Cancelling Victorian LGBTQ+ events in response to threats only rewards extremists, expert warns

Emergency meeting to address the targeting of LGBTQ+ events hears from extremism expert who says cancellations are exploited as victories by far right

Cancelling events such as drag storytime because of threats from far right groups only emboldens opposition to them, an extremism expert who has advised Victorian councils has warned.

About 100 representatives from councils across the state came together on Thursday to discuss the rising levels of disruptive behaviour directed at meetings and LGBTQ+ events such as drag storytime.

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Housing prices gain pace as auction listings increase across Australia’s capital cities

CoreLogic researcher Tim Lawless says current spike in migration countering effect of Reserve Bank’s rate hike earlier this month

Property price gains are picking up momentum in major cities as the number of homes listed for sale starts to lift from “extraordinary low levels”, data group CoreLogic says.

Up to the middle of May, home values in Sydney had risen 1.4% on a rolling four-week average from 1.3% at the end of April. For Brisbane, prices increased 1.1%, up from 0.3%. Perth values were up 1%, Adelaide 0.6% and Melbourne’s home prices rose 0.5%.

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Fatal Melbourne stabbing: boy, 17, arrested after death of teenager near Sunshine bus station

Boy arrested and police searching for at least two more suspects

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested after a fight between two groups of teenagers which ended with the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old boy in Melbourne’s west.

Homicide squad detectives arrested the 17-year-old boy at Braybrook on Friday after the 16-year-old died on Station Place, Sunshine, on Thursday afternoon.

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Original voice bill wording to stay as Noel Pearson calls Mick Gooda a ‘bedwetter’ over proposed change

Former human rights commissioner suggested Indigenous leaders should consider ‘compromise’ to improve referendum’s chance

Calls to change the wording of the Indigenous voice amendment have been shot down by key Indigenous leaders of the government’s expert working groups, with Noel Pearson dismissing former human rights commissioner Mick Gooda on ABC radio as “foolish” and a “bedwetter” for suggesting an eleventh-hour alteration.

Guardian Australia understands the Albanese government doesn’t plan to amend the proposed constitutional amendment ahead of it being debated in parliament on Monday.

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PM announces new sanctions – as it happened

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Biden’s cancellation not a snub, Marles insists

The media is still trying to get the Albanese government to admit it feels bruised after Joe Biden cancelled his Australian visit for the Quad leaders meeting.

You’ve got a leader of a country who is dealing with an urgent issue in terms of their domestic politics. It’s unfortunate. But it happens. It’s nothing more than that.

It says a lot about Australia’s standing in the world right now. It says a lot, I think particularly about our relationship with Japan, actually, given that they’re the hosts of this.

We wish to express our thanks to God and all who have continued to pray for us.

We express our relief that Dr Elliott is free and thank the Australian Government and all who have been involved over time to secure his release. We also continue to pray for those still held and wish them freedom and safe return to their loved ones.

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Young Australians now the least likely to attend arts events as cost of living bites

Report finds over-55s feeling more confident about spending and avoiding Covid-19 – but younger Australians and families are feeling the pinch

Older Australians are attending more live cultural events and spending more on tickets than they were six months ago despite the rising cost of living – but Australians under 35 are feeling the squeeze, attending fewer events and hunting for more freebies.

Inflation is leading half of Australian audiences to spend less on tickets and favour local events, according to a new report released by the Australia Council, which surveyed 1,318 recent attenders of cultural events.

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ABC argues Brittany Higgins broadcast did not identify Bruce Lehrmann and could not have defamed him

ABC says press club address could not have been defamatory even if Lehrmann’s identity already widely known

The ABC has argued that it did not identify Bruce Lehrmann when it broadcast Brittany Higgins’ and Grace Tame’s National Press Club address and, even if it had, it could not have been defamatory

The ABC says in court documents that if it was “notorious throughout Australia” that Lehrmann was Higgins’ alleged rapist – as Lehrmann’s lawyers have claimed – then its broadcast of the address would not have caused or been likely to cause serious harm to Lehrmann’s reputation.

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Q+A host Stan Grant standing down from ABC show after racist abuse

The ABC presenter says he has been a media target for racism and for now he’s ‘walking away’

The host of Q+A Stan Grant is standing down from the show after receiving “grotesque racist abuse” which escalated after he spoke on the ABC about the impact of colonialism ahead of the King’s coronation.

Grant said in a column published on the ABC website that after Monday’s episode he was “walking away”.

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Albanese urged to take stand against nuclear weapons during G7 summit in Hiroshima

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons wants Labor to send a ‘message to the region’ and sign and ratify a treaty to impose a ban on atomic weapons

Anthony Albanese is being urged to take a firm stand against nuclear weapons when he attends the G7 summit in Hiroshima this weekend.

The prime minister has been invited to attend the summit in Hiroshima, which along with Nagasaki was devastated by the US atomic bombing in the closing stages of the second world war.

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Kidnapped Australian Dr Ken Elliott released by al-Qaida in Africa after seven-year fight for freedom

Penny Wong says the 88-year-old Perth man, who was kidnapped in Burkina Faso in 2016, has been reunited with his family

Dr Ken Elliott, the Australian who was kidnapped by an al-Qaida-linked group in Africa in 2016, has been released.

Elliott and his wife, Jocelyn, were in their 80s when they were kidnapped by extremists in Burkina Faso. The Perth couple had lived in the country since 1972 and had built a medical clinic in the northern town of Djibo.

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Sydney’s abandoned tram tunnels transformed into light spectacle for Vivid

Hidden platforms and connecting tunnels are having their lights turned back on for the festival’s installation Dark Spectrum

There’s no Hogwarts Express, and instead of running towards a brick wall you slip through an unremarkable door next to a Coles supermarket, but for decades Sydney’s Wynyard station has had its own secret platforms hidden from the public – until now.

The hundreds of thousands of commuters who pass through each week may have wondered why the station boasts only platforms three through to six.

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Richard Boyle claims judge wrong to deny him whistleblower protections

Former ATO worker lodges appeal against a South Australian district court decision not to grant him protection

Richard Boyle claims a judge was wrong to deny him whistleblower protections, and says Australia’s laws should have shielded him from alleged acts done in preparation to expose the conduct of the Australian Taxation Office, court documents show.

Boyle has lodged an appeal against a key decision in the South Australian district court, denying him the protections of the nation’s Public Interest Disclosure Act, which left him facing criminal trial on 24 charges – including the alleged use of his mobile phone to take photographs of taxpayer information and covertly record conversations with colleagues.

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Real estate agents push back against Australian privacy law changes designed to protect personal data

Real Estate Institute of Australia president says additional layer of responsibility could force smaller agencies to close down

Real estate agents are pushing back against proposed privacy law changes, saying small businesses should not face more red tape to keep customer and tenant data safe.

The Real Estate Institute of Australia president, Hayden Groves, said that an “additional layer of responsibility is really not necessary” on top of agents’ existing duties, saying that increased regulatory risks could be “the last straw” for smaller agencies which may shut up shop.

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Two-thirds of people playing NSW pokies before 8am are problem gamblers or at risk, research shows

Exclusive: Earlier closing times could help protect gamblers, study commissioned by government says

Almost two-thirds of people playing poker machines into the morning are problem gamblers or at moderate risk of developing a problem, with research commissioned under the previous New South Wales government suggesting earlier venue closures could help protect punters.

The Roy Morgan research, prepared for Liquor and Gaming NSW, found that 22.8% of those playing poker machines between 2am and 8am were problem gamblers, while 41.8% were classified as “moderate risk problem gambling”.

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Clover Moore warns NSW government against sale of state-owned land

Exclusive: Sydney’s lord mayor says plan to sell unused parcels in order to develop housing is ‘disappointing’

The lord mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, has called a plan to rezone and develop underused state land as “really disappointing” despite the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns’ insistence that the government housing scheme did not amount to privatisation.

Moore said the state government should instead be focused on genuine investment in social and affordable housing, while thinking carefully before making any decisions to sell off land.

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China’s ambassador to Australia says Aukus an ‘unnecessary’ use of taxpayer money and ‘not a good idea’

Xiao Qian suggests improvement in Australian relationship with Beijing possible but would take ‘mutual respect’

China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, has denounced the Aukus nuclear-powered submarine plan as an “unnecessary consumption of the hardworking Australian taxpayers’ money”.

Xiao said the multi-decade defence plan would consume “tremendous” amounts of money “which could be used for other purposes like infrastructure, like reducing the cost of living, and giving the Australian people a better future”.

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Gas lobby plans ‘national public awareness campaign’ – as it happened

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‘Good women’s policy is good economic policy’: Sussan Ley convening women’s economic security roundtable

The deputy opposition leader and shadow minister for women, Sussan Ley, is convening a women’s economic security roundtable today.

Restarting the Career Revive program for older women to retrain and re-enter the workforce.

Greater flexibility in childcare arrangements (for which there are no details, but the rhetoric is consistent with allowing women to use subsidies on alternatives such as nannies).

Paying superannuation on paid parental leave.

Helping older women who face relationship breakdown achieve financial security, including through access to superannuation.

The Liberal party can be the party of choice for women – we must be – and that is why we are going to meet them where they are in life with new ideas and real solutions that help them.

I want the women of Australia to know that the Liberal party that Peter Dutton and I lead will be back in your corner – we will support your career choices, we will look at ways to help you as you manage your work-life balance and we will help you secure your financial independence.

I don’t think anyone would question when you’ve got something like the debt ceiling being negotiated in the United States …

In terms of the relationship between the countries and the strength of the relationship, as allies, that’s all there; and I think anyone who knows what negotiations with the debt ceiling are like in the United States understands exactly why President Biden’s been in a situation to make a decision like this.

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Victoria considers mandates on school bus seatbelts after crash leaves children severely injured

Daniel Andrews says it is important to see if rules around wearing of restraints need to change

Daniel Andrews says the Victorian government will consider mandating the wearing of seatbelts on school buses after a catastrophic crash in Melbourne’s western fringe that left several children severely injured.

A bus carrying 46 students from Exford primary school was struck from behind by a truck at the intersection of Exford Road and Murphys Road in Eynesbury about 3.55pm Tuesday.

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Stuart Robert hands in official resignation, triggering byelection in Queensland seat

Former Coalition minister had been under pressure from Labor after failing to attend parliament during budget week, despite still being an MP

Former Morrison government minister Stuart Robert will not return to the federal parliament after he officially resigned from politics by way of letter.

Robert announced his intention to resign on 6 May but did not give a date of when it would happen. He did not travel to Canberra for the budget week sitting, although staff were seen packing up his office.

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Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka has had three out of four rape charges against him dropped

The 32-year-old was facing four counts of sexual intercourse without consent, but the public prosecutor withdrew three of the charges on Thursday

Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka has had three out of his four sexual assault charges dropped after he allegedly raped a Sydney woman.

The 32-year-old was facing four counts of sexual intercourse without consent while in Sydney for the T20 World Cup, but the public prosecutor withdrew three of the charges in a Sydney court on Thursday.

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