Queensland police launch investigation, saying they are keeping an ‘open mind’ over fatal blaze
Everyone who saw the fire talks about how quickly it spread.
“Straight away there was black smoke everywhere,” says Brad Groat, a neighbour who saw the flames take hold of the old timber and tin Queenslander home on Russell Island in Redland Bay, near Brisbane.
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Continue reading...Public is now asked to believe flaws exposed by Lehrmann case can be remedied by report whose author had ‘lapse in judgment’
The Sofronoff report was supposed to bring finality.
It was to give some semblance of closure to a saga that has dragged on and on, plumbing new depths in each ghastly iteration.
Continue reading...After massive hacks at Optus and Medibank, survey from information commissioner finds three-quarters of people feel data breaches are among biggest risk to privacy
Australians are more concerned than ever over the handling of their personal information and want tough laws to protect them after the Optus and Medibank cybersecurity breaches, a new study has found.
The latest Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey, released on Tuesday by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), found three-quarters of Australians feel data breaches are one of the biggest risks to privacy they face. That is an increase of 13% since the survey was last conducted in early 2020.
Continue reading...Fans gathered in Sydney were delirous as Australia’s 2-0 win over Denmark sent them into the quarter-finals of the World Cup
Foord and Raso keep Australian dream alive
They came in the thousands, armed with picnic blankets, umbrellas and deck chairs and adorned in green and gold.
Hours before the Matildas took to the pitch they were already gathering, a sea of supporters packed into Sydney’s biggest live site at Darling Harbour.
Continue reading...Government updates development policy for the first time in a decade amid rising debt levels and competition with China for influence
Australian officials have sounded the alarm about rising debt levels and economic “fragility” among Pacific countries amid increasing competition with China for influence.
On Tuesday the Australian government will publish the first update of its international development policy in a decade, with a focus on the Pacific, south-east Asia and south Asia.
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Continue reading...Terakes, who plays a character whose gender is never mentioned in the film, called the decision ‘targeted and dehumanising’
The hit Australian horror film Talk To Me has been banned from screening in Kuwait, reportedly solely over the casting of non-binary trans actor Zoe Terakes, who plays a character whose gender identity is never mentioned in the film.
The Hollywood Reporter first reported on the decision, which they confirmed was based entirely on the presence of Terakes, an Australian actor who identifies as non-binary and trans-masculine. A rising star who has appeared in Wentworth and Nine Perfect Strangers, they are also the first trans actor to be cast in a Marvel TV series, with a role in the upcoming superhero show Ironheart. The Guardian has confirmed the decision independently.
Continue reading...State government seeking feedback on proposed amendments to park’s wild horse management plan. Follow the day’s news live
Voice being weaponised politically and to help ‘raise funds’: Andrew Gee
Andrew Gee had more to say about that:
I think that at the moment the voice is being weaponised politically for a number of reasons, and obviously, it helps raise funds and I know this because I’m still getting the emails saying, ‘the voice is terrible, please give some money’.
They’re doing it I think to shore up leadership positions. I think they’re doing it to just have some ground to fight on. But ultimately, I think, the hope that this is the pathway to victory is a bankrupt hope.
Continue reading...The father was reportedly trying to rescue his children when he succumbed to the fire
A crime scene has been established at the site of a deadly Queensland house fire that claimed the lives of five young boys and their father on an island near Brisbane, as Queensland police said the fire required “closer scrutiny”.
The man, named by multiple media outlets as 34-year-old Wayne Godinet, was reportedly trying to rescue his children when he succumbed to the blaze.
Continue reading...Invasive Species Council releases material showing contrast between original $133m plan to fully eradicate the ants and $89m ‘revised work plan’
Lack of proper funding is hindering efforts to contain the spread of invasive fire ants by Australian authorities, according to documents obtained by the Invasive Species Council.
The documents show a stark contrast between the original $133m plan to fully eradicate the ants and an $89m “revised work plan” to continue for the next 12 months. This revised plan would only treat half the area needed, even as the ants continue their southward march towards New South Wales.
Continue reading...Despite claiming he lives overseas and can’t testify at a parliamentary hearing, John Margerison still has a role in at least 10 firms according to Asic records
A Gold Coast businessman with ties to former Liberal MP Stuart Robert remains listed as a director in at least 10 Australian companies despite “severing ties” and living abroad.
John Margerison had been called as a key witness for a parliamentary hearing in July into contracts awarded by Services Australia and the National Disability Insurance Agency.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Items included stationery, media banners and accreditation lanyards for summit that was cancelled with just one week’s notice
The Australian government spent more than $42,000 on Sydney-themed merchandise for the ill-fated 2023 Quad leaders’ summit before the event was hastily moved to Japan.
Guardian Australia can reveal the government’s planning taskforce also spent more than $6m in preparation for the event to be hosted at the Sydney Opera House.
Continue reading...Even as a former staff member, Maryanne Watts was shocked at how long it took to get urgent assistance. Experts says she is not alone
When Maryanne Watts applied for jobseeker earlier this year, she knew it wouldn’t be a smooth process. She had been a Centrelink worker in the 1990s and had received income support in recent years.
But even she was shocked at how difficult it was to get her application processed – even when she was about to run out of money.
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Continue reading...ACT director of public prosecutions steps down after agreeing with ACT attorney-general Shane Rattenbury his position was ‘no longer tenable’. Follow live news updates today
PM urges people to look at the yes and no pamphlets
Albanese is asked about the word “Makarrata”, which has been subject to attack by the no campaign.
Why would someone disagree with the idea of Makarrata, with which is a Yolngu word for coming together after conflict - what that is about is just advancing reconciliation.
What the no campaign insists on doing is talking about anything but what is in the question before the Australian people. I would say to your listeners, have a look at what the question is, have a look at the yesand the no pamphlets. The yes pamphlet with its optimistic appeal for hope and a vision for the future, and the no campaign quoting people, misquoting people who are not actually supporting it.
Continue reading...Speaking at the Garma festival in the Northern Territory the prime minister issued a plea for support for a yes vote, saying there will not be another opportunity any time soon
Anthony Albanese says the Indigenous voice would “fail at the first hurdle” if it were not enshrined in the constitution, again rejecting calls from sceptics to change the referendum and simply enact the First Nations consultation body in regular laws.
The prime minister says the Labor government and Coalition opposition have broadly similar policies on the voice, but maintained the voice must be protected in the constitution because of the request from Indigenous Australians through the Uluru statement from the heart.
Continue reading...Police say brothers – aged 11, 10, four-year-old twins and a three year old – and their 34-year-old father unaccounted following fire on Russell Island
Five young boys aged between three and 11 years and their father, 34, are feared dead after a fire broke out in a home on an island off the coast of Brisbane.
The blaze started at the Todman Street house on Russell Island just after 6am on Sunday and spread to other premises, razing three.
Continue reading...Government says it will increase penalties for promoting tax avoidance schemes and bolster regulators’ powers
Penalties for promoting tax avoidance schemes will be increased tenfold and financial regulators will get much stronger powers as the federal government seeks to fix “severe shortcomings” in the nation’s financial systems exposed by the PwC scandal.
In what the treasurer, Jim Chalmers calls, “the biggest crackdown on tax adviser misconduct in Australian history”, advisers and firms promoting tax exploitation schemes would face fines up to $780m, while red tape that hamstrung regulators from better investigating PwC will be slashed. The Treasury department will also conduct a two-year whole-of-government response to the shortcomings exposed by the disclosure of confidential tax information.
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Continue reading...Exclusive: Insiders say ‘stuff-ups’ have occurred despite millions being spent on consultants, as senator warns of high stakes in ‘what could be a catastrophic fire season’
Preparation for this summer’s weather extremes from fire alerts to cyclone warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology could be affected by the bungled introduction of a new super computer despite many millions being spent on consultants, insiders say.
The new computer, dubbed Australis II, is twice as powerful as its predecessor but has been sitting idle for a year. It may not be fully operational until mid-2025, according to a timeline shared to staff and seen by Guardian Australia.
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Continue reading...Exclusive: Under national conference proposal, the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory would have six senators
The Albanese government will be pushed at Labor’s national conference to triple the number of territory senators and increase the power of territorians’ votes in referendums.
Under the proposals the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory would be represented by six senators each, half the number of senators from each of the states, and territories would count for the double majority in referendums.
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Continue reading...Roger Cook’s government foreshadowed about-face with resources companies and Indigenous groups on Friday
An Indigenous group says it is devastated by reports cultural heritage laws that came into effect in Western Australia just over a month ago may be scrapped following a backlash from farmers.
The Labor government foreshadowed the about-face at a briefing with big resources companies and Indigenous groups on Friday, the West Australian reported on Saturday. An announcement is expected “within days”, it added.
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Continue reading...Pearson says referendum is not a competition ‘between blue and red’ after Anthony Albanese’s Garma festival speech
The prime minister’s Garma speech was the “unequivocal” support for an Indigenous voice to parliament of an Australian leader, not a party politician, the Cape York leader, leading “yes” campaigner and Guugu-Yimithirr lawyer Noel Pearson has said.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, told the Garma festival in north-east Arnhem Land on Saturday that he would not defer or delay the referendum, and dismissed “no” campaigners as being “desperate to talk about anything but the actual question”.
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