Category Archives: Australia news

PwC Australia allegedly provided confidential tax law information to Google

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Google, the first of the firm’s customers directly linked to the tax scandal, was not told the information was confidential and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the company

PwC Australia allegedly provided Google confidential information about the start date of a new tax law leaked from Australian government tax briefings, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

This is the first time a company has been directly linked to the national scandal involving the “big four” accounting firm that was revealed in January.

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Grieving Melbourne family say girl, 9, climbed out of her window before being hit by a car

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Aluel Ajak died after being struck by a car on Shaws Road in Werribee on Wednesday night

A nine-year-old who died after being hit by a car in Melbourne’s west has been described as a courageous and beautiful girl.

Aluel Ajak was struck by a car on Shaws Road in Werribee about 9.15pm on Wednesday.

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Australia should recognise state of Palestine as part of ‘fair go’ ethos, de facto ambassador says

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Izzat Abdulhadi of Palestinian delegation calls for government to resist ‘pressure’ to avoid contentious topic – and to strongly condemn Israel’s raids on Jenin

Australia should stand up for the “fair go” by recognising Palestine as a state, according to its de facto ambassador, who argues that Israel’s “brutal” military operation in the city of Jenin only increases the urgency for bold steps.

Palestinian recognition is one of the foreign policy issues set to be discussed when Labor holds its next national conference in Brisbane in August.

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Rents rise again across Australia with Sydney seeing fastest rise in 20 years

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Median unit in harbour city now costs more than median house in every other capital, Domain says, as immigration adds to rental ‘pressure cooker’

Rents continued to climb across Australia in the June quarter, particularly in the biggest cities, with a median unit costing more to rent in Sydney than a median house in every other state capital, data from Domain showed.

A record migrant intake that will swell the nation’s population by 715,000 people over two years and a return of overseas students and temporary visa holders will add to the “rental pressure cooker”, Domain said in its quarterly report. About 127,000 additional dwellings will be needed this financial year alone.

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Former KPMG partner urges royal commission into consulting industry following damning report into PwC scandal

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Whistleblower tells Senate inquiry into federal government’s use of consultants that ‘self-regulation is failing’ across the industry

A former KPMG partner turned whistleblower has urged the federal government to consider a royal commission into the consulting industry and to formally ban firms that breach legal and ethical standards.

In late 2021, Brendan Lyon told a New South Wales parliamentary inquiry that he was pressured to amend his work, which found the state’s budget was $10bn worse off than Treasury claimed.

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Australian decision to allow psychedelic drug prescriptions criticised by mental health experts

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Neuropsychologists and psychiatrists argue the evidence for broad-scale implementation of psychedelic drug use is insufficient

The decision by Australia’s drugs regulator to allow authorised psychiatrists to prescribe psychedelic drugs is “questionable, if not concerning”, and likely driven by the influence of lobby groups instead of health experts, mental health researchers say.

As of 1 July, authorised psychiatrists have been able to prescribe medicines containing psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, and MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder. The decision by the Therapeutic Goods Administration followed public consultation, a report from an expert panel and advice received from a medicines advisory committee.

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Daughter charged with parents’ murders allegedly poisoned them with her own insulin, Adelaide court told

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Raelene Polymiadis allegedly deliberately overdosed Brenda Anderson and Lynton Anderson, both aged 94, court hears

The daughter of an elderly Adelaide couple has appeared in court charged with their murders with allegations the victims were deliberately overdosed with prescription medication.

Raelene Polymiadis appeared in Adelaide magistrates court on Wednesday. Prosecutors alleged the 62-year-old had administered her own insulin to Brenda Anderson and Lynton Anderson, both aged 94.

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Donald Trump Jr’s Australian speaking tour delayed, promoter says

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Turning Point Australia says appearances of former president’s son in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne postponed ‘due to unforeseen circumstances’

A speaking tour from the son of the former US president Donald Trump has been delayed, the tour promoter announced on Wednesday.

Donald Trump Jr was to speak at events in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, kicking off this Sunday. However Turning Point Australia announced on Wednesday that “due to unforeseen circumstances” the appearances would be postponed.

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Magistrate in assault case against former University of New England vice-chancellor showed ‘lack of objectivity’, court told

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Prof Brigid Heywood is accused of wiping her spit on a teenager’s face during an International Women’s Day event in 2022

The former University of New England vice-chancellor Prof Brigid Heywood’s legal team have applied for the magistrate hearing her assault case to recuse himself, claiming he displayed a “lack of calmness and objectivity”.

Heywood, a British-Australian biological scientist, is alleged to have wiped her saliva on a teenager’s face and commented on her skin colour at a council-run International Women’s Day event in March 2022. She was a panellist at the event.

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Australia news live: Burney condemns ‘Trump-style’ voice politics; ‘well publicised’ matters referred to federal corruption watchdog

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Follow the day’s news live

Prime minister Anthony Albanese says he is “one of the millions of Australians” who welcomed the decision from the Reserve Bank yesterday, on Nine’s Today program this morning.

People are doing it tough out there … I am determined to work each and every day to provide whatever assistance the government can do. Whether that be the direct assistance in cheaper childcare, the tripling [of] the Medibank bulk billing incentive so people can see their doctor for free, or fee-free TAFE and all those measures to take pressure off cost-of-living.

As well, of course, managing the economy and producing a surplus in excess of $2.4bn to put that downward pressure on inflation.

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Childcare fees in Australia outpace inflation with rises of up to 32%, report finds

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ACCC says number of centres charging above hourly rate cap has doubled as government’s cheaper childcare package comes into force

Childcare fees have outpaced inflation in the past five years, with rises of between 20% and 32% from 2018 to 2022 according to a report from the competition regulator.

Households are now paying 4% more for centre-based and outside-school-hours care, 6% more for family daycare and 15% more for in-home care services, once adjusted for inflation.

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$123.64 per child a day for centre-based daycare, with $48.60 out-of-pocket

$90.23 a child a day for family daycare ($28.92 out-of-pocket)

$30 per child a session for outside-school-hours care ($13.54 out-of-pocket)

$301.42 per family a day for in-home care ($60.69 out-of-pocket).

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Daniel Andrews calls Victoria’s election funding laws ‘perfectly fair’ amid Climate 200 criticism

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Simon Holmes à Court says the laws make it ‘nearly impossible’ for independents to successfully campaign

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, says he has no plans to change election funding laws, despite claims from Climate 200’s founder, Simon Holmes à Court, that they make it “nearly impossible” for an independent to successfully campaign.

According to Climate 200’s submission to a parliamentary inquiry into the November state election, sitting MPs received a significant “head start” during the campaign thanks to changes to the law introduced in 2018.

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Magistrate berates prosecutors as police officer charged with Tasering Clare Nowland appears in court via video

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Kristian White was charged with recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to 95-year-old grandmother

A magistrate has berated prosecutors for allowing the police officer accused of Tasering a 95-year-old grandmother not to appear in person before court.

Snr Constable Kristian White appeared before the Cooma local court via video link on Wednesday over the Tasering of Clare Nowland, who later died from injuries sustained in the incident.

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Ocean temperatures around Australia 0.5C above June average as UN declares an El Niño

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World Meteorological Organization says weather pattern is in place, which for Australia increases risk of drought, heatwaves, bushfires and coral bleaching

Ocean temperatures around Australia last month were 0.5C above average, as the UN’s weather agency declared the world was now in an El Niño.

El Niño events influence weather extremes around the globe and for Australia increase the risk of drought, heatwaves, bushfires and coral bleaching.

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Babysitter charged with murder over Adelaide toddler’s death

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Ronan Davies, who was 17 months old, died in June after being taken to hospital with severe head injuries

A man who was babysitting an Adelaide toddler has been charged with the boy’s murder.

Ronan Davies was taken to hospital with severe head and other internal injuries on 7 June and died on 9 June.

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Albanese urged to cancel China trip as Hong Kong vows to pursue exiled democracy activists ‘for life’

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Labor warns it will not tolerate foreign interference on Australian soil as it vows to protect free speech

The Coalition has urged the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to reconsider plans to travel to China after Hong Kong authorities vowed to pursue exiled democracy advocates “for life”.

The Labor government has also warned that it would not tolerate any foreign interference on Australian soil as it promised to protect the principle of free speech, but China’s foreign ministry said western countries should “stop providing a safe haven for fugitives”.

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RBA interest rates: banks split on future rate hikes as uncertain economic outlook prompts pause

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Homeowners with a mortgage will be breathing a sigh of relief after RBA paused rate rising at Tuesday’s board meeting

Australian borrowers have had a reprieve after the Reserve Bank paused its interest rate hikes for only the second time in the past 14 meetings, giving the central bank more time to assess the state of the economy.

The RBA left its official cash rate at 4.1% on Tuesday, which is still the highest level in 11 years. Economists had been divided in their forecasts, with about half predicting the pause and the others expecting another 25 basis point increase.

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‘Stay in your crease’: Anthony Albanese offers Rishi Sunak advice following controversial Ashes dismissal

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  • Australian PM says he wishes his UK counterpart well
  • Rishi Sunak had claimed Australia contravened ‘the spirit of cricket’

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has offered some advice to his UK counterpart after Rishi Sunak weighed into the controversy over Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal at Lord’s on Sunday.

Mr Albanese said on Tuesday he understood Sunak’s disappointment.

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Brittany Higgins accuses Linda Reynolds of targeting her and says it is ‘time to stop’

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Higgins has highlighted media coverage of comments by her former boss, saying ‘this has been going on for years now’

Brittany Higgins has told her former boss Linda Reynolds “it is time to stop” and accused the Liberal senator of targeting her through the media and in parliament.

On Monday, Reynolds confirmed she still intended to refer the commonwealth’s settlement with Higgins to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nacc), with paperwork expected to be lodged in coming days.

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Cane toads’ spread through Western Australia’s Kimberley revealed by motion sensor cameras

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Cane toads first crossed into WA from the Northern Territory 15 years ago and have slowly spread through the Kimberley

Motion sensor cameras have revealed the confronting spread of cane toads across Western Australia’s eastern Kimberley region.

Supported by the World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia, the Nyaliga Rangers deployed cameras at 141 locations between August 2020 and October 2022.

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