Category Archives: Australia news

‘They didn’t deserve it’: emotional Erin Patterson tells murder trial of shame over messages about family

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Murder accused also tells jury she was never diagnosed with ovarian cancer and had history of ‘consulting Dr Google’

Erin Patterson has told a court she wishes she never told her Facebook friends in a private group chat “this family I swear to fucking god” in relation to her in-laws, saying she felt ashamed but hoped that sharing her frustrations would mean she had a “big cheer squad” for her problems.

Patterson also told the jury in her triple murder trial that she was never diagnosed with ovarian cancer and had a history of “consulting Dr Google”, and hoped to bring her family back together despite a formal separation with her estranged husband Simon seven years earlier.

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Victorian public servants hit back at Labor’s planned job cuts with push to curb ‘executive bloat’ instead

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Report argues large-scale public sector job losses can be avoided in part by ‘culling’ 450 executive-level roles

A group of public servants vying for union leadership roles are pushing back against the Victorian government’s mooted public sector job cuts with a cost-saving plan of their own, calling instead for reductions in “executive bloat”, halving consultant spending and reducing office space.

The group, known as the Voice for Members (AVFM), on Tuesday released an 89-page report, dubbed the Gold Review – a nod to the government’s review into the Victorian public service (VPS) led by Helen Silver – outlining $13bn in cost-saving and revenue-generating measures.

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It never rains or it pours: Australia suffers two weather extremes in May

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Parts of eastern NSW recorded wettest May on record as rainfall in Victoria and South Australia was 70% below average for the month

Australia saw a tale of two weather extremes last month, with extremely dry conditions continuing across southern parts of the country as parts of eastern New South Wales recorded the wettest May on record.

The low pressure trough that developed off the coast of NSW on 18 May and lingered for days, led to record high rainfall in numerous locations throughout the Hunter and mid-north coast.

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Erin Patterson details religious conversion and ‘never-ending battle’ with low self-esteem in emotional testimony to murder trial

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Triple murder accused gives evidence as first defence witness in death cap mushroom poisoning case that left three dead after beef wellington lunch

Erin Patterson has described her religious conversion and a “never-ending battle” with low self-esteem and weight issues in emotional evidence to her own triple murder trial.

Colin Mandy SC, Patterson’s defence lawyer, called her as the first defence witness on Monday afternoon.

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Natural disasters cost Australia’s economy $2.2bn in first half of 2025, new Treasury analysis shows

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Wild weather, including Cyclone Alfred and floods in NSW and Queensland, significantly slowed retail trade and household spending

Six months of natural disasters in 2025 have cost the economy $2.2bn, largely in slower retail and household spending, according to new federal Treasury analysis.

Wild weather has repeatedly battered the Australian east coast this year.

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‘We’ll determine our defence policy’: Albanese responds to US push for huge rise in spending as Hegseth stokes China fears

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Prime minister also reaffirms policy on Taiwan while hitting back at Donald Trump’s doubling of tariffs on steel and aluminium imports

Anthony Albanese has responded to the United States’ calls for a huge rise in defence spending amid fears about China, while hitting back at Donald Trump’s move to double tariffs on steel and aluminium.

On Saturday US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, urged US allies in the region, including Australia, to “share the burden” and lift defence spending to 5% of GDP, warning that “Beijing is credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific”.

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This elusive possum was thought to be extinct outside Victoria. Now ecologists have made an ‘amazing’ discovery

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Leadbeater’s possum spotted in NSW at Kosciuszko national park, at least 250km away from the nearest sighting in Victoria

A critically endangered possum species thought to be isolated to Victoria has been found in a New South Wales alpine national park.

Previously thought to be extinct in the state, a leadbeater’s possum has been found in Kosciuszko national park, at least 250km away from the nearest sighting in Victoria.

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Cauchi’s mass murders put harsh spotlight on failings of mental health and police systems

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Funding shortfalls and inadequate services are letting down people in psychiatric crises, the Bondi Junction stabbings inquest hears

Joel Cauchi’s mother didn’t appear before the coronial inquest examining her son’s life and the day her son murdered six people at a popular Bondi Junction shopping centre. But her presence was often felt, taking shape in the form of notes she had written to his doctor or in a conversation with a police officer.

One of the most striking moments of the inquest was when Michele Cauchi, now in her mid-70s, was filmed via body-worn video camera on a police officer.

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‘Gut punch’: top shark expert quits Queensland advisory panel after LNP expands cull program

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Exclusive: Colin Simpfendorfer’s resignation from working group comes as conservationists lash expansion of lethal program they say ‘does nothing to improve beach safety’

One of Australia’s leading shark researchers has resigned from his position of almost eight years advising the Queensland shark control program, as members of that scientific working group say they were “shocked” and sidelined by the state government’s decision to expand the lethal control of sharks.

Announcing an $88m shark management plan overhaul which would see shark nets and baited drum lines designed to kill target shark species rolled out at more beaches, and existing drum lines used more intensely, the primary industries minister, Tony Perrett, claimed this week that the Liberal National party’s strategy was backed by research.

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Australia’s trade minister says Trump plan to double steel and aluminium tariffs to 50% ‘not the act of a friend’

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Don Farrell says US president’s latest tariffs announcement ‘an act of economic self-harm’ and he will continue to advocate for their removal

Australia’s trade minister, Don Farrell, has described Donald Trump’s trade tariffs as “unjustified and not the act of a friend”, after the US president announced he would double import duties on steel and aluminium to 50%.

Trump told a steelworkers rally in Pittsburgh that raising the tariff would “even further secure the steel industry in the United States. Nobody is going to get around that”.

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Gambling company offered Melbourne man $25,000 on condition he withdraw complaint to regulator and be liable for ‘adverse media’

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Exclusive: Conditions on settlement negotiations common in many industries but consumer advocates concerned they could be used to ‘silence victims and avoid scrutiny’

A Melbourne man says he was offered $25,000 by a gambling company on the condition that he withdraw a complaint to an industry regulator, agree to confidentiality provisions and indemnify them, including against adverse media coverage.

Gordon Burns, 23, argues his 2022 betting frenzy with two bookmakers showed “consistent patterns of addictive behaviour” and alleges that no one from either company checked on him to minimise gambling harm.

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After a week of spectacular self-sabotage, the Victorian Liberal party’s pain is only just beginning

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As John Pesutto scrambles to raise funds to pay $2.3m owed to Moira Deeming, the saga threatens to ‘engulf the entire party’, including its new leader

It was meant to be the Victorian Liberals’ week. Instead, the party – now almost synonymous with political self-sabotage – has imploded once again.

And it’s likely only going to get worse from here as the countdown officially begins for former leader John Pesutto to pay the $2.3m in legal fees he owes Moira Deeming or face bankruptcy after he was found in December to have defamed her.

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This article was amended on 31 May 2025. Jess Wilson challenged for Victorian Liberal leadership, not deputy leadership as stated in an earlier version.

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Australia’s emissions up slightly in 2024 as Labor faces heat over ‘climate-wrecking’ gas project

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Greens leader accuses Albanese government of failing two climate tests: pollution on the rise and approving extension for North West Shelf

Australia’s climate-heating emissions increased fractionally last year as pollution from fossil fuel power plants rose for the first time in a decade, and domestic air travel and use of diesel-powered cars and trucks hit record highs.

The jump in emissions was small – just 0.05% – due to falls in pollution from other sectors. But the direction was at odds with the Albanese government’s pledge to cut pollution to reach targets for 2030 and 2050.

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Death of baby in Corowa home is ‘tragic’ but remains a mystery, says coroner

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Three-month-old was found dead at his mother’s home in January 2022 but the cause of death is unknown, inquest hears

The circumstances of the death of an apparently “thriving” three-month-old baby remain unknown, an inquest has concluded.

“It is tragic, but we simply don’t know what happened to KP,” NSW deputy state coroner Kasey Pearce said on Friday.

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Family of Warlpiri man who died after being restrained by police in supermarket demand independent inquiry

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Exclusive: Lawyer for 24-year-old’s family ask NT police to ‘appoint independent body from another state or territory to undertake investigation’ after Alice Springs death

An independent investigator must be appointed to examine the death of a Warlpiri man in police custody, family members say, while also demanding video footage be released.

The 24-year-old man with disabilities from Yuendemu died on Tuesday afternoon after police restrained him in an Alice Springs supermarket.

Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support; or call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636

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One Nation picks up four Senate spots, with surprise NSW seat for former British soldier Warwick Stacey

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Final Senate result confirms pathway for Labor to pass legislation with either Coalition or Greens support alone, or majority of diverse crossbench

One Nation has gained an unexpected Senate seat in New South Wales, taking Pauline Hanson’s party to four members in the upper house – equalling its best-ever result in a federal election.

Warwick Stacey, a former member of the British army, has snagged the sixth Senate seat in NSW and will join fellow new senator Tyron Whitten who was yesterday elected in Western Australia.

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Lead detective denies police errors in mushroom lunch investigation as Erin Patterson trial continues

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Defence argues photos taken by police inside Patterson’s home appear to show computers and a phone that were not seized during search

The detective in charge of the investigation into the deadly beef wellington lunch served by Erin Patterson has denied police made several errors in the case, including failing to seize electronic items during a search of her house and wrongly identifying her son on CCTV footage, a court has heard.

Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to poisoning her four lunch guests – relatives of her estranged husband, Simon Patterson – with a beef wellington served at her house in Leongatha, Victoria on 29 July 2023.

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Man allegedly raped by Gareth Ward quizzed on route he took to NSW MP’s house

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Kiama MP allegedly sexually assaulted political staffer after offering him place to stay following mid-week event

A political staffer has accepted he could be confused about his movements before and after he was allegedly sexually assaulted by a state MP who invited him to his house.

Kiama MP Gareth Ward, 44, is on trial in the New South Wales district court after pleading not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault charges.

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Warm winter forecast for Australia as SA and Victoria face unseasonal fire risk

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BoM prediction follows much wetter than average autumn for northern and eastern Australia, and much drier one for south

Australia’s winter will be warmer and wetter this year, with higher than average day and night temperatures, and above-average rainfall likely in central and interior parts of the country.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s long-range forecast said parts of the tropical north, south-east and south-west could expect typical winter rainfall, including coastal areas of New South Wales affected by the May floods, and parts of South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania where there have been prolonged dry conditions.

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