Category Archives: Australia news

Tasmanian flower farmer ‘shocked’ to learn she planted opium poppies by mistake

Posted on by

Kate Dixon has issued a warning to other gardeners after authorities seized 50 plants she thought were ornamental varieties

A Tasmanian flower farmer who planted a new line of “really beautiful poppies” has issued a warning to other gardeners after learning she had mistakenly grown opium poppies.

Kate Dixon, who operates a commercial flower farm at Clifton Beach, about 25km south of Hobart, said she received a call from the authorities earlier this month after they saw a photo of her frilly pink poppies on Instagram.

Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter

It is illegal to grow, manufacture, sell or possess alkaloid poppies in Tasmania without a licence. For more more information about poppies, readers can also contact the Regulated Crops Branch on 1300 368 500 or email poppies@nre.tas.gov.au

Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletter

Join the Rural Network group on Facebook to be part of the community

Continue reading...

Bondi becomes nude beach as thousands take part in Spencer Tunick’s Sydney installation

Posted on by

Legislation had to be changed to permit public nudity on the beach

For the first time in its history, Bondi has been declared a nude beach.

On Saturday, thousands of bodies huddled together in the early morning light to model in artist Spencer Tunick’s latest Australian installation – and his first in the name of skin cancer.

Continue reading...

The Australian suburbs where more than half of properties will be uninsurable by 2030

Posted on by

‘We’re now seeing that the system is not able to cope with climate change,’ insurance analyst says

When Kim Sly moved to a lower-lying area of Forbes four years ago, she was asked to pay $12,000 a year for flood insurance.

The bill was a shock. Her new home was built 1.2 metres above the ground to protect it from floods, a factor that did not seem to influence the insurance company’s assessment.

Continue reading...

No matter who wins, both major parties have made this Victorian poll the Daniel Andrews election

Posted on by

Sources say the Liberal strategy of focusing the campaign around the premier is working, with Labor unsure of how to respond

Since Matthew Guy returned to the leadership of the Victorian Liberals last year, he’s taken inspiration from Labor leaders in his pursuit to win government.

He’s looked to the west, where Mark McGowan first led Labor to a crushing defeat before a landslide victory; and to South Australia, where Peter Malinauskas won government in March after a health-centric campaign

Continue reading...

Catholic charity tells Victorian domestic violence survivor to consider move to a rooming house

Posted on by

Mother of two urged to free up crisis accommodation for others amid a huge blowout in social housing wait times

A domestic violence survivor has been told by her emergency housing provider that she should consider moving with her two children and their pets into a rooming house to free up the accommodation for other victims, as huge blowouts in social housing wait times continue to affect vulnerable Victorians.

Ms Stewart, who asked that her first name not be printed, entered crisis accommodation run by the charity Good Shepherd at the height of Victoria’s Covid-19 lockdowns last year.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Amazon warehouse workers stage Black Friday strikes and protests around world

Posted on by

On one of firm’s biggest shopping days of year, employees demand better wages and conditions

Amazon warehouse workers in the UK and 40 other countries are to strike and stage protests timed to coincide with the Black Friday sales, one of the company’s biggest shopping days of the year.

Employees in dozens of countries, from Japan and Australia to India, the US and across Europe, are demanding better wages and conditions in a campaign called “Make Amazon Pay”.

Continue reading...

NSW government announces deal with rail union in bid to end industrial dispute

Posted on by

Dominic Perrottet says the two sides agreed to a Fair Work Commission process to resolve long-running fight

The New South Wales government says it has carved out a deal with the state’s rail union to modify a fleet of trains and halt industrial action, after months of bitter negotiation.

The parties had been at odds over whether or not to make safety modifications to a multibillion-dollar Korean-built fleet of intercity trains, which have been in storage since 2019.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia news live: nude activists target fast fashion in Melbourne CBD; ANZ cops heat for bankrolling more emissions

Posted on by

Police threaten to arrest protesters unless they leave store. Follow all the day’s news

Niki Savva also reports in her book that the shadow cabinet (of which Ley is the deputy leader) decided to downplay the issue.

ABC asks Ley if that was a mistake:

That’s not a description I would agree with. And I don’t comment of course on what happens in shadow cabinet.

Also revealed is that Josh Frydenberg put to Scott Morrison, you wouldn’t do it again, if you had you time over and Scott Morrison reportedly replied, ‘Yes, I would.’

Are you alarmed by that?

That’s a report of one person saying something to another. And you’re asking a third party who wasn’t privy to either.

Was this extreme overreach?

Well, I’m not a public commentator, I’m deputy leader of the opposition and both the former prime minister and the former treasurer are friends of mine and I actually note that they’re friends with each other, as Josh says in that report, so I’m not going to get into who said what and when.

But the question was, is it extreme overreach?

Well I’m just not a public commentator, I’m not going to engage.

With respect you’re the deputy leader of the Liberal party, you either think it’s extreme overreach, or you don’t.

I think the most important thing is what Peter Dutton and I said at the time – we will support any action or steps required to close the loophole that facilitated this and that includes legislative change, by the way.

So descriptions of what went on in the past, people can make those those comments, and they will and they have, but what I think people in the public need to hear is what we will do going forward and we have made that very clear.

Continue reading...

Toyah Cordingley: police confirm key suspect in alleged murder arrested in India

Posted on by

Arrest follows $1m reward offered for the location and arrest of 38-year-old Rajwinder Singh in relation to alleged murder of Queensland woman

A key suspect in a long-running Queensland murder investigation has been arrested in New Delhi, India, less than a month after a large reward was offered for his location.

Toyah Cordingley, then 24, was found dead on Wangetti beach, north of Cairns, in 2018 after what police described as a “personal and intimate attack”. She had been out walking her dog.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Facebook reinstates Victorian Labor’s ‘Matthew Guy’ page used for ad attacks after marking it as satire

Posted on by

Labor spent more than $116,000 boosting attack ads using page before Facebook took it down due to alleged breach of policies

Facebook removed a Facebook page titled “Matthew Guy– The Liberal Cuts Guy” operated by the Victorian Labor party because it allegedly breached the platform’s integrity and identity policy, and has only reinstated the page once it was clearly marked as satire.

Labor spent more than $116,000 boosting attack ads using the page, criticising the Liberal leader’s record in government and his election policies. It is now showering key electorates in anti-Greens ads via another dedicated Facebook page ahead of Saturday’s Victorian election.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Victoria election 2022 report card, week four: a debate, the challenge for pollsters and the sprint to the finish line

Posted on by

Three guest panellists give their verdict on how the parties performed in the final week of the campaign

We are down to the wire. The polls are different enough to cause anxiety all round, but they agree on the trends: an increased vote for the Greens, independents and minor parties, and a turn away from Labor – though not enough to mean defeat.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Lesbians historically seen as ‘fair game’ in Sydney, advocate tells gay hate inquiry

Posted on by

Carole Ruthchild said gay women ‘couldn’t be out and open and not get a bad response’ in the past

Lesbians were seen as “fair game” if they weren’t in the company of a man and faced violence when they turned down sexual advances, an inquiry into unsolved LGBTQ+ deaths has been told.

In the years after New South Wales decriminalised homosexuality in 1984, Carole Ruthchild said lesbians still faced severe backlash simply for being themselves.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Scott Morrison sought advice on a sixth ministry and did not agree to be interviewed by inquiry

Posted on by

Anthony Albanese says his government will accept all recommendations of Bell report on former PM’s secret ministries

Scott Morrison’s secret appointment to additional ministries was “apt to undermine public confidence in government” and was “corrosive of trust in government”, Virginia Bell has found.

In a report, released on Friday, the former high court justice said Morrison’s appointments to the health and finance ministries were “unnecessary” while three other appointments “had little if any connection to the pandemic”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Aria awards 2022: Indigenous rapper Baker Boy wins album of the year

Posted on by

Tones And I won song of the year for Cloudy Day – the fifth Aria of her career – at the first in-person ceremony since 2019

Indigenous rapper Baker Boy has won album of the year at the 2022 Aria awards for his critically acclaimed Gela, while Tones And I has won song of the year.

It was the fifth ARIA award for Tones And I, otherwise known as Toni Watson, who said the 2022 awards had a strong lineup.

Continue reading...

Reserve Bank review to consider changing inflation target and board selection

Posted on by

With the RBA challenged by the pandemic, surging inflation and calls for reform, one expert says its recent report card has been ‘mixed’

The Reserve Bank review is assessing calls for changes to the central bank’s inflation target, the selection of board members and how authorities should manage shocks from asset bubbles to the climate crisis.

The review, launched in July with a reporting deadline for next March, has received more than 114 submissions, interviewed 230-plus people and surveyed almost 1,100 current and former RBA staff, the panel told a CEDA briefing in Sydney on Thursday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Victoria’s major parties look to contingency funds as part of election commitment costings

Posted on by

Both Labor and the Coalition claim they could achieve forecast surpluses after releasing their costings

Victoria’s major parties have released the costings of their promises – despite the Coalition initially being unable to quantify the total amount committed and Labor’s document not providing timelines to provide major health and transport projects.

Less than two days out from Saturday’s election, the parties have also revealed they intend to draw on contingency funds – which are usually set aside to cover unforeseen circumstances – in order to prop up the state’s finances and achieve budget surpluses.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Scott Morrison and other conservatives flock to hear anti-political correctness culture warrior Jordan Peterson

Posted on by

Canadian internet celebrity speaks to packed room of rightwing politicians including Pauline Hanson and Matt Canavan at Parliament House

As the prime minister and opposition leader attended a Parliament House barbecue for prostate cancer awareness, a red meat advocate of a different kind was addressing a packed room of conservative MPs just metres away.

The Canadian psychologist and internet personality Jordan Peterson, fresh off being unbanned from Twitter, drew a lunchtime crowd of Liberal, National and One Nation politicians for an hour-long lecture touching on energy, climate and opportunities for the political centre-right.

Continue reading...

Peter Gleeson leaves News Corp’s Courier-Mail and Sky News after multiple instances of plagiarism

Posted on by

In one case the Courier-Mail columnist and Sky News presenter filled almost half a column with the unattributed reporting of a regional ABC journalist

The Sky News presenter and Courier-Mail columnist Peter Gleeson has left News Corp after multiple instances of plagiarism were uncovered.

The Courier-Mail announced his fate on Thursday, and it did not pull any punches: “In a personal note to The Courier-Mail editor Chris Jones today Mr Gleeson said: ‘I apologise for breaching News Corp’s Code of Conduct and instances where I have not met the standards required’.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Dutton given official warning by Speaker – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

How can strengthening federal laws stop the destruction of sacred heritage sites?

Tanya Plibersek:

I think I think it’s really worth having a look at the two inquiries that the the parliament undertook into the Juukan Gorge destruction because it describes not just the failure of laws, but the failure of process and the failure of people to listen and that happened at the commonwealth level and it also happened at the West Australian state government level.

The other thing that it describes is a company that paid lip service to consultation and really, you know, really didn’t do what it should have done when Aboriginal people said you can’t blow up caves that are 46,000 years old, that have examples of continuous use and habitation that you know, the site of finds like a 4,000-year-old hair belt, and tools that are tens of thousands of years old.

There’s absolutely a sense of urgency to ensure that this sort of cultural heritage destruction doesn’t happen again.

I completely agree with that, but a very strong message from the the First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance is also that they genuinely want to sit at the table to work through these issues in partnership and cooperation.

Yeah, I’m not going to put I’m not going to put a timeline on it yet. I think that’s something that we determined as we work through the complexity of these issues, and there are a lot of complexities involved.

Continue reading...

Australian among 40 foreign nationals held in Iran’s jails amid escalating protests

Posted on by

Regime refuses to provide consular access as it does not recognise dual nationality, Dfat says

An Australian citizen is among at least 40 foreign nationals now held in Iranian jails amid pro-democracy protests across the country – and an escalating violent response by regime forces.

A spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the Iranian-Australian dual national had not been arrested for taking part in the anti-regime protests but confirmed that Australian officials had been refused access to assess the person’s welfare.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...