Category Archives: Australia news

Liberal MP may support Labor censure of Scott Morrison over secret ministries scandal

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Bridget Archer says she is considering her position regarding the censure, reiterates her dismay at the previous prime minister’s actions

Liberal MP Bridget Archer has indicated she may join a Labor government censure motion of former prime minister Scott Morrisonover his multiple secret ministries scandal.

On Monday Anthony Albanese’s cabinet endorsed all the recommendations of Virginia Bell’s inquiry and agreed to introduce legislation to formalise the publication of ministerial arrangements this week.

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Defence training pushed recruits beyond their limits with fatal outcomes, ex-soldier tells inquiry

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‘Every year there was a suicide,’ James Geercke says on first day of royal commission hearings in Wagga Wagga

A former soldier says he and fellow Australian Defence Force Academy recruits were so traumatised by their extreme training regime they began hallucinating and some became suicidal.

James Geercke joined the academy in 2008 as an 18-year-old. On Monday, he told the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide that recruits were routinely pushed to their limits.

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In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 800-273-8255 or chat for support. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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National party won’t support Indigenous voice to parliament, saying it won’t close the gap

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The Liberals are yet to reach a position on the referendum, which is expected by the end of 2023

The Nationals will not support the proposal for a voice to parliament, putting a dent in hopes for bipartisan support for a referendum on Indigenous constitutional recognition.

The Liberal party is still to settle its party room position on the pending referendum, but at least some members of the junior Coalition partner will campaign actively against the change.

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Covid-19 Australia data tracker: coronavirus cases, deaths, hospitalisations and vaccination

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Guardian Australia brings together all the figures on Covid-19 cases, as well as stats, charts and state-by-state data from NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA, WA, Tasmania, the ACT and NT. Here you can also find the numbers on the vaccine rollout and fourth dose booster vaccination rates.

In September 2022, federal and state governments began releasing data once a week, on Fridays, rather than daily. As a result, Guardian Australia has aggregated the data released before that date to weekly values, to make the new figures comparable with the old.

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Partner of detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei hopeful of ‘compassionate and speedy resolution’

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Nick Coyle said it was positive that prime minister Anthony Albanese and foreign minister Penny Wong had raised her case with their Chinese counterparts

The Australian journalist detained in China, Cheng Lei, is trying to remain positive despite her “very difficult situation” and is grateful for messages of encouragement from supporters, her partner has said.

Cheng’s partner, Nick Coyle, said it was positive that the Australian prime minister, the foreign minister and the deputy prime minister had all raised her case in recent talks with their Chinese counterparts.

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Climate concern the main reason voters swung to independents at federal election, study finds

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Nearly half of voters who switched to an independent candidate at 2022 election did so because of climate fears, researchers say

Concern about the climate crisis was the No 1 issue that prompted Australians to switch their vote to an independent candidate at this year’s federal election, according to in-depth social research.

It was the No 2 issue that led to people to swing to Labor, behind concern about the cost of living – including affordable housing.

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Australia’s Covid recovery: which capital cities have bounced back best?

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Visits for retail and recreation have boosted activity in Sydney and Melbourne, but work from home preferences are keeping office trips low

Activity across Sydney and Melbourne’s central business districts is still below pre-Covid levels as work from home preferences keep office vacancies high – however, the business community is heartened by a surge in recreational visits that is expected to “rebalance” Australian cities.

Melbourne’s CBD was 33% less busy from mid-September to mid-November this year compared with the same period in 2019, with Sydney’s CBD slightly more active, down by 30% on pre-Covid levels, according to movement data drawn from anonymous mobile phone activity and analysed by research firm Roy Morgan.

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Federal Liberals say Coalition must lure back women after Victoria state election rout

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Party also argues Victorian campaign finance reforms favoured Andrews government as Anthony Albanese calls out media ‘scare campaign’

The Coalition must improve its offering to female voters and oppose electoral laws that entrench incumbent Labor governments, federal Liberals have suggested following their disappointing Victorian election defeat.

But Anthony Albanese argued on Sunday the election also has lessons for the media, citing adverse commentary about Victorian premier Daniel Andrews as part of a “scare campaign” that had fallen flat.

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‘Teal wave’ turns out to be barely a ripple as number of Victorian independents goes backwards

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Of four state election candidates backed by Climate 200, two remain in contention – but both trail Liberals

The “teal” candidate Kate Lardner has called for reform of Victoria’s “unfair” campaign donation laws with the number of independents in the state’s parliament certain to go backwards at the weekend’s election.

With independents claiming 10 seats at May’s federal poll, one of the key talking points heading into the Victorian election was whether the major parties would suffer a similar assault.

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Sarah Abo named new co-host of Today as Allison Langdon moves to A Current Affair

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Channel Nine appointments follow the departure of veteran broadcaster Tracy Grimshaw

Allison Langdon will replace the veteran broadcaster Tracy Grimshaw as the host of Nine’s A Current Affair, while Sarah Abo has been named the new co-host of the Today show.

Langdon, who was widely tipped to succeed Grimshaw in the role, has been a journalist at Nine since 2002 and became the co-host of Today in January 2020.

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Victoria’s Liberals need to define who they are before deciding who can lead them back from oblivion

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With a primary vote sitting on 29.7% – its lowest result since 1952 – it’s clear the party’s problems run deep

Victoria’s Liberals might be searching for a new leader but it’s clear from Saturday’s emphatic election loss that the party needs more than a new face to become electorally competitive in the state once more.

On Sunday the opposition leader, Matthew Guy, announced he would step down after leading his party to a second crushing defeat, with this loss arguably worse than the 2018 “Danslide”.Despite Liberal party headquarters reporting in the latter stages of the campaign that it had “narrowed the gap” on Labor, at the time of writing, the Liberals were on track to win 16 seats – a net loss of one.

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‘Tangled mess of inaction’: hundreds of threatened species recovery plans expiring in next six months

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Growing list facing extinction and underresourcing of conservation means plans have not been updated

Hundreds of plans for the recovery of threatened species will reach their use-by date in the next six months as the government considers how to reform Australia’s flawed system of environmental protections.

Documents released to Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws detail how underresourcing, disagreement with state governments, and the growing list of species threatened with extinction have constrained the federal environment department’s ability to get on top of a backlog of conservation work.

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Labor’s EV strategy won’t immediately fix Australia’s supply problems, experts say

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Until a fuel efficiency standard is introduced, supply will be prioritised to Europe, the US and the UK

Demand for electric cars will continue to outstrip supply despite the Albanese government’s push to make the vehicles more accessible, because the Australian market is not a priority for manufacturers, industry experts say.

“I think we’re going to get a whole lot of vehicles and they’re going to launch soon,” said Matthew Hobbs, director of policy at the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

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Queensland faces ‘significant’ wellbeing decline if it doesn’t quickly transition to renewables, report says

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Report by Deloitte warns biggest risk to jobs in the state is a carbon-fuelled economy

A Queensland government-commissioned report by Deloitte says there could be “significant” declines in wellbeing, assets left stranded and a stagnating economy if the state doesn’t quickly transition to renewables.

The report by the global accounting giant, obtained under the state’s right to information regime, also suggests Queensland could have a bright economic future should it rapidly decarbonise in coordination with the rest of the world.

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Daniel Andrews vindicated in Victorian election that became a referendum on his pandemic response

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Labor’s win allows Andrews to reshape his legacy, with his third term allowing him to become the party’s longest-serving premier

If the Victorian election was indeed – as the opposition framed it – a referendum on Daniel Andrews, voters have resoundingly backed the premier and his response to the pandemic.

At the time of writing, Labor looks on track to secure 50 of Victoria’s 88 lower house seats, just five short of its emphatic 2018 “Danslide” victory.

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Victorian Liberal party left shellshocked after another heavy election defeat

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Opposition leader Matthew Guy concedes the Coalition has ‘a lot of work to do’ after losing six of past seven elections

The Victorian opposition, leader Matthew Guy, has conceded the Coalition has “a lot of work to do” after the party lost its third successive election to Labor’s Daniel Andrews.

While Labor’s primary vote fell about 5.6% statewide, the Coalition failed to capitalise on it, with the Liberal party in particular going backwards and recording a primary vote below 30%.

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‘Greenslide’: Victorian Greens celebrate election success while two teals lead knife-edge contests

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Greens look likely to gain at least two seats and outperform expectations in a number of other electorates

The Victorians Greens are claiming a “Greenslide” result after recording an increased primary voteand gaining a likely two seats, with maybe more to come as counting progresses in Saturday’s election.

Teal independents were also leading in two tight contests on Saturday night, with Melissa Lowe slightly ahead of former Liberal shadow attorney general John Pesutto in Hawthorn. In Mornington, Kate Lardner – who isolated from her supporters after testing positive to Covid – was also slightly ahead of former federal Liberal MP Chris Crewther.

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Victorian election 2022 live results: premier Daniel Andrews and Matthew Guy make final pitches as state polls set to close – latest updates

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The Liberal leader needs to pick up 18 seats to form government outright in the Vic state election. Who is winning? Follow all the latest news, results, analysis and reaction tonight

Matthew Guy says he would redivert $2bn allocated to the Suburban Rail Loop

Returning to Victoria again, opposition leader Matthew Guy has appeared on Weekend Sunrise to say he hopes he’s convinced voters of his “positive and focused” plan.

Everywhere I have been on pre-polling booths ... this week, people are pretty clear they want the fresh start.

We want a reboot in this state, we want to come out of Covid-19 and put aside all the dark memories of the past, like the government that put us there.

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Australia into first Davis Cup final in 19 years as Lleyton Hewitt’s team defeat Croatia

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  • Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell beat Olympic doubles champions
  • The Australians will face either Canada or Italy in the final

Australia’s tennis men have defied all the odds with a makeshift doubles pairing steering them to victory over Croatia and into their first Davis Cup final in 19 years on a nerve-shredding evening in Malaga.

After more heroics from Alex de Minaur had pulled Lleyton Hewitt’s team back from the brink with his consummate tie-levelling singles win over Marin Cilic, Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell beat the Olympic doubles champions to seal Friday’s exhilarating 2-1 semi-final win.

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Rocket launches pose extinction-level threat to SA’s tiny southern emu wren, conservationists warn

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Tanya Plibersek could list the bird as endangered amid concerns about proposed rocket launch site

A tiny southern emu wren, which conservationists fear is under threat from rocket launches, could be listed as endangered within days.

Conservationists say planned rocket launches on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia pose an extinction-level threat to the wren, one of Australia’s smallest birds.

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