NSW shark attack: surfer in critical condition fought off great white before swimming to shore

Police say the man reportedly tried to fight the shark for 30 seconds at Port Macquarie’s Lighthouse beach

A surfer at a New South Wales beach fought off a great white shark and swam back to shore while suffering from serious leg injuries, police say.

The 44-year-old man was in hospital in a critical condition on Friday night after he was bitten by a shark at Lighthouse beach at 10am in Port Macquarie in northern NSW.

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Death of 1,000 crayfish in Blue Mountains under investigation by EPA

Environment Protection Authority believes a pollution incident caused the event and are working with city council to identify the toxicant

The deaths of about 1,000 giant spiny crayfish are being investigated by the Environment Protection Authority in a likely pollution incident in the Blue Mountains this week.

Hundreds of dead crayfish were found in a tributary of Hazelbrook Creek, near Horseshoe Falls, on Wednesday by a tour guide.

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What happened in Australia, 25 August: AEC hits back on referendum; Antarctic icebreaker in ‘farcical’ bridge impasse

From the latest breaking news to the events of the day, catch up on what you need to know in our summary of the Australian news of the day

The Australian Electoral Commission has come out swinging against critics who say counting ticks as a yes response in the upcoming voice referendum will undermine its fairness and impartiality.

Australia’s $528m icebreaking research vessel the RSV Nuyina is significantly wider than initially designed and lacks the turning ability to safely pass underneath Hobart’s Tasman Bridge and refuel on the other side.

A man is in a critical condition after a shark attack on Friday morning in Port Macquarie.

The Catholic church’s bid to block a legal ruling that would allow the father of a choirboy allegedly sexually abused by Cardinal George Pell to sue for damages has been knocked down at the first hurdle.

A dramatic overhaul of the nation’s family laws, which puts more focus on a child’s best interests than on shared parental responsibility, is set to go ahead.

The Queensland government’s steadfast defence of new laws allowing children to be held in police watch houses continues to draw harsh criticism from the opposition, the Greens and Katter’s Australian party.

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Keeping kids in watch houses: why the Queensland government could change the law to suit itself

Possible ‘robodebt’ scenario left Labor to either move the children or suspend the Human Rights Act – and it chose the latter

Queensland Labor MPs found out on Monday that they were expected to vote to suspend the state’s Human Rights Act, for a second time, to allow for the indefinite detention of children in adult police watch houses.

No one else seemed to have any warning. On Wednesday afternoon – on a particularly dreary day in state parliament – the police minister, Mark Ryan, tacked the law change on to an unrelated child safety bill, allowing it to pass through parliament the following day with no committee scrutiny.

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Reforms needed after ‘horrendous’ Catholic church approach in paedophile priest cases, lawyers say

Lawyers say strategy a ‘matter of continuing concern’ after church succeeds in permanently blocking claim by two Indigenous men

Lawyers for two Indigenous abuse survivors have called for reforms to address the “horrendous” Catholic church strategy of seeking to permanently block cases where alleged paedophile priests have died.

On Wednesday, the church was successful in permanently blocking a claim made by two Indigenous survivors relating to alleged abuse committed by David Joseph Perrett, an Armidale assistant priest and convicted child abuser, whose crimes the church has known about since 1995.

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Public consultation ‘overwhelmingly’ supports fuel efficiency standard for cars, Labor says

Chris Bowen says the standard is needed to improve access to cleaner, cheaper-to-run cars in Australia

The Albanese government’s promise to introduce a fuel efficiency standard for cars has been “overwhelmingly” supported by a public consultation process, Labor says.

Labor will now complete an impact analysis and release details of its preferred model for a standard “before the end of this year”.

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Labor’s counter-terror laws may stifle ‘political dissent’, Law Council warns

Journalists and civil liberty groups also concerned about proposed bill that creates new offences around accessing violent extremist material

Australia’s peak body for lawyers has joined civil liberty groups, journalists and advocacy groups to sound the alarm on proposed laws to criminalise the accessing of violent extremist material, saying the new powers are unnecessary and may inadvertently interfere with “legitimate matters of political dissent or struggle”.

The federal government is seeking to expand counter-terror powers by introducing new offences for possessing or controlling violent extremist material using a carriage service.

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Political support for surveillance of Covid waning in Australia despite ‘waves of mutations’, scientists say

Active community testing required on an intermittent basis to see ‘the whole iceberg, not just the tip’, Prof Catherine Bennett says

Political momentum for the monitoring and surveillance of Covid-19 is “fading”, the Australian virologist who developed a world-first method for rapidly isolating and characterising variants said.

Prof Stuart Turville, with the University of New South Wales Kirby Institute, said while the impact of Covid-19 in Australia is waning, the Sars CoV-2 virus that causes disease is constantly changing and “there is still a lot we don’t know”.

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New Icac powers spark concerns as NSW opposition flags move to stop ‘reckless’ change

Complaints from Liberals and some crossbench MPs come after watchdog asked to use illegally obtained recordings in ongoing investigation

Special powers handed to the New South Wales corruption watchdog to use illegally obtained recordings have been described as “concerning”, with the opposition and members of the crossbench vowing to try to stop them from proceeding.

The government granted the powers to the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Wednesday to assist it with an ongoing investigation in response to a request from its chief commissioner, John Hatzistergos.

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‘Farm animals with better legal protection’: Queensland’s new child watch house laws pilloried

Palaszczuk government overriding state’s Human Rights Act to allow for imprisoning children as young as 10 in adult watch houses

Queensland’s human rights commissioner has accused the government of setting a “dangerous precedent” after it overrode the Human Rights Act to allow children to be detained at adult watch houses and prisons.

In a surprise move, the Palaszczuk government introduced legislation on Wednesday to allow it to imprison children in adult watch houses “even if it would not be compatible with human rights”.

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Australia news live: grocery prices should ease, Gallagher says; eye-infection causing microbe found at NSW swimming spots

Comments follow Coles and Woolworths announcing annual profits of more than $1bn even after a spike in cost-of-living pressures on households. Follow today’s live news updates

A Gold Coast city councillor has been charged with murder, AAP reports.

A 58-year-old man was found deceased inside an Arundel property by emergency services, after police were called to the residence around 3pm yesterday.

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New Zealand should consider joining Australia, MP urges in valedictory speech

Jamie Strange told the NZ parliament that ‘opening Aldi stores’ would be among the benefits of becoming an Australian state

New Zealand has been urged to reconsider membership of Australia by an outgoing MP, citing cost-saving and economic benefits.

In the final sitting block of the New Zealand parliamentary term this month, legislators have been offering free and frank advice to their colleagues during their valedictory speeches.

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Qantas delivers record $2.47bn profit on back of soaring demand and high ticket prices

CEO Alan Joyce hails ‘remarkable turnaround’ for airline whose results were a stark change from a year earlier, when it fell to a $1.86bn loss

Qantas Airways has soared out of the disrupted pandemic era to post a record $2.47bn full-year underlying profit, backed by strong travel demand and high ticket prices.

The 2022-23 results mark a stark change from a year earlier, when it fell to a $1.86bn loss.

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Former Asic head accuses government of failing him during ‘abusive advertising campaign’

Former corporate watchdog chair James Shipton tells Senate inquiry of attacks on his character, competence and integrity

The former head of Australia’s corporate watchdog has described feeling suicidal after an “abusive advertising campaign” waged against him, accusing the government of failing to support him.

A Senate committee is examining the ability of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) to investigate allegations of corporate misconduct and to undertake enforcement action.

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In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978.

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Voice referendum date to be revealed in Adelaide as South Australia emerges as swing state

Guardian Australia analysis shows yes and no campaign advertising is focused more on SA, Tasmania and WA, and less on east coast states

The date of the voice to parliament referendum will be announced in Adelaide due to its strategic importance for both the yes and no campaigns, with the potential for South Australia to be the swing state that decides the outcome of the vote.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, confirmed on Wednesday he would announce voting day for the voice referendum in Adelaide next week on the 30 August. Referendum day is widely expected to be 14 October.

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Australia news live: two teenagers charged over Sydney building fire

Follow today’s live news updates

Children’s mental health not improved since Covid, research shows

The pandemic may be behind us but its impacts are still prevalent in the mental health of young people, new research shows.

Now that pandemic restrictions have been lifted, life has not necessarily gone back to how it was pre-pandemic. Wellbeing clearly dropped during Covid and has shown little signs of improvement since then.

The pandemic, sweeping changes in children’s lifestyles – from physical activity and screen time to sleep and diet – and the pervasive influence of social media aren’t regional anomalies. They’re global phenomena likely impacting children’s wellbeing worldwide.

Chief justice designate Gageler has earned a reputation as having an unequalled knowledge and understanding of constitutional law, an expertise that was sharpened before and during his term as solicitor general of Australia.

Justice Beech-Jones has provided extraordinary service to the law in NSW, commencing practice as a solicitor in Sydney for the firm now known as Freehills, before being called to the bar in 1992. His honour’s appointment to the high court of Australia, to replace the vacancy left by Justice Gageler’s elevation, will enhance Australia’s system of justice.

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Massive economic pain for Australia if temperature rises exceed 2C, intergenerational report predicts

Report says hundreds of billions of dollars and millions of work hours in productivity are at risk due to hotter conditions

Success in limiting global warming will spare Australia a sharp fall in economic activity but would see coal exports fall to a trickle by 2063 under a low-emissions scenario, according to the government’s intergenerational report.

The report, to be released in full on Thursday, will provide much greater detail on the range of impacts and their scale in a warming world than the five previous intergenerational reports.

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‘Absolute dog act’: Queensland Labor pilloried for shock move to override state’s Human Rights Act

Proposed law changes include allowing children to be detained in adult watch houses for the next three years

The Queensland government has introduced legislation to allow it to imprison children in police watch houses for adults “even if it would not be compatible with human rights”.

Police minister Mark Ryan introduced the amendment as part of a swathe of changes to an unrelated bill in state parliament this afternoon. It will require a suspension of the state Human Rights Act.

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Icac given power to use illegally obtained recordings in NSW corruption investigations

State government grants new power to assist watchdog after request from chief commissioner John Hatzistergos

The New South Wales corruption watchdog has been granted the power to use in its investigations recordings that have been obtained illegally by third parties.

The state government on Wednesday gave the Independent Commission Against Corruption the new power to assist it with an ongoing investigation after a request from its chief commissioner, John Hatzistergos.

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NSW government department ‘refusing’ to publish community feedback on shark nets

Greens MP says it is ‘unacceptable’ that results not made public as Minns government faces calls to abandon nets

The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries has kept hidden the results of surveys it conducted to gauge community opinion on shark nets, as the government forges ahead with the controversial deterrence strategy.

The department has not published the surveys for the past two years and has not released the results to two upper house MPs, environmentalists and Sydney’s Randwick council despite their requests for them.

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