Category Archives: Australia news

Australian trial of seaweed cow feed fails to achieve hoped-for methane cuts

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Longest trial so far of supplement derived from red seaweed produced 28% less of the greenhouse gas – much lower than previous studies

One of the world’s longest commercial trials of a seaweed supplement that the global meat industry hopes could slash methane from beef cattle has recorded much lower reductions in the potent greenhouse gas than previous studies.

Putting the supplement into the diets of 40 wagyu cattle in an Australian feedlot for 300 days cut the methane they produced by 28%.

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Woodside LNG: Australia’s ‘biggest’ contribution to climate crisis a step closer to 50-year extension

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WA EPA dismisses most grounds of appeal against extension of operation licence for gas processing facility in the Pilbara

One of Australia’s biggest fossil fuel developments is a step closer to having its life extended for nearly 50 years after Western Australian officials dismissed appeals arguing it should be stopped on climate science and cultural grounds.

More than 750 organisations and individuals last year lodged objections to a WA Environment Protection Authority (EPA) recommendation that oil and gas company Woodside be allowed to operate its gas processing facility in the Pilbara until 2070.

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Australia news live: ANZ says customers ‘by and large are faring extremely well’ despite interest rates squeeze

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A student on New South Wales’s Central Coast has died after contracting the influenza virus, just days after NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant warned circulation of influenza B was rising and young people were at heightened risk from the strain.

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Having a budget which is in much better nick means that if at some future point – and we’re not contemplating additional measures right now – but at some future point if we need to, we do that from a much more solid foundation. And that’s because we’re managing the budget so responsibly.

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Wastewater tests reveal the most popular drugs in each Australian capital city

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Illicit drug use in Australia jumped over summer despite a string of high-profile drug busts

Sydneysiders consume the most cocaine, Melburnians the most heroin, Darwin ranks highest for alcohol while cannabis is most popular in Hobart, wastewater analysis reveals.

The findings from the latest national wastewater drug monitoring report from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission were based on wastewater testing at 57 treatment plants in capital cities and regional areas from December 2022 to February 2023.

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Elderly man and woman die in ‘intense’ Wetherill Park house fire in Sydney’s west

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Man, 81, and 75-year-old woman pulled from home on Lily Street by firefighters but pair could not be revived

Two elderly people have died after being pulled from a “thick and intense” house fire in Sydney’s west this morning.

Fire and rescue were called to a two-level home in Lily Street, Wetherill Park, at 6.42am.

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Australian universities report finds quality of education eroded by ‘long-term underfunding’

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New report reveals 83% of respondents are concerned universities’ focus on profit is undermining education standards

Decades of declining public funding for universities and the increasing corporatisation of the sector has further eroded working conditions for staff and the quality of education for students, according to a new report.

Of the 1,002 respondents in the report by the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work, 83% said they were concerned universities’ focus on profit was undermining education standards.

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Woman found dead at western Sydney home as man found with critical injuries

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NSW police, who were called to Rooty Hill property, say the woman is believed to be in her 50s

A woman has been killed in a suspected domestic violence attack at a western Sydney home.

Police were called to the property at Rooty Hill about 8.15pm on Tuesday with concerns for the woman’s welfare.

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China delays decision on Australian barley tariffs in setback on resolving trade disputes

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Exclusive: The Albanese government says it is ‘disappointed’ Beijing’s review couldn’t be completed in the initial three months

China has asked for an extra month to decide whether to scrap hefty tariffs on Australian barley, dashing hopes of an imminent breakthrough in one of the biggest trade disputes between the two countries.

The Albanese government said it was disappointed by the delay, and warned that it was ready to revive its case at the global trade umpire, the World Trade Organization, if Beijing doesn’t scrap the measure by August.

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Australian PM hands Sunak picture of Bairstow stumping at Nato meeting

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Anthony Albanese tries to ambush UK counterpart, but Sunak was ready with image of England team at Headingley

The Australian prime minister tried to ambush his British counterpart at the Nato summit with a picture of the controversial stumping of England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow in the Ashes cricket series.

Rishi Sunak was unexpectedly prepared, and produced from his official portfolio his own photo of England’s Mark Wood and Chris Woakes celebrating getting the winning runs at Headingley on Sunday, giving the host nation their first victory after two consecutive Australian wins.

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Australia news live: China’s access to TikTok data ‘needs to be interrogated’, Shoebridge says

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It will be easier for women to medically terminate pregnancies up to 63 days of gestation, now that the Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved an application from MS Health to amend restrictions on the prescribing of MS-2 Step (Mifepristone and Misoprostol).

MS-2 Step was only able to be prescribed by a doctor certified to prescribe the medicine, and then dispensed by a pharmacist who was a registered dispenser.

We’re investing in the care economy, we’re investing in manufacturing and we’re investing in critical infrastructure to create secure, well-paid jobs for Australian workers.

While we know that slowing global growth, higher prices and higher interest rates will impact our economy and labour market and continue to strain household budgets over the coming months, Australia is in a better position than nearly anyone else to face the challenges ahead.

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Ben Roberts-Smith to appeal after defamation case was dismissed by federal court

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Ex-soldier lost case against three newspapers in June with trial judge finding they had proven on the balance of probabilities that Roberts-Smith murdered unarmed civilians in Afghanistan

Ben Roberts-Smith has launched an appeal after he lost his war crimes defamation trial in the federal court.

Justice Anthony Besanko found in June that three newspapers had proven Roberts-Smith had, on the balance of probabilities, murdered unarmed civilians while serving in the Australian military in Afghanistan.

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Controversial Sydney developer goes into administration as police search for owner Jean Nassif

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Administrator appointed to Toplace a month after arrest warrant issued for Nassif

A major Sydney development firm owned by accused fraudster and fugitive Jean Nassif has gone into administration.

Records filed with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission show an administrator was appointed to his company, Toplace Pty Ltd, on Monday.

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Google ordered to hand over anonymous emailer’s information to former Victorian Labor candidate

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Federal court orders account details be given to Nurul Khan so he can sue the person for defamation

Google has been ordered to hand over the account information and IP address of a person who a Victorian Labor candidate alleges defamed them in an email.

Nurul Khan was endorsed to run for the Labor party in last year’s state election, but an email littered with allegations against him was sent to ministers and news organisations on 9 November.

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Clare Nowland: family sues NSW government after 95-year-old allegedly Tasered in nursing home

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Exclusive: civil proceedings against the state were initially filed while aged care resident was still fighting for her life in hospital

The family of 95-year-old Clare Nowland, who died in May after being allegedly Tasered by police in an aged care home, is suing the New South Wales government.

The civil case against the state was listed to appear for the first time before a court in Bega in south-east NSW on Tuesday morning.

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Australian democracy activist Chau Van Kham released from Vietnam jail and reunited with family

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Seventy-four-year-old’s health had deteriorated in prison and he was released on humanitarian grounds

The Australian democracy activist Chau Van Kham has been released from a Vietnamese jail and returned to his home in Sydney.

“Chau Van Kham has returned to Australia a free man,” his family said. “We share the happy news that Chau Van Kham is well and has returned to his family today.”

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A limit to ageing? Australian life expectancy is rising, but new report asks why few live to 110

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More people are making it to 100, but there’s little change in the proportion of ‘supercentenarians’, a report has found

Despite average life expectancy increasing, the proportion of Australians making it to age 110 has barely shifted since the 1960s, with a new report asking whether there is a limit to how far lifespan can be pushed.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) on Tuesday published its How long can Australians live? report, containing the latest life expectancy and longevity data. Over the past five decades, life expectancy in Australia has increased by 13.7 years for males (to 81.3) and by 11.2 years for females (to 85.4).

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Australia to send surveillance aircraft to Germany to help protect supplies to Ukraine

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Anthony Albanese says an E-7A Wedgetail plane will be dispatched as part of an effort to monitor logistics hubs

The Australian government will send a surveillance aircraft to Germany to help monitor the flow of military and humanitarian supplies into Ukraine.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced the deployment after talks with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, in Berlin on Monday, a day before attending a Nato summit in Lithuania where the war in Ukraine will dominate discussions.

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Publisher withdraws former police officer’s memoir after force questions Port Arthur massacre claim

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Victoria Police says Christophe Glasl was not in Tasmania at the time of Port Arthur massacre, despite his claim to have been involved in its resolution

A publisher has pulled a former police officer’s memoir after the force questioned his claim he attended the Port Arthur massacre.

Hachette confirmed parts of the book Special Operations Group by former Victorian police officer Christophe Glasl were inaccurate, and that it had been removed from shelves.

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PwC announces it will cease donations to political parties as part of attempt to rebuild reputation

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Consulting firm’s self-imposed ban follows scandal over misuse of confidential government tax information

PwC has announced it will no longer make donations to political parties, but a Labor senator central to investigating the consultancy firm’s misuse of confidential government tax information says the company needs to further boost its own accountability procedures.

In a note to the company’s partners on Monday, PwC’s acting CEO Kristin Stubbins said the firm’s self-imposed ban on making political donations was an “important step” in rebuilding its reputation.

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Just some songs that you used to know: Triple J to broadcast all past hottest 100 entries

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From next Monday, listeners can relive songs from the past three decades including Denis Leary’s Asshole, the first winner

The ABC’s youth broadcaster Triple J has found a home for its archive of 30 years’ worth of its beloved annual music countdown – a whole new radio station.

The station, Triple j Hottest, will play on repeat the songs Australians voted into the hottest 100 since it began counting down the most popular songs of the previous 12 months in 1993.

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