Category Archives: Australia news

Australia’s drug regulator received two hoax reports of children dying from Covid vaccines

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Exclusive: Therapeutic Goods Administration documents reveal separate reports made in 2022 about two boys, aged six and seven, were false

Australia’s drug regulator received two reports of child deaths after vaccination against Covid-19 that turned out to be hoaxes.

Therapeutic Goods Administration documents on fatal adverse events in children and adolescents after a Covid-19 vaccination published under freedom of information show that a report was made to the body in January 2022 that a seven-year-old boy had died from “an adverse event following immunisation” with an unspecified brand of Covid vaccine.

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Seven public servants criticised in robodebt report as agencies consider response

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Royal commissioner Catherine Holmes found that bureaucrats misled cabinet and ombudsman

At least seven public servants including the former Department of Human Services secretaries Kathryn Campbell and Renée Leon are the subject of adverse findings in the robodebt royal commission report released last week.

The commissioner, Catherine Holmes, found that public servants had engaged in conduct including misleading cabinet that legislation was not required for the unlawful scheme, and misleading the commonwealth ombudsman.

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Meta vows to crack down on abuse and misinformation surrounding voice to parliament referendum

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Exclusive: Parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads says it will ensure content on its platforms is ‘contributing to democracy’

Facebook and Instagram want to be “contributing to democracy” and not exacerbating harms surrounding the Indigenous voice referendum, the company’s Australian policy head has said, as the social media giant beefs up protections on misinformation, abuse and mental health before the national vote.

Meta, the parent company of the two apps, on Monday announced it would boost funding to factcheckers monitoring misinformation, activate global teams to locate and respond to potential “threats” to the referendum – including coordinated inauthentic behaviour – and form a partnership with ReachOut for mental health support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The company will also maintain transparency tools such as its ad library that tracks political spending.

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New register allows gamblers across Australia to ban themselves from all online wagers

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The ‘Betstop’ scheme to be launched next month enables self-exclusion from all online gambling sites using just one form

Australians will soon be able to ban themselves from all online gambling companies in every state and territory using just one form, almost five years after legislation was introduced to parliament.

A national self-exclusion register for online gambling dubbed “BetStop” will be launched on 21 August, the federal government says.

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Early robodebt critics outraged by how long Coalition persisted with unlawful scheme

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Shocking to learn politicians and public servants ‘were basically just lying to us’, Andrew Wilkie says

Early critics of robodebt have said they are shocked, appalled and outraged by how long the Coalition government persisted with the unlawful scheme.

The independent MP Andrew Wilkie and former the administrative appeals tribunal member Terry Carney were responding to the release of the royal commission report on Friday.

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Keating calls Nato head a ‘supreme fool’ over plan to open office in Asia – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

Racist throwback to Jim Crow days in America

Burney says the advert that ran in the Financial Review encouraging a “no” vote on the referendum over the Indigenous voice to parliament was “totally unacceptable”.

I think Matt Kean, the Shadow Health Minister in New South Wales, really nailed it, David, where he likened it to a racist throwback from the Jim Crow days in America, but it was also incredibly sexist and it is something in the words of Matt Kean, the ‘no‘camp has every right to have a say, but there are better ways of doing it.

I know Aboriginal Australia and I know that people know what the important issues - things like what I’ve identified - education, health, housing, jobs - and Josie Douglas who is this remarkable Aboriginal woman in the central land council put it perfectly: We are about changing lives, not changing dates.

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Rare and ‘seriously, seriously cute’ chubby-cheeked rat discovered near Melbourne

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Shy broad-toothed rat found after a detection dog tracked down its bright green poo

A detection dog has unexpectedly discovered a new population of rare native rodents in Melbourne’s outer east.

The previously unrecorded broad-toothed rat population was found by a four-year-old labrador called Moss who was searching the Coranderrk bushland near Healesville sanctuary.

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Kathryn Campbell retaining Aukus role would be ‘insult’ to robodebt victims, crossbenchers say

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Former head of the Department of Human Services faces calls to resign after royal commission findings

Crossbench MPs have called on the senior public servant Kathryn Campbell to consider resigning after the robodebt royal commission, claiming it would be “an insult” to the victims if she retains her Aukus role.

The royal commission report tabled in parliament on Friday said Campbell, a former head of the Department of Human Services, had been “responsible for a department that had established, implemented and maintained an unlawful program”.

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Cadia goldmine could be source of some lead found in water tanks, miner says

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Exclusive: General manager says chemical analysis shows ‘slight overlap’ of mine lead and samples from local residents’ rainwater tanks

Chemical analysis has identified the Cadia Hill goldmine as a potential source of some of the lead found in samples collected from nearby residential rainwater tanks in central west New South Wales, the mine’s management has said.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority has been investigating the goldmine – one of the largest in the world – since May, when it issued Newcrest’s Cadia Holdings Pty Ltd with a draft pollution prevention notice and a draft licence variation regarding its management of emissions of dust and other pollutants. It followed local residents, including children, reporting heavy metals in their blood and rainwater tanks.

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Thunderbirds are go! Adelaide win first Super Netball title in extra-time thriller

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  • Adelaide Thunderbirds 60-59 NSW Swifts
  • Eleanor Cardwell stars in extra-time victory

In the cult TV series Ted Lasso, a football manager some like to mock hangs a simple sign in his new team’s changing room. It says “BELIEVE”.

And on Saturday at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena, it was old-fashioned belief – instilled by Tania Obst, a coach some have ridiculed, and her assistants Tracey Neville and Cathy Fellows – that was the driving force in the Adelaide Thunderbirds’ first Super Netball premiership win.

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PwC to repay $800,000 for work on robodebt after damning royal commission report

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Embattled consulting firm also reveals it no longer employs partner involved in work on the scheme for the Department of Human Services

The consulting firm PwC will repay more than $800,000 it pocketed for work it completed on the robodebt scheme and has confirmed a partner involved in the work is no longer employed by the embattled company.

The firm’s acting CEO, Kristin Stubbins, confirmed that it would repay the $853,859 it was paid by the Department of Human Services to review the scheme.

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Peter Dutton concedes individuals made ‘mistakes’ on robodebt but warns against ‘trial by media’

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Opposition leader accuses Labor of politicising the royal commission findings and calls Bill Shorten a ‘political animal’

Peter Dutton has conceded that “mistakes” were made by “individuals” involved in the unlawful robodebt scheme, while warning against a “trial by media” on the findings of the royal commission.

At the Liberal National party’s state conference in Brisbane on Saturday, the federal opposition leader accused Labor of politicising the issue and referred to the government services minister, Bill Shorten, as a “political animal”.

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Sydney man faces domestic violence and animal cruelty charges after dead rabbits found at unit

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Police to allege 21-year-old assaulted and threatened 20-year-old woman who was known to him

A New South Wales man is facing 33 charges for a range of offences including domestic violence and animal cruelty, after police found a number of dead rabbits at his property.

The 21-year-old man allegedly on numerous occasions assaulted and threatened a 20-year-old woman who was known to him. The man also allegedly filmed the woman during an intimate act without consent and threatened to release the vision, NSW police said in a statement.

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In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000. International helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org.

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Weather warnings issued as cold front moves through Australia’s south and south-east

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BoM says Victoria, NSW, SA and Tasmania could be in for very strong winds, potentially over 90km/h

Potentially dangerous winds could wreak havoc across parts of the country over the weekend, with severe weather warnings in place in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued widespread warnings as a powerful cold front, which began on Friday night, moves through South Australia into the south and south-eastern states.

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Are Australian Research Council reports being written by Chat GPT?

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Multiple accounts from researchers suggest that feedback for Discovery Project grant funding was written by artificial intelligence

The Australian Research Council has faced allegations that some of its peer reviewers may have used ChatGPT to assess research proposals, prompting a warning from the education minister and concerns about possible academic misconduct.

Several researchers have reported that some assessor feedback provided as part of the latest Discovery Projects round of grant funding included generic wording suggesting they may have been written by artificial intelligence.

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Sailor rescued from rough seas in Great Australian Bight during solo circumnavigation attempt

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Xavier Doerr was winched to safety after spending the night battling giant waves and severe winds west of Kangaroo Island

A solo sailor has been rescued having spent the night battling giant waves and severe winds in the Great Australian Bight after running into trouble hundreds of kilometres from help.

Xavier Doerr, 22, was winched to safety late on Saturday after he was forced to trigger an emergency beacon shortly before 5pm the previous day while attempting to complete a nonstop and unassisted circumnavigation of Australia.

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Chris O’Connell is last Australian standing at Wimbledon after De Minaur and Kuber go out

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  • Sydneysider now faces American Chris Eubanks
  • Australian No 1 blown away by Italy’s Matteo Berrettini

Chris O’Connell is Australia’s last player standing at Wimbledon after he reached the third round of an overseas grand slam for the first time.

O’Connell, who also battled through to the third round of his home Open in Melbourne last year, was in inspired mood on his fourth successive day on court as he defeated dangerous Czech left-hander Jiri Vesely 6-3 7-5 6-4.

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How the Coalition collaborated with ‘friendly media’ to silence robodebt victims

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Alan Tudge’s office planned to use sympathetic outlets such as News Corp to counter reporting on scheme, royal commission report reveals

When Alan Tudge needed to promote what became known as robodebt in December 2016, he found willing media outlets in the Australian newspaper, 2GB and A Current Affair.

“Welfare debt squad hunts for $4bn,” the Australian dutifully reported at the time. The then-human services minister next went on 2GB, where then-host Chris Smith said in the introduction: “Are all those people with their hands in the taxpayer pocket in genuine need?”

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‘Not in the spirit of our friendship’: Penny Wong concedes past Australian wrongs in Timor-Leste

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Foreign minister says previous governments have treated the country in ‘disappointing’ ways during visit to Dili

The Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has attempted to improve Australia’s ties with Timor-Leste by conceding that “disappointing” actions by past governments were “not in the spirit of our friendship”.

Wong did not mention the scandal surrounding Australia’s bugging of the nation’s cabinet room in 2004, but acknowledged Timor-Leste’s sovereign right to make its own choices “without having them encroached by others”.

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WA family demand answers over the unexpected death of one-year-old daughter

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The toddler died at Perth Children’s hospital less than 24 hours after being sent home by a GP, according to the family and advocates

A Western Australia family is demanding answers after the death of a one-year-old baby a day after she was sent home by a GP, before being rushed to a Perth hospital emergency room.

The family’s spokesperson, Desmond Blurton, said his niece, Charmain Blurton, and her partner, Cody Yappo, took their daughter to their local doctor when she began feeling unwell.

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