alleged teenage “speedrunner” in court.

Zeppelin Witheridge, 18, has been accused of using a police car as a BMX ramp after a viral challenge went awry at the Church of Scientology in Brisbane’s CBD.

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‘Essentially diving in coffee’: Australian diver among team rushing to rescue people trapped in flooded Laos cave

Josh Richards joins international mission to help five found alive and search for missing divers, with one person extracted successfully

An Australian cave diver is part of an international team that has brought one man out alive from a remote flooded cave in Laos, with the rescue operation continuing for six more men still trapped underground.

One man was brought alive from the labyrinthine cave complex late on Friday. Four remain stranded on a rocky ledge about 300m from the cave entrance, while two men are still unaccounted for.

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Victorian greyhound trainer avoids ban despite dog being found with cocaine in system

Tribunal decision on Geoffrey Dalton comes as advocacy group releases data showing 30 greyhounds have died at or after Victorian races this year

A veteran greyhound trainer whose dog was found to have cocaine in its system at a race has avoided a temporary ban despite the industry regulator calling for one.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Vcat) on Thursday decided not to impose tougher penalties on Geoffrey Dalton, who was fined $300 after the dog tested positive for cocaine before a 2024 race.

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Wild weather unleashes thunderstorms across south-east Australia, triggering flash flooding

Wet weather batters parts of Queensland, NSW and Tasmania amid warnings of heavy falls on Friday

Wild weather more typical of summer than the last days of autumn has caused chaos in south-eastern Australia, unleashing a string of severe thunderstorms.

Heavy rainfall accompanied by 500,000 lightning strikes across Queensland and New South Wales triggered widespread flash flooding, road closures and travel disruptions.

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Soft toys, memes and a movie villain: Labor tries to simplify the message but selling a budget isn’t child’s play

As the budget fight plays out fiercely online, Labor senator Ellie Whiteaker turns to a zebra and a giraffe for help

Selling a complicated federal budget isn’t exactly child’s play, but Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers could do worse than following the example of their colleague’s toy giraffe and zebra to help explain their contentious tax changes.

The budget fight is dominating parliament and Senate estimates, but it’s being fought just as fiercely online. The weapons of choice? Memes, fluffy animals and a questionable reference to a serial killer cannibal.

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Lord Howe Island got rid of its rats and mice – now its ‘wonderful’ insect life is back

Invasive vermin decimated the island’s native flora and fauna – but its unique cockroaches and beetles are thriving once again

In the summer months, Lord Howe Island’s unique stag beetle, with wing cases that appear forged from iridescent green metal, fly around the ancient tree tops looking for a mate.

“That’s really something wonderful,” said Ian Hutton, a naturalist and nature guide on the World Heritage-listed island.

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Community shocked after Aboriginal rock shelter bulldozed for NSW power lines

The heritage site was destroyed by contractors building transmission lines for the Central-West Orana renewable energy zone

Indigenous community members have described their shock and anger after an Aboriginal rock shelter was “damaged beyond recovery” by contractors building transmission lines for a New South Wales renewable energy zone.

The heritage site was destroyed by bulldozers in March during the construction of access tracks for the Central-West Orana renewable energy zone, a transmission line project located about 300km north-west of Sydney.

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Image of ‘twin babies’ used by anti-abortion activist appears to show sugar gliders

Joanna Howe says the image was sent to her by a woman ashamed of her abortion, and used it to support ‘rally for Emma and Ruth’ in favour of NSW bill

An image posted by anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe claiming to show aborted twin girls called “Ruth and Emma” appears to be a picture of sugar gliders.

The two little pink bodies are displayed on a clean white background and experts say the image does not look at all like the product of an abortion.

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Renters could save $20bn on bills in a decade from rooftop solar and appliance upgrades – if landlords act

Owners’ lack of motivation due to ‘split incentive’ is main reason rental properties are missing out on energy upgrades, research finds

Renters make up nearly a third of Australian households, yet many are missing out on energy upgrades – such as insulation, appliances and rooftop solar – that could slash their power bills and improve home comfort.

The problem, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), is landlords’ lack of motivation.

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