Category Archives: Australia news

Ausgrid slashes safety inspectors after report finds cheaper to pay permanent disability injury compensation

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Secret report from CutlerMerz finds yearly cost of inspections – $520,219 – is more than cost of paying compensation – $28,375 a year

Ausgrid cut safety inspector numbers by more than half after receiving a secret report that said it was cheaper for the company to pay compensation for a permanent disability injury than to continue paying for the inspections.

The secret report, conducted by consultancy CutlerMerz and seen by Guardian Australia, recommended Ausgrid slash the inspections it was doing by as much as 55%, saying the cost – $520,219 per year – was “grossly disproportionate to the cost of the consequence being managed”.

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Doctor who called Erin Patterson ‘crazy bitch’ after treating her penalised for speaking about case

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Health regulator places conditions on Dr Christopher Webster’s registration over comments made after mushroom lunch murder trial

An Australian doctor who treated triple murderer Erin Patterson and her victims after the deadly mushroom lunch has been slapped with conditions by the health regulator after speaking out about the case.

Dr Christopher Webster, a GP in the Victorian town of Leongatha, south-east of Melbourne, was a witness in Patterson’s trial earlier this year.

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Sussan Ley says she ‘misspoke’ after comments that Coalition doesn’t believe in setting climate targets

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Liberal leader later clarifies she doesn’t support setting targets while in opposition

The Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, has indicated the Coalition won’t set a 2030 or 2035 climate target unless they return to government, saying her colleagues didn’t back locking in an emissions goal while they remained in opposition.

It came as Ley had to clean up her own error, claiming she “misspoke” after initially saying her party “don’t believe in setting targets at all from opposition or from government”. She later clarified she only meant in opposition, prompting ridicule from Anthony Albanese who claimed the opposition “changes its policies from hour to hour”.

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How vulnerable are Australia’s cities to extreme heat? Explore our maps

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Exclusive: Residents of western Sydney and outer suburbs of Melbourne are at particular risk of high temperatures, data shows

As the federal government warns the climate crisis will increase heat-related deaths, with the impact disproportionately borne by the already vulnerable, data obtained exclusively by Guardian Australia shows the parts of Australia’s major cities that are most vulnerable to heat.

The new measure, called the Heat Vulnerability Index and compiled by researchers at RMIT, combines temperature readings from satellites, with data on populations particularly susceptible to heat (such as older Australians and those with disabilities), the built environment and green space, and socioeconomic factors like income and education.

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Brittany Higgins’ husband David Sharaz to pay $92,000 for tweet that defamed Linda Reynolds, court orders

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Sharaz also liable for former defence minister’s legal costs on an indemnity basis, which is expected to exceed $500,000

David Sharaz has been ordered to pay $92,000 for social media posts the Western Australian supreme court found were defamatory against former defence minister Linda Reynolds.

Sharaz, a former journalist and Higgins’ now-husband, has also been found jointly responsible for another defamatory tweet to which Higgins responded, according to the court’s orders.

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Albanese’s Oprah-style emissions target aims to please almost everyone but risks falling short on climate action

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The prime minister has a stonking majority and a progressive crossbench that wants deeper cuts. So what has happened to lower the goal?

The Australian government has announced an Oprah Winfrey-style emissions target for 2035. It has tried to promise (nearly) everyone a prize.

By choosing a target range of a 62% to 70% cut compared with 2005 levels – based on long-awaited advice from the Climate Change Authority and its chair, Matt Kean – it has opted for a political solution.

Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter

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New details of allegations against broadcaster Alan Jones revealed in court documents

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Former 2GB and Sky News Australia presenter pleads not guilty to 27 charges after number of alleged victims drops from 11 to nine

Court documents have revealed the extent of Alan Jones’s alleged offences, including claims of kissing, stroking, undressing and rubbing the penis of victims in the broadcaster’s home, restaurants and at public events.

In one instance in 2014, the veteran broadcaster allegedly indecently assaulted “complainant G” by rubbing his leg “towards his crotch” during a performance at the Sydney Opera House.

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When Ziggy’s bond was withheld after eviction without cause from his Sydney rental, he challenged it – and won

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Advocates say it should be easier to dispute bond claims, as tenants in Australia’s toughest rental markets are increasingly losing their deposits

Ziggy Tow and his housemates thought they had had enough trouble after their property manager evicted them without grounds and listed their inner-Sydney home for an extra $300 a week.

Then the property manager claimed back all of the $3,400 they paid in bond to cover cleaning and repair fees.

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Labor’s 2035 emissions target a ‘sliding doors’ moment for future generations

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Australia must lead other nations in committing to 1.5C pathway for safety, security, prosperity and the environment, experts say

Leading climate advocates have warned the Australian government’s decision on a 2035 emissions reduction will be a historic “sliding doors moment” for the country, with an international goal to keep global heating to 1.5C now hanging by a thread.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is expected to announce a target range on Thursday after a scheduled morning cabinet meeting before formally submitting it to the UN later this month.

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UTS’s teacher education program set to close as university reveals plan to slash more than 1,000 subjects

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Of the 1,101 subjects to be discontinued, 463 had no student enrolments and weren’t taught in 2024, according to University of Technology Sydney’s proposal

The University of Technology Sydney will close its teacher education program and public health school as part of a sweeping restructure that would remove more than 1,100 subjects to return the institution to surplus.

The proposed cuts, released on Wednesday, are part of the debt-ridden university’s strategy to reduce expenditure by $100m annually, including previously announcing the cutting of about 400 jobs.

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Queensland deputy premier labels BHP ‘unAustralian’ as mining giant blames job cuts on coal royalties scheme

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Jarrod Bleijie defends levy as BHP Mitsubishi Alliance moves to mothball Saraji South mine and slash 750 jobs

Queensland’s deputy premier has labelled BHP “unAustralian” and defended the state’s mining royalties scheme after the mining giant blamed it for its decision to mothball a coalmine and cut hundreds of jobs while also reviewing the future of its training academy.

On Wednesday, BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) announced a decision to suspend operations at its Saraji South coalmine and slash 750 roles across the state, blaming “unsustainable” royalties and market conditions.

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SBS resists calls to join EU boycott of Eurovision 2026 if Israel allowed to compete

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Israeli media had reported nation had been asked to step aside or compete under a neutral symbol due to controversies over Gaza war

SBS has indicated it will not follow the lead of a growing number of European Union countries and boycott next year’s Eurovision song contest if Israel is permitted to compete.

The decision on Israel’s inclusion will be made by the contest’s governing body in December, but SBS told the Guardian on Tuesday it intended to participate in the 2026 event in Vienna, regardless of December’s decision.

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Gambling lobby’s sponsorship of Australian parliament’s sports club condemned by crossbench MPs

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Exclusive: Kate Chaney calls on PM to remove Responsible Wagering Australia’s membership, which allows sponsors to access ‘key opinion leaders’

Crossbench MPs and a transparency group have criticised the gambling lobby’s sponsorship of federal parliament’s sports club, alleging it paid to secure access to decision makers and entrench wagering’s close association with sport.

Responsible Wagering Australia has also been accused by the independent ACT senator David Pocock of “shamelessly” trying to claim it was involved with a running group devoted to eliminating suicide, which was hosted by the parliamentary sports club.

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Queensland government to ban pill testing in move criticised by health advocates

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Liberal National party expected to legislate ban this week, putting an end to testing of illicit drugs at festivals

Queensland’s state government is expected to ban pill testing, including at festivals, by attaching amendments to an unrelated bill in parliament in a move criticised by health advocates.

Under the previous Labor government, Queensland was the first state to establish a fixed pill-testing strategy on an ongoing basis, in 2024. Clinics were opened on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane.

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Bankstown nurse sacked over viral video has charge of threatening to kill Israeli patients dropped

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Sarah Abu Lebdeh yet to enter plea for other charges related to video in which she and a colleague allegedly said they would refuse to treat Israeli patients

A Sydney nurse sacked over her alleged inflammatory rhetoric in an online video is no longer accused of threatening to kill Israeli patients after prosecutors dropped a charge.

Sarah Abu Lebdeh, 27, and Ahmad Rashad Nadir, 28, sparked widespread criticism when a video was released of the pair saying they would refuse to treat Israeli patients and appearing to threaten violence towards them.

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One dead and seven in hospital after gas leak at Sydney restaurant Haveli

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Five police officers among those taken for treatment after being called to Indian eatery in Riverstone

One person has died and seven people – including five police officers – are being treated in hospital after a gas leak at a restaurant in Sydney’s north-west.

New South Wales ambulance said the people who had been taken to hospital were all in a stable condition.

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Human rights commissioner blasts Queensland government’s ‘hostile’ approach to First Nations people

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Scott McDougall uses speech at parliament to warn the LNP is ‘walking us backwards’ on reconciliation as he prepares to exit role

Queensland’s human rights commissioner has blasted the state government’s “hostile”, “assimilationist” approach to First Nations people in a speech at Parliament House.

Scott McDougall, Queensland’s first-ever human rights commissioner, has consistently criticised both sides of politics over a range of issues, particularly the state’s youth law and order crackdown. His seven-year term in the role comes to an end next month.

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Australian PM blames ‘aggressive protesters’ for closure of local electorate office

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Anthony Albanese says site next to church ‘became untenable’ after repeated protests against Gaza war in inner Sydney suburb

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has closed his inner-Sydney electorate office after almost 30 years, saying his hand had been forced by repeated protests outside the office.

Albanese’s office in Marrickville, in his electorate of Grayndler, has long been a target of demonstrations, particularly over the war in Gaza, including a months-long sit-in outside the office in 2024.

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‘We’ve got no tourists’: small businesses caught up in Australia’s largest manhunt struggle as aid announced

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Victorian government pledges up to $2.5m to help visitor economy in alpine region as search for alleged Porepunkah killer Dezi Freeman continues

The Victorian government has announced a support package for tourism operators and small businesses caught up in Australia’s largest manhunt.

The government announced on Monday that as much as $2.5m would be paid to support the visitor economy in Porepunkah, Bright and surrounding region, as the search for alleged police killer Dezi Freeman edged towards a fourth week.

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Up to 20 deaths linked to ‘end of life’ business that sourced veterinary drug through fake whale charity, police allege

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Police allege Gold Coast business owner used charity to secure euthanasia drugs as 53-year-old charged with aiding suicide and trafficking dangerous drugs

Police have uncovered an alleged “end of life” business believed to be linked to as many as 20 deaths, with investigations across three states after a man died from a veterinary euthanasia drug.

Queensland police have charged a Gold Coast man alleged to have operated the business, Brett Daniel Taylor, with two counts of aiding suicide and several drug offences including trafficking dangerous drugs.

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