Category Archives: Australia news

Alarm as Australia records ‘gobsmacking’ hot August temperatures

Posted on by

Heat building up in country’s centre and driving south-east is causing ‘really unusual’ heatwave that is breaking winter records

Australia’s winter runs from June to August, but swathes of the country have felt like summer the past week with temperatures topping 40C and records tumbling.

“It doesn’t matter how you slice and dice it,” said Dr Linden Ashcroft, a climate scientist at the University of Melbourne. “The temperature records have been gobsmacking.”

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Vision Australia pressed to appoint a blind CEO and open field externally

Posted on by

Founding chair Graeme Innes launches petition and accuses service provider of hypocrisy over recruitment for top job

Vision Australia is under pressure to appoint its first vision-impaired chief executive from the wider community, after the organisation announced it would limit its search to internal expressions of interest.

The national service provider’s founding chair, former disability discrimination commissioner Graeme Innes, launched a public petition on Monday after he and 33 other representatives of the blind and vision-impaired community wrote to Vision Australia’s board to urge it to prioritise the appointment of a blind chief executive.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Brendan Nelson suggested censoring chapters in Australia’s official history of Timor-Leste operations, Dfat head claimed

Posted on by

Exclusive: Documents released under freedom of information show Nelson, the director of the War Memorial in 2019, subsequently opposed cutting the chapters, and they appeared in the published work

The former director of the Australian War Memorial, Brendan Nelson, offered in 2019 to censor nine chapters from the official history of Australia’s operations in Timor-Leste and seal them for 30 years, according to a claim made in correspondence from the then head of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat).

But within weeks Nelson decided to actively oppose the move, the documents released under freedom of information laws suggest, and the chapters were included when the volume was eventually published.

Continue reading...

Builders and the Fair Work Commission are delaying CFMEU members’ pay deals, union leader says

Posted on by

Electrical Trades Union secretary says it’s ‘appalling’ that agreements struck before the CFMEU was placed into administration ‘aren’t getting through’ the FWC

Blue-collar unions have taken aim at builders and the Fair Work Commission for delays approving pay deals struck before allegations of criminal misconduct and bikie links resulted in the construction union being placed into administration.

Troy Gray, the Electrical Trades Union Victorian secretary, said it was “appalling” that administrators have removed three union-appointed directors from the board of industry super fund Cbus and that enterprise agreements “aren’t getting through” the FWC.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Last-minute Taiwan drama and a policing plan: five things we learned at the Pacific Islands Forum

Posted on by

China’s representative demanded the scrapping of language about Taiwan in the final communique; Pacific countries will get a new multinational police unit

Pacific leaders gathered in Tonga this week to discuss the most pressing issues in the region. The group backed a Pacific-wide police training and rapid-response plan championed by Australia, and also reached agreement with France to allow a fact-finding mission to travel to New Caledonia to investigate the recent unrest. But the final day of the talks on Friday was overshadowed by a dispute over language about Taiwan.

Here are the key takeaways from the Pacific Islands Forum (Pif) summit, the region’s most important annual political gathering, bringing together Australia, New Zealand and 16 Pacific island countries or territories.

Continue reading...

Labor will have itself to blame if it loses western Sydney over Gaza issue, says Muslim Vote convener

Posted on by

Wesam Charkawi says Albanese’s party has ‘created this movement through their decisions’ as pro-Palestine communities feel Labor has failed them

A new Muslim political movement backing independent candidates says Labor will have itself to blame if Peter Dutton wins the next election, and that people should not assume the candidates they support will preference Labor.

Sheikh Wesam Charkawi, one of the conveners behind the Muslim Vote movement, said the group would be aiming to support “at least five candidates” in New South Wales and Victoria.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Emissions from Australian coal-fired power stations rise as wind and hydro dip

Posted on by

More electricity demand and lower than usual generation from two renewable sources raises questions about climate targets

Greenhouse gas emissions from Australia’s ageing coal-fired power plants rose slightly in the first half of the year, reversing years of declining pollution from the power section and raising questions about the country’s ability to meet its climate targets.

An increase in electricity consumption across the country and lower than usual wind and hydro output led to an increase in coal generation. It pushed up emissions from the electricity grid between January and June.

Continue reading...

Gina Rinehart’s personal message to NGA about her portrait revealed in FOI documents

Posted on by

Billionaire wrote to the National Gallery weeks before furore erupted, after a ‘concerned friend’ had told her about the now infamous painting

Gina Rinehart wrote to the National Gallery of Australia a month before the furore erupted about a portrait of her in the gallery, saying a “concerned friend” had brought it to her attention.

The email, released to Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws, was sent on behalf of Rinehart to Nick Mitzevich, the director of the NGA and Ryan Stokes, the chair of the gallery, on 15 April.

Continue reading...

Pacific Islands Forum communique taken down after Chinese envoy calls Taiwan reference ‘unacceptable’

Posted on by

‘Visibly angry’ Qian Bo demands correction of Taiwan’s ‘development partner’ label despite its use for more than three decades

A summit of Pacific leaders has ended in drama after China’s regional envoy demanded the scrapping of language about Taiwan, with the communique later republished without the offending paragraph.

The Pacific Islands Forum (Pif) summit in Tonga this week brought together Australia, New Zealand and 16 Pacific island countries or territories, only three of which still have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

Continue reading...

One driver dead, another in hospital after explosive crash on Bruce Highway in Queensland

Posted on by

Male truck driver airlifted to hospital from Bororen, 400km north of Brisbane, as ammonium nitrate spill sparks 2.5km exclusion zone

People were ordered to evacuate from the site of a fiery crash after a semi-trailer carrying chemicals and a ute collided on a major highway and the truck exploded.

An emergency alert was issued advising residents in an exclusion zone to “leave immediately” after the Bruce Highway crash at Bororen, 400km north of Brisbane, early on Friday.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: BoM predicts warm spring as Sydney faces high fire danger and four states warned of high winds

Posted on by

Windy weekend in prospect as BoM forecasts warmer-than-usual spring. Follow the day’s news live

Good morning and welcome to the end-of-week news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the overnight stories to get you up to speed before hosting duties switch to Emily Wind.

Mano Yogalingam was 23 years old and had “his whole life in front of him”. But the stresses and strains of living with the prospect of being deported back to Sri Lanka pushed him over the edge and he took his own life this week. Our top story this morning hears from refugee advocates who say the death of the Tamil asylum seeker has exposed the failings of the fast-track immigration system. “All of these people have been failed by the system. It’s a total cobweb of cruelty,” one said.

Continue reading...

‘Hold them captive’: Australian billionaire boss aims to end staff going out for coffee

Posted on by

Chris Ellison, of Perth-based mining firm Mineral Resources, has already banned working from home

A billionaire mining boss who has already banned home working has said he does not want staff to step out of the office for coffee either.

Chris Ellison, the managing director of Mineral Resources, said the industry could not afford to continue down the path of flexible working, and that his company was investing in amenities at the firm’s head office in Perth, Western Australia, to keep people from leaving the building.

Continue reading...

There were 99 men for every 100 women in 2023, the Australian Bureau of Statistics says

Posted on by

Darwin was the youngest city and had the highest disparity between numbers of men and women

Darwin had the youngest population of Australian state and territory capital cities in 2023, while Adelaide had the oldest, according to new population data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

The statistics show that cities tend to be younger hubs than the regions, while mining, military bases, universities and prisons heavily influence the demographic picture in some areas.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Commonwealth Bank CEO labels Greens’ tax policy ‘insidious populism’ after firm’s $9.8bn profit

Posted on by

Matt Comyn tells parliamentary inquiry that criticism of business profits ‘erodes trust in institutions’

The Commonwealth Bank chief executive, Matt Comyn, has described a proposed excessive profits tax as “insidious populism” and labelled criticism of profitable businesses as “fact-free rhetoric” that is damaging trust in public institutions.

Appearing before a parliamentary inquiry on Thursday, the head of Australia’s biggest bank appeared frustrated by questions about payment surcharges and corporate relationships and abruptly turned his attention to address criticism of big business.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Sale of chemical used in suicides of three transgender women should be restricted, Victorian inquest finds

Posted on by

Sodium nitrite has been used in dozens of deaths in the state and federal government should take action, coroner says

The sale of a chemical used by three transgender women who took their own lives should be restricted by the federal government, the Victorian coroner says, after an inquest heard it has been used in dozens of suicides in the state.

Victoria’s coroners court last year held an inquest into the suicides of five transgender women who died between 2020 and 2021, including that of Matt Byrne, 25, who took her life after a botched back yard surgery.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Josh Burns breaks ranks to call for gender and sexuality questions in census

Posted on by

Follow today’s news headlines live

Severe weather warnings are in place across southern parts of the country for strong winds, including Victoria and Tasmania.

Here’s a wrap of the warnings currently in place, according to the Bureau of Meteorology:

Victoria – a strong cold front is expected to reach Victoria later today, clearing to the east tomorrow morning. Locations which may be affected by the wild weather include Portland, Bacchus Marsh, Falls Creek, Mt Hotham, Mt Buller and Omeo.

For the Central, West and South Gippsland and East Gippsland areas, a warning for abnormally high tides is in place.

Tasmania – a strong cold front is also expected to reach Tasmania later today, crossing the state tomorrow morning. The entire state is covered by the severe weather warning.

New South Wales – north-westerly winds are forecast to strengthen later today as a strong cold front approaches from the west. Locations which may be affected include Wollongong, Nowra, Bowral, Batemans Bay, Katoomba and Goulburn.

Meanwhile, fire danger ratings for the greater Sydney and Illawarra have been downgraded to “moderate” today after reaching “high” yesterday.

Western Australia – gusty, showery conditions are expected over parts of the South West Land Division today.

Continue reading...

Siya was born in Melbourne but excluded from Medicare. A coroner says this contributed to her death 23 days later

Posted on by

Victorian coroner finds baby’s death was entirely preventable after inquest hears Covid lockdowns also affected care

In the depths of Melbourne’s longest Covid lockdowns, Siya Patel’s parents knew something was wrong with their newborn daughter.

Yet despite their best efforts to navigate the state’s then heavily restricted healthcare system, their baby died from a brain injury caused by dehydration due to insufficient oral intake on 12 September 2020.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

‘Immoral and unacceptable’: Tuvalu calls on Australia to set urgent deadline to end fossil fuels

Posted on by

A day after agreement was ratified at the Pacific Island Forum, the country’s climate minister says ‘root cause of climate change’ must be addressed

Tuvalu’s climate minister has declared that “opening, subsidising and exporting fossil fuels is immoral and unacceptable”, just a day after Australia ratified a climate and security deal with the low-lying Pacific nation.

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, welcomed the agreement with Tuvalu on Wednesday, saying Pacific island countries were “fully aware of the commitment that we have to climate action” but gas would continue to play a role.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Sex discrimination commissioner urges Labor to reverse decision excluding gender and sexuality census questions

Posted on by

Anna Cody worries the Albanese government’s backflip could ‘strengthen the voices of discrimination’

The sex discrimination commissioner has called on the Albanese government to put gender and sexuality questions in the census, as the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, appeared to open the door to revising the controversial decision to exclude them.

On Thursday Anna Cody wrote to the government warning backtracking on a commitment to ask about gender and sexuality “carries serious implications for the health, wellbeing and general equality of LGBTIQA+ Australians and their families”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

NSW health minister apologises to women failed by maternity care after birth trauma inquiry

Posted on by

Ryan Park pledges to fast-track a number of initiatives, including to improve access to continuity of care and ensure informed consent

The New South Wales health minister, Ryan Park, has apologised to women who were failed by the maternity care they received, as the government supported all 43 recommendations from a state inquiry into birth trauma.

Thousands of women shared harrowing details with the inquiry, which was established in 2023 to understand experiences of childbirth that lead to physical or psychological harm.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...