Category Archives: Australia news

‘Not on my watch’: how windfarms became a key issue in NSW local elections

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From Port Stephens to Illawarra, council candidates are running against renewable schemes because of ‘lack of consultation’

Part of what’s driving Mark Watson’s pitch for mayor is his opposition to a project he says is the talk of the town and the “biggest issue” in his coastal home’s history.

The former One Nation candidate for the state government is now running as an independent for mayor of Port Stephens. The coastal town just north of Newcastle overlooks the middle of the 1,800-square kilometre offshore windfarm zone off the Hunter, where the Albanese government plans a renewable energy hub to be operating by 2030.

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Delayed air travellers may get compensation under rules Albanese government proposes

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Catherine King says new charter may force airlines to compensate you if they bump you off a flight, delay your flight, or cancel it

Airlines in Australia may yet be forced to compensate passengers for bumping them to other services because of overbooking, delaying or cancelling their flights, under the charter of aviation rights proposed by the Albanese government.

The transport minister, Catherine King, told Guardian Australia that, despite the aviation white paper not endorsing a standalone compensation provision, the government aims to have legally enforceable penalties included in the charter. It also wants powers granted to the proposed new aviation ombudsman to deal with how airlines treat passengers.

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Mother of two boys found dead in Blue Mountains home charged with murder

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The 42-year-old woman was charged with murdering the boys aged 9 and 11, in Faulconbridge will appear at Parramatta local court on Saturday

A mother of two boys who were found dead in a house in the Blue Mountains has been charged with two counts of murder.

Emergency services were called to a house in Faulconbridge on Tuesday following concerns for the welfare of a woman and two children.

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‘The death of campus life’: first major Australian university dumps face-to-face lectures, leaving staff ‘furious’

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Adelaide University touts ‘rich digital learning activities’ that will be ‘self-paced and self-directed’ after student numbers on campus decline

The newly amalgamated Adelaide University has become the first Group of Eight institution in Australia to ditch face-to-face lectures, in a move condemned as accelerating the “death of campus life” by the union representing tertiary education staff.

Ahead of the merged university opening at the beginning of 2026, staff at the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia were informed last week that traditional lectures would no longer form a part of courses.

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Inquiry into robodebt issues sanctions against four of 12 staff: why so few and what happens next

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Australian Public Service Commission’s report finds 12 of 16 public servants breached code of conduct 97 times but only remaining staff to be reprimanded

The outcome of a highly anticipated 13-month inquiry into the conduct of current and former bureaucrats involved in the illegal robodebt scheme has been released.

The Australian Public Service Commission’s report marks the formal end of the agency’s investigation into what public servants responsible for devising and running the scheme knew and how they acted.

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Weekend cold front to bring hail, snow and chilly winds to parts of east coast

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BoM modelling shows chance of above average rainfall for eastern states in coming months, and high bushfire risk for parts of NT and Queensland

A cold snap will hit Australia’s south-east over the weekend, with cool winds and rain sweeping up through Tasmania to Brisbane from Friday evening.

Victoria will face chilly weather, showers and potential thunderstorms on Saturday, with Melbourne expecting up to 10mm of rain and potential hail amid daytime temperatures of just 12C.

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Gold Coast man found not guilty of helping murder workmate’s estranged wife

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Jury finds Bradley Bell, 27, was not responsible for Kelly Wilkinson’s April 2021 death

A man accused of helping a workmate carry out the murder of his estranged wife has been found not guilty by a jury.

Bradley Bell, of Pimpama, faced trial in Brisbane supreme court after pleading not guilty to the murder of Kelly Wilkinson, 27, on 20 April 2021.

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John Howard weighs in on stoush between NSW and federal Liberals – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

Assistant treasurer says Elon Musk post is ‘crackpot stuff’

The assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, has said Elon Musk labelling the Australian government as “fascists” is “crackpot stuff”.

And whether it’s the Australian government or any other government around the world, we assert our right to pass laws which will keep Australians safe – safe from scammers, safe from criminals.

And, for the life of me, I can’t see how Elon Musk or anyone else, in the name of free speech, thinks it is OK to have social media platforms publishing scam content, which is robbing Australians of billions of dollars every year. Publishing deepfake material, publishing child pornography. Livestreaming murder scenes. I mean is this what he thinks free speech is all about?

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Federal government approves third runway for Melbourne airport

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Approval requires the establishment of a noise amelioration program for nearby communities

The federal government has approved a third runway for Melbourne airport, with conditions set to share and minimise the effects of aircraft noise on surrounding communities.

The transport minister, Catherine King, announced the go-ahead for the runway construction on Friday, saying it would allow the airport to cater for the demand of a growing city and provide better access for freight and passengers.

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Dementia prescriptions jump 46% in a decade as Australia urged to prepare for ‘full impact’ of disease

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Neuroscientist says rapidly ageing population puts country at forefront of a health crisis

The number of dementia medication prescriptions has jumped by almost 50% in Australia in the past decade as more people seek out therapies that may slow the progression of the disease.

The latest report on dementia from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, released on Friday, revealed that health services for managing dementia have increased to accommodate 411,100 people.

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Anthony Albanese may decide who runs in safe Labor seat as deputy PM and union locked in tussle

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Richard Marles and Bill Shorten’s old union, the Australian Workers’ Union, in stoush to pick candidate for Gorton

The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, is locked in a struggle with Bill Shorten’s old union, the Australian Workers’ Union, to pick the next candidate for the safe Labor seat of Gorton.

Shorten’s seat of Maribyrnong will be contested by the left’s Jo Briskey while Labor’s choice for Gorton is a tussle between the climate crisis and water policy expert Alice Jordan-Baird and the Brimbank mayor, Ranka Rasic.

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Fear for koalas after bushwalker finds fire ant nests near Queensland sanctuary

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Calls for suppression efforts to be extended after at least five nests discovered at Logan in the Daisy Hill koala bushlands

Fire ants have reached protected koala habitat and a koala priority area in south-eastern Queensland, with experts warning of the danger the highly invasive pest poses to native wildlife.

At least five red imported fire ant (Rifa) nests were discovered in Neville Lawrie reserve at Logan, which is part of the Daisy Hill koala bushlands, at the end of August.

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Labor’s stalled environmental agenda under pressure from left and right

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While the Greens remain hopeful of compromise, the PM has indicated he wants a deal struck with the Coalition

Anthony Albanese is rejecting demands from the Greens and some Senate crossbenchers to subject development projects to climate-impact assessments and remove forestry’s effective exemption from environmental protection law, as the government negotiates on stalled legislation with parties to the left and right.

The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, is in talks with the Greens, crossbenchers and the Coalition over legislation to establish an environment protection authority.

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Australian politics live: Labor confirms aged care deal; AEC abolishes Kylea Tink’s electorate; parliamentary standards bill passes Senate

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Helen Haines condemns ‘stitch up’ over Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission bill

Independent MP Helen Haines is furious at what she calls a “stitch up” between Labor and the Coalition that “weakens the transparency of the new Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission”.

The bill as currently drafted means serious findings could be made about an MP, but they could face no sanction and the public could never know.

I want to see more transparency around this process.

The government made two last-minute changes to its own legislation that would reinforce the major party duopoly, ensuring no member of the crossbench can be deputy chair of the parliamentary standards oversight committee. What a stitch up!”

We’re going to have the same people on the joint select committee as on the privileges committee, meaning the people who are meant to make sure the whole system is working are the same people who are part of it.

I’m really staggered by this, and it isn’t right.

We’re taking a stand against the unchecked greed that’s fuelling the cost-of-living crisis, and we’re urging the parliament to support this critical reform.

Our bill will put an end to corporate price gouging by making it illegal for corporations with substantial market power to charge excessive prices for goods and services.

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Teal independent Kylea Tink considers options after seat abolished by AEC

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North Sydney MP says decision is ‘deeply disappointing’ but has not ruled out running for new local seat or switching to Senate

The teal independent MP Kylea Tink says she is considering her political options after it was confirmed her seat of North Sydney will be abolished by the Australian Electoral Commission.

Tink is not ruling out running for a new local seat or even trying to switch to the Senate at the next election.

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Australians urged to get whooping cough vaccination as infections rise more than tenfold in year

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Health authorities say infants are at greatest risk so pregnant women, parents and others in close contact with babies should be vaccinated

Health authorities across Australia are urging people to get vaccinated as cases of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, continue to surge.

The latest national data shows more than 26,700 cases reported so far in 2024, compared with 2,451 cases for all of 2023. The numbers are being driven by cases in Queensland and NSW.

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Key gambling harm advocate ‘saddened’ by Albanese’s statements on betting ads

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Tim Costello says the prime minister has ‘mindlessly’ followed gambling industry’s attempts to present him as a prohibitionist

Tim Costello has rejected Anthony Albanese’s suggestion he wants gambling banned and accused the prime minister of “mindlessly” repeating industry attack lines to justify a partial gambling ad ban.

On Thursday Costello, the chief advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said he was “very disappointed” at Albanese. Costello insisted in 30 years of advocacy he has “never been a prohibitionist”.

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‘He burned her beyond all possible recognition’: life sentence sought for Greg Lynn as murdered camper’s daughter addresses court

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Prosecutor says disposal of bodies must be considered when sentencing former Jetstar pilot over Carol Clay’s murder in the Wonnangatta Valley

The daughter of a camper murdered by a former Jetstar pilot in Victoria’s high country says Gregory Lynn “stole” her mother from her, as prosecutors seek a life sentence over the killing.

Lynn, 57, appeared in the Victorian supreme court on Thursday for a pre-sentencing hearing after a jury in June found him guilty of murdering Carol Clay in 2020. He was acquitted of murdering fellow camper Russell Hill.

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Families to launch class action after Hunter Valley bus crash driver jailed for decades

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Legal case targets Transport for NSW for alleged safety failings on road where 10 passengers were killed and company that employed Brett Button

Families who lost loved ones in a deadly New South Wales bus crash say they will launch a class-action lawsuit as the driver responsible was sent to prison for decades.

Brett Button, 59, was sentenced on Wednesday to 32 years in jail, with a non-parole period of 24 years, for killing 10 passengers and injuring 25 who had been celebrating a young couple’s wedding in the Hunter Valley.

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Labor claims Aukus nuclear waste dumping issue just a Greens scare campaign

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Legislation before Australian parliament covers the way the country’s nuclear-powered submarine program will be regulated

The Albanese government has bowed to pressure to close an Aukus loophole, insisting newly revealed changes will ensure Australia will not become a dumping ground for nuclear waste from US and UK submarines.

The Greens argued the government’s latest amendments did not go far enough and it was becoming increasingly clear the Aukus security pact was “sinking”.

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