Transgender woman sues female-only app Giggle for Girls for alleged discrimination

Roxanne Tickle claims she was unlawfully barred from using the app after the firm and its CEO said she was a man

An Australian transgender woman who says she was barred from using the female-only platform Giggle for Girls has sued the social media site for alleged discrimination.

In a federal court lawsuit filed on 22 December, Roxanne Tickle claims she was unlawfully barred from using Giggle in September 2021 after the firm and its CEO, Sally “Sall” Grover, said she was a man.

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Complaints about gambling ads almost double, Australian media regulator says

Acma calls for more power to restrict advertisements on Facebook, YouTube and Google

The number of complaints about gambling advertisements almost doubled last financial year, prompting Australia’s media regulator to warn current restrictions are failing to meet community expectations.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority called for more power to restrict unlicensed gambling advertisements on Facebook, YouTube and Google to better protect children and vulnerable Australians.

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New Year’s Eve survival guide: how and where to ring in 2023 across Australia

Heading out to watch the new year fireworks? Plan ahead, pack light and check the drinking regulations

It’s the first New Year’s Eve in three years with no Covid-19 restrictions anywhere in Australia – and it’s about to go off with a bang.

Revellers heading to watch the fireworks in each city are being warned to plan ahead, pack light and expect an Uber surcharge.

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Police charge 32 people over Melbourne A-League pitch invasion and search for 11 more

One man believed to have been involved in the clash left Australia shortly after the match, Victoria police say

The number of people charged after an A-League pitch invasion has grown to 32 and police are searching for 11 others they believe to be responsible for serious offences.

About 150 spectators stormed the AAMI Park derby between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City earlier in December, injuring the goalkeeper Tom Glover, referee Alex King, a TV cameraman and two security guards.

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PM’s China dialogue comments ‘sneaky’, opposition says – as it happened

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Authorities to crack down on taxi and rideshare rip-offs

The Point to Point Commissioner is expecting a busy New Year’s period, after a “landslide of complaints” to the taxi industry hotline in the lead-up to the holiday period.

Businesses in the hospitality, tourism and retail industries heavily rely on a transport system that is safe, reliable and cost-effective to get Sydneysiders around our city.

If the system fails on delivering this service then people will not come into the city, which in turn will have an adverse knock-on effect on other businesses as a result.

Yes we have to continue to pursue them but the easiest way they could be resolved is by the Chinese government ending the sanctions on barley and wine. If they did that, then obviously, those disputes we no longer need to continue to take them – that would be the best thing that could occur, although I see no sign of that at the moment.

I see we’re dangling carrots out in front of the Chinese ... accession to CPTPP [Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership], which was something we never talked about, I see the new government is talking about it. This is very concerning – that they would offer access to that incredibly important trade arrangement to try and get the Chinese [government] to move.

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Queensland’s new criminal penalties for young offenders will ‘turbocharge injustice’, critics say

Measures, including a maximum of 10 years for car theft, condemned by rights and legal reform advocates

The Queensland government has come under heavy criticism after it announced new criminal penalties that mean children could face up to 10 years in prison for car theft.

The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, unveiled the measures on Thursday after two teenagers were charged with the murder of North Lakes woman Emma Lovell, sending out a press release headed “Tough laws made even tougher”.

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Labor to impose streaming content quotas and boost funding for writers and musicians

Arts minister Tony Burke reveals policy that will also put ‘First Nations first’ and ensure artists get more ‘fair remuneration’

Streaming services will get Australian content quotas, artists will receive more “fair remuneration” for their work and musicians and writers will have access to more public funding, the arts minister, Tony Burke, has announced.

Burke revealed details of a new national cultural policy, to be released on 30 January, at the Woodford folk festival on Friday, promising to end 10 years of “culture wars” on the arts.

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Dob in ‘dodgy’ taxi drivers this New Year’s Eve, minister urges Sydney residents

Passengers should use a 24-hour hotline to report cabbies who refuse to turn on meters, David Elliott says

Passengers should dob in “dodgy” cabbies who don’t use their meters for rides over the holiday period, the New South Wales transport minister says.

David Elliott sent a warning shot over the unethical practice of taxi drivers negotiating prices for passengers in a hurry without turning on their meter.

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Release of 10 quolls boosts ‘insurance’ population of endangered marsupial

The animals were released into Aussie Ark’s 400-hectare Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary

In a “globally significant moment” which gives a near-extinct species a second lease at survival, 10 eastern quolls have been released into a New South Wales nature reserve.

The animals were released into Aussie Ark’s 400-hectare Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary in the state’s Upper Hunter region, bolstering a flourishing insurance population of quolls.

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Legal challenge to Australia’s indefinite immigration detention could determine freedom of hundreds

Advocates believe Egyptian man’s case paves way to possibly overturn 2004 decision upholding indefinite detention by Migration Act

The legal basis of Australia’s system of indefinite immigration detention is set to be challenged in a case that could determine the freedom of hundreds of asylum seekers and people whose visas were cancelled.

In a judgment earlier in December, federal court Justice Debra Mortimer said Australia’s immigration system has achieved the “disgraceful objective” of desensitising officers to indefinite detention, making preliminary findings in favour of a man she said had “no real likelihood” of being removed from Australia in the near future.

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Advocates call for urgent action after two ‘incredibly tragic’ Aboriginal deaths in custody

Linda Burney says rates of Indigenous incarceration and deaths in custody 30 years after royal commission are a ‘national shame’

Advocates say the “heartbreaking” deaths of two Aboriginal people in custody within days of each other in Western Australia over Christmas should jolt state and federal governments into urgent action.

A 41-year-old First Nations woman died in a Perth hospital on Christmas Eve after suffering a “medical episode” in Wandoo rehabilitation prison 13 days earlier.

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What the devil? Woman mistakes real Tasmanian marsupial for dog toy in Hobart home

Kirsten Lynch says the Tasmanian devil – who was gently shooed outside – likely followed their golden retriever puppy into the house

Hobart woman Kirsten Lynch got the fright of her life on Wednesday night when she went to pick up her golden retriever’s Tasmanian devil plush toy and it ran away.

“I went to reach for it, the devil shot underneath the couch,” she said.

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Novak Djokovic forgives but won’t forget Australian visa saga as he prepares for Adelaide International

World men’s tennis No 5 says return proves he is ready to move on from his deportation and begin quest for 10th Australian Open title

Novak Djokovic says there are no hard feelings on his return to Australia, but can’t guarantee he will ever completely move past the saga that torpedoed his 2022 Australian Open hopes and thrust him into the centre of a media frenzy.

Djokovic was deported from Australia almost 12 months ago after arriving unvaccinated against Covid at a time when the country was still subject to strict biosecurity regulations. Such regulations have now been lifted and in November the Australian government overturned the three-year ban that came with Djokovic’s deportation and granted him a visa to return for the summer of tennis.

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Anthony Albanese urges Australians not to travel to Ukraine but to donate to support war effort

Ukrainian embassy in Australia says the number of enquiries about volunteering in the country has dropped off

The number of Australians enquiring about volunteering in Ukraine to fight against Russian forces has fallen, as the federal government warns citizens against travelling to the war-torn country.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, on Thursday urged Australians not to travel to Ukraine – in line with the federal travel advice – after the death of Victorian man Sage O’Donnell who was fighting in the conflict. Albanese said people often did not notify the government before travelling to Ukraine, meaning the number of Australians fighting there is unknown.

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Up to 1800 homes evacuated so far in SA floods – as it happened

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A fourth child in the space of two days has been airlifted to hospital from K’gari (Fraser Island) with suspected Irukandji jellyfish stings.

The RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter airlifted the young boy from the island after he was stung on the upper leg just after 2.30pm on Wednesday.

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Anthony Albanese rejects reports of $450m coal price cap payout for Rio Tinto and partners

Federal and state governments have agreed to pay producers compensation for pre-existing supply contracts exceeding the cap

Anthony Albanese has rejected suggestions of a potential $450m payout to Rio Tinto and its partners for the Gladstone power plant, which could push coal price cap compensation to more than $1bn.

Albanese told Channel Seven’s Sunrise the federal government expects the cost “will be nothing like the sort of figures” reported for Gladstone although Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk later appeared to confirm the figure was possible, as a maximum.

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Queensland accused of ‘kneejerk’ response in announcing new penalties for young offenders

Annastacia Palaszczuk announces ‘tougher’ youth crime penalties three days after death of Queensland woman Emma Lovell

Youth crime experts have criticised the Queensland government for announcing a suite of “tough” penalties for young offenders in response to the alleged killing of a woman in her home north of Brisbane on Boxing Day, describing it as a “kneejerk reaction” that will not reduce crime.

Annastacia Palaszczuk made the announcement on Thursday, amid media calls for action in response to the death of 41-year-old Emma Lovell.

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Victoria’s myki public transport card could be scrapped by end of 2023

Victorian treasurer says plagued myki payment system will be reviewed with current contract due to expire late next year

Victoria’s myki tap and pay system could be scrapped by the end of next year, with the state treasurer acknowledging the public transport cards are not up to global standards.

Myki was first rolled out more than a decade ago and has since been plagued with million-dollar cost blowouts and system issues.

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Shed fire that killed Queensland baker and daughter not an accident, police believe

Homicide investigation launched after deaths of Todd Mooney and 10-year-old Kirra at Biggenden

A shed fire that killed Queensland man Todd Mooney and his 10-year-old daughter Kirra was deliberately lit, police believe.

Remains believed to be the 54-year-old man and the girl were found after the blaze at Biggenden, south-east of Bundaberg, on 20 December.

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Thousands of tonnes of recycling to be transported interstate after fire at ACT processing facility

Materials Recovery Facility near Canberra had processed 60,000 tonnes of waste a year which will be moved to other capital cities

Thousands of tonnes of waste will have to be transported from the Australian Capital Territory to other metropolitan capitals after a fire at one of the largest recycling centres in Australia.

The fire largely destroyed the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Hume on Monday night – another setback for the nation’s recycling efforts, which have been struggling to keep pace with demand.

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