Category Archives: Australia news

Abandoned van found in search for missing German backpacker Carolina Wilga in remote WA

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The 26-year-old has not been seen or heard from since visiting a general store in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt region

Police searching for German backpacker Carolina Wilga, who is missing in a remote part of Western Australia, have found an abandoned van believed to have mechanical issues.

The 26-year-old has not been seen or heard from since she visited a general store in the small town of Beacon, in WA’s north-east Wheatbelt region, on 29 June.

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Universities and artists face funding threat under antisemitism plan being considered by Australian government

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Antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal also urges Labor government to bolster education and seek new powers to deport visitors

Universities and artists would have funding withheld if they fail to act against antisemitism, AI tools would be banned from sharing Jewish hatred, and the government would have new grounds to deport visitors under a wide-ranging plan put forward by Australia’s antisemitism envoy.

The federal Labor government has not committed to the plan in full, with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, saying he would consider the recommendations of his handpicked envoy, Jillian Segal, which also propose her office would “monitor” media coverage and bolster education in schools and workplaces.

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Police investigating video claiming responsibility for torching cars at Israel-linked weapons business in Melbourne

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Video raises prospect of further vandalism or targeted action as anonymous group says ‘Stop arming Israel or else’

Victoria police are investigating a video of a person claiming credit for the vandalism of three cars outside a defence industry business linked to Israel, while clad in a black balaclava and standing in front of a Palestinian flag.

The person, whose voice is digitally altered in a video seen by Guardian Australia, claims to represent an “anonymous cell” that torched three cars at Lovitt Technologies. The company supplies parts to the global F-35 joint strike fighter program.

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Labor to move quickly on special envoy’s plan to combat antisemitism

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Jillian Segal to present recommendations urging government to take stronger action against abuse toward Jewish Australians

The federal government will move quickly to adopt new recommendations from the special envoy to combat antisemitism, with a suite of measures expected to include education and online safety in response to the arson attack at a Melbourne synagogue.

Jillian Segal is expected to appear alongside Anthony Albanese at an event on Thursday to present recommendations urging the government to take stronger action against abuse toward Jewish Australians.

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Queensland police charged woman with driving offences while she was fleeing domestic violence

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Magistrate throws out case against woman, saying she had been trying to escape an ‘extraordinary emergency’

A Queensland court has thrown out the police case against a woman who was charged with driving offences while fleeing domestic violence with her dog.

The Gympie magistrates court accepted the unchallenged evidence of the woman – referred to as ESC – that she drove while disqualified after her violent partner threatened to kill her dog.

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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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Australia news live: Chalmers ‘urgently seeking more detail’ after Trump flags 200% pharmaceutical tariffs; head-on collision on Sydney Harbour Bridge

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Treasurer says Trump’s tariff threats on foreign pharmaceuticals and copper ‘very concerning developments’. Follow the latest news live

Chalmers says millions of people were hoping for interest rate relief yesterday

Jim Chalmers says “there were millions of people who were hoping for more rate relief yesterday and didn’t get it”.

As per letters sent to various countries yesterday, in addition to letters that will be sent today, tomorrow, and for the next short period of time, TARIFFS WILL START BEING PAID ON AUGUST 1, 2025. There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change. In other words, all money will be due and payable starting AUGUST 1, 2025 - No extensions will be granted. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

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RecipeTin Eats cook upset her beef wellington recipe ‘entangled’ in Erin Patterson murder case

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Convicted murderer told trial she made multiple changes to Nagi Maehashi’s recipe in preparing the fatal lunch two years ago

Nagi Maehashi, the cook behind RecipeTin Eats, says it is “upsetting” to have become “entangled in a tragic situation” after Erin Patterson told her triple murder trial she used the beef wellington recipe for the fateful lunch.

In a post to Instagram on Tuesday, Maehashi requested that journalists of Australia “please stop calling and emailing and texting and DM’ing me about the Erin Patterson case”.

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Australians could cut power bills by 90% if they made their homes more energy efficient, report finds

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Debate on how to generate energy ‘important but misses the point’, analyst says, when you can get such savings by using solar, batteries and efficient appliances

The debate over where Australia gets its energy from has played out like a “comic-book death battle between coal and renewables” in recent years, according to Luke Menzel, the chief executive officer of the Energy Efficiency Council.

Discussions over coal versus renewables, the role of gas and the speed of infrastructure rollout to bring renewables online had been “important”, Menzel said. “But there’s a whole other conversation we need to be having. And that’s about how we are using energy.”

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‘Serious animal welfare concerns’: Australian authorities investigate alleged breach of livestock export rules

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Animal rights group claims sheep in Jordanian slaughterhouse were killed in a manner that was a ‘direct breach’ of Australia’s supply chain assurance system

Warning: Graphic content

Australian authorities are investigating claims that sheep exported to the Middle East have been mistreated at a local abattoir – the sixth investigation involving sheep shipped by Perth-based exporter Livestock Shipping services in seven years.

The investigation relates to allegations sheep at the Hijazi & Ghosheh slaughterhouse near Amman in Jordan, which is approved and inspected under Australia’s export supply chain assurance system (Escas), were killed in a way which breached those guidelines. It is the second time the slaughterhouse has been reported for alleged breach of Escas rules in two years.

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‘Fungi fatale’ and ‘death cap stare’: how the world’s media reported Erin Patterson’s guilty verdict

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For more than two months, the Australian mushroom triple-murder trial has gripped the world – here’s how it finished up on the front page

The murder trial has spawned podcasts, documentaries, thousands of column inches, viral social media posts – and a rapt global audience.

After a week of deliberation, a supreme court jury found Victorian woman Erin Patterson guilty of three counts of murder and one of attempted murder after three guests died and one almost died after eating her homemade beef wellington lunch.

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Tiny fungus farming beetle from WA could wreak havoc on Sydney’s heritage trees

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Invasive shot-hole borer only found in Perth in Australia, but as WA moves from eradication to management of pest, risk of spread is ‘heightened’

The chief scientist of the Botanic Gardens of Sydney is warning of an imminent and deadly risk to the city’s trees posed by an invasive beetle that has led to the removal of thousands of trees in Perth.

The tiny polyphagous shot-hole borer, which is native to south-east Asia, is a “fungus farmer” that burrows into trees and can spread a fungus that kills the host tree.

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Erin Patterson’s hospital visit – and what the beef wellingtons really looked like: mushroom murder exhibits revealed

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Evidence presented in the mushroom murder trial shows the dining table used in the fateful lunch and social media chats

For more than two months, Erin Patterson’s triple-murder trial gripped people around the world. But while millions were glued to news updates, only a handful of people had access to the full case.

Jurors heard from more than 50 witnesses and were introduced to more than 120 pieces of evidence by the prosecution and defence throughout the lengthy proceedings.

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Queensland zoo to reopen two days after woman loses arm to lioness

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Woman injured in Sunday incident was ‘a much-loved member of the zoo owners’ family’ and not in animal’s enclosure at the time, zoo says

A woman has lost her arm after being attacked on Sunday at a Queensland zoo by a lioness, which the zoo insists “was not hungry” or maltreated.

Queensland’s health minister, Tim Nicholls, confirmed that the woman, who is in her 50s, had “lost her arm” in the attack, which took place at about 8.32am on Sunday at the Darling Downs zoo, south of Toowoomba.

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Qantas contacted by suspected cyber criminal but airline won’t confirm if hacking ransom demanded

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Hacked airline says Australian federal police have been engaged but it ‘won’t be commenting any further on the detail of the contact’

A potential cyber criminal has made contact with Qantas, the airline has confirmed, after a major attack on its network exposed the personal records of up to 6 million customers.

In a statement on Monday evening, a spokesperson for Qantas said the Australian federal police (AFP) had been engaged but the airline would not confirm if a ransom was being sought for the compromised personal data.

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Australian doctors call for clampdown on social media influencers allegedly glamourising poker machines

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Doctors’ warning comes after report reveals the social cost of gambling in Victoria had doubled to $14bn

The peak body for Australian doctors has urged politicians and social media companies to restrict “shocking” content of influencers allegedly glamourising poker machines on social media, in what it called an incredibly new phenomenon.

The warning comes after a report commissioned by the Victorian government found the social cost of gambling in the state had doubled – from $7bn in 2014-15 to $14bn in 2022-23 – despite fewer people gambling.

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Celebrity chef Peter Russell-Clarke dies aged 89 – as it happened

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Here’s how Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel will transform the city and commuting

For nearly a decade, deep beneath Melbourne, tunnel boring machines and construction crews have been quietly reshaping the city with the creation of the Metro Tunnel.

I think every Liberal seat in the country is a marginal seat, right now. But my feelings around quotas and the talk in the media oversimplifies the issue, which is around the culture in the Liberal Party and how women are treated in the Liberal Party …

I had two attempts to take me out as a sitting member of parliament by blokes, very aggressively. So, until the culture is addressed, we could have all the quotas in the world, but it will be a revolving door of women.”

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‘No empty words’: Kumanjayi Walker’s family prepare for coroner’s final report with call for ‘real action’

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Findings will be handed down almost five years after the Warlpiri man died during a bungled arrest in the remote Northern Territory community of Yuendumu

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The inquest findings into the shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker will be handed down in Yuendumu on Monday, almost five years after the Warlpiri man died during a bungled arrest in the remote Northern Territory community.

Zachary Rolfe shot Walker three times while trying to arrest him on 9 November 2019 in Yuendumu, about 300km from Alice Springs.

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Celebrity chef Peter Russell-Clarke dies aged 89

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The host of the 1980s cooking show, Come and Get It, died peacefully on Friday with his wife and children at his side

TV chef, artist and “talented rogue”, Peter Russell-Clarke, has died at the age of 89.

The host of the 1980s cooking show, Come and Get It, died peacefully on Friday with his wife of 65 years, Jan, and his two children, Peter and Wendy and their families, by his side.

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Woman suffers ‘significant’ injury to arm after being mauled by animal at Queensland zoo

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Woman in her 50s was reportedly watching keepers at work in an enclosure at Darling Downs zoo, south of Toowoomba, when attacked

A woman has suffered significant injuries after being bitten by an animal at a Queensland zoo.

The woman, in her 50s, was attacked at Darling Downs zoo, in Pilton, about 50km south of Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, at about 8.32am on Sunday.

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PM condemns ‘shocking acts’ after suspicious fire at Melbourne synagogue with 20 people inside

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Police allege a man entered the grounds at about 8pm on Friday and poured a flammable liquid on the front door

Anthony Albanese has pledged federal support for Victorian authorities after police reported a suspicious fire was lit at a synagogue in East Melbourne on Friday night.

Victoria police alleged an unknown man entered the grounds of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation on Albert Street at about 8pm on Friday and poured a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire.

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