Category Archives: Australia news

Major $2.2bn Medicare overhaul welcomed but medical association warns budget will be ‘real test’

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National cabinet also plans to work on strengthening renters’ rights, boosting housing supply and affordability, and improving NDIS

Medical groups have praised the $2.2bn Medicare overhaul announced by national cabinet but warned there is more to do to fix the nation’s ailing general practice and hospital systems.

National cabinet committed nearly $1.5bn in new funding to overhaul Medicare, as part of a $2.2bn health plan to boost the number of nurses, increase after-hours care and expand the roles of pharmacists and paramedics.

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Company emails at odds with evidence used to jail Australian engineer Robert Pether in Iraq

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Revealed: documents prompt fresh calls for Pether’s release, amid separate claims that a biased translator was used in court case

A cache of documents has undermined key evidence that was relied upon by Iraqi authorities to jail the Australian engineer Robert Pether, prompting renewed calls for his release.

Pether, a father of three, has meanwhile made allegations that a “confession” statement used against him was mistranslated by a biased employee of Iraq’s central bank before being handed to court.

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Death in custody: questions raised over checks on Queensland detainee deemed suicide risk

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Exclusive: Guardian Australia understands 30-year-old was held close to main counter of police watch house

A man who died in a Queensland police watch house last week was considered a serious suicide risk but was not checked on for more than an hour after he died, Guardian Australian understands.

Police are conducting an internal investigation into the death of the 30-year-old by suicide inside the Beenleigh police holding cells on Saturday.

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In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 988 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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Lawyers outraged by government failure to disclose terrorism-prediction tool’s serious problems

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Hayley Le, whose clients were assessed to be at risk of offending due to extreme beliefs, calls for judicial review of ‘confronting’ conduct

Lawyers for four men targeted using extraordinary terrorism powers are outraged at the failure to disclose serious problems with a tool being used to predict their clients’ likelihood of future offending.

The lawyers say the conduct should be subject to urgent judicial review.

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Australian midwives should have power to prescribe medical abortions and contraception, inquiry hears

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Universal reproductive healthcare committee urged to better credential and train midwives as experts warn of ‘abortion deserts’

Australian midwives are calling for expanded roles, including prescribing medical abortions, as they warn of “abortion deserts” where women cannot access the healthcare they need.

In an inquiry hearing on Friday, midwives are also set to call for broader rights to prescribe contraceptives.

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Record levels of renewable energy help bring down Australia’s energy prices, says Aemo

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Energy dynamics report finds clean energy is displacing fossil fuels and sending carbon emissions from the sector to new lows

Australia’s record levels of renewable energy helped extend the slide in wholesale power prices in the first three months of 2023, displacing fossil fuels and sending carbon emissions from the sector to new lows for the first quarter.

The latest energy dynamics report by the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) showed wholesale spot prices in the national electricity market (NEM) averaged $83/MWh, down more than a 10th from the December quarter and two-thirds lower than the record average $264/MWh in the June quarter last year.

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Optus best mobile network for overall availability and Vodafone leads for 5G, report finds

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In test of Australia’s three networks, Open Signal finds Telstra has most consistent user experience overall

Telstra may be Australia’s largest 5G network but Optus fares better for overall network availability and Vodafone leads for 5G availability, according to Open Signal’s latest review of the country’s three mobile networks.

Analyst firm Open Signal tested the three networks across the country in city and regional locations for three months from January to March this year.

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News live: clock ticking as US coast guard scours ocean for missing Australian cruise passenger

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Coast guard say passenger went overboard 500 nautical miles (926 kilometres) from Hawaii’s Big Island. Follow live

The US coast guard has confirmed that an Australian man fell overboard on the Quantum of the Seas cruise ship, which was travelling from Brisbane to Hawaii.

The coast guard said the passenger went overboard 500 nautical miles (926 kilometres) from Hawaii’s Big Island.

500 nautical miles south of Hawaii’s Big Island a man fell overboard on Quantum of the Seas cruise ship. He is an Australian national.

A Hercules airplane is on scene conducting a search. At the moment it is the only asset that’s on scene searching.

We’ve been on scene since 9am. And with the crew’s endurance and the fuel constraints of the vessel they should be there for about six hours since arriving on scene.

What I can confirm is the budget will have a cost of living package that is targeted to the most vulnerable. We’ve been clear about that. Obviously some of that is the assistance and support on energy relief. We’ve had the announcements around medicines in the last day.

We are focused on making sure we can do the right thing for those that are doing it tough, but within an environment where there are a lot of demands on the budget in a lot of areas.

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National ban on Nazi salute and insignia would help prevent far-right radicalisation, Asio says

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Australia’s intelligence agency tells parliamentary inquiry that racist groups are using extremist symbols to raise their profile

Australia’s domestic intelligence agency Asio has welcomed a Coalition bill to ban Nazi symbols including the Sieg Heil salute, telling a parliamentary inquiry it would help prevent recruitment and radicalisation by far-right extremists.

The bill was introduced by shadow attorney general, Michaelia Cash, days after a group of men from the Nationalist Socialist Network repeatedly performed the salute on the steps of Victoria’s parliament last month.

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Australian aged care providers warned against hiking fees for wealthy without proving it goes towards care

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Former royal commission adviser says ‘no reason’ money from providers can’t be transferred to affiliated companies, which could be used for purposes other than aged care

Aged care providers should not be allowed to charge wealthy residents higher fees until they can demonstrate the money goes towards providing care, a former senior advisor to the royal commission has warned.

Industry lobbyists and one of the biggest aged care providers in Australia believe the change would help address a funding crisis in residential aged care, improve conditions and boost staffing levels.

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‘Latte line’: poverty rises in parts of Sydney as gap hardens between city’s east and west

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Exclusive: One in five renters are among 1 million living in poverty, according to New South Wales Council of Social Services

The “latte line” dividing Sydney’s western and eastern suburbs is hardening, with new research identifying deepening levels of poverty within already disadvantaged areas and groups.

A report commissioned by the New South Wales Council of Social Services (Ncoss) also found one in five renters are among more than 1 million people living in poverty in the state.

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Water testing after the Menindee fish kill shows a ‘chronically sick’ river

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New test results from the Darling-Baaka River show the system is ‘supercharged with nutrients’, expert says

Water testing results from Darling-Baaka River at Menindee indicate the river is “chronically sick” and raises concerns about the overall health of the Murray-Darling Basin, experts say.

The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) released the second round of test results days after the state government declared it would treat the deaths of millions of fish at Menindee in far-west NSW as a “pollution incident”.

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Australia’s ‘broken’ migration system leaves 1.8m workers ‘permanently temporary’, review finds

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Labor urged to ditch skills lists, allow more workers in caring occupations and tackle long wait times for family visas

Australia’s “broken” migration system encourages 1.8 million guest workers to be “permanently temporary” due to strict caps on permanent migration, a landmark review has found.

The migration review, to be released on Thursday by the home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, calls for “major reform”, warning that fixing Australia’s migration system “cannot be achieved by further tinkering and incrementalism”.

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Australia news live: student debt ‘avalanche’ a sign loan system is broken, Faruqi says; drowning death at Victoria beach

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The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, is this morning committing to $260m to Australia’s national parks to address problems after “a decade of neglect”.

Plibersek is telling ABC News some parks have become unsafe:

What we’ve seen in our national parks, feral animals, invasive weeds, despite the best efforts of our rangers and staff, they just haven’t been able to keep up with the demand in our parks.

They’ve actually become unsafe. One of the worst examples I heard was broken and missing crocodile signs in Kakadu national park.

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AFL ‘not doing enough’ to manage concussion and brain trauma effects, wife of late coach tells inquiry

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Anita Frawley tells parliamentary inquiry the AFL was ‘fantastic’ in caring for her family but needs to do more for other players

The AFL is not doing enough to manage concussion and the long-term effects of brain trauma, Anita Frawley, the widow of AFL player and coach Danny Frawley, has told a parliamentary inquiry.

Giving evidence at a hearing of the federal senate committee inquiry into concussions and repeated head trauma in contact sports, Frawley described the circumstances of her husband’s suicide in 2019, and the posthumous finding that he had suffered from stage two chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the debilitating neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head trauma which is increasingly linked to long-term exposure to contact sports.

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Jim Chalmers promises cost-of-living relief in budget but won’t commit to raising jobseeker

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Treasurer says government’s focus remains on jobs as CEO of Acoss says increasing unemployment benefit still a ‘live debate’

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says there will be cost-of-living relief in the budget and the government will “prioritise the most vulnerable” but has still refused to commit to raising the jobseeker rate.

Labor backbenchers have broken ranks to publicly call on the government to adopt the first priority recommendation of the economic inclusion advisory committee and “substantially” raise the unemployment benefit.

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‘Reasonable doubt’ as to Kathleen Folbigg’s guilt over deaths of her children, inquiry told

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Folbigg and her two daughters found to carry a rare genetic variation, which could cast doubt on her convictions, inquiry hears

Counsel assisting an inquiry into Kathleen Folbigg’s convictions have submitted there is reasonable doubt about her guilt over the deaths of her four children.

“On the whole of the body of evidence before this inquiry there is a reasonable doubt as to Ms Folbigg’s guilt,” Sophie Callan SC said, summarising her closing submissions on Wednesday.

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Raising age of criminal responsibility to 12 ‘falls short’ of First Nations’ expectations, Victorian attorney general admits

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Jaclyn Symes urges other jurisdictions to follow state after announcing ‘staged approach’ to ensure support services are in place

Victoria’s attorney general has acknowledged that plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12 “falls short” of expectations from First Nations groups but described the move as a “first step” and urged other states to follow suit.

Jaclyn Symes confirmed the government will introduce legislation later this year to raise the age from 10 to 12, with no exceptions, which will come into effect in late 2024. It will then be increased to 14 by 2027.

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Calls to reform Australia’s student debt scheme as loan holders face ‘deeply unjust’ 7.1% rise

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Millions of Australians face a hike in their Help and Hecs loans when indexation is added on 1 June, the highest increase in decades

Australians with student debt face the highest increase in decades from 1 June, leading to calls from a growing group of MPs and advocates for the government to urgently reform the repayment system amid the cost-of-living crisis.

The March quarterly figures, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday, revealed the consumer price index (CPI) for the first three months of 2023 was at an annual rate of 7%, down from the 32-year high in December of 7.8%, but up on last March’s 5.1%.

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Joe Biden to visit Australia in May as Sydney hosts 2023 Quad leaders’ summit

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Meeting will bring together leaders of the US, India, Japan and Australia at the Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House will be the focus of a major security operation when the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, welcomes the US president, Joe Biden and the prime ministers of India and Japan for a key diplomatic event.

Albanese said on Wednesday that “Australia’s most recognisable building” would be the venue for the Quad leaders’ summit on 24 May.

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