Category Archives: Australia news

Proposal for motels to house homeless people to be brought to Queensland summit

Posted on by

Repurposing of existing accommodation and other facilities to be suggested at government-convened housing meeting

Hotels and motels would be repurposed to house homeless people under a proposal to be tabled at Queensland’s affordable housing summit on Thursday.

The proposal is among a string of ideas to be floated for urgent relief for the tens of thousands of people who are on the state’s social housing waiting list, couch surfing or sleeping in cars or on the streets.

Sign up for our free morning newsletter and afternoon email to get your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Labor promises full-fibre NBN access to 1.5m homes and businesses by 2025

Posted on by

Tuesday’s budget will include provisions for faster internet to mainly regional areas across Australia at a cost of $2.4bn

Labor is announcing movement on its promise to improve the national broadband network, with money in Tuesday’s budget to expand full-fibre access to 1.5m homes and businesses, mainly in outer city and regional areas.

Labor had been highly critical of the Coalition government’s decision to change the NBN from the planned fibre-to-the-premises model to a multi-technology mix model that used the existing and ageing copper network.

Continue reading...

Unions allege safety concerns after worker on Sydney Metro tunnel died of heart attack

Posted on by

Exclusive: Whistleblowers say they felt under pressure to downgrade seriousness of safety issues but Sydney Metro disputes union claims

A worker died of a heart attack during construction of the Sydney Metro tunnel near Barangaroo station amid allegations from the unions that a defibrillator was not readily available in the construction zone.

Sydney Metro strongly disputes the union claim. However, it acknowledged additional defibrillators were deployed in the tunnels after the incident, which occurred on 6 July.

Sign up for our free morning newsletter and afternoon email to get your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘Absolutely horrendous’: woman left incontinent after giving birth blames Mackay Base hospital failures

Posted on by

Samantha Sheppard is considering joining a growing number of women in a class action lawsuit against the hospital

Three years ago, Samantha Sheppard checked into Mackay Base hospital to have her first child. What followed, she said, was an ordeal she believes could have killed her baby, Bobby, and that has left her unable to control some of her basic bodily functions.

“It was absolutely horrendous. It was so life changing. I live with a pad on every day. I weigh myself every day. I’ve actually peed myself countless times because I can’t control it,” she said.

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

Continue reading...

Floods and warm weather perfect storm for Japanese encephalitis outbreak in Australia, researchers warn

Posted on by

Modellers say those within 4km of an infected piggery potentially vulnerable, meaning 740,546 people at risk of mosquito-borne virus

Warming temperatures combined with flood waters could leave almost 750,000 Australians vulnerable to Japanese encephalitis – a disease that until last year was confined to Asia and far-northern Australia.

The mosquito-borne disease was first detected on the Australian mainland in 1998, but its range expanded dramatically earlier this year. Cases were reported in dozens of southern piggeries (pigs are one of the main carriers of the virus) and there were also 31 confirmed cases in humans and six deaths.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Australia and Japan to share intelligence on China in security deal, ambassador says

Posted on by

In interview with Guardian Australia, Shingo Yamagami also hints Australia is likely to be invited to G7 summit in Hiroshima

Japan and Australia will share intelligence assessments about China’s military buildup and intentions under a security deal to be signed by the two prime ministers this weekend.

Japan’s ambassador, Shingo Yamagami, also hinted that Australia was likely to be invited to the G7 summit in Hiroshima next year, saying its participation would be a “natural” step at a time of worsening tensions in the region.

Sign up for our free morning newsletter and afternoon email to get your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Stolen Tasmanian Aboriginal artefacts are finally home. But there’s a catch: they’re only on loan

Posted on by

Cultural objects kept in museums around the world are in nipaluna/Hobart for an exhibition. But Aboriginal communities are calling for them to stay permanently

In 2014, pakana woman Zoe Rimmer left the British Museum in tears after viewing a 170-year-old kelp water carrier taken from lutruwita/Tasmania in their collection. As she cried, the seed of a big idea was planted: how could she get the rikawa, and other Tasmanian Aboriginal cultural artefacts sitting in institutions across the world, home?

“Seeing our ancestral belongings in a storage facility in the British Museum was quite emotional,” says Rimmer, who until recently was senior curator of First Peoples art and culture at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG).

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Victoria on flood alert; Labor announces biggest energy investment since Snowy Hydro

Posted on by

Communities in Victoria are on high alert with evacuation warnings in place for towns along the river. Follow the latest news

Dave Sharma, the former Liberal MP for Wentworth and former Australian ambassador to Israel, has followed Bowen on ABC Radio.

Sharma has issued the following statement criticising the government on its reversal of the recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel:

Penny Wong has failed to articulate any national interest reason for this change in policy.

In withdrawing recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, she is not only damaging a relationship with a close and trusted partner, but she is at odds with many of Israel’s Arab neighbours, such as the UAE, who are pursuing closer relations with Israel in order to promote regional peace and stability.

Continue reading...

Tim Winton urges Fremantle Dockers to drop Woodside Energy sponsorship

Posted on by

Group of fans including former WA premier Carmen Lawrence say having fossil fuel company as major sponsor is ‘no longer appropriate’

High profile Fremantle Dockers fans, including Tim Winton and former Western Australian premier Carmen Lawrence, have called on the club to end its partnership with Woodside Energy.

In a letter to the club’s president, Dale Alcock, and other board members, the group wrote it “it is no longer appropriate to have a fossil fuel company as our major sponsor moving forward”.

Sign up for our free morning newsletter and afternoon email to get your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Out-of-control train carriage ran 1.5km through Sydney Metro tunnel in one of several safety incidents

Posted on by

Exclusive: Whistleblower says pressure to meet deadlines has led to a culture of trying to avoid delay at all costs, including those caused by safety concerns

A 30-tonne railway trailer transporting equipment on the Sydney Metro project ran uncontrolled for more than 1.5km through the half-built tunnel between Marrickville and Waterloo in July, Guardian Australia can reveal.

The only reason workers weren’t killed, according to those on site, was because it happened on a Saturday at noon, when they were on their break.

Sign up for our free morning newsletter and afternoon email to get your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘Canberra ketamine’: new recreational drug discovered at Australian pill-testing service

Posted on by

‘As far as we’re aware, this is the first detection of a new drug by a drug-checking service anywhere in the world,’ says professor


A new recreational drug dubbed CanKet, similar to ketamine but with unknown side effects, has been found by scientists at Australia’s first fixed pill-testing site.

CanTEST, a face-to-face drug-checking service, was launched in Canberra in August. Since then, almost 200 people have brought their recreational drugs in for analysis and advice based on the results. Some people choose to discard their drugs if the service finds they are laced with harmful or unexpected substances.

Continue reading...

Sydney festival 2023: Town Hall to be filled with 26 tonnes of sand for program showpiece

Posted on by

The heritage building’s floor will become an indoor beach for an award-winning opera – one of a few architectural landmarks that will get a new life this summer

Twenty-six tonnes of sand will be shipped into Sydney town hall as part of the 2023 Sydney festival, with the heritage-listed building transformed into a faux beach for an award-winning opera starring 79 people and a dog.

The program for the annual festival, announced today, will amplify stories from Indigenous and female-identifying creatives next year. Led by artistic director Olivia Ansell for the second time, it will champion climate action, marginalised voices and the rediscovery of underused spaces in the city – including Harry Seidler’s mushroom-shaped building in Martin Place, which will be turned into a 1970s-themed bar and live music hub, with audiences invited to stay in the retro hotel rooms above.

Continue reading...

Santos to end Darwin festival sponsorship as anti-fossil fuel backers emerge

Posted on by

A group of philanthropists, artists and First Nations representatives have offered $200,000 if the gas company is dropped by the festival board

Santos has backed out of its sponsorship of Darwin festival, preempting a move by a cohort of philanthropists, artists and First Nations representatives, who were offering a $200,000 funding deal on the condition the festival cut ties with its fossil fuel partner.

The deal was scheduled to be discussed at a meeting late on Tuesday, but earlier in the day, Jane Norman, Santos chief of staff and vice president of strategy, contacted the chair of the festival board, Ian Kew, to inform him the company would not be seeking to renew its sponsorship deal, which expires at the end of the year.

Continue reading...

Carmen Callil, pioneering champion of female writers, dies aged 84

Posted on by

Publisher who founded Virago Press began as a campaigning outsider who introduced UK readers to authors including Angela Carter and Margaret Atwood

Carmen Callil, the publisher and writer who championed female writers and transformed the canon of English literature, has died of leukemia in London on Monday aged 84. The news was confirmed by her agent.

Callil began as a campaigning outsider, founding the feminist imprint Virago Press, where she published contemporary bestsellers including Margaret Atwood, Maya Angelou and Angela Carter. She challenged the male-dominated canon of English literature by bringing back into print a list of modern classics by authors including Antonia White, Willa Cather and Rebecca West, eventually becoming a pillar of the literary establishment. She was made a dame in 2017, served as a member of the Booker prize committee and was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Continue reading...

Federal election advertising blackout period should be changed or abolished, inquiry hears

Posted on by

As number of prepoll votes rise, rule has become redundant and may also encourage misinformation, TV broadcasters and social media groups say

Groups representing TV broadcasters and social media companies have called to change or abolish the advertising “blackout period” before federal elections, claiming the measure is outdated and could even allow for harmful political misinformation to flourish.

Free TV Australia, the peak body for commercial free-to-air-broadcasters, told a parliamentary inquiry into the May election on Tuesday that the blackout period, which prevents radio and TV stations from broadcasting election ads from the Wednesday night before the election, was outdated.

Sign up for our free morning newsletter and afternoon email to get your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Jewish groups blindsided by Labor’s reversal of recognition of West Jerusalem as Israeli capital

Posted on by

Prominent Jewish community leaders in Australia say Albanese government’s withdrawal of recognition ‘a gratuitous insult’ – but criticism is not universal

Several Jewish community leaders say they were blindsided by the Albanese government’s decision to reverse recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, describing the handling of the issue as “shoddy” and “a gratuitous insult”.

A Labor parliamentarian has also privately said the government “mishandled” the sensitive issue and should not be “making foreign policy on the fly” after Israel’s foreign ministry summoned the Australian ambassador to demand an explanation.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Australia’s ambassador to be summoned after Jerusalem reversal – as it happened

Posted on by

Labor will reverse Coalition decision to recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This blog is now closed

Health minister says ‘there has always been’ fraud in Medicare system

Karvelas asks Butler if he can speak to whether there is fraud in the Medicare system, and how widespread it is. He replies:

Well there is fraud in the Medicare system unfortunately … There are 24 cases in front of the courts right now where prosecutions are being pursued for fraud.

There is and there has always been a small number of cases of fraud and they’re pursued appropriately.

I want to come down on the side of truth obviously.

It does seem extraordinarily high. I understand the reaction from the AMA to the concept that 30% of consults are inappropriately billed – because a figure like that has never been used, in spite of the pretty longstanding compliance and audit systems governments of both political persuasions have had.

It’s way out of whack with any other figure that’s ever been provided to government, including as I said by the national audit office, that only did a review of the program a few years ago.

Continue reading...

Amount of ocean heat found to be accelerating and fuelling extreme weather events

Posted on by

The rate of warming in the top 2km has doubled from levels in the 1960s, review finds

The amount of heat accumulating in the ocean is accelerating and penetrating ever deeper, with widespread effects on extreme weather events and marine life, according to a new scientific review.

One of the report’s authors said the devastating floods in eastern Australia had likely been made worse by warming oceans. The risks would continue to rise as the ocean took up more heat, the report said.

Continue reading...

Uncle Jack Charles: First Nations elder and storyteller farewelled at state funeral in Melbourne

Posted on by

Film-maker Amiel Courtin-Wilson says Uncle Jack ‘gave people space to be themselves … in a way that afforded them unique dignity’

A crowd waving Aboriginal flags has lined St Kilda Road in Melbourne to send off Indigenous elder and storyteller Uncle Jack Charles after his state funeral.

The actor, musician, activist and member of the stolen generations died at Royal Melbourne hospital on 13 September after suffering a stroke. He was 79.

Continue reading...

Israel criticises Labor’s decision to drop recognition of West Jerusalem as capital

Posted on by

PM Yair Lapid says he’s ‘deeply disappointed’ in the ‘hasty’ foreign policy shift and has summoned Australia’s ambassador to explain

Israeli prime minister, Yair Lapid, has criticised Labor’s decision to drop the recognition of West Jerusalem as that country’s capital and Australia’s ambassador has been summoned to explain.

Lapid has accused the Australian government of a “hasty” foreign policy shift, after it reversed the previous government’s decision.

Continue reading...