Category Archives: Australia news

Step on it! Walking is good for health but walking faster is even better, study finds

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Walking briskly is beneficial for all health outcomes including dementia, heart disease, cancer and death

How fast you walk could be just as important for your health as how many steps you take each day, a new study suggests.

Researchers from the University of Sydney and the University of Southern Denmark found that 10,000 steps each day is the “sweet spot” to help lower the risk of disease and death. They also found that a faster pace, such as a brisk power walk, can have even greater benefits.

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Australia news live: review into Stuart Ayres over Barilaro hiring finds no breach of ministerial conduct

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Ayres stepped aside as deputy NSW Liberal leader and trade minister after a separate report into the controversial trade posting of John Barilaro. Follow all the day’s news live

Australia’s high commissioner to the UK meets with King Charles

Australia’s acting high commissioner to the UK Lynette Wood has had an audience with King Charles III.

Really what matters is we have the best possible person for the job, who can advance Australia’s interests in the best possible way, and that certainly needs a thorough and robust process to choose that person.

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Sydney north shore residents face third day without water after main bursts

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Sydney Water apologises to residents of Lane Cove and surrounding suburbs for water supply and traffic issues

A burst water main has left residents in parts of Sydney’s lower north shore without water for three days and caused chaos on roads and public transport.

Water continued to gush on to Epping Road in Lane Cove on Monday, three days after what Sydney Water called a “complex” water main burst.

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Queen public holiday: Australian business groups express concern over lost revenue and staffing disruptions

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Industry bodies join medical association in criticising Albanese government over notice for national day of mourning after death of Queen Elizabeth

Australian retail and business groups have joined the medical association in raising concerns about disruptions caused by the public holiday to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II after her death on 8 September.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, made the announcement on Sunday that a “one-off public holiday” would be held on 22 September as a national day of mourning, after the Queen’s funeral on 19 September.

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Albanese says ‘inappropriate’ to discuss republic now but doesn’t rule out future referendum

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Prime minister says vote to recognise Indigenous Australians in the constitution comes before any referendum on republic

Anthony Albanese has not ruled out holding a referendum on the republic if he is re-elected, saying only that it was “inappropriate” to discuss while commemorating Queen Elizabeth II.

Albanese made the remarks on Monday in a round of interviews defending plans to hold a national day of mourning public holiday on 22 September.

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NSW Coalition down but not out as poll shows hung parliament a strong possibility

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Drop in popularity for Coalition and Labor suggests tight race in NSW election – and that independents could still play key role

Nearly six months out from the next New South Wales election, a new poll shows there is little separating the major parties, with a hung parliament a distinct possibility.

The latest Guardian Essential poll of 661 voters showed 36.4% would put the Coalition first on their ballot if an election were held in the state tomorrow, while 32% would choose Labor.

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Anthony Albanese says ‘now not the time’ to discuss republic

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Australia’s prime minister prepares to pay his respects to Queen Elizabeth II in the UK this week after announcing national day of mourning

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says “now is not the time” to discuss Australia becoming a republic, saying it is time of national mourning.

Albanese, who has previously expressed support for Australia becoming a republic had said any referendum on the topic would take second seat to an Indigenous voice to parliament.

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Australia set New Zealand target of 268 to win third ODI – live!

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Out strides Aaron Finch, leading the Australian XI onto the field for the final time in 50-over cricket. Both teams take the oval and stand by the boundary for a minute’s silence in honour of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

It’s 30 degrees, bright and sunny in Cairns with a southerly breeze taking the edge off the sun’s intensity.

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Governor general proclaims King Charles III as Australia’s head of state – As it happened

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Anthony Albanese has set 22 September as National Memorial Service Day for Queen Elizabeth II. This blog is now closed

Howard says the popularity of the Queen was the key reason behind the republican movement failing, but that the monarchy offers stability.

I think there’s also a keener appreciation of the value of the institution and its strength. People look around the world at the moment and the alternative governance systems on offer, everyone in democracies, don’t look all that flash on occasions. I think the strength and durability and flexibility of the constitutional monarchy is something that more people appreciate than is imagined.

That is fair enough. It’s a democracy. People can argue for change. My observation is the strength of the monarchy in Australia was immeasurably increased by the personal popularity of the Queen.

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Australia to have public holiday to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Anthony Albanese announces

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Thursday 22 September to be a one-off national holiday and will coincide with a memorial ceremony in Canberra

Australians will get a one-off public holiday as a national day of mourning to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has announced.

Appearing on the ABC’s Insiders on Sunday morning, Albanese said Thursday 22 September, which coincides with a memorial service for the Queen, would be a national public holiday.

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Jacinda Ardern expects New Zealand’s royal ties to ‘deepen’ under King Charles III

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New Zealand and Australia hold ceremonies to recognise new head of state and pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

Australia and New Zealand have held proclamation ceremonies for the new head of state King Charles III, with New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern saying she expected her country’s relationship with the royal family to “deepen”, and Australia declaring a one-off public holiday as a national day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II.

New Zealand held its formal ceremony on parliament’s grounds, with the proceedings led by governer general Cindy Kiro and Ardern, beginning with the national anthem and a prayer in te reo Māori – the Indigenous language.

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King Charles III formally proclaimed Australia’s head of state in Parliament House ceremony

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Governor general David Hurley says the passing of Queen Elizabeth II is the end of an era, and Australia is an ‘unfinished product’

Australia has proclaimed the ascension of King Charles III, with hundreds of people lining the forecourt and streets around Parliament House to watch the formal ceremony on Sunday.

The federal executive council, which performs functions similar to that of the privy council in the United Kingdom and is made up of the ministers of government and the governor general, met on Sunday in Government House, where the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, recommended the ascension to the governor general, David Hurley.

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Storm Sanders and John Peers break Australia’s 21-year drought with mixed doubles title

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  • Sanders & Peers defeat Flipkens & Roger-Vasselin 4-6 6-4 [10-7]
  • Old friends win Australia’s first US Open mixed doubles title in 21 years

John Peers and Storm Sanders have produced a memorable triumph at the US Open, becoming the first Australian pair to win the mixed doubles title in 21 years in their first grand slam together.

The new combination had to battle from a set down to defeat Belgian Kirsten Flipkens and Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin 4-6 6-4 [10-7] in Saturday’s high-quality final in New York.

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‘Collector’s item’: Australians utilise quirk that entitles citizens to free portrait of the Queen

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Under little-known nationhood obligation, MPs supply patriotic objects including flags, national anthem recordings and portraits of the monarch

When Helen Browne woke to the news of the Queen’s death, she rang her federal MP.

Browne was hoping to secure one of the last complimentary portraits of Elizabeth II on offer in Australia, part of a little-known entitlement to citizens under a nationhood obligation.

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Australian travel industry braces for ‘influx’ as royalists plan to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral

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Guardian Australia understands the few remaining Qantas seats from Australian capital cities to London have been quickly booked since the news of monarch’s death

Australia’s travel industry says it is bracing for an “influx” of Australians deciding to travel to London to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.

Guardian Australia understands the very few remaining Qantas seats from Australian capital cities to London have been quickly booked since the news of the Queen’s death. Peter Hosper, the commercial director of Travel Authority Group, said his agency was preparing for more inquiries on Monday.

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King Charles’s ascension ignites debate over royals across Commonwealth

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Head of state role in doubt in realms from Jamaica to New Zealand after death of Queen Elizabeth II

King Charles’s ascension to the throne has reignited a debate over whether the royal family deserves a global role in the 21st century, no more so than in the 14 Commonwealth realms where the British monarch remains the head of state.

A legacy of empire and slavery that was entwined with British royalty for centuries has raised tough questions about the place of a foreign king, and republican movements from the Pacific to North America to the Caribbean will be assessing whether they should seize the moment.

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PM hails monarch as ‘absolute inspiration’ as leaders lay wreaths at Parliament House – as it happened

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Prime minister, opposition leader and governor general take part in ceremony. This blog is now closed

Prime minister Anthony Albanese and the governor general, David Hurley, are now walking towards the statue of the Queen, together with speaker of the house Milton Dick.

A crowd of parliamentarians and dignitaries are gathering at the Queen’s Terrace area of Canberra’s Parliament House, where a wreath-laying ceremony will take place at a statue of Queen Elizabeth.

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Australians in ‘acute crisis’ urge PM to ease welfare penalties for working more hours

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People on disability pensions say they should be able to work more without having their financial support reduced

For Angela Finch, prime minister Anthony Albanese’s retelling of his story about growing up as the son of a single mother in Sydney’s public housing is wearing thin.

“His mum could not do what she did today, like she just couldn’t,” Finch told Guardian Australia, adding that soaring costs and restrictions on how much she can work before losing her welfare funding were terrifying her.

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‘Everything kicked into gear’: how Australia’s media covered the Queen’s death

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Broadcasters launched well-rehearsed plans – including pre-planned outfits – when news broke in the early morning

The sombre black outfits have been ready for years, the studio rehearsals done many times and the obituaries and highlights packages were ready.

Like the BBC and ITV, Australian broadcasters had careful plans to launch on the death of the Queen.

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Condolences and condemnation: Indigenous people and people of colour react to the death of Queen Elizabeth II

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While some have offered unflinching takes on the damage of British colonisation, others say the monarch held ‘a special place’ in their hearts

The reaction to the death of the Queen among Indigenous people and people of colour, including those from Commonwealth nations, has been swift and, at times, unflinching.

For many the Queen was the personification of British colonisation and the damage it has wreaked in their countries – and they were not afraid to say so. Yet others expressed their condolences for the monarch who has long held “a special place” in their hearts.

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