Category Archives: Australia news

Labor to announce easing of jobseeker mutual obligations requirements in major overhaul of employment system

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Employment minister Amanda Rishworth plans to move system from a ‘one size fits all’ employment services model to three streams of support

The Albanese government has flagged a major overhaul of Australia’s employment system, with minister Amanda Rishworth on Wednesday expected to outline plans to ease Centrelink’s much-maligned mutual obligations regime.

Rishworth is expected to tell the National Press Club that mutual obligation requirements were not helping Australians find work in a system that was “ill-equipped” and wasting the time of people who use welfare.

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Two men arrested in connection to Dezi Freeman’s movements after Porepunkah shootings

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A 48-year-old and 35-year-old will be interviewed by police after their arrests at two separate locations in north-east Victoria

Two men have been arrested in connection to Porepunkah shooter Dezi Freeman’s months on the run after he killed two police officers.

Police on Tuesday said detectives had arrested the men – aged 48 and 35 – at two separate locations in north-east Victoria as part of Operation Summit, the investigation into Freeman’s movements after the shootings at Porepunkah.

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‘We’re concerned’: US-based prediction markets taking bets on Australian elections and Albanese’s word choices

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Regulators and gambling harm advocates have been closely watching the rise in popularity of Polymarket and Kalshi

US-based “prediction market” websites are taking tens of thousands of dollars in bets on Australian elections and even specific words the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says in parliament, with gambling harm advocates and the wagering lobby raising alarm.

Australian financial and media regulators said they were monitoring the explosion in popularity of platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, which operate financial exchanges where users buy “shares” in contracts on the outcome of events.

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Shark attack: man dies on Great Barrier Reef in far north Queensland

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The 39-year-old was reportedly fishing at Kennedy Shoal between Cairns and Townsville when emergency services alerted about midday

A man has died after a shark attack on the Great Barrier Reef south of Cairns.

The 39-year-old had reportedly been fishing at Kennedy Shoal, a shallow reef about 50km off the Queensland coast, between Cairns and Townsville.

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Pocock open to independents forming party to counter Hanson – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

Climate activists say they have blocked two coal ships from entering Newcastle port

Climate activists say they have stopped two coal ships from entering the Port of Newcastle this morning after kayakers and a small boat entered the channel.

I grew up in the best years economically in Australia’s history, and I can’t sleep at night thinking about my 5 great-grandkids trying to live on a dead planet if we keep mining coal. I want to see more people my age standing up for what’s right.

There’s plenty of conversations going on all the time.

I think there’s so many people in politics for the right reasons and, when you’re in there, you want to say, well, how do we actually ensure that people can elect people that are going to come here and really deal with the root causes of the problems that we’re facing, because we haven’t seen that.

How do you be part of changing our country for the better? For me at the moment, that is serving people in the ACT, engaging on each issue, bringing solutions, using whatever power I have in the Senate to actually work on behalf of the people that have sent me there. As to what that looks like in the future, who knows?

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No refunds for 15,000 Australian ticket holders after Candace Owens’ tour cancelled

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Rightwing commentator says she is hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket and claims she was misled by promoter Rocksman

None of the 15,000 ticket holders for conservative influencer Candace Owens’ cancelled Australian tour are expected to get their money back from the promoter, after it spent all its money then collapsed.

Owens herself says she is hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket and claims she was misled by the promoter, Rocksman, a company with links to the influential conservative lobby group Turning Point Australia.

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Albanese joins coalition of nations calling for an end to Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank

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Australia joins the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and New Zealand in condemning illegal settlements

The Israeli government is undermining stability in the West Bank as settler violence reaches unprecedented levels, a coalition of western countries says, as its leaders call for an end to construction of Israeli settlements it says breach international law.

In a joint statement issued on Friday, Anthony Albanese and the leaders of the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and New Zealand said:

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Jacinta Allan launches state-sponsored apprenticeships at Victoria’s Labor conference ahead of election

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The premier is offering 2,000 apprenticeships at the revived State Electricity Commission as part of a pre-election push

Jacinta Allan has used Labor’s final state conference before the election to announce a plan for a government-owned electricity body to hire apprentices to address significant workforce shortages and job insecurity.

The Victorian premier announced the plan in a speech that drew on her father’s experience as a linesman at the State Electricity Commission (SEC), which was revived by Daniel Andrews in 2023 after being privatised by former premier Jeff Kennett in the 1990s.

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Anthony Albanese visibly emotional after defending Labor’s capital gains tax and negative gearing changes

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Prime minister launches impassioned argument in favour of much-maligned reforms announced in last week’s federal budget

A visibly emotional Anthony Albanese has launched an impassioned defence of Labor’s proposed changes to negative gearing, the capital gains tax discount and family trusts, saying he will “not allow Australia to become a country where aspiration is only for some”.

The prime minister has faced sustained criticism to the reforms, which include limiting negative gearing to new-builds while grandfathering existing properties, changing how CGT is calculated and imposing a new 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts.

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Three die in ‘horrific’ south Sydney vehicle crash after police welfare check

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A 42-year-old fled from police before being involved in a two-vehicle crash in Sans Souci, police say

Three people have died in a crash in Sydney after a man fled from police who had been attempting to carry out a welfare check.

Police officers had been called to a property in Gymea Bay, southern Sydney, at 12.25am on Saturday. When they arrived, a 42-year-old man drove away in a white Audi, New South Wales police said.

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Police drop case against artist who depicted high-profile Australians in uniforms with Nazi symbols

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Michael Agzarian was charged despite internal legal advice that the images were ‘political satire’, court hears

Police charged an artist who depicted prominent Australians in military uniforms emblazoned with Nazi symbols despite internal legal advice the images were “political satire”, a court has heard.

Police dropped the case against Michael Agzarian before the Downing Centre local court on Friday, almost a year after he had been charged with one count of displaying Nazi symbols by a public act without lawful excuse.

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Feral horse numbers surge in Kosciuszko national park after pause in aerial culling, survey shows

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Conservationists say population rebound demands rethink of retention zones that allow thousands of the animals to remain in the park

Feral horse numbers in the Kosciuszko national park have surged, with new survey data estimating populations climbed by thousands after the New South Wales government paused aerial culling in 2025.

Conservation advocates say the rebound in numbers demands an urgent rethink of retention zones that allow thousands of horses to remain in the park.

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One Nation’s rapid national expansion in disarray as ‘significant risks’ force dissolution of new branches

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Exclusive: Documents seen by Guardian Australia also show new branches and members will be subject to strict gag orders

One Nation’s rapid expansion of local branches across the country is in disarray, with the party being forced to dissolve and re-establish its new network less than eight months after the ambitious roll out began.

Documents seen by Guardian Australia show the party’s new general manager, Kelvin Morton, issued a directive to the party’s branches in April ordering committee members to properly reconstitute their branches after an internal review uncovered “significant risks”.

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MPs urged to ignore fearmongering and pass Labor’s ‘long overdue’ negative gearing and CGT changes

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Exclusive: Any attempt to use the budget measures as an excuse to raise rent is opportunistic profiteering, housing advocates say

Australia’s peak community and housing groups have urged federal parliament to quickly pass Labor’s changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax, saying the reforms would improve fairness for renters and young homebuyers.

The government may introduce its negative gearing and CGT changes into parliament as soon as the coming sitting fortnight, with hopes of passing the legislation soon after with the support of the Greens.

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Man charged with stealing camera equipment from Bondi shooting victim in aftermath of terror attack

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Police allege man took camera equipment from 61-year-old shooting victim then pawned it

New South Wales police have charged a man for allegedly stealing camera equipment from one of the victims of the Bondi beach terror attack in the aftermath of the shooting.

In a statement, police alleged that the man, Danny James Ridley, had been at the Hanukah event before the shooting on 14 December, in which 15 people were killed.

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‘Indefensible’: alleged child abuse survivor takes on Albanese government over $2.5bn Nauru deal

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Lawyers of Hazara man who was allegedly sexually abused by carer launch bid to prevent imminent deportation to Pacific island

The Albanese government’s $2.5bn deal with Nauru, under which hundreds of non-citizens will be sent to the tiny Pacific island, will face another legal challenge prompted by an alleged child abuse survivor.

Legal representatives for Abdul*, a Hazara man who was re-detained in immigration detention earlier this month, have launched a bid to prevent the 29-year-old’s imminent deportation to Nauru by challenging its compatibility with Australia’s constitution.

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‘Vein of racism’: race discrimination commissioner accuses One Nation and Coalition of scapegoating immigrants

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Exclusive: Australia faces a ‘pronounced political fault line’, Giridharan Sivaraman tells Brisbane seminar on human rights

One Nation and the federal opposition are “dehumanising” and “scapegoating” immigrants while drawing on a “deep vein of racism”, Australia’s federal race discrimination commissioner says.

Giridharan Sivaraman made the comments as part of a panel discussion at a Brisbane seminar on human rights, hosted by the state’s human rights commission.

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Kylie Minogue announces she had second cancer diagnosis in 2021

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In new Netflix documentary, pop superstar says she ‘got through it, again’, referring back to successful treatment for breast cancer in 2005

Kylie Minogue has revealed that in early 2021 she was diagnosed with cancer for a second time, after diagnosis and successful treatment for breast cancer in 2005.

The pop star discussed the previously unannounced diagnosis in a new Netflix documentary entitled Kylie, available from today. “My second cancer diagnosis was in early 2021. I was able to keep that to myself … Not like the first time,” she said, referring to her highly publicised first treatment.

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One person dead and four in hospital after alleged shooting in Sydney’s south-west

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NSW police establish crime scene at Canley Heights home after two pairs of men present at different hospitals

One man has died in hospital and four others have been left in serious condition after a shooting at a home.

Police set up a crime scene at a home in Canley Heights in south-west Sydney after the men self-presented to two nearby hospitals.

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Former governor general and Brisbane’s Anglican archbishop Peter Hollingworth dies at 91

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Hollingworth, appointed governor general by John Howard in 2001, resigned over his handling of child sexual abuse in the Anglican church

Former governor general Peter Hollingworth, who resigned over his handling of child sexual abuse in the Anglican church, has died.

Hollingworth, who devoted much of his life to fighting poverty, served as the Anglican archbishop of Brisbane for 11 years from 1990, the first Australian-born person to hold the position.

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