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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The Australian economy lost 27,100 full-time jobs in April as unemployment rose to 3.7%

The labour market has remained tight since Covid curbed the influx of migrants and foreign students

Australia’s economy shed 27,100 full-time jobs last month, easing concerns that the Reserve Bank may need to hike its interest rate again to curb inflation.

The country’s unemployment rate in April rose to 3.7%, seasonally adjusted, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, up from a reported 3.5% for March. Economists had forecast it would remain at March’s 3.5% level, close to a half-century low.

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Shane Drumgold on leave from DPP role as inquiry into Bruce Lehrmann case continues

ACT government spokesperson says director of public prosecutions is on leave at his request

The Australian Capital Territory’s director of public prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, is on leave as an inquiry into the handling of a case against the former Liberal staff member Bruce Lehrmann continues.

The ACT government executive has appointed Anthony Williamson, who was the deputy DPP, to act in the role of the territory’s top prosecutor until 13 June.

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This article was amended on 18 May, 2023. A previous version incorrectly stated Shane Drumgold was stood down. He is taking a period of voluntary leave.

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MP questions referendum wording – as it happened

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Quad still a priority, White House says

Despite the postponement of Joe Biden’s visit, the White House says that partnerships like the Quad remain a priority.

Revitalizing and reinvigorating our alliances and advancing partnerships like the Quad remains a key priority for the President. This is vital to our ability to advance our foreign policy goals and better promote global stability and prosperity. We look forward to finding other ways to engage with Australia, the Quad, Papua New Guinea and the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum in the coming year.

I think he will obviously be working very hard for this not to happen. We’ve danced this dance before, as the phrase goes …

I think we’ll get to a good place and I think that’s why he’s wanting to stay there, to focus on just that.

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Snowy 2.0 project making no progress on a number of environmental requirements, report says

Ten of 16 management plans for multibillion-dollar pumped hydro project overdue by up to 31 months, says National Parks Association

Snowy Hydro’s giant pumped hydro project is in breach of its conditions of approval, with many of its management plans overdue and no progress on its threatened fish and biosecurity programs, the National Parks Association has said.

The multibillion-dollar Snowy 2.0 project, already delayed until possibly 2029 with one of its tunnel borers stuck for months, was found to be non-compliant in 15 instances by the third independent audit, completed last year. It also cited 11 additional “opportunities for improvement”.

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Melbourne bus crash: truck driver released on bail after several school children injured

Jamie Gleeson, 49, appeared in court after allegedly crashing into bus carrying Exford primary school children in Eynesbury

A truck driver charged after allegedly crashing into a school bus in Melbourne’s west on Tuesday, seriously injuring several children, told police flashes of sunlight may have altered his perception, a court has heard.

Jamie Gleeson, 49, appeared before Melbourne magistrates court via video link on Wednesday afternoon after he was charged with four counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury.

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Meaghan Scanlon promoted to housing minister in surprise Queensland cabinet reshuffle

Yvette D’Ath reportedly set to swap portfolios with attorney general Shannon Fentiman as Palaszczuk government dips in polls ahead of state election

Queensland’s environment minister, Meaghan Scanlon, will be promoted to housing minister in a cabinet reshuffle aimed to revitalise three critical portfolios ahead of next year’s state election.

Senior government sources told Guardian Australia that Scanlon will replace Leeanne Enoch as housing minister, under changes to be announced on Thursday.

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Council in Melbourne declares health emergency, claiming truck pollution is linked to high rates of illness

Maribyrnong city council says lack of enforcement of road train curfew has undermined its ability to protect residents

A “health emergency” has been declared by a Melbourne council, which claims residents are suffering above-average rates of hospitalisations for certain conditions partly due to a surge in road trains on its suburban streets.

Maribyrnong city council, which takes in Footscray in the city’s inner western suburbs, announced the declaration on Wednesday, claiming rates of illness in the municipality due to pollution “considerably exceed the Australian average”.

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Quad summit cancelled after Joe Biden calls off trip to Australia

Leaders of Japan, India, US and Australia will instead meet on sidelines of the G7 in Hiroshima this weekend

Anthony Albanese has confirmed the Sydney Quad meeting will not go ahead, after US president Joe Biden pulled out of his Australian visit to deal with domestic issues.

Early Wednesday morning Albanese was still hopeful the meeting with the leaders of India and Japan could proceed with a senior representative from the US, but hours later he confirmed the event was off.

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News Corp sports journalist Paul Kent faces court after being charged with assaulting ex-girlfriend

‘Embarrassed’ Daily Telegraph writer and Fox Sports host tells reporters outside court it is his turn in the spotlight of the ‘rugby league soap opera’

The News Corp sports journalist Paul Kent says it is his turn in the spotlight of the “rugby league soap opera” as he faces charges of assaulting his ex-girlfriend.

The senior Daily Telegraph writer and television host was charged on the weekend with two domestic violence-related offences after a 33-year-old woman alleged she had been choked at a home in Sydney’s inner west.

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The cancelled Quad summit is a win for China and a self-inflicted blow to the US’s Pacific standing

Joe Biden’s decision to pull out of visits to Australia and PNG will reflect poorly on the US amid growing competition for influence in the region

The Chinese government is probably the biggest winner from Joe Biden’s decision to pull out of his trip to Australia and Papua New Guinea, forcing the cancellation of the Quad summit in Sydney.

Chinese state media outlets won’t need to muster much creative energy to weave together some of Beijing’s preferred narratives: that the US is racked by increasingly severe domestic upheaval and is an unreliable partner, quick to leave allies high and dry.

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Joe Biden cancels Australian visit amid US domestic debt deadlock

President had been due to address parliament next week, the first US leader in 10 years to do so, as part of Asia tour

President Joe Biden has cancelled a visit to Australia, the second leg of his upcoming Asia trip, due to the slow-motion crisis building in Washington over the US debt ceiling.

Biden is to attend a three-day summit of G7 leaders that starts on Friday in Hiroshima, Japan, and will return to the US on Sunday.

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Sale of Waterloo South public housing will see residents rehoused nearby, NSW government pledges

Exclusive: Tenants feel let down by Labor, but Chris Minns insists sale does not meet ‘definition of privatisation’

The New South Wales housing mister, Rose Jackson, is moving to reassure tenants in the Waterloo South public housing they will be rehoused within the suburb and offered spots back in the complex when the controversial development is completed.

The government has been fending off criticism for proceeding with the sale and is pushing forward with plans to sell more land to developers for housing, despite promising to end privatisation and freeze the sale of all social housing assets.

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Potential antidote found for toxin in world’s most poisonous mushroom

Chinese and Australian researchers have identified that a dye used in medical imaging can block the toxic effects

Scientists believe they have found a potential antidote for a potent toxin found in the world’s most poisonous mushroom, the death cap.

The death cap mushroom, Amanita phalloides, is responsible for about 90% of mushroom-related deaths globally.

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Derek Bromley in final bid for freedom after nearly 40 years in South Australian jail for murder

High court appeal this week is Bromley’s last chance to walk free after being jailed for life

A man who has spent almost 40 years in prison for a murder he says he did not commit will have his final chance at having his conviction overturned by the high court this week.

Derek Bromley and his accomplice, John Karpany, were jailed for life for the murder of Stephen Docoza, whose body was found floating in Adelaide’s River Torrens in 1984.

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