Category Archives: Australia news

Stuart Robert told lobbyist not to donate to Angus Taylor fundraising group as ‘it will be declared and it will hurt you’

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Exclusive: Private emails from 2018 show Robert advised Synergy 360 boss not to join supporter network for Liberal colleague

The federal Liberal MP Stuart Robert told a lobbyist and potential donor not to donate to colleague Angus Taylor’s fundraising group as it would need to be declared and “it will hurt you”, emails obtained by Guardian Australia reveal.

Robert was sent an email from his friend David Milo, the chief executive of lobby group Synergy 360, inquiring about an invitation he had received to join the Hume Forum, “the official supporters’ network of federal minister and member for Hume, Angus Taylor”.

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2 October 2018: the ECE tender opened – three companies including Infosys were shortlisted.

29 May 2019: the member for Fadden was appointed minister for human services and the NDIS.

26 June 2019: leaked emails reveal the minister met Infosys and his good friend Milo, a paid consultant to Infosys, in Sydney.

2 July 2019: final valuation was submitted – negotiations on value and period of contract continued for another four months.

8 November 2019: Infosys was awarded the first of four contracts valued at $18m.

19 November 2019: the minister met Infosys.

30 December 2019: the minister met his friend Milo on the Gold Coast, which triggered an email from Milo saying “minister gave insights on progress of Infosys and future opportunities”.

1 February 2020: the minister was guest speaker at an Infosys conference at Melbourne Park on the afternoon of the Australian Open tennis finals.

1 July 2020: Infosys was awarded a further $142m contract.

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RBA tipped to lift cash rate again at board meeting as mortgage cliff looms

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Economists widely predict 25 basis point rise but some say central bank may consider pausing rates after seven straight hikes

The Reserve Bank is likely to give serious consideration to pausing interest rates for the first time since it began its record series of hikes, analysts say, but economists are still predicting an eighth consecutive increase when the board meets on Tuesday.

Concerns about the lagging effects of seven rate rises in as many months will be part of discussions at the monthly gathering. So, too, will the looming “mortgage cliff”, with at least $270bn in housing debt coming off historically low fixed-interest rates next year.

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Documents reveal ‘scramble’ to rubber-stamp NSW bill targeting climate protests

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Emails show how NSW premier Dominic Perrottet’s advisers, along with several other ministers, sought to fast-track bill after media furore

The bill that led to climate activist Deanna ‘Violet’ Coco being jailed for 15 months had not even made it through the New South Wales parliament in April when the offices of multiple ministers were pushing to have it rubber-stamped by the state’s governor.

Documents obtained by the Guardian reveal how the governor, Margaret Beazley, agreed to return to her office about 11pm after a function in April to sign off on the laws after a senior public servant complained he was “copping it from absolutely every direction”.

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Papua New Guinea can’t afford Australia and US standoff with China, James Marape warns

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PNG prime minister tells west ‘your enemy is not our enemy’ as he tries to steer clear of geopolitical struggle gripping the Pacific

The prime minister of Papua New Guinea has warned that his country will not be caught in a “standoff” between the US, Australia and China, as geopolitical tensions in the Pacific increase, warning the global powers to “keep your fights to yourselves”.

“Our nation is still an emerging economy, we cannot afford the standoff between our trading partners,” James Marape told the Guardian while on a visit to Sydney for a petroleum and mining conference.

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Labor review says Scott Morrison’s unpopularity ‘single most significant factor’ behind election win

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Election campaign review also warns party risks losing outer suburban seats in Melbourne to independents unless lessons learned

Labor’s election campaign review has concluded Scott Morrison’s unpopularity was the “single most significant factor” behind Anthony Albanese’s victory in May while identifying weaknesses that need to be addressed by 2025.

The review – undertaken by former cabinet minister Greg Combet and strategist Lenda Oshalem – praises the fundamentals of the campaign that delivered Labor majority government for the first time since 2007 but states the ALP could not be complacent.

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Melbourne Royal Children’s hospital tells parents to stay away if possible due to ‘unprecedented demand’

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Workload from treating high number of extremely unwell children means patients may face 12-hour wait

Melbourne parents with sick children may face waits of more than 12 hours at the Royal Children’s hospital emergency department as it buckles under demand.

The hospital, in a statement on Monday evening, warned families should seek alternative care where possible given it was dealing with more than 90 patients in its emergency department.

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Higher Medicare rebates will not cure broken system that rewards ‘speed, not need’, report says

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General practices have ‘steady profit margins’ and many are turning away from bulk billing, leaving poorer Australians without access to care, thinktank says

While doctors have called for higher Medicare rebates to meet the rising cost of providing care, a new report from thinktank the Grattan Institute argues that GPs have “steady profit margins” and that more drastic measures are needed to preserve Medicare.

General practices need to be overhauled to employ a team of health workers including physiotherapists and nurses to better manage rising rates of chronic and complex disease, the report led by Grattan health and aged care program director, Peter Breadon, said.

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Wrongfully jailed man sues Queensland for $2.1m, alleging police officer acted with malice

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Exclusive: During 220 days in prison, Eamonn Coughlan says he was bashed, stabbed with a syringe and denied prescription drugs

A former British policeman wrongfully jailed for more than 200 days has lodged a $2.1m lawsuit against the state of Queensland and a police officer who – court documents allege – stated he “hated” the man, threatened to beat his wife and unnecessarily searched through her underwear drawers.

Former London Metropolitan police officer Eamonn Charles Coughlan was imprisoned for arson and attempted insurance fraud in 2019, but fully exonerated by the high court the following year.

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Victoria’s child protection system is creating ‘new stolen generation’, Aboriginal leader says

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Condemnation comes as the state’s truth-telling inquiry, the Yoorrook Justice commission, prepares to hold hearings on the subject from Monday

Aboriginal leaders say Victoria’s “culturally unsafe” child protection system is creating “a new stolen generation”, as the state’s truth-telling inquiry prepares to hold hearings on the subject from Monday.

Last year, one in nine Aboriginal babies aged under one was taken away from their families by the state of Victoria, more than double the national average.

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Australian women will need ‘more than 200 years’ to reach income equity with men

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New report has called for urgent structural reform after finding women’s income and health have deteriorated in the past decade

Australian women have poorer health, lower incomes and less engagement in the labour force than men, a new report has found.

A health and wellbeing scorecard, published on Monday, has found that women’s economic equity and health have deteriorated in the past decade.

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In 2020, women reported poorer health than men in all bar one domain, including in mental health, physical and social functioning, and bodily pain.

More women than men experienced elevated psychological distress, with rates since 2011 rising sharply in women aged 18-24 and 55-64.

Women’s social functioning, emotional and physical ability to perform their role declined between 2001 and 2020 – and was linked to financial inequity.

There are 2.7 million women missing from the labour force, costing the Australian economy $72bn in lost GDP annually – and also resulting in lower lifetime superannuation accumulations.

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Australia urged to take leadership role at Cop15 biodiversity summit

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‘The conference for nature this month in Montreal could be what Paris was for climate. We must seize this opportunity’, environment minister Tanya Plibersek says

Australia is being urged to take a leadership role at a global summit that aims to reach what has been described as the nature equivalent of the landmark Paris agreement on climate change.

Countries will meet in Montreal for the Cop15 biodiversity summit from 7 December to work on a new framework agreement to end biodiversity decline. Campaigners say if successful it should result in the global destruction of nature being halted and reversed such that wild areas and habitat for threatened species start to increase in size between now and 2030.

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Bid to make key robodebt documents public blocked – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

Fans frustrated at last-minute World Cup arrangements

As fans and supporters made their way out of the Darling Harbour viewing site for the Socceroos’ round of 16 loss to Argentina, many expressed their frustration at the hastily organised event.

Lots of us got locked outside. It would have been good if they let some more people in. There were so many up there on stairs, it could’ve been more dangerous if they jumped around too much.

Six thousand people for a major sporting event is just not good enough. It looks like triple that number have turned up. It feels like they underestimated the number of people who would turn up today.

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Coalition MP’s ‘grassroots’ nuclear power survey linked to consulting firm

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Exclusive: Ted O’Brien’s Time to Talk Nuclear website was registered by business that helps US reactor company

A Coalition frontbencher conducting a “grassroots” survey about nuclear power is using a website registered by a business that helps an American small modular reactor company, records reveal.

Ted O’Brien, the shadow minister for climate change and energy, issued a statement on Friday saying he was “launching a grassroots community engagement program” under the banner “Time to Talk Nuclear”.

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Indigenous voice opponents say Labor is being ‘disingenuous’ on funding for campaigns

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Warren Mundine criticises government for giving tax-free status to yes vehicle but not an equivalent no group

Opponents of the voice to parliament claim the federal government is being “disingenuous” by declining to provide public funding to the respective sides of the debate, but say the growing no campaign will reach out to corporate Australia for funding.

The main campaign vehicle in favour of Indigenous constitutional recognition has backed the proposed amendments to laws governing referendums, as well as promising a major escalation in their campaigning early in 2023.

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Axl Rose promises to stop throwing mic into crowd after reports a fan was hurt

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The Guns N’ Roses singer made the announcement on Twitter after the incident at in Adelaide, Australia

Axl Rose has promised to stop throwing his microphone into the audience after a fan was reportedly hurt during a recent show in Australia.

The Guns N’ Roses singer, who celebrated his 60th birthday this year, has routinely ended their shows by offering attenders towards the front a chance to catch his mic.

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UN official ‘alarmed’ by jailing of climate activist who blocked traffic on Sydney Harbour Bridge

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Human rights groups around the world express outrage over ‘disproportionate’ punishment of Deanna ‘Violet’ Coco

A senior UN official has said he is “alarmed” a peaceful Australian climate protester has been jailed for 15 months – and refused bail before her appeal – amid global concern at her “disproportionate” punishment.

On Friday, Deanna “Violet” Coco was sentenced to 15 months in prison for blocking a single lane of traffic on the Sydney Harbour Bridge in April in a protest staged to draw attention to the global climate emergency.

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Grieving family pays tribute to pregnant woman who died in Perth after being hit by concrete block

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Noongar woman Diane Miller and her unborn baby died in hospital three days after incident at Waterford Plaza shopping centre

Instead of planning a baby shower, Diane Miller’s family is preparing for her funeral.

The pregnant 30-year-old Noongar woman’s life support was switched off at 2am on Friday, three days after she was struck in the head with a concrete missile that was launched into her open passenger-side window at a Karawara shopping centre in Perth’s south-east.

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PM urges climate ‘wake up’ amid floods; man mauled to death by dogs – as it happened

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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange fights extradition from Britain to US, where he is wanted on criminal charges. This blog is now closed

We now have more details from NSW authorities about the four-vehicle crash on Sydney’s Anzac Bridge shortly before midnight last night, which killed two people.

NSW police have named the two victims as a 25-year-old female from the local area and a 38-year-old man from Sydney’s south-west. A police representative has been speaking to reporters:

At about 11:45 last night, there was a minor collision on the Anzac Bridge involving two vehicles. A 25-year-old female and a 38-year-old male were exchanging details or doing what you need to do after you’ve had a minor collision.

At that point, there’s been another two vehicles that have become involved in that stationary collision. One was a taxi and the second was a Commodore. Tragically, the way those vehicles have collided into the stationary cars has impacted with the two pedestrians who were out on the road exchanging details and unfortunately those two people have been killed.

The last 12 hours have seen an absolute tragic number of road trauma incidents in NSW. Six people have lost their lives. Six families are grieving the loss of family members.

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Baggage handlers filmed slamming luggage onto conveyor belt at Melbourne airport stood down

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The three men are employees of Qantas subcontractor Swissport, which said it is conducting an ‘urgent investigation’ into the incident

Baggage handlers filmed throwing luggage and slamming bags onto a conveyor belt at Melbourne airport have been immediately stood down pending an investigation.

The minute-long footage, reportedly filmed at Melbourne airport, shows baggage handlers deliberately slamming luggage into a conveyor belt, throwing suitcases high into the air, and hurling one bag so forcefully it falls off the conveyor belt altogether.

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‘Greatly concerned’: prosecutor warns of potentially ‘unlawful’ disclosures about Brittany Higgins

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Exclusive: ACT director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold reveals he has made complaint about undisclosed matters that are currently under investigation

The ACT director of public prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, has expressed serious concern about the “potentially unlawful” sharing of police material about a still-hospitalised Brittany Higgins, revealing he has previously lodged a related complaint and that there are active investigations under way.

On Saturday morning, News Corp used internal police notes and briefing documents to report that investigators held doubts about Higgins’ credibility, but that the DPP pressed ahead with the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann.

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