Police and crime researchers fear social media’s affect on crime in NSW and Victoria

Data released in both states suggest online posts may have contributed to a rise in certain types of crime

Social media platforms allowing teenagers to brag about crimes might be contributing to an increase in youth offending in Australia’s most populous states, Victorian police and New South Wales’ crime statistics agency say.

In Victoria, data from the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) released on Thursday reported that home burglaries committed by 10-to-14-year-olds increased by almost 87% in the 12 months to 31 March, compared with the prior year. This is despite youth offending being down by almost half, compared with a decade ago.

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Lisa Wilkinson lodges official complaint with Seven Network over Bruce Lehrmann interview

Complaint also relates to mention of letter allegedly sent by Brittany Higgins to Wilkinson, who claims she has no record of it

Lisa Wilkinson has lodged an official complaint with the Seven Network about a program that featured an interview with Bruce Lehrmann and about a separate segment on morning television.

Wilkinson lodged the complaint on Tuesday alleging the broadcasts breached commercial television standards, and can escalate the complaint to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) if it is not resolved, her lawyers confirmed.

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NSW to allow taller, denser property developments while curtailing power of councils

Projects worth at least $75m and have 15% of units set aside as affordable housing could be fast-tracked under changes

The New South Wales government will allow developers to build taller and denser buildings – and have approvals fast-tracked – under sweeping changes to planning rules that will also curtail the power of councils to decide on major housing projects.

The proposed will see housing developments, valued over $75m and of which at least 15% is to be used for affordable housing, given access to a “state significant development” pathway that would fast-track approvals.

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NSW government temporarily bans all PwC work on tax projects

Inquiry into state local health districts’ use of consultants to begin after firm revealed to have misuse of confidential information

The New South Wales government will suspend the embattled consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers from working on tax projects as it emerged that the state’s health districts spent at least $124m on consultants since 2011.

The temporary ban will be announced on Thursday, when a state parliamentary inquiry into the public sector’s use of consultants will begin, and follows revelations that PwC misused confidential federal government information for commercial gain.

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Almost every Victorian Indigenous prisoner has enrolled to vote for body negotiating treaty

First Peoples’ Assembly will begin negotiations with Andrews government later this year

Almost every Victorian Indigenous prisoner has enrolled to vote for the body that will negotiate the state’s nation-first treaty negotiations.

The second iteration of the First Peoples’ Assembly will begin negotiating a landmark statewide treaty with the Andrews government later this year, once its election results are announced in the coming days.

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National gun register the ‘next step’ for reform that John Howard started, Anthony Albanese says

Albanese praises ‘courage’ of former prime minister and those affected by Port Arthur massacre

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has praised John Howard’s “courage and determination” to legislate gun control in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre and says a national firearms register would be the “next step” for the reforms that began in 1996.

Albanese will make the remarks at the National Museum on Thursday at a ceremony with Howard and Walter Mikac, who lost his wife and two daughters at Port Arthur. The ceremony will mark correspondence between Mikac and Howard entering the museum’s collection.

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Lidia Thorpe withdraws accusation made in parliament of sexual assault against senator David Van

Liberal vehemently denied the claims made by the independent senator under privilege, which she later withdrew to comply with Senate rules

Lidia Thorpe has withdrawn allegations she made in parliament accusing Senate colleague David Van of harassment and sexual assault, an allegation the Liberal politician vehemently denied.

After making the initial claim on Wednesday afternoon, Thorpe returned to the chamber to say she was withdrawing the remarks in order to comply with Senate standing orders, but would make further comment on Thursday. Thorpe made the initial claims under parliamentary privilege during an interjection in the Senate on Wednesday afternoon as Van was speaking about respect in parliament.

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Australia politics live: Labor blocks Zoe Daniel’s push to ban gambling ads but promises ‘comprehensive’ response to issue

Tony Burke says Labor committed to strong consumer protections regarding online gambling and does not oppose principle behind independent’s bill

‘A sackable offence’

Here is how that “conversation” played out.

What we want understand now is whether this Labor minister was in fact complicit in politicising this event. That is unforgivable.

Not only that, misleading parliament is a serious offence, a sackable offence and standing by this minister, if she has misled parliament, has consequences.

You were in the Senate yesterday when Katy went through what happened and what I’d like to understand from you is how is it the two years after this event you are trying to make this somehow the problem of the current government when we were not even in government, not four years after this event occurred.

The real issue is the fact that a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted in our workplace and I would really like to focus on that is the main issue here because that is the main issue here, because that is the subject that matters.

What we are finding out now is what the minister knew and why her testimony to the Senate as different from that. There’s a lot of considerations here, I know people are talking about how this information came into the media and certainly the media has a lot of considerations to make.

There has to be respect for the parliament and the court and the law but that information is now out there and journalists need to make decisions about whether it is in the public interest.

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Liberal MPs break ranks to call for inquiry into Brittany Higgins’ leaked text messages

Andrew Bragg and Bridget Archer make call after Network Ten asks AFP to investigate alleged leaking of evidence in Bruce Lehrmann trial

Liberals Andrew Bragg and Bridget Archer have broken ranks to call for an inquiry into how Brittany Higgins’ text messages were leaked, with Bragg labelling debate in the Senate where the Coalition is pursuing Katy Gallagher “very ugly”.

The pair made the call after the finance minister denied misleading the Senate about her knowledge of Higgins’ allegation before it aired and Network Ten asked the Australian federal police to investigate how Higgins’ texts became public.

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Sydney CBD sees uptick in commuters as big banks lead push to return workers to offices

City train stations at 70% of pre-pandemic capacity amid warnings of potential effects of bringing workers back full-time

Workers are returning to offices in inner Sydney as a handful of large companies, including big banks, tell employees to come back from their kitchen tables.

The corporate-led trend is observable in public transport usage figures that show a recent uptick in office returns. It marks a shift in working arrangements after Australians appeared to have largely settled into their new hybrid habits.

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Police search for mother and child after newborn taken from Queensland hospital

Police have issued an amber alert for a missing child after two women were seen taking a baby from Ipswich hospital

The search continues for a mother who is believed to have taken her newborn baby from a Queensland hospital.

Two women were seen taking the baby from Ipswich hospital on Monday and putting her into a white Suzuki, which has since been located.

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Missing Australian found dead in Canadian wilderness after ‘unfortunate hiking accident’

Police find body of Brisbane woman Julia-Mary Lane, 25, who had been living in Alberta, near Bear Lake in British Columbia

An Australian hiker has been found dead in Canadian bear country after a Mounties search that deployed police dogs and a drone.

Twenty-five-year-old Julia-Mary Lane, from Brisbane, had been living in Canmore, Alberta since January.

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Australian federal police abandon two alleged murder investigations into Ben Roberts-Smith

The long-running investigations into murder allegations in Afghanistan will be replaced by new inquiries because of concerns about evidence

Two key criminal investigations into alleged murders involving Ben Roberts-Smith have been abandoned by the Australian federal police because of concerns over potentially inadmissible evidence.

The long-running investigations – into murder allegations at a compound codenamed Whiskey 108 and in the southern Afghan village of Darwan – will be replaced by new inquiries undertaken by a new joint taskforce, staffed by officials from the Office of the Special Investigator and federal police investigators not previously connected to the cases.

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Australia to transport last asylum seekers off Nauru within weeks, refugees say

Exclusive: Three asylum seekers and refugee advocates say government has flagged a 30 June goal

The Australian government is expected to move all remaining refugees and asylum seekers off Nauru by the end of the month, more than a decade after offshore processing restarted on the Pacific Island nation.

But Australia will retain an “enduring” capacity for offshore detention on the island indefinitely.

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Australia politics live: Morrison addresses Higgins discrepancy; PM says bus crash a ‘tragedy beyond comprehension’

Katy Gallagher hits back at Coalition attacks, saying she conducted herself with ‘highest levels of integrity’ over Higgins allegations. Follow live

First Nations people call on government to sign nuclear weapons prohibition

A group of people are on their way to Canberra to call on the prime minister to sign the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons and speak to MPs about their experience surviving the British nuclear testing program in Western Australia and South Australia in the 1950s.

Our mob were not informed of those tests that were about to take place on our traditional lands.

Consent was never given by Anangu for the Emu Field tests. The government did not come and ask Anangu if it was okay to test on our traditional lands.

Everyone knows the commonwealth doesn’t have the power to cap rents. There’s eight different states and territories across the country all doing different things. Some of them have ruled it out.

We have data and evidence it doesn’t work and it puts downward pressure on supply. What we need to do is add to supply. That’s what we’re doing, not just with our housing Australia future fund and our other investments. We have homes under construction today because we made that money available.

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Australian hiker, 24, missing in Canadian bear country

Julia-Mary Lane failed to return from road trip, prompting housemate in Alberta to contact her family in Queensland

An Australian hiker has gone missing in Canadian bear country, prompting an urgent plea from her family as searches continue.

Twenty-four-year-old Julia-Mary Lane was living in town in Alberta, Canada, and travelled to British Columbia for a week-long road trip, according to a social media post from her housemate.

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Network Ten asks AFP to investigate ‘leaking’ of evidence in Bruce Lehrmann trial

Lehrmann is suing Ten and Lisa Wilkinson in the federal court over their initial reporting of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations, which he denies

Federal police have been asked to investigate the alleged leaking of evidence from the trial of Bruce Lehrmann to the media by a lawyer representing Network Ten.

Marlia Saunders, a partner at Thomson Geer, who is representing Network Ten in a defamation case brought by Lehrmann against them, confirmed she had made a complaint to the AFP on 7 June regarding the leak.

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Katy Gallagher denies misleading parliament as she blasts ‘giddy’ reaction to Brittany Higgins texts

Finance minister tells Senate she has ‘always acted ethically and with basic human decency on all matters to do with Ms Higgins’

Katy Gallagher has denied misleading parliament over her knowledge of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation, hitting back at the Coalition over their “giddy” reaction to leaked text messages.

The minister for finance and women made a personal explanation to the Senate on Tuesday, after Peter Dutton claimed Labor had used the complaint for “political purposes” and “conspired” to maximise the damage to the Morrison government.

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Giant saltworks proposed for Exmouth Gulf a threat to Ningaloo and endangered species, conservationists say

German company’s plan for 210-sq-km development in WA could ‘block the water that runs over that coastline into the gulf’

A proposal to build a giant saltworks in the Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia has been condemned by conservationists as a threat to endangered species.

German industrial company K+S has submitted its proposal to build a 210-sq-km saltworks on the pristine gulf – a crucial part of the adjacent world heritage-listed Ningaloo coast.

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Treasurer Cameron Dick all smiles as coal fight results in billions flowing into Queensland’s budget

Labor’s voter-pleasing cost-of-living handouts, new housing and health funding have now been linked to increasing royalties on mining profits

A year ago, common logic suggested the Queensland government was taking a huge political risk by increasing royalties on record-high coal prices, and picking a fight with the cashed-up mining sector.

Plans to increase taxes on the miners have been historically fraught. Meanwhile, the wounds inflicted on Labor by the Adani saga still feel fresh.

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