NSW irrigator hit with $350,000 fine for water theft offences

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Admin

Moree Plains company found guilty of knowingly taking water with faulty metering equipment for crops such as cotton

A Moree Plains irrigator has been ordered to pay a record $350,000 in fines after pleading guilty to knowingly taking water, using an under-recording meter system and constructing an unlawful dam.

It is the first time a “tier one” offence has been successfully prosecuted by the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR).

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Australia news live: voice working group says Dutton committed to ‘further talks’; Alice Springs report may not be made public until next week

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Admin

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Australian batter Usman Khawaja has been cleared to join his teammates in India after his visa issues were sorted, AAP reports.

Pakistan-born Khawaja will fly out of Melbourne today, more than a day later than planned, after an anxious wait for his visa to be approved.

Three-year-old boy dies after being left in car in Sydney’s south-west

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Admin

Investigation launched after report child was left in a vehicle in part of the the city where temperatures soared past 30 degrees

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A three-year-old boy has died after allegedly being left inside a car during scorching temperatures in Sydney’s south-west.

According to police, emergency services responded to reports of an unresponsive child inside a car on Railway Parade at Glenfield around 3pm.

George Pell funeral: hundreds protest outside St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Admin

LGBTQ+ protesters condemn cardinal’s record on same-sex marriage, women’s rights and protecting children from clergy abuse

Hundreds of people have marched in protest outside Cardinal George Pell’s funeral service at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, with heated exchanges between his detractors and admirers.

Campaign group Community Action for Rainbow Rights (Carr) planned the protest through Sydney to the cathedral on the day of Pell’s requiem mass, in condemnation of his opposition to same-sex marriage and women’s rights, and his failure to protect children from widespread sexual abuse within the Catholic church.

Report into Alice Springs unrest recommends urgent alcohol ban in central Australian communities

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Admin

NT chief minister met with prime minister on Thursday afternoon to discuss report, which will be released after it is considered by cabinet next week

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The Northern Territory government must urgently amend its laws to impose alcohol bans in central Australian communities, including the town camps in Alice Springs, according to a snap review.

The bans would remain in place until communities have time to develop their own alcohol management plans. Once those plans are in place, communities may then opt out of the legislative restrictions.

George Pell funeral: Tony Abbott praises cardinal as a ‘saint for our times’ and rails against child abuse charges

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Admin

Former PM says the cardinal was ‘the greatest man I’ve ever known’, likening his treatment to a ‘modern-day crucifixion’

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has described George Pell, a man found to have failed to act on knowledge of child abuse, as “the greatest man I’ve ever known”, likening him to a saint and comparing his treatment to “modern-day crucifixion”.

Abbott spoke at Pell’s funeral on Thursday and variously described him as “one of our country’s greatest sons”, a “great hero” and a “saint for our times”.

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Summer pause: cold weather forecast for south-east Australia to bring snow across Alps

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Admin

Sharp temperature drops expected in SA, Victoria, NSW and Tasmania on Friday while north-east faces heatwave conditions

Break out the winter woolies. Temperatures across Australia’s south-east are set to plummet with some areas expected to experience their coldest February days in two decades on Friday.

A strong cold front is pushing up from southern Australia and is forecast to sweep across South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania on Friday.

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Australian banks should reimburse scam victims, ACCC and consumer advocates say

Posted on February 1, 2023 by Admin

‘Glaring lack of regulations’ means Australia is a ‘wild, wild west’, Consumer Action Law Centre policy officer says

In October 2021, Victorian education consultant Anne lost almost $100,000 within 48 hours after scammers hacked her email, posed as her, and directed her clients to pay invoices into a different account.

“[My client] rang me and said ‘did you get the money’, I said ‘no’. But the bank said it was too late, it was gone,” said Anne, who is using a pseudonym for privacy reasons.

Voice bill to come before parliament next month with campaigning to kick into gear quickly

Posted on February 1, 2023 by Admin

Anthony Albanese urges Peter Dutton to bring ‘an open heart’ when he meets with an expert Indigenous referendum group

A bill to amend the constitution to allow for the voice to parliament will be introduced next month, with referendum processes and campaigning expected to accelerate quickly from next week.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, implored Peter Dutton to bring “an open heart” on the voice when he meets with an expert Indigenous referendum group on Thursday, with the opposition leader challenged to make a “constructive contribution” as he faces a growing swell of community and corporate support for constitutional change.

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Anthony Albanese says he would have likely signed up to Aukus if he had been PM at the time

Posted on February 1, 2023 by Admin

Exclusive: The prime minister’s assessment pits him against Paul Keating, who has urged Labor to walk away from the controversial pact

Anthony Albanese says it is likely he would have pursued the Aukus agreement had Labor been in power during the Morrison era because the bonds between the three nations are enduring, and defence officials would have supplied the same advice.

The upbeat assessment during an interview with the Guardian’s Australian Politics podcast pits Albanese against Paul Keating, who has urged Labor to walk away from the controversial agreement with the US and Britain. Keating argues the plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines will see Australia’s strategic sovereignty “outsourced to another state” – a critique echoed by the former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

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Business sector has driven shift to ‘values-based capitalism’, Jim Chalmers says

Posted on February 1, 2023 by Admin

Treasurer hits back at criticism of his essay that championed co-investment and economic inclusion

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Jim Chalmers says Australia’s business and investment community has driven a shift to values-based capitalism, hitting back at a volley of criticism in some news outlets after the publication of the treasurer’s 6,000-word essay championing co-investment and economic inclusion.

Chalmers made the observation on Wednesday while leading a round of consultation with the investment community about a new framework for disclosing climate-related risk. The treasurer participated in a round table convened by the Australian arm of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment initiative.

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Tiny radioactive capsule lost in Australian outback found by side of 1,400km stretch of road

Posted on February 1, 2023 by Admin

Coin-sized radioactive device, missing for more than two weeks in WA, posed a significant public health risk

A tiny radioactive capsule that was lost in the Australian outback for more than two weeks and posed a “significant public health risk” has been found by the side of the road.

The 8mm by 6mm capsule, which fell from a secure device on a truck that was travelling from a Rio Tinto mine site in the Pilbara region of Western Australia to Perth, was found south of the town of Newman.

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Capsule found after ‘needle in a haystack’ search – as it happened

Posted on February 1, 2023 by Admin

This blog is now closed

The deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, spoke to ABC AM Radio from London following a meeting with the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak.

Marles would not be drawn into whether he discussed with Sunak the possibility of Australia acquiring British built nuclear submarines under the Aukus deal but said when the announcement is made it will be a “genuinely trilateral effort.”

Prime Minister Sunak commented on just how full the agenda is between our two countries and how much that is making – perhaps our oldest and most historic relationship – one which is deeply relevant in in the contemporary moment and certainly Aukus is central to that.

And we’re close to announcement and I’m not about to preempt that now. But I think what you’ll see is when we ultimately do announce the optimal pathway that we’ve been working on with both the United States and United Kingdom, that what it really is, is a genuinely trilateral effort to see by the UK and the US provide Australia with a nuclear powered submarine capability.

We’re confident that what we will be announcing in the coming weeks is a pathway that will be able to be delivered by all partners on time.

Gautam Adani falls out of world top 10 rich list as his companies’ shares slide

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Admin

Abu Dhabi fund’s $400m investment in Indian group fails to stop fall in value after fraud allegations

The Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has fallen off the list of the world’s top 10 richest people as the value of shares in his companies continue to slide after an activist investor accused him of “pulling the largest con in corporate history”.

Before the accusations published last week on Twitter, Adani, 60, was the world’s third-richest person with an estimated $119.5bn (£97bn) fortune. He has fallen to 11th place in the daily-updated Bloomberg billionaires index after a personal wealth wipeout of $34bn in just four days of trading since the accusations were published.

Shares in Adani’s companies continued to slide on Tuesday despite a $400m investment from an Abu Dhabi investment fund linked to the country’s royal family.

All countries must help prevent ‘catastrophic’ war amid China-US tensions, Australian minister says

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Admin

In a speech in London, Penny Wong calls on nations to examine how they use power and networks to avoid conflict

The Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, is calling on all countries to play their part to prevent a “catastrophic” war in the Indo-Pacific region.

Amid increasing tensions between the US and China, Wong warned in London on Tuesday that the region was becoming “more dangerous and volatile”.

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Unsentenced prisoners make up a third of Australia’s prison population as bail refusals boom

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Admin

Advocates urge overhaul of strict bail laws in Victoria and elsewhere to ensure people aren’t needlessly funnelled into jail

The number of unsentenced people in Australian jails has risen more than 120% over 10 years, to account for more than a third of the total prison population, as human rights advocates urge reforms to ensure people aren’t needlessly funnelled into the criminal justice system.

More than 15,000 prisoners, or about 35% of the nation’s prison population, were unsentenced – awaiting trial, sentencing or deportation – in 2021. In 2011, when there were 6,723 unsentenced prisoners, that cohort accounted for less than 25% of the prison population.

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State and territory leaders to sign joint statement backing Indigenous voice to parliament

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Admin

The move, ahead of national cabinet, will give a fresh push to Labor’s referendum plans, with the Liberals and Greens yet to agree their positions

State and territory leaders are expected to formally endorse a plan to support an Indigenous voice to parliament ahead of Friday’s national cabinet meeting.

The leaders of all eight states and territories have committed publicly to backing the voice, but are expected to sign a joint statement at their Council for the Australian Federation meeting on Thursday evening, ahead of national cabinet on Friday.

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NSW teachers should have a 25% pay bump in coming years, research suggests

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Admin

Exclusive: University of Sydney report says pay has gone ‘from bad to worse’ as cost-of-living pressures rise

Wages for New South Wales school teachers should be up to 25% higher before the end of the decade to counter long-term wage suppression and inflation, according to researchers from the University of Sydney who found educators were among the worst-paid professions.

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Saudi Arabia to sponsor Women’s World Cup and tighten ties with Fifa

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Admin

Tourist authority joins international brands on list
World Cup starts on 20 July at Eden Park, Auckland

Saudi Arabia’s tourist authority is to sponsor football’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this year, despite the country’s history of oppression of women’s rights.

Fifa is expected to confirm that Visit Saudi will join international brands such as Adidas, Coca-Cola and Visa in attaching its name to the 32-team tournament that will kick off in front of an expected 50,000 supporters at Auckland’s Eden Park on 20 July.

Roundup Newswires

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Category Archives: Australia news

NSW irrigator hit with $350,000 fine for water theft offences

Australia news live: voice working group says Dutton committed to ‘further talks’; Alice Springs report may not be made public until next week

Three-year-old boy dies after being left in car in Sydney’s south-west

George Pell funeral: hundreds protest outside St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney

Report into Alice Springs unrest recommends urgent alcohol ban in central Australian communities

George Pell funeral: Tony Abbott praises cardinal as a ‘saint for our times’ and rails against child abuse charges

Summer pause: cold weather forecast for south-east Australia to bring snow across Alps

Australian banks should reimburse scam victims, ACCC and consumer advocates say

Voice bill to come before parliament next month with campaigning to kick into gear quickly

Anthony Albanese says he would have likely signed up to Aukus if he had been PM at the time

Business sector has driven shift to ‘values-based capitalism’, Jim Chalmers says

Tiny radioactive capsule lost in Australian outback found by side of 1,400km stretch of road

Capsule found after ‘needle in a haystack’ search – as it happened

Gautam Adani falls out of world top 10 rich list as his companies’ shares slide

All countries must help prevent ‘catastrophic’ war amid China-US tensions, Australian minister says

Unsentenced prisoners make up a third of Australia’s prison population as bail refusals boom

State and territory leaders to sign joint statement backing Indigenous voice to parliament

NSW teachers should have a 25% pay bump in coming years, research suggests

Saudi Arabia to sponsor Women’s World Cup and tighten ties with Fifa