Category Archives: Australia news

Fire in overhead locker on Virgin Australia flight believed to be caused by lithium battery in power bank

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Sydney to Hobart flight landed safely on Monday after a small fire ignited in a passenger’s carry-on luggage

A fire that broke out on a Virgin Australia flight from Sydney to Hobart is believed to have been caused by a power bank in a passenger’s carry-on luggage, prompting the airline to consider changes to its battery policy.

The Virgin flight VA1528 was making its descent into Hobart on Monday when the fire started in an overhead locker, a spokesperson for the airline said.

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Alleged childcare paedophile Joshua Dale Brown likely to face more charges, court told

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Magistrate Donna Bakos granted an application by police for extra time to compile additional evidence against Brown

Alleged childcare paedophile Joshua Dale Brown is likely to face extra charges, with a court granting police more time to investigate him.

Magistrate Donna Bakos on Tuesday approved a request by police for an extension in the matter of Brown and Michael Simon Wilson.

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What a croc: the day a reptile was reportedly seen in Noosa … or was it?

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Claimed sighting 300km south of typical crocodile territory started as a Facebook post before doing the rounds of breakfast TV

It started as a Facebook post on a community noticeboard by a man with a designer dog as his profile picture and just a few friends – but within 24 hours it was doing the rounds of breakfast TV and online news platforms.

The question was: had Ross Buckley really seen a 3.5-metre crocodile while on his “usual 6:30am stroll” down the dog beach at the mouth of the Noosa River? Was Buckley even real?

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Small band of independents offer Liberals and Labor a path to power in Tasmania

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Jeremy Rockliff has begun courting crossbench support, while Dean Winter is open to governing with five-seat Greens plus independents

The independents who hold Tasmania’s political future in their hands have indicated they could support a premier from either major party.

The incumbent Liberals claimed 14 seats at Saturday’s snap election, ahead of Labor on nine.

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‘Significant gap’ between Australian companies’ climate commitments and how they actually invest, analysts find

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Experts say the level of ambition in Labor’s upcoming 2035 emissions target will influence the capital decisions of many companies

Investment analysts have uncovered what they say is a “significant gap” between the climate commitments of major Australian companies and how they actually spend their money.

A report from climate consultancy group Pollination included analysis of the public climate disclosures of 12 major Australian companies, looking especially at their decisions on how and where to spend capital.

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Training organisation criticised for using chatbots to run job seeker course

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Duke Education says their course uses ‘chat-style delivery’ to deliver classes on writing emails and identifying hazards but does not utilise artificial intelligence

A training organisation co-run by a vice-president of the Collingwood football club has been criticised for using chatbots to help teach a course to adult job seekers.

Duke Education, a registered training organisation (RTO), offers a certificate III in community services. A chatbot takes students through some of the coursework, such as how to write an email and recognise hazard signs.

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Liberal and Labor leaders court crossbench after snap Tasmanian election delivers another hung parliament

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Parties likely to have same number of seats as last parliament, but premier Jeremy Rockliff declares victory after Liberals secure 3% swing from Labor

Tasmania’s premier and opposition leader have both reached out to independent MPs in the hope of forming government, after Labor lost ground in the early election it brought on.

Saturday’s snap poll, 16 months after the last election, returned another hung parliament with the Liberals so far securing 14 seats and Labor nine, as counting continued.

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Four dead after two-car crash in remote central Queensland

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Two others seriously injured and Capricorn Highway closed between mining towns Comet and Blackwater amid horror weekend on Queensland roads

Four people have been killed in a two-car crash on a remote highway in Queensland’s central highlands.

Police remained at the scene on the Capricorn Highway, between the historical coal mining towns of Comet and Blackwater, on Sunday afternoon. The highway was cut between the towns and was likely to be closed for some time.

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Minority government the new normal in Tasmania as voters turn away from major parties

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State’s unusual electoral system makes winning a majority difficult at the best of times. Now, facing another hung parliament, Labor is in a sticky situation

Tasmania has just had its second state election in 16 months, the shortest gap between state polls in Australia since Queensland in 1957.

For some voters it was their fifth trip to the ballot box in less than two years.

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Jeremy Rockliff says he expects crossbenchers will allow Liberals to form government – as it happened

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Controversial MP Mark Latham says he has “broken no law” as he publicly responds to a former partner’s allegations of domestic violence.

The former federal Labor leader and NSW One Nation leader has described recent reports involving former partner Nathalie Matthews as “false, reckless and irresponsible”.

I have broken no law. The police did not involve themselves in the AVO matter.

I have breached no standing orders of the Legislative Council. The NSW parliament has stringent processes about inappropriate behaviour, and in my six years there, I’ve never been notified of a complaint against me.

The Marine Rescue Batemans Bay and Bermagui crews said sea conditions were favourable last night, but it was quite dark with little assistance from the moon, and they had to navigate around numerous whales.

They are searching an area offshore from just north of Narooma to south of Bermagui under the direction of Marine Area Command and will continue to do so until otherwise instructed.

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Federal opposition flags more ‘sensitive’ approach to foreign students at Australian universities

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New Coalition education spokesperson Jonathon Duniam says Peter Dutton policy to slash international enrolments not ‘as constructive as it could have been’

The Coalition has walked away from its call for Australia to slash 80,000 international students from higher education institutions, with the opposition’s education spokesperson promising a more “sensitive” approach after the party’s crushing election defeat in May.

During the federal election campaign, the then-opposition leader, Peter Dutton, claimed that cutting foreign student numbers would free up more housing and rental opportunities. Dutton said students were “taking up accommodation that should be occupied by Australian citizens”.

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Early tallies in Tasmania election point to Liberal gains

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Support appears to grow for incumbent government in election triggered by no-confidence vote

Early voting counts in Tasmania’s election points to the Liberals being in the box seat to rule, with the incumbent government’s vote rising and Labor’s collapsing.

Saturday’s vote, triggered when the minority Liberal premier, Jeremy Rockliff, lost a no-confidence motion in early June, is the island’s second in 16 months.

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Man shot dead by police in Townsville

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Police allege the man was armed with a machete and knife on The Strand in Townsville’s North Ward on Saturday morning

The Queensland police service says officers have shot and killed a man in Townsville after they allege he moved towards them with a machete and a knife.

Police were called to reports of a man armed with multiple weapons on The Strand and intersecting McKinley Street in Townsville’s North Ward just before 10am on Saturday, the QPS said.

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Labor moves to bolster penalty rates and overtime pay protections for millions of workers

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Legislation will prevent award wage penalty rates from being cut in exchange for higher rates of base pay if it will leave workers worse off

Workers who rely on award wages would have their rights to penalty rates and overtime pay protected under one of the first pieces of legislation to be introduced to the new federal parliament.

The changes to the Fair Work Act would effectively ensure workers paid under awards cannot have their penalty rates reduced in return for a higher rate of base pay if it leaves workers worse off.

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Scott Morrison to testify before US House panel on China

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Former Australian prime minister to appear at hearing about countering China’s ‘economic coercion against democracies’, select committee says

The former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison will testify at a US House panel hearing next week about countering China’s “economic coercion against democracies,” the committee said on Friday.

Rahm Emanuel, the former US ambassador to Japan, will also testify before the House select committee on China.

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Three teenagers killed in Queensland crash while attempting to overtake truck

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Two men and a woman, all aged 19, died at the scene in Mackay after a late night crash involving multiple vehicles

Three teenagers have died in Queensland after their car crashed into a dual-cab ute while attempting to overtake a truck.

Two 19-year-old men and a 19-year-old woman died at the scene in Mackay, more than 800km north of Brisbane, after a crash involving multiple vehicles late on Friday night.

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Is this Queensland beach really the best in the world? Tell us your favourite

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Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island is home to marine stingers, including jellyfish, from October to May, but that didn’t stop voters in Big 7 Travel list. Have your say in the comments section

A Queensland beach where swimmers need to wear stinger suits for eight months of the year has been voted the best in the world for 2025.

Whitehaven Beach, on Whitsunday Island, is home to marine stingers, including jellyfish, from October to May when the water temperatures are warmer, making the use of stinger suits highly advisable.

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First Australian tanks handed over to Ukrainian army

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Defence minister Richard Marles says Australia is ‘steadfast’ in support of Kyiv as Abrams tanks go into action

The first tranche of Australian tanks has been handed over to the Ukrainian army to help its defence against Russia’s invasion.

Australia had previously pledged to give Ukraine 49 Abrams tanks worth $245m last October. The defence minister, Richard Marles, said the tanks would aid Ukrainian firepower and complement other military equipment donated by allies to repel Russia’s invasion.

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Native title win for Millewa-Mallee First Nations peoples in Victoria after decades-long fight

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Historic decision in Australia’s federal court gives traditional owners in state’s north-west the right to control access to their country

After a difficult journey spanning more than two decades, traditional owners say they’ve “weathered the storm” to finally have their native title rights recognised.

The federal court on Friday awarded the historic native title determination to the Indigenous peoples of the Millewa-Mallee from north-west Victoria, for the first time granting exclusive native title rights in the state.

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Australian Base jumper James Nowland dies in competition accident in northern Italy

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Perth man, 42, reportedly died on Wednesday after jumping from the peak of Sass Pordoi in the Dolomites region

An Australian who reportedly died earlier this week in an accident at a competition in northern Italy has been remembered as a much-loved member of the international Base jumping community.

James Nowland, 42, died on Wednesday after jumping from the peak of Sass Pordoi in the Dolomites region during the Pordoi Base race, Italy’s Ansa news agency reported.

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