Category Archives: Australia news

‘It nearly crushed me’: Brett Sutton resigns as Victoria’s chief health officer

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Sutton says the pressure of the public role through the worst of the pandemic took a toll on his family

Victoria’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton, says there were moments during his time as the face of the state’s Covid-19 response that would have “crushed” him were it not for the support of his family, as he announced his resignation on Friday.

Sutton said he would be leaving the Department of Health after 12 years to take up a position as director of health and biosecurity at the CSIRO from September.

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Australian governments impose recycling rules after packaging industry fails on waste

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New rules agreed at meeting of environment ministers welcomed as breakthrough by conservationists

Industry will be forced to do more to cut waste and boost recycling after Australia’s federal and state governments agreed for the first time to impose mandatory packaging rules on manufacturers and retailers.

The agreement, at a meeting of environment ministers in Sydney on Friday, was welcomed by conservationists as a major breakthrough after years of voluntary industry action has failed to reduce waste.

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Albanese urged to plead with Biden for Assange’s release – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

‘We shouldn’t run a running commentary on the cases,’ says Hume

Opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume, appearing alongside Marles on the program, said she believed clarification was still needed:

There is inconsistencies between the reports that we are getting from those text messages and what we are hearing from Labor ministers, and what happened when.

And I think unfolding that, unpacking that, making sure there is some clarification is really important here. Because misleading parliament, misleading the Senate is a big deal, particularly when you rely on the honesty and integrity of ministers and senators, and so there are some questions to be answered here.

Katy has made her position very clear earlier in the week, and she has made clear that she is very comfortable with the statements that she’s made, and that’s the end of the matter in terms of Katy’s position.

Katy is a person of enormous integrity. It is one of my great honours to work alongside her in this government. She does a great job as the finance minister.

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Sydney Morning Herald apologises for failing ‘dismally’ on coverage of 1838 Myall Creek massacre

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Nine Entertainment paper says it ‘essentially campaigned’ for 11 stockmen accused of killing at least 28 Aboriginal people to escape prosecution

The Sydney Morning Herald has apologised for failing “dismally” in its coverage of the Myall Creek massacre and two subsequent trials in the 19th century.

On 10 June 1838, with the Myall Creek Station manager away, a dozen stockmen led by John Henry Fleming rounded up and brutally killed at least 28 Wirrayaraay women, children and elderly people while their young men were away helping another settler.

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US reviewed defence training ties with Australia after Brereton inquiry into alleged war crimes

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Exclusive: US embassy says review ended with a decision that no training restrictions needed ‘at this time’

The United States says the Brereton inquiry into alleged war crimes by Australian special forces sparked “a bilateral training review” that ended with a decision not to suspend security cooperation between the two countries.

The US embassy in Canberra moved to clear up unanswered questions about the issue on Friday, insisting that the Australian government’s actions to address the allegations had allayed any concerns.

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PM denies Katy Gallagher misled parliament over Brittany Higgins case after text messages released

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Coalition presses finance minister over her comment to Senate estimates that ‘no one had any knowledge’ before rape allegation was made public

Anthony Albanese has denied that the finance minister, Katy Gallagher, misled the Senate by insisting “no one had any knowledge” before Brittany Higgins made her rape allegation in February 2021.

The opposition is continuing to press Gallagher for an explanation of her evidence to Senate estimates, which has come under question due to the release of text messages between Higgins and her partner, David Sharaz, suggesting contact with Gallagher four days before the story broke.

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Boy, 16, charged after woman and girl allegedly found stabbed in family tragedy in Queensland

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Police say emergency services found woman, 39, and girl, 11, with a number of wounds at home in Rosewood, west of Brisbane

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder after a woman and a girl were allegedly found stabbed in a family tragedy in Queensland.

Queensland police said emergency services went to a home at Rosewood, west of Brisbane, on Thursday night, where they found the woman, 39, and the girl, 11, with a number of wounds to the abdomen.

In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org

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ABC to move resources away from AM radio and TV to podcasts and on-demand by 2028

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The public broadcaster’s five-year-plan, released on Friday, stops short of the BBC’s plan to shut down its TV and radio broadcasts to be digital first

The ABC will undergo a “significant transition” towards digital transmission, reducing the resources invested in AM radio stations and programs, and broadcast TV channels, by 2028 and increase podcasts and on-demand programs instead.

The ABC says it will continue to broadcast on AM and FM bands because some listeners – particularly elderly people – rely on them but resources will be diverted towards digital delivery of all content.

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US Virginia class submarines hit further two-year delay as Australia awaits 2030 delivery

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Experts have warned that the US program is too tightly squeezed to produce Australia’s additional subs, which are meant to fill a capability gap

A United States nuclear powered submarine program – which Australia is depending on to provide up to five boats under the Aukus deal – has hit a two-year delay.

The latest report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that performance on the construction of the Block V Virginia class nuclear-powered submarine “continues to degrade”. Supply chain issues, severe workforce shortages and limited physical capacity mean the US is struggling to meet its target of building two ships a year.

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Innocent Queensland children pleading guilty to avoid harsh bail laws, lawyers say

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Many children on remand who may be exonerated or not sentenced are pleading guilty to escape long periods of detention

Young people in Queensland are pleading guilty to offences they did not commit – or where there is little evidence to support charges – to avoid spending extreme periods on remand in the state’s buckling youth justice system, lawyers say.

Queensland has the nation’s largest youth prison population, and recent data obtained by Guardian Australia reveals 88% of children in detention centres and police watch houses were being held unsentenced.

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Labor’s new grant category proposal criticised by legal experts as ‘retrograde step’

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Awarding grants for explicit decisions of government risks ‘entrenching a system of permissible pork-barrelling’, barrister says

A proposal by the health minister, Mark Butler, for a new grant category for “explicit decisions of government” has alarmed legal and transparency experts, who warn it could lower the bar for grants at “high risk” of corruption and pork-barrelling.

The public law expert Prof Anne Twomey said the plan “appears to be an attempt to extend the perfunctory assessment of election promise grants to other publicly announced grants between election cycles that have not gone through appropriate merit assessment”. She warned against such a “retrograde step”.

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Pharmacy Guild accused in Senate of using patient contact details to protest Labor dispensing changes

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Guild says it adheres to all relevant privacy laws as medical association says patient’s personal information is ‘sacrosanct, not a plaything’

The health department has expressed concern the Pharmacy Guild appears to be using patient contact details from its “Find a Pharmacy” website to campaign against 60-day medicine dispensing.

Meanwhile, the Australian Medical Association has labelled the Pharmacy Guild’s opposition to the new rules a “sick joke”.

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Alleged sexual assault victim unable to be examined at local hospital due to staff shortages, Queensland MP says

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Labor MP Tom Smith raises concerns after speaking to alleged victim who was taken in the back of a police car to a hospital 90 minutes away

An alleged victim of a sexual assault was transported by Queensland police to a hospital 90 minutes away as staff shortages meant she was unable to be examined at her local hospital, a state Labor MP has claimed.

Tom Smith, the MP for Bundaberg, said he was concerned about the pressures on the state’s health system after speaking to the alleged victim.

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Australian renters facing ‘pre-application’ for properties before inspecting

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Applicants asked for proof of identity, rental and financial history, and references, with some listings being snapped up before first showing

Renters looking for new homes are being forced to “pre-apply” before inspecting properties, a process that can take hours and involves providing personal details, financial information and references.

Cassandra, who did not want her last name published, is looking for a place to rent in Melbourne after getting a job in the city. She said several listings she has come across during her search asked for pre-applications.

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Leaked Brittany Higgins material to be raised in federal court hearing of Bruce Lehrmann defamation case

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The federal court will consider the audio and text messages of Higgins and her partner David Sharaz published by several media outlets

The leaking of private material linked to Brittany Higgins is to be raised in the federal court on Friday during a hearing of the defamation case brought by Bruce Lehrmann against several media outlets.

An audio recording of Higgins, her partner David Sharaz and two Network 10 journalists, along with text messages sent from Higgins to various parties, have been published by multiple outlets over several weeks.

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Paul Keating sent explosive email to Labor cabinet two hours before attack on Aukus, FOI documents reveal

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Exclusive: Former PM directly warned cabinet ministers over China, the Pacific and US hegemony prior to his pointed speech at the National Press Club

At 10.45am on Wednesday 15 March, an explosive email landed in the inboxes of all of Anthony Albanese’s cabinet ministers.

“Dear cabinet colleagues,” wrote Paul Keating, Labor luminary turned chief Aukus critic.

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$15,000 more a year: homeowners brace as interest rate hikes bring ‘mortgage cliff’ closer

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Rate rises mean that households with an average $576,985 mortgage will have to find an extra $1250 a month

Jack Lynch and his partner moved out of Sydney to the picturesque but cheaper Blue Mountains to become homeowners in 2021, and promptly locked in a cut-rate, fixed-rate loan.

The couple, in their early 30s, are now bracing for that loan to expire, and for repayments to increase by more than $2,000 a month.

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Major newspapers could face a $40m hit if governments follow Victoria in abandoning print advertising

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Data highlights total government spending on print as experts say Daniel Andrews’ move will be watched

Major metropolitan newspapers could lose up to $40m in advertising revenue if state and federal governments follow Victoria’s lead and pull their print advertising.

In 2022 state and federal governments spent about $40m placing government ads in major capital city newspapers, and another $5m on digital advertising on news websites like heraldsun.com.au and theage.com.au, according to media agency data collected by Standard Media Index.

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Australia in ‘retail recession’ as inflation and rate hikes hit spending, says report

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With spending expected to dip again in the June quarter, Deloitte forecasts a broader ‘consumer recesssion’ later this year

Australia is the midst of a “retail recession” as inflation and higher interest rates erode the buying power of consumers, according to a report by Deloitte Access Economics.

Retail turnover once inflation is stripped out sank 0.6% in the March quarter, or twice the pace of the retreat in the final three months of 2022. The June quarter is also likely to post a drop in retail sales, making it three consecutive quarters of decline.

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Data reveals significant drop in proportion of specialist appointments funded by Medicare

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Patient advocates say more needs to be done to reduce out-of-pocket costs and improve the health literacy of Australians

The level of Medicare coverage for specialist medical appointments has fallen steadily and significantly over the past two decades and is well below that of GP visits, data shows, prompting calls for reform from patient advocates.

Medicare data published on Thursday by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reveals that the proportion of subsidised fees varies widely depending on the type of appointment.

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