Category Archives: Australia news

Philanthropists acquire nearly 4,000 hectares of NSW koala habitat for conservation

Posted on by

Australian Wildlife Conservancy to manage the site allowing ecologists to restore crucial habitat for multiple species

Almost 4,000 hectares of koala habitat in the Hunter region of New South Wales will be protected after the land was privately acquired for conservation.

Sydney philanthropists Andrew and Jane Clifford bought the property north of Newcastle, which scientists from the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) estimate is habitat for more than 100 vertebrate species, including the endangered koala and 11 other animals listed as threatened.

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

Continue reading...

Inquiry consensus to pave way for Labor’s anti-corruption body

Posted on by

Integrity bill likely to be legislated before end of 2022 despite crossbench and Coalition disagreements on some issues

The national anti-corruption commission inquiry will recommend parliament pass the government’s bill, paving the way for Labor’s model for the integrity body to be legislated in the final parliamentary sitting fortnight of 2022.

The joint select committee will report consensus on Thursday, underscoring support across the political spectrum for the integrity body, despite crossbench and Coalition attempts to amend Labor’s model.

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

Continue reading...

Police investigate possible mid-air collision after two pilots die in Queensland light aircraft crash

Posted on by

Sole occupants killed after glider and another light aircraft crash in paddock near Gympie in ‘tragic incident’, police say

The sole occupants of two light aircraft have died after crashing into a paddock, as Queensland police investigate whether they collided mid-air.

Emergency crews responded to the incident involving a glider and another light aircraft at Kybong, near Gympie, at about 3pm on Wednesday.

Continue reading...

Indigenous voice referendum should be sooner rather than later, Uluru statement co-chairs say

Posted on by

Pat Anderson and Prof Megan Davis urge Labor to not waste momentum and call on the media to ‘rise to this occasion’

The Uluru Statement from the Heart co-chair Pat Anderson has urged the federal government to not waste “momentum” for the Indigenous voice to parliament, calling for a referendum on the constitutional change sooner rather than later.

Anderson said the national vote could occur in October 2023, the most recently proposed of many mooted dates, as she called for the nation’s media to “rise to this occasion” in reporting on Indigenous constitutional recognition.

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

Continue reading...

NSW eyes voluntary gambling cards as minister blasts pokies venues as ‘bloated concrete bunkers’

Posted on by

Retiring planning minister Rob Stokes says poker machine gambling has turned clubs into ‘brutal, unwelcoming junk spaces’ and ‘enslaved’ people

A significantly expanded voluntary trial of cashless gambling cards is firming as the most likely response to a scathing New South Wales Crime Commission report, which found only a mandatory scheme would be effective in combating money laundering in the state’s pubs and clubs.

As pressure mounts on the government to tackle gambling reform in the lead-up to the March election, a senior government minister, Rob Stokes, upped the ante with a blistering speech on Wednesday night, saying the state’s clubs have been “distorted and disfigured” by their reliance on poker machine revenue. He called for a ban on “gambling advertising that programs young people to a lifetime of addiction”.

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

Continue reading...

Australia pays to maintain trouble-plagued Taipan helicopters no longer being used by navy

Posted on by

Officials defend cost, saying it will ensure parts have resale value once government decides whether to dump the fleet entirely

The Australian government is paying to maintain seven trouble-plagued Taipan helicopters in a Brisbane warehouse after the navy ceased using them.

Officials have defended the cost of this work, saying it would ensure the parts still have resale value once the government decides whether to dump the fleet entirely.

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

Continue reading...

Police allege Sydney woman was choked, sexually assaulted by Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka after meeting on Tinder

Posted on by

NSW police facts sheet filed with Downing Centre local court alleges woman feared for her life during alleged attack in Rose Bay home

A Sydney woman has said she feared for her life on a date after meeting Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka on Tinder.

The woman, who cannot be identified, was allegedly sexually assaulted four times in her Rose Bay home on 2 November after going out for drinks and pizza with the international sports star.

Continue reading...

Australian man jailed for 129 years in child sexual abuse case in Philippines

Posted on by

It is the second conviction for Peter Gerard Scully who was already serving a life sentence for the rape and trafficking of girls

An Australian man has been sentenced to 129 years in a Philippine jail as part of a child sexual abuse case involving victims as young as 18 months, a prosecutor has said.

“I hope this sends a very strong message to all abusers, all human traffickers, that crime really does not pay,” Merlynn Barola-Uy, a regional prosecutor in the southern city of Cagayan de Oro, said on Wednesday.

Continue reading...

Coalition complains of ‘witch-hunt’ during question time – as it happened

Posted on by

Federal government paying contractor $900,000 for review of naval shipbuilding

The federal government is paying a contractor $900,000 to carry out a new review of naval shipbuilding issues with the findings due by January.

Australia has the expertise and capability. What we don’t have yet is the scale to deliver the graduates and skills in the quantities required …

I’m here to tell you today is that whatever submarine design ends up being chosen, we won’t be able to build and operate it locally unless we address the fundamental issue of Australia’s workforce capability gap.

Nuclear science should clearly be the first cab off the rank for this program, but this approach will also be necessary across the broader advanced capabilities of Aukus including in cyber and computing, engineering, space and quantum physics.

An Aukus pathways program, jointly developed with Defence, could feature a portfolio of tailored degree programs providing a pathway for students to gain qualifications in an Aukus-related field and then progress to a position in Defence working on Aukus programs.

Continue reading...

Bernard Collaery case: Australian government’s legal bill spirals despite dropped prosecution

Posted on by

Legal bill grows by $248,000 in three months amid ongoing pursuit of secrecy

The Australian government is amassing an ever-increasing legal bill in its ongoing pursuit of secrecy in the Bernard Collaery case, spending a further $250,000 since dropping the prosecution in July.

The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, intervened to end the Collaery prosecution in July, a decision widely welcomed by lawyers, human rights advocates and Collaery’s supporters.

Continue reading...

Victorians’ Covid contact tracing data sent to crime authority for potential use by Palantir

Posted on by

Exclusive: Australian data security experts described the July 2020 move as ‘dubious’ and ‘outrageous’

Under pressure to control spiralling Covid cases in July 2020, the Victorian government sent contact tracing data to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission in the hope a controversial data mining platform might help identify the source of mystery cases.

Data security experts described the move as “dubious” and “outrageous”.

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

Continue reading...

Queensland eases alcohol restrictions for Cape York community amid trend away from prohibition

Posted on by

Equivalent of 12 cans of mid-strength beer can be carried in Pormpuraaw, leaving just five ‘dry’ communities

Queensland has taken another step towards ending its prohibition on alcohol in remote Indigenous communities, with restrictions being eased in Pormpuraaw, on Cape York.

The community of about 600 people on the western coast of Cape York is among 15 local government areas in Queensland where alcohol is restricted and was among a handful in which it was banned entirely.

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

Continue reading...

Amid warnings of a looming Covid wave, how do Australia’s vaccination rates stack up?

Posted on by

With Australia consistently reporting more than 30,000 Covid cases a week, how does our vaccination rollout compare to similar countries?

Government health officials are warning of a new wave of Covid cases, predicting transmission will increase in coming weeks.

So what does the latest data show for the rollout of vaccinations in Australia, and how do we compare with other countries?

Continue reading...

‘Not fit for purpose’: government looks to amend ‘antiquated’ referendum laws ahead of voice vote

Posted on by

Linda Burney says government will propose changes to modernise the century-old act before the end of the year

A leading constitutional expert says Australia’s century-old laws around referendums are “not fit for purpose”, suggesting the government could look to amend rules around donations, funding disclosures and social media advertising before the voice to parliament vote.

Linda Burney, the minister for Indigenous Australians, said the government would propose changes to “modernise” the Referendum Act before the end of the year, and promised a civics campaign and more information about the voice campaign in early 2023.

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

Continue reading...

US warns Australia against joining treaty banning nuclear weapons

Posted on by

US embassy in Canberra says treaty ‘would not allow for US extended deterrence relationships’

The United States has warned Australia against joining a landmark treaty banning nuclear weapons, saying the agreement could hamper defence arrangements between the US and its allies.

But New Zealand said it was “pleased to observe a positive shift” in Australia’s position in a United Nations vote and “would, of course, welcome any new ratifications as an important step to achieving a nuclear weapon-free world”.

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: $591m cost of cancelling French submarines revealed in Senate estimates; Bob Brown charged with trespass

Posted on by

Tony Burke is also being quite conciliatory about David Pocock’s concerns about the bill.

Asked by Patricia Karvelas if he is prepared to make more amendments to the IR bill, Tony Burke says that is standard after a senate inquiry process.

I suspect there’ll be more to come.

Continue reading...

Labor senator rebuked for referring to Bridget McKenzie as a ‘naughty little girl’ in parliament

Posted on by

Glenne Sterle made the comments during a heated Senate estimates hearing, provoking condemnation from colleagues and opposition members alike

Labor senator Glenn Sterle has come under fire for referring to Bridget McKenzie as a “naughty little girl” during an argument in Senate estimates, comments described by one of his own colleagues as “completely unacceptable”.

Sterle later apologised to the Nationals senator, but Coalition leaders suggested the comments were out of step with a respectful workplace.

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

Continue reading...

Mark Dreyfus says AAT has ‘unacceptable’ record on bullying and condemns appointment process

Posted on by

Attorney general says Liberal party should be ‘tarnished forever’ over appointments to administrative appeals tribunal

The administrative appeals tribunal has a “completely unacceptable” record of bullying complaints on top of the Coalition’s “miserable record” of stacking the body, the attorney general has said.

Mark Dreyfus made the comments in question time on Tuesday, seizing on the latest controversy involving the tribunal to bolster Labor’s case to reform or replace it due to partisan appointments made by the Coalition.

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

Continue reading...

Robodebt inquiry hears officials were under pressure to come up with budget savings

Posted on by

Former Department of Human Services official Scott Britton tells royal commission his team looked at whether they could use data to streamline compliance

A former Australian government official involved in the creation of what became the robodebt scheme has told a royal commission his Department of Human Services team was under significant pressure to come up with budget savings.

The royal commission is investigating the botched Centrelink debt recovery scheme, which ran from July 2015 until November 2019 and which the inquiry heard continued despite internal legal warnings, culminating in a $1.8bn settlement with hundreds of thousands of people.

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

Continue reading...

Toddler in critical condition after being attacked by two dogs at NSW motel, police say

Posted on by

Boy, two, bitten on the face and neck during attack at a motel at Cowra in the NSW central west

A toddler who was attacked by two dogs in the New South Wales central west is in a critical condition, police say.

The two-year-old boy was mauled on the face and neck by the dogs at a motel in the town of Cowra on Tuesday morning, NSW police said in a statement.

Continue reading...