Queensland’s figure of 299 lives lost was the worst in more than a decade, as lifting of Covid restrictions pushed up toll around the country
Queensland’s road toll is set to top the nation as all states that reported figures recorded a rise from the pandemic years.
There were 299 deaths in Queensland in 2022, compared with 288 in NSW, 240 in Victoria and 50 in Tasmania – the latter recorded the biggest proportional rise.
Continue reading...Man, 45, was caught in a rip after getting his 14-year-old son to safety at a beach on the state’s south coast
An off-duty police officer who drowned at a beach on the New South Wales south coast had swum out to rescue his own son from a “substantial” rip, police say.
The man, who has not been named, had entered the water at a beach south of Narooma after his 14-year-old son was caught in a rip on Sunday.
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Continue reading...More than 100 people were reportedly caught in a pedestrian underpass just before midnight
Authorities will investigate a “terrifying” crowd crush that occurred in a pedestrian tunnel in the centre of Melbourne on New Year’s Eve, with revellers saying they felt “totally wedged” and “couldn’t move in any direction”.
A City of Melbourne spokesperson said the council was aware of the safety concerns raised about the incident at the Elizabeth Street pedestrian underpass shortly before the midnight fireworks on Saturday.
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Continue reading...Health minister defends country-specific testing as necessary due to ‘absence of comprehensive information’ on Covid’s spread in China
Australia is planning to introduce wastewater testing for incoming flights in an attempt to gather more information about the possible entry of new Covid variants.
The health minister, Mark Butler, announced the measure on Monday in a round of interviews defending the decision to reimpose pre-flight Covid testing for passengers from China as necessary because of a “absence of comprehensive information” about the disease in China.
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Continue reading...QF19 was three hours into New Year’s Day journey when pilots learned they could not land at Manila
A Manila-bound Qantas plane was forced to turn around mid-flight and return to Sydney after an air traffic control malfunction forced Philippine authorities to shut down the country’s airspace.
Flight QF19 departed Sydney shortly before 1pm local time on New Year’s Day and was about three hours into its eight-hour journey when pilots learned they would not be able to land at the plane’s destination.
Continue reading...Labor has grown in popularity since its election in May, and ticked off a number of campaign promises. But harder decisions await in 2023
The year ended on a high for the Anthony Albanese, with opinion polls showing the Labor government and its leader are only growing in popularity, across all states.
The new government spent its first seven months ticking off election promises and recalibrating Australia’s standing on the world stage. Albanese aimed to keep politics off the front page as much as possible. In that, it has been somewhat successful, with the biggest headlines featuring his predecessor, Scott Morrison. But every honeymoon must come to an end and as we head into 2023, the domestic political challenges for the Albanese government will soon loom large.
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Continue reading...Exclusive: Healthcare costs from smoke-related deaths tipped to reach $110m, new modelling led by Monash University suggests
In the decade to 2030, more than 2,400 lives will be lost to bushfires in Australia, with healthcare costs from smoke-related deaths tipped to reach $110m, new modelling led by Monash University suggests.
The lead health economist with the university’s Centre for Medicine Use and Safety, Associate Prof Zanfina Ademi, who headed the analysis, said it was important to get a predictive picture of the bushfire situation in Australia and its impact on health and the economy.
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Continue reading...Federal government’s population statement forecasts births for 2021-22 will be 1.66 babies per woman
Australia’s fertility rate rebounded to pre-pandemic levels in 2020-21, according to a snapshot from the federal government’s latest population statement.
In 2020-21, the fertility rate was 1.66 babies per woman, similar to the rate recorded in 2018-19. In 2019-20, the rate had fallen to 1.61 babies per woman.
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Continue reading...Health minister Mark Butler argues decision ‘will not come as any surprise to the Chinese government’
Australia will impose mandatory Covid-19 testing for travellers arriving from China after a spike in cases in the tourism and business market.
The Australian health minister, Mark Butler, announced on Sunday that travellers from China would need to take a Covid test within the 48 hours before travel and show evidence of a negative result before entering Australia, starting from 5 January.
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Continue reading...Indigenous Australians minister says yes campaign likely to begin in late February with vote held as early as August
Australians could vote as early as August on whether an Indigenous voice to parliament should be constitutionally enshrined.
The Indigenous Australians minister, Linda Burney, told Nine newspapers the government plans to introduce legislation to parliament in March to set up the referendum.
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Continue reading...Man dies from injuries in hospital after falling from bull and then being struck by it
A novice bullrider has died from his injuries in hospital after falling from a bull at a rodeo event in southern Queensland on New Year’s Eve.
The 25-year-old New South Wales man was thrown from the animal and then struck by it at about 8pm during the novice bull ride event at the New Year’s Eve Rodeo at Warwick Showgrounds.
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Continue reading...Authorities are confident peak flows have reached the state but worry a blackwater event may follow
While flood waters look to have peaked in South Australia, authorities are concerned about the potential for a blackwater event that may lead to fish kills along the River Murray.
Flows at the border into South Australia had not increased for the last seven consecutive days with authorities confident peak flows had reached South Australia and would work their way downriver.
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Continue reading...Cabinet papers reveal Russia wanted to limit Australia’s access to its rocket technology and classified information, leading to ‘impasse’
Plans to build a spaceport on Christmas Island with Russian technology were stymied in 2002 over fears that it would impinge on Australia’s sovereignty, cabinet papers reveal.
Russia wanted to limit Australia’s access to its rocket technology and classified information, and had concerns that a planned detention facility on the island would put its security at risk.
Continue reading...Cabinet papers 2002: records show there were growing concerns about management of asylum seekers in Australia’s offshore detention centres
The year 2002 started with traumatised asylum seekers sewing their lips together in protest at their incarceration, and ended with the federal government urgently planning a detention centre on Christmas Island.
John Howard and his cabinet were facing growing criticism over long-term detention as they increasingly enforced boat turnbacks and offshore detention in an effort to stop asylum seekers reaching the mainland.
Continue reading...Cabinet papers 2002: PM lifted ban despite opposition of conservatives and religious leaders, including then Archbishop Pell
John Howard’s decision to allow stem cell research using surplus IVF embryos might surprise people “who saw Howard as only a rightwing person”, the former senator and cabinet minister Amanda Vanstone has said.
Despite opposition from conservative and religious groups, and despite seeking advice from the then Catholic archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, the former Liberal prime minister lifted the national ban in 2002.
Continue reading...Cabinet papers 2002: documents shed light on strategy amid decades-long battle to create national storage centre
John Howard’s government considered extinguishing native title over a South Australian site earmarked for a nuclear waste dump “by agreement or by compulsory acquisition”, the 2002 cabinet papers reveal.
The records, released on Sunday by the National Archives of Australia, shed light on the Howard government’s part in the decades-long battle to create a national storage site for Australia’s low- and medium-level nuclear waste.
Continue reading...Australia gears up for first restriction-free party since Covid struck, with more than 1m revellers flocking to harbour
Australia is gearing up to celebrate its first restriction-free New Year’s Eve after two years of Covid disruptions, with more than a million revellers expected to flock to Sydney’s harbourfront and watch an elaborate fireworks display.
Sydney is one of the world’s first major cities to welcome in the new year and draws huge TV audiences around the world, with a public countdown and fireworks display over its famous opera house.
Continue reading...Travellers face 12-hour delay in American Samoa; Bureau of Meteorology forecasts hot and wet NYE. Follow the day’s news live
A United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Sydney has been diverted after an engine issue was discovered around midnight.
It is understood crew aboard United flight 839 noticed a potential oil leak from an engine on the right side of the Boeing 787-9.
Today’s flight diverted to Pago Pago to address a mechanical issue. We’re making use of our facilities, including available hotel options, to accommodate our customers, and will fly in a new aircraft to the island so they can finish their trip to Sydney soon.
Continue reading...Expedition will traverse 1,200km in harsh conditions with the aim of collecting million-year-old ice to learn about climate change
Australian researchers have set off on their most ambitious polar expedition in two decades, aiming to drill down into million-year-old ice to learn about climate change.
A convoy of five specially designed tractor trains intends to traverse 1,200km to Little Dome C in Antarctica, where – if successful – they will set up a camp for scientists to start drilling as early as next summer.
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Continue reading...Forensic and internal police to investigate incident where officers warned one of the motorists for driving dangerously before collision
Three family members are dead after their car collided with another that minutes earlier had been seen “driving erratically” by Queensland police.
The crash, involving a black Mercedes wagon and a silver Mercedes hatch, happened at Bonogin in the Gold Coast hinterland around 5pm on Friday.
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