Category Archives: Australia news

Aukus laws will mean anywhere in Australia could be potential nuclear waste dump, critics say

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Greens senator David Shoebridge says communities will have ‘no way to protect the land’ from waste that will be radioactive for millennia

Critics of Australia’s Aukus submarine deal say the government has given itself the power to nominate any place in Australia as a potential nuclear waste dump, without proper consultation with communities and indigenous landowners.

Australia has agreed to take sole responsibility for the management, security and storage of all nuclear waste from its fleet of proposed nuclear-powered submarines, including the spent fuel from the submarines’ reactors – high-level nuclear waste that will be radioactive for millennia once the submarines are decommissioned from the early 2050s.

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Sydney has wettest start to August in decades – and there could be more rain when spring arrives

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More than double the monthly average rain fell in the first 11 days, marking the wettest start to the month since 1998

After Sydney’s soggiest start to August in nearly three decades, even more rain could be on the way, with a wetter than usual spring forecast for eastern New South Wales.

Only 11 days into August, rainfall in the city had reached 194mm – more than double the monthly average – marking the wettest start to the month since 1998, according to Weatherzone.

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WA’s ‘longest and most intense’ marine heatwave killed coral across 1,500km stretch

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Scientists shocked by bleaching event that hit reefs from the world heritage-listed Ningaloo to the remote Ashmore Reef

The “longest, largest and most intense” marine heatwave ever recorded in Western Australia has killed coral throughout an area that stretches 1,500km, according to state and federal scientists.

More than 100 scientists and marine managers will gather in Perth on Tuesday for a special meeting to discuss the devastating event that bleached and killed corals on remote reefs earlier this year.

The marine heatwave that hit reefs from the world heritage-listed Ningaloo to the remote Ashmore Reef left many scientists shocked.

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Helicopter pilot in crash that killed Outback Wrangler star was a ‘party animal’, court told

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Jock Purcell tells court Sebastian Robinson was ‘hopeless with paperwork’ and says Matt Wright – who has pleaded not guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice – was ‘lenient’ with record keeping

A pilot whose helicopter crashed, killing Outback Wrangler co-star Chris “Willow” Wilson, was a “party animal” and cocaine user who was “hopeless” at keeping flight records, a court has been told.

Pilot Sebastian Robinson was left a paraplegic after the February 2022 crash during a crocodile-egg collecting mission in remote swampland in the Northern Territory.

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Judge ruled Erin Patterson would have to face separate trial for attempting to kill estranged husband to avoid prejudice

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Prosecutors ultimately dropped charges relating to Simon Patterson before triple murder trial over mushroom lunch started

Triple murderer Erin Patterson would have been unfairly prejudiced if a jury heard allegations she tried to kill her estranged husband in the years before the fatal poison mushroom lunch.

Victorian supreme court justice Christopher Beale made the decision on 14 March, ruling Patterson would have to face a separate trial for the three alleged attempted murder charges.

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Freddo bar creator would be ‘rolling in his grave’ at its price today, daughter says

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Harry Melbourne’s froggy treat that cost 10p in its 1990s heyday sells for about 30p or even up to £1 now

The creator of the Freddo chocolate bar would be rolling in his grave if he could see the prices being charged for a treat that cost 10p back in its 1990s heyday, his daughter has said.

Leonie Wadin said she once waited impatiently for her father, Harry Melbourne, to come home with boxes of Freddos, but has now vowed never to buy another one.

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Tasmanian premier vows to end greyhound racing as he woos crossbench to back minority government

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Jeremy Rockliff says ‘it’s time to draw a line in the sand and ensure an orderly exit from greyhound racing in Tasmania’

The Tasmanian premier, Jeremy Rockliff, has vowed to end greyhound racing in the state by mid-2029 as he works to shore up support from independents.

The decision comes after a “great” of Tasmanian greyhound racing, Raider’s Guide, was euthanised in late July after falling and breaking its neck at a Launceston track.

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National Indigenous Music awards 2025: Emily Wurramara wins artist of the year

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Warnindhilyagwa singer also wins film clip of the year, while Malyangapa Barkindji rapper Barkaa wins album of the year

Emily Wurramara expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine and “all Indigenous peoples around the world” experiencing oppression as she accepted the artist of the year award at the 21st National Indigenous Music awards at the Nimas in Garramilla/Darwin on Saturday night.

“There’s nothing like coming back home and being here and playing for mob and playing for the people,” the Garramilla-born Warnindhilyagwa singer said. “Because the music is about the people. The music is freedom. Free Palestine, free Congo and free all Indigenous peoples around the world from their oppressors. It always was, always will be Indigenous land.”

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Albanese and Luxon urge Israel to reconsider Gaza City takeover during ‘warm, generous’ meeting

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Australian and New Zealand leaders reject possible US trade retaliation over recognising Palestinian statehood and reaffirm plans to deepen security ties

Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and his New Zealand counterpart, Christopher Luxon, have urged Israel to reconsider its plans to take over Gaza City and reaffirmed their intentions to deepen security ties, as they met in Queenstown on Saturday.

Following a pōwhiri (formal Māori welcome) at Te Wharehuanui – a private retreat built by the billionaire Xero founder, Rod Drury – Luxon said the world had become uncertain and fractious, and that New Zealand “has no greater friend than Australia”.

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‘Nazis don’t belong in this country’: Victorian premier scathing over masked march by ‘goons’ in Melbourne CBD

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Man allegedly assaulted after confronting group of about 100 people on march to Flagstaff Gardens early on Saturday

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has condemned “goons” who took part in a neo-Nazi march through the streets of Melbourne in the early hours of Saturday morning.

About 100 people dressed in black with face coverings marched through the Melbourne CBD, including down Bourke Street, police said in a statement.

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Byron writers festival cancelled and warnings for Sydney’s City2Surf due to east coast rain dump

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Major flood warning remains in place along Namoi River as parts of coastline receive almost double August monthly rainfall in eight days

Heavy rainfall across Australia’s eastern states has prompted the cancellation of the Byron writers festival and a warning for participants in Sunday’s City2Surf race in Sydney to take care, after parts of the east coast received nearly double the typical August monthly rainfall in eight days.

The Byron festival organisers said they were “devastated” to announce the cancellation of the annual event due to the condition of the festival site and ongoing rain, and that it was a “deeply regrettable but necessary decision”.

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Eight bat researchers mostly from Asia and Africa refused entry into Australia to attend global scientific event

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Organisers say move will damage nation’s scientific standing as government refuses to comment on why group of scientists were refused entry

Organisers of an international research conference have criticised a last-minute Australian government decision to deny visas to eight invited researchers, mostly from Asia and Africa.

Prof Justin Welbergen, chair of the 20th International Bat Research Conference in Cairns, said the decision to deny the researchers entry without option to appeal had disrupted the event, which is a key forum for global collaboration on bat research and conservation.

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Natsiaa 2025: Gaypalani Waṉambi wins $100,000 award for ‘exquisite’ artwork made with discarded road signs

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Waṉambi takes home Australia’s most prestigious First Nations art prize for her artwork Burwu, blossom, which saw her etch thousands of stringybark blossoms and bees

Gaypalani Waṉambi grew up surrounded by art, with her family home in north-eastern Arnhem Land doubling as a studio where her parents and siblings painted on bark and wooden poles. In her late teens, she started assisting her father, esteemed artist Mr W Waṉambi, who taught her how to paint the clan’s ancient designs, using traditional materials such as ochre. As he branched into more experimental forms such as animation and etching on metal, she too began to experiment with these new mediums.

On Friday night, the Yolŋu woman was awarded the $100,000 top prize at the 42nd National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art awards (Natsiaas), one of Australia’s richest and most prestigious art prizes, for an artwork that honoured his legacy while forging her own path.

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NSW police officers jailed for assaulting woman suffering mental health episode during welfare check

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Nathan Black, 28, and Timothy John Trautsch, 30, sentenced to at least three years in prison for attack in Sydney in 2023

Two police officers who punched, kicked and pepper-sprayed a naked woman experiencing a mental health episode will spend the next three years behind bars.

Nathan Black, 28, and Timothy John Trautsch, 30, were sentenced in the Penrith district court in Sydney on Friday.

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Penny Wong warns Israel that occupying Gaza could violate international law

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Australia’s foreign minister says two-state solution the only pathway to peace as Israel’s security cabinet approves plan to take over Gaza City

Penny Wong has urged Israel not to follow through on its plans to occupy Gaza, a step she said could constitute a breach of international law.

In a statement to Guardian Australia, Australia’s foreign minister pushed back on Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to take control of the whole Gaza Strip. The plan approved by Israel’s security cabinet after an overnight meeting on Thursday – to take over Gaza City – stopped short of that, but will likely displace tens of thousands of Palestinians already suffering from famine.

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Bush pilot ditched Outback Wrangler star’s mobile phone after fatal helicopter crash, trial hears

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Michael Burbidge gives evidence he told police Chris Wilson’s wife ‘doesn’t need to see what’s on the phone’

A bush pilot has told a court he ditched reality TV star Chris “Willow” Wilson’s mobile phone after a fatal helicopter crash, but can’t recall unscrewing the chopper’s console with Outback Wrangler’s Matt Wright.

Michael Burbidge, pilot and director of Remote Helicopters, gave evidence at Wright’s trial in the supreme court in Darwin on Friday.

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Six-year-old girl dies of influenza after twice being discharged from Sydney hospital

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Girl was sent home from Sydney Children’s hospital in Randwick twice before being admitted to Northern Beaches hospital a day later, where she died

A six-year-old girl has died of the flu at Northern Beaches hospital after being twice sent home from the Sydney Children’s hospital, and the New South Wales health minister has said her parents “deserve answers”.

The girl presented to the emergency department at the Sydney Children’s hospital in Randwick on Monday and was discharged after a clinical assessment.

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Kathleen Folbigg’s $2m compensation ‘a moral affront’ after two decades in jail for wrongful convictions, lawyer says

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Appeals court formally overturned mother’s convictions over her children’s four deaths in 2023, clearing her name

Kathleen Folbigg has been compensated an “insulting” amount of $2m after spending two decades in prison before an inquiry found she had been wrongfully convicted for killing her four children.

Folbigg, once referred to as among Australia’s worst serial killers, was convicted in 2003 and ordered to serve a minimum 25-year sentence for the suffocation murders of three of her children and manslaughter of a fourth.

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Labor decision to lift ban on PwC ‘an insult’ to inquiry that investigated Treasury scandal, Pocock says

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Finance department rejects last minute plea from three senators urging it to maintain block on consultancy firm competing for new government work

The finance department has rejected a last minute plea from three senators who led parliamentary inquiries into PwC Australia urging it not to lift a ban on the consultancy firm competing for new government work.

Last month, Guardian Australia revealed the finance department had recommended the end of a long-term ban triggered by a scandal involving the misuse of confidential Treasury information.

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Penny Wong complained to China about intimidation of exiled Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners

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Exclusive: Foreign affairs minister used July meeting on Asean sidelines to elevate criticism of targeting of Adelaide-based Ted Hui and Melbourne-based Kevin Yam

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, complained about the targeted intimidation of exiled pro-democracy campaigners from Hong Kong directly to her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, during a bilateral meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

The July meeting was the first face-to-face discussion between the pair since two Hong Kong activists wanted for alleged national security crimes were subjected to anonymous letters offering Australian neighbours $203,000 to inform on them.

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